Fiesta Island Club Race

Built For Speed

This morning I did what most 30 year olds do, I had breakfast with a bunch of friends. Normal right.....sure just after I finished the Fiesta Island club race. It was cold, the water was murky...,, but it the race was free. Believe me if you bought a ride like the one above you'd want to ride it in any race you could. I bought a used wheel disk this fall from a nice couple in Encinitas. That's a story in itself. You see we went to buy the disk for Tim, he was hemming and hawing and I was like"Tim it's perfect, it's a great deal and you'll buy one later when you decide you can't live without it" Turned out it wasn't Tim's size. It was mine. Then the shoe was on the other foot. Uhh, mm, uhhh.....er well...."It's great but I don't have a fast enough run to roll a disk, sorry. No. Not for me." We headed out the door. As we were pulling out of the drive , the man ran out he looked at me and said"Do you know Terry Martin at UCSD ? She helped me out a lot." For a few minutes I was thinking "What does that have to do with anything?" Then I got it..... there is hope for my run. If you are a guy and you arer mediocre. You can roll a disk and it's no big deal. If you are a girl and you roll a disk people notice. In my head I could hear the whispers "Who does she think she is." Honestly, it would be the equivalent of wearing Juicy jeans...... with a muffin top. Ugh.

We drove home and I thought things over. If I buy the disk I will have to commit to my run. Something I've never done justice too. Potential I've never really fulfilled. Hmmm......should I? I look in my mirror and the No sign over the words unfulfilled potential I'd written on my mirror was written all over my face. I wrote that. If you are what you eat, you better be what you write. I bought the disk mostly to help my running.

A disk isn't something you just roll on the coast on. It special for race day. Although, I do remeber Pete on his shiny Schwin rolling that cloth wheel disk around the neighborhood with a flip up roadie cap and bike gloves that were used as "THE CLAW", but that's a different story as well. Anyway, Tim told me when I roll my disk it would feel magical. I heard they can be sketchy in the wind. Tim thinks I need to use it at Ironman. I'm not sure about that, at least not without some practice. The frame of my bike is light and with all this training so is the frame of my body. I don't want to blow off my bike at Ironman. So on this Saturday I would roll my disk for the very first time. Tim was working the night before the race and until after the race in the morning. This left me solo to deal with the technical difficulties of the disk.

Earlier than I should have been up on a Saturday morning I struggled with the crack pipe (valve extender) trying to inflate my disk. Grrr.... I am determined to do this on my own, that's part of being an athlete. You have to do things on your own. You've got to be accountable for yourself. It just keeps leaking. I'm trying to stay calm because it's only a club race but minutes are ticking away. I even waste a CO2 cartridge thinking I can use both hands to keep it from leaking. No go. I give myself mental props for being creative. Now, I've managed to let all the air out of the tire. I throw my bike in the car and head to Fiesta Island. Worse case scenario I'll switch out my wheels when I get there. This would require me to change brake pads too. To think I thought tuning skis was difficult. I get there and some nice guy holds the valve on while I inflate the tire. I recognize him from the tri club meeting the other day. He says the crack pipes never work well and I am relieved it's not just me. Yippee. I get to roll my disk. I'm ready to go.

I'm later arriving than I wanted to be and it's colder than I wanted it to be. That's why I'm racing today. To expose myself to variables I can't control. (and free breakfast) I run my warm up while Dave Huff gives directions. (i.e. I don't listen to the race director) After the swim (where I am very slow) I strip my wetsuit off while my bike sits all by itself in the transition rack. I think I heard it swear at me. It said "damn you hurry up" I don't bother with the jacket or gloves I have and I race away. As soon as I am rolling my hands sting with cold. My bike mentions to me that maybe if I swam faster she'd let me put my jacket and gloves on before starting the bike segment. I don't know how fast I go because I usually use my Garmin and didn't bother with it. In a short race it's never worth fidgeting. Probably should mount it to the bike, but I don't want to deal with anything electronic today. My bike "Sweet Thunder" gallops very fast and I have a fun ride. The wheel disk is light but not squirrly. It is not windy, honestly I don't feel it. I just feels easy and I keep passing people. Matt Sparks keeps me humble by passing me and I know I have been lapped. I drop a lot of boys and start to smile. I imagine having a bell on my bike to ring. I pass Heather Catchpole on the bike, I say good job. She has an intensely serious look in her eyes and I know she will try to run me down. I pass another girl I do not know and enter transition.

Crap. I don't know which way to go. In bigger races you can just follow somebody, but here it is too small and nobody is around. I have done club races but not the Fiesta Island one and I feel a bit foolish because I find I am running the wrong way. That's what I get for warming up when Dave was explaining the course. I turn around also noting it would have been wiser to park my bike at the other end of transition. Oh well. I see Heather out of the corner of my eye in an ideal spot. I know she is a faster runner, she's also smarter than to run the wrong direction. I try to pick up the pace but my feet are like cinder blocks. She runs by me and puts a little distance on me. I stay the same distance back. I try to close the gap. My legs want to move but my feet have no balance. I hear the pitter patter of a barefooted runner getting closer. He passes me, tells me to catch Heather. I try but can't seem to pick it up. I realize mentally I ride to go fast and I run to survive. I need to run more aggressively. I'm trying to do so, my feet loosen up a little and I am at the finish line. It ends too quickly for me, but it was fun.

I am happy with my physical performance today. I should have taken the transitions more seriously and treated it like a true race, but I really wasn't that concerned about loosing time in transition. Mostly I wanted to see how my body would respond at speed. I also want to do as many club races as I can because they are free vs. the large amount of money I have spent on organized races and gear. Also the tri club has great breakfasts after. I hurry into about 10 layers of clothing and grab some oatmeal. Tim arrives still in scrubs and joins me for some breakfast. I tell him all the details wishing he could have been there.

Move over Martha

They Say Martha Stewart Can Do Everything.

Rumor has it. She's been replaced.

By a younger, fitter, and way more fun version.

Tria234;=675=576=XROQDF>2323:68784:;8ot1lsi.jpg">While Martha may have brought wonderful cupcakes to the post ride potluck. She would have been dropped from the ride and never could have bandaged up the boys she dropped on the ride.

Move over Martha!

Juggling it all.

December 5th.

This is the fisrt week of my Ironman training program. It's not that the miles are so tremendous but there is definately an increased commitment to consitency. Also, there is much less forgiveness if you roll late for a long ride because it's dark by 5 p.m. On top of my training plan today I am (by default) hosting a party for the Bella Vela's . Pro triathlete Peter Clode and his elite athlete/wife Neily are coming to my home with a bunch of my fellow Bellas to have our now annual Ironwoman talk. On my schedule today is a master's swim workout, a 50 mile recovery ride and a 3-5 mile run. The girls will be arriving at 6:00 p.m. Meaning I need to have my place ready to host by 6 p.m. I have a little bit of anxiety regarding all of this but decide to dive in literally to my day.

So diving in to UCSD master is a little bit shocking. I am new to the UCSD Master's program. The coaches name is "Sickie". This"Sickie" dude is going to kill me. Today was test day. 12 x 100m fast. Plus a whole lot of other stuff. He actually told me to just "survive" Nobody is slow at the 7:30 am swim. I can't even catch the draft. Good thing the rest of today is easy. I think I bonked. It's hard to eat before am swim. I am trying to think about my form and all I can think about is the 1/2 of PB &J in my locker. I will survive. Hang on until the end of what "Sickie"calls test day and I call hell day. He congratulates me on being a trooper and as I'm finishing the last lap and most people have departed the pool I see him drive up on a motorized scooter to collect the signs. For a minuted my bedraggle head thinks I 've been had. Then I remeber I signed up for this. . I didn't know there was another option. I just "survived"

I head in to the locker room . This must be T1. I shower and recover, I eat my 1/2 pb &j while getting dressed. I'm starving. After that I through no fault of my own go on a wild goose chase around campus attemping to obtain a semester pass for swim. Finally I am off campus and head to the base of Torrey Pines for my "recovery"
-----
My recovery ride consited of 48.00 flat miles @17.80 miles/hr
Carmel Valley to Oceanside and back. So I think my heart rate was a little elevated from swim, so I probably went a little faster than intended. I tried not to jump at all but it's really hard when I'm trying to spin easy and gomer guys think they can drop me. Have to stay focused on my own game plan. Save some legs for the run. I think I could have used a little more nutrition to get me through this day but managed to suffice on hammer gel flask and electrolye drink. The waves were raging today. They were a real show 12-16 feet were I was riding. I'm told 18 in the cove. It was a fun ride. My anxiety about what I have on my plate today eases (fat lady in the buffet line) and I think of my Dad saying "things have a way of working out" I finish the bie ride and throw on my shoes. I know if I get started preparing for the party first I will never get a run in. After all what is 20 more minutes.
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I run across the street and into Torrey Pine state Beach. I am surprised by how low the tide is and how much shore there is. I wish greatly that Tim was here. He'd kill to run barefoot on this hard packed sand and the view is incredible.
Enjoyable run 80% on the hard packed sand from Torrey Pines to Del Mar and back. Waves are huge and the view is nice. Not sure if I should be running in the sand after the ITB/Superfrog experience but I don't feel any inflammation so I plan to walk if there are problems but there are none
Busy day. Three workouts and playing Martha Stewart for an Irongirl party. Priorities. If I have no time to shower or clean my room the likes of Raja, Tina, Elaine, and Juls won't care. Managed to squeeze everything in but didn't get a break in between biking and running. I think coach intended for a rest period in between. No rest today. Up late. Past my bedtime as people stay at my house until 11 pm. I'm cleaning up until 11:30pm and in bed at midnight. I'm fairly certain Ironmen don't go to bed at this hour. Ugg. Tomorrow is not an easy day

Tales of Thanksgiving: The Feast

Wednesday, November 23

Our Thanksgiving Day

We have a lot to be thankful for!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was a day before the national holiday but the Neuschwander family was kind enough to accommodate my work schedule. Bruce , Cindy, Tim and I head out for the morning ride and CDF challenge. I feel a pang of sadness as we climb the hill, knowing today is my last day of gluttonous riding. I wonder if this game is as fun for Bruce when he doesn't have us rookies to egg on.

Cindy and Bruce turn early to prepare for Tim's Nana and Gramp's arrival. Tim and I climb Calaveras again only this time we spot the Golden Eagle's nest Bruce and Cindy told us about. We also descend down the other side into San Jose. It is a fun descent. I feel a little tired today and think maybe I am getting a cold but agree to do "Sierra Road" anyway. I am glad as my sinuses clear while I ride my bike and I gain energy along the way. I am certain I can handle anything on a road map and we turn the corner onto Sierra Road. Errrrt, screeech, halt, thump, thump, thump, goes my heart because from here the road goes straight up. Maybe it's an optical illusion but the road goes straight up. It starts at sea level and ends at the gates of Heaven. I look at the hill head on and think this might be it. The moment I have met my match, I might not make it up. Of course, it's all or nothing for me. I can't fathom taking a rest stop and summitting the climb bit by bit. No, not me. I start to sort of panic "what if I can't make it" I have visions of tipping over on my bike because I can't spin the pedals. I worry it will be too much strain on my back and I'll hurt myself. I start to wonder what other fool, no less female fool would take this on. I start to think about what the Bellas are doing and I know it also isn't this. I also know they beat me on race day and I start to make the connection. I verbalize this to Tim who doesn't buy it. I apologize to Tim for the behavior I am about to exude. I tell him I may get really ugly before we get to the top. Tim kindly offers to ride back and get the car while I sit on the side of the road and wait. He says it might be too much for me and my pink bike. We make it over the first pitch which is the steepest and I chill out. Then I start chirping like a bird. "That wasn't so bad!" Tim is quick to remind me of my comments a few minutes ago. I enjoy seeing the faded paint that once brightly said "Go Levi". This climb is from the Tour of California. I wish the street was lined with people cheering and ringing cow bells today. How about somebody to hand us feedbags as we ride. What about a team car. I think a custom painted pink and blue Mini would be perfect for me. Those tour riders have the life. The scenery is awesome. Tim offers to let me stop for a break, but I refuse. I must prove to myself that I don't quit when things get tough. I'm embarrassed for confessing my weakness at the base. Tim is smarter though and has us stop for pictures. We continue to climb and I remember riding through New Zealand from Arrowtown to Lake Wanaka. This is an epic ride despite my meltdown at the base. Once we reach the top the road is so curvy I feel like we are in never-never land. We descend a long way and at the bottom make a right hand turn. The road we turn on looks like a driveway and I miss it the first time. It is an immediate climb and it takes me three tries to get in a low enough gear to climb.

We ride as fast as we can back to the homestead. Thanksgiving dinner is waiting. When we arrive we are greeted by the aroma of wonderful food and the presence of Tim's Grandparents. I quickly shower and get ready. Valerie, Tim's sister-in-law arrives and joins us for the feast. Unfortunately Seth could not make it. Once again he was fighting fires to keep us safe.

We enjoy the dinner and time together. Shortly after dinner Tim takes me to the San Jose airport (yes the airport where my knotty stick was confiscated after the Rock-n-Roll marathon) . I fly home, crawl into bed, and have sweet dreams of hilly country rides.

me looking at the climb......you want me to ride what ?

this is what Riley thinks of the Sierra Road climb

Tales of Thanksgiving: 2 days left of gluttony

Tuesday, November 22

This morning we sit in the kitchen with a map. Bruce asks if we'd like to do something other than ride our bikes from home. He suggests BARTing into the city (San Fransico) or going to lunch at a cafe in Napa. He even suggests driving to Napa and doing a short ride. We think about all these things. They all sound like fun. Then we decide we haven't had our fill yet of riding the roads where Tim grew up. Out the door we ride. We leave with Cindy and Bruce but keep going to the top of Calaveras. I love this ride. The climb is perfect. A constant up, but it has switch backs so it isn't ultra intense at one time. If you have genetically developed quads like mine (and the right gearing) you can spin it.

The way back down is like a Giant Slalom race course. Time to make perfect S's as my Mom would say. I taught skiing for a long time and a lot of kids say they hate making S's. They say it's boring, usually this means they don't know how to turn. I tricked them into learning to turn by leading them through a series of S's while pretending to make airplane noises. The corners are banked just right and I can't help but making airplane noises out loud. Tim joins me and we have a great time.

Today we take a shorter lunch and head out for a tacky single version of double Palomares. Yes, that's right a single Palomares is tacky. Must be like asking your parents for a ride down the block to track practice. Palomares is another beautiful summit that one should ride down the other side so they can climb it twice but we didn't have enough daylight so we settled. Just before the summit things got really steep but to the top we went. It was beautiful country here. Tim calls it "old California" I say it's how California should look. I guess too many people just like me came to stay.

We ride quickly back to Tim's folks where the aroma of apple pie fills the air. I make two pumpkin pies. I am a little worried about how my crust will turn out. Nobody likes a tough crust. Cindy's apple pie looks like a work of art. I've heard of people giving courtesy "mmmms" to as they choke down the leather some call crust. My reputation is at stake here. It's one thing to be known as "the girl with the pink bike;" it is quite another to be be known as "the girl with the pink bike that serves cowhide crust."

Tales Of Thanksgiving : D -Day

Sunday, November18th

Today is day # 3 of this so-called vacation. Today I agree to ride 50 miles and summit a 3,489 ft peak otherwise known as Mt. Diablo. After I agree to take this on I am informed of a certain time limit I need to complete this task in. I guess this is another one of those glory vs. shame moments.

Me after a triumphant summit

The view from the top is spectacular. I'm told summer days are sometimes hazy, and the best viewing is often on the day after a winter storm. Then, you can look to the west, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Farallon Islands; southeast to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton at 4,213 feet elevation; south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3,791 feet elevation; north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range at 4,344 feet, and still farther north to Mount Lassen in the Cascades at 10,466 feet. North and east of Mount Diablo, the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta. To the east beyond California’s great Central Valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. With binoculars, I'm told you may even be able to pick out Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. I also was told hiking Half Dome might be too much for me. If you believe that I'll sell you the Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Diablo is a sacred mountain to California Indian people. Just about every California Indian community who viewed Mount Diablo would, at one time or another, make a pilgrimage to the summit area for ceremonies. It thinks today's ride could be considered a pilgrimage of some sort, although there wasn't too much carnage.

A bit of history.

The reason Mount Diablo is so sacred to the California Indian people is that it was the creation point for the Miwok people or genesis for some California Indian people. 1851, the mountaintop was selected as the starting point for a survey of the public domain. Ignoring the excitement of the Gold Rush, Leander Ransom and his men erected a flagpole at the summit of Mount Diablo and began to extend the base and meridian lines that are still used in official land surveys.

Much of the rock that makes up Mount Diablo is sedimentary in origin. It was laid down millions of years ago on the floor of the ocean. Within the last one to two million years, a piece of hard, red 160-million-year-old Franciscan rock was pushed up through six to eight miles of overlying rock and soil, tilting and distorting the rock layers and in some places turning them completely upside down. As a result, the fossilized remains of many sea creatures, as well as those of mastodons, saber-toothed cats and three-toe horses have been discovered here. Elevations in the park range from 300 to 3,849 feet. This wide range of elevations creates broad variations in temperature, rainfall and wind exposure that have resulted in a wide variety of plant life on the mountain. Summers are hot and dry, so many people prefer to visit in spring and fall. Tim actually had his favorite birthday party ever in this park. Somebody gave him a really cool sword that he stills plays with daily and he got to go climbing on the rocks.

I'm told the park is also popular in winter,when Bay Area residents occasionally enjoy the unusual experience of a snowfall on the mountain’s peak. Bruce has a story of how one New Year's Day he was the first to Summit Mt. Diablo. He actually didn't start riding until noon and the real early birds had been forbidden to summit the climb due to snow an d ice. Still he was the first one to the top that year.

Most of the park is typical central California oak and grassland country with extensive areas of chaparral. Riparian woodland occurs on the lower slopes of the mountain, where the streams have water in them throughout most of the year. Several isolated stands of knob cone pine occur within the park, and foothill pine is found in many places. The northern most groves of coulter pine occur on the lower, northerly slopes of the mountain, near the old mining ghost towns of Nortonville and Somersville just outside the park. Other trees include the coast live oak, big leaf maple, California laurel (Oregon myrtle), maul oak, blue oak and buckeye. In all, over 400 species of plants have been identified within the park’s almost 20,000 acres. Wildlife is also abundant. Coastal black tailed deer, raccoons, California ground squirrels, eastern fox squirrels and gray foxes are often seen, but striped and spotted skunks, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, deer mice, cotton tail rabbits, black-tailed hares and many other animals call the mountain home. Mount Diablo is known to harbor red-legged frogs, tarantulas, and the rare Alameda whip snake, as well as its cousin the northern rattlesnake. To think Tim said that Bruce carried pepper spray for protection from kids, not mountain lions.

So back to the ride as we are riding to the mountain we have a nice long warm up with some rolling hills. Bruce tells us we have to make it to the park in one hour. This terrain easily allows me to roll 20mph plus I can draft Tim so I am not worried but I'm also careful not to take the bait. Bruce told us about the trick he'd played on Seth (Tim's brother) the other day. Bruce was tired and didn't want Seth to drop him at the end of the ride. Bruce pushed the pace a little so Seth would jump in front and tire himself out while Bruce backed off a hair and saved energy. When he shared this story I realized exactly what fire I was playing with and that I have to fight fire with fire. I know because I am on a TT bike I am set up more efficiently getting to the climb, once there the situation will be reversed. I efficiently stay on Tim's wheel. We descend a long hill and I yell to egg Bruce on. "IDB, IDB" I hope he will pass me down the hill. I'm hoping he will waste his energy on the downhill and will have less to fire with on the climb. By the way, IDB stands for "I drop boys." I know this is very dangerous for other reasons but when we get to the climb I do my best to antagonize Bruce in hopes he will take the bait. He's a little too smart though. You can't kid a kidder. Bruce says we need to reach the summit in less than an hour. I tell him I'm not playing . I'm saving my energy for my brick run after our ride. I invite Bruce to join Tim and me for this run. We keep telling Bruce he is ranked 11th in the World for his age at the 1/2 IM and he should be going faster. We tell him to sprint and show us how it is done. Tim then asks Bruce what his best time is and well lets just say it's a little more than 59 minutes. The ride is fun and beautiful. I don't make it to the top quite as fast as the boys but I am pleased with my climb just the same. The descent is long and slow on my TT bike. TT bikes are designed to go fast in a straight line so the handling isn't as precise as my road bike. I feel as if I am snowplowing down the mountain instead of carving my turns. No worries though. I enjoy the views and it's still free speed.

After the descent we motor home. We see another cyclist. He tries to pick up the pace and drop us because there is a girl in the mix. He learns otherwise. We roll home very quickly. We have a few sprinting contest in the neighborhood just before we finish. Bruce tells Tim and I to load up our legs with lactic acid and then do our run. "Go, go"he yells. You got to load up your legs. Fill them with lactate. I'm not falling for that one.

After our brick we have dinner then head to Sunday evening service. We attend the Catholic Church. Apparently Sunday evening is a very popular service and we have a difficult time finding parking. We park a fair distance from the church and have to walk. By the time we enter the very large and modern church it is standing room only. There are no pews but it is acceptable to sit on the carpeted floor. The Catholic church is not for the weak of heart or the feeble and we still sit, stand, and kneel with the rest of the congregation. This task was executed without difficulty for all of us except Bruce. Apparently he had stressed himself a little more than he let on because he had to get up in three steps. It sort of resembled a turtle on it's back. We gave him beyond a hard time about this on the way home. Bruce claimed that he was the first to summit Diablo. I claimed that though he won the stage, I won the race because I rode at a pace appropriate to allow me to complete tasks of everyday living.

* References made from California State Parks Visitors Guide

VDOT

VDOT is the Vo2 Max at speed. How fast you can go based on your cardiovascular fitness and economy of motion.



VDOT say I should be able to qualify for Boston.....if I train for it.

He's killing me. I've come a long way though.

Good form. Access tilted forword. Chi Running. Let your legs fall forword. Free Speed.

Nice angles. She must be fast. Wait that's me:)

According to my VDOT I am capable of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I am just not trained for it yet. My VDOT says I can go 3:36.28 (based on my 5 k split at the Encinitas sprint tr after I almost drowned :)








VDOT Running = 43





Easy pace = 9:37/mile





Good for warm up, cool down, recovery run, long run


100% of weekly mileage for 6 weeks/base building (later only 25 % of running)





According to this I have been running too hard:0 Does that mean I can slack a little more?





Marathon Pace = 8:15/mile


No more than 90 minutes at that pace. Steady run or long repeats.








Tempo = 7:42/mile


20-60 minutes at that pace


Tempo/aka Threshold





Interval = track repeats or fartlek pace. No more than 5 minutes at a time


1000 mailto:meters@4.26min





Rep pace = burning lungs





400m @ 1m 40 seconds





Don't go faster than this pace ever because there is no benefit. Aka you at track last summer pushing the pace. It's a good way to hurt yourself and your training partners. Only will your system be stressed.





No refiguring VDOT for 3 weeks. Only increase by 1 unit at a time.





As your father says "Don't hurt yourself"



According to Jack Daniels (and not the beverage) I should try to focus on shorter, lighter strides. Imagine that you're running over a field of raw eggs and you don't want to break any of them. Run over the ground, not into it. Try to get the feeling that your legs are part of a wheel that just rolls along, not two pogo stickks that you bounce along.



No more Tigger.

Tales of Thanksgiving: Redwood Forest Ride

Riley says "it's time for you to get up"

Monday, November 19

I like mornings in this house. Riley comes and looks at me and waits patiently for me to wake up and acknowledge him. After petting his soft and furry head I tiptoe in to check my e-mail . Riley now turns his attention to Tim. After awakening Tim, Riley is satisfied and beds down for a nap. We shuffle into the kitchen where Tim and Bruce make yummy cappuccinos with Bruce's really cool and labor intense Italian Espresso maker. I like watching the dynamics between Tim and Bruce as the milk is foamed. I sort of savor the morning, it's relaxing and exertion is around the corner.

Not long after breakfast we head out for a ride. Told you exertion was coming. We ride through the Redwood forest. It is really gorgeous. I love the trees. It starts to rain. Bruce apologizes but despite it being cold I think I like the fact that it's raining. It makes the woods seem genuine and authentic. We talk about dropping down into Berkeley to warm up and sip coffee. We nix the idea. I can only foresee getting cold if we stop pedaling. Although, I would like very much to do this ride again and descend into Berkeley for coffee. It is beautiful. I chuckle to myself remembering my last experience in Berkeley with my brother Tom. I was one day post marathon and hobbling all over town. The grin on Tom's face went from ear to ear.

The ride is pretty calm and quiet today. After yesterdays Mt. Diablo climb nobody has extra energy to egg the others on. I'd call it a moment of "truce". We ride through the forest then back towards town. We ride through Walnut Creek and Danville. It stops raining and we stop for a cookie break. Yum, Cindy's cookies are good and good energy. Soon our 50 mile loop is over. Now we can rest, right?......Wrong.

Tim and I are teased about our leisurely lunch. PB&J's with another capuchi. "This is the life," I want to say. However, we are the ones riding the most miles this day. We head out for round two with Cindy. We ride the "Sunol" loop. It is really pretty. Lots of hills and farm houses. I would like to live on one of these roads. It's beautiful. It feels good to spin out our legs. We enjoy another 15 miles. I like this loop very much.

When we finish we skip our bricks and clean our bikes instead. We are a little fanatical about this, but boy do they glisten and shine. After that we enjoy dinner and retire to bed. Sweet repose.

Tomorrow will be another great ride.