Next-To-Last-Sunday-Of-2008

Got up just past first light (6:30), ate the flakes, and hit the road. It was about 42°F when I hit the road, wearing the helmet liner, leg warmers, and red long-sleeve jersey, all un-warshed from yesterday's ride.

And the yellow wind breaker with the stupid zipper, which mercifully did not hassle me, man, this morning!

Hey, Blogger works a lot better (faster) when the KCRW broadcast stops working! Hold on a second, I have to switch Windows™, hit pause, then play, so it will start playing again. I'm listening to le Show.

After a few hundred feet of riding, including negotiating a traffic signal, I reached over to reset the odometer, and it wasn't there. Of course it wasn't, it was sitting on the computer desk back home. Oh, fudge! I headed back home and picked up the little device, and also some almost hole-less glove liners.

A pleasant, but chilly, ride ensued. The fingers were sore with chill, but the face didn't hurt.

It was about 45°F in Mission Trails Park at the time, but it felt a lot colder in the shady canyon.

Going up Jackson Drive Hill I totally over did it and nearly blew my heart and lungs away. There were a couple of guys behind me, and they didn't seem to be catching me. So, I pedaled my heart (and lungs) out (in the 36/24 combo) to stay ahead. Fortunately someone placed a road near the top that I could gracefully turn into and rest a bit, plus getting some added distance on the ride.

And that was the point when I realized they were no longer behind me, having turned on to a side road some distance before...

So on the side-excursion I noticed this Xmas display, again. The chain link fence just adds SOMETHING to the ambiance, don't you think?



I finally made it to the top, practically wheezing, in spite of the respite.

And finally got a decent pic of this antenna, which I think is located at Stu's house, he of the extremely chirpy Russian tank transceiver.



Went part-way around the lake. Followed some woman riding no-hands, who kept yelling "It's all about the MONEY". I finally figured out she was listening to music, probably a song titled It's All About The Money, but I don't know if it was the Travis Tritt song or the Meja song, but I suspect the former. Not that I have a CLUE who either of these performers are! I PERSONALLY was singing Alice Cooper's Be My Lover, but in a more circumspect manner, as is my wont.

Enough of this! I made it home alive, with another 20 miles to my credit.

The wife was asleep, the outside-cat-with-the-stumpy-tail was asleep (on MY chair!), the Xmas lights were on, the floor heater was on, and it was 90°F! I turned off the heater, turned off the television, and fired up the computer.

I drank some hot tea and ate the last pizelle.

Ride Stats

Trip Mileage  21.19 miles
Trip Time     1:43:01
Avg. Speed    12.32 mph
Max. Speed       n/a

Week Stats

Schwinn:     32.67 miles
Jamis:        8.38 miles

Week Total:  41.05 miles

Odometers

Schwinn:   7,431 miles    YTD    635 miles  (YStart 6,796)
Jamis:     6,491 miles    YTD  2,278 miles  (YStart 4,213)

                    Total YTD  2,913 miles

W00t, I'm dangerously close to 3,000 miles for the year! I totally think I can do 87 miles in the next ten days, baring rain delays!