FA Cup Final - Chelsea v. Everton

Please summon all your good thoughts so that my favorite European soccer team, Chelsea FC, will add to the FA Cup to the trophy case whilst I ride in support of Best Buddies this Saturday, May 30.

http://bit.ly/12boEa

The Missing Ride Posting

Memorial Day
For this ride, Ross, Bob, and I decided to do the 'Turkey Day' route. It was a blast since we were able to ride with virtually no traffic. Ross led us at a pretty brisk for a good portion of the time, but the three of us also took turns on the front.

The weather started a bit cold, but once we got to Highland we were all peeling off vests, jackets, and sleeves because the sun had made an appearance. On the way in, we decided to ride some intervals. We started with some 25+ mph cruising down Sycamore Valley Road and ended with some near 30 mph speeds down "The Boulevard" between Bollinger Canyon and Alcosta. The ride was fun and useful for training.

We are really closing in on "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" on Sunday, June 7. It is going to be a fantastic day for a wonderful cause - The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A note regarding to today's photos The first is the Chelsea FC crest. The second is of Laura Leigh Sinai and she is in the blog because she is really pretty and helps ease the ugliness of seeing Barcelona as champion. This former photo is more important because today Barcelona comprehensively won the Champions League over Manchester United. The importance stems from the fact that, in a just world, Chelsea would have played Man U in the title game. (No, I am still not over the refereeing that caused this miscarriage of justice.)

Taper Time

Today Bob and I rode a leisurely 20+ miles. We are a mere 10 days out from the Tahoe ride and we are now in "take it easy" mode. The ride, however, didn't start too easily when Bob popped a rear wheel spoke before we ever got to the first stop sign one long block away. We rolled back to my house, swapped out his pedals to my old bike, and off we went.

It was kind of weird riding next to my old bike, but it was nice that we were able to make the switch and still ride. This approach allowed us to justify our post-ride trip to the KFC. I really like the grilled chicken (which I had), but the Extra Crispy is still better. As I watched Bob work over the Extra Crispy I felt twinges of buyer remorse. I think next time the healthy grilled chicken will be replaced by its artery clogging cousin, Extra Crispy.

Well, tomorrow I am off to Best Buddies for my Boston charitable ride. I am really looking forward to the ride and seeing my friend, Robin, who I have not seen in almost 10 years! Wow, time sure does fly. It will be great to catch up. Hopefully, the shipping costs for the bike will not be too high since the box meets the standard size requirements of United.

Well, that is enough of my blathering on since I still have to pack and shower for tomorrow's morning non-stop to Boston. I can't wait to touch down and beg to be taken to Legal Seafoods. I just hope they are open once I have all my stuff.

Today's photo is Bob and I pre-ride (and prior to Bob's broken spoke).

"I see you"

Best Buddies Route - May 30, 2009

Stinson Beach Photos

Stinson Beach Ride

Auspicious start, 'No', great ending 'Yes'. Along the route today we had a bit of everything. The early morning "out" to Stinson Beach was cold and really a bit uncomfortable. The first climb to 'The Rock' came way too early for my soggy legs. Still, we negotiated the climb and the rest of the morning was pretty much easy downhill riding. It was really great to have SAG for K Sue's 'Buddy Ride' because it always make us feel just that little bit better.

The ride from SAG1 out to Stinson was still pretty cold and was kind of and off and on affair. Ira and I rode a good portion of it together and then we finished up by pacelining into Stinson Beach with David Zankowsky.

Once at Stinson we took a break and a couple people got espresso before we headed back towards SAG 2. The ride back was going great until we learned that a couple of riders were down. We were all hopeful that it wasn't anyone from TNT, but, sadly, it was two of the riders from Team "Wrong Way". Thankfully, we learned later from Coach Doug that everyone was alright except for bumps, bruises, and scrapes.

Along the way, Coach Cliff and I managed to get into a paceline with the fast kids from Team Shake and Bake. The combination made for some seriously fast pacelining. We were cruising at between 22-28 mph from the Nicasio Reservoir all the way to the ball field at Nicasio. It was a struggle to just to stay in line since I was pretty much on red-line the whole way. Still, I just buried myself to keep from losing contact (hopeful that I wouldn't pay on the final climb). The good news is that the final climb wasn't too much to deal with at all. Coach Cliff, David, and I rode up together laughing and joking as if we were Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (talk about bad accents).

Team Rawhide had another fantastic day on the bike and rolled in as a unit once we got "Short Rib's" tire fixed after he flatted while riding with T-Bone less than one mile from the finish. The unity of this team is really impressive and makes riding together that much more fun. The photo is of our "Caesars".

Don't Get Crazy Now...

Ross and I rode with the VS T 'n T folks again today. Of course, I said I wasn't going to ride on Thursday's with these animals anymore because they just kill me. Ok, I suppose I have already blown that one. Ross and I also said we weren't going to try and keep up if the pace got too quick. Yet somehow, we found ourselves on Happy Vally Road in Pleasanton pounding up the slight grade on the front. What is my problem? After the ride, we were both talking about how each of us was on the 'red-line'.

I am beginning to think that I just don't have any sense. You know as John says "they invented the car over 100 years ago". Yet, for some bizarre reason I continue to ride my human-powered conveyance.

In any case, to make a long story short, I offer the following observations:
- I rode too fast
- I didn't get dropped
- I like riding too fast (sometimes)
- I really like not getting dropped
- I must be an idiot to ride on Thursday and essentially do intervals
- I think I may actually "need" to ride now
- My car is still in the shop
- Team in Training rocks!
- Best Buddies is a great organization
- I flat out like riding my bike
- FC Barcelona does not belong in the Champions League final
- I hope Man U beats Barcelona comprehensively in the final

Today's photo is of the Chelsea FC logo (the right co-finalist) and a cheesy cheerleader shot to root Man U on to victory