Palo Alto

In an effort to stimulate the economy I took a quick trip to Palo Alto to see Andrew, buy more bike stuff and do some actual riding. I visited Ikea (not exactly bike related) the Container Store (for packing cubes) and Perormance Bike. I am now prepared for any emergency or adverse conditions I may encounter such as flat tires, bike malfunction, rain, low energy, sore butt. Here is yesterday's haul: If you add that to the clothing shoes accessories I have bought or borrowed, I am definitely going to have trouble keeping to the one duffel bag limit. Good thing I am in with the luggage man!

Andrew took some time to help me train on a beautiful trail near the bay. It was a simple six mile loop in the marshlands of Palo Alto. He was running and I was riding. We planned to meet up in 30 minutes. These are crummy cell phone pictures.

I knew I was lost about mile 4. But I peddled on and eventually I found my own landmark!

Tour de Ed

Yeah!  Today is completed not only my longest ride at 20 miles, but also my first group ride.  Ignore the date on the poster, today was the second annual Tour de Ed fundraiser.  It supports medical care for injured cyclists in the Chico area.  Since the Praters are losing all their training momentum while lying on the beach in Mexico, I decided to do this without them.  Bob got me set up and ran in Bidwell Park while I was gone.

We rode from Downtown Chico down to Durham through the almond orchards.  I started at least 2/3 of the way back from the front but most of that last third passed me  in the first 5 or 6 miles.  Apparently 12 mph isn't good enough for these people!  So I picked up the pace and cut m snack break short so I could regain some ground.  Maybe I am slightly competitive.

(I can't get this underline off!)  Of course they passed me again.  Who cares, it's not a race, right?  It took me 1.5 hours to get back to the start.  Certainly not the worst showing.  And I got the experience of riding in a group, learning the etiquette and appreciating the great Chico scenery.  Then we had lunch at La Hacienda with a Corona to celebrate and drove home and took a nap.

I wish I could get the actual map of our route to appear here, but since I am a new bolgger, the finer points of the graphics are beyond me. Please use the link below to access the map.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ride-Ataxia-III-Day-1-AM249264

Yesterday I rode the Sacramento River Trail in Redding for the second time with my patient co-worker DJ. I intended to take some pictures but my camera would not fit in my little saddle bag. I thought about taking it without the protective case, but decided against it. Good thing cause I had a little spill going up a hill and fell down, bike and all. I wasn''t hurt but my camera might have been. I was pedalling uphill and going nowhere due to gearing issues and of course could not get my foot out of the clip. I knew it would eventually happen. At least I now have my first (slight) crash out of the way. DJ and I rode 17 miles and I survived the remaining hills, even the big one returning to his house where I had to resort to my Lamaze breathing techniques to make it all the way. Such fun.

New Bike

I thought I would try out riding in the rain today since there 100% chance of rain (maybe snow) in the forecast. This is my brand new Specialized Dolce Elite road bike. Not the bike I originally intended to buy, but once I rode this one I was in love. I though I wanted a white bike, but this burgundy color is really growing on me. I bought it at Mike's Bikes in Palo Alto where I got a comprehensive fitting and adjustment as well as great service. Highly recommended.

Training

I am worried I havn't trained hard or long enough. Tonight I made my usual 5.5 mile loop on my home course. Easy. I am comfortable on the bike and my butt doesn't hurt. I could do that loop all day long. But riding for 30 miles at a time might be a different story. My longest distance is 17 miles which wasn't hard, especially since I was riding with friends. But riding solo it much harder. You watch every 1/10 of a mile tick by on the odometer. I would feel more confident if I can get a loner (20 mile) ride in before we go north. But with the rain and work, ltime is running out.

The Beginning

Please follow along as Bob and I participate in Ride Ataxia III from Portlant to Seattle. I will be posting pictures and comments about our success along the route. We have no idea what to expect except that we will have a fabulous time supporting an old friend and his cause. I think it was Bette Davis who said "fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride". That certainly applies in our case.