Hair Cut results

It looks like this:


I think it's too short.

Annual summer hair cut.

I don't like going to get my hair cut. It takes too long and I'm never sure what to do with my hair.
But there is always what looks like a small dog on the floor after my hair lady is done.
I think it's a little too short. So it goes. I guess I don't have the dilemma of whether to pull my hair back into a pony under my helmet anymore.

NCAC 2009

It's here!!

Thanks so much to all of you who have been so supportive of this ride, me, and the effort it takes. I appreciate it more than this little ol' blog can say.

See you on the flip side.

Hey Karen

This one's for you. See you soon!

Indigo Girls Closer to Fine from Heather Rowan on Vimeo.

NCAC in the News

Check this out!

[Okay -- I can't get the video to work]

Just click here.

I'm "peddling proof that anything is possible."

Mother's Day Card

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you.

Then:
And [now]:
Mom, why don't I have any photos of you and I together?? Good thing you'll be here in ONE WEEK!
Love you!

Happy Birthday, Devma!

My niece Devyn turned SIX on May 7th. Unbelievable. She and I have a special bond and I'm happy that both my sisters had kids so that I would not feel any guilt over not producing grand children. Well, that's mostly true. I think my mom says she's given up hope, but would really like me or my brother to make some more babies for her to snorgle their little faces.

Devma at 3 in her church dress with her new birthday bears.


Devma at 6 with her grown up hair and "dress-up" dress. Apparently she got some prom-type dresses for her bday and she's wearing them around town. I was out in midtown Sac last night, and it is indeed prom-season.

Can't we make her stop growing up?

As Emily said in Our Town: "It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another."

Happy Anniversary!

My Grandparents were married 60 years ago today. Astounding. 10 years ago, we had a 50th Anniversary party for them and my Gramps gave a speech something to the effect of "Every day I just think I'm the luckiest man there ever was."
We should all be so lucky. Happy Anniversary -- I love you both!

G&G (before they were G&G) circa 1950.

G&G and the D's (Happy 6th Birthday Devma!).
Me and Gram:

It's raining, it's pouring. . .

Friday it poured and poured and poured. It poured in Sacramento. I drove to Cotati, it poured there. I had a fabulous decaf soy latte at the Redwood Cafe and watched the rain come down. With a 60% chance of rain for Saturday, it wasn't looking good. It rained so hard on Friday night that it woke me up.
Saturday morning, I woke up and it was wet but not really raining. I felt a little more optimistic about the ride. Maybe in a few hours the clouds would lift and even if the sun didn't come out, it would be a cool, dry ride.
My car at the start -- wet. Emily at start. This day was a series of badly timed presses of the picture-taking button (what's that thing called?).



We were not so lucky. It started sprinkling when we left the starting area, and basically got harder and harder throughout the day.
Ahh. Rest stop one. In which we had hot coffee/chocolate, hot tortillas, M&Ms, whole wheat fig bars (etc etc) and during which we figured out that Emily was having her worst ride of the season and we probably should have made her stop at that point to sag in. Live and learn.

Santa Rosa century rain from HMR on Vimeo.

Emily and Mindy at the top of a hill. Emily not expecting a photo, and Mindy looking for Vincent.
I tried to get a photo of this building mural, but didn't stop to do it.
A bar I think I'd like to go to.
This photo didn't turn out all that well -- it was also taken on the move. But I include so you can see that even though it was a steady rain all day long, we were riding in some of the most amazing areas of Northern California ever.
Self-protrait: a view from the handlebars.
Vincent being Emily's hero: tire change #1. Tire change #2 came for Emily about 3 miles later. Like I said: she should have sag'd in from the rest stop.
Mindy offering an example of how wet and muddy we all were.

Some gentle prodding got Emily off the route and into a warm (and I'm sure steamy) car. At mile 44.6, we turned off for the "bail-out route." If we went straight, we'd ride in the pouring rain for 65.4 more miles. If we turned right, we ride 7 miles and get back to our cars.
Yeah -- turn right folks. Call it a day.
It was actually a great ride. Amazing country. Some hard hills (some minor hyperventilating). Disappointing to look forward to it for several months, and then not be able to finish it. I got into a riding vibe where I felt like I could just keep going. But I wasn't going to go it alone, and I'd given Emily my extra tube (we saw no less than 25 people with flats), so I took the bail out. I think I'd like to go back sometime when there's at least a 60% chance of sun and give it another go.

Yes -- that's a bit of a forced smile.

Less than two weeks to NCAC '09!

And I would ride 100 miles . . .

Some photos from my self-styled century a couple of weeks ago.

My lens cover got stuck, but here's a photo of (gasp!), a Target in the building process in (gasp!) Davis. What the heck? The city council of the People's Republic of Davis allowed a Target? No way.

En route to Winters.

Again, the trouble with the lens (the next day, I found a small piece of plastic that was stuck under the lens cover. Hopefully, that fixed the problem -- which was apparently compounded by my not noticing it was happening). Here's the Railroad bridge coming into Winters.
I spent a LOT of time at Steady Eddy's on this ride -- the most bike-friendly coffee shop ever. With good coffee and food and cycling snacks. Also, they'll fill your water bottle with ice and water.
I sat around here on the way out of Winters, pre-hill-climbing, for about 40 minutes. Like I had nothing else to do.
Not a whole lot of photos on the way up. Lots of climbing. Cardiac Hill was a little bigger than I'd remembered, but I did it and it's done. Didn't stop, didn't scream, didn't puke.
This sign cracks me up. It's on the back side of Cardiac if you're looking for a Pleasure Cove. Sounds like an Elvis movie. Or maybe a porn film.
A strip mall? No! It's a church!
Winters? Napa? Winters? Napa? Hmmm. . .
California poppies. Growing EVERYWHERE. Except my backyard, that is.
Lake Berryessa. Visible from the top of a very big hill.
Me at the top of the very big hill. Still smiling (only 35 miles to go).
This is great, too. FREE in giant lettering, and below, "Camping Information." So really, you get not much for free because it's posted at the entrance of a what? A campground. Yeah.

Up at the lake again.
The longest six miles ever. You get to this point where you turn a corner and all you can see are walnut orchards. As far as the eye can see. Walnuts.
Excellent post-ride meal. Sort of like a quesadilla, but without cheese, and with eggs on top. Mmmm. I'm hungry.

100 miles. . . in the rain . . .

I don't know. 100 miles is hard enough. Riding in the rain is lousy. Now I'm going to do both, it seems.

Weather in the Santa Rosa area:

Today
May 1

Rain

61°
49°

70%

61°F

Sat
May 2

Showers

65°
51°

40%

It's in some of my favorite areas of Northern California, and I haven't ridden there before. Wish us all some good, dry luck.
Check out the route here.