Reaching for the Sun

Reaching for the Sun, originally uploaded by panodanno.

I visited the tree today. This is a picture from below the tree. The sun is trying to burn through the fog on the right, and the tree is reaching for the sun. They never quite met while I was there, but it was fun to see some of the action.

Of course I got soaked by the thick fog and wet grass. So from here, I drove up Middle Peak above the fog and soaked up some of that sun too. It was glorious!

148/365 - Fog Line

148/365 - Fog Line, originally uploaded by panodanno.

This morning it was 46 degrees, very foggy, and the wind was blowing 12-15 mph. That means that there is lots of what I call "fog rain" under all the trees. Fog rain feels like real rain -- just to be clear.

Those are not fun cycling conditions, and it is even harder to get out there after spending 6.5 hours riding to/from work over the previous two days. I knew it would be warmer once I got above the fog, I just wasn't too excited about getting there.

After 500' of climbing I hit the fog line. Then, another 500' and it was 70 degrees with just a light breeze. Ah, Paradise again! This was the view before I dropped off the ridge back into the 50 degree fog.

There was lots of fog rain, it was cold, it was warm. It was a great ride.

Last night we dropped Lori's car off for service, so after work I rode over to pick it up. It saved me 12 miles and 2500' of climbing. I can't say that I needed the break, but I didn't compain either.

So, 132 miles of riding, about 14,000' of climbing, and most importantly, 9 hours of saddle time these last three days. Am I ready for OKFree? Probably not, but I'm going to survive.

Good news (sort of) today. My Memphis client changed our timeline. This means I don't have to travel next week. At least not to Memphis. Anyway, it also means I can travel to OK from home. This will be much better for us here, and lowers the risk of problems (due to misconnects) on the OK end. Cool.

Can't wait for some heat and humidity. I hope OK doesn't let us down! :-)

146/365 - San Francisco Looks Cold To Me

146/365 - San Francisco Looks Cold To Me, originally uploaded by panodanno.

When I ride to work, I'm almost always compelled to take a picture of SF as I climb Mt. Tam. This was today's view.

48 miles w/ 5466 ft. of climbing invested towards being free in OK. Oh, and some more stats: 228 watts average, 261 watts normalized. Min temp, 49 degrees, max 100, 2600 calories burned, and I'm tired.

But will it be enough? Guess I will ride to work tomorrow too.

145/365 - The Gardener

145/365 - The Gardener, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Lori has been working hard in the yard this weekend, and she has made some amazing progress.

Note the cherries above her head too! They're yummy!

141/365 - Old is Good

141/365 - Old is Good, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Steve Larsen, a very talented cyclist and mult-sport athlete from Bend, OR died during a workout this past Tuesday. He was 39. The cause is not known yet, but it apparently was more than just a heart attack.

We're talking one super fit individual here. He placed as high as 9th in the Ironman world championships in Hawaii. But that was not enough.

Steve's death is a loss to the community and devastating for his family (including five children). Our hearts and prayers go out to/for them.

So, on reflection, I'm good with these wrinkles. No botox or face lifts needed here. Old is definitely good.

I'm not too sure I'm happy with those crazy eyebrows though...

139/365 - Going Gold

139/365 - Going Gold, originally uploaded by panodanno.

I finished my run at the peak of the "golden hour" of the day. 8.2 miles in Memphis at a perfect 72 degrees. It would only be better if I had been home on the Mountain with Lori and Cookie.

Ouch!

Physically, this has been a hard weekend. Yesterday I had planned to run a bit on the Dipsea to scout the trail and measure a couple of possible shortcuts (it's a point to point race with some flexibility in the course you run). But I didn't do that.

Lori had a 3-hour bike ride she needed to do (her coach is demanding isn't he?). She was struggling to find the right ride, so I decided to help her out by suggesting a bombastic ride through Central and Western Marin. I couldn't do that without agreeing to join her.

The course turned out to be 55 miles with 5500 feet of climbing. Oh yeah, and the temperature ranged from 90 degrees at home to 100 degrees on the last climb back up the mountain. Lori did great.

I got dehydrated and started feeling like I was going to cramp in both quads and/or hamstrings (depending on how I was pedaling) with about 10 miles to go. I never fully locked into a cramp, but it was touchy. Lori ended up dropping me and then waiting for me in Stinson. I managed to keep up with her on that last climb (but had to bum a water bottle from her), and survived the last few miles to home. I was whipped for sure.

So, today I still needed to do my Dipsea preps. We had to give Cookie a little run (and she is not allowed in the state and national parks which is where the Dipsea is), so we did a quick 3 miles with her. Then it took 11 more miles of slogging up and down the hills of Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais State Park to accomplish my goals. Plus, Lori spanked me for a while on the last leg to home before letting up. I got the last laugh though and didn't slow down -- trying to maintain some self-respect after letting a girl make me hurt like that! Oh boy, were we ever tired when we got home.

As a result of all that fun, the yard work plans were scaled back. The jeep got washed (tons of red sand and gray mud from our trip is now in the driveway), but that was about it this afternoon.

Lastly, a picture of the cherry tree. Another couple of weeks and we will be Bing city. That's good because I'm out of homemade cherry jam. Nice thing about the Bings is it takes almost no sugar to make the jam. Oh yeah, and their a blast to pick. "One for the bowl, one for me, and every other one for Cookie". Cookie is funny because she runs around and eats all the cherries that I accidentally drop. You can imagine what happens to a little dog's stomach after she eats her weight in cherries! That's not the funny part -- just ask Cookie!