Last year I bagged the Mt Hamilton ride because the weather was forecast to include rain, and I figured the LAST thing I want to do is a 4000 foot descent in the rain. Turned out the rain held off, and it was actually a great ride - or at least that's what those who DIDN'T chicken out said!

This year, they moved it to the first weekend in May, which looks to avoid any probability of rain. I decided to try again, taking the Battaglin, which is more a Resto Mod than a C&V, but it's an almost 20-year old Resto Mod, since I built it up in 2007. But it's got good climbing gears and it descends really well. So I've been riding it for the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, the last week or so I've been bothered by sporadic minor pain in my right knee. Didn't seem like a great time to do 4000 feet of climbing. So, no Mt Hamilton for Mrs. Smith's boy this year, either.

Now I'm doing that thing where you try to figure out how much riding I SHOULD do, especially since it's what keeps me as close to sane as I ever get....