We just got back from the ride. Basically, the short ride was a bit over 21 miles, with mostly flats and a climb out of Hidden Valley to Newbury Park.
Crowd was much smaller than last year, probably 350 riders instead of twice that many. The weather outstanding! Warm and beautiful.
Checked in and spent a few minutes speaking with Karen, decked out in pink and ready to attack the longer course with Rock Store. She gave my wife, Vicki, some encouraging words as it was to be her first time going up the big hill out of the valley.
Short time later we were off!
Vicki did very well, although a bit wary of riding in a large group of people. We've al been there! Took a while for her to get used to the proximity of other bodies around. We followed the mostly flat route to the rest stop, grabbed a few figgies and continued onward.
Through Hidden Valley, she rode my wheel and averaged about 17-1/2 miles per hour for that part of the cruise. Nice...
Finally the big one...the hill! She dropped into the granny and spun away. I stayed with her helping to point out rocks, etc. She huffed and puffed a bit but powered up well.
Near the end of the ride, a rider passed by us and said "Is that your daughter? She is really strong and handled that hill great!"
I asked him "does this mean I look old or she looks young?"
"Definately young...how old is she?"
"Hey Vicki! How old are you?"
"49"
"No Way!"
That made her day.
We finished off the course, had a nice lunch provided by the event and enjoyed the time under the sun talking with other riders and friends. All in all, a good day! I was really glad to get to ride this one with my [young] wife!
Here is a pix of us together last year in Cambria:
And another more recent with my [young] partner!
Sheldon