I tried to do some intervals Saturday but felt lousy. The weather was terrible, so I hung it up after about 90 minutes. Yesterday I had a lot of work to do, but today I decided to noodle around for a few hours, ride some favorite roads and even explore a little.

I finally tried one of the more challenging climbs around here (Pinewood Reservoir for those familiar with our area). I'd heard some horror stories, but honestly it wasn't bad. It's only about 3 miles at ~8% average gradient with some flat sections and others closer to 12%. There are lots of switchbacks and opportunities to see how far you've come. It was absolutely lovely, despite relatively cool and hazy conditions. The top arrived well before I expected it.

Even for a cautious descender like myself, it is a BLAST coming down! You can see past most corners to check for traffic, and even the tightest bends hold few surprises. And of course, there are those views to enjoy on the way down.

I can't wait to do it on a clear, sunny day when I'm inclined (pun intended) to take my camera.

Only ~60 miles, but still a memorable ride.

Made a little historical loop of Mesquite, Texas, today. 35.4 miles.

The Florence Homestead. Middle of the suburbs on Barnes Bridge Road. First portion of the house built in 1871, enlarged by the 1890's.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/4700Proc.jpg


Two graves at Long Creek Cemetery. You occasionally see graves in this area with shells on them. I understand this is an old custom that came from the old south, and originated in Africa. These were preserved because of the concrete, but the shells were usually just placed on the soil mound. The first burial here was in 1855, although it didn't become a regular cemetery for some time after that. These two graves are from 1888 and 1937.
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The Lawrence Homestead, built in 1882. At the bottom right, you can see a mockingbird on the fence. Mockingbirds are common around here, and are the Texas state bird. They're kind of nondescript when sitting here, but have distinctive white patches under their wings that show when they fly.
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The barn and windmill at the Lawrence home:
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Mesquite was founded on the railroad. The original buildings faced the railroad. They then built "Main Street" behind these buildings, and made a town square out that direction, so those original buildings reversed their doors to face Main Street. You can see on the backside of this building that it used to have doors and windows that faced the railroad track, but have been closed off.
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The Galloway home. This was originally up near Gus Thomason and I-30, and the house was moved out to Sunnyvale in a more rural setting. Building started with a 2-room house around 1874 or so, with additions through the years. It is on quite a few acres. It is still lived in, with a front gate out by the road that keeps you from getting too close.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/4716Proc.jpg

Rawhide is one of those rides I love to hate (or hate to love, or something like that). The views are good and it is relatively flat, but the chip seal drives me nuts.

On the plus side, you get to see antelope frequently. On the minus side, you can get winds strong enough to knock you off your bike (or at least, s-pazzy riders like yours truly). :o

Of course, when those winds are at your back, it is a very sweet deal...

Makes me want to travel!!

Monday's ride: 34.4 km

A cruise through a couple industrial parks and a stretch through the country.

53 miles with 5000 feet of climbing today. Nothing too big but it was fun.
However, I fueled it on 6 fig bars. D'oh!
That and I was drenched in a sort of cold downpour while descending. Everything dried out except for my feet. I detest wet feet.

Mountains of Misery on Sunday. 101 miles 100 ft. climbing. Last 3 miles averages 12%.

Today's near-perfect conditions made our 44-miler more enjoyable than usual. That gives us 170 miles in 3 days. This makes me happy.:D

Surprised anyone went out today. I was whining about Saturday, but that seemed to be the best out of the three days.

I encountered something like 20 riders in Golden. 0 on 119. A couple on 72 and more on 93. Maybe 5 in golden gate canyon.
A few others had the same idea.
No time to ride Sat or Sun. ugh

Fixed!:D

Early weekend - Thursday afternoon snuck up north gate of Mt Diablo - temps in the low 80's gentle breeze - perfect

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...09DiabloNG.jpg

Saturday, first time riding some classic climbs on the peninsula with a colleague from work - 65miles, 6700ft up - lots of fog/mist towards the coast though. Finished the ride in sunshine though.

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/n...9Elevation.jpg

got back home tonight about 8:15pm from my weekend ride- which was terrific. Did my annual Memorial Day tour. I've used Mem Day Weekend for the last 35 years or so to get my first tour of the year under my belt if my work schedule allows. My usual destination is Provincetown at the end of Cape Cod.

Left on Friday and rode from Newton to my sisters in Southeastern, MA- 44 miles

Joined by my bro-in-law and nephew and rode to my mother-in-laws in Bourne (it's a family affair)- 60 miles (did the requisite 1st lobster dinner of the season!):thumb:

Then we rode up the Cape to Provincetown. Picked up the Cape Cod Rail Trail in So. Dennis and did the usual sprint from the end of the bike path to catch the 3pm fast ferry back to Boston. (82 miles). Arrived by about 5 pm. Then rode home to Newton 13 more miles.- 95 miles

Rode back to my bro-in-laws (44 miles)- Did a nice cookout then rode back home- 88 miles

287 fabulous miles for the Mem Day weekend. My companions are the best. The first day together is spent figuring out what kind of pace works for all 3 of us. Once we figure how strong the slowest rider is we sit him on the back for much of the ride and set up a pace that keeps us together but usually keeps that rider almost at their max. My bro-in-law improves astronomically year after year and we coached him through the hills and it was the best we've done at hanging together for the whole ride than we've ever done. My nephew is a phenomenal rider no matter what kind of shape he's in so gets stronger each day of the tour.:)

It was a GREAT weekend!

here's me and my nephew on the Canal Path at the bottom of the Cape.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...n/IMG_6078.jpg

Did a relatively flat and thankfully cool and shaded paved trail up and back out of Takoma Park (Sligo Creek Trail) on sunday with the wife. About 15 miles and not crowded at all (can't stand the W&OD, Rock Creek, Mt. Vernon, etc. on the weekends). It was a GREAT easy ride.

Today I decided to go out and get started acclimating to the heat and humidity. Nearly three hours of pedaling, ~50 miles, LOTS of climbing (for me, for this area) and hitting 40+ on three occasions (max 44, weee!) then getting DRENCHED for the last 7 miles as the skies opened up full force. It was great! EVERYTHING is soaked through, including my shoes. It was a welcome relief.

Five or six water bottles, two single espressos, two gels, a Perpetuem, and finally a Stone IPA and some BBQ chicken, cole slaw, beans and corn bread. Mmmm!

After the century Sunday, it was nice just pedaling around 15 miles of errands Monday, and then jumping in on a 30 mile evening club ride. After last month's century I was pretty toasted the day after, but this time I rode harder and felt just fine.

Which is all good...and back to work tomorrow.

55 miles today, Memorial Day, from Point Loma to Encinitas. At least half of it at a very fast clip.