68.5 And I'm Still Alive!

Since I had been sick for 4 days, and since I hadn't ridden in 2 weeks, I knew there was a chance that I would not finish this Saturday's 70-mile training ride in Santa Rosa.  I already had a few titles in mind, if that were the case:

~ I Get By With A Little Help From My (SAG) Friends

~DNF : Did Not Finish

So much for positive thinking, huh.  No - I really wanted to be cautious of doing too much too soon.  I told myself I wouldn't push myself if I felt crappy; and if I did, I'd just hop on the SAG (support and gear) truck, as many riders do.  

We started on time, and I did struggle a bit to keep up.  But I know it takes awhile to warm up and get into a rhythm.  "Just get past the first 15 minutes," runs through my mind, and after awhile, I felt good.  The climbs came early (at least the ones they brought to our attention), and we did well.  You could really tell our climbing has improved since our first ride together.  

This is a picture from our long climb towards Skaggs Springs Road above beautiful Lake Sonoma, the midpoint of our ride.  You can see the road between the trees in the distance.   We're about 3/4 of the way up at this point.  The descent was a blast with a nice rest stop with real bathrooms at the bottom.  I'll have to get you a picture what a TRUE porta-potty looks like ;-)