Holy Headwinds Tomales!!!

The group of us in Tomales!

{my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fund-raising page may be found here (http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/touralps11/llitalien)}

The email from Alex arrived mid-day last Friday.  It was the route sheet for the following day's ALC training ride that I was helping to co-lead.  I looked at the route, lifted my head and I looked out the window.  I see trees, I see trees that a billowing.  I look back at the route; COUNTER CLOCKWISE to Tomales!!!  I start felling a sense of panic overcome me, COUNTER CLOCKWISE.  You see I've done this ride, or very nearly this ride, a few times.  It is absolutely gorgeous, but after the first two times doing it counter clockwise, people would tell us/me that we were 'idiotic' for doing it in that direction.  The reason we were called idiotic is the WIND goes WEST to EAST or NW2SE!!  It is the reason (at least in my mind) why ALC goes from SF2LA and not LA2SF.  After getting home from work and a glass or two of wine, I was calmer.  The wind wouldn't be bad two days in a row, could it?

I detect a hint of a smile underneath that grimace.

Alarm goes off at 4 am, I like to ease into the day.  Before I roll out of bed, what do I hear?  the WIND.  Wind at 4 o'clock in the afternoon in SF, no big deal, that is to be expected.  Strong wind at 4 am just means trouble.   I get up, put all my stuff together and check the weather on-line.  Current wind gusts are 27 mph.  Big frown crosses my face, I resign myself to the fact that for a good chunk of the ride I'll be lucky if I travel more then 8 mph on flat land.  The section from Petaluma to Tomales Bay is going to be brutal!!

and it was!!!  enough said....still a fun ride though!




{this post originally appeared at larrysorelegs.blogspot.com}