Circle R Vista Twist...Its not a Cocktail.

August 23, 2009

No, its not a cocktail, but if it were it would start smooth and sweet but finish hot, spicy, dry, and harsh.

I knew when I woke up that it was going to be a hard day. I did not sleep well with some troubling news from home. My cousins wife had been admitted to the hospital Saturday morning and by the end of the day had been defibrulated 3 times, finally they put her in a medical coma, respirator, and were chilling her to prevent further damage to her heart. The real shocker is that she is only 24 years old. OK, the bad news from Indiana can stop any time now, seriously.

When I woke up, I was slow and tired and my legs were filled with lead from Saturday. "Give it your best shot, thats all you can do," I told myself as I drove to the ride.

In the parking lot, Pat showed his additions to the immunity pump. He made some cool adds. A "PAT" Californai License plate ws added to the bars, horn and mirror, too. A rubber lizard was also added. I would like to hear the story behind it.

I had my flyers out for the Bicycle Poker Run, please come join us. It is going to be fun!

The ride up the coast was fast as usual. I rode with Rob and Joy from the contest and we talked about events and fudraising. We were in Oceanside in no time at all. There was a little slip up when we were going under the 5 on the San Luis Rey trail and everyone in the back had to stop and unclip on a steep little hill. Quick reactions everyone! Not soon afterI had to do a little bit of off road riding. I looked back to check on Don, while entering a turn at speed, when two people with dogs entered my field of vision. I tried to keep it on the road, but ditched that idea and rode through the dirt and gravel, around a trash can and power pole before getting it back on the trail. Whew! That was lucky. Don rode up next to me and said something to the effect of a nice Lance maneuver.

I was downing the water today. I was empty everytime we stopped. I was paying for yesterdays lack of hydration. We rolled out again and Greg got a flat. Mike Henderson, Don

Parker, and I stopped to get him back on the road as fast as possible. Everyone else stopped as well. Although I was struggling on the flats, I was pretty strong climbing. So the Circle R section treated me well, except it was hot. We all stopped and caught some releif in the shade of a tree as we waited for everyone to complete the climb up Circle R. The bike developed a shake in the front while braking so I backed off on the descents and before I knew it the group had moved too far forward for me to catch them. There was a nice wind out there, too. I made my way to SAG 2 solo. We past Ron Berry (Scott & BR Cycling Challenge Final 15) and other Suamis riders on the hills of North County, too.

After a quick bottle topper, we were out again. Rob Lindbloom had a flat about 5 minutes after we started up again. Don and I stopped to assist. We collectively abandoned all hope of regrouping and decided to just noodle it back to Fletcher Cove. We missed our turn ont Poinsetta and took te next street, Alga. Ouch! What's a few more hundred feet of climbing for the day? It hurt today, but I still had a great time. Thanks again ride leaders, Vikki, and SAG support for all the fun.

Two riders will be eliminated this week from the Scott & BR Cycling Challenge on August 26 on XX1090am. It has been a great experience that I will remember for decades to come. I am not ready to go home, yet! Listen in and wish me luck!