New year

A lot has been going on since my last post. I ended the local four race cyclocross series here in Santa Rosa on a positive note. it was a tough year, all mud and rain, and I wasn't really enjoying my favorite sport. I finally came to realize how much the old routines and familiar faces made for my enjoyment. The last race I finally got my head screwed on right. No stellar racing, but just let it be what it is. I am getting to know some folks and the local races. Less than photogenic podium shot was for third place, series. Persistance counts. I was there for ALL the races

not me but typical conditions

Got out for a couple rides over the holiday period, it's been raining a lot this season, way ahead of last years totals by double, so riding has been curtailed somewhat.

Levi sighting.

While heading out to join a group on the day before New Years Eve, I came upon another group meeting up, containing you know who. I didn't invite him to join me. I had a very nice Chismas/New Years time spent with some friends, colleagues and family. That was really the highlight plus just having the house decorated. We have a week of sun and mid50's forecasted so I should get some more rides in. For 2011 I have plans to add some more of the local favorite rides to my done list and the Gran Fondo, which I skipped last year.

my favorite tree, it glows a fantastic green when the sun is out. I'll get another pic soon a couple recent shots in the park mentioned in many previous posts Sounds like y'all ( in NC anyway) are getting snow yet again, sorry, but spring is coming, we're already getting more daylight. 'til another time..... HH in Sonoma County

Slipping

Slipping down autumn into winter. Three of the last four weekends have been rainy to some degree. Letting my weekly mileage drop actually feels good and cyclocross doesn't require it anyway, so after a long road season those are deserved benefits. Starting some night rides on the mountain bike has been fun. Back in the mid- nineties it was a regular part of my weekly entertainment. Which brings me to the meat of todays topic. It's been a revelatory year in my life, the change to living in Sonoma County has been thrilling but has also been testing. The new cultural experiences, the new sights, new routines, have been exciteing and energizing, but they become sort of unsettling at a point. "All the comforts of home" as the saying goes, seem to reflect on the comforts of the usual,the expected. I feel like I have begun to have some of that "comforts of 'new' home" here now. I still thrill a bit to see bike riders out on a rainy Friday night. the beauty of well tended vineyards everywhere, and I love to see the amount of determination to support local produce, meats, dairies, seafood and stores in general. But it feels good to accept as common too. Last year as we slipped down into winter was a tough six weeks or so and home-sickness caught me by surprise. This winter should be a little easier. I am now driving a car with CA plates, still the VW. I had to turn in my "First in Flight" plate this week, it was a little sad giving it that last look. Drove down to the miniscule town of Marshall for some oysters a week ago. The place looks like a bait shack, but the food is delish. You can enjoy a meal nearly in the water This Thanksgiving I encourage you to enjoy the good things around you and the people in your life, it is so easy to take them for granted, but find some adventure too. Adventure isn't so much about new places as it is having yourself set for new experience, new tests if you will. Ride somewhere new, face a little more uncertainty and let your mind open up. It can be a great experience, adventure doesnt have to be climbing a mountain never climbed before. The real geography is happening in your head. Thanks for reading HH

A Mad Baumer in SF

So ya'll gave the National League Champion San Francisco Giants a pitcher, Madison Bumgarner. "The Mad Baumer" is a knickname I've heard. I assume he gets lots of press back in the Hickory area. He is a graduate of South Caldwell High. He's only 21, but he sure kept his cool like a seasoned pro pitching against the Phillies. I have a Giants field cap already! Three games to go! Madison pitches on Halloween - game four. Things have been kind of steady out here. We did get our rainy season start in a serious way. Four inches of rain this past weekend just in time for my first cyclocross race. It went OK I haven't raced in mud in I don't know how long. I've had some strange experiences lately, A cowboy and horse were riding down a sidewalk in Santa Rosa. I said "Howdy" and he tipped his hat in a cowboy fashion as I pedaled by on my way to work. The paper had a story about the guy, turns out he lost his family to a auto crash several years ago in Florida, his grief took him to sell everything a set out on his horse. He stops and works for a spell and eventually moves on. I guess he is here for a while. A first earlier this week, I approached another bike commuter stopped at a light just as the light turned green. As I rolled past she accelerated up and asked if she could draft. Now, I know that may not sound odd, but we were both on mtn/commute bikes with panniers. Just picture it Here are some shots from the mountain bike trails in Annadel State Park, right in my neighborhood and from this past weekends CX race

A little catching up

Hey, y'all. I finally have a chance to fill you in with the goings on here in my neck of the woods. First I have been sidelined by a little patellar tendinitis for a week+. I have just resumed some riding. The issue seems to have developed with a rather hard ride day followed the next day with an easy but hilly hike. Last week we had three seasons in one week. All summer has been cool, then we had three days 100+ followed by a day of autumn like cool windy dry conditions. The vineyard managers are tearing their hair. Grapes are slow to ripen and the morning fog lingers so rot has been an issue. then a heat blast burned some. We have lost 10% of the crop and if rain comes even a little early a late ripening crop is at grave risk. This area is an amazing place for music and other festivities, quite a few are free. Every week there are a couple free music shows, movie nights on the town green, then add food, farm, arts, etc. Then of course for a ticket price you can quadruple the offerings, for all tastes too. My work schedule limits a great many, buy last week I went to a local tavern/music hall to see Cracker/Camper VanBeethoven (an indie group dating back a ways) They did a fantastic show I was about fifteen feet back and the place only holds about 200. Sometimes some loud RnR does a person good. The next night we drove to Napa to see a double bill with Chrissie Hynde and Lucinda Williams. It was in a just restored Art Deco movie house that holds 800 and is quite a beautiful sight on its own. A fine show. We drove home with the top down on a starry night through Napa County and home. It is a fine life! Its our anniversary and we celebrated with a helicopter tour up through the wine country we've gotten to know. It was interesting to see it from 500' up. The copter was a Raven II and has a cabin smaller than my VW so the views were great. Coming up on Lake Sonoma The county Board of Supervisors just approved a 250Million plan that will add 203 miles of bike paths to the existing 40+, along with 406 miles of bike lanes. The aim is to increase non-motorized travel from the current 3% to 5% and trips of less than five miles to non-motorized use to 10%. You see a lot of bikes here as I've said before. People here a typically oriented to community preservation;environmentally, economically,socially. Almost no one accepts a shopping bag for small retail purchases. Many people take bags, reused or other, to the grocery, lots of restaurants feature local produce, dairy and meats. I guess its obvious I like it here. Its been an amazing, but an occasionally trying year. Its been renewing to launch out someplace new. We do miss y'all though. Be well and enjoy your rides Howard

Hello readers, I like many of you have my post Tour life back in order. For now, maybe for good, I'll leave the race in the past. Sort of like a three week addiction, I can't go back. One brief comment on the weather, its been a cooler than normal summer, I started my 10 o'clock Monday regular ride with a base layer, arm warmers and "my secret weapon". You gotta be here! Last week I got to add another of the famous rides out here to my checklist. It may be hard to imagine but I have scarcely left Sonoma Cty, there are so many rides here. Of course it is four times larger than Catawba Cty my former home. King Ridge sits along the Pacific coast. It is sparsely populated mostly cattle ranches and Redwood groves. The climb up along the ridge has eleven miles of climbing totaling 1900' gain. An amazing sight at the top is a gold domed Buddhist temple in the near distance. It gleams in the cool clear coastal air in the midst of dark green tree tops. The descent from there is steep, it ought to have steps, not pavement! more climbing 'til finally the fast drop down through the cloud bank to the Pacific Coast Highway. 50 miles and 5000' feet of climbing. This is part of the namesake route in Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo. Speaking of Levi, he was at the short track mtb race I've been doing, but I was held up at work and missed watching him race. Yes, he won by over a minute. I am seeing some previews of the 2011 bikes and parts, speaking of such, I am going to Interbike (industry trade show) this year. I haven't been in ages. It is grueling fun. Speaking of parts, what tires are you running this year and pressure? post some reply comments. Anybody out there? HH

Road Kill

Huh, The Possum became road kill or road rash at least. Amazing! When was the last time Lance "caught a pedal"? And did I read the 5km (or 8 whatever) chase with two teammates wore him out! I can think of many solo breakaways that last longer than that. At least we haven't had to deal with drug busts and such. I hope that continues. Too much happened in the first week for me to write about for now. So much to go what!? about. How about the weak Astana Team everyone wrote about? Who is that David Navarro who pounded the peloton to pieces for Contador two days in a row. Lately I have competed in some short track mountain bike races. One more tonight. I did a 89 mile ride with a 2.5 mile, steep climb and some headwinds later. It went pretty successful. Weather here is..... ya'll in NC don't want to know, sorry. I would love to see Levi do something courageous -besides finishing, that is courageous I know - He has two Euskatel riders that can knock him out of a possible third on GC. In the Pyrenees they will have throngs of orange wearing fans. Go Levi. I am amazed at the speeds these guys do. The chases before the end of sprint stages last for maybe an hour. At 30 miles per hour! I don't care what kind of draft you have that is killer. Think about what it feels like when you have to close a small gap at 23 or 25 mph. I hope your riding is going well. HH

Playing Possum

This is an audience participation entry. With the build-up to the Tour and all the coverage available to us in this electronic era how will the media frenzy effect you dear reader? Do you find yourself missing sleep watching the days stage or reading about it online in your "Cave of Tour Isolation" computer room? Or do you risk termination from that most important of duties - earning the coin to fund you wheel life or is it real life or is there a difference, because you are caught on cyclingnews.com when you're supposed to be drafting a document at said work? Are your family, spouse or significant other at peace with your upcoming Tour of Duty? How have you prepped them or are you just suddenly going to be missing in action as the lawn goes unmowed, garbage piles up, car goes unwashed? How about that important pass time, your training, will it suffer? We have been besieged with the center of the "Mobile Universe" He's been on the cover of "Mens Health" or some other such grocery store checkout decorations. Print ads such as Bontrager's remind us that "It is Good to be" Him, while Oakley has "Perfection Gets Personal. How about the tender "real men don't use emoticons" from The Shack? But what do you think, what has he done this year? crashes, illness, field finishes, a DNF. But then there is The Tour de Suisse, a second place GC thanks to a TT final stage. But then his TT was bested (11th) by - yeah I know - Cancellara, but also Maxime Monfort, Jacob Fugelsang, Wouter Pouls and Gustav Larrson. Not to disparage these fine athletes but were talkin' Lance here. Or is he just playing possum. He does the psych game better than anybody. Did he go just hard enough to get a podium place and not draw too much attention. He did a faster second half split. What do you think, and more importantly, how will your life fare during the month of July? Use the comment box below the post. Keep rollin' HH