It was a Cold and Windy Day!

Ahhhh... hello friends! If you've actually clicked on whatever link led you here, we really appreciate your visiting! And, we appreciate your interest in our ALC training... Because, let me tell you: it's VERY EXCITING!

 So, what to say about yesterday's training ride? Let's begin at the start of the day.

First things first: it was COLD yesterday. Yes, that's me up there on the left, in about 12 layers of spandex (why my legs look so "thick.") On the right? That's Greg Sroda, the Director of AIDS Life Cycle giving our training group a little pep talk before we headed out. This was at like 8:15 am and it with wind chill factor was about 38 degrees. (But seriously, we love Greg and all he does!)

Anyhow, yesterday was all about hill climbing (it seems that is true every week, but yesterday was no exception). In this order, yesterday we climbed:

+Wildcat Canyon

+Grizzly Peak

+Skyline Blvd.

+Pinehurst Road

+Canyon Road

+Moraga Way

+Castro Ranch

+The Three Bears (Bear Creek Road)

All of that was 57 miles and several thousand feet of elevation. And there was an incredibly strong headwind for much of the ride. Clay even got blown OFF HER BIKE descending Castro Ranch Road! But she is okay. Whew.

Anyhow, back to the day. 

 

Here's Clay, posing for a photo at the top of Grizzly Peak (which, for those of you who don't know is in the Berkeley Hills. We say "Hills" lightly. This is a mountain).

The views that day really were stunning. Which, sort of, half way made up for the fact that it was so cold and windy. There was some steep climbing that day, but the worst thing was the wind. Even descending down a hill on a windy day can feel like climbing up hill. 

The ride was a "figure 8"...which means we started in Orinda, rode 30ish miles, stopped back in Orinda for lunch (at a Hofbrau, so you can imagine what was on the menu the day after Saint Patrick's Day), and then back out for a loop in the other direction for another 26.

Both Clay and I actually love hill climbing for some twisted reason, so we loved most everything about the ride yesterday. But it was exceptionally cold and windy (did I say that already?), so it was definitely a challenging day. 

What makes us smile on even the most treacherous days is the sight of cows or sheep or goats or even turkeys.  We saw plenty of all four yesterday, and I was so grateful that Clay had the sense to stop and snap some photos of the beauty around us.

We are known to shout to each other: "Wait, look at the COWS!!! They are so CUUUUUUTTTTE" ... as our fellow riders look at us like we are crazy. Oh well, at least we have each other! ❤

Thank you to all of you who have supported in various ways us as we train. We are especially indebted to our donors. I am nearly at my fundraising goal of $3000 and Clay is almost there!! Donate to Clay here to help her reach $3000!!

Again, thank you for visiting our blog. We ❤ you.

-Lisa (and Clay)