Cycling Foodie

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Beautiful day for a training ride!

I am pretty close to being on target for Davis Bike Club March Madness. As of today, day 17, I am 49% to my goal of 750 miles for the month.

Got a great training ride in today … Davis, Winters, Cantelow, Vacaville, Dixon, Davis for a total of 78+ miles. I rode pretty strong today … do I have to admit that I did have to walk up that last little bit of Cantelow? My excuse … I haven’t been doing hills and I’m not quite used to the gearing on my new bike yet. OK, lame. I know, I know.

Top of Cantelow

I’ve got a bit of work to do before the Napa Valley Tour de Cure … I have just 8 weeks left to get ready!

This is a great ride – if you’ve never done an organized ride, this is a great one to try! It is a fundraising ride – to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. To find your local tour and to register, click here. You’ll have an awesome ride, supported by amazing volunteers, and be supporting a great cause!

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Where the heck did the time go today? Oh, yes, that’s right … we lost an hour!

I logged at least 70 miles today. Sadly, I don’t know the exact mileage because I had a Garmin malfunction … perhaps user error … but my new Garmin Edge 500 shut itself down twice while I was riding today. I have no idea why, but I’m guessing that I probably thought I started the timer and didn’t actually start it. Bah.

I rode two rides today. The first was a warm up of about 29 miles. My cycling partner was going to join me around noon, but wasn’t up for it when I came back. So, I took off on my own again. The second ride was more than 40 miles. Winds weren’t too bad today, and there was lots of sunshine!

Almond Blossoms

There are still lots of springtime blooms and I resisted stopping for most of the ride, but there was one tree I just couldn’t resist. It was along Stevenson Bridge Road, near Bear Flag Farms.

The weather report for the week looks promising! I am looking forward to starting my post-work rides again this week. I have to log lots more miles for Davis Bike Club’s March Madness, as well as get some training in for my Napa Valley Tour de Cure. It’s 9 weeks from TODAY!

If you can’t ride, but want to be a part of this AWESOME ride, you can volunteer. Do you have non-riding family members, friends, and/or colleagues who would like to accompany you? They can help in a variety of roles, whether it’s on site at the Veterans’ Home (in Yountville, where the ride starts and ends), or at one of the rest stops. For more information, or to sign up, please click here.

This year I have pledged to raise $1,000 and I am a long way off right now. If you would like to donate to my ride, please click here.

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My poor little Colnago has a frayed cable.

I started out Day 3 with a minor bike malfunction …

My ride today ...

But, it’s March Madness and I have another bike I can use, so no excuses except for work!

I logged 51.8 miles, Davis to Winters via Road 29, then back Putah Creek Road to Road 95 to Road 27, to Road 103, to Mace and home. Probably a few other roads in there, too, but the names escape me for now.

It’s a little cool out and there was a slight chance of rain (depending on which weather site you refer to), but I saw lots of folks out there looking like they’re dressed for summer! OK, so I was overdressed a bit today. My friends tell me I usually am. That and the glowing sunscreen have sort of become my trademark look.

I didn’t take my camera today, so these are just with my camera phone, but I got a few nice photos of some springtime blossoms.

Just off Putah Creek Road.

Busy as a bee ...

So sweet and fragrant!

It was a pleasant ride. Not too hot, not too cool. Not too sunny, not too cloudy. Just enough breeze to make me feel like I had to work a bit to get home. Some good training miles for my Tour de Cure. Next weekend … hills!

I'm pretty sure these are almond blossoms.

Have a beautiful day!

I think this is a good day to make some vegetable barley soup, but that will have to be another post.

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30.9 miles, just around the outskirts of Davis on country roads. It was pleasantly cool, overcast, and calm. Tomorrow’s forecast looks about the same. I’m looking forward to a nice ride!

The Napa Valley Tour de Cure is 9 weeks from tomorrow! If you would like to sponsor my ride, please visit my page: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/A6SNF-SanFranciscoArea?px=4725188&pg=personal&fr_id=8674

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I am enjoying having a week off work before I start an exciting new job! I was a little concerned about being able to get some good riding in this week when it was super windy on both Saturday and Sunday last weekend, but day by day the wind has eased up. I logged 50+ miles on Monday, 70+ on Wednesday, and 30+ yesterday.

Greetings from Winters, CA!

And now, March Madness is off to a good start – 71.0 miles today! Here’s where I ventured today … Davis, Winters, Lake Beryessa, Pleasants Valley Road, Lake Solano, Winters, and back to Davis. First I made just a quick stop in Winters before heading out towards Lake Berryessa. I didn’t ride all the way up, just to the base of the dam. Yikes. I have got some climbing work to do & soon! The Napa Valley Tour de Cure is just over two months away and there are some hills I have got to prepare for.

Then I headed out Pleasants Valley Road past Putah Creek Road a few miles, & back for a quick stop at Lake Solano Park.

Near Lake Solano, I just couldn't resist any more of these beautiful blossoms!

Incredible visibility today ... too bad my little Nikon Coolpix barely picks up the Sierras in the background.

A quick stop to stretch on Road 29.

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This year I registered for my first Davis Bike Club March Madness. Registration is open to everyone, not just DBC members. It’s a great cause – proceeds go towards purchasing cycling helmets for school aged children. Check it out:  http://www.davisbikeclub.org/annual_events/club_challenges/march_madness

I’ve pledged to ride 750 miles in March. That probably doesn’t really seem like a lot to many of you, but being my first time, I don’t want to over-pledge. If you can’t get out on your bike, you can include up to 1,000 miles of indoor riding (stationary bike, spin class, your trainer).

If you would like to register, or make a donation to support this great cause, you can do so here:  http://2013marchmadness.eventbrite.com/#

This will also be GREAT training for my Napa Valley Tour de Cure!

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I am cooking up a bowl of steel cut oats with walnuts and dried cherries to warm and fuel me on this chilly morning. I am very, very hopeful that the wind won’t kick up again today or the rest of this week. There weren’t many cyclists out and about in Davis this weekend, so I know I wasn’t the only one who didn’t ride due to the crazy wind.

I’ve got just over two months to gear up for my 5th Napa Valley Tour de Cure and am going to take full advantage of this week off. I hope the weather cooperates!

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Follow-up to post (http://cyclingfoodie.com/2013/02/an-adventurous-weekend/) …

I am very happy to say that Trek (http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/) did cover the rim under warranty.

Thank you
Freewheeler Bicycle Center
in Davis
(http://freewheelerbikes.com/)
for your help!

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I got a ride in this morning, from Davis to Winters and almost out to Woodland and back home to Davis. It didn’t seem so windy when I started out in the morning, but the wind started to kick up when I got to Winters. I made a quick stop at Steady Eddie’s for a snack and water refill. There are lots of flags in the park in Winters today … and they started a’waving a LOT in the wind while I was there. The wind was strong, but worked in my favor for more of the ride than I thought and I enjoyed a wonderful tailwind on Road 95, from Russell to Road 27. Then, I turned on Road 27 and had a strong side wind until I got to Road 102 (Pole Line). Oh, dear. The headwind was brutal. I was getting blown around on my bike and there were a few gusts that almost blew me right out of the bike lane. I really did not enjoy that part of my ride today. I made it home safely today and was very thankful for that. I really appreciated that one driver who was pulling out onto Pole Line who cut me a break in letting me cross so I could get out of the headwind. Whew!

I was pretty hungry when I got home, so …

Ooops ... just made way too much fruit salad.