Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Beautiful morning for a quick pre-work ride!
The 2013 Napa Valley Tour de Cure is just about 2 weeks away. I have got some serious training to do. I have got some serious fundraising to do; I am not even near my goal! If you would like to donate to this great cause, you can do so here.
Finally, the winds have calmed down in Davis. I took a nice, short ride after work tonight – about 20 miles.
Now, for a nice, light dinner of fish and asparagus. Yum!
I can hardly believe that the 2013 Napa Valley Tour de Cure is two weeks from this weekend. Yikes! I am nowhere near ready. Are you?
I’ve got a cold so I won’t be doing much riding today … oh, well. I guess it’s best to get it over with before my Tour de Cure ride! I had been fighting the cold all week, it seemed to start winning Thursday night and Friday, but seriously oversleeping on Friday and then early, early to bed Friday night and I thought I had turned a corner. I went for a pretty good ride yesterday (78.1 miles total). Certainly not a record-setting ride in any sense, but I rode steadily and reasonably strong, given the circumstances.
What to do to keep busy today? I have lots of chores I can do, but I’m looking for something a little fun, too. I’ve got some ripe bananas, a whole lot of oats, and some buttermilk I really need to use. So … a quick Google search “banana oat bread” turned up a few ideas.
Smells good!
Banana Oat Bread
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour, unbleached
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup pure cane sugar, unrefined
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of apple pie spice blend
3/4 cup whole rolled oats
2 ripe* bananas, mashed
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
A handful of oats and some additional sugar for sprinkling on top of the loaf before baking
Allow to cool most of the way and use a sharp serrated knife.
This bread is moist and has a nice, tender crumb.
Using the whole grain flour and coconut sugar, as well as the spices, produces a darker loaf than if you’re using all white flour and sugar. My first attempt at this recipe and it is a keeper! It is hearty, yet light and wholesome. It is flavorful and not too sweet. This is a variation of a recipe I found online here.
Napa Valley Tour de Cure, 2012
Three weeks from today I will be riding in my 5th Napa Valley Tour de Cure. I feel quite unprepared for the ride this year and I am not even close to my fundraising goal. I’ve got just 3 weeks to get ready. Here’s hoping I am 100% over this cold by next weekend, and that the weather cooperates! I am really, really hoping for good weather again this year for the Tour de Cure.
* A note about “ripe” bananas … I am really, really fussy about bananas. I like to eat them at the perfect ripeness (for me) – a lovely yellow peel, no (or at most very little) green, and no (or at most very few) brown speckles. Once there are more than a few brown speckles, they’re too ripe for my tastes for just eating. They’re OK for smoothies, and with a few more speckles, perfect for bread. So, that’s what I consider “really ripe” and ready for banana bread. If your bananas’ peels are entirely brown (or *gasp* black) and the flesh is mushy, they’re too ripe. Overly ripe bananas can give your bread a heavy texture.
Today 85.5 miles. I am now at 60% of my goal of 750 miles for March Madness. I highly doubt that I will be able to ride 300 miles this week when I will be working every day, including Saturday, leaving only next Sunday 3/31. Oh, well.
Hiking the Training Hill in Auburn, CA
Saturday it was too windy in Davis for me to ride. I probably should have just driven to the Napa Valley to ride the Tour de Cure route (or part of it at least!), but I went to Auburn and hiked with a friend. I haven’t seen her in a long time and it was a nice change of pace. I do need to do more cross training.
Today I rode from Davis to Winters to Vacaville to Pena Adobe Park and back to Winters and Davis. I hate to admit, but I could not get all the way up Cantelow today, either. I rode stronger up most of it today than I did last week, but I stopped at about the same place as last week. This concerns me. The Tour de Cure is just 6 short weeks away and I had to walk up that last little bit of Cantelow. I don’t understand it. I feel like I am riding stronger on the flats and rolling hills, but why can’t I climb a hill I’ve climbed dozens of times before? Am I really losing my ability to climb, or am I just not used to the “compact” and different gearing on my new bike?
It was a beautiful day for riding, lots of sunshine and not too much of a breeze. I saw a few familiar faces out there on the road.
On my way out, stopping for a quick water break in Winters. Thank you, Steady Eddy's in Winters for having a clean restroom, some shaded tables, and nice cool water for cyclists!
Feeling completely & utterly defeated at the top of Cantelow.
43.7 miles ... a quick water and snack break at Pena Adobe.
About 57 miles ... Lake Solano Park.
I am hoping to ride evenings after work this week … that will add a few miles to my March Madness and a little more Tour de Cure training.
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!
I am now about 32% towards my goal of 750 miles for March Madness. I had a very mellow 13.8 mile ride tonight after work. It’s important to do a recovery ride now and then.
I am looking forward to my first of the season post-work ride tonight!
I can log a few March Madness miles and grab a little training for my Tour de Cure!
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.
I’m gearing up for a good March Madness ride today. I need to log some miles to hit my goal of 750 miles for March.
We have beautiful weather this morning! The wind will kick up a bit later, but that will be great training for my Tour de Cure century. The Napa Valley Tour de Cure is May 5, 2013 – just 9 weeks from tomorrow! Time to do some serious training!!!
There are rides for every level of cyclist – check out your options here.
I’ll be doing the century ride. For a map, click here.
2012 Napa Valley Tour de Cure, on the home stretch!
There are Tour de Cure rides all over the U.S., so even if you don’t live near the Napa Valley in Northern California, you can still participate in a Tour de Cure ride. To learn more about the Tour de Cure and to find your local Tour, click here.
You can register by visiting the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure page.
To donate to my ride, please go to my Tour Center.
For more information on the symptoms of diabetes, visit http://bit.ly/12zLh2M.
Please join me in the fight against diabetes!
I will be riding in my 5th Napa Valley Tour de Cure on May 5, 2013. The American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure is more than just a great ride. It’s a series of fundraising cycling events held nationwide. The Tour is a ride, not a race, with routes designed for all levels of riders. To learn more about the Tour de Cure, see: http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_homepage
To register, see: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/A6SNF-SanFranciscoArea?pg=entry&fr_id=8674
To donate to my ride, see: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/A6SNF-SanFranciscoArea?px=4725188&pg=personal&fr_id=8674
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Little by little I am gearing up for my 
