Today I rode the Pedaling Paths to Independence metric century. Long name, but great ride. In its inaguraul year, this ride was put on by the Community Center for the Blind and started at Linden Elementary school.

My riding partner Mike picked me up at 7:30 and we drove out to Linden where we met up with Mike aka, “Death Ride” - a name he earned from me after riding in the Death Ride after only training for three weeks! We hit the road at 8:50 and headed straight into a gnarly head wind.

The first rest stop came a bit too soon, at mile 12 in Farmington. We stopped for a minute and then took off ahead of Death Ride. He passed us a few minutes later and we never saw on the route again. Our route took us out to Milton Road and back up near the town of Jenny Lind. We were both pretty happy that we had a pretty decent stretch of road with a tail wind.

The flyer said there was 1,300 feet of climbing. Didn’t sound like a lot but given how early it was in the riding season, that 1,300 was plenty!

The rest stops were stocked very well and the volunteers did an excellent job making sure everyone had what they needed. We met a lot of other great cyclist that came from all over northern California to ride this new century. I kept gawking at all of the new bikes and gear I saw and by the end of the day Mike convinced me I needed a new bike (not going to happen!).

As for the cars out on the road - many were courteous, some were not. There was a lot of cars that flew by us without giving us an extra inch of room. Luckily, from what we heard, there were no accidents out on the course.

We got back to Linden about 2:00 and had a great lunch from DaVinci’s. Again, the volunteers did an excellent job making sure there was plenty of food and drinks to go around. Pleasantly, and unlike many rides I’ve done, they did not skimp on the portions either. After a half-day on a bike I was hungry and they were glad to fill me up.

Overall, the ride was excellent! The course was challenging and interesting. The volunteers were friendly and accomodating. These guys did a great job on the first try. I will certainly be adding this ride as my regular early season metric century!


Stats
67.31 miles
4:46:17 on bike
Fair amount of climbing
Google map of route




My trusty steed!

Check out the rest of the pics here.

This morning we drove out to Davis to catch the start of Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California. It was horribly windy and cold in Stockton and the weather only got worse as we got into Davis. We arrived at the Mondavi center about 10 o’clock and took the double decker bus downtown. Even though it was raining and cold, the atmosphere was great with cycling fans everywhere. I can’t believe we live this close to Davis and have never been there.

There were tons of people on bikes, even a parade of people riding penny-farthings. I was really wishing I would’ve brought mine.

The girls got a chance to write chalk messages for Lance and each scored a box of yellow Livestrong chalk.



We stood in the rain for an hour and a half until the race started. Unlike when the race started in Stockton, we did not actually see any of the big named riders until they took off out of the gate.

The weather made it difficult to take many pictures although we did manage to snap a few. Check them out here.

Tonight, Dawn and I renewed our wedding vows in front of thousands of screaming fans. Well, we weren’t the only ones. The Stockton Thunder and KATM 103.3 had a promotion tonight where DJ Walker, a licensed minister, performed another mass wedding on the ice after the first period. Although most were there to renew their wedding vows, there were quite a few couple actually getting married.

What did we wear for this occasion? Well, I wore the same Stockton Thunder shirts I wear to every game, along with a black suit coat. Dawn wore her Thunder shirt along with a beautiful veil. We were at a hockey game getting married (again) after all.




We watched the first period on TV in the large banquet room and then made our way out on to the ice. With a fight in the first couple of minutes and a 3-0 lead, the Thunder had done more than there share getting the crowd excited.

After we were re-married we went to our seats and joined the friends and family that had come out to watch us (and a hockey game).

The rest of the game did not go so well for the Thunder and we eventually lost 5-4. The Thunder remained scoreless in the second period and only scored the 4th goal on the very last second of the game.

We also tried, along with some people sitting near us, to start a wave. We never really got it going but Mike went down near the glass and got a lot of people to start doing it.


Thanks to Tony, Mike, Shauna, Christian, Rachel, Emily, Makenzy, Jack, Rita, Ken, Megen, Kenny, Missy, Dad, Angela, Tom, Tom, and Justin for coming out and sharing our special night with us.

I love you Dawn!

Check out the pictures from tonight here.

Also, Ken took a video of the fight between Stockton’s Adam Huxley and Bakersfield’s Hank

For many years I did not understand the fascination my twin brother had with golf. He’s not one of those die hard golfers but has played for a decade or so. Walking around a big course chasing that little white ball seemed like a waste of a good day. Getting that ball in that little hole from hundreds of yards away seemed next to impossible.

I knew enough to know it was not an easy skill to master. Having gone out to a driving range years before I could appreciate that swinging a club and controlling where the ball went was something that did not come natural to me (or most).

Finally, last August, when JR was out from Texas, he and I joined Mike and Shawn for my first round of golf. I stepped out on the first tee box of the executive course at Swenson Golf Course, put the ball on the tee and grabbed a club from the bag Mike had “loaned” me. Of course, it was not the right club and Mike tossed me the 7 iron. I landed my very first shot on the green! Wow! I then proceeded to take 8 putts to sink it.



I have played a few times since then (ok, maybe more than a few times) and am really enjoying the game but I am a long, long way from being good. I love data and numbers and this new hobby gives me plenty of data to think about. At the rate I’m going I have some time before I start playing par golf.

Why do I love golf?

Golf is good exercise. It’s not a rigorous work out but playing the big course without a cart means more than 5 miles of walking, with a golf bag on my back.

There is no subjectivity. I either hit the ball where I wanted to or I didn’t. I either made it in 5 strokes or 9. When we actually keep score I know exactly where I ended, and how far I am from my goal. Data doesn’t lie.

There is great tradition in golf. My brother Mike has taught me the game by focusing on the rules and traditions first. He told me I can work on my approach, stance, grip and swing later - first I had to learn the social graces of the game. I’ve learned not to walk ahead of others in my group, shut up when someone’s taking their shot and never walk on someone’s line on the green.

Golf is a social sport. Like cycling, golf can be played alone but is better with good friends and family. Also, like cycling, I enjoy the game a lot more when I focus on what I’m doing and with whom I’d doing it. Plus, since I’ll never get Mike on a bicycle, it’s a good chance to spend a half-day with him.

Now, after six months, I no longer have to ask Mike or Shawn which club I should be using as I approach my next shot. That alone gives me a great sense of accomplishment. Now I must work on my short game.

Hit ‘em long.

Hit ‘em straight!