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I ate a pork chop today. I don't think I'd ever had one before. I'm not sure what possessed me to order it, but it's true, I had ridden a 40-something mile ride, been to the ALC expo, went to a restaurant quite hungry, and there it was.
It was accompanied by greens and polenta. It was all really good, but now I feel as if there is a bowling ball in my stomach. Was it the pork? Or was it the sheer amount of food I consumed?
The ride was pretty nice, though chilly at times. We left from Golden Gate Park and rode around Paradise Loop. We stopped in Tiburon. I got a cappucino and finished yesterday's sticky bun. yum.
Jerry and I continue to ride strong. We came back and meandered around the Expo for a while. Was hoping to find a pair of matching jerseys, but no luck.
Then, an early dinner as described above.
Jerry's going away tomorrow for a couple of days, and I'm going to try to clean up my eating habits. Too much fat, too many carbs. I need to lose some weight. It will make cranking the tandem up hills a bit easier.

The World's Largest Sticky Bun

and no, I didn't eat all of it, or even half of it.
We drove to Bodega Bay for a ride from John Hershey's house. Not a very long ride, but it gave Jerry and me a chance to work on sprints and on hills. Lots of short hills, which we powered up pretty well. True almost everyone passed us, but powering up hills on a tandem is quite different than on a single.
We stopped at Wildflour, which is a wonderful bakery and the scene of the sticky bun crime. There were MANY sticky buns bought among the group, so we couldn't even pawn the rest of it off. So we brought it home. There's another ride tomorrow, so we'll carbo-load with gooey nuts and cinnamon.

Blazing Saddles and wheatberries

I think every rental bike in San Francisco was on the road today. And most of them were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time as Jerry and me. I suppose I'm a riding snob but those folks, along with super duper speed riders who aren't polite, drive me nuts. Both groups are unsafe and range from annoying to oh my God, get off the road.
But enough of that. We rode from Sports Basement to Lagunitas today. A nice ride, though a bit of a struggle. Jerry's muscles were still sore from skiing, and mine were just plain underused for the last two weeks. So, we worked hard today.
Lunch at Lagunitas was a wheatberry salad, which was very nice once I picked out all the cilantro. I hate cilantro. It is evil.

Last week, instead of bicycling, Jerry went skiing in Santa Fe, and I went eating in Santa Fe. And I found a couple of great second hand stores and bought two lovely ceramic pots which look wonderful in our living room. I did a lot of walking, so I didn't gain any weight, but I admit I ate and drank more than usual. My favorite restaurant was Bistro 315-- a lovely little French-influenced spot. I had squash soup and mussels. Jerry had a very nicely done duck breast. We were with James, Jerry's son, and Brad, James's stepfather. The three of them skied while I played in the city. And ate.

I had a wonderful talk with Gabo, a Pos Ped today. We are going to work on a very interesting project together. For now, it's a secret, but I can tell you, it's going to be lots of fun.

Drinking and orzo

just don't mix. We had company for dinner Saturday night-- two couples and Jerry's son who was in town to be wined and dined by the UC Berkeley Chem grad department.
I made a lovely spanakopita, a loaf of bread and an orange poppy seed cake ahead of time, but the orzo with pine nuts and the sauteed chicken with artichoke hearts had to wait. And wait they did as we polished off a couple bottles of zinfandel and pinot noir.
Not waiting for the water to boil, I started the chicken. My first mistake. As everyone knows, a watched pot never boils, so the chicken was done well before the orzo. And I kept drinking while I waited. So the orzo did not get all the lemon it was supposed to get, the chicken was underseasoned and overdone.
But the company was lovely, as was the spanakopita, the bread and the dessert.
And the wine.

Tiburon Loop and a Boca Burger

We rode with a small group today. We started at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and eventually around Tiburon Loop. Jerry and I rode very strong today. Our average speed is climbing.
Once home, we had Boca burgers and now I feel like taking a nap. Not sure why I feel so wiped out. We did ride hard, but not that much harder than usual.
I baked an orange poppy seed cake yesterday and I just started a loaf of bread. We're having a few people over for dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to make spanakopita, orzo, Greek salad and chicken sauteed with onions and artichokes. And the poppy seed cake for dessert.

Ode to Camino Alto

We rode from Sports Basement to Fairfax today, which included both sides of Camino Alto as well as the Sausalito Hill.
Jerry and I were toiling up the front side of Camino Alto, and we started to compose a poem.
Camino Alto, a hill to ride to be with nature
One with the trees and birds, sun and sky
and heaving lungs
cramping thighs,
burning crotch...

That's as far as we got. But I think you get the idea. I felt like I was coming down with a cold, and the ride across the Golden Gate was tough. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but miraculously, the longer I rode the better I felt.

After the ride we went to our favorite San Rafael lunch spot, Theresa and Johnny's Comfort Food Cafe. I splurged on a tuna melt. Figured I'd earned the calories...