White's Hill and Lingonberries

Today was the last "official" ride before THE ride, though Jerry and I will probably do a little cycling this week.
Though a much shorter ride, what a contrast from Friday's ride. It never felt as if the parking brake was on and we sailed up and down White's and Nicasio Hills. Definitely helped get my confidence back.
For a potluck at Julie's afterwards, she had asked me to bake Bob Katz a birthday cake, to which I readily agreed. I read recipe after recipe online and in my cookbooks, looking for a chocolate cake, but I decided to go with something a little different, and, in my mind, more interesting. I did a lingonberry spice cake, and since it needed to be frosted (it being a birthday cake, after all), I whipped up a thin coffee buttercream. I know how good the cake is on its own, and I didn't want a heavy icing.
I thought, all in all, it was pretty successful, but I'm not sure others felt that way. There were gooey storebought desserts that seemed to be what everyone went for-- thick chocolate cake, carrot cake with perfect God knows what icing. Perhaps I should have made something more traditional, but I'm happy with the way the cake turned out, and I'll leave it at that.
We have only a few more days to get everything ready for our ride. But after today's ride, despite it's brevity, I feel much more prepared.