Jitters and Shakes

Yes, I stole that from the little place next to the Van Ness Goodwill, but it's fitting for our ride yesterday.
I had an impending sense of doom even before we left Mike's Bikes at around quarter to ten. Temperature was rising and I had flashbacks from the ride over White's Hill a few weeks ago when the temperature was unbearable and Jerry and I finished the ride exhausted and wrung out from the heat.
So something about me was jittery as we set out. I was short of breath and knew my symptoms were a result of nerves.
The climb over Camino Alto, which is usually no big deal, really took it out of me and I was happy for all that flat riding afterwards. We stopped, as usual, in Fairfax, then headed for White's Hill.

But from the very start it didn't feel right, and I could feel Jerry's energy flagging. We stopped once, and then again. At the second stop, almost to the top, I knew it was time to turn around. Jerry really needs a big boost of protein before he rides, and he hadn't had it, and my fears of rising temperatures pushed me over the edge to do a turnaround.

We sailed down White's Hill, and once again stopped in Fairfax. We went to the Fairfix Cafe. Jerry had a chicken gyro and I had a vanilla milkshake that I added cinnamon to. It wasn't the most exciting milkshake of my life, but it was cool and satisfied my never ending ice cream lust.

We hopped back on the bike, and the ride back over Camino Alto was oh, so much easier, though I asked for a stop just to cool off a bit.

We headed back to Mike's Bikes after doing a semi-respectable 27 miles. A far cry from 50, but it's not as if we have any big rides in front of us.

In fact, next weekend, instead of riding the Marin Century, we are going to staff the rest stop sponsored by AIDS Lifecycle. We'll get to see many friends and give a little something back to the organization we feel so strongly about.