Well, the first Grasshopper race is this weekend.  It is earlier than usual this year, and has caught me off-guard.  I’m never in too good of shape for this race, but this year is worse than usual.  I was telling Claire this morning on the way into the shop that I thought it was better than to be totally out of shape for a race like this instead of being just a little out of shape.  In years past I have made the mistake of thinking I was in better shape and falling apart by the time I reached Willow Creek.  I would get caught up with the “racing” at the front, and then by the time my body figured out what was going on, I would be in way over my head.  This year I plan on taking it easy for at least the first half of the race, and then hopefully have something left for the final climb up Willow Creek.   The conditions should be ideal.  I am a little bummed that the weather report does not predict heavy rain.  As A1 and I agree, the first Grasshopper should take place in pouring rain.  It should be quite sloppy on Old Caz though.  I am looking forward to that off camber corner towards the bottom that always has about 8 inches of mud to sink into.

Yesterday I went out and ran for EXACTLY 5 miles while Claire walked.  That is the thing about having a Garmin GPS on your wrist.  Here is a link to the loop. 

When we got home I put some sourdough bread and pizza dough together.  Claire put feta cheese and some other tasty stuff on it, including anchovies.

Oh, yea, on Saturday night W, C, and S are coming over for dinner.  W and I will be opening our first bottle of homebrew.  It is a “potentially dangerous” IPA.  We also have a lager in the basement right now bubbling away.

Well, I finally got out on a couple of bike rides.  It has been a long time, much to my dismay.  I got a new Cannondale cross frame, which I built up with Campy Record stuff off of one of my old road bikes.  It is a gorgeous bike that is a pleasure to ride.  I haven’t had a chance to weigh it yet, but I am sure that I dropped at least a couple of pounds from my old C-dale cross bike.

Anyway, on Monday, A1, Jimmy Neutron, and Bill came out for a wet, wet ride.  We had decided that we were going rain or shine, and I think that all of us were hoping for rain, and we got it.  We took off to do my favorite loop through Occidental and Willow Creek State Park.  It has been a while since I had been out with Bill on our single bikes.  It brought back plenty of memories as every time we regrouped, he would give a little “Wahoo!”  By the time we got to Duncan Road, Bill had worn all the way through his brake pads, so he had metal on metal when he braked.  It was a horrible sound, and I don’t think it slowed him down too much.  We had called Claire before Duncan, and she drove the Hub Bus out and met us for Mexican food at La Tapitia in Guerneville.  We were plenty wet and cold at that point, but still in great spirits.

Yesterday, Claire and I loaded up the Ibis tandem and drove out to Duncans Mills for a ride up Willow Creek road from Hwy. 1.  It was not raining.  We had attempted the same ride last week, but had been turned around by the lightning and pouring rain.  Actually the pouring rain hadn’t bothered us, but the lightning out on Hwy. 116 was a little frightening.  On the way up Willow Creek Road yesterday, I was trying my best to dodge puddles to keep our feet as dry as possible.  At one point we came around a corner, and encountered a little flooding.  We had to ride about 200 yards through water that was about 2 feet deep.  It was pretty funny.  I couldn’t see the road, but I could see the road markers on the side, so we just stayed in the middle.  At one point we hit some cattle grates, which took us both a little by surprise.  I wish we had had the camera.  It was entertaining to look down at the front wheel and not be able to see the hub.  We hit a couple of other patches just like that before we finally made it to the climb.  Our feet were not dry anymore.  We had thought about heading through Willow Creek State Park, but decided instead to drop down into Occidental and then ride down Bohemian Hwy. back out to our car.

On Saturday I will be doing the first Grasshopper race with A1, Jimmy Neutron, and hopefully Eric the Fireman and Bill.  I am hoping for rain.

Well, Jimmy Neutron and Claire arranged to get together yesterday for a little mountain bike ride in Annadel.  I was invited also.  Ever since JN got his new mountain bike, he has been quite gung-ho about getting out there and riding the trails.  Claire was also on her new mountain bike, which she still needs convincing to buy.  JN was on a Rize 3 and Claire was on a Rize 1.  We drove over to the bottom of Lawndale and started the ride from there.  Here is a link to the ride.  It was a little muddy in places, but otherwise perfect conditions.  I think we only saw two other people up there.  JN is getting quite fast on his mountain bike.

I figured I better put in an entry so that this doesn’t look neglected.  Claire and I went back to the shop today after a couple of weeks off.  Things are really hopping, which is very, very exciting.  A1 is back, and the enthusiasm in the shop has never been higher.  It was great to show up this morning and see that everything, and I mean everything, was running smoothly and the shop was looking GREAT.  It turns out that Jimmy Neutron has some hidden talents in the merchandising area that he has decided to finally show us.  He and Andre moved some stuff around while we were gone, and both Claire and I were very impressed.  Even Paul showed up wearing pants with no holes in them.  There was plenty of work to do and, of course, we weren’t able to finish it all.

I am really looking forward to 2010.  I think we have our best staff ever as well as some solid lines of bikes.  I apologize if this sounds self promoting, but I’m just JACKED (that is for Eric the Fireman).