The positive: the food was good and the helpers at check in and post ride were very friendly and helpful. The flowers on Table Mountain were fabulous, though I think a week ago they were probably absolutely fab.

My buddy Hot Rod (HR) and I rode up together Saturday, had a good lunch and way too many beers at the Sierra Nevada brewery and decided that we'd be better off going for a short ride instead of napping. So we rode to the fairgrounds, got all checked in, tried to find the infamous "bike friendly" parts of town (I think we eventually found some), etc. The weather was perfect on Saturday!

My buddy and roomie for the eve, Steph, showed up late-ish. We all had a great dinner though they burned our appetizer (that was free) and gave us the wrong bottle of wine and ended up having to charge us for the cheaper one we ordered. They were very gracious, though, and the food was great. I'd go back.

OK. We got a later start--around 7:30. Steph and I rode together as HR and his buddies of course were doing the "we're not stopping so you take off before us" gig. So we get out of town by following other riders (where the heck are the signs??) and are making our way up the little 8 mile loop and sssssssssssssss. Steph gets a flat. As we're changing the tire I look up and down the road and see others with the same issue about every 50 yards. Hmmmm. So we finally get the very tight tire off of the wheel and she gets her tube and pump out and...the pump does not have a presta adaptor. So we get my pump off my bike. And then discover the tire, which has been in her saddle bag for some time, has a hole in it. By this time HR, who started after us, is here and pulls out one of his spare tubes. It holds air! So we insert the tube and...it doesn't fit. And I look at the wheel and realize it's a 650. We patch the original tube and start back on our merry way...for about 500 yards. She gets another flat. She decides to give it up and tells me to go on.

The good part about all of that is I think it made it so I missed the rain in Paradise! And I didn't get any flats. I was very grateful to the biking gods and goddesses for that one.

The ride up Honey Run was actually nice. Steady and not hot. The road was wet but not spray-all-over wet. I rode with a couple of geologists so we talked about volcanic intrusions and such. We missed a few turns because the signs blend in and are not very noticable. I don't understand what's wrong with BRIGHT ORANGE or something of that nature. And why aren't there volunteers at every turn? Where is the support????

At the stop in Paradise I ran into some Hangtown Velo friends. And there's Steph! She had been picked up by a guy that owns one of the local bike shops. He fixed her up and brought her to Paradise so she could finish the ride with me. He tells us he estimated about 80 flats on Humboldt Road that morning.

So we take off and freeze our butts off until we drop back down to the valley (44.0 mph...wheeeeeeeeee). Only 3 of us go the Table Mountain way. I pretty much forgot to eat what with all the commotion at Paradise so by the time we got to the Table Mountain climb my butt was way kicked and my back is hurting very badly (I still don't seem to have the seat adjusted correctly after replacing the seatpost ). But I made it without stopping and recovered by riding slowly across the top of the mountain. Beautiful!

I did see a TE bottle on a bike as I was riding up. I said hi but was too out of it to say much more. Reddish hair in a ponytail...anyone here?

Anyhow, I met up with only one of my buddies at the lunch stop. He's a big guy so I enticed him into pulling me the rest of the way. I take another pain killer. Steph was nowhere in sight so I figgered she was ahead since she handily whupped me on Table Mountain.

I noticed when we went back by the turn to Table Mountain that the sign was gone. No doubt someone's souvenier.

For the first time ever, I got bad chafing. Between that and my back I was one big lump of waaahhhhh by the time we finished. Big thanks to my buddy for pulling me in. Steph showed up about a half hour later, all smiles and happy. I'm glad she was able to finish!!

I don't know that I'd do the ride again. I'm glad I DID do it, but I think I'll stick with the ones that are better supported.