hey everyone,

We missed you today!

It was a good ride. And we beat the rain! We had over 40 women show up despite the clouds looming overhead and predictions of rain. We split into 3 groups by speed. I was leading the least speedy group and BikerZ was in the middle group.

We rode from Lafayette to Danville and back, mostly flat with a hill on Tice Valley/Crest and another short hill as we got back to the staging area. Everyone did great and proved strong. My group took a little shortcut on the ride so that we would finish around the same time as the others – and we did! They rolled in shortly after we arrived. What a great group! It’s really nice to ride with so many friendly and supportive ladies (and one hubby).

There were a few little teeny tiny drops of rain here and there but everyone was back before any real threat of getting wet occurred.

Ann (BikerZ) and I went out to lunch after the ride (yep, got that lunch!), then headed over to see Francie. It was good to see her smiling and joking! And she has obviously charmed the nurses as well, one of whom put a note on her patient white board that says "patient says I like to cause trouble" (or something like that). Praying she gets to go home soon!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Go here if you want to contribute to the Francie get well fund

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Looking forward to next week in Berkeley. I’ll start a separate thread on the options available for that ride. Hope to see y’all there!

Lessons Learned today:

1) Get into the proper gear BEFORE you start climbing a hill. If you’re not familiar with your gears, get to the ride early and ask someone to show you. Knowing what gear does what will make your experience much better and easier!

2) Eat a proper breakfast. Everyone will have their own preferences – mine is a cup of oatmeal, a banana, and maybe a bagel with peanut butter or some yogurt with nuts and honey.

3) Bring enough water/food to sustain your during the ride.