I rode to work today so i could do this, probably would have ridden anyway. I took time off today to leave early otherwise I would have missed the ride. Since I had time to kill I rode up to Piedmont Ave to stop by and say hi to Spazzdog and Quidich-dog. BTW I can attest that Quid will try to eat your mtb tire left to his own devices thought she was joking about that but he's very well trained.

We had lunch together than I headed to downtown.

At first I did not see where the ride started than I saw the Yellow Jacket club jerseys. They are hard to miss.

OT-Velogirl if you're lurking while we waited the talk turned to Bike Against the Odds and while several club members joshed that they thought it was a fluke that they beat the Velogirls in pledges last year I believe we've been challenged.

Then the ride start got serious, a moment of silence and we went round, several people said who they were riding for. a rider from Sacramento named bikerbilly from bike journal. One of the main organisers from EBBC talked about the ride history. It's amazing the hazzards we face but even in CA flagrant and deadly drivers may get less than a commuter lane ticket for killing us. It's just a cyclist.

We rode out, 2-3 abreast and the silence was odd, just the sound of clicking and unclipping, brakes, shifting. People signaled and silently mouthed instuctions. We rode through dowtown Oakland, Chinatown, by Laney College than around the Lake. Then out a bit south of Lake Merrit. We looped back to do the lake a second time. Near the Oakland Museum I mouthed and signaled Bye and dropped off the back. I stopped to watch them ride the few blocks back to the start than headed home.

Very poignient and emotional. I could use some cheering up.

So I'm off work tomorrow and though I have to meet a plumber in the afternoon (ah the joys of home ownership) I plan to bike to work, just not go to work and that's all for the pancakes at Downtown Oakland. I could use them right now.