Great ride reports! Nanci, the flower is gorgeous! I've never seen anything quite like it.

After working 2 nearly 11+ hour shifts this week, I was ready to get out for a ride. I drove to the Aquatic park near the Rose Bowl and met my friend Bernie at 2:30. We got rolling, trying out a new route that is a mix of two different rides that he does. It was a great route with some fairly gradual climbing for the first 18 miles. I went through my 2 large bottles of water/gatorade before we were 16 miles in and the heat started taking it's toll. So with lots of breaks, we finally made it to the point where we had some nice gradual downhills and finished our loop. It was a great ride even though the heat got to me. Oh, and there was an oatmeal raisin cookie and an iced mocha at Bean Town which helped cool me down.