Memorable Memorial Monday
Franz| May 25, 2009 6:49 pm
It has been a delightful Memorial Day. This morning we got up and watched the TV with some of the feature stories on the sacrifice of our military men and women over the years. A touching story was about an organization that had made it possible for many of the WWII veterans to travel to Washington DC to see the monument devoted to their comrades who had died in the war. It helped us appreciate the sacrifice of so many for us and our children, and their children.
After cutting the bike ride on Saturday short due to the cold weather, we wanted to get in a good long ride today. We decided to go 64 miles and do the Canada Loop, then head up and ride up to the Henry Coe State Park headquarters. It was still overcast in the morning so we kept waiting. We thought that once it reached 55 degrees we would head out since the forecast was for a nice day. We had only gone one block before Anne decided to add the sleeves to her jacket because it was still brisk.
By the time we made our way to Canada Road, it had warmed up to about 60 degrees and we could see that the sun was attempting to break through the over cast. We quickly warmed up during the climb and by the time we reached the summit the sun was now shinning.
We went all the way down Roop Road, up a short hill and down a descent, past some very nice homes then on through the back roads up to Morgan Hill.
Before we started to make the big climb we stopped briefly while we shared a sandwich we had brought along. We no longer needed our arm warmers or vest. The weather was absolutely perfect for cycling. Part way up the climb we stopped to enjoy the view.
We were glad when we reached the end of the road.
We didn’t stay at the top long because it was now mid afternoon and we had not eaten much yet. It was a moderate paced descent down to the valley. Franz was doing much better braking with his left hand and the drag brake on the tandem really helped. After we made our way over to Erik’s Deli, we shared a sandwich, sitting on the patio area.
From there it was 10 miles back to our house. We had timed it it just right because it was now starting to cool off a bit. We finally made it home after 5:00 pm, with a total of 64 miles and nearly 5,000 feet of climbing. It was a very nice day.
