Today was my first ride on The Blade since Romulus and I ripped it up a couple of weeks ago (See September 11, 2004: Beyond Categoy (HC)). I had to let the blush of that awesome ride fade a bit before I got back in the saddle so that the next ride would not seem so anticlimactic.

I headed down the coastal bikepath looking to do a basic Lobitos Triangle (Cabrillo-Tunitas-Lobitos-Verde-Higgins/Purissima). It was amateur hour out there today. Kids, bikes, foreign tourists, kites, dogs, more little kids, horses, rollerbladers, strollers -- it was all out there on the bikepath today. It was every serious biker for themselves and I had to be satisfied with just making it back to the Cabrillo in one piece. For the first time in several road rides, there was a decent amount of wind today, and it carried with it the first bite of fall. I was lumbering along the Cabrillo near the turnoff for Strawberry Ranch when I spied a rider ahead. From a distance, he seemed pretty serious, but as I pulled gradually closer, I noticed that he had a full set of rear panniers. It took me longer than I thought to get past him, but I overtook him at the base of the hill I like to attack and so I figured that would be the last I'd see of him. I even remember being disappointed that he had the panniers, because I could tell he was a pretty good rider.

I concentrated on hammering up the hill and was doing a pretty good job. Near the top, I paused to look in my sunglasses-mounted rear-view mirror and discovered, to my shock, that he was only about 25 yards behind me. Like I said, I was shocked, because I had really gone for it and had done about 26 MPH up the entire hill, and yet, there he was hanging on, panniers and all. I had intended to rest at the top of the hill, but how could I when this guy was obviously trying to stay with me. I redoubled my efforts and kept the speedometer pegged around 25 MPH for the next five miles down to Tunitas. After a couple of miles, I had dropped him back about a quarter mile, but then he came back a little. Finally, heading up the last hill before Tunitas, I stood up and went for it. That broke him. I got to Tunitas, pulled off, got my camera out and took a picture before he came into sight. Yeah, I finally broke him, but I had to pedal my ass off for five miles to drop a guy with panniers? Who was that guy?

Coastside and the livin' is easy	Cball in distress after the five-mile sprint	Pumpkins is big business this time of year

The rest of the ride was uneventful. After the five-mile sprint I felt like my work was done for the day, so I just rolled up Tunitas to Lobitos. Over on H-P, the road was completely repaved in some sections and with visions of Joseba Beloki dancing in my head, I took it easy on some of the hairier hairpins. And it was as inevitable as the career road high speed I registered on the last road ride, today, on a downhill, I hit a gust of wind that wobbled me like George Bush defending his policy on Native American sovereignty. I knew it would happen, and I knew that when it did, I couldn't let it rattle me. I think I did a pretty good job of putting it out of my head, so I don't expect any downhill skill regression as a result.

Saw a bobcat up on a ridgeline about 30 yards off the road. I had to stop and watch for a while before I could see his tail and confirm that it was a bobcat. During another stop, I heard some intermittent rustling in the bushes just down the hill from me. I waited silently hoping for another bobcat, but I could only see the bushes moving. Finally, craning my neck, I saw the ears of a deer. Casually, it wandered through the heavy brush and down out of sight. I think it had been sleeping in the bushes and had been awakened by my smell (no comment). Also saw three red-tailed hawks, including one circling above my backyard.

Addendum: Talked to Romulus on the phone tonight. I am proud to announce that Romulus medaled (3rd place) in his age group for the 22-mile mini-marathon cross-country event at the NORBA Nationals in Mammoth, CA. Nice job Romulus! Romulus did the work, but I feel really excited for me and Bonzai and Romulus. We talked excitedly about possible races for next year, and I'm really feeling inspired. If we ride and train like we did this year and just make sure to get into some races, we're going to have some good finishes. The possibilities are very exciting. We are going to miss Bonzai though. Romulus wants to hook up with some other guys and form a team. Makes me miss Bonzai all the more. But Romulus says there is a NORBA series in Maine that Bonzai could ride to qualify for the Nationals in Mammonth in September '05. Here's to the possibilities!