Sunday, May 17, 2009

Day 16, Elk to Bodega Bay, 84 uphill miles


A word on hills from the desk of Kristi. 

The hills of California are doozeys! I'm not sure what else to say. We started the day climbing and ended it in much the same manner. I think they learned how to make the roads here with one template: they take you down, down, DOWN, and then do a crazy sharp hairpin turn, and then pull you right back up, up, UP. We rode this same thing probably a hundred times today. The up, up, UP is particularly intense. I do several things on these up, up, UPS that seem to make them better. One tactic that has been successful is I start singing Coldplay's "Viva La Vida." Who can be sad singing that? Also, I've been trying the whole Pavlov dog experiment. Every time I climb a big hill I give myself a candy. If it's a really big hill I give myself two candies. And if it's a HUGE hill I break out a Snicker's and...dare I say it...take a swig of Gatorade. I hope, in time, to actually train myself to salivate at the sight of hills. We'll see how this plan fares. Another thing I realize is the hills end. They always end, which is what me sitting in a bed right now is testament to. There will be more Monday, but even those eventually will be over. And ah heck, I bet I'll miss them. The only cure I've found to get over my stress is just keep biking. I looked down at Matt's speedometer after about three hours and saw 30 miles. I didn't like that. 30 miles compared with the 80 I needed to have at the end of the day was just gross. But I got on, and just rode. Rode far away from that place; those 30 miles; that gross feeling. It goes away people! The 30 miles is long gone, and I will never, ever be there again. So my Sunday message is this:  just keep biking! Bodega Bay is right on the ocean and just as gorgeous as ever. We got our first batch of pretty intense sun and are all looking a bit Latino. Especially Matt with his 'stache. Hehe. Sleepy time, later skaters.

LOVE,

 Kris


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