Two weekends ago, I embarked on a 2-day, 150-mile bike ride, the MS 150. The bike ride was a fundraiser for the National MS Society. The ride started at Front Range Community College, which is very near my house, and made its way north to CSU in Fort Collins, returning via a slightly different route on the second day. The ride was very challenging with lots of hills, and we even climbed Horsetooth Mountain, both ways! My cousin Alisha recruited me for the ride, shortly after she finished it alone last year. Her fiance came as well. None of us had super fancy bikes. My poor little hybrid bike was certainly not ideal for the ride, and Alisha's fiance JP's bike had no low gears, so the climbs were a bit tough. It seemed that everybody else on the ride had very nice road bikes. There was always somebody passing us! We did finish the race, though, and I am happy to say that I never walked my bike. JP and I did get into the "SAG Wagon" (a van that comes around to pick up riders in need) for about a mile the first day, but only because it was pouring and the wind was really going. We got out as soon as the rain died down though, and finished the day without issue.
This past week, I was back in San Jose for work. One of the guys on my project, who is from India, was bringing his wife out for a couple months, and she was supposed to arrive on Wednesday in San Francisco. Unfortunately, she missed her connection in New York, and they put her on standby. She didn't make any of the flights that day. Because of the busy July 4th weekend that was coming up, we decided she should try to get on the later flight to Los Angeles. She made that flight, and so a few of us drove down that very night to pick her up. We made the trip in what I have to believe is record time, but it still certainly made for a long night! We didn't get back to San Jose until 5:00 AM.
As if that wasn't enough driving, I already had plans to drive down the California coast that coming weekend! I went with Steve, another one of the guys from work who loves to take photos. We stopped for a beautiful sunset in Point Lobos, went to the beach in Carmel, and saw Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and the flower fields of Lompoc. We also got to witness a bunch of elephant seals sparring. That was quite incredible. The only disappointing part of the weekend was that the weather wasn't very cooperative, at least in the morning. Clouds were prevalent every day until the mid afternoon, which definitely left some of the photos wanting. Regardless, we had a blast! I'm still working on my photos from the trip, but they should be posted today or tomorrow.