Napa Valley Tour de Wine

It was totally a delicious day for cycling -- and the scenery was enviable. The real casualty of all this sun is that I have 1/4 inch thick bracelets of sunburn on my wrists and one ankle -- compliments of the extra sun granted by the gap between the warmers and the gloves or socks.



Date: 7 May 2006
Miles: 102.88
Average Speed: 15.4
Max: 31.1
May Mileage: 132.71
Weather: Sunny and oh so delicious.

Well, that's one for the record book. My first organized ride. My first century. It included only one tragedy that I know of. One flat tire, one broken spoke. One RV driver nearly killing me.

Wow -- gas was a tad expensive, however. Especially in the Mojave desert.



Then there was this dust storm in the Palm Desert. Notice the snow -- that's just 90 miles east of Los Angeles, right near Palm Springs. Spring break anyone? Sonny Bono managed to outlaw thongs there, why, I can't help but ask? I remember when you had two choices for coffee -- the Starbucks in PS or chinese donut shop desert coffee -- tastin mostly like donuts,



Somewhere in this shot at the first break is the group I met from Queen of the Valley Hospital, and it seems they were cancer and blood experts, except Gabby, who said biking was her hobby, and she just happened to work Monday to Friday at the local bike shop in Napa. "It's nice to be able to have the weekends off." I think so too. We all climbed the only thing in the whole ride that reminded me of a hill.

I had a nice conversation with Gabby, so I was quite disappointed when I flatted out and the group dropped me. I could have used The Old Bag's pump, cause when Jim or Joe -- the type 1 Diabetic bike shop guy from a Santa Rosa shop showed up he was carrying a pump -- because I was beating myself to death with my very small pump.



The roadie early in the day -- everything is still intact.



Nearing the halfway point I met a young woman named Cindy who was going the wrong way. She informed me the I had lost my way (I had not -- but she had), and convinced me to get lost with her for a bit. We did this until we some people with a map that confirmed that I was not lost -- and helped to get us back on track. She was riding a fat tired mountain bike with pink stuff, so was traveling pretty slow. I rode with her for a bit, and helped her find her way to the next rest stop.



Then the citizen press finally got its big break. One of the CHPs (I think it was Eric Estrada) asked me to stop and take his picture while he dispatched a deer that had been hit by a car and had "bones sticking out" and stuff. I felt really important.





I updated this with a close up of the officer. To the left. I should have zoomed in more.

Here's the roadie (below) -- with a missing spoke. I hit a boulder in the road and popped a spoke. Some miles to go -- and the brake will rub before I am done. It may explain why those two guys at three miles from the finish -- were able to ride away from me like I was skating backwards.



The last important marker on the route was missing so I showed up at the finish line from the wrong direction -- leading everyone to suspect that I might have been sleeping in my car all day. I had to phone my friend Farbod (having opted out of the 50 mile ride for the 25 mile, he was waiting with his buds and the rest of the group at the finish) and ask him for directions to the finish line -- and that's where the extra mile came from.

Here I am with the riders from KLA-Tencor at the finish -- Looking maybe a tad shell-shocked.



And then I went home. If you happen looking for the Teddybear Cholla bloom in Joshua Tree this Year -- you missed it -- as did I.



When you don't miss it -- it looks like this:



All photos © Shawn Kielty, 2003-2006. All rights reserved.