When confronted with the winds of the coast while riding, do as the sea birds do.....

I rode 43.25 miles today along the Bay Coastal Trail. I used to ride to North Richmond/Point Richmond and turn around at the 15(ish) mile mark. Today i wanted more. There is a road that intersects with my usual ride which is called Harbor Way which rolls into 10Th street in North Richmond. Not recommended!!! the quality of the pavement drops off quickly and my assumption is that the City of Richmond does not value that section for their property tax contributions, etc. I could be wrong but I doubt it. I took another major thoroughfare to the side road leading out to the SS Red Oak Victory:

"Launched on November 9, 1944 as the SS Red Oak Victory, and commissioned as the USS Red Oak Victory (AK235) in December, 1944, the Red Oak Victory is the only vessel built by the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California that is being restored. The ship saw service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and has the distinction of being the only ship operated by both military and civilian personnel during her career.
In 1996, by an Act of Congress, title to the SS Red Oak Victory was conveyed to the Richmond Museum Association. One of the primary goals of the museum is to preserve, restore and develop the Red Oak Victory into a viable asset that can be used, enjoyed and appreciated by the citizens of Richmond and the surrounding Bay Area communities.
No man had a greater influence on the City of Richmond than Henry J. Kaiser. It is important that his accomplishments and contributions to the war effort and community be made known as an example of what committed people can do.
The Richmond Museum of History has undertaken this unique restoration project because one object, a World War II Victory Ship, has brought together the devotion and commitment of volunteers, the wartime accomplishments of a community, and the vision and ingenuity of one man."

There are a plethora of tug boats out in port there, like 25, so that was really cool, plus there is an old ship in dry dock:

"The WAPAMA, a wooden-hulled, steam-propelled vessel built for Charles R. McCormick's famed steamship company, remained in the West Coast fleet until 1947. The last surviving example of more than 200 steam schooners designed for the 19Th and 20Th-century Pacific Coast lumber trade and coastal service, WAPAMA's construction is unique in its use of sister frames and lack of steel strapping."

It was interesting to see all the activity that was going on around there in spite of the real silence. There were hundreds of cars parked around there and when I was leaving, a fleet of Kia cars were leaving the lot. Apparently, there is a receiving dock for Korean-made Kias that ships leave off at the Port of Richmond. I had to wait for all these Kia "coups(?)" to pass by. They were all the exact same design, with color schemes marking the only difference between each one. And so new, of course. They were all being driven to a train or long bed truck for delivery somewhere else. I felt like I could expect to see a camera crew riding alongside the cars for a new Kia commercial. Otherwise, it was really quiet there, with winds blowing off the bay, making nice whitecaps on the waters, a ridge of fog sitting over the western views to SF, and just a freshness that is reassuring about being able to find solace in a world that we are told by so many which is dangerous(chemicals, sins; environmentalists, religious folks) and just to know that all was well in that moment.

I have not ridden since the 30Th of May, so the 43.25 miles in 3:15 was somewhat astonishing. I have been regularly doing exercises, staying devoted to the gym and making progress in all ways around that.

The Garden: SO MUCH is happening there. I have a large red dahlia coming into bloom which had 1 stem last year and this year it has 4, the Dahlia imperialis is just getting so large, I have orchids on orchids on orchids coming into spike. It seems, though, that my Grammatophyllum multiflorum alba does not have flower spikes, after all, but new growths, which kind of sucks because I thought it was going to have 6 or 7 flowering spikes, which usually have nearly 100 flowers on them. "Alba" means without color(greens, white and some yellows, excepted), so this plant gets covered with 3-4 foot-tall spikes and green flowers, each flower nearing 2 inches. Quite a spectacle, indeed!!

My Masdevallia cucullata has an open flower now, as does my Masdevallia caudata(one of my faves). These are 2 newly aquired plants from Gary Meyers of colombiaorchidimports.com, which I received in early March. I do believe I have before mentioned this.

I had 8 Allium schubertii bloom this year. The flower heads are quite open and spread out, with the little flowers each distributed singly on the end of a "branch". Really like Fourth of July fireworks. The stems dry up and make seeds this time of year so I removed them and stuck then strategically around the garden in high spots to look like they had landed from some other planet. It is pretty cool.

I am going to leave you now with this one significant thought: "If you don't shut up, I'm going to slap you!!!"...................