"I told you not to trust her!"

I rode 63.35 miles today, to Pinole and back via the Bay Trail, to Richmond Parkway, which goes into Pinole. I stayed put on that road, found myself quickly jettisoning along at a good clip. The wide open of the Parkway is so welcome. I found myself in a residential area of Pinole, stopped and asked a utility worker what city I was in(as I did not know) and he informed me, followed by an inquiry as to where i had ridden from. He about poo'd himself when I told him West Oakland. Anyway, I rode down a street called "Sarah" with a hill that is short but steep. I was so sure I would not be able to get back up it as I have on 24 gears(2 cassettes) and it was truly steep. Like San Francisco steep. Well, it was only 2 blocks long and I huffed and puffed and managed to get up it. Took a side street called "Atlas", which had several hundred 'prefab' homes waiting to be purchased and brand new roads waiting to be ridden. A deer9fawn, really) ran across the road, there is a regional UPS site there and Pinole Business Park but not too much else. Few cars, lots of blue skies, sweating like a mad man, and just exactly right in all ways. The Bay is viewable from the hills I climbed and it spreads out so nicely for as far as the eye can see. I am just still in a bit of heaven over today's ride. I was struggling to get home but I did manage to ride those miles in 4 hours 25 minutes. A friend who is in thew know(apparently) said that that kind of riding is CATEGORY 3, but I have yet to figure out what that means. I am just very pleased with the results. And damned tired. Such a good tired, though........

The garden....hmmmm......lilium Black Beauty is beginning to open(all 9 plants), dendrobium sanderae major has 2 flowers(a bit out of season, I believe), masdevallia hirtzii(mounted) has 5-6 flowers coming on it, the mystery epidendrum has 3 new growths, sobralia violacea has 5 new growths, angraecum sesquipedale has 3 flowers(and smelly!!), mystery hoya is blooming, I need to Google that one, Hmmmm.....running out of juice.....