stay high all my life

when was the last time you did something for the first time?

for me - yesterday.

the stupid side of me thought it would be a good idea to publicize the thought of cycling 3 major Bay Area mountains in 3 days - because making that public would force me to oblige to the task.

for once, the stupid side of me was right. I obliged.

what I have to show for it are tan lines (or should I say, burn lines) and a butt rash.
the smart me should have made sure I applied sunscreen EVERYWHERE on myself but instead, I only ensured other people did.

*you are welcome other people.

Friday? Mt. Diablo!

as it turned out, no fellow cyclists of mine could meet up - which is typically all I need to stay home and eat chips and nutella all day while watching Family Guy reruns. but dammit, my challenge was made public. I had to go.

adding to that... I had an emergency phone call with a dear friend of mine and, after hearing that her pup had very unexpectedly passed away the night before... the outdoors beckoned. our hearts are saddened and I felt and continue to feel so terrible. her Aston was the same age as my Romeo and I knew if I stayed home I would stay sad: chip in one hand, Romeo in the other. so I kiss/hugged him goodbye and swore to punch Diablo in the nuts for Aston.

the road up was fairly easy. no deviations; complications; challenges. just up and up. it was great to ride it the day before Amgen as I saw everyone preparing for the big day. teams cleaned the roads, fixed holes, setup signs - serious business. the very top of the mountain was closed due to tent setups but I enjoyed a wonderful view nonetheless. then very quickly made my exit to prepare for the following day.

Mt. Tamalpais!

remember that shindig you planned that went anything but smooth? someone's car was towed; the cops visited; the mattress got stuck on the roof. well, I had planned this group trek up Mt. Tam and worried myself to shits that nothing would go right. I am not familiar with city navigating and somehow I had gotten 9 people to RSVP YES to my nervous plan. thank goodness for nice strangers.

several of the people I had never met had cycled this route dozens of times and they completely saved me and stepped up to help and lead the group. *whew.

I played sweeper and ensured no one was left behind. after a couple of unsure turns, we curved our way up to the top and enjoyed one of the best views I have ever earned. the route itself was not one of my favorites... but the view was AMAZING. ..and kudos to the tall impromptu leader in yellow! thanks Jeremy : D

now back down, around and on to Mt. Hamilton!

seriously, THREE straight days of mountains? what the hell. I threw my biking gear on before I had a chance to think about it. wearing clean shorts with no underwear is a commitment - my vageen has TOUCHED the material... can't back down now!

at least I had a few things going my way for this one. a friend was joining me and this concrete has met my tires 4 times before this day so, I knew what to expect.

we got a bit of a late start - a HOT start. there was a goat standing on top of a dog agility course ladder off in a field. so - you know - that was fun to talk about for several familiar miles. I sang my new addiction aloud which was a nice replacement of my last one.

after resting in the shade of our first stop, my vageenal area felt like it did not want to be felt. the road was extra bumpy today - in a very horrible way. seeing a small rattlesnake on my side of the road made me forget all about that though. in a survival of the fittest, my womanhood was not going to get in my way. so I screamed and nearly crashed in to my friend. (seemed like the best option at the time)

when I got hot and grumpy, I reminded myself:

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are right.

and 6 days prior, I thought I could. that alone was enough to get me to the top.

after screaming (again) and barely avoiding a fat snake on the way down the mountain, guess what movie I need to watch for the 8th time?

in other news...

...are you kidding? how could there be more news than climbing 12,500ft and getting a heart-shaped rash on me bum?

...ok but really, listen.