Big Weekend Spills Over...a little.

Wow, that was some crazy fun. First it was the Big Game. My grad school buddy scored me a ticket. My first big game in many years and while the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium has changed a bit (fodder for another post) it was great fun. Neither team executed particularly well but The Bears had enough tricks up their sleeves to bring home the 'W'. Nothing like a sea of blue and gold on the field at the end of the Big Game.



Then, Sunday was the Big Ride. I'm sad to admit this was my first. About 100 Cal, Stanford and random cyclists gathered in Sproul Plaza early Sunday morning. After ascending Tunnel Road in one big mass groups split off in about 5 different directions for rides of varying intensity and length. I chose to stick with these cross dressing collegiate guys on the long-medium paced ride. We probably averaged a medium pace but most of the time it was either Hammer or wait.



Finally, today I extended the fun a little and journeyed out to the Tri-Valley area for a flat land spin with the 'G' man. I also brought him his new duds. Damn sexy if you ask me.

Ultrasound is Megacool

Yesterday was our first ultrasound appointment. I remember being impressed when Little M was in the oven but I had forgotten how cool it really is. Seeing tiny fingers, toes, heads and hearts on the monitor makes it all very real.

It would have been more fun if we were just there for the pictures but Ali had amnio as well. Not a procedure for someone who does not like needles. It was touch and go for a few minutes but she recovered nicely in true Ali fashion. I was amazed at how much fluid they drew. She's taking it as easy as possible for a few days and we're keeping our fingers crossed until the results return.

4.8 is the magic number

I love Beth!

But before I divulge the details of my love-affair, let me set the record straight. Yes, I am pregnant. Beginning my 16th week to be exact. In Mike's last post he and Soni both had some vague references to pregnancy which caused more than 1 friend to write an inquisitive email about whether or not they had cracked the code in the blog.

Now, folks are full of advice when they learn such news. But the ones who amuse me most are the men who try to race me up the hills who DON'T know this news. Beth and I met one of them today. I think I'll ask Metromint & Louie Garneau to print this on the back of my kit to let these men know that they are barking up the wrong tree if they want to take me on.

This would be good, not just for the guys who enjoy drafting off of my engarlged booty, but those to want to push the pace to see if they can drop me.

The answer to the second inquiry is a resounding YES.

Which gets me back to Beth and the title of this blog. Beth was kind enough to ride the 3-Bears with me this afternoon. And when I say "with" I mean she actually tolerated my ever slowing pace, for all 3+ hours. I was quite happy when I looked down at my powermeter on Mama Bear and it proudly displayed 4.8 mph. Did I mention that I'm almost 4 months pregnant? We may not have broken the sound barrier while climbing, but I didn't cough up a lung either.

When I invited her to ride with me this afternon, she was worried that she was encrouching on date time between Mike and me. Mike always corrects me when I say that 'we' are pregnant. He reminds me that it's really just me. There's no better reminder that 'we' are not pregnant than when I go for a long ride with Mike. He managed to drop me before we even got across town to Spruce. But he's always circling back and would have stayed with us the entire ride were it not for a ticking clock reminding us that Lil M had to be picked up from her friend's at a specific time.

After our lovely jaunt over the hills, we came home to a fabulous pot pie from BakeSale Betty's. Twas quite an amazing afternoon!

Off Season Ends With Some Wine

Yesterday was the last official day of 'off season'. We had plans to meet Soni and Jeff in Lodi for the Giro d Vino but the weather was threatening a rain delay. Fortunately, we woke to clear-ish skies and decent biking weather so we zig-zagged our way through the delta out to the Woodbridge Winery for the start of the ride.


Ali was a little nervous about riding 64 miles in her condition but we were assured the route was pancake flat and it was. Ali also tried to temper the pace by being the wine pusher for the day. She isn't drinking but wanted to make sure the rest of us didn't miss a stop or a sip.

All in all it was a great day! Nice weather, an easy route, good wine and great company. What more could you ask for?

Here are a few photos we took along the way.

There were crayfish in the puddles along the road.

The winery cat's really know how to relax.

Bike helmets are an essential part of wine tasting safety.