Enjoyed riding in the "Death Ride"

Curious about this ride, and because my husband attempted the 5 passes (he accomplished 4 and was unable to make the Time Cutoff for the 5th due to a flat tire)in the California Alps, I decided at the last minute to use our friend's registered spot. He could not ride due to healing his hurt arm. I had not ridden my bike much because I broke my toe. (Really stupid injury; banging it against a futon frame....)
I decided to attempt the first pass (Monitor Pass: 8,314 feet). We drove the pass the day before to check it out and it seemed insurmountable without much agony and time. It turns out it was not as bad as imagined; perhaps due to the early morning chill. I started at 5:30am and got to the top at 8am. The scenery was just beautiful: snow capped mountain tops, blue sky. The rest stop at the top was a welcome sight and the boy scout volunteers took very good care of us. The ride down was just superb: the roads were perfectly paved and the road was closed to cars. Then I rode past a gorgeous river to the lunch stop amid the trees. It was great fun to watch the other riders come and go with their colorful jerseys. And to know I did not have to do the four other passes was extra joyful. Although I did have a thought or two about what it would be like to ride another pass. I suppose it was fleeting, because all I did then, was to ride back to the start....

Finished Ride Ataxia NorCal on May 14th!

Finished the windiest 68 miles ever! Great people; great cause; most difficult one yet for me. However, my suffering, pain and frustration felt during the ride does not compare to the suffering felt by those that have Friedreich's Ataxia.
Many riders on Saturday actually have the disease and still rode their bikes! My hat is off to you!

Hilly Ride this time!

Rode 37 miles from Lake Merritt to Berkeley Claremont area then up old Tunnel Road to Skyline, down Pinehurst to Moraga to Orinda. Then back up to Tilden Park on Wildcat Road. Down Spruce which is beautifully paved. Made a lunch stop at Cactus Taqueria on College before heading back home.
This one tired me out! 3,040 feet of elevation gain in 3 hours and 20 minutes of riding.....whew! But the weather and the company was perfect!

Joined Oakland Yellow Jackets

Last Saturday, April 9th I rode 20 miles with the Oakland Yellow Jackets who are a really nice group of people. We rode to the Alameda Beach from Lake Merritt. At mile ten they had set up a rest stop and at the end they had set up a potluck lunch.
Can't wait for the next ride!

The Ataxian - Offical Trailer #2

Completed Oakland 1/2 Marathon; Set Personal Record

2011 is off to a good start: I ran my fastest 1/2 Marathon (2 hours;17 minutes) in Oakland California! The run was great, the people cheering on from the sidelines were extra cool, as were the many bands playing music along the route.
Not to mention the champagne at the end! I had on my Team FARA running jersey and a few people I did not know cheered me on with Go Team FARA!

Finished Ride Ataxia NorCal on May 16th!

Hello Everyone,
I have been too busy enjoying more bike rides to let you all know that I successfully completed my 100 mile bicycle ride in the lovely foothills around Folsom and Grass Valley California!
We had a great time, the camping was not as bad as I dreaded, and I was sufficiently prepared to ride all the hills. I purposely took it easy, in order to be able to finish all 100 miles.
I am happy to announce that all of us riding that weekend raised $100,000 for finding a cure for Friedreich's Ataxia!!!!!!
Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart!