Monday Morning

• 4:45 AM the alarm goes off
• 5:00 AM Chad pulls up and loads the bike, hot coffee ready next to the seat, leg warmers on the seat.
• 5:15 AM pick up Mark Ernstrom, Ben Collins and we wait for Sean Cheney (What's he doing in there anyway? Chad is antsy and saying we should have picked up everyone at 5:00 AM!)
• 5:45 AM just above Spooners Cove, Montana De Oro, 32 degrees and windy, still dark, none of us wants to get out of the car except Chad. We do anyway. The lights are on and the climb is immediate and steep from the get go.
• 6:05 AM on top of East Ridge panting and sweating, Chad and Sean have been waiting for 5 minutes
• 8:10 AM back at the car after 3 brutal climbs and fun, fun downhills, no injuries to report, Chad went down only once, no equipment failures, no flats, we all wheeze all the way the home
• freezing, sweating, painful, healthy, exhausted, Good Times!

Why in the world do we do this? It's the only time to squeeze it in for four of us busy dads. (Who knows why Ben does it?) Stress relief, turning 40 this year, I want to be able when the kids are ready to go! Peer pressure has a lot to do with it. Those other 4 are training for the Sea Otter Classic in April, good fellowship.

Here's a couple of pics that Sean took . . .thanks Sean!