Well, it's been a long winter so far here in WI, with no sign of relief in the foreseeable future. We still have over a foot of snow on the ground, and I still have yet to ride outdoors in 2008 in our fine state. A week following the Amgen Tour of California promised warmer weather with an opportunity to ride outdoors, but it ended up a pretty wet and cold week. At least there wasn’t any snow, so I am not going to complain.

I finally was able to ride in Solvang after years of hearing about how incredible it is. I even rode pass Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch on the way to climb Mt. Fig, though didn’t know it at the time. Come to think of it, I probably wouldn’t bother to seek it out given another opportunity.

Solvang was – even in the rain – everything I had heard it was: scenic, rural, beautiful and challenging. The best part was that it really reminded me of riding just west of Madison, but with warmer weather at this time of year. If you can get past the long winters, WI is really a pretty incredible place to ride.

The highlight of the trip – aside from the great racing and seeing Tom Boonen win in Sacramento, with none other than Mario Cipollini place 3rd – was a sunny, 60 degree day in San Francisco at the end of the Tour. Really, the Specialized Angel, also in Sacramento, was just a coincidence. I was able to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, into the Marin County and the Golden Gate Nat’l Recreation Area, through Sausalito and to Mt. Tam. A beautiful ride and a great end to my trip.

I now have just under 2 months left before Wildflower, where I’d like to a) test my fitness, and b) not embarrass myself too badly. My friends at PowerBar will all be there, as will a few fellow PowerBar Team Elite members, so I’d like to try and avoid making myself the butt of fitness jokes for the remainder of 2008. Hopefully the snow will melt and I’ll be able to get back on the road before then or I could be in for a long 56 miles on the bike…

Bye for now,
sec