Roller derby

We had an exciting week here in Northern California. After several days of 72F/22C degree weather, an Artic storm blew in and suddenly we had snow, icy wind and freezing temperatures. The water on top of our rain barrels froze, and there was snow on Grizzly Peak when we woke up on Monday. When the ice finally cleared, a series of rain storms brought wet weather from Vancouver to Tijuana. I don't think I have ever seen a weather map like that. Storms along the entire Pacific coast.

Fortunately I had just completed a couple of hard weeks so now was a good time to take it easy. On Monday I rested. Then on Tuesday I ran for 8.75 miles in the hills. Snow, sun, and extra bright fall color on the trees were mixed together. it was an awesome sight.

On Wednesday I rode hard on rollers, averaging 276 W for the hour. The garage was freezing cold. On on Thursday and Friday I rode for 1:30 concentrating mostly on a smooth fast cadence. On Saturday and Sunday I ran, first 8.75 miles and then 7.25 miles. Saturday was fairly dry and much warmer than earlier in the week, but Sunday's run quickly turned wet and foggy. Visibility was less than 10 yards on Grizzly making the run quite dangerous in spots.

When I got back I had to go out and find Alistair, who had gotten lost on a bike ride and was out there without much light in the driving rain. It was more than a bit worrisome as the fog was thick with practically no visibility, and most of the turns were deeply flooded. I was quite relieved when I found him near Fish Ranch Rd. Fortunately the rain jacket had done a good job and he was warm albeit a bit tired. Riding the Berkeley hills in this type of weather is not advised. Cars go off the road all the time, and in the past month alone, we have seen two go off the road, down the side of the hill.