Anyways- today Andrea and I biked over the Golden Gate Bridge, to Sausalito and then around Richardson Bay to Tiberon! We took the ferry back. It was super fun! Sausalito seems like a really cute town- it would be fun to go there and poke around for an afternoon. Andrea and I stole into a little cafe along the waterfront for a while mid-ride to warm up with some hot drinks. It was pretty foggy and cold in the morning.

The whole ride was really nice- lots of bike-only paths and really not much heavy traffic. Here we are waiting for the ferry:

Our total distance today was 27 miles. Andrea rides a hybrid/mountain bike type bike, so she gets extra points for bad-assery. I think we’ll try and add 10 miles per week, with about 2 weekly rides. Pretty chill schedule, but we have the time and I think getting back up to speed is a slow process!

Ps- here is Linus being cute with his tennis ball about 5 minutes ago:

For Halloween, we threw a bit of an impromptu dinner party for our friends Matt and Amy, then we walked down over to Belvedere Street and hit up a bunch of spots on the party circuit.
Matt Preparing the drinks. We served Stone Fences, which are a mixture of whiskey and apple cider.

Dinner was great- we made pumpkin fritters from this recipe. Amy actually ended up cooking most of the fritters while I rushed around and got in my costume (Earl and I were running late coming from the gym).
Amy fries up some fritters

The (still steaming) fritters! They’re basically a thicker pumpkin pancake. Served with cinnamon sugar (optional maple syrup, for those with a fierce sweet tooth).

pumpkin fritters

Even though Amy did most of the cooking, I somehow managed to pose taking credit for them in this photo. Doesn’t it look like *I* cooked them in this photo?

Amy and Matt getting ready to hit the down. Look at those abs on that woman! That is what being a semi-pro level triathlete will get you, apparently Amy is rocking my old latex cop uniform (a holdover from undergrad sorority days) which I coerced her into wearing.

The handsome knight of my heart and his unicorn steed. The “unicorn” didn’t last very long on the streets as he was a little overstimulated with everyone running around trick or treating. This was basically a pre-party walk! He got walked home and hung out while we hit the town.

knight and unicorn

Bustiers and pizza. Pepperoni, naturally.

Matt, Andrea and Mattius (Andrea was a tree, if you can’t tell)

Bearded lady! The theme of the first party we were at was Old-Timey Carnival. These people pulled out ALL the stops!

Here is the woman who gets shot out of the cannon.

En route to our second party, I was assaulted by a very naughty (and perverted) cookie monster! If you can’t tell, I was a dragon, same as last year.

CJ vs cookie monster

By our third party of the evening, Amy and Matt had gone home and I had converted into a devilish dragon. The full-face dragon mask, while a lovely work of art, made it hard to consume beverages. Here we are with our ski friend Spencer, who is a music journalist and gets to interview all kinds of stars.

We were certainly tuckered out after this evening. Let’s slide right into Thanksgiving, shall we?

For Thanksgiving, we went out to my wonderful Aunt Mimi’s house in Pleasanton, CA. My friend Amy, who is from CT though going to Stamford for their PA program right now, came with us as she wasn’t going home to see her family.

I lobbied Amy to meet me at my Aunt’s house early, at 9:30am, so we could do this awesome 30 mile ride through Palomares Canyon loop.

Ride starts out on Foothill Drive- look at the peaceful serenity of this beautiful road! Who says there are no fall colors in California?

Amy’s self-portrait on the hill. She doesn’t even look like she’s breathing hard! This girl is a machine.

Amy spent a *LOT* of time waiting for me to get my out-of-shape butt up this hill. Eons. She was bored enough not only to mess around with taking self portraits, but also to take this amusing video:

On the way up Palomares Canyon, Amy (who is holding the camera) spots this sign. What does it MEAN? Looks like a drunk guy crossing the street, right?

Clamper x-ing??? wtf?

At the summit! This is a long, slow climb. Amy actually got a flat tire here from parking in the gravel.

summit Palomares Canyon Rd

Back from our ride and showered up, we are greeted by quite a spread.

thanksgiving spread

Hey! Down here! Lemme have some! I’ll take some! Don’t want that stuffing? Just a little crumb?

Post meal scritches lead to corgi grins.

corgi grin

Bellies full, Earl and I pile onto the couch to zonk out for a bit.

I’m actually *loving* the bike these days. Something about the weather out here- never having to worry about the rain, and just the ease of grabbing the bike and going, as opposed to NYC where you had to account for the elements, then deal with the junkshow of getting over the George Washington bridge, etc. I haven’t attempted to head north over the Golden Gate yet, I’m waiting a few more weeks to feel a bit more confident and stronger.

What I’m hoping is to get into halfway decent biking shape and then in a couple months join this cycling club. They seem to have a cool mix of laid-back people just doing it for fun and health and also some racers. I’ve talked to a few of their members on the street when out riding (ie- accosted them and peppered them with questions about it), and they’ve always been so nice and helpful. Just seem like cool people. I’m excited to join, although like I said… I want to get to the point where I can go out and do a 70 or 80 mi ride first before I try and hang with the likes of them.

Riding along the ocean is FANTASTIC. You do have to keep an eye out for sand on the road, however the views of the beach and water and highs from whiffs of the salt air really offset any negatives. Simmering bonfires from the previous night’s parties on Ocean Beach are occasionally detected as well, depending on how early I get out there.

Right now I am doing this ride Monday and Wednesday mornings, and trying to do a long ride which piles on a bit more distance each Friday.

Here are some photos:

Not feeling spandex ready :p I’m too chubby and far too self-conscious to be rocking spandex at this point! But maybe in a few weeks…

This plant is called “Ice Plant” and it grows alongside most of the coast here. Earl and I used to think that it was so pretty (remember when we saw a bunch of it near that bench we hung out on during my birthday?), but our neighbor just told us how it is an invasive species and pretty bad for the habitats. It’s all over the place.

Earl was awesome and decided to come keep me company during my ride on Monday. He hasn’t been on his bike in almost a year, but still creamed me on the hills. *sigh*