Gravity, Allergens and Vertebrae

It's always wicked fun to introduce a newbie to Diablo, so we were quite happy to have Mike show up with the venerable Bloggin Goggin for a thrash up Dan Cook and through the swaying grass ocean that is blanketing the Diablo Ranch trail. Just before we left the shop an old friend rode by and we goaded AJ into riding his singlespeed up to the start of the gnarly climb. Idle banter, chitchat and taunting soon gave way to wheezing and gasping once the gradient steepened and Chris and John lit it up and took off.

We regrouped at a couple of points along the way and soon it was banzai time as we tipped our bikes into the singletrack that was barely visible as the grass had grown even taller since we'd ridden here just two weeks ago - nothing like rain, sun and more rain. For once I was able to draw on local knowledge and harried the typically unassailable Marin contingent as we threaded our way through the undergrowth - which now is more like overgrowth...

Of course the allergens were off the charts and we all inhaled copious quantities that we'd go on to enjoy later once the ride was done. Seems the last few times it's not been so bad while riding, but once off the bike it was time to cue up the misery as nasal passages clogged, eyes watered and reddened and a general feeling of itchiness came over us.

We wrapped it up with burritos and beer and talk about riding other places throughout the Bay Area. Sadly for me, a couple of days later (largely due to a lack of stretching and a long hike with my daughter on Monday that did nothing for my hoopty spinal column) I blew it up again and have been off the bike as I try to get some relief for my collapsed L4, L5 disks. Seems my IT bands are tighter than a snare drum and a major cause of my unhappiness - on and off the bike. Chris has taken up Bikram Yoga and swears by it. As soon as I'm able to get some basic stability back, I'm definitely going to give it a go. Right now, I'm following Dr. Heidi's orders and look forward to my massage tomorrow like a kid looking forward to Christmas morning!

Peace ~

GPS data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32321448?sms_ss=email