ADAMS TRAIL A BIKE TANDEM

It started with a bike mishap on Friday -- this picture doesn't really do the road rash justice. A little patch of my left knee is skinned, but the whole knee is bruised and swolen. I also skinned my left elbow and bruised the heels of both my palms.

A further ailment -- a bruised right arm, from trying to donate blood. I know, it sounds crazy, but I was on my way to the donation truck when I crashed, and I had enough adrenaline flowing that I didn't think think I was hurt that badly. Apparently my body thought differently, activating platelets and starting to coagulate blood in the needle before I could finish pumping out my pint.

By Saturday I actually acknowledged that I was in pain and decided to take it easy -- I spent most of my day lounging around reading newspapers & magazines and snuggling with my poodles (Pip had a tendency to lay or lean on my bum knee, though --ow).

Saturday evening I took the dogs to the dog park for the first time in a couple of months so they could get some exercise w/o further straining my knee. The city has drained the pond in the dog park so now it's just a huge mudpit. Guess who had no trouble jumping the snow fencing that was supposed to keep dogs out of the mud? She even enticed her brother to follow, so now I have two muddy dogs. The best I was able to do was to let the mud dry and then brush it out of their coats, since I have no intention of kneeling next to the bathtub to give them baths.

Sunday we were supposed to go on a hike with a friend and her Irish Terrier puppy, but we decided to go to brunch instead. This turned out to be the highlight of the weekend -- Helene discovered an exceptionally dog-friendly brunch spot, the Choice City Butcher & Deli (d'oh, of course!). Dogs are not only allowed but welcomed -- there were large water bowls everywhere outside their shop, one bowl at each table beside the patio fence and a couple more at trees along the street. They also give the dogs a free beef bone to gnaw on while you eat your meal. We'll have to visit this place more often (and perhaps I'll remember to bring my camera ...)

Monday wasn't much more exciting ... probably a good thing given how most of the weekend was going.

I spent a few weeks in Southern California this April. I brought my bike along too. I wanted to ride Glendora Mountain Road in Glendora, CA. The best part of this ride, is that it is closed off to automobiles 70% of the year. My first attempt Up the mountain failed. I had three punctures. The sidewall of my front tire had a small hole, and the tube kept getting pinched. I ran out of C02, and didn't have a pump. So I was walking back down when another cyclist came to my rescue. I was lucky, cause it would have been a long walk back. Anyway, I got a new tire and tried again. This time I left at 7AM. It was perfect out. It's a great climb with a twisting road that goes for miles. I saw two deer, no cars and best of all no flat tires. Next time I go down I want to ride up Mt. Baldy.