Beeeep. Beeep. Beeep. "I think I was being followed by a drone," I said to the Husband when I got home from a bike ride with Tilda-Hilda about two weeks ago. "What?" "It started when I took pictures of the goats on Best Road. I kept hearing a beeep sound until I got to the highway." "I've heard that sound," said the Husband. "It's not a drone." "What is it then?" "I don't know." "It was a drone." Ever since that ride I have been hearing that Beeep sound on other back roads. Today I discovered the source. It's not a drone. Unless a ground squirrel is one. Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled just over 11 miles in 64 minutes this morning. Beeeep. Beeep. Beeep.

I woke up this morning thinking it was late only to find out that I'd waken up early. The bright light filtering through the side of the curtains faked me out. Just as well. We don't have a clock in the bedroom. So, I use the outside sounds as my gauge to the time. The other morning the early bird started chirping around 4 a.m. How did I know that? Because I went to the bathroom and before heading back to the bedroom, I popped into the office to stick my face right up at the digital clock on the radio. I could have put my glasses on to look down the stairs at the clock hanging in the living room. But, then I'd have had to turn on the light. No, thank you. Too bright. I wanted to fall back to sleep. And, I did to the pleasant song of the early bird. So, today, Tilda-Hilda and I zigzagged through the neighborhoods for a nearly 11 and-a-half mile ride. One hour and five minutes, thank you kindly. Forward, onward, and upward.

Tilda-Hilda took off later than usual this morning, because I was debating whether to take today as my rest day. I almost talked myself into skipping, but then I reasoned I would be rushing tomorrow as the Husband and I are going to see the air show at the airport. Hence, patient Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled off for a short ride. So, I thought. Maybe if I didn't want to go up this hill (the one in the photo), it would've been a sweet, short, not-so-hard ride. But, then, no hard work, no healthy gain for me. Chug, chug, chug. I'm not a pretty pedaler going up hills. I gasp. I growl. I spit. I looked up at one point and saw a woman biker also pedaling a cruiser going down the other way. "Hello," I said. No response. She kinda had a disgusted look on her face. Oh-oh. She must've seen me spit. Oh well, as the Husband says, better out than in. Anyway, we had another delightful work-out. Tilda-Hilda and I went about 9 miles in 49 minutes. By the way, I actually

Today, Tilda-Hilda and I reached one of our mileposts (lamp posts?). No, milestone. We pedaled to Tres Pinos and back. Our loop was about 12 1/2 miles, which we did in 71 minutes. From the photo, the downtown area looks like it's far away, but it's only a few 100 yards from the sign. For a tiny downtown, it has four of the best restaurants in the area. If you're interested in knowing more about Tres Pinos, check out my post at Take 25 to Hollister . Two things to note about this ride was that I pulled 10 goat heads out of Tilda-Hilda's tires and we came across a partially decomposed deer carcass. Shudder.

Don't you just hate it when the thing you wanted to tell someone slipped deep into the recess of your mind? Maybe it'll come back to the top. Maybe not. Which makes me wonder, how deep are our minds that a forgotten thought gets lost. Anyway, we'll never know what it is I wanted to write about from Tilda-Hilda's and my ride this morning. Oh, well. Cool station wagon, don't you think? It reminds me of the station wagon we had for a short while when I was kid. Our was beige with a tan top. I like station wagons even more than pick-up trucks. The last car I owned as a single woman was a used white Volvo station wagon. That was fun to drive.  Today, Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled nine miles in 49 minutes. I was going to say 9 minutes per mile, but then that would make 81 minutes. My arithmetic skills are truly getting bad. But, I won't get into that. Instead, enjoy the bicycle song and video that Widdershins of Widdershins Worlds suggested the other day when I me

This morning, Tilda-Hilda and I came across modern cowboys building fences. Instead of wooden posts, they used steel posts. They dug the holes with a big drilling machine. No back-breaking digging for them. More than likely, they'll put up wire fencing between the posts rather than three parallel lines of barbed wire. I notice that a lot more fencing is going up around fields in the area. I suppose it's to keep out the wild animals and humans.  There have been two or three fields that the Husband and I used to bike through that now have fences. Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled a 9 1/2 mile loop in 53 minutes, much of it uphill. As the saying goes, what goes up, must come down. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee. . . .

Tilda-Hilda and I thank the Wind for giving us a boost up the hill. Without it, I doubt we would've got to the barn with the cool mural this time round. Notice how the artist drew the hills so their lines matched those of the actual hills beyond the barn. Our valley was souped in with fog this morning that I couldn't see the nearby mountains. So, Tilda-Hilda and I took off just before noon for our ride. We pedaled nearly 11 miles in 59 minutes. Whooo-hoooo! Today's song was "Take me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. This video of him and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is from a live performance for Farm Aid in 1985.

This morning Tilda-Hilda and I chased after the fog, but it rolled? flew? floated? faster than we could pedal. You can see some of the fog breaking over the low hills. It's heading back towards the Pacific Ocean, about 40 minutes away. That is, if it rides in a car. Can you imagine a bank of fog squeezed inside a car, say an oldie VW bug? We rode about 10 miles in 55 minutes. I counted 15 hills. Some were slight and long. Some were very short, but steep. And others were in between. We definitely got a good workout. For me, pedaling Tilda-Hilda out and about is better than a stationary bicycle. I pedaled one a couple months ago when I won a free weekly pass to a local gym. It was totally not my style, the stationary bike or the gym.  I tried nearly everything the gym had to offer—the treadmill, the row machine, the scary weight machines, boot camp, and zumba. The trainers and teachers were young sweethearts. They realized I was older and out-of-shape than I did. I enjoyed the

This morning, Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled about 10 miles in 58 minutes. I'm two pounds lighter, too. Tilda-Hilda must be happy about that. Our photo opp today was at St. Benedict Catholic Church. The song going through my head on the ride was the first verse and chorus of Lady Marmalade. Enjoy Patti Labelle's version from 1975.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooowwwwwwwwwwllll...cough, cough. The dinosaur was rather rusty. He didn't scare Tilda-Hilda and me. He and his friends hang out by the road north of town until it's time to slink off into the Swank Farms ' intricate corn maze in October. Tilda-Hilda and I had a good ride this morning. It was mostly flat (for once), but the wind was against us half the way. We pedaled and sweated about 12 miles in 65 minutes. Hurrah! Until the next time.

Thinking about eating a peanut butter and chipotle spread sandwich for breakfast is what inspired me to keep pedaling up the steepest part of my ride this morning. Today was about a 9-mile ride in 53 minutes. We stopped in front of some plastic tunnels for Tilda-Hilda's photo. Every year, more farms in the area are using these tunnels for growing their crops. By the way, the sandwich was delicious.

Tilda-Hilda and I rode almost 10 miles today. Yay! Today is National Doughnut Day. I didn't stop for doughnuts. Yay! But, I still have the rest of the day to go.

It was a good ride this morning. The wind was with us as we went up the hills. We pedaled up the road along that hillside. It looks likes we traveled far. All in all, we did about a nine-mile loop in 51 minutes.  Pretty darn good for us old gals.

Seven days back on the saddle. Yay! About 39 miles in all. Hurrah! Wish there was a way I could write while I pedal. My thoughts are mostly all forgotten by the time I get back home.  I don't want to talk into a tape recorder because it would distract me too much from the road.

Tilda-Hilda and I did a short ride today. We headed downtown to the bicycle shop. And, now the girl is looking happy with a brand-new front tire. No more bump, bump, bump for her.

Today was watering-the-flowers morning, so Tilda-Hilda and I didn't go out for a ride. Maybe later if I can fix the twist in her tire, which makes her go bump, bump, bump. I didn't think much of it until I looked it up online. Experts say it's not a good idea to ride with a warped tire. The descriptions about what may cause a twisted tire reminds me of panties riding up. Poor Tilda-Hilda! If I can't fix her tire, then she's going to the bike shop tomorrow. Watering the Plants Our county finally imposed restrictions on water use for landscaping during the drought. I think it ought to stay in place even after the drought is over. But, that rant is for another post. Currently, everyone is allowed two days a week to water landscaping, which for us is Wednesday and Sunday. We water everything by hand. It takes longer, but it's more efficient and saves on water. So we think. Because the Mama has a tough time of managing the hose, without spilling water all ov

Tilda-Hilda and I wandered on back roads today. Doesn't that look like a chicken or a bunny up ahead of us? I think it's a chicken, because I was listening to the cluck of chickens around us. We also came across an orchard nymph. I was thirsty and rolled to a stop beneath some shade. As I sipped water, I turned to look at the orchard. Voila. There she was. Be sure to look up the tree to see the nymph's face.

Tilda-Hilda met Wally Whale, Junior on this morning's ride. I don't know what the name is of the little fellow behind Wally, Junior. How about Inka Dinka Doo? Speaking of which, I could go for some Jimmy Durante right now. How about you?

Tilda-Hilda and I didn't go out yesterday. Too much to do. By mid-afternoon, I stopped stressing myself about not going out for a ride. I was moving around a lot, which I told myself was what counted. This morning, Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled up and down the hills for 34 minutes. Pretty good for us. See you tomorrow.

This morning, I put on my orange tee-shirt, grey yoga pants, mismatched socks, orange Converse shoes, and red fingerless gloves, which I topped with my old don't-mess-with-me (in my mind) orange jacket. Tilda-Hilda was happy to see me again. Today made two days in a row for Tilda-Hilda and me. Twenty-minute rides, more or less. I puffed and gasped as I went up slopes and whoo-hoo 'd with glee as I coasted down them. My knee twinged a couple of times, but not enough for me to turn back home. And, when I pedaled across an open field, I recalled again what I like about riding bicycles and was ready to take on another hill. I haven't pedaled Tidla-Hilda since the beginning of the year. A friend asked me why not? Simple. I got lazy, which meant I lost all my muscle tone and gained back nearly all the weight I lost. Five months of laziness is enough. Tomorrow morning Tilda-Hilda and I will go out for a bit longer of a ride. Slowly and surely, we'll get back to taking t