baylands bliss

i rave on and on from time to time about being out in nature, but now i'm allowed to enjoy it from the saddle of my mountain bike. i can ride my bike out my front door, along a mile or two of surface streets, and then i can hook up with a trail rider's heaven all the way out to the san francisco bay. along the way, i share the pathway with avocets and long-eared hares, graceful egrets and the occasional great blue. the air is crisp, usually pretty breezy along the shoreline, but enough to sweep the sky clear of clouds on most days. it doesn't take much for 15 miles to go by under the tread of my tires. it makes me feel like a kid again-- i would ride my bike for hours in my youth, and somehow i let it get away from me. i'm learning to appreciate it again.

i'm not a spandy yet, but the increasing ridership is definitely tuning me into the delicacies of trail etiquette... enough for it to annoy me when people don't share the road! it's good practice for me when i take to the road and have to get used to traffic, too. (i'm going to start riding home from work soon, i swear!)

tay tracker: win (4)
today's result: w (4-3, f/11)
strikeouts: 1
current era: 1.52

in other sj giants news, they clinched a first-round playoff bye with their comeback win on friday-- which was awesome, by the way. bases loaded on two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and tyler von schell comes through with a lovely double into left center field. our brief glimpse of tay (and joey) that evening was with champagne and beer drenched shirts and with half-smoked cigars in hand... all of which they definitely earned with a strong first half to the season. bring it on!