A Waste of Gunpowder and Sky

Nothing says patriotism like a 50-foot-tall guitar-playing Cat in the Hat dressed in black on a float with red, white, and blue bunting.

Well, one thing might be more patriotic—getting up way before dawn (like Paul Revere’s ride) to go huffing and puffing up and down over fire-charred hillsides.

Can you tell the folks behind me are climbing up a hill?

The course was actually pretty, and pretty warm. By the end I was begrudgingly glad we hadn’t started later in the day.

Here the rider in front of me is about to enter the freeway. I love rides that go out on freeways. It’s a thrill.

The riders in front of me are on just as steep a hill as the ones who were behind me in the other picture. Hills are tricky to catch in a picture. They never look as steep as they feel.

After this climb, we had a good downhill, and then some final rises just to insult our legs, and then we got to see the Cat in the Hat at the park with a beer garden. ¡Viva El Gato!