We picked up a friend who rides for LLS fundraising rides; I’ve ridden with her numerous times but my husband has not. We rode half-bikes yesterday so today we chose the tandem. Our tri friend needed an easy >30 <50  miles. Our horse/bike friend, slightly under the weather, just wanted to ride. We were happy to pull her in the tandem’s great slipstream.

Actually, we did most of the pulling, except when our Tri friend went off for a mild effort, and we had so much fun convo. There was a slight north wind but that didn’t inhibit us (unlike yesterday, when I had to work really hard to stay on the Mr.’s wheel as we rode north), and the temperatures were mild, the sun golden and low, and the result was almost magical. We all had the ride we wanted & needed. That’s rare.

We cleaned up, walked the dogs, drove to St. Helena and had fun at V. Sattui — met some members who’ve never done the Barrel Tasting, so we steered them that way — they were very open and we were all too happy to lead them down that path.

The drive home was colorful — we headed east, and that’s where the color started.  Later, we headed to our b/h friends’ place for his birthday dinner. They’re both dealing with an upper respiratory thing, and we were exposed Friday, so what the hell…let’s help Ron turn 74! That was fun.

I love reinforcing our bonds with people with whom we have connections. We’ve supported our Tri friend both monetarily, through her LLS page, as well as physically, on the bike. And we reinforced that today. She’d never  drafted a tandem. We kept her honest (she’d have ridden much harder and faster otherwise). So yes, fun.

As I type these words I reflect on our weekend…I’m happy.  We both are. And that’s all that matters.