That Big Yellow Thing In The Sky?

It's been a while. Two weeks ago, as I huddled in my down bag at 9,000 feet in the White Mountains in a snow flurry(on Memorial Day?), I swore off any knowledge of it, finally. Weekend after weekend, run after run (or roll, in my case), long hike after long hike, chipping mud from shoes clothes, wheelchair parts and miscellaneous exposed body bits, its appearence nevertheless surprised me.

I'd given up on summer. There it is, though, on my calendar - taunting me at my desk, begging me to strap on the backpack so it could once more abandon me as I set out on another adventure. But here it was today - the sun, showering warmth that fractured the foggy morning in Silicon Valley. I wanted to get up from my cube, but feared disrupting the moment, maybe setting off rebellion with the Weather Gods. So I just sat, as I always do, and looked out the window.

Checking the forecast for the weekend, however, finally fired me up. No, 12,000 feet will probably hav to wait until September given the snowpack, but local trails will be dry enough to navigate over any possible distance. Maybe a loop from Skyline Gate in Redwood Regional. Perhaps a long slog up the Iron Horse and back, Dublin to Concord, a 40 + mile endeavor. Or maybe I'll find a creek or pond and just roll in - after all, I've gotten so used to wet weekends...why change now?

The best part? Summer, real summer, is just two weeks away. And it looks like summer is going to hang on for a while - maybe September, if there is a Santa Claus. Training is way behind schedule, so I'm going to have to double time my days, making Casey Jones - style rolls all over the western states.

I hope to see you, by the way, this Saturday, June 11 at Quarry Lakes Regional Park in Fremont, where I'll have my Ambassador shoes on as the EBRPD unveils "Healthy Parks, Healthy People". Early next week you can read my full take on the program at ebparks.org/bobcoomber . Best of all, it'll be a nice day. A nice weekend. Nice nights after work to zoom some mileage into the mix. Has anyone ever made the Livermore - San Jose commute in a chair? Probably not...another "first" to seek... :-)

So enjoy this time - full moon on the 15th, Solstice on the 21st, and Livermore's Relay For Life the 25th - 26th. I'm still looking to finish with close to 50 miles under my wheels, and being on the track for as much of the 24 hour event as I can muster. All because it's finally summer, and I'm ready to roll. It's what I do, how I roll. Oh, I'm on a roll now...see you out there, for as long as this summer thing hangs around.