Mmmm, raspberries (biking)

No, unfortunately, I don't mean actual berries. I mean something more like the lovely gash on my leg (or on my other leg, or my elbow) after I wiped out.

That being said, it was actually an awesome ride :-) We went up Montebello and down Sandhill Road. At the top of Black Mountain, we could see the Pacific, San Francisco, and the Bay, all at once.... good to have something like that after 2200' of climbing. Funny thing was, I made it down the unpaved part fine, and didn't even complain that it was scary (which Piaw said many people do)... and then crashed on the paved part. So, remember: for biking, rubber side down. But, more seriously... going around a hairpin turn on a steep descent going probably 30mph is a bad idea unless you know what you're doing. It may be fun... but being alive is more fun. I'm fine and nothing hurts, but I did crack my helmet (really, really, really, really glad I was wearing a helmet), and bent the handle on my bike... so there was a lot of force there.

That all being said... it was really fun, and I highly recommend the route as good climbing exercise and an awesome view. And thanks to Piaw and Lisa for insisting on bringing me in and patching me up.

Ps. After getting to work just now and looking around, I discovered that Piaw, with whom I went riding, is author of not only some cool internal tools I use, but also Google Toolbar. Wow. It's one thing when you find out that particularly smart people are also nice, but it's another when you find out that a particularly nice person also happens to be really smart and has done extremely cool things.