Routine

I've got a new crush. There's a strait that runs right down its middle that looks and feels like a river with an uncertain current. It's Istanbul and there will be much, much more on it and the Greek beginnings of our vacation to come, but for now, after ten days away and two days til the weekend, it's routine.

A preview

That means, after a 24-hour cycle of wake, eat, sleep (stretched over 33 hours accounting for time zones), Istanbul in the morning, Munich for lunch, San Francisco in the night, and Hawk Hill in the morning. It's the Thursday morning Headlands Raid again with the numbers multipled by 3 for donuts and coffee at the top, all for the Grand Reopening of the west side of the Golden Gate Bridge and the recent repavement of Hawk Hill. 49 of us rode for the sweets while JayBird rode for the jersey, his 104th. I stuck around for the first 2/3rds of the climb up to the circle, long enough to get photoed in the leading pack of four. If the photo makes it to the website, I'll probably visit it a few times, happy that I was amongst the leaders, but shamed for what it doesn't show, me fading on the final climb to finish not third or even fourth, but sixth.

17th & Sanchez: Already a crowd at 6.10am

I'll blame the jet lag, of course, which should be gone by Tuesday when I try again. As Baleen's in London until then for work, I'll have the club ride on Saturday to practice, too. But Tuesday's preparation doesn't begin then, it starts tonight with Fast Chicken, a whole chicken roasted in Aunt Judi's hot skillet, undisturbed, for thirty minutes, just long enough to post this.