Monthly Archive: February 2008

We went to our first game of the 2008 season on Saturday morning. The East Bay girls took on up and coming Cal State Monterey Bay in an early season matchup. Kelly got plenty of playing time. She scored the first goal of the game, went on to score another, and have an assist on another. The Pioneer girls had a chance to tie it up in the final minutes but missed a penalty shot and ended up on the losing side of a very exciting 8-7 game.  Didn’t take but one picture at the game. Kelly was playing great but when I took the camera out, they took her out! Barb blamed me for her getting pulled. Great game Kelly!

On our last river ride, we were cruising back on the paved trail towards the end of our ride. On one of the last uphill climbs, Vandenbusch and I were cruising along and talking, when all of a sudden,  Camello flies by us up the hill. His legs pumping like crazy.  As Vandenbusch and I took off after him, Steve commented on the Kahuna’s fast pace. “Look at those Portuguese pistons go!”

A legend was born at that moment.

After the Water Polo match on Saturday, we packed our bags and headed for the hills.  El Dorado Hills that is.  Been planning a “hills” ride with the Kahuna for some time, and it just turned out that the best time to ride was Super bowl Sunday.  Barb’s sis Melinda was along for the ride. Arrived in El Dorado Hills around 3pm on Saturday. Team Vandenbusch was not far behind and arrived shortly after we did.  Spent the rest of the day and evening getting ready for the ride the next morning.  That meant staying hydrated and carbo loading.  Boy did we get hydrated!  I was so hydrated that I had to switch to water after a while!!  Mike and Ann are great hosts. They made a great dinner of bbq’d chicken, taco salad and grilled asparagus. OH SO GOOD!  And good for you! A great night of Karaoke and general craziness followed. While standing outside by the BBQ waiting for the chicken to cook, the wind was whipping and the air was cold. Add some rain later in the evening and you have the not so perfect ingredients for a bike ride.  But this was a “rain or shine” ride so all we could do was hope for the best, and pray for a weather window.

Superbowl Sunday arrived with the sun shining!!  THERE IS A GOD!!!!!! Still cold. Still wet, but promising none-the-less. We loaded our bikes and headed to Folsom and the river trail.  As I mentioned before, the river trail is the greatest.  30 miles of paved trail with miles of single track snaking along in between the paved trail and the American river.  This trail is not for the beginner, especially if you plan on keeping up with Camello. The  “Portugese Piston” leads a fast pace. We begin by cruising on the paved trail, then zzzip, quick hop onto the single track where it snakes along side the river. Puddles galore. At first we tried to skirt the edge but after a few we just barreled straight through them. Pretty muddy out there. Very slippery river rock protruding up through the mud made for some exciting ride time. If you weren’t holding on for dear life as you made your way bumpily down a slight hill, or slipping and a sliding through “S” shaped curves and head high thickets. Then just like that, zzzip, we are back on the paved trail but not for long. We made our way 12 miles down river before we took a break. The river was  running and the salmon fisherman were out, wading in the current, hoping for catch. Where we stopped, it was only us,  and a loan hawk, who seemed to be sunning himself on the river’s edge. I walked up to get a better shot. This guy let me get about 10 feet from him before he gave a little hop to move away. He looked like he had a rough night in the rain and was trying to dry out a bit before catching some breakfast.  Speaking of breakfast, we were getting hungry! I was back on the trail for the ride back. Little headwind didn’t deter Camello as he led a 15mph pace for most of the way back. All in all, another great ride with the Kahuna and the Vand man.

As we were loading the bikes back onto the racks, the girls showed up in Ann’s car. They were going to do some shopping in old town Folsom. Worked out perfect. We went home,  hosed the mud off our bikes, showered up and started on breakfast. Mike’s egg scramble, with sausage, bacon, cheese (and last night’s leftovers) were the best!!!  Just enough to hold us over. We vegged out on the couch and watch some superbowl pre-game festivities.  We enjoyed the game and the superbowl feast. BBQ’d tri-tip, chicken wings, chili and all sorts of snackies. We even made a quick squares pool (10 cents per square). It turned out to be a very exciting game and the New York football Giants pulled out the upset and beat the Pats.  After the game we packed our bags, loaded our bikes and hit the road for home. We followed team Vandenbusch most of the way home.  Its GREAT trips like this that make life, LIFE.