Just a hint of cycling

Well, it's been another 2 weeks since my last blog. I think it's because I have only been writing about cycling and to be honest it's getting a little blah. I mean hell, even I think one ride report is starting to sound like all the others. That means it's time to shake things up a bit and this weekend's mini-vacation provided the perfect opportunity.

Don't get me wrong. I am still training hard for the Gran Fondo, which is now completely sold out. That has meant more hill repeats and power intervals. However, I am starting to feel a little fatigued so Coach Tim and I are tweaking the training just a bit. I have also done some great rides like yesterday's Tour of Napa. But let's talk about something else shall we?

Friday was Sherry's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is for fear of never having french toast again. I will say that we have both reached that point in our lives where our 30's are getting harder and harder to remember and we simply don't care. We are too busy having fun and living life to be concerned with physical age.

The original plan was lunch at Etoile. This is a phenomenal restaurant at the Domain Chandon winery in Yontville. So with reservations for 1:30 on Saturday the birthday lunch is all set. But wait! A couple weeks before her birthday Sherry decided she wanted to have dinner on Friday as well. So how did she convince me to provide a birthday dinner and lunch. It was really quite easy. She suggested Riviera Ristorante, my favorite, for Friday night's dinner.

Friday night's dinner was excellent. Giampaolo and Luca were up to their usual magic of food and friendship. Everyone stopped by the table to offer Sherry birthday wishes. Giampaolo sat with us for a while and we all discussed cycling (is Levi really signing with Team RadioShack?). It was the perfect way to start what was fast becoming a birthday weekend.

Saturday was shaping up to be the most perfect day for a leisurely lunch on the patio of Etoile. We arrived and were shown to our table, which had a great view of the grounds and gardens. The food was amazing and it may now be our favorite restaurant in Napa. Domain Chandon is known for their sparkling wine, so we paired each course with their recommendation. I'll skip the details and just say that 2 and a hours, and a lot of birthday wishes, later we were taking a lovely drive through the vineyards on the way home.

On Sunday, I rode the Tour of Napa. It was a great day with great friends. The ride went as planned and I made sure not to flog myself since Sherry and I had decided to go to a movie that night. I was afraid that riding too hard would lead to either sleeping or cramping during the movie and neither of those scenarios ended well for me.

After the Tour of Napa ride, and a nice long nap, we head to movie. I am not a big movie guy and Sherry is not a fan of crowds so we rarely go to the movies but everyone we know said we had to see Julie & Julia because of our love of food and Paris. It was entertaining (I could have waited for the DVD) and we had a nice time. Of course the highlight was smuggling in gourmet chocolates for our snacking pleasure.

All in all it was a nice and relaxing weekend. Of course, now it's Monday, the birthday weekend is complete and it's back to the daily grind. That's okay. I will head into the office this morning knowing that in less then 30 days we will be on a plane for France. That's when the real vacation will begin.

Ciao!