Goodbyes and Hellos

Jesse always senses that something is amiss when the rolling suitcases come out—the telltale sign that a kennel stay is in her immediate future. She wouldn’t leave Tony’s side on Monday and pawed our forearms the entire ride to the Tampa airport. However, this time, she has the pleasant reward of having Tony all to herself for two months. Goodbye to Tony until our reunion in Kerrville, Texas.


The plane ride was noteworthy in that I took a “voluntary bump” in Denver in exchange for a round trip voucher for use within the next two years. And, I only arrived in San Diego three hours late—a fine tradeoff, I’d say. My Vermont friends, Peggy and Nancy, were waiting in the hotel lobby to greet me and to catch up on our lives since I left for Sarasota in December.

Our bikes were delivered on Wednesday morning and six of us took a 20-mile test ride through the harbor islands and beach area. The first casualty of the trip occurred within the first half hour. Connie was leading the ride as, being from greater San Diego, she knows the area well. We stopped to assess the best route across a grass field. I believe that, in retrospect, she would be the first to suggest that it is never a great idea to start pedaling forward when you’re looking backward. As she turned to face forward again she immediately rode smack into a substantial tree limb. Here is Connie, with the limb in the background, after our very best first aid efforts.


After such a traumatic event we all agreed that a little lunch would help to soothe Connie’s wounds. Laurey, a caterer from Asheville, NC, insisted that we MUST have fish tacos, apparently a San Diego delicacy in the broadest interpretation of the term, for lunch. They were excellent. Wednesday evening several of the riders treated me to dinner to celebrate my 60th birthday—it was a fitting end to a wonderful day.

I ventured out for a solo ride for a few miles on Thursday and found a spot with a great view a few hundred feet above the Pacific on Point Loma. By Thursday afternoon, all of the riders had arrived. The trip leaders held an informational meeting and went over the cue sheet for the Day 1 ride. Afterwards, the four SAG drivers met, reviewed our responsibilities, and agreed on the preliminary rotation. On Thursday evening WomanTours held the opening banquet which was also attended by many spouses, partners, family, and friends.