Best Buddies 2020 Challenge: Stage 7

2013 marked the 10th anniversary of the Best Buddies Hearst Castle Challenge, and the designer had some fun with the jersey—incorporating elements from past years. The fourth event was my first, and I never would have dreamed I'd keep coming back, year after year!

Hurray for another day of clean air in September 2020! Unlike the distant fog bank in 2013, you will see smoke—not fog—in the distance today.

I may not make it to the Pacific during this series, but I've been able to visit smaller bodies of water nearby. Club rides tend to skirt one edge of Almaden Lake; I decided to see if I could bike all the way around. [Yes!]

There were a fair number of other cyclists out tonight. I found myself sort of mixing it up with a small group of young teenaged boys, led by one who was slightly older. Coaching or instructing them, or maybe just herding them. One was riding a motorized skateboard. The driver who would have failed her road test tonight set us up for a right hook. Instead of merging to the right, behind us in the bike lane, to make her turn adjacent to the curb, she passed us and then . . . stopped. [Think, people. If there is a car in the lane to your right, would you line up to the left to make a right turn?]

I stopped behind the car, since there wasn't enough room to pull around and pass her on the left. She didn't budge, which was the right call because the kids and their leader came along and passed on the right. [Unsafe. They should have stopped, as I did, and waited for her to turn.]

Trying to stay ahead of the boys, I was motivated to pick up my pace: I averaged 12.1 mph over 18 miles, with 320 feet of climbing. [Flat.]