Levi and Animal Signs

Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo

Both Craig and Karyn from Team Lucca, participated this past Saturday in this years annual Santa Rosa cycling event hosted by last years Astana, this years, Team Radio Shack Team member, Amgen Tour winner and pro cyclist, plus Northern California native and all in all really great guy, Levi Leipheimer. I called Craig early Saturday evening to see how it all went. He was like a kid in a candy store telling me all about how he got to ride the majority of the ride with about twenty other guys right next to Levi. Crazy amazing Karyn, is just an exceptional athlete, and not only rode that 100 miles on Saturday but then ran as a pace setter for the Cowtown marathon on Sunday.

Thank you Craig and Kayrn. It was and is an honor to have both of you, excellent cyclists representing our team.

Animal Signs

My dad was an Irishman in love with Native American culture. When we would go on summer family road trips as kids dad would often bring along his drum. He would sit cross legged in the middle of the lawn at the motel beating and chanting while the six of us did the eagle dance, the rain dance, the hoop dance, the dance to call the buffalo.

Sometimes other kids from other families would join us.

Sometimes people took pictures like we were a traveling band of entertainers.

Sometimes people would look around for a cup to throw money into.

The fact that dad was an Apache or Cherokee or Ogalala Sioux at heart and also a veterinarian, gave him the notion that he uniquely understood the souls of all animals.

Dad use to talk to use about the importance of reading animal signs.
Laughingly I thought, today was a day I wished I would have listened.

On my bike commute to work, the skittish squirrels should have been the first sign.

It was squirrels gone wild all over the trail. First I notice five of these little guys altogether (unusual) running down an embankment like their tails are on fire. All five almost simultaneously dove across the trail right in front of my bike. Over the next three miles, squirrels are everywhere. All somewhat spastic including one fat little guy who I think, buddy you’ve lived a good life so far, lets not end it this way, as his tail barely flicks off my front wheel.

I am slightly more attuned to every deviation of my surroundings now on the trail as a result of a man being attacked a couple weeks ago. So when I ride over a long green twine that looks as if it is made out of young branches stripped from a tree, my mind automatically thinks - bike trap. Contemplating this, I about jump off the seat when a whole flock of birds flies squawking out of a tree as if there very existence has been suddenly interrupted.

Around the next corner I see for the first time a live skunk. Sorry, but I have seen plenty dead ones. Still thinking of the twine, was it a booby trap, an animal trap, just a long very skinny fallen young branch, or my hyper imagination, I consider calling my police officer friend as soon as I get to work.

I then ride past something I never like to see, and that always causes a shot of fear and adrenaline, what looks to be a drug deal going down under the bridge.

I get to the only major stop sign on that part of the trail and see a police car approaching. I stop. He slows down and hollers at me, “Mame! Have you seen a man all dressed in tan?”. I begin to answer, “I saw two….”, and before I can even say the word “things” he yells, “Not now mame! have you seen that man?” I say “No” and he jumps out lowers the bar to access the trail in his car and takes off in pursuit. I jump back on my bike and ride even faster all the way to work.

I did speak with David Valdez, my police officer friend who stops by Lucca on a regular basis to check in on us and also called SABA, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, to talk about safety on the trail.

I love riding to work. To be honest I do it not as a noble endeavor in pursuit of a green lifestyle or even as a means of burning calories and increasing the health of my heart and lungs. Though I am grateful for these additional benefits. The real reason I ride, is because I cherish so much, the tranquility of that time. The trail is a sanctuary for me from the onslaught of endless activity that takes place in two thankfully still fairly busy restaurants.

I am seriously contemplating solutions to my own safety out there.
I cannot fathom the idea of not riding.

But for now I will ride a safer route and in thinking of my father, will pray to the spirit of all living things to look out for me and in honor of my Catholic Grandmothers, say the little catholic diddy, three times in row that I was taught as a child to say to the saint who oversees safe travel “Saint Christopher, pray for us, Saint Christopher pray for us, Saint Christopher, pray for us.”