Recovery tips

Photo I found of North Butte of the Sutter Buttes. The Buttes still have their green springtime coat, though not for long -- it was in the upper 80s on Saturday. The north side is my favorite -- with the jagged green mountain, rice fields and dense orchards, it looks like I imagine Thailand or Vietnam (and the few times I've seen this view have been on a bicycle, which enhances the feeling of being in a different country).

I have a deal with myself that I can go to In 'n Out (my favorite hamburger chain) on days when I ride my bike more than 30 miles. It used to be 20 but that seems too cheap. I could carry on about In 'n Out right now and this would become even more of an In 'n Out ad, which is not really my point. Suffice to say that on Saturday after my 102-mile Bike Around the Buttes, I went to In 'n Out and for the first time tried their "Double - Double" (2 meat patties x 2 cheese slices) with the secret off-menu code words for sauteed onions and extra sauce, a.k.a. "animal style." Delicious. That was after the bowls of baked beans and potato salad they had at the finish in the little town of Sutter that hosts the event. When I rode in some folks were discussing what they might do to spruce things up next year and considering the bold step of having a massage therapist onsite for the riders. Sutter is basically the Preston, ID of California, only a little smaller and less famous. The folks are very friendly and put on a fun ride though, with aid stations staffed by the VFW and the Moose and Elks or maybe they were the Eagles...I can't remember.

At mile 101 of the Saturday ride I started having some pain in my left knee, which got somewhat worse on Sunday during the 42-mile ride in Winters. I have two weeks before the next 100-miler to rest up. I'll do the R.I.C.E. regimen for a few days but I hope to be at In-N-Out again before that.

(Hmm. I thought the "I" in RICE stood for "Ibuprofen" and the "C" stood for "Cold," but apparently this is not the generally accepted meaning. It could also mean "In-N-Out" and "Coca-Cola.")

To be continued...