Today I rode the Tour de France! Well, this morning I drove over to Westwood Village and joined 80-100 riders for the La Grange bike racing club on their Sunday ride, up Nichols Canyon. But it felt like the Tour!

What a stirring sight! Especially from behind, where I allowed myself to drift. I was the only person on a mt. bike, and one of the oldest riders - probably one of the heavier ones, too. I hung onto the back of the group through Westwood and West Hollywood, but it was agony once we entered Nichols Canyon. I wondered how much I was willing to hurt myself - as it turned out, avoidance of pain won out.

Muholland Drive wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, probably because by the time I reached it, I knew I wasn't going to torture myself. I caught a couple of riders and was caught be other riders.

I did manage to finish with a couple of older guys and a couple of UCLA co-eds, and their male friends who stayed back with them. The ride used to end at the La Grange restaurant - back when I more regularly made the ride in the 1970s - but now it ends at Pete's coffee house, in Brentwood. I had an iced coffee to celebrate finishing the ride.