Exercise

Stage seven of the Amgen Tour of California and the 122nd annual Rose Parade, a homespun parade were scheduled to take place downtown today. It would have made sense to run the bicycle races (one for the women followed by the men) first, but apparently the powers-that-be thought otherwise. The most critical  role had to be that of the army of volunteers, scheduled to clean up in the short interval between the end of the parade and the return of the cyclists from their 100 mile jaunt up to Jenner and back.

It was tempting to think of sitting by the Dancing Goat and watching the cyclists whiz by while we sipped Aztek Mochas, but without a parachute, or a sleeping bag, it would have been difficult to get there through the barricades, road closures and pooper scoopers, so we headed for Spring Lake with Ozzie as usual, hoping to beat the forecast rain.

We were greeted at Spring Lake by hoards of scantily clad swimmers
about to plunge into the lake for a Masters' Open Water Swim. It took them less time to swim around the lake than it took us to walk it, and the first wave of swimmers were finishing just as we walked by. Good for them for taking the plunge (extra) on a cool cloudy day into less than crystal clear waters. The outdoor showers were a popular finish line attraction. The rest of us carried on as usual. I particularly liked my subject for today…a man and his dog performing their preferred forms of exercise.

With The Flying Goat off limits, we went to Acre Coffee, found a table outside where we could sit with Ozzie and watched the skies open in a  cloudburst  of biblical proportions (see extra). We speculate with the couple sitting nearby about the logistics of the men's cycle race starting at 11am, and scheduled to return to the finish at 4pm with a parade and torrential rains happening in the interim….

My quote of the day comes from the Raissa de la Rosa, the city's economic development and marketing coordinator and co-chairwoman of the race's local organizing committee, "We know where we need to be at what time."

Leave us pray….