West side of Cantelow!

So this was supposed to be the weekend of the Ill Fated Tour....(edited) : and I learn that I can do hills!

ANYWAY, I rode this morning. Did Solano Lake hill once, and

then rode down the beautiful Pleasants Valley Rd and hit the west side of
Cantelow. Just as the race team was coming down! I smiled off to the side (it really looks pretty cool ala peloton) as they came down (narrow road, and some swung wide on the turn. They were at ~35 mph, not something to get in the way of!) and got some smilesand nods back. So fun to watch. Diane went down towards the gathering group.
I waited for her, then decided to head up on my own. And up and up!! The road was loose with gravel, but I went up and thought for a while '...this isn't so bad' and then it got steeper! I saw a mature roadie up by a rail (who left as I headed up, embarrassed for having stopped??) and somehow I thought I was at the top, and I was already laboring for air and my legs were hurting , and I finally realized for the first time during a climb that I was going to have to go DOWN this up, so I pulled over too...it obviously wasn't the top. IT was the turn before the REALLY steep part! I looked up, and remembered that the last time I went down it, I seriously thought I was
going to vault over the handlebars!! My heart was still pounding, and I thought, 'Okay, I'm good. I'm heading down' and even then, I couldn't make myself mount my bike and ride down. It was scary steep!! So I *walked* my bike down that section before it sloped a bit less and seemed acceptable to get back on and coast down. lol. Down a ways, I found Diane waiting in the shade. She had gone as far as she could and was waiting for me.

It was pretty awesome, though. After yesterday climbing up to the dam at Berryessa and today, I'm getting more confident with hills. I think I can keep going on grades that aren't as steep as Cantelow, and I think I could eventually get up Cantelow with practice, as long as I didn't have to go DOWN it! That was what seriously made up my mind to not continue UP
was the upcoming DOWN if I did...

I think I'm ready for Shasta next weekend.