26 days

 Here's the thing about Hypothermia.  It comes so slow and makes you so dumb all you can do is try to prevent it.  I had no idea how bad of shape I was in until I had been rescued by a nurse and her husband in a gigantic truck, bundled in blankets and driven half way home.

 I headed out Sunday for a six hour ride.  Plan: Ride into Yosemite Valley and out.

Weather: sunny.
Clothes: Jersey and Windbreaker and shorts.

I saw a flipped raft, gigantic dead deer, lots of wildflowers, big water, awesome rocks, it was a great ride.  When I hit El Portal it got drizzly and I put on my windbreaker and started to climb into the valley.  It was slowly getting colder and I figured I'd bust out the last 10 miles and dry off by the fire at the Ahwahnee and head back down.  Then I got dumb.  Next thing I know, my hands are numb, I'm soaked through, there are occasional snow flakes, and I'm biking down a muddy road towards smoke (smoke = fire = warm).  I asked the nice Mexican family If I could warm my hands over their meaty grill so I could make a phone call.  I hung like a hobo by the grill and called the main man to see if he could meet me at the park gate.  Then for some reason I rode deeper into the valley before turning around. A little later when I was shivering violently and biking 2 miles an hour unable to brake or shift, a gigantic truck pulled up.  Ordered me into it, swathed me in blankets, fed me, and made sense of my mumblings.... "Midpines," and "Friend at gate."  We passed Main Man, "We've Got Your Girlfriend" and I got home to lots of eating, a bath, a fire, and being so exhausted all I could do was cry the tired cry of a 2 year old while Main Man made me finish my dinner before bed.
I am the luckiest girl.

I've been  feeling like some geriatric version of the me I once knew.  This is the "finding my limits" part I've been so excited about!

In other news, I got an interview at a Bakery in Hood River tomorrow and am chompin at the bit to get home and move forward with thrilling farm and settling down plans.  One more week of California wildflower sunshine and it's home again home again to Northwest summer bliss!