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I decided today that it was about time that I did some buildup on the bike for the season, so I pulled out the 10 week plan and went out for the first ride this morning. It's just light enough so that I can switch the bike lights off when I hit the bike trail.

So I did my ride and just left the top of the bridge on the way home, when my back tire went flat. Bugger. So I patched it, shivering on the side of the road.

I got home and showered and changed back into the bike clothes to ride in to work when I found that the back tire was flat again! I headed back inside and took the tire off to find that I had picked up two punctures on the way back earlier, one very small one that I didn't notice on the side of the road.

So I patched it and was late for work.

In other news, our manager decided not to come back from medical leave, so I will have to train yet another one. That'll make four in seven years.

On the way home from work in the dark, I flatted the rear tire again! It certainly hasn't been my lucky day.

P.S. Happy Australia Day to the aussies. I'll celebrate tomorrow when the date is right.

Well, contrary to my last diary entry here (which was a week ago - you suck, Jim) I didn't make it to San Francisco. I looked at the weather forecast, and decided that it would not be good if I was in SF and it was raining.

With 20/20 hindsight, I should have gone, as it didn't rain here in Sacramento, which means it probably didn't rain in SF either.

Trying to make up for not going anywhere, I went out to Riva and had a mini-feast. Riva has an interesting menu. The food is excellent. My only complaint was that the main course was a tad on the small side.

I started with duck confit with polenta and cranberry sauce. This was awesome. I love duck and could eat it every day. Until I hopped off with a heart attack that is.

The main course was the swordfish topped with a caper salsa, accompanied by fingerling potatos, baby carrots, and swiss chard.

I was impressed by the list of half bottles on the wine list. It's always a pleasure to find a selection like this as a single diner. I picked the Provenance Vineyard's 2001 merlot from Napa, which turned out to be quite spectacular. All things considered, this could be one of the best American red wines I've tasted to date. It was silky smooth with good body.

I even had dessert. A nice little brownie, which I really ordered because it was accompanied by espresso ice cream. Yumms. A double espresso and a nice cordial finished out the meal.

As restaurants go for my typical mini-feasts, this one rates highly, if only for the great selection of half bottles. Oh, and the food was pretty tasty as well. My guess is I'll be back.

Super busy at the moment. Plus it hasn't stopped raining for two weeks. I'm going mouldy.

I seem to be doing a lot of work at work. That sounds weird but it's true. I pulled a 60 hour week last week because of some problems, and then ended up on call all weekend. So it never seems to stop.

What I really need to do is get out on the bike, or go to San Francisco for a weekend. Wait! It's Martin Luther King Day next Monday. If I could get Friday off...