The Quest for Blue Skies (Part 2)

Here I am again, near the top of Mt. Tam, overlooking the fog covered ocean. The big difference is that I made to the top on a brand new bike. I decided the only way to break in and bless a new ride is with my own sweat atop a mountaintop. I rode 50 miles and climbed over 5,000' in under a three hours. I felt pretty good considering the huge ride I did just yesterday, and I owe most of the inspiration to my new bike. See what I got after the break.

My wife and I splurged and picked up two new road bikes on Sunday, an Amira for her and a Tarmac SL4 Pro for me. Mikes Bikes is making room for new models to come through, so a lot of their current inventory was on sale. I've been eyeing an SL4 for a while now, and decided that now was the time. All I can say is that this bike screams up and down the road. A more detailed review to come.

Halfway up to the top of Mt. Tam. The fog covering all of San Francisco and Marin County.

The road to the summit goes right next to that strange ball at the top of the mountain. An observatory perhaps? After soaking in some sun I made my way down into the fog, which got more intense the closer I got to sea level.

The Quest for Blue Skies (Part 1)

I had quite the weekend of riding. On Saturday I set out on my mountain bike to tackle the summit of Mt. Tam. I rode  close to 60 miles and ascended over 8,000', making it the biggest the ride on dirt, ever. I wanted to simulate the mileage of the Leadville qualifier in Lake Tahoe, CA next weekend.

The majority of the ride was cold and foggy. I was convinced there was blue skies somewhere on the other side of the mountain.

Through the woods and over the mountain. At the top of the Coastal View trail I intersected the old railroad grade that takes you to the summit of Mt. Tam. The trail has some spectacular views, in this case, the rolling fog over Muir Woods.

The top was so surreal. Just a couple of hours ago I was swimming in the thickest fog that covered most of the surrounding Bay Area. It was bright, sunny and really warm at the top. It's the halfway point for me, but what goes up must come down.

I dialed my suspension back to fully absorb every bump along the way. I was flying down Coastal View and started to catch riders along the way. I was having a blast, respectfully passing people until I got stuck behind a guy who refused to let me pass after politely asking many times. What a jerk! I rode his ass almost 3/4 of the way down. When someone is going faster than you and asks if the can get by, slow down and pull off. No need to ruin the fun for everyone. Luckily it was but a small bump in an otherwise epic ride.

Friday the 13th

Stay safe everyone. I was expecting something to happen to me on my morning/evening commute, but luckily nothing made my Friday freaky in any way. I decided to take a day off from riding, having had a really busy week at work. I plan on putting in some major miles over the weekend to make up for the somewhat easy week of training.

Clear Skies

The sun finally came out to play. I rode down the Great Highway to Fort Funston and back. I found it hard to jump on the bike and spin for an hour, especially after a hard and stressful week of work. I hate feeling drained after a day of just sitting in front of a screen. All week I've tried to get up early to do my morning ride, but I've hit the snooze button every time. The weather hasn't been all too inspiring this week either, but with the days getting shorter and shorter its important for me to continue to rise early.

My Powertap G3 was giving me some weird numbers, but I wasn't sure if something was wrong with that or my Garmin. On a number of occasions it would completely stop displaying wattage or spit out something totally off. I had to stop and recalibrate, but I'm hoping that it's just the battery. Luckily the new design makes it more serviceable, granted you still have to send it back to the manufacturer. At this point I don't need to track my wattage output given I'm so close to the Leadville races.

Even More Fog

The fog just keeps rolling in. After a windy and foggy ride home I jumped on my mountain bike and explored the trails of Golden Gate Park. I was surprised to find a network of over 10 miles of single track spanning from one end to the other. I couldn't ride everything because it was getting really hard to see after 9pm. Still a lot of fun, and just a few blocks away.

Who Let the Fog Out?

It's been really foggy in the city this week. I went for a quick spin after work down along the Great Highway, back up and through Sea Cliff and the Presidio. I felt great on the bike and managed to keep a 19mph average, besting a few of my previous times on a few stretches of road.

It's amazing how consistency in training, coupled with rest days, can improve your fitness. Easier said than done, of course. It's been well over a year since I started training/riding more regularly, and it feels great to have accomplished something so simple like riding a bike every day. It's more complicated than that, but it really does take dedication and discipline, but most importantly passion for the sport.

Day Off

Last week was an intense block of riding. I logged in close to 15 hours in the saddle, the most since January of this year. I covered 230 miles and over 20,000' of climbing, more than double than January. So, I could use a break, to say the least. I'm gearing up for a Leadville Qualifier in Lake Tahoe next weekend, so I want to make sure I'm well rested and properly trained this week.

Pope Valley

On the second day of riding in Napa I rode through Pope Valley. While not quite as long it was just as demanding as the previous day. It wasn't as hot so I was able to turn up the intensity on my spin. I had one big climb up Howell Mountain, followed by rolling terrain down and around Lake Hennessey.

Riding through wine country wasn't quite like I was expecting. It was a lot more challenging than I thought, especially being so accessible to some great mountain ranges and rolling hills. The dry heat also played a major factor in my ability to cover ground. It's really a beautiful area and very popular for cycling. I passed quite a few weekend warriors who all seem to know their way around and choice routes to consider. I'm definitely looking forward to my next visit.

Mount St. Helena

I did a long and epic ride through the mountains of Napa Valley. I started out in St. Helena, where my aunt and uncle in-laws live, and made my way up to their vineyard in Calistoga. I turned on to Old Toll Road, which is adjacent to the vineyard, and climbed up the steep and twisty road halfway up Mount. St. Helena. My goal was to gain over 10,000' over a 100 miles, but it was way too hot, so I cut it down to 60 and gained over 4,000'. Not bad considering the temperature was well into the 90's.

On my way up Mount St. Helena I spotted the ridge line I rode the last time I was in Napa.

Just some beautiful landscape along the way. I've always wanted to tour a countryside like this.

He seemed surprised to see me.

Passed by a famous hub-cap graveyard. Yep.

Napa

Heading up to wine country for the weekend. Opted to bring my road bike instead in hopes of conquering and exploring the outlying mountain ranges. It's going to be hot up there, which is good training for me. The food up there is really great, also good training for me. I love how close Napa is from San Francisco. I decided to take Highway 101 all the up in favor of smoother traffic (hopefully), as well as a more scenic route.

Fourth of July Ride

This morning I rode up to Mt. Tam, around Alpine Lake and to Fairfax, CA, and back. It was the first real road ride since moving to San Francisco. What an incredible ride! I did 60 miles and climbed over 5,000'. Traditionally everyone rides the Seven Sisters counter-clockwise, but for whatever reason I decided to do it in reverse. The Seven Sisters is a narrow mountain road that cuts along the top of Mt. Tam along a spectacular ridge that overlooks the ocean and valley below. It's quite possibly the most beautiful stretch of road I have ever ridden.

The ridge is very exposed, yet the wind was very calm, and the sun was out. I followed most of the way with an Irishman who seemed to know the route really well. We chatted as we traded places and eventually got to ride most the bottom half of Alpine Lake with him.

I was so high that the clouds seemed to be miles below.

Alpine Lake sits just south of Fairfax, CA. Today was a really popular day for riding. I must have seen close to a hundred riders, mostly going the opposite direction. On our way back into Mill Valley we ran into a 4th of July holiday parade, and had to snake our way through town to avoid traffic.

Again, I'm floored by how beautiful the area is just outside of the city. It's hard to recall the beauty of the Hudson Valley after spending a few months of riding in the bay area. While I've been doing most of my riding on my mountain bike on mountain bike trails, I can easily be swayed for an afternoon on the outlying roads. There seems to be an endless amount of road to explore, each with a lot of challenging climbs and breathtaking views.

I made a pit-stop over in Sausalito to meet my wife and my in-laws for some fish tacos and chips. It was a good break to recharge and refuel before the very windy ride home.

Layers

Sky, fog, green and dirt; these are the layers of my morning ride. Starting to feel the fatigue of back to back to back rides, but maybe it's just the change in recent weather. I've also been enjoying each stage of the Tour, which has been fueling my inspiration to ride more.

There's a City Down There

In the middle of all that dense white fog is the city of San Francisco, hard to believe. It's quite amazing to me that you can get out into some really mountainous areas and leave the city behind in such short distance and time. My morning ride was great going up, but I found the back side of Hawk Hill to be quite daunting with the 18% grade descent, slick roads and thick fog.

Foggy Fun

It's been rather foggy the past few days, however it won't stop me from riding. I did a nice 30 mile loop around the Headlands, passing quite a few riders along the way. Ran into my riding buddies on my way back. They were headed out to the East Peak of Mt. Tam. My legs have been feeling pretty descent given that I've been riding a lot of back to back miles in the mountains. Just making sure I get a nice block of hard riding before my Leadville qualifier in Tahoe later in July.

As you can see that layer of fog just hugs the tops of the mountain peaks. This is my last glimpse of clear sky before I ascend into the clouds.

The Tour!

The 2012 Tour de France starts tomorrow, and I can't wait for the action to start. I signed up for live streaming with NBC Sports, so hopefully that'll work out. Being on the west coast means having to get up at 5 am to catch anything live. I have to remind myself to stay off the internet for fear of spoilers.

San Bruno Mountain

Spent my Thursday evening battling the wind and fog on my way up San Bruno Mountain just south of San Francisco. The summit sits at just over 1,200', making it the highest point on the peninsula. Hardly a soul in sight. Towards the top the wind was whipping the fog through my layers, making it feel like I was back in New York, toughing it out in the winter.

I was half anticipating a gorgeous view of the valley below, but what I got was even more dense fog. The ride down was pretty scary. The wind was so strong it nearly blew me off the road. The fog made it hard to see around the cliff bends.

The ride home from the mountain felt long. It was foggy nearly the entire way. I rode up the coastline and cut through Golden Gate Park, and stopped for a burrito before I got home because I was completely spent. It's was an incredible ride, though, having a mountain peak above a thousand feet less than ten miles away. I can't wait for the next clear and sunny day to see what I really missed at the top.

18%

Decided to take my road bike out for a spin around the Headlands this morning. The climb up Hawk Hill was grueling, but it paid off in the downhill immediately after. The 18% grade down a narrow one-way road made for a fun descent. I really had to check my speed on a lot of corners because it was so easy to accelerate and lose control. It also felt good to put in some miles on my road bike. I love being able to cover more ground in less time.

Dawn Patrol

What a great morning for riding. I went out with a few friends early in the morning. We meet at the bridge at 6:15am on the dot on Tuesday and sometimes Thursdays for a loop around the Headlands. We all felt like cruising rather than hammering, which was perfect for me. I ended up puncturing my rear tire on something, but thankfully Stan's sealant and a borrowed pump saved the day. I'm learning more and more how to roost all the gravel turns on the descents, setting a personal record down the backside.

Quite possibly one of the best morning rides I've done, weather-wise, in a long time. The sky was clear, no wind and not too cold. I met some new riders in our group, one of which works at Strava. It's always hard to get myself out of bed before 6:00am, but I usually don't regret it once I make it to the top. The rest of my day goes well, too because of it. There's something about moving around in the morning to really wake up and stay energized.