Case of the Mondays

Today was probably only the fifth time it's rained here in San Francisco since moving here six months ago. So strange to be living in a city with such little rainfall. I lived in the Portland/Seattle area and more recently Brooklyn, where the rain is more intense. I prepped my trusty Independent Crown Jewel as my new wet weather commuter and brought out my Rapha 3/4 shorts. It barely rained that much on my way to work. I thought I had brought extra pants with me, but mistakenly packed my summer shorts instead. I had to rock my riding shorts all day at work. Not ideal, but not that bad.

I also didn't have the greatest day at work, and to vent my frustration I attacked the hill leading out of our office and further into the Presidio. The only good that came out of that effort was the 2nd place overall on Strava for that segment. Tomorrow's another day.

Seven Sisters

I went for a nice long ride today up into Fairfax, up and over the Seven Sisters and back. As I was warming up before hitting the Golden Gate Bridge I met a guy who just moved here a week ago from Africa. He said hi, and I asked him where he was headed on this fine Sunday. He replied with "Over the bridge, and you?". I tried to explain that I was heading up north and over the mountain over beyond, and he said "Ok, let's go."

There were a ton of people out riding. There was a huge group doing some sort of tour of Marin. My new friend was keeping up until we started to climb. He had just ridden the day before so he didn't have very fresh legs. I rode my own pace and waited for him at the top of each climb. I didn't mind. It was nice to have the company.

Where he's from they don't have mountains. It was the first time he's summit a mountain top. I kept telling him it'll worth it, and it was. The view along Ridgeview Road is quite possibly the most beautiful stretch of road I've ridden on, endless valleys to the left, ocean to the right. and rolling hills in front.

We made a quick descent down into Mill Valley and into Sausilito where we made a pit stop to refuel before heading home. On the one hand I felt bad for dropping him on the climbs multiple times, but on the other it was kind of cool to show someone new to the country and riding culture one of the best places to ride in the country. We exchanged info, and plan to ride together again.

China Camp

I finally got to ride the trails at China Camp State Park. Despite from what I've read, saying it's great for beginners, which is true, China Camp offered a lot of challenging climbs and hidden technical features. I rode the main loop a couple of times and ventured through the outskirts of the park, finding some real fun single track.

I don't often drive to where I ride, but China Camp is just far enough. My wife's been out-of-town this weekend, so I had the car all to myself. As you can see it's quite the popular spot to go mountain biking. Because the climbs aren't quite as long as the Marin Headlands it's perfect for shorter rides, however you can just keep looping around and around to get the miles and climbing in.

The fast and flowing trails offer lots of great views of the North Bay on all sides. There happened to be a few trail riding camps rolling through, so I got stuck behind a bunch of teenagers and adults all trying to learn how to mountain bike.

Friday Fog

It's been almost a week since my last mountain ride. I got up fairly early and got a little wet and muddy riding through the Marin Headlands. It was a relatively slow and easy ride through mist and fog. The roads were well packed down, but threw up a lot of fine damp dust onto my bike, creating an almost soupy film.

Despite getting a little dirty, it was a great way to start the day. However, the best part of my day was towards the end of it when I got word from the shop helping me with my Open O-1.0 build that my new 2013 RockShox SID WC fork, as well as ENVE wheels, are in route, and should be ready to ship very soon.

Rest Day For Real

Today's the first real rest day I've taken in a long time. I have weekly rest days where I'm supposed to stay away from the bike, but when you factor in my commute to and from work it cancels it out. I actually drove to work for the first time in months, which was kind of nice, but I'm definitely a lot faster on the bike by a long shot. I've got a big weekend of riding planned, so I want to make sure I'm well rested physically as well as mentally. Bikes have been on my mind a lot, to say the least, and sometimes I get burned out reading about bikes, especially with all the downer news about Lance Armstrong and the rest of the corrupt cycling community. It just bums me out, but I've got to stay positive and remember why I ride in the first place.

Golden Gate Trails

Happy to be back home from our trip out to the desert. It's 20º cooler here in SF, and boy is it refreshing. After spending eight hours in the car I was ready for a quick spin to shake out my legs. I opted for my mountain bike and explored some of the trails in Golden Gate Park.

On my way to the park I witnessed a nasty crash. A woman was just riding along and got her front wheel caught in the street-car rail. Before she knew it she was on the ground, tangled up with her bike. I stopped to check if she was ok. She was pretty shaken up, and a number of people rushed over to her. She was fine, a little scraped up. I checked her bike out to make sure it was in working order before I left. Pretty scary, but I'm glad she's ok.

Tomorrow it's back to work, but thankfully it's a short week for me. I've got some weekend riding plans to take care of. Maybe I'll finally check out China Camp or do another Marin Century.

Joshua Tree

On our last day in Palm Springs before we drive back tomorrow I decided to ride through Joshua Tree national park. I started near the western entrance, rode out to the eastern entrance, and made my way through the northern part of the park. 50 miles later I'm alive and well, a tad sunburned, and ready for a dip in the pool.

I was worried I didn't being enough water with me. I set a fast pace to the eastern entrance, averaging about 24 miles an hour before the long deceitful climb into the park. I was completely spent after the effort and started guzzling my water. Thankfully I was able to get a refill from the entrance guard before setting off.

The roads were rolling, but it felt like I was on a gentle upward slope the entire time. I got tired real fast, and was going through my water faster than I wanted to.

The park is absolutely amazing. I've never seen terrain quite like it. It started out as typical desert scenery, but halfway into my ride I was flanked by crazy rock structures and rolling hills of cacti as far as the eye can see.

The road itself was relatively well paved and void of much traffic. The speed limit is about 35 mph, and cars were scarce and very respectful of my space.

I should have started a lot earlier because the heat was really getting to me, especially towards the end of my ride. All I could think about was water, a burger back at the hotel and a smoothie. I stopped at three rest stops along the way, bummed that any of them had water. Lesson learned.

Our vacation is coming to an end, but it was great to spend so much time in the desert.

Tan Lines

Still baking in the sun. Yesterday afternoon we drove through beautiful Joshua Tree. We needed an escape from the ongoing pool party at the hotel. This morning I rode into the desert again, but didn't go quite as far. There's only so much straight road riding I can take before it gets too boring, despite the incredible panoramic views of mountains, wind farms and sandy hills. Tomorrow I'm contemplating making a run through Joshua Tree before we leave Palm Springs.

Hot Spin

Took my wife out on a ride through the desert. We left a little later in the afternoon, with temperatures reaching the mid to upper 90°s. I didn't realize how low Palm Springs was in relation to the surrounding hills and mountains. It was a sneaky gradual incline all the way out of town with a slight headwind, making it a fast and easy cruise back into the city.

Burnin' Up

Did some desert exploration today. I road part of the Tour de Palm Springs route, which took me along a wind farm and straight into the desert. It was pretty much a ghost town for most of the way, the quiet solitude I was searching for after we arrived at the hotel last night from a long day of driving.

Palm Springs is nestled against some pretty serious looking mountains. I tried finding a route through them, but haven't found anything close enough. We may drive to Joshua Tree and explore the park by bike if it doesn't get too hot.

There are miles and miles of empty roads just like this. I passed four riders going the opposite direction and two cars. Not too much climbing to be had, and the roads are as straight as an arrow. I was able to see the entire loop from just about any point on my ride, except for when I rode through a canyon-like series of rolling hills, flanked by power lines.

I really put the hammer down, averaging 20 miles an hour over the 45 mile ride in the near 90º heat. When got back to our room I was encrusted in evaporated salt. A quick rinse in the shower, and I'm off to the pool and lunch. Gotta love vacation.

Desert Vacation

Drove down to Palm Springs for a little anniversary vacation with my wife. We took the long way down along highway 1 and through Big Sur. I have to say that the California Coast is the most beautiful I've seen so far.

I'm looking forward to relaxing by the pool while fixing my embarrassing cycling tans. However, we brought bikes, of course, and I love riding in the desert.

Road Bike Trials

I'm sure you've all seen this by now. It was sent to me by a few friends within the day. Pretty amazing considering it's a carbon road bike and wheels.

Reverse

I've been enjoying my somewhat easy spins along the coast in the mornings, this time doing the route in reverse.

Last night I had to swap out my tires for my old Gatorskins because of a sidewall cut on the rear. Kind of disappointing because I haven't put too many miles on them, but have flatted numerous time already.

Intervals

Doing intervals have become second nature to me. I did some steady state intervals for an hour, and felt pretty good afterwards. My power meter is still out of commission, but I can solidly rely on my heart rate monitor to tell me to push harder or back off. The most important thing for me to get through these is to have a great soundtrack to listen to, usually something high tempo and not too aggressive. DJ sets are perfect, especially if I haven't heard the mix yet. There's usually a surprising turn here and there to keep me focused and happy while I sit and stare out the window. I look forward to sharing more of my workout music.

Coastal

Did a quick coastal loop this morning. Had to cut it short because my dog spent the night in the ER after eating a granola bar with some raisins in it. Luckily they managed to get them out, but still, it was pretty scary. He's all fine now.

Must Rest

My legs are cooked after riding a hundred miles on Saturday. Thought I could squeeze in a recovery ride, but ended up cleaning my bike instead. I've been rolling with Boeshield's T-9 lube for the past 6 months on my mountain and road bikes, but noticed the huge build up of wax. Not cool. It took me forever to fully clean it off my drivetrain. I'm going back to Finish Line products until I find something better. Recommendations?

Marin Century

I rode around Marin to blow off some major steam from a crazy couple of weeks of work. I rode 105 miles, climbed 7,588', had two flats, went through 4 bottles of water, a bag of GU Chomps, 4 granola bars, some energy gels. It wasn't as much of a suffer fest considering that the weather was amazing, and that I was going at my own pace.

I was expecting a crazy amount of people on the bridge and roads, all scoping for a perfect spot for one of the many events happening in the city over the weekend. The morning fog burned off by late afternoon, but I couldn't really tell because I was heading north. Way north, up into Lucas Valley and Nicasio.

Not halfway into Mill Valley I get challenged by a crew of roadies and cross riders, showing off how strong they were. Not cool, especially if you jump in front of me and immediately slow me down for a runner you nearly plowed over. It was rude. I passed him, and he continued to sprint alongside me, but eventually gave up. Jerks.

I made up to San Rafael and rode around China Camp. I did this ride with my wife a couple of weekends ago, and really enjoyed it. It overlooks the bay. I saw this lone dingy and thought how nice it must be to be isolated and surrounded by beautiful water. I have yet to go mountain biking in China Camp. Looks like fun terrain.

From there I made my through Lucas Valley and up into Nicasio, cutting through Redwoods, farmland, and your typical NorCal terrain. I ran into a gaggle of groups in both directions. I guess it's a really popular route amongst the locals. I can see why. It's gorgeous and open up here.

I turn south and head towards Point Reyes. A few miles in a white redneck truck flies by me, nearly running me down. I give them the finger, and it's funny how Karma works. A half mile down the road I hear a pop, and my rear tire goes flat. I'm halfway through fixing my puncture and realize my patch glue has gone dry. Shit. I didn't bring an extra tube or glue-less patches. A few minutes roll by and one of the groups rolls by. I immediately flag them down and they hook me up with some glue. Thank you guys from the Velo Paradiso Meetup group.

I'm on my way once again, rolling through the quaint Point Reyes, where I pass the Meetup group once again, having a quick bit to eat as I continue to spin down the road. At this point my legs are beginning to feel it. I brought just enough food with me, but I'm worried about getting stranded, knowing I don't have a way of fixing another flat.

I near the coastline, cutting through Stinson Beach before turning upwards into Mt. Tam. The long series of switchbacks and seemingly never-ending climb finally ends where I stop to refill my bottles. However, I'm not finished. I turn up the road and continue to the top of Mt. Tam.

This is one of my favorite photo spots. It overlooks the ocean to the left while the road cuts into the hills. It's only 3 more miles to the top, but it's all uphill. I'm at mile 75 at this point and feel like my legs have a bit more gas. I roll to the top rather slowly, but enjoy the amazingly clear view of the bay area below. I can see my neighborhood clearly, some 25 miles away.

I turn around and begin my flying descent into Mill Valley. Towards the bottom, after getting stuck behind a lot of traffic I hear the all-to-familiar pop sound. My rear tire goes flat again! This time I have no choice but to walk. I know there's a bike shop just around the corner. I get a tube, some glue-less patches and I'm off once again.

I ride through Sausilito and notice the crazy amount of cars and people all getting excited over something way out in the distance. It's the Blue Angels for Fleet Week and they're up in the air doing their thing. I get to the Golden Gate bridge and at this point the jets of banking corners in unison just over my head! It's so loud and the bridge is super crowded. No worries, I'm going as slow as a Blazing Saddles tourist at this point. I just want to get home and take a shower.

What a ride. The last time I logged in over a hundred miles was Leadville. It felt really good to know I still have the legs for it. I ran out of gas with about seven miles to go. I feel satiated, but will probably do an easy recovery spin tomorrow, but if the weather is fantastic I may hop on my mountain bike for a little Marin Headlands action. There's nothing like riding a bike to help clear my mind and feed my soul. Ride on.

Coming Back to Life

My early morning ride has me believing that the weekend is finally here. I thought about ditching work to keep going further and further into the mountains, but my responsible self advised me otherwise. It's been a really rough week of work, and I'm excited to get my weekend started. Hoping to log in two epic rides, back to back.

BRAIN DEAD

Work can suck it. That is all.

Place of Work

I work in the Presidio, sheltered by trees and fog. It's a short commute to and from work with not a lot of climbing. Our front porch balconies overlook the water and the tip of the Golden Gate Bridge. Down below I see a constant stream of cyclists doing their thing. I enjoy my commute. It's pretty straightforward with not a lot of traffic. I wish sometimes that it was a bit longer, but that's not hard to accommodate, just ride down to the ocean and long the cliffs.