Marshall in Gray May 27, 2009
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Saturday was not an easy ride.
Six of us (Mike P., Joshua, Travis, Courtney, Buck and I) suited up and hit the road early, Marshall Wall in our sights. The forecast called for partly sun and 70’s. What we got was gray and 50’s.
It was a brisk pace through Sausalito, up Camino Alto and out to Fairfax. White’s Grade was predictably painful, but the descent down the other side was blazing fast. We mixed it up with a few other riders on the rollers into Nicasio and I could definitely feel the lactate burn when we circled the wagons at the Cheese Factory.
Courtney and Buck turned for home, but we picked up a newcomer, Quintin, during the stop. Six became five and we continued on. From there, it was north and west to Marshall Wall, a treeless, wind-whipped bluff on the coast, before dropping down into the town of Marshall itself. No rest for the weary: we pushed right on through to Pt. Reyes, where we paused for a nice, long lunch.
From there, it was due-south to Stinson. Somewhere near mile 75, the handlebar mount that keeps my Garmin GPS attached to my bike decided to fail. The unit went skittering across the road. We paused so I could retreive it and I resolved to “write those people an angry letter!”
We pulled into Stinson and took a few deep breaths before tackling the day’s toughest climb – Panoramic. I don’t typically like to squeeze three-mile, 1,700-foot climbs into the last 20 miles of a 100-mile ride, but it was the best way over the ridge and back to the city. Mike and I paced each other up, but it was a long slog. At the top, I was seeing stars.
The sun peaked through the clouds for a few moments during our descent, but that didn’t last long… and then the wind settled in. Those last five miles out of Sausalito and over the Golden Gate Bridge would have been difficult on fresh legs and ours were anything but.
Fortunately, we made it – and with that, I logged my most difficult ride ever. 109 miles with 7,100 feet of climbing and 6,800 calories burned. Awesome.
Bike-to-Work Day May 15, 2009
Posted by postalblue in Cycling.Tags: bike to work, Cycling, mt. tam
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I ride my bike to work every day, rain or shine. There are a handful of exceptions – Sara’s given me a lift a few times, and I took a bus home once – but you get the point: I’m no longer a stranger to commuting by bike.
It’s about 3 miles from my apartment to the office, with one uphill bit that prevents me from ever making it home without sweating through my shirt. In the morning, it’s sunny and cool. In the evening, it’s windy as all hell.
There was an impressive buzz surrounding B2WD here in San Francisco, but I felt left out. With everyone else biking down to their employer’s Silicon Valley headquarters, I decided to celebrate B2WD my own way: by adding some extra miles onto the normal, three-mile cruise.
Forty-seven miles, that is.
I got up earlier than usual and set out over the bridge. The San Francisco Bike Coalition had set up tents all over the city, where friendly volunteers cheerily handed out Clif bars, topped off water bottles and enjoyed a beautiful morning. I noticed an exorbitant number of cyclists on the road out of Sausalito – a good sign! – though my route took me in the opposite direction.
I turned off the Sausalito bike path and began to climb. And climb. And climb. And I didn’t stop ’til I hit the top – of Mt. Tam, that is.
There may have been a lot of riders on the road out of Sausalito, but there wasn’t a soul on the side of that mountain. No cars, hikers, no cyclists… it was just me, the road and that Pacific wind rustling through the trees. I reached the summit just as the clock struck eight, took a minute to catch my breath, snapped a few pictures and turned right around.
The view. See those buildings? That's San Fran.
The descent was long and windy, but passed quickly. Before I knew it, I had left the peaceful confines of Mt. Tamalpais State Park for the hustle and bustle of city living, only this was city living with a lot more people on their bikes!
Sure, I did a bit of backtracking when I added those extra miles on – but I wanted to see if I could cram Tam in before work. I did. I also wanted to see how quickly I could do Tam (or if I could even do Tam) without stopping on the way up. I did it in 3 hours, five minutes – counting the break at the top. Success!
Total B2WD mileage? 53.51 miles, 4,121 feet of climbing.
CCR was right. May 5, 2009
Posted by postalblue in Cycling.Tags: Cycling, delta century, lodi, lucas winery, mission cycling
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Lodi isn’t the greatest place on Earth, but it did set the scene for the first of hopefully many Mission Cycling weekend excursions. We rented two vans – one for people, one for bikes – and hit the road before noon on Saturday. With nothing but rain in the forecast, spirits weren’t as high as they could be.
Fortunately, one of our clubmates has roots in Lodi: his parents own a vineyard and winery! After a tour of the grounds (and a few glasses of wine), the mood lightened considerably!
We went for a short spin later that afternoon, stretching out on the flats before the big event the next day. Dinner was a good time, too – those ‘Reserved for Mission Cycling’ placards were priceless.
Ready to spin
The wake-up time was a bone of contention among members of the crew, but we eventually rolled out of bed and to the start line by 7:30 AM. It was overcast at this point, but as we saddled up, rain began to fall – and it did not relent for hours.
The first quarter-century was quick. The group split before the second mile, leaving just Dylan, Hobe and I at the front – and we pushed it hard. Most of us regrouped at the first rest-stop, but that’s when the rain really started to come down.
Eventually, we got lost. I stopped to the check the map and the group kept on pedalling. Fortunately, I spotted Ryan on the road and we figured things out. Then, once we were back on-course, we intersected with some other members of the group – so two became a healthy handful. Anyway, the theme of the day changed from hammerfest to survival ride. Mile 48 to mile 108 was all about one thing: making it to the finish line without coming down with swine flu!
Fortunately for us, the sun did come out – but only for the last ten or fifteen miles. That was enough – the Central Valley sun worked wonders, drying our wet gear and warming the air to the point where we all felt somewhat human again.
Lesson learned: riding 100 miles in the rain is only possible when you’ve got teammates to lean on when the going gets tough!
