Day 149: Playing Around at China Camp with Friends

I met up with my friends “M” and “B” for a day of playing around on the trails at China Camp State Park. We met at “M’s” house which is near the park, and then left from there and headed towards the appropriately named Gold Hill. It's on the back side of the park, depending on how you look at it. The climb up the first fire road isn’t very friendly, and I vowed to show “M” a more rider-friendly route for the start, which I did in the end.

The first climb cleared me of the Peets coffee that I’d had this morning, and the two beers that I had at dinner last night. Talk about purification! Ride up that hill at a good pace, and you’ll be as purified as can be. From where the fire road intersects with the second piece of single track, the fun began in earnest.

It’s a beautiful rolling trail that's exposed to the warmth of the sun and views west towards Mount Tamalpais. Soaking in the sun on a cool fall day, and while riding on a beautiful trail is simply intoxicating. At the next junction we formulated a bit of a riding plan, which of course changed a bit as we went, but that’s to be expected when riding with friends at a place where there are so many options.

We decided to dive down to the front side of the park via some fun single track and fire roads. Once on the Bay View Trail I hit my stride. I felt like I was a Jedi in Star Wars. The trail seemed to have my tires glued down, and I was focused on zooming down, and around, up and down. It was fantastic to hit a zone wherein I could basically make no mistakes. ;-) After hitting the Shoreline Trail I suggested that we ride over to the old Japanese fishing village where we could buy a Coke at the old diner. We rolled over there and were warmly greeted by two older Japanese folks that I can imagine have been at the diner for their whole lives. They’re really nice, and we were on our best behavior. “M” bought us a round of Cokes, and we sat there on the shore and gabbed for a while about vacations, and mountain biking in Hawaii.

We rode back across the lower trails and then began our climb back to the top of China Camp. Along the ride back up I was beginning to feel frisky, and I started passing people on the trail. There were a lot of people heading up. I passed some kids in Levis, a few very fit women, and then a group of maybe five very fit guys. I was on a mission, and it felt good to push hard after weeks of being sick. The bad news is that my rib really, really hurts and I don’t know what to do about that. Arrgh.

After summiting we rode down to J.T. Howell where we rode for a bit before turning right onto the single track that leads all of the way over to the freeway. It’s one of those trails that’s not that “technical,” but because of the steep drop off on the left side, it makes you second guess every move that you make. It simply requires focus. Lose your focus and you will pay. By the time that we had hit this part of the trail system, we had already done about 18 miles of single track, so none of us were fully focused, and in the end, we all crashed along the way.

On the very last section of single track, and when my focus was basically gone, my front wheel got caught in a gully, and I was off’d from my bike, and I went over, or across, the bars. Can I tell you how much my ribs hurt now?!? I played down the pain afterwards. I remounted quickly, and made my way down the rest of the trail to the smooth and soothing pavement.

I’ll be very happy after I have no more illnesses, broken ribs, etc. Tomorrow morning I ride at China Camp again, and at 8:00 am. Wish me luck. Rubber side down as they say. Distance: 21.46 miles Calories burned: 1,905 Time: 2:31:00 hours Elevation gain: 2,749 Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18760080

Day 148: Riding with Friends

I woke up with absolutely no riding plan in mind, and that’s rare. I usually think about the next day’s ride the night before. I was up late last night after having a fantastic birthday dinner with my friends from Homestead Valley. We broke up the fun at 10:30 pm and I then came home to an unfinished Riding to Recovery posting. I think that I made it to bed at about 1:00 am. I’ve really milked my birthday this year. It’s been a wonderful birthday week! Have I said that I’m lucky? I think so.

There was a bit of a conspiracy happening today. My buddy “B,” who works at WTB, planted the seed today for a midday ride. I saw an opportunity to get “F,” who also works for WTB, out as well. “F” is in high demand at WTB, so getting him out can sometimes take some coaxing. I was ready and willing to coax him today. “Come on (!)” was my line, and it finally worked after he looked at the clock at least 4-5 times. What are friends for, right? I’m glad that he still has his eye on the ball (an old tennis reference).

We left at about 12:30 pm, and headed out to do a ride that "B" and "F" have done before. I thought that I knew the route, but one never knows for sure, especially when riding with “F.” He’s full of surprises. Today was no exception. I was riding with “F” on the climbs, but while on his rigid mountain bike, he still dusted me on the descents while I rode my FS bike. My only hope for one-upping “F” is to ride every day for a year. ;-) He’s an admirable friend, and one of the best riders to hit the hills in Marin County. I’m fortunate to be one of his riding buddies.

My friends from WTB had a limited window of time today, so I peeled away from them once that we had completed a quick loop, and had returned to their offices. I headed back up the mountain via Railroad Grade in order to get more miles in before calling it a Friday. The last couple of days I’ve felt really strong on my bike. This is largely due to having created a “base” after several weeks of being sick. As with yesterday’s ride, I could have just kept on going today. I unfortunately had a mechanical near the intersection of Summit and Fern Canyon, and that created yet another problem, being late for a call with my favorite colleague, “J.” By the time that I had fixed the issue, I was late for the call. L Uugh. We’ll hopefully catch up really soon, how about Monday!

OK, I’m going to keep it short tonight, and try to take it easy after a really wonderful week of birthday celebrations. Thank you, to all of you that made my week so wonderful!

One last thing, today is my Mother's birthday. She had me on her 41st birthday in 1964. Today she would have been 86 years young. Happy birthday Mom. I think about you every day, and on every one of my rides.

Distance: 17.94 miles Calories burned: 1,490 Time: 1:49:10 hours Elevation gain: 2,139 Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18664208

Day 147: Today was my Birthday Ride and it is Dedicated to Billy-Blu Tucker

Billy was the quintessential Siamese cat. Two days ago Billy made that journey to the other side that so many of our family pets have made before him. He had deep blue eyes that were as crossed as can be. I grew up with “Si,” a Siamese cat, and Billy always reminded me of my family's Si. There’s something so royal about Siamese cats. They have a lion-like presence that commands respect. Billy was 20 years old and lived a good life with his guardian that loved him dearly. I carried a grainy photo of Billy with me on today’s ride, so in a symbolic way, he went for a ride with me out to Point Reyes and back. ;-) On the last climb of the day for me, while riding up Chapman Drive, I ran into a confident Siamese mix kitty literally walking up the middle of the street. I was blown away. What are the chances that on the ride that I would dedicate to Billy, that a Siamese mix would just happen to be strolling up the street in front of me? I stopped and he just walked straight over to me… I’m not a religious guy by nature, but one must wonder why things like this happen. I only wish that I could have steadied my camera long enough to get a shot of his strikingly deep blue eyes.

I had a few cancellations for today’s birthday ride. One friend crashed on his birthday ride last week, so he couldn’t make the ride, and then another friend came down with a cold, and hopefully for him, not one like mine. Then another friend was pressured to attend a work related meeting that turned out to not be worth attending. Fortunately my friends “J” and “S” were ready to roll. I was set to meet them in Woodacre, at the market, but as usual lately, I was behind and trying to catch up. I don’t even know how late I was in arriving there, but even though I was late, I was greeted warmly by my friends.

After exchanging salutations we were quickly mounting our bikes (theirs is a tandem), and we were heading off towards Point Reyes. We took the Nicasio Grade route, past Roy’s Redwoods, and past the San Geronimo golf course. “S” urged me to climb the grade ahead of them, so I did. Near the top I noticed a memorial that I’d never seen before, perhaps because I used to be so oxygen deprived by the ride up to the top. It’s a lovely memorial to a cyclist that was killed by a drunk driver in 1999. Her name was Cecy Krone. It was fitting for me to see this memorial while on a Riding to Recovery ride, and with friends form AA and Al-anon. It’s a sobering reminder of the disease that has affected so many of us, and literally through generation after generation of families. The disease of alcoholism runs deep, and it has roots that spread out like a vast web. As I shared with my friends today, I told them about how I had momentarily felt “recovered” from the impact that the disease has had on my life, but that I was VERY quickly reminded that one never recovers from this, and that you are forever in “recovery.” I’ve recently been exposed to new areas of my life wherein my exposure to alcoholism has had a profound impact. It’s OK though, it’s just another layer that is now exposed, and I can now simply deal with it. I now have the tools and the strength, and not to mention the friends and family to support my effort to overcome what's already been done. I’ve come a long way in a year, but there’s a lifetime of recovery ahead of me…whoa.

The friends that I rode with today are an inspiration to me at many levels, and they’re a great example of the past, present, and the future that I look forward to. I hope that when I’m in my retirement years that I have the same energy, enthusiasm, and care that they do. “S” and “J,” thank you for joining me on my 45^th birthday ride! We rode out through Nicasio Valley where the reservoir level was shockingly low. When I took the photograph to the right I noticed what looked like an old bridge uncovered by the low water levels. A benefit to riding with people that are older and wiser than myself is that they can fill in the blanks. After we stopped for a nature break by the reservoir shore, we talked about the water level, and sure enough “S” and “J” filled me in. The bridge used to cross Nicasio Creek, and the road that we were using is new, and the old road used to course through the valley that is now the reservoir! So if you look closely at the photo, you’ll see the old road to Point Reyes, and the bridge of which I speak. I hope that I never stop learning in life.

From there we pedaled over to Point Reyes where we stopped off for quick pastry and a cup of Joe at the Bovine Bakery. We met another couple that was riding their tandem that was built by Bernie Mikkelsen. We chatted and shared stories for a while and then remounted our two-wheeled friends and made our way towards home. We rode back via Olema Grade, and then the Cross Marin Trail that goes through Samuel P. Taylor State Park. The nice and wide bike path offered us a great opportunity to talk about a variety of things, including recovery. I feel fortunate to be able to talk to people that have been in recovery for decades. I’ve made a lot of progress, but comparatively, I’m still in Kindergarten. ;-)

We parted ways at their home in San Geronimo Valley and I headed out of West Marin. I was feeling really strong, so I was tempted to go even farther by extending the ride to include a lap of Paradise Drive. I even thought about doing a full century. I had the legs today to do it. Unfortunately I started getting cold on the way back, and I had dressed for warm weather. The good news is that I’m back to doing long rides after being sick for several weeks, and I don’t even feel the least bit fazed by today's 60 mile ride. I think that I’ll do the Marshall Wall on Sunday when I make my return to Partners in Recovery. Yahoo! I received a very special birthday present today, and I mean truly special. As I look around my office, where I keep special gifts that have been given to me by close friends. There are maybe a dozen gifts that I’ve received in my 45 years here that represent giving of one’s creative self. So thank you for the lovely gift. You know who you are. ;-) 20^th St. @ Alabama, AKA, the Atlas Cafe, has seen my feet many times, albeit when I was in my late 20’s. I wonder if they still have those cooly branded to-go coffee cups? Blue, red, and white? I'll be riding there on my bicycle sometime soon, so the Americanos are on me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Distance: 59.01 miles

Calories burned: 4,151 Time: 4:20:49 hours Elevation gain: 3,665

Garmin Connect ride details: Http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18605361

Day 146: Another Rushed Ride

I had another day wherein I felt like I was trying to catch up all day long. I’m still having sleep issues, so between that and the time change, I’m consistently feeling behind, and by extension, I end up rushing my rides. Tomorrow however is my birthday, and I intend to do a nice long ride out to Point Reyes and back. I will be joined by some friends, and they’ll be on their tandem. I’m looking forward to it. It will be the first long ride that I’ve done since getting sick some three weeks ago. My illness really put a damper on things for me, but then again, I knew for certain that I’d get sick at some point during the year.

So now I’m over the cold, yet I’m still nursing my rib back to health. I’m not jumping the berms on Railroad like I’d normally do, and I’m avoiding trails that might aggravate my mending rib. That said, I’m really just happy to not have the violent cough attacks that I’d had for a weeks. it was a real bummer, to put it nicely.

The weather has been better than reported by my friends at KTVU, and I’m actually glad that they didn’t get it quite right. If they had, I would have been riding in the rain today instead of the sun. I don’t mind it at all when they don’t get it right, as long as it's in my favor. Today was another lovely day on the mountain.

Since I was in a rush, I made another run up Railroad Grade to the West Point Inn. Along the way I didn’t run into a single person on the trails. When I got up to the Inn there was one couple that was hiking up the Nora Trail, and that's it. Beyond those two, I didn’t see anyone during my ride up the hill. I did a quick out and back today. I had work to do at WTB, and I was already feeling behind schedule, so I rode down the hill faster than I have in a while. I’m always careful when riding fast down fire roads. There are people, children, and pets to watch for. I know these trails really, really well so I know where and when to slow down before entering blind corners, etc. I had a fun descent today, and yet I kept both tires on the ground so that my rib can continue to heal.

Tonight I had the luxury of having friends over to my house again. I’m finding such a comfortable place from those that surround me. It’s hard to articulate, but there’s a peace that comes from being with people that are standing with me as I’m rebuilding myself, regaining my strength, and moving into the next chapter of my life.

Distance: 14.13 miles Calories burned: 1,194 Time: 1:26:27 hours Elevation gain: 1,798 Garmin Connect ride details: Distance: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18558564

Day 145: It's not all About Riding

I had a restless night thinking about things that I have on my to-do list right now. Riding to Recovery has been instrumental in keeping me in balance with all of the other things that are going on in my life. It sounds cliché, but it centers me. So instead of tossing and turning I got up and watched the early news from the BBC. I finally got back to sleep around 5:00 am, and by then I knew that I’d be behind schedule for the whole day, which ended up to be the case. I left for my ride at 9:52 am. I was supposed to leave at 8:00 am so that I could be back to take a hike with a friend at 11:00 am. That’s what not sleeping at night will get you. So I took off for the mountain on what was a grey and overcast day. Fortunately it wasn’t too cold since the cloud cover had kept the temperatures up. It’s so nice being on the mountain when storms are coming in. It feels like I’m right there in the middle of the mix of the various cloud types. Sometimes it feel as though I could ride right onto the clouds and into the sky. That would be a nice journey. I rode up to the West Point Inn, and then without stopping, I headed over to Pantoll Station via Old Stage Rd. Once there, I noticed that the mountain was open again to vehicle traffic during the week. Hmmm, I better not go there. I then descended down to Gravity Car and returned to Mill Valley via Railroad Grade. Today's ride was one of my regular I’m-in-a-hurry-rides that is very satisfying since it gives me a good workout, and also a reasonable amount of mileage and elevation gain.

Today I finally fulfilled one of my promises to Tugboat. I took him to the beach and let him run wild. We were joined by our friend “C” who had never seen Tugboat in his full and unrestrained glory. He ran in circles at full speed, which is impressive. "N" and I used to call it doing crop circles when Lune used to do the same thing more than a dozen years ago. Tugboat really needed a good beach run, and he definitely got that today, but he also got to socialize with a myriad of dogs, big and small. His first set of dog noses in his butt came from a pack of Husky-Malamute mixes. There were five or six of them, and they were all bigger than Tugs. His hair was up as he was surrounded by these dogs which happened to all be males. There was every opportunity for a problem, but Tugboat managed to stand his ground without being too confident, nor too submissive. He was balanced. Any other posture would have led to trouble, and I wasn’t interested in diving into a dog brawl. ;-) I stood by like a concerned papa, but he did great on his own.

We continued on our way.Tugboat would go off to hunt tasty seafood morsels, then he’d sprint back, and then he'd head off once again. About a half hour into the walk he went on one of his full speed passes which ended with him cramping. He was rolling around in the sand while whining as his hind legs cramped. The silly boy had gone out too hard and too fast. I briefly massaged the cramps out, as I've done for him in the past, and he was as mellow as could be for the rest of the walk. He's a smart boy.

Tugboat will sleep well tonight, and I hope that I do too. I feel like a better dog dad after fulfilling my promise to him. I wish that I were Tugboat. ;-)

Distance: 17.47 miles Calories burned: 1,665 Time: 1:38:26 hours Elevation gain: 2,408 Garmin Connect ride details: Distance: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18461629

Day 144: Feeling Fatigued

I don’t know why I was so physically drained today, but I was. Perhaps it was the sort of work that I was doing today, or maybe it was that all of the fun that I'd had this weekend was simply catching up with me. No matter the cause, I was tired today, and it took some effort for me to get out the door and onto my bike.

I rode over to Tiburon on my trusty Colnago, while I enjoyed the sun that was beating down on me. It was nevertheless a bit cold, even in the sun, and I even had proper winter gear on. I need to go shopping soon so that I can make it through the winter. I need booties for my feet, a new pair of winter gloves, some wool jerseys, and some proper neck warmers. Uugh.

OK, back to today’s ride. I rode past a house that I’ve ridden by dozens of times over the years. It’s always intrigued me that they felt it necessary to have a tile replica of their home on the wall that’s just outside. Why would they do that? One can easily see the whole home from the driveway, including the lovely views of San Francisco and Sausalito, so why are they commemorating it on the wall outside? The home’s architecture is a bit out of place for Tiburon, but I appreciate the effort that they’ve put into making it into either a Spanish or Mediterranean style (I’m leaning towards Spanish). I’m sure that I’ll be properly corrected about the style’s origin, and that’s good. ;-)

I stopped by “Infamous P’s” in order to deliver him my morning’s work. We talked for a bit before I climbed back on my bike. By that time the sun was down on the back side of Paradise Drive, and it was getting cold out. I began to wake up from whatever funk I’d been delivered this morning, and I began to pedal harder in order to get home sooner. Going faster makes you colder, but you do get home sooner, so it’s a trade-off I guess. I opted for speed.

On the way home, and right around where Paradise Drive meets Highway 101, I glanced over at a green truck that was rolling by me. I had a double take as I saw that the driver was “N.” I guess that she didn’t even notice me, that random cyclist that was riding right next to her. It’s been so long now since she’s seen me that she’d be hard pressed to recognize me at this point, at least while on a bike. It was funny for me to see her as I was riding on by, and riding myself back to health. I guess that life paths can cross like that without anyone even noticing. I was happy to keep on riding towards my home, my boy Tugboat, and my new life.

The Garmin Connect Web site is down right now, so I’ll need to post today’s information after their site comes back up.

Distance: 24.28 miles Calories burned: 1,427 Time: 1:46:46 hours Elevation gain: 930 Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18416018

Day 143: I'm Finally Feeling Better

I’m finally feeling better after riding through one of the nastiest colds that I’ve ever had. I’d say that I’m at about 95 percent recovered, but now I’m dealing with the rib that I reinjured during one of the dozens of coughing attacks that I had this last week. I broke one or two ribs during a fall on Cypress Trail a few months ago. At the time I had decided to not write about it, but in retrospect I should have included it in my story. Anyway, four or five nights ago I was up at around 1:30 am having a cough attack, when I started to feel pain in my right side. At first I thought that I’d begun to tear a muscle from the violent and repeated coughing, but then during the rest of the day I realized that I’d reinjured the same rib/s. There’s really no pain like that of a broken rib. Its pain is completely unique. Its dull most of the time, and then sharp when making the wrong move, and the wrong move never seem to be the same as the last. Of course there’s nothing that you can do about broken ribs, so I’ll need to ride through this too. It's all a part of the journey.

I finally met up with “S” when we were both going in the same direction. I first met her a couple of months ago and we talked about the similarities between our individual situations. At the time she was clearly upset and in the middle that first step wherein one is kind of shell shocked from their relationship. I remember those days all too well. The good news is that she’s sorted many things out and is wearing a smile on her face that’s the kind that one gets after they’ve been freed from the cloud that lives over your head while living with an active alcoholic. I’ve seen this now so many times. People that I met a year ago, and that are now free, look like different people. I know that I do. “S,” peace to you, and good luck on your own journey to recovery.

At the West Point Inn I found someone's, or something’s, trail mix on the picnic table. From a distance I thought that it was a gathering of rocks, but as you can see it’s an assortment of acorns, pistachios, and a token rock.

I often find water bottles that have been left behind by riders that have obviously experience some oxygen debt on the ride up to the Inn. I’d say that at least once a week I find them left behind, or even on the side of the trail after they’ve fallen out of rider’s water bottle cages. I usually stuff them into my jersey pocket, and then ride them down to the Blithedale gate, which is where most people start their rides. I place them on the gate posts. If they don’t disappear within a few days, I take them home and add them to the pile in my bike room. There must be a dozen of them now…

It was a beautiful day today, and I was feeling lazy after a late, late night of birthday festivities. I mentioned in yesterday’s posting that I feel very lucky to have such great friends and family, and today I reflected on that again. I’m relearning so many things right now. Most recently I’ve come to find other areas of my life that have been severely impacted by my alcoholic. I had no idea, but there it was staring me in the face. By the way, I no longer even "blame" my alcoholic, and instead I just acknowledge the facts. I’ve come a long a way, but I also don’t know what else is out there, so I’ll move forward with my eyes wide open and hopefully ready, and strong enough, to go on the whole ride. ;-) I think that I’m ready.

Distance: 17.46 miles Calories burned: 1,421 Time: 1:44:21 hours Elevation gain: 2,019 Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18341027