Day 183: Doing Service on a Special Day for Me

Today marks the halfway point for me in Riding to Recovery. I’m celebrating the day with a half dozen friends tomorrow. We're going to ride mountain bikes at Anadel State Park. I also need to fess up here, I miscalculated (bad math) so I made arrangements around Sunday thinking that it was the halfway point, but today is the actual day. Good God, I used to be able to calculate simple math in my head, but apparently I should use a calculator from here on out.

So today I decided to do “service” as it’s called in the Al-anon/AA programs. I’ve been helping to gather bike parts in order to build a bike for a high school girl. Money is tight for her family and she wants to race in Norcal during the coming mountain bike season. So I sifted through all of my parts, and then asked my friends at WTB to look through theirs. I delivered mine last week, and WTB gave me the remaining parts that are needed yesterday, so today I decided that delivering the remaining parts that are needed for the build was a proper way to personally salute my halfway point in R2R. Getting another person onto a bike has been a mission of mine for years now, and giving back to kids is incredibly satisfying.

I rode over to Paradigm Bicycles where I was met by some friendly people and one cool Cattle Dog. I delivered the parts and felt really good about doing so. I could have easily blown off riding over there and opted for a really nice ride on a beautiful day, but the idea of seeing one happy teenager with a new bike is way better…

I still managed to put in some miles on my way there, albeit with a heavy backpack on my back, and on relatively flat roads. I rode around the Paradise Loop and then detoured off to San Anselmo so that I could drop of the parts. So for me, doing service on a special day will be rewarded by a special ride with friends as we celebrate tomorrow. ;-)

 
 
Distance: 32.82 miles
Calories burned: 2,034
Time: 2:07:58 hours
Elevation gain: 1,045 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20740218

Day 182: WTB Party and College Brats!

Today was another notorious and historic WTB Christmas party. Man, watch out for a bunch of mountain bikers who work together daily, because it’s going to end up being a hoot. Today’s party marked my 11th or 12th Christmas party at WTB. I can recount dozens of stories from over the years, and the ones that I'll have from today's will be stories that I'll have for the rest o my life.

Since I started working with them in 1998 there’s almost been a complete change of the guard at WTB, and then are a few that have come, gone, and come again. For me it’s been a slow start that has progressively increased as time has gone on. I’ve been their Web vendor, Advisory Board member, and their IT Director, but more importantly they’ve been my main source of daily social intercourse for some seven or so years now.

“T” had planned a lovely meal for us that were catered by Asqew Grill in Mill Valley. The food was great, and then there were all of the homemade desserts that people brought in for afterwards! It was very loving, and "T" did an amazing job of organizing the party. People tipped the glass, and the bottle, over the course of the evening. We all laughed, played, and had a great time hanging out in non-work mode, and also with each other’s families (Tugboat, pictured above, is my family). It was good fun with good people!

Today I had a lot of catch-up work to do in the morning, so I got out the door on my bike a bit late, especially since I wanted to attend today’s WTB Christmas Party. I made it out to the trails right around noon time and had it in my mind that I’d do my favorite quick ride. After reaching Double Knot, I began to run into a lot of riders that were headed up the hill. I think that everyone was trying to take advantage of the great weather that we’re having right now. What a difference a week makes?

One of the riders tried to push ahead of me as I was approaching him. I matched his acceleration and eventually passed him. I could tell that he was a city-slicker on a nice bike. He was pretty fit, but I could tell that he was struggling to stay away. ;-) I guess that I was feeling my 45 year old oats today.

The second rider was in his full University of Colorado kit. He looked lean, and was spinning well as he was headed up the hill. I began reaching him at a couple of the quickie rollers where I got out of my saddle as I normally do. I was just passing him when I said my routine “hello,” and then I kept on going. Seconds later I heard him drop a gear so that he could keep up. He had decided to “engage” me. This guy was undoubtedly in his early 20’s, and with me being 45 years old, I found this to be very entertaining.

I was feeling really strong on the bike today, so I took my young brother’s challenge to heart. I began to slowly apply some of what I’ve learned about cycling over the course of my entire life. I began to slowly press a little harder on the pedals, but not enough to be noticed by the young rider, and soon enough I heard very heavy breathing happening behind me. I had put him “under pressure” as they like to say in the racing community. I decided to hit the pedals even harder as we were reaching the last hill up to the West Point Inn. I managed to put another couple hundred yards in between us, and that felt pretty darn good.

I spoke with the guy from University of Colorado and he and I are going to ride again while he’s visiting here. “I,” Email me, and I’ll put some rides together. It was great to ride with you. Oh, and you weren't “brat,” but that was a nice headline. ;-)

Distance: 18.83 miles
Calories burned: 1,627
Time: 1:43:45 hours
Elevation gain: 2,544 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20704946

Day 181: Mechanicals Everywhere

Today was one of those rides wherein it seemed like everything was going to go wrong. Not in the most terrible sense of the statement, but it seemed like each of us had our mechanical issues today.

For me it was my rear derailleur acting up on me. A day ago I realized that my rear QR was loose so I tightened it up. I got back on the bike the next day and the shifting had gone south for the winter. I put the bike up on the rack and did my best to tune it, but it just wouldn’t cooperate. Today I thought that I had it dialed back in, but noooo! So I was struggling with its shifting from the get go.

Then there was “B” with his South African made bike. Its seatpost was acting up and flopping around like a flag in the wind. And then the best mechanical of all today was “M's.” I was riding ahead from time to time so that I could take photos, and on one of these bolts forward I heard the guys calling me from the distance. I turned around and in the distance I could see that the guys were off their bikes.

As I arrived I could see that “M” was holding something in his hand that should only be connected to his feet! He was holding one of his crank arms in his hand. That’s just not right. So I dismounted and tried to help, but this situation wasn’t going to go away with a trailside fix. That said, I directed “M” back down the trail and to the road. I figured that he could do what I had done several months ago, and that’s to coast and “skateboard” for the whole way back to WTB. I did the same thing after breaking my chain. ;-)

“B” and I decided to head down too in order to back up “M” in case he had additional issues along the way. So today’s ride was a short one, but that’s OK as I need to keep in mind that I do need days of rest. So I’ll take today as a rest day, even though it wasn't intended to be one.

Distance: 11.71 miles
Calories burned: 1,039
Time: 1:13:25 hours
Elevation gain: 1,403 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20672169

Day 180: Taqueria Toxification

After yesterday’s group ride, an Email went out to the same set of riders, and that prompted another ride during lunch today. I’m really enjoying these lunch rides with friends. It’s simply great exercise while having fun socializing, although the two friends that I rode with today will keep even the fittest people gasping for air while talking and riding.

I’m quite happy to be in good enough shape to ride with great riders again. Today we headed out together to do the “usual” lunchtime ride. There were three of us, myself included. It’s fun to ride alongside riders that have spent hundreds, and more like, thousands of hours in the saddle. There’s a flow that you can only experience when riding with people that have put in their time in the saddle.

As we reached the first section of climbing, and after I had already experienced some shifting issues, I began to feel a rumbling in my stomach. It was the sort of rumbling wherein one knows exactly what it means! I made it through the next section of climbing where I had to slow down as the rumblings were intensifying. There was no getting out of this problem. I knew what I needed to do, and that was to head home, and FAST! I yelled ahead to the guys in order to let them know what was up. I could barely stay there for another minute… As I rode home I remembered the huge burrito that I ate last night with my friend “C.” “Yep,” I said to myself, “It was the burrito!” I love the local Taqueria, but at least once a year I’ll get a bad one that can bring one to his knees…

If you look carefully at the GPS record from today's ride you’ll see that my highest rate of speed was reached soon after turning around, and while blasting home to visit the porcelain throne. I’m laughing now as I write this, but it wasn’t funny at the time. After paying tribute to the throne, I tried to head out again. I was thinking that the troubles had come and gone, but no. I made it all of the way to town before my stomach turned me around for a second round. Uugh!

I headed out for a third time, and this time I felt comfortable enough to head back up Mount Tamalpais. I reached the first climb, and my belly wasn't too disturbed, so I continued on. I felt good enough to ride, albeit a bit slower than normal. I passed a new boulder in the trail that must have come down during the overnight rains. I'm beginning to enjoy riding during the wet weather, well kinda.
 

After reaching Double Bow Knot, I looked at my GPS unit and the time was looking really tight for me. I had promised a client that I’d look at a few things for them, so I needed to head back. I rolled down Gravity Car Trail to Pipeline. Along the way I reached a long bend in the road and through the 300 or so yards of fog and misty rain, the fire hydrant that’s pictured looked like a person in a rain slicker. Either the weather was conducive to such a mistake, or my eyes are finally going south on me. ;-) Those of you that know me really well, know just how good my eyes used to be. Not anymore. :-(}

On my way back I ran into the same set of wild turkeys that my riding buddies and I bumped into earlier in the ride. Six healthy adults eating their way through Homestead Valley. What a fun ride even though I was fighting through a little Taqueria Toxification.
 

I received a lovely handmade Christmas card yesterday. It’s so special to receive a card that’s been handmade. I'm so grateful to have friends that care enough about me to provide a personal and creative imprint as a gift for the holidays. I’m still working on my Christmas cards, but at least I’ve managed to take the photo that I needed, and with a little luck I’ll get them out in time for pre Christmas delivery. If not, I’ll forgive myself since this year has been one of the toughest years of my life. ;-)

Distance: 15.77 miles
Calories burned: 1,846
Time: 1:43:32 hours
Elevation gain: 2,722 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20633709

Day 180: Another Ride with Friends on a Mostly Dry Day

It seems like the winter months have brought many of us loyal riders together in support of getting out for daily rides. It’s pretty easy right now to find people to ride with during the lunchtime hours. Today was no different.

I pinged one friend, and that led to hearing from another friend. An hour later there were five of us heading off for the ride, and we were all from different riding categories. It was “cool” in that way. The age range was about 15 years, and the CAT range was CAT 1 to no CAT, and that was cool too, for me anyway. I sincerely enjoy the idea of simply getting people onto their bikes, and today I had committed to one friend that I’d not leave him behind, and I didn’t.

I’ve learned a huge amount about commitment during the past year, and that’s coming from a guy that’s already a loyal and committed person by nature. I even find it to be weird that I can find additional areas of commitment within my own known boundaries. It’s all good in the end!

So today I was granted the distinction of being the “ride leader” and that’s pretty cool given that I was riding with “F.” He’s the best trail leader that I’ve ever accompanied. I hope that he reads this, because it’s absolutely true from my point of view. He’s also one of the best technical mountain bike riders that I’ve ridden with, and I’ve ridden with many of the pros!

We rode at a good clip up Throckmorten Avenue to the Tenderfoot Trail where we continued our ascent up the mountain. We knew that we wouldn’t be heading to the summit, but at the same time we wanted to have a spirited ride nonetheless. We continued our vigorous pace and had some fun along the way. After a few of the faster riders needed to move on, I decided to hang behind to ride with a brother that’s just getting back into regular rides, and by extension, good fitness. He’s a great guy that’s going through some of what I’ve gone through. He’ll be back, and hopefully pushing us to ride better and harder!

Once separated from the faster riders, he and I slowed down and enjoyed a more relaxed pace. I kept in mind that getting him back right around the same time as others from WTB would be beneficial to him. We took a detour from the riding plan that got us back right around the same time as his colleagues. Success!

It was another great day, and one that was pleasantly comfortable after a lot of days of riding in the rain. The photo above is of the Banana Slug that I cleared from the trail, and the one to the right is of Tugboat sitting patiently next to my Superheavy as I attempted to take a photograph that's hopefully worthy of a Christmas card. ;-) Wish me luck..

Distance: 9.76 miles
Calories burned: 1,036
Time: 1:15:03 hours
Elevation gain: 1,542 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20597609

Day 179: Finally a Dry Day; Measuring One's Own Recovery

We finally had a day to dry out here in Marin County CA. I was really looking forward to staying dry and basically mud free for the first time in a week. It was so nice to not be bogged down by layer upon layer of wet clothing, or being pelted by rain and mud. It’s a brief break for me before we head back into the rains tomorrow and the next day.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my own recovery from living with an alcoholic, and I’ve been trying to think about how one can measure progress in his or her own recovery. In looking at mine there are things that I can easily measure, but they’re mostly all physical. A friend of mine with whom I chatted this morning suggested that I look at my overall happiness as a ruler, but there again, how does one measure that? It’s a bit of a dilemma. It’s more than happiness, or a physical return to health. There’s simply so much more to consider and to factor in.

The Executive Director of Serenity Knolls has called recovery akin to watching grass grow. I think that he’s absolutely right in saying that about most areas of recovery, and that’s why it’s so hard to measure one’s recovery. I’m prone to enjoying reaching goals that are measured, so the nature of recovery, with all of its unknowns and twists and turns, puts me outside of my comfort zone. for example with cycling I can just say, “I’m going to ride 80 miles today, and then go do it. I then either reach my goal, or I don’t. With 12 step recovery there’s no endpoint. No 80 mile marker that I can target. Instead one never recovers in literal terms of the definition, instead one tries to progressively get better and better as they move through their life. To some degree I have always tried to be a better person. Now that I understand the recovery process (At last I hope that I do by now), there are innate and thoughtful ways to live and interact with others, that help you, and others, work within life’s relationships. I’ve still not been able to articulate it properly, but I’ll keep working on that too.

Today I was headed out to do a road ride with one of my good buddies. I even suited up in road gear and headed down to meet him at his work. He was delayed in a meeting, so I gabbed with another friend that works there too. He was trying to sell me on doing a mountain ride instead of a road ride. After careful consideration we all decided that a ride with more people is better than one with fewer. So I rode home in order to change out of my road gear, and then into my mountain gear. I grabbed my mountain bike and rolled back to where the conversation had started.
 

We did a variation of a ride that we’ve done a half dozen times since the clocks were set back. We rode on several fire roads and pavement in order to get up and over to the Marin Headlands. We rode over to the Coyote Ridge fire road, and we talked as we rode over to the Coastal Trail fire road. Once there we were at a decision point, and today we deviated a bit from our normal route and headed up and over the Coastal Trail and kept on going down to Tennessee Valley's beach. Along the way we enjoyed outstanding views of the Pacific Ocean, and also a couple of Bobcats that seemed to be amazingly complacent with us. Bobcats were one of the things that really made me love mountain biking in the Marin Headlands.

We pedaled back to Mill Valley where we parted ways. It was another great ride, and a good day of reflection for me. Thanks for the ride guys!

Distance: 15.31 miles
Calories burned: 1,118
Time: 1:41:14 hours
Elevation gain: 1,429 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20549861

Day 178: Getting Caught in the Rain

I made my regular journey back to Partners in Recovery today. The meeting is sponsored by Serenity Knolls and it's held at their compound in San Geronimo Valley. I think that today’s meeting was the twentieth that I've attended since I started going to them.

Today I was accompanied by the husband of a person that went through the Knolls at the same time as “N.” He and I have managed to stay in touch since then, and with a bit of luck, and planning, we’ll go for a mountain bike ride sometime during the next year. “T,” good luck tomorrow!

I rushed home today after staying at the Knolls longer than I’d anticipated. I was caught up in socializing which is great, and yet I ended up feeling rushed to get back so that I could do my daily ride. I drove straight home where I began figuring out what I needed to wear on today's ride. I sincerely thought that the rains were over. I even checked the radar, and there were no returns, so I gathered up my light winter gear and began throwing them on. Oops!

I picked the mountain bike that needed the least amount of work in order to get out the door and onto the mountain. A quick lube of the chain, and I was off, and pedaling down my driveway. The sun was even poking out here and there, and the temperatures were in the 50’s, so I was feeling like I was being spoiled today after several consecutive days of temperatures that were in the low 40's.

I rode past “S” who was out running instead of riding her bike on the mountain. Soon afterwards the rains began to fall again, and so did the temperatures, but I just kept on going since there was no time to go home to change my gear. I could tell that I was in for another cold and wet ride, albeit it an unexpected one.

I then bumped into a couple of guys that were riding on vintage mountain bikes. I'm a sucker for vintage stuff. They came up from behind me at a good clip. I picked up my pace so that I could hang out with them for a while. One of them was on an early 90’s Serotta, and the other one on a Bontrager (Race Lite) of the same genre. They had Phil Wood hubs, and one had a Rockshox Judy. They had early XTR drivetrains, V-brakes, and the list goes on. Very cool stuff! We rode up to the West Point Inn where I ran into a couple of my riding buddies that were out for a “therapy ride.” I think that I interrupted a serious chat.
 

They decided to leave with me in order to ride down the mountain before the rains and cold temperatures got the best of them, or perhaps I should sau, "us." We rode downhill as fast as the conditions permitted. I was freezing by the time that we got to the bottom of Railroad Grade, and I was more appropriately dressed than they were. So I think that they must have suffered a lot on the descent, but they're tough guys! ;-)

Now I’m off to a friend’s house for a dinner consisting of spicy pumpkin soup, olive bread, apple pie and ice cream…. It must be the holidays. Maybe I'll put a few pounds on during the holidays? What a difference that a year makes.

Distance: 14.16 miles
Calories burned: 1,447
Time: 1:23:40 hours
Elevation gain: 2,142 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20507078