Day 249: Riding the OX in the Rain

It is day two in the latest series of storms. I knew this morning that it was going to be better for me to ride earlier rather than later in the day when the rains had been forecasted to be the heaviest. That said, I still had work to consider, and today was booked solid with one of my favorite clients. So when could I fit in a ride?

I made it out the door at about 11:00 am. The rains were already here, but at least they weren’t too heavy. I prepared myself for the ride by bringing out all of my rain gear, and then I began the arduous process of putting on all of the thick Neoprene leggings and booties. They're similar to a wetsuit's material. It must take me about ten minutes to get my gear on for the rain rides, and that’s IF I’m organized about my gear storage.

I stopped by a friend’s house on the way out today. He’s someone that I’ve met through R2R, and we’ve remained in touch over the past few months. He’s similar to me in that he loves bicycles, so today he was going to show me some of his vintage rides. Some of them are over 70 years old! Good stuff. It’s fun hanging out with people that see the same beauty in bicycles that I do.

After a quick tour at “E.B’s” house, I hit the road again, and pointed my nose towards Mount Tamalpais. It’s funny to think about days like today, especially when I know that I’m about to face adverse conditions, but I ride on anyway. Some might call that insane behavior, whereas others might call it dedicated. I call it “commitment.” I made myself a promise, and now I'm simply fulfilling it even in the worst of conditions.

As I rode up Railroad Grade today I noticed a Coastal Redwood tree that I must have ridden by over 100 times during the past 12 months, but for some reason today I was able to notice all of the Woodpecker holes that riddle its long and distinguished trunk. So I stopped and took this photo for my father-in-law’s scrutiny and enjoyment. I had posted a photo of another tree that lives on the very top Mount Tamalpais that's similarly adorned, but this tree is located only a few ticks up the mountain at 485 ft of elevation. It’s amazing what the Woodpeckers can do to a tree like this one. I also wonder why they picked this tree, and not the one next to it?

I was riding my OX Brand Bike today, and it was great to have it out on the trails again. It’s been months since I’ve ridden it. I’ve kept it out of the riding lineup since it’s a very special bike to me, and I knew that it would be absolutely trashed if it were being ridden regularly during R2R. That said, today I had no other choice but to ride it since my other bikes are in need of service. ;-) I guess that I should be proud of wearing out so many components. I still feel badly for riding these bikes during the winter rains. There’s nothing worse for bearings and drivetrains than to expose them to water, but I need to ride, so I’ve had to sacrifice components that would have normally lasted for years under normal riding conditions. Oh well, right?

I ran across an image that I took (It's actually cropped in order to show the detail) while staying on the Hawaiian island of Maui in 2008. It's a survey marker that interested me at the time. It's located at the very top of Haleakala National Park at approximately 10,000 ft of elevation. I know, what does this have to do with R2R? Two things, one is that I plan on going back there some day in order to climb the mountain on my Colnago, and second, the survey marker is a reminder of my friend “S” who knows a few things about why these exist. “S,” I’m going to find the survey marker on Tam's East Peak and take a photo of it. ;-) I've bumped into other markers over the years, and thanks to "S," I now understand why they exist.

Albeit cold and wet, and also a bit of a lonely day on the mountain (I didn't see a single person up there today), I was able to get my ride done without incident. That’s all that I can hope for on stormy days like today. Tomorrow is another day, and the sun is supposed to shine as we head into a brief break in between storms. We’ll see. I have friends coming out to ride with me tomorrow, and that always makes my rides better!

To my sixth grade homeroom teacher when I lived in Caracas, Venezuela, I’ll be visiting you in the Dominican Republic sometime after I've completed R2R on June 19th.