Day 260: Doubling Up on the Road and Mountain

My plan today was a bit complicated, so I decided to double up on my rides. Besides, it could only help me to stay on track to reaching some of my goals for the year. So I’d decided to first do a mountain bike ride, and then to take my road bike out for a spin.

I tried hopping right onto my freshly serviced Santa Cruz SuperHeavy only to find that it needed more work, so I started wrenching instead of riding. I wasn’t too happy since I had just taken it to a shop and they’d promised me that they had figured out the gremlins that I had with my shifting. Oh well, I guess that I was destined to be behind schedule today.

After a good hour of fussing around with the bike I was ready to leave; take two.

I didn’t ride around as much as I’d hoped on the mountain today since I needed to be in the city by 4:00 pm, but that was ok since my legs were  bit "iffy" today at best. I rode up to the West Point Inn via Railroad Grade, and I was finally truly enjoying my bike again after it's servicing. It really felt good, and I’m really, really enjoying the new tubeless tire system. It has a very different feel that I’ve yet to be able to put into words, but I will some day s.

I returned home and did a quick change over to my road bike. I gathered some dry clothes and my backpack before heading out the door. My next stop was in San Francisco’s Mission District. I was there to hang out with a friend and to attend a benefit for Golden Gate Labrador Rescue (GGLR) that was held today at Doc’s Clock.

I rode through the Haight-Ashbury and the Castro on my way to the Mission District and there were so many people out and about. Nice weather in San Francisco means that everyone comes out to enjoy the day. It took me a great deal of focus in order to get through the streets on my bike whiles cars, and people, were hustling and bustling about. I even nearly got “car-doored” at Valencia and 18th streets. It's a very common thing to have a car door opened right into you. :-(

After a quick change of clothes at my friend’s studio we were off to the GGLR event that was some 10-12 blocks away. Along the way I was really amazed at how much the Mission District has changed, and I still can’t say for sure if it’s changed for the better, or worse. There has been so much change that I had to struggle to find familiar landmarks for reference.

We reached Doc’s Clock and were warmly greeted by a dozen or so Labradors, and a few other breeds, running around the premises! That’s my kind of place. The owners of this establishment were kindly donating fifty percent of every purchase to GGLR. That’s huge! From what I’ve read on their Web site, they do a lot of these fundraisers. I hope that the strong publicity helps their business in general. It’s weird for me to say that I hope that a “bar” does well, but hey, they’re raising money for the right causes, and guess what, people aren’t going to stop drinking, so why not?

After I had loved up four Black Labs, one Chocolate Lab, one Yellow Lab, two Greyhounds, and two Pitbulls, we were off to see a Gallery on Valencia Street, and to find some food. We stopped in at a really wonderful gallery called City Art where we checked out the great artwork. I’m always amazed by how little people charge for their work, especially given the cost of living in the Bay Area, and then the shear amount of hours that go into each piece.

Tugboat was quite happy to see me this evening. He’s such a Papa’s boy. If I’m gone too long he decides to act up by pulling all of the recycling out, and then the garbage cans too. You’d think that he’s been starved.