Day 253: Riding in the Rain

I got another late start today so I wasn’t able to get out for the Saturday Morning Ride. I had hoped to make it this morning, but my varying sleep patterns have made making the early morning ride difficult at best. I love the ride, but being a single dad of an 85 lbs Labrador makes it hard to get to the Depot by 7:30 am.

After having some coffee, feeding and walking Tugboat, and of course doing dishes, I remembered that “E.B.” had told me that he was up for a ride this morning. So I emailed him about going for a ride. He responded and a plan was set. ;-) I like that something as simple as Email can get a ride together within minutes.

We met at the Depot just as the rains were starting again, and fortunately they were light. “E.B.” only had time enough to ride me up to Hoo Koo E Koo. As we rode up Railroad Grade we bumped into a couple that were riding up the hill. They were keeping up a good pace, and I noticed that when they heard us coming they increased their pace. We met and then passed them at Summit Road. As it turned out “E.B.” knew them, and they corresponded briefly before we pushed onward.

We stopped at Peter’s house so that I could make use of his really convenient water fountain. I don’t carry water when I ride my SC BLT since there are no water bottle bosses. What a mistake that was for Santa Cruz Bicycles. The stop allowed the two that we had previously passed to catch up a bit, but not completely.

We pushed on towards our parting point at Hoo Koo E Koo fire road. We stopped briefly in order to talk before going out separate ways, and while doing so the other riders were able to catch up. They passed us, and I reassured “E.B.” that I’d catch up with them soon enough, and I did.

After we parted, I headed up the hill and caught up with the other riders within a couple of corners. I really wasn’t feeling great in the saddle today, so it was unclear to me if I’d actually be able to pull them back. As I passed them I said hello again and then I just kept on going.

I reached the West Point Inn about two minutes ahead of the other riders. As they arrived I talked to them and as it turned out, they know a couple of my friends from Pegasus Bicycle Works. It’s a small world that we live in, especially within the cycling community.

Day 252: Sneaking out Early before the Rains Began

After having a night of difficulty sleeping, I got up and basically raced around the house gathering up my road riding gear. I was trying to get out the door before the latest in a series of storms hit. The skies were clouding up as they zoomed into the area from the southwest. Where I live I can watch the clouds forming and driving their way east. Today they were coming in fast and being driven by high winds.

I rolled out the door at a few minutes past 9:00 am this morning I had extra rain gear stuffed into my jersey pockets. I knew that it was beating the rains was going to be really close, but if I rode fast I just might make it out and back before they hit.

As I rode out towards Tiburon, I noticed that we were already experiencing flooding in the low-lying areas. We’re having some extraordinarily high tides associated with the current full moon. It made me wonder about what’s going to happen when the heavy rains that are predicted hit today. The prediction is for 12 hours of rains! At several points during my ride I either had to ride around or through flooded streets.

I made it to Tiburon after needing to change routes here and there due to the flooded and impassible streets. I helped a rider that was out of sorts due to the floods. She didn’t know where to go, so I told her to follow me. I slowed down my pace and got her back to the bike path at Blackie’s Pasture where we went our separate ways. She was very grateful for the help.

From there I rode around Tiburon’s Paradise Drive at full speed. I’d sometimes be hit with extremely heavy headwinds, and at other times the tailwinds would send me sailing. As I hit Corte Madera, and while riding on the bike path that's across from the CHP station, I was riding along the bike path at 30 mph! I wasn’t even pushing that hard at the time. ;-)

I rode back via the bike paths and arrived back at the Corte Madera town square at about 10:20 am and I was thinking about my favorite Al-anon meeting that was in progress nearby. I thought about dropping in, but I didn’t want to be a spectacle in cycling clothes, etc. I hate missing that meeting, but R2R takes precedent these days, and this morning was the only time that I could ride, AND stay dry.

I made it home just as the rain drops began to fall. As of this moment we’re being hit with really heavy rains, and I’ll be really glad to be staying out of them! Warm and dry is a good thing for me. Tomorrow may be a different story.

Day 251: Riding at China Camp with "M"

It’s always a pleasure to ride with my friend “M.” He’s been building bicycles, and designing parts for them, for at least 30 years. His tire and saddle designs have in my opinion been the very best to hit the market over the past couple of decades.

I met “M” at his house after a very spirited warm up ride over to his house from mine in Mill Valley. It took me a good 40-45 minutes to pedal over there. Once that I arrived, I was greeted by the amazing “A,” “M’s” wife. She’s a real sweetheart of a person who’s always willing to give me a big hug even if I’ve just ridden for 40 minutes at about 21 mph, and sweating like a pig. I was pushing hard since I was a little late and trying to make up some time. ;-)

After a few minutes of salutations we headed off towards China Camp on our road bikes. “M” seems to always leave the starting block at full speed, at least that’s how it’s felt to me after riding with him for over ten years now. There have been times when I’ve wanted to toss an anchor onto his back. Although I’m a whole lot fitter now than I’ve been during the past 10 years, I still wanted to anchor him down today. "Slow down, and warm up damnit!" Sorry “M,” but you're headed out of the gate way too hard and fast, BUT I respect that.

In order for us to get to China Camp, we were required to ride on the State highway (Highway 101) for about 500 meters, and although I’ve ridden this stretch of highway many times, I've never gotten used to the cars and trucks whizzing by me at speed. Getting rear ended is one of my greatest fears in general while riding on the road, but when riding on a highway it’s a lethal deal. Just do the math!

We made it to China Camp State Park without incident and we then began to relax and enjoy the scenery which was the core of the ride. We caught up on various things in our lives, and all the while, we were pedaling along at a good pace on the back roads that wind around China Camp. It was a really nice day, and riding on these roads is really great on weekdays when there’s little or no traffic.

I rode back home with “M,” and I then said goodbye to “A&M” before heading back to Mill Valley. I was going to ride around Paradise Drive on the way back, but work was weighing on me today, so I headed straight home to my computer. It was a nice ride to take with an old and dear friend.

Tomorrow the rains return, and I’m not looking forward to that, but the end of the rains is nearing, and then I’ll make a final push on my mileage and elevation gain. I still have some goals that I’d like to hit. I think that I have a couple of century rides to do, and a couple of epic elevation rides to do. Tioga and Ebbetts passes are on my list, but logistics might be difficult.

I'm going to offer to let a neighbor store his old and heavily modified Schwinn on my porch so that the rains don't destroy it. Look at its really cool license plate attached to the bottom of the fork leg. The bell is a nice touch too...

Day 250: A Beautiful Day to Ride with Friends

Today was a great example of a “perfect” ride in terms of how things played out. Rides like todays have been few and far between for me during this winter. It’s like the planets had aligned perfectly today in order to give me exactly what I needed, a gorgeous day of riding with friends.

Here’s how things played out today. I worked during the wee hours of the morning with my group in India, and then took a brief nap in order to make up for some lost sleep. By the time that I returned to the computer my buddy “B” had already emailed me about doing a ride at lunch. I replied with a huge “YES!”

The day was really spectacular. The air was warm as it almost reached sixty degrees. The skies were filled with huge clouds that looked threatening, but instead they were simply decorative. The cumulous clouds soared into the sky and yet they looked so, so close to us. These were perfect conditions for riding bikes!

We weren’t even out of town before we ran into a guy that I’ve ridden with a couple of times now. He’s another “B,” and we ran into him as he turned onto West Blithedale. We blended into riding formation as if it were planned. We began talking in an almost seamless fashion as we rode towards the mountain. I remain amazed at how well riders can integrate, and communicate, while riding at speed and with their hearts racing. How is that possible?

We rode up Railroad Grade, and today I was feeling really, really frisky, so I pulled away from “B&B” and headed up the hill in my middle chainring and my fifth gear. I was going 9-10 mph up the hill. ;-) I was feeling really good today and I know that the weather and company had a lot to do with it.

We stopped at Double Bow Knot in order to make some trail choices. All of us had timing constraints so we needed to check in with each other, since we were now basically a pack. After checking cell phones, email, and all of the other business crap that we carry on rides these days, we made the executive decision to continue on up to the West Point Inn. It’s another 15-20 minutes to the inn from the junction.

We pressed onward towards the inn. I once again had a wild hair that made me jump onto my pedals with vigor. I basically rode really hard from the junction to the inn. I’ll probably pay for that move tomorrow, but who cares since it was fun to ride hard on such a wonderful day.

As I waited for my friends at the inn, I took in the day’s dramatic views and soaked up some sun. I panned left just as a cyclist rode up the trail. I thought that it was my friends arriving, but it wasn’t. It was “F,” another guy that I’ve met through R2R. Man, what a magical day. He rolled up to me and gave me a fist hit, and then said that he was thinking about running into me on the mountain today. I now firmly believe that things happen for a reason. He parted just as my “pack” arrived. He was on a training mission today so he had a schedule to keep.

We had another pack meeting about how to return home, and we were all in agreement on the route to take home. We rode back down to Gravity Car, and then over to Pipeline, and from there we rode down Edgewood for the long descent back to Mill Valley. We parted with one of the “B’s” while descending, and then we all parted ways at Miller Ave. What a great ride. Thanks guys!

I met a friend in SF this afternoon. While there I took a snapshot of the graffiti that's above. It's amazing to see the raw talent that graffiti artists possess. This is only one small section of a wall that maybe 100 ft long.

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.

Day 248: Another Fun Descent into Franks Valley

A couple of years ago I started riding motorcycles again. It had been a couple of decades since my last ride, so in preparation of my return to riding motos, I attended the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s training course. It’s a great way to learn how to ride, and an even better way to refresh your memory about the ins and outs of riding motorbikes. Believe me, you get rusty as can be, and for me it had been about 20 years since I’d ridden so I needed to get back to the basics before hitting the streets.

The last time that I had ridden a motorbike was in France and Italy. It was a rental Honda enduro bike that I rented it in Cannes, France. I then rode from there with my girlfriend at the time “G,” and with whom I’m still friends, all the way to Ventimiglia, Italy. Once that we were over the border, and after riding through some sketchy tunnels that are carved into the Italian Riviera, we enjoyed some of the very best Pesto that I’ve ever had! I think that there’s a photo of that moment in time, and I’ll try to find it. I think that I was wearing tight tennis shorts, which were common then. You'd never find me riding a motorcycle in shorts nowadays!

So what’s the point in my writing about riding motorcycles in France, and Italy? Well, as we descended to Muir Beach and Franks Valley today, I realized that I was riding about 5-10 mph faster than I do on my motorcycles on the same road! That’s a bit scary if you ask me. The fact is that I could have ridden even faster down that road today, but I was actually being conservative, and thinking more about completing R2R. So I was going faster downhill on my 15.8 lbs. road bike, than I would while riding my 1983 BMW R100S that sports dual Brembo brakes, and a full suspension. It’s an odd concept.

So “F” and I had a fun ride given that its duration was held to just over an hour. One can get a great workout in within sixty minutes if you try hard enough. Today we put in a good effort and I feel satiated in terms of putting in a solid effort. I started the ride tired, so that made it even better in the end.

I’m entering into a new and unchartered territory wherein I’m going to take my fitness to another level. As I walked Tugboat tonight, I realized that I can get back to the level of fitness that I took for granted decades ago. Yes, granted. I was at one time naturally fit, but those days are long gone. Good fitness had been engrained in me, almost since birth, and now I’m clinging to it as my one-way ticket out of where I’ve been for too long. I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m willing to do it, and the payoff is for me this time, and not anyone else.

After today’s ride with “F,” I walked Tugboat down to WTB where he visited his many friends; whom are mine too. We did a little bit of socializing before heading off to the local market. We then we walked back home on one of the little hidden trails that still exist in Mill Valley. Along the way we ran into some interesting graffiti, and also some great fauna. Does anyone want to guess the precise location of this trail?

"Love" is written on a wall that's alongside this trail. It's accompanied by an explicative about love, and I wonder why?

“F,” thanks for another enjoyable ride.

Day 247: Let the Rains Begin Again

As much as I had fantasized that spring was reaching us early this year, I knew that wasn’t the case, and that winter would be back after a brief respite from the rains. Today the rains have returned, and it appears that we’re going to be in for a wet 7-10 days.

I don’t mind telling you that I really, really didn’t want to get onto my bike today. I simply didn’t want to go back to the days of leaving the house in the rain. It’s not easy to do, and especially when I know full well that within 45 minutes, and while wearing great waterproof winter gear, I’ll be soaked all the way through. No matter how waterproof one's gear is you’re going to get wet.

After much procrastination in the form of fussing over what bike was ride worthy, I picked out the Santa Cruz BLT, and I got it into as good of shape as possible given that its drivetrain is roached (that's bike lingo for worn out and in need of replacement). The SuperHeavy is completely worn out. It’s clear that it needs a complete rebuild after I tried unsuccessfully to get it back to being road worthy. All of this did help delay my departure into the rains and cold temps that were undoubtedly waiting for me on Mount Tamalpais.

I left the house a little after 1:00 and headed into the rain. It was one of those rains that are rather annoying in that it wasn’t raining very hard, but it was nonetheless going to get me soaked anyway. I actually prefer riding in heavy rains since it keeps the mud from slinging into face. The heavy rains seem to catch the mud before it hits my face.

I did one of my regular rain rides today since I know precisely how long I’ll be out there, and I’ll also know exactly how cold I’ll be by the time that I get home. I can descend for 45 minutes during rainy conditions as long as the temperatures are above 40 degrees. Today the upper elevations were in the low to mid 40s I’d guess.

I reached the West Point Inn and I decided to take a photo from the same spot as I did yesterday. What a difference. Today’s view is above, and then yesterday’s photo with the beautiful views of the Bay Area is directly to the left. What a difference a day makes.

As with many other cold and wet winter rides that I've completed, by the time that I reached the bottom of Railroad Grade, I could no longer move my fingers. I literally couldn’t actuate my thumb shifters. I had to move my arms in order to force my fingers forward! I know, it’s pretty extreme…

As I reached my driveway my higher power’s seemingly endless gift of timing had me crossing paths with a new friend that I’ve met through R2R. Since I was literally “done” with being on my bike, and so chilled to the bone that I was shivering, there was “E. B.” passing by in his V-Dub and I couldn't even wave. My hands were basically stuck to the bars. ;-}

As I peeled off all of the gear that I had to wear today, and as I stood on my back porch shivering from the cold, I had to remind myself that what I’m doing is a commitment; a dedication to myself, even on the days like today that are difficult to enjoy. That said, I seem to be able to find a silver lining in the clouds. It's a constant reminder to me of where I’ve been, and where I’m going. I don’t know, but as I sit here writing this posting, I feel alive quite alive. Even on a cruddy day like today, I’m happy to be alive!

I’m listening to U2’s Pride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHcP4MWABGY). These guys have tremendous soul, and for them, “love” is for human kind as they’ve demonstrated time and again over the years. They’re a good example of how those that have succeeded in life can give back.

Pride is a sticky wicket. I've been accused by many of being too proud, and it's probably true, but from an early age my mother taught me to have "personal pride." It's tough to bypass those early lessons in life, and in fact pride has in some cases picked me up off of the ground, dusted me off, and gotten me back on the horse that had just thrown me (metaphorically of course).