Day 267: Going Over the Bars and the Mean Green Machine

My young friend “El” and I finished building his new racing machine. He’s racing in the NorCal high school mountain bike racing series, and he needed a new bike for this season, so we ordered the frame, and all of the fixings, so that he could build up his dream machine. It certainly is a dream machine and it will serve him well.

We began the bike build several days ago, and this morning we finished it up, and man, was he ever a really happy and appreciative young man. His ear to ear smile summed things up.

After fiddling with things like cables, headset adjustments, saddle height, etc., he was finally ready to take it on its maiden voyage up the mountain with his mom and dad, and me too. We met at my place and after several photo ops we mounted our rigs and off we went.

Eliel and I rode with his mom and dad on the lower portion of Railroad Grade before heading off on our own. I was having a bit of an off day in the saddle, and I think that it was due to yesterday’s ride in the torrent weather. When I ride in the rains, my bike and I weigh a good 20 lbs more than normal, and then add into the mix the winds that pounded me backwards to make it a tough day in the saddle.

Today I was riding at what I’d call 75-80% of my normal speed, while “El” was really riding well, and feeling really frisky on his new Mean Green Racing Machine. Man is he ever fast when he turns on the gas! Even on a good day I’d be hard pressed to keep up with him if he were pressing hard on the pedals. I’m so amazed by his transformation from being a novice to being a very, very good rider. Nice work "El."

By the time that we had reached the West Point Inn in well under an hour, I was beginning to feel a little better on my bike. We also rested for a period of time and that allowed us to reintegrate with his dad who was riding his very manly cross bike. After a few minutes of chatting, and bumping into a few of my friends, we headed off towards the Coastal View Trail where “El” could test his bike on some really amazing single track trails while also descending at speed.

We were having a great descent, and the views along that ridge were so amazing that it was hard to focus at times on the ribbon of trail on which we were riding. We weren’t riding too fast; in fact we were riding at a moderate (for us) pace down the trail when something went wrong. I had noticed that my bike was almost bouncing off bumps in the trail. It was a bit of an odd feeling, and perhaps due to insufficient air pressure in one of my shocks. I kept going, and then on one of the bumps the front end of my bike was tossed up and directly into the trail’s sidewall. The tire climbed up and out as it should on the sidewall, but as I tried to correct my path the bike’s front wheel dug in and I was sent flying over the bars at 19.2 mph. Yes, I looked up the GPS info about my mph just now.

I took a pretty good spill today, and yes, I landed on the same side as my previously broken ribs. Fortunately, today I’m only left with some good bruising, and a nicely scraped-up knee. Oh, and I lost one of my favorite tools that was jettisoned out of my short's pocket. The look on “El’s” face was pretty funny. I think that he was more worried about me than I was after the fall. Thanks. I picked up my bike, got the gears back into order, and then we forged on. It’s sometime better to just start riding after a quick system’s check so that you don’t have time to stiffen up, and that’s what I did today.

We continued on towards the Middle Green Gulch Trail, and we had big fun while rolling down to the Franks Valley floor. I knew that I’d hurt my knee a bit during the crash, and I also knew all too well that the climb out of Green Gulch isn’t for the weak of heart, nor those with a recently battered knee. Oh well, I run well with the punches.

We climbed up the spectacular single track that includes views of Muir Beach and Mount Tam. Along the way we dealt with some pretty sloppy trail conditions in certain sections, and then there are the three or four tough and steep sections that we needed to climb on our way to the Coyote Ridge fire road. I was feeling pretty beat up by the time that I’d reached the top of the climb, and I was really happy to know that it was all downhill from there. "El" was there minutes ahead of me. ;-)

We rode down to the Tennessee Valley floor where we were passing hoards of people that were out enjoying the day. It seemed like there were whole families hiking around and blanketing the trail. We literally needed to weave in and out of the people traffic as we tried to reach the road home. We were always really polite and good stewards for mountain biking.

Crash aside or even included, we had a fun maiden voyage while breaking in “El’s” bike on the trails of Mount Tamalpais, and the Marin Headlands. Good luck this season “El,” you’re riding extremely well, just be safe out there. ;-)

Also, everyone that reads this should thank "El" for taking the time to feed the hungry this morning at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. It's really important work that we should all be doing. Doing good things for others comes directly back to you in time. ;-}. This song reminds me about feeding our people far and wide; no one should be hungry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53FYP4aKSlo

Day 266: Hopefully my Last Ride in the Rain

I was really procrastinating today as I watched the weather get worse and worse as the morning progressed. I knew that the weather was going to worsen as the day progressed, but that didn’t seem to make it any easier for me to get out the door early today. I think that I had my cycling gear on by about 9:15 am, and then I waited at least another hour before I took the plunge into the rains.

I wore all of my best wet weather gear today. I had on neoprene pants, booties, great winter gloves, etc., but great gear can only keep you warm and dry for an hour or so in today's conditions, and that’s how it played out today.

I was planning on doing one of my usual rides up to the West Point Inn, and then over to Panoramic Highway, but after hitting really heavy winds at Summit road, I was thinking that I’d take a different route. By the time that I reached Double Bow Knot the winds were really knocking me around, and I knew that it would be stupid for me to continue up to the top today.

I changed my flight plan and detoured onto Hoo Koo E Koo fire road. I felt like I might get some shelter from the winds if I went down that route, and that worked out, although the rains seemed to be heavier on that side of the mountain. Oh well, at least I wasn’t going to be blown over.

By the time that I had reached the Wheeler Trail I was getting really cold. The rains had soaked through my clothes and I was now in need of heading back fast. I barreled down Coasters and Tank Turns, before reaching Mill Valley where the weather was actually much nicer. I was happy to be down on the flats and off of the mountain.

I hope that today is the last time that I’ll ride in the rain this year. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

As I look out of my window right now, the winds are blowing the rain sideways. It’s pelting my window and I’m really happy that I went out for my ride when I did, because riding right now would be viscous to say the least.

Day 265: Spending the Lunch Hour with Friends

I’m so happy to have spawned a number of regular rides with my friends at WTB. I’ve even set up an Email list that’s dedicated to announcing and inviting people to go for lunchtime rides. I’d say that we’ve been doing one to three lunchtime rides per week since January, and it’s been really great for me to have the company instead of putting in the miles on my bike alone. The winter was a pretty solitary time for me, and without riding with these guys I would have literally gone bonkers.

The weather was outstanding today, and I was fortunately joined by two friends on today’s lunchtime ride. We headed out a little bit after noon today and we made a beeline for the mountain that looked amazingly inviting.

We rode up Railroad Grade, and as I warmed up, and after riding a 40 lb beast of a bike yesterday, I felt pretty darn frisky on my Santa Cruz SuperHeavy. After yesterday’s ride on the Nuvinci-based bike, my SuperHeavy felt like a feather blowing in the wind. I began pedaling faster and faster, and all of a sudden I no longer heard my buddy’s voices, and I looked down at my GPS unit and I was pushing 9-10 mph up the grade. That's a record breaking pace for me. My fastest time to the West Point Inn since June is 49 minutes, and today I think that I could have broken that record, BUT we didn’t go to the inn today. ;-)

When I reached the intersection at Double Bow Knot, I stopped for a break, and to take photos, and then to wait for my friends to pedal up the hill. I really felt badly about taking off on them, but I was just feeling really good in the saddle today, so I simply kept pushing on the pedals.

After a few minutes of discussion, and a couple of suggestions from my buddy “F” whom I like to call the Trail Master, we headed off to the trails that he suggested. He knows the mountain better than anyone else that that I know, and certainly better than me, and you all know just how much time that I spend up on Mount Tamalpais. I wonder if I'll ever know the whole montain's trail system. It sure doesn't look that big, but it's bigger than you'd ever imagine.

After a brief bit of additional climbing, we began our return to Mill Valley. The descent included things like multiple stairs, which I’m always a awkward to ride, 10-inch wide plank-crossings over creeks with ten foot drop offs, tight and technical single track, and then extremely beautiful terrain. It’s a fun ride. My only complaint was the dog poop that I rode through at the end. It hit my front tire and then sprayed me from my head to toe. Dog owners, please pick up your dog's poop, and don’t leave it on the trails. ;-) I reeked on the way home, and it was nasty. I peeled off my gear, and then tossed it in the washer before tossing myself into the shower. Uugh!

The end of my day was the best part. I helped my young protégé “El” put his brand new bike together from scratch. We did a frame-up build with some of the very best components made. You see, he’s racing, and that requires light and durable components. We’re talking about fractions of a second that make the difference in racing, and your gear is quintessential in one’s effort to win. He’s now going to be riding a bike that’s just about pro-level (The pros ride stuff that we don’t get to ride until the following season, if ever at all.).

The smile on this appreciative. and talented. young man’s face speaks volumes for the joy that can be found through wholesome sports like cycling.

Saturday it is “El.” We’ll get the new Mean Green Racing Machine dialed in then.

Day 264: Product Testing While Riding with a Friend

I’ve been participating in the product testing department at WTB for the past four months. That means that I ride whichever products that they need to have tested. So far I’ve tested tires, hubs, and saddles, but today I tested something that’s really unique. The product is an internally geared hub that has an infinite range of gearing in between two static gear ratios.

So there aren’t 10 gears, or 14, and instead there are in theory thousands of gears to choose from. There is a gear for you, no matter what, as long as it’s within the low and high points of the gearing. That’s the cool part about the hub. The bad part is that it weighs a ton! Just the hub weighs 10.038 lbs! Add in the rest of the parts, including the rim, tires, and shifting mechanism, and you have one heavy piece of hardware. I’ll weigh the bike at “E. B.’s” house sometime soon. I’d guess that the bike's total weight is approximately 40 lbs!

I did my test ride today with my friend “S.” He took one look at this beast of a bike and then shook his head. He had good questions about the bike/hub, and by the time that I had ridden the bike over to Ross to meet him, I had some real questions too, like “Why in the hell am I riding this bike?” I even offered to let him ride the bike, but that offer was greeted with quiet resistance…. I don’t blame him one bit. I’m chuckling right now.

I rode the super heavy bike for just under thirty miles today. There are things about the bike that are “nifty” like its shifting. I believe that newcomers to our sport might like the ease of shifting, but the weight of the bike is a deal-killer no matter how you slice or dice things. For example, I can’t imagine anyone regularly lifting this bike onto a car’s roof rack. I was made grumpy after lifting it into a bike stand in order to swap out its pedals!

“S” and I had a nice ride along the back roads of Tiburon. We stopped twice for caffeine. I was all jacked-up by the time that we left Tiburon and were headed towards the bike path that leads back to Mill Valley. I’m not drinking a lot of coffee these days, so the day's jolts of Joe made me jittery. Jittery John??

In spite of the heavy rig that I was pedaling, I had a great time riding with “S,” and the day could not have been more perfect for cycling. We stopped at several vista points wherein the views were spectacular.

Day 263: Riding with the Gang

I rode with the WTB folks today. We had a good group of riders onboard. There were four of us, and we kept a nice pace throughout the ride. We were all in agreement that it would be great to ride over to the Headlands where today’s great weather would provide us with outstanding views of the Pacific Ocean.

We took off from the WTB world headquarters with the smell of asphalt permeating the air. They are working on getting the former warehouse into presentable form. Having been affiliated with WTB for over 12 years, I have mixed emotions about some of the changes to their “office” space. There’s so much mountain bike history that took place within that space, and that makes me reticent to see it go. Progress is the word of the day I guess.

We rode off towards our normal route that gets us to the Headlands fast. We broke into two groups, and we had great conversations along the way.

Once that we were in the Headlands the weather was perfect, and so were the conditions for mountain biking. The sun was out, the trail conditions were perfect, and we were flying down the trails. On the last big descent I was traveling at 37.7 mph! I’m not a speed freak, especially on trails, but today was special and I was wearing new shoes (tires) on my mountain bike, so I let loose for a bit. I’m really amazed at the grip that WTB’s new tires have in these riding conditions. It’s remarkable.

I had a fun ride with friends and that’s what is important.

Day 262: Holy Hail!

I took it easy today in terms of elevation, distance, and time in the saddle. I’ve done three hardy rides from Friday to Sunday, so today’s ride was a quick one-hour journey through Warner Canyon. My legs were really sloppy today, but they seemed to have warmed up after 45 minutes, which was about at the time that we headed back down from Corte Madera Ridge.

As I was leaving my driveway I was greeted with temperatures that had suddenly dropped, and that was followed by hail pelting me on my helmet. After taking cover under an overhang, and then waiting for the hail to stop, I began heading in the direction that I knew my riding buddies would taking to get to me.

We rode to Warner Canyon via some local roads. There are no trail markers to follow, so this is local knowledge stuff, and not on the maps. ;-) We reached the fire road, and then climbed from there up to Corte Madera Ridge where it meets the Huckleberry Trail. We turned left and rode up a bit further before descending back through Warner Canyon.

As usual, we had a great time talking and riding. These lunchtime rides although short in terms of duration, they are very good for our fitness. They are intense at times, and very good for our hearts.

The skies looked very threatening today, especially after hearing the weather forecasters predict that the afternoon would be sunny. Yeah right. How about dark, hailing, raining, and very, very cold?

Thanks to “F” and “B” for a fun ride today.

Day 261: The Garminization of San Geronimo

I rode out to San Geronimo Valley late this morning to visit my friends “S” and “J.” They have a new Garmin GPS unit and I planned on helping them get it set up. They have multiples bikes, including a tandem, so the Garmin system is perfect for their needs. They can simply take the unit from bike to bike and everything will work. In the old days you’d need to have hardware for each bike, and then you’d even need to do additional set up with the cycling computer. Pheh!

When I arrived they were outside playing (my word) in their garden which is exploding at this time of year. Buds are on all of their fruit trees, blossoms here and there, and all of the plants look like they’re ready for spring to arrive. I really miss gardening.

After checking out some great family photos from various trips to Europe, we moved onto the Garmin 500’s setup. Garmin has this process nailed down, and have made it incredibly easy. I don’t think that we spent more than ten minutes getting everything set up.

We waited for about half an hour for the Garmin unit to take a full battery charge.  We were then ready to take the maiden voyage with Garmin on board. “S” and “J” mounted their tandem, and we headed on down the back roads of San Geronimo. After a quick spin up to White’s Hill, we parted ways.

On my way home I stopped in San Anselmo in order to take a photo of a lovely 1960’s Schwinn cruiser with a Springer fork. These were very attractive bikes in my opinion. That said, I doubt that the front fork provided much suspension. One of these days I’ll go Clunking on a vintage cruiser.

The change in the weather has allowed me to start doing longer rides again. During the past three days I’ve ridden for just under eight hours, and climbed 10,696 ft. I need to keep this pace up in order to meet my goals. ;-) Yahoo…