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Committed to ending the pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation develops innovative solutions, combining scientific evidence with community experience to fight HIV/AIDS and promote health. Established in 1982, the Foundation provides direct services to thousands of people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS and supplies information to thousands more about HIV prevention and treatment through programs that include the California AIDS Hotline (800-367-AIDS). The Foundation promotes HIV awareness in the community and advocates for sound HIV/AIDS policies at all levels of government.

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Susan's Blog

Saturday, February 23, 2008

5:57 PM

Hill repeats

Today is the first day of my vacation.  Jim & I had talked about driving down to the Santa Barbara area for a little sunshine, a little bike riding and possibly going to see this miniature horse farm we'd heard about. 

But we don't have to go to Santa Barbara county to see miniature horses.  Nope.  That's because we have a miniature horse right here in our very neighborhood.  His name is Figaro and he lives just up the street from us.  The first time Jim saw Figaro he was walking down the sidewalk across the street from our house.  The first thing Jim thought was, "Huh.  That's a strange looking dog."  And then he realized it wasn't a dog, it was a miniature horse!  Not only that, the dog that was walking with him, a mastiff, was bigger than the horse.

This morning I was in the bathroom when Jim called out, "Pantomime horse!"  That's what we call him, a pantomime horse.  Actually, that's what we call any horse.  Like when we see a "Horse X-ing" sign up in Tilden Park, I always say "Pantomime Horse Crossing!"

Anyway, when I came out of the bathroom Jim said, "The Pantomime is doing hill repeats!"  He and his person had been going up and down our very steep street, multiple times.  Jim suspects Figaro is in training for something.  He also told me he'd gotten a haircut.  I stepped out onto the front porch and saw them reach the crest of the hill where Figaro stopped, stretched like a dog (arms out in front, belly down toward the ground and butt sticking out behind), then rolled over onto his back.  His person stood by watching for cars as Figaro rolled back and forth like a dog scratching his back on the pavement.  The pantomime horse is always entertaining to watch but I have to say this took the cake!

I'll say it again, who needs to go to Santa Barbara?

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Friday, February 22, 2008

7:25 PM

What's the deal with the white shoes?

A while back I got these awesome custom insoles from Curtis Cramblett.  They took a little getting used to, mainly because it felt like I was wearing elevator shoes, but they've eliminated the foot pain I used to experience (numbness and stinging in my toes) all together, and they're great for my knees.  The downside is that they've made my beloved Specialized road shoes a tad too small.

So the other day we went to Mike's Bikes to try on some road shoes.  I tried the Specialized women's (like the ones I have), but they were a bit snug in the toe.  I tried the Specialized men's, but they were a bit loose in the heel.  I tried the Shimano women's and...yes, Cinderella, they were just right.

The only problem is...well...they're white.  I mean, they're really white.  No offense to any of you white road shoe wearers, but what's the deal?  They look like golf shoes (no offense to any golfers out there), or shoes that would accompany a polyester leisure suit (again, no offense...).  They look like something this guy would wear.

The guy at Mike's said that white is the color these days.  I just don't understand.

I told Jim maybe I could live with them.  After all, they were super comfy and it's not like I'd be looking at them while I'm riding (if I were I'd have much bigger problems to worry about than the color of my shoes), but Jim said he couldn't live with them because he wouldn't be able to stand looking at them.

We talked about sharpies.  We talked about shoe dye.  We talked about booties.  I just couldn't do it.

The plan now is to switch my cleats onto my mountain bike shoes (which are black) and wear those instead since they're roomier and they're comfy and most important of all, they're not white.

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Saturday, November 24, 2007

9:57 PM

Birthday ride

I knew taking my knee warmers off was a mistake last weekend. Classic example of do as I say, not as I do. I've suffered from tendonitis in my right knee periodically, usually due to stupid behaviors like taking off my knee warmers when it's cool enough that I should be keeping them on. Or going out and riding hard 3 days in a row when I haven't been on my bike in months. My knee had been bothering me a little bit Thursday morning before our ride with Jamie, but not too bad (and I tried to take it easy).

This morning it felt really stiff so I knew I shouldn't do any serious riding. On the other hand, I didn't want to not ride since riding makes me so happy. Plus, today's my birthday and how could I spend a bicycle-less birthday?

So instead of doing a serious ride, we decided to do an urban, pottering around kind of ride. We pulled my old mountain bike out from the basement, put a little air in the tires and mounted a water bottle cage onto the frame, and set off on our little adventure.

We rode down Foothill, where the drivers were really courteous (more courteous than many in our old posh north Berkeley neighborhood) and the lanes were wide enough to accommodate bikes. We dipped around the lower part of Lake Merritt then headed down to Jack London for lunch at Hahn's Hibachi. It was quite tasty (though Jim said he thought the sauce used to be better).

After lunch we rode up Broadway, on and off the sidewalk, zigging and zagging our way along. I had the idea that coffee and a cookie at Bakesale Betty's would be a nice birthday treat, so we rode there only to discover they were out of baked goods! Ironic, because last time we were there they overloaded us with desserts--Jim had bought a couple of cookies for after our sandwiches. Then the guy came out dispensing more cookies, for free, to everyone. A little bit later he brought lemon bars. And finally he brought a ginormous piece of pumpkin pie. Sadly, I was too stuffed after our fried chicken sandwich to sample any of the sweets, but Jim ate the pumpkin pie and brought the rest home in his backpack.

But today, no cookies, no pie, no lemon bars, no nothing. Except coffee, which was quite good.

From there we rode down through Emeryville to the Berkeley Aquatic Park where we looped around looking at the egrets and the stilts and the buffleheads.

I was feeling a little puckish, so we scooted over to Bette's Oceanview for a muffin. And outside of Bette's we ran into our real estate agent, Annie, who helped us by our cozy little house almost exactly one year ago. She had sent us a Thanksgiving card the previous week, and I was carrying a card for her in my daypack in search of a mailbox. It was great to see her and I felt a little nostalgic for all the time we had spent together (and all the phone calls and emails) the previous year.

It was getting late, and Jim suggested taking BART back but I wanted to ride, so we rode down along the waterfront where the light was low, deep and slanty and reminded us of Ile de Re.

Then down through West Oakland where I kept questioning where Jim was leading us (it didn't feel particularly direct, but he is the one who used to drive a cab in Oakland, not me). As we rode through downtown with the sky getting darker (and no lights on our bikes), Jim said we really should get on BART, so we headed over to the Lake Merritt station, and as I was purchasing my ticket Jim saw our friends Alfie and Lisa across the way.

They were returning from a Mt. Tam ride and were looking pretty beat. Alfie was feeling bad, partly physical and partly psychological because everyone else on the ride had been feeling good. Apparently Alfie forgets that those other guys hadn't ridden about a million double centuries, plus AIDS/LifeCycle (on fixies!), in the past year like he and Lisa had.

We chatted for a while, and Lisa loaned us one of her awesome rear blinky lights for the ride home after BART, for which I was grateful.

We took BART the one stop to Fruitvale (feeling kind of silly, but on the other hand we wouldn't have run into Alfie and Lisa had we ridden, nor would we have been able to borrow her light), then headed up toward home. It was definitively dark by the time we arrived home. I sent a quick email to Lisa and Alfie, thanking them again for the light and letting them know we had made it safely home. Then Jim and I each enjoyed a beer on the couch and I felt perfectly content on my special day.

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Friday, November 23, 2007

5:23 PM

The Safire!

My knee was kinda sore when I woke up this morning (no doubt due to the stripping off of knee warmers on days when I could see my breath. Duh.), so I thought it best to not do another road ride. Instead we went over to Mike's Bikes in Berkeley so I could test ride the new Specialized Safire women's mountain bike.

It's been about 10 years since I've done any mountain biking, and my experiences back then were often frightening. I had a cheap Trek mountain bike, rigid fork, no suspension, and not much confidence. All those things reinforced one another, so I never really progressed much. I considered it a successful ride if I managed to stay on my bike the whole time.

Jim, on the other hand, had a fancy schmancy Klein. He had confidence, experience and shocks. A typical ride together would consist of Jim flying down trails, or gliding up them, with me struggling along behind him, stopping fairly often when I either chickened out or fell over. "Just relax!" he would say. "I CAN'T RELAX!" I'd yell back, trying to avoid flying over the handlebars as he led me down trails crossed with tree stumps and riddled with loose, dusty gravel.

So you can imagine what it was like to ride a "real" mountain bike for the first time.

After lowering the seat so I could actually get onto the saddle (that is going to take some practice...or a step ladder), we rode up to the UC Berkeley campus. Jim immediately found a eucalyptus grove to ride around in. At first I was timid, but when I realized the bike wasn't going to slip out from under me and that I wasn't going to slip off of it, I gained more confidence and found more bumps and hills and turns to ride through. It was so much fun!

We rode all around campus, finding trails and curbs and various obstacles to ride on, off and around. I started to realize why Jim rides like he does (though it will be a long while before I do the same type of riding on a road bike. If ever.) and how maneuverable the bike was.

I was all smiles when we got back to the bike shop. And for the rest of the afternoon. Periodically I'd just turn to Jim and smile, "I like the Safire."

The only decision left is which color...pink and black or silver and black?

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

9:18 PM

Holiday riding

Today Jim and I went for a ride with Jamie (former LA Cycle Buddy who now lives two blocks down the street from us). It was cool and windy starting out, but stunningly clear and beautiful. We made our way up through Montclair to Tunnel Road, then headed north on Skyline and up over Grizzly Peak. That used to be a normal route for me when we lived in Berkeley, and it was fun to revisit.

We dropped down Euclid then rode through campus and down the sidewalk on Telegraph Ave. in search of food. The lack of traffic (foot and car) was so novel--riding on holidays is excellent! We ate lunch at Bongo Burger, which was just as delicious as it was back in my college days. Then we rode down to the Peet's on Lakeshore for a little pick me up (and some lewd comments from a local crazy guy). After that we rolled back along MacArthur to our respective homes for some rest, showers and a bit of cooking before Jamie rejoined us for a delicious Thanksgiving supper.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

9:15 PM

Happiness is...

I went for my usual 20-miler up in the hills today. My new saddle felt great (the great thing being that once I sat on it, I didn't really notice it, which is exactly how a saddle should feel), as did my legs, my body, and my spirit. Days like this make me wonder why I stayed off the bike for so many months...riding just makes me so happy!

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

9:11 PM

Coughing up a lung with Curtis

Yippee--I'm taking a week off from work and hoping the glorious weather holds so I can spend some quality time on my bike.

Today, on my first day off, I went to see Curtis Cramblett to test out different saddles and get a pair of custom eSoles. After spending a couple of hours in his garage, we went out for a quick, rolling ride. We had a lovely time, spinning along and chatting away. It was a "recovery ride" day for him so he was taking it easy enough for me to keep up. Until the one climb on the way back when I thought I was going to cough up a lung and he continued yapping away like we were on a flat. It was comical, really.

It was a race against the setting sun to get home (this seems to be a theme lately, as we approach the winter solstice), with our blinky taillights only providing minimal reassurance. Back at his house he plied me with peanut butter sandwiches, fresh sweet satsumas, water, chocolate soy milk, and anything else he could find in the kitchen. (I passed on further snack offerings, needing to save room for supper when I got home later).

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

9:21 PM

Almost 40

Today we decided to drive out to Orinda and start our ride from there, not feeling in the mood to start the day's ride with the brutal climb out of our neighborhood. Having believed the forecast that it would be cooooold, and with memories of our Mt. Diablo adventure fresh in my mind, I was quite overdressed in my winter weight jersey. Jim kept saying, "arm warmers are the key...gotta have flexibility!" which wasn't very helpful since I was stuck in that jersey for the day. We rode out to The Dog for our regular lunch of dogs and fries, then decided to head back west and up into the hills from this direction. Same climbs, different perspective, since we're usually starting and finishing from the west side.

We headed up Pinehurst then up Skyline toward Grizzly Peak. It was a bit cooler here, but I was still pretty warm, so I did a stupid thing and took off my knee warmers (I guess I felt compelled to strip off clothing where I could since I was stuck in that jersey). We got to the top where it was much cooler, windier and cloudy. I put my knees back on, along with my windvest, then we flew down South Park. Well, Jim flew, and I sort of scooted, trying to avoid the newts and the intermittent people with their loose dogs.

Back in Orinda we stopped at Starbucks for a tasty hot coffee and slice of pumpkin bread. Jim commented on how the 13 year old girls at the next table sounded more mature than me (with my 40th birthday less than a week away) and I just smiled at him in my sweetpea cap.

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Friday, November 16, 2007

10:03 PM

Best birthday present ever!

Jim got me a birthday present! It arrived today, several days early, but it's such a special present that he couldn't wait until my birthday to give it to me.

It's a sweetpea bicycles cycling cap! Dark blue with a lighter blue stripe up the middle. It says sweetpea bicycles on the brim, and on each side it says *sweetpea* in little letters.

And the best part is the part you don't even see unless you look really closely, and even then you probably have to have the hat in your hand to see it. There's a little tiny tag that says "swrve" on the front, and on the back there's a teeny tiny little yellow bird with a teeny tiny little beak and teeny tiny little feet.

It's pretty darn cute!

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

8:18 PM

A nice little Sunday spin

The trouble with having a riding partner who rides practically every day while you're sitting on your bum at work is that he's always proposing longer harder rides than you're ready for.

The trouble with me is that I'm always game to try these harder rides, even when it's against my better judgment.

Today we decided to climb Mt. Diablo. You know, just for a change of scenery. And not just climb to the junction, but climb all the way to the top, which is like a million feet up. It's another microclimate up there. In fact, when it was sunny everywhere else I could see clouds covering the top--you know, like Mt. Everest or something.

We started out in Orinda, where the sun was shining brilliantly but there was a chilly breeze. Jim was in his new wool jersey whose praises he had been singing for weeks--it's cool when the temperatures are warm and it's warm when the temperatures are cool. I refer to it as his magic jersey. But he didn't wear a base layer (because of his magical jersey), nor did he bring his windvest.

I on the other hand, always being the over-prepared one, had a base layer on under my jersey and a windvest stashed in my Camelback. Because you never know...

We set out over crunchy autumn leaves, breathing in the damp smell of late autumn. Streets that had been shaded under canopies of green were now open to the blue sky overhead and it felt like we were elsewhere.

We stopped at The Dog in Alamo for a snack--a shared hot dog and single order of fries (half of our normal Dog meal). We stopped a little ways up the road for another snack--an energy bar a piece, or "dessert" as Jim called it.

Then we wound our way up to the base, through that strange neighborhood that looks a little like New Orleans (or what I imagine New Orleans to look like since I've never been there), a little like Houston and a little like California. Then through that little hole in the fence and onto the official climb.

The start of the south side is really exposed and when we reached the entrance gate I peeled off my arm and knee warmers because I felt like I was overheating. After that it got cooler (Murphy's Law, I swear) but I figured that was because we were riding through a shaded area.

Jim was up ahead, but not too far, most of the way up to the ranger station. I just kept going steadily along, wondering if we would indeed go to the summit or if we'd come to our senses and turn around at the junction.

We didn't come to our senses. We stopped for a snack, watching the relieved faces of all the relieved bikers on their way down, then continued up the hill which would only get steeper, as I recalled, from that point.

I kept hearing my friend Alfie's voice in my head, reminding me to take my time and "save something for the end." He helped me make it up the first time I climbed Mt. Diablo and I'll never forget his advice.

Up and up we climbed. Jim stayed close to me now--sometimes a little too close and I had to ask him to give me some room. The wind was gusting in parts, which made me uneasy (and which you know, if you've read any of my other entries).

Then on one of my exhales I realized I could see my breath! At first I thought I was imagining it, but then Jim remarked on it, too. What a strange sensation to be getting colder as you climb. It reminded me a little bit of the Alaska ride.

We continued up. I thought about putting back on my knee and arm warmers but I didn't want to stop, so I pushed on ahead. The radio tower was getting closer but I didn't want to get optimistic so when Jim asked if we were getting close I said I thought we still had a ways to go. But we turned the corner and there was the sign for the parking lot and I realized this was the true decision time. Walk? Or ride? I looked around the corner to the dreaded final pitch up to the summit and though, hey--it's not as long as I remembered.

Then a second later, crap!--it's steeeeeeep!! It's not that I didn't remember how steep it was, it's just that it didn't look so bad when I took that first peek. Maybe the fresh pavement created some sort of optical illusion.

I stood up to try and keep some momentum going, but felt like I was losing control of the bike, so I sat down again and it was so steep (good grief! have I mentioned how steep it was?!) I knew I wouldn't be able to stand up again, or change position, without losing control. I couldn't even stop or I'd fall over.

Jim was climbing right beside me, standing the whole way, telling me how strong I was. And let me ask, what does this tell you about his strength, him being able to talk at that point? It was all I could do to gasp for air!

There was a car behind us, and I was thinking, please please please don't try and pass because I'm not sure I can continue in a straight line, and fortunately they didn't.

Then miraculously we were at the top. It was freezing and the wind was blowing all over the place and I had to take a few spins around the lot because I was afraid my legs would start cramping up.

We took a 2 second peek at the view from the observation deck (where I observed all the other people there were bundled up in fleeces and jackets and practical items like that), then went inside so I could put my layers back on.

Jim, sadly, had no more layers. He hadn't put on a base layer under his jersey (he'd be testing the magicalness for sure on the way down), nor had he brought a windvest.

I downed a few bites of an energy bar and Jim started down saying he'd meet me at the junction. He needed to get out of the cold wind.

I needed to take my time going down and I was glad Jim would have a place to wait indoors if he got too cold. There was a slow-moving SUV in front of me and I was glad--the slow pace sort of tempered me. Not that I would have been flying down the hill or anything--but it was sort of comforting to have my slow pace dictated by another vehicle. But soon he turned off and it was just me and the steep road and the wind. My legs were really tight and I could actually feel them shaking, especially down around the ankles. I'm not sure if it was tightness from the climb, or the cold, or anticipation of the wind, or all of the above.

I kept mentally remarking how steep it was (wow--I just climbed up this?!), and tried not to get too unnerved by either the steepness or the gusts of wind.

Jim was waiting at the ranger station and we thankfully agreed to go back down the south side. The north side is really exposed and I would have been really nervous about that wind.

We continued down and Jim was soon out of sight. It was a bit warmer now so I was less worried about Jim freezing his tail off. But the wind was still really intense and on one of the straightaways my bike started vibrating. "Relax!" I actually said to myself out loud. "Just relax! You'll be fine!" I clamped my legs together against the top tube, and periodically pedaled a few strokes (thank you Rivendell for those gems of anti-vibration advice!), and managed to steady the bike.

Down and down and down, into the line of oak trees where a car had paused to watch a group (a herd? a gaggle?) of turkeys cross the road. I didn't realize why the car had stopped until I was passing (slowly, of course) and saw the birds picking their way down the hill to my left.

We got to the fence and Jim rode through the mud but I got off and walked (ostensibly to stretch my legs, but really because I didn't want to take my chances in the mud. I'd fought enough battles for one day). We each shared that our teeth had been chattering a bit from the cold and my right knee hurt and his left knee hurt and we needed to stop for coffee somewhere before we got much further along.

We scurried back into Alamo and stopped at Starbucks where it was cozy and warm and the coffee was delicious and warm and the zucchini bread was just delicious.

Jim needed some air in his front tire before we set out again--a slow leak. I had just been thinking we needed to not have any mechanical issues or we'd be screwed. He didn't seem too concerned.

It was getting late (4pm) and now it was a race against the clock to get back to the car before dark. We flew down Danville Blvd--nothing like impending darkness and a little caffeine to light a fire under one's saddle.

We zig zagged through the residential area, me still flying and now Jim hanging back a bit. I was approaching a stop sign and shifting down when "snap!" my rear derailleur cable broke.

Crap.

Of course I was in my hardest gear. No way would I make it back to the car (with two fairly significant climbs on the way). We decided to ride to Lafayette and I'd wait at the bike shop while Jim went back for the van.

By this time it was about 4:30 and decidedly dusky. I asked Jim multiple times if he didn't want to just hop on BART together, but he insisted it wasn't too far for him to ride. He didn't have any flat repair equipment with him (I was carrying it) and though I tried to get him to take my stuff he realized he didn't have anywhere to carry the pump so he set off without.

I waited at the bike shop, watching the sky darken, hoping nothing happened. I bought an overpriced derailleur cable, browsed their magazine collection and waited. The guy at the cash register said a couple of other guys who had been in earlier had attempted Mt. Diablo and were advised against going to the summit by a ranger because of the wind. "Gee," I said. "Where was that ranger when we were on our way up?"

At long last Jim arrived, the guys at the shop wished us well, we hopped into the van and made our way home. Jim said it was further than he had remembered getting to Orinda, and that he'd nearly wiped out coming off of the bike path because his front tire was at about 20 psi.

So that was our big adventure. Next time, we'll start out earlier, make sure Jim brings more clothes and flat changing supplies. Oh, and maybe a spare cable, too.

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Sunday, November 4, 2007

5:19 PM

The hardest 40 mile ride ever

This morning we threw the bikes in the minivan and headed over to 4th Street in Berkeley to begin our ride. We weren't sure where we wanted to ride, but we did know we didn't want to start from our house (you really have to be in the right mental state to ride from here).

It was a beautiful day--sunny and warm, Indian summer weather. We rode up Spruce Street then out and down Wildcat Canyon. Jim kept flying out in front and I just kept my steady pace. We're like Oscar and Felix on our bikes (and in real life, come to think of it)--totally opposite riding styles. Jim likes to vary his pace all the time--sprinting off the front, slowing down, sprinting again, doubling back. He probably ends up riding twice as far as me sometimes with all this messing around. I just ride steady (Jim calls me the diesel). I don't think I could ride like Jim even if I wanted to--I think it would sap all my energy.

Anyway, we got to the bottom of Wildcat Canyon and I suggested we take a left and do the 3 Bears (clockwise). Two motivations for this--one to see if it's any harder or any easier than I remembered, and two, to conquer my fear of the wind.

Last year we rode the 3 Bears on a particularly blustery day. It had been raining, and it was cold and the wind was whipping around all over the place. I was on my new bike and I remember thinking, boy, I'm glad I'm not on my old Bianchi--that thing used to get blown all over the place on windy days. Well, I spoke, or thought, too soon. On the descent down toward the Alhambra Valley turn my bike started to vibrate, which caused me to tense up which made the vibration even worse. It felt like my front wheel was loose, or that there was something terribly wrong with my bike. I had a death grip on my brakes and my bike was shuddering and I was yelling for Jim but he couldn't hear me because he was so far ahead and the wind was so strong. I made it to the bottom and now I was shaking and sort of crying. Jim looked at the bike, then hopped on and rode it a bit but couldn't find anything wrong with it. The only thing to do was continue on.

I was terrified, of course, because there were some long steep descents ahead and I was literally thinking I might have to walk.

As we approached the first Bear it started to rain. Classic. It could have been funny if I hadn't been so scared.

I took the descents pretty much at a snail's pace--pumping my brakes the whole time, imagining how I would reward myself if I made it home alive. Jim waited for me at the top of the final climb. I was most scared of this one because it is so long and so exposed. I told him I wasn't sure if I could do it and he told me I really didn't have a choice. I was thinking, isn't walking a choice? But I gritted my teeth, made sure my brake levers were dry so I could get a good grip, and down I went, slowly, slowly. When I got toward the bottom and my bike hadn't tried to throw me off again I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Back to the present...I was feeling pretty good. It was fairly windy, but not insanely so and even in the windy parts my bike behaved well. I suspect part of the problem, or part of what had exacerbated the vibrating before was my weight distribution. My bike had come with 40cm handlebars which are way too wide for a little person like me. I had them swapped out for 38cms and the bike has handled a lot better since then. I'm able to get my weight farther back when I want to, and it feels much more stable.

We approached the feared descent and I did start to feel nervous, but I told myself to relax and take my time. I got to the bottom with no problems. Jim gave me a high five and we headed on toward the bears.

I'll just say two things about the bears: 1) Whoever named them the "3 Bears" apparently has trouble counting. If you ask me there are more like 5 of them, and someone really should count that annoying steep little climb as you're going out Castro Ranch (especially since that final pitch back up toward Wildcat Canyon has a nickname or two). 2) It never seems to get any easier.

Jim, of course, flew up the first climb. The few times I took my eyes off the pavement all I could see was a little speck growing smaller and smaller in the distance. The climb felt interminable.

The next couple of climbs seemed like they should have been easier--after all, they're the "little" ones. But it just felt like more slogging.

Then we started up the final climb. Well, once again Jim was far ahead of me and I was just trying to keep turning the pedals over. And over. And over. And over. And over. And over. And over. Am I there yet? No. And over. And over. And over. And over. And over. Now? No. And over. And over. And over. And over. Lots of broken glass on the road today. And over. And over. And over. I wonder if the same car is responsible for each of these bottles. And over. And over. And over. And over. Why do people feel compelled to throw things out of car windows? And over. And over. And over. And over. Those people should be forced to ride a bike. And over. And over. And over. They should be forced to ride a bike up this stupid hill. And over. And over. And over. And over. And over.

Jim was waiting for me at the top. I told him to be careful on the descent. I'm always telling him to be careful, especially after his broken collarbone last year, but he still descends like a rocket.

We stopped at the base of Wildcat Canyon for a snack and Jim said something about breakfast food. Or maybe I had breakfast food on the mind because of a recent conversation at work. At any rate, when we reached the top of the climb (which also felt interminable, but in a shadier, windier sort of way) I suggested we go to Bette's for a big plate o' food after we finished.

The nice host at Bette's let us eat outside where we could watch our bikes and it was the best post-ride meal ever! Scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage, home fries, toast and a delicious cup of coffee for dessert. Perfect.

Jim checked my computer for the mileage (he loves looking at the numbers--ironic that our one computer is on my bike). Only 40 miles! Jeesh--felt like 100. We agreed that it must be the hardest 40-mile ride ever.

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Saturday, November 3, 2007

6:12 PM

You take the dirt road...

...and I'll take the paved road.

My first full weekend off in over a month and what does Jim do? Make plans to go mountain biking with his friend.

Oh well, that's not stopping me from riding. While Jim futzes around trying to put our old roof rack on the trunk of the Miata, I head out for a ride. It's warm and sunny--don't even need arm or knee warmers and it's November!

I start off intending to do my usual 20-mile loop, but midway decide to add Pinehurst (down) and Redwood (up) which feels like a much longer ride but only adds about 5 more miles. I still don't understand how that works.

Pleasant ride--pretty uneventful, though I'm pleased that as I approach the top of Redwood I don't need to stand to make it up that final pitch. I remember riding it with Josie about a month ago and having to stand for quite a ways at the end. This feels like tangible evidence that I'm getting stronger and I'm quite pleased.

I look at my watch when I get to the top and figure if I don't dally I might make it home before Jim heads out on his ride.

I cruise down Redwood, not quite as terrified as I used to be of this descent. Zig zag through the neighborhood. Take the last climb up Pierson (steep, but short. Well, short-ish), then coast home. Jim is just heading out the door so I tell him to have fun (and to be careful, of course) and I head to the kitchen to start boiling some pasta. :)

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Monday, October 29, 2007

5:08 PM

Taking a page out of the Prom Queen's book

I took the day off today for some much needed rest. And of course, what better way to get my energy back than to go for a bike ride!

I did the old Monterrey Ave/Montclair, Tunnel, Skyline loop. It's short but intense. One of those climb for an hour and 45 minutes then descend for 15 and that's your ride kind of rides. The brutal part from our house is that there's really no chance to warm up. You go out the door and within 30 seconds you've gotta start climbing. It's a bit like starting your ride at the top part of Pinehurst.

With the memories of Saturday's ride fresh in my noggin, I made a point of taking it nice and slow, especially as I was just starting out. I thought of Pam and how smooth and steady she was on those climbs. And you know what? It worked. I didn't feel like I was going to die and I actually felt stronger on most of the climbs than I had before. I suspect it was a combination of not going too hard too soon and that I may indeed be getting stronger. I noticed it especially on some of the steeper pitches--rather than needing to stand up right way I was able to sit and pedal for longer and longer stretches. Very gratifying!

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Saturday, October 27, 2007

6:48 PM

Riding with the Prom Queen

Jim and I took a field trip down to the South Bay to ride with our friends Tina and Pam today. Pam is a racer with the Webcor team, so I was a bit intimidated when she showed up in her fancy team kit and super-fast bike (well, technically she's the one who's fast, but her bike looked the part, too). And Jim is fast. And Tina is fast. I'm not particularly fast but I love to ride, so as long as they were willing to wait for me now and again it would be fine.

Less than half a mile out from Tina's house Pam ran into the first of many people she knew. She chatted with this guy for a while until we parted ways. Tina joked that riding with Pam was like riding with the Prom Queen (even demonstrating the proper waving technique) since she was constantly running into people she knew. Sure enough, another quarter mile up she waved across the road to a foursome of Webcor riders. Further along still she ran into another Webcor couple she knew (who we later saw again at Peet's). It continued throughout the ride and after a while I lost count.

The South Bay is great for riding (even if I can''t keep up with my speedy friends)--nice wide bike lanes, quiet scenic roads, lots of other bikers and, for the most part, courteous drivers. Since I generally just follow my friends when I'm riding down there, I had no idea where we were most of the time. What I do know is that at practically every fork in the road, Pam always opted for the uphill choice. It was fine, though, because she was deliberately taking her time (saving her energy for a more demanding ride the next day, I''m sure) which helped me take my time, find my rhythm and enjoy the scenery.

It was a beautiful afternoon, with fiery red trees, a clear blue sky and fresh autumn air. Jim and Pam talked bike geek stuff, Tina and I talked friend stuff and we were all just happy to be out on our bikes.

I never really could keep up with those guys, though at one point when the three of them went flying past me on a shallow descent and I thought, those guys are flying! Then I looked down at my odometer and realized I was going pretty good, too. :) Anyway, considering how much they ride, and how little I''ve been riding lately, I should hope they're faster than me.

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Monday, October 22, 2007

6:00 PM

Always learning

We had our first Training Ride Leader (TRL) certification this weekend, which for me proved the old adage that no matter how much you think you know, there's always more to learn (or something like that). Brian Rizzo of Gorman-Rizzo Chiropractic provided great stretching and foam roller advice (lesson 1: don't overdo the foam roller, no matter how much you like the pain), Curtis Cramblett of Revolutions in Fitness provided expert bike fit advice (lesson 2: replace your saddle every 3-4 years, or when the center starts wearing down and you're getting pushed toward the front, rather than staying on your sit bones) and Lorri Lee Lown, founder of Velo Girls, gave a highly entertaining and extremely informative overview of bike maintenance and bike handling skills (so many lessons it's hard to choose!).

Overall a great weekend. How lucky I am that this is my job!

So on my two days off, what else to do but spend them on my bike? We went on a long ride today--just over 50 miles, with lots of climbing. Overall I did pretty well, considering how little I've ridden in the past several months. What was most gratifying was incorporating some of Lorri's sage descending advice (there's a famous posting on the Discussion Forum, originally posted by Lorri several years ago, and frequently reposted by others, which is probably the best piece of descending advice I've ever read) on the downhills. Remembering that a low center of gravity provides more stability. Keeping your butt back. Using your head and hips to steer through the turns, rather than your arms (or thinking that you're using your arms).

Julie Brown provided added visual advice at the training on Sunday, too--doing a sort of Superman move with her right arm and left leg extended (or vice versa) to describe where you want to put the weight when cornering. So on the descents yesterday I had the combination of Lorri's words with Julie's (rather comical) visuals to aid me down the hills.

I must say, for someone who's rather a chicken on the descents, I was flying pretty good!

The hardest part of the ride was simply getting back to our house. There's no easy way to get here without either going far out of our way and into some pretty sketchy areas, or climbing a heinously steep hill. Today we opted for the latter, and after 49 miles of riding, which included some significant climbs, my legs were burning!

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