Biking hard or hardly biking.

All work and no rides makes the bighairscientist out of shape (and kinda grumpy). We bought a house in Pacifica, which is small, surf town just a few miles south of San Francisco. We spent a couple of months during the late-summer/early-fall fixing up the place, and after scraping walls and huffing paint fumes all day, the decision between beer or bike was fairly easy to make.

I was spoiled in Santa Cruz. There were amazing rides in every direction. Well, if you ride west of Santa Cruz, ride in Japan. I hear the cyclocross scene is really developing there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a11XktXlX6s

Pacifica may not be Santa Cruz, but I'm within riding distance of Marin. (In case you didn't know, Marin, specifically Mt. Tam, is the birthplace of modern mountain biking.) From Pacifica, it's a short ride along the coast through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Esplanade/Ocean Beach, SF.

Short cut through the Presidio.

Rentals. If you have to ask, you can't afford them...


Crissy Field.

I can't remember what they call this structure... (it's not foggy, my camera lens was sweaty.)

Up Hawk Hill and into the trails...

Pit stop at the Marine Mammal Center. It's open everyday (except Tofurkey Day and Festivus) and mostly staffed by wicked nice volunteers.

After you buy a drink, drop the change into the donation bin. The change will just fall out of your pockets anyway, and the cash will help save endangered critters like this (well, not like this, real ones).

Back into the trails. The last few times though here, I crossed paths with a guy I call "Monster Cross Dave." He spotted my Hunter, I spotted his Rock Lobster 29er cyclocross. We flapped about handmade frames, then Dave pointed me to some trails. I tip my helmet to you, Sir Dave.

This was taken accidentally while I was putting the camera back into my pocket.

This photo was intentional, the flat tire was not...

The road back to SF (not today).

The road further out towards Mt. Tam.

The short daylight hours meant that I needed to cut this ride short (~60 miles) and head back home.




Just in time for sunset and beer o'clock.

Ride safely and happy trails.

Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, USA

Finally. I've wanted to do this ride for years. Starting at Yosemite Valley, it's 32-miles up to Glacier Point. And then it's a 32-mile descent back.

I only had my camera phone, so the resolution of the photos isn't terrific.

Tunnel View on Route 41. El Capitan on the left. Clouds Rest and Half Dome in the distance. Cathedral Rocks on the right above Bridalveil Falls. The flat part in the center is Yosemite Valley.


Half Dome (from Glacier Point Road). Yes, those are rain clouds in the distance. Luckily, I encountered only passing rain showers, only a few minutes of steady rain. At least it wasn't snow. No joke, Glacier Point is at 7200ft elevation, and there was still snow along the road.

The view from Glacier Point looking into Yosemite Valley.

And the view from my chair back at the lodge... That ain't a cappuccino in the mug. This coffee mug doubled as a beer mug.

Ride safely and happy trails.

Bighairscientist 1, Steel axle 0

I may have won today's battle against the solid steel axle of my rear hub, but it won the war. After all, I had to carry it and the bike home.

I'm not sure how it happened. I was just headed out on my ride, and my tire started rubbing on the chainstay. I thought that I needed to adjust the chain tension but saw the part of the axle wiggling like Jello in my dropouts.

Actually, I'm really lucky; this could have caused a lot of hurt under different circumstances. I'll put in a new axle, but it makes me nervous...

Ride safely and happy trails.

Salt is good... centuries are better.

Well, I'd like to say that I'm feeling "better" on the bike, but it really comes down to me feeling less crappy. Last week, I got in a couple of century rides with my old friend Chris. One was relatively flat, the other had 6000+ feet of elevation gain. In addition to the centuries, I think that I may have rode myself right to the doctor's office. I've been battling knee issues for a while, and it's to a point where I may need to get things re-evaluated.

For these long rides, I really need something salty after 3-4 hours into the ride. If I don't, hours 5-6 are pure misery. Plantain chips from my local Indian market have been my savior. I'm pretty sure that I need the sodium, but plantain is loaded with potassium too. Electrolytes, it's all about electrolytes.

Ride safely (eat plantain) and happy trails.

I never win anything...

I won!!! I scored some new Kenda Nevegal 650B tires courtesy of 650BPalace.blogspot.com.

Here's the drawing:
http://650bpalace.blogspot.com/2009/03/photo-contest-drawing.html

Here was the entry... (BTW - The box is zip-tied to the saddle.)
Thanks 650B Palace!

Ride safely and happy trails.

I'm baaaack... and terribly out of shape.

I've been back in Cal for a couple of weeks now. I've been riding every day... wearing my grumpy pants and suffer face.

I spent December sitting around in Vermont and Maine, drinking beer or wine by the fire. It actually was quite nice. But I'm paying for it now. The inactivity sort of extended into November because I was only commuting. The short days, weather, and workload shut down the longer weekend rides.

For those of you back in Vermont, I've lost the following: my endurance, acceleration, wind, legs. If you see any of them by the side of the road, please, I need them back. I've been looking for them here, in Monte Bello Open Space Preserve.


I cut through the OSP to get from Montebello Rd to Page Mill. It's a few miles in the dirt, but as you can see, it's road bike-friendly dirt.



There are some really nice views from the top of the ridge, Pacific Ocean to the west, SF Bay and mountains to the east. No sign of my legs though...

Ride safely and happy trails.