To the tower...

As summer comes to an end and fall approaches, I am losing precious sunlight. By the time I leave work, the late-afternoon shadows crawl around the buildings downtown. This is a problem for me. I don't have as much time to ride before it gets dark & more dangerous. But i've found a great route which allows me to practice hill climbing & still get home before the sun goes down.

Yesterday I left from 2nd & Market, and went all the way to Sutro tower. Long hill climb, but great view from the top.

Today I will be doing the same hill, but then riding to the beach afterwards.

Saturday is going to be very important--65 miles, 4000 feet of climbing. I'm a little nervous about this one...but know I can do it.

Thank you Yelp.com!

A social networking & restaurant review site that I frequent made my review of the Northern California Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis the 'review of the day'. Thanks to them, more people are aware of the event, and my cause.

Much appreciated, Yelp!

Here's to you.

My review

Flat tire hell...

This past Sunday, I left for a ride through Marin county called the 'Paradise Loop'. It's a decent ride, something like 45 miles round trip with some minor hill sections.

Tires were pumped to 12o psi, feet clipped into my pedals and off I went.

And about 10 miles down the road "pssssssssssss...hissssssss", and I stopped. And I replaced the tube. I even checked the tire itself for glass or other debris, and found nothing.

By the time I reached Tiburon Village (which everyone should visit sometime), my tire was flat & hissing AGAIN! What gives!?! I found the only bike shop in Tiburon, fixed my tire again and finished the ride.

Yesterday, I went back to Mike's Bikes again and started talking with my pal Dan. He explained the advantages/disadvantages of different road tires, and as usual had me leaving with more than I bargained for.

I picked up some super hefty tires, a new bike pump & and some extra tubes/CO2 cartridges.

Bandana Arrived!

It will look much better on my head!

:-)

Tour for Woodside!

In preparation for Waves-to-Wine, I have decided to join another ride the week before. It will take place in the hills outside of Woodside, a community adjacent to Stanford University.

The event itself is designed to raise money for certain disadvantaged schools in the South Bay, and has three length options. I have elected to do the 55 mile loop, thinking it would be good practice before the big event the following week.

Tour For Woodside

Planet of the apes road

After my new pedals were installed, I decided to hit the road with some friends. Initially, we were going to take the Caltrain south towards Woodside, CA. Because of a flat tire, we changed plans.

The ride started in downtown SF, and moved through the Mission District & onward towards Daly City. We stopped in Lake Merced to regroup, check our bikes & directions before moving on. We were headed to "Planet of the Apes road", as a bay area guide to cycling book mentioned it. Unfortunately, we never made it.

We battled with directions, flat tires & fatigue--especially when giving up on the mysterious road & turning around as the sun started to set.

Finally, we reached Daly City again and ate dinner at Burgermeister.

I'm looking forward to this ride again, next time we will figure out the directions beforehand!

"Clipless Pedals"

After getting a new bike in June, I still needed to make some minor improvements to endure a 150 mile ride. I decided on Saturday evening that some new & more efficient pedals would be in order as the weekend ended. Per usual, I headed to Mike's Bikes in San Francisco.

I was greeted by Daniel, the guy who actually sold me my bike! He remembered me and asked how the training was coming, and we talked for a few moments before getting to the task at hand. I explained my need for cost-effective clipless pedals that would still perform well in the long run. He recommended a set of Shimano clipless (great brand & value), and gave me some choice in shoes.

Cycling shoes are actually somewhat diverse--one can own strictly road & relatively no walking or mountain & hiking shoes. I opted for the nifty looking mountain-style shoes which would allow me some mobility on foot. The total cost for my new equipment was quite reasonable, and Dan even put me on an in-store trainer to teach me some technique with clipping in/out of the pedals.

1 month left...

Waves to Wine is almost here!

1 month from today I will be riding across the Golden Gate bridge and onward towards wine country. Training has been going fairly well, although I have been a little lazy this past week. I was asked to work Saturday as a favor for a co-worker, so I'm actually updating the blog at work! No training with the PacWest athletics crew today, as I am stuck in a building downtown.

I will be riding tomorrow morning, not sure if I will be headed north or south.

More to come!

"Champions Against MS"

Because I am riding in my friend's name, the Northern California chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has asked me to wear a red "Champions Against MS" bandana. This will signify that I am actually riding for a person who fights the disease, I was told that most people who ride aren't actually riding in a friend or family member's name. They want me to talk to people about MS, and teach more about it.

I thought this was really cool, and because I have learned a lot about the disease...I am honored they have asked me to raise awareness. Who knows, maybe I will build a team of cyclists for 2008!

General Update...

Truth be told, life has been very hectic lately.

I have been super busy with work, and personal life the last couple of weeks. I am currently in Los Angeles for my Uncle Jack's memorial service. He died of lung cancer about a month ago, and I have been taking some time to myself to mourn the loss & focus on other things that are also important in my life. I have found that cycling through this has actually been very helpful, gives me something to concentrate on & lose myself at the same time.

Unfortunately I will be missing tomorrow's training with PacWest Athletics, but will return to the group next Tuesday for some evening training. I have been consistently able to ride 30-45 miles in a sufficient amount of time, but will need to start increasing my distance as the Waves to Wine event is getting closer.

My Mom & Dad are also coming to San Francisco in September, to see me ride! I'm so glad that I have supportive parents who are behind me in whatever I do...I'm also hoping to reach my goal of $2500 in fundraising for the event, I win an 'elite fundraiser' jersey if I do!

That's all for now, more to come soon!

Pacific West Athletics - Team Photo

Received an e-mail today from PacWest Athletics, with our training team photo!

Destroy Your Spokes!

If you have noticed my 'bike-related reviews' section of my training blog, I am actually a member of an online networking community that promotes restaurant reviews and activities for like minded people. Doug D, a fellow yelper, recently organized an event for other Yelping cyclists to get out & enjoy a morning ride together.

We met at the Sports Basement around 9:30am, introduced ourselves & headed across the bridge towards Tiburon. The ride which we endured together was called the 'Paradise Loop', which I have actually done on my own before. It was awesome to ride with my new internet buddies, and one of them was of great help when I got a flat tire.

Alfonso E. taught me that can actually patch a tire with foil, or even a CLIF bar wrapper. I didn't have an extra tube, so Doug generously offered one of his. Very nice people, made me very happy to have some new cycling buddies. I'm looking forward to the next DYS event, hopefully the turnout will be even bigger the next time around!

Spaaaaandex!

After nearly a month of longer rides & relative discomfort, I made the decision to start wearing spandex shorts. Don't worry, though--I wear normal shorts over it. Do I dare post a photograph? We shall see. They are definitely comfortable...I hate to admit but I have actually worn them around the apartment for hours after I finish my ride.

Tour De Fat!

A fellow cyclist & Yelp.com buddy told me about the San Francisco Bike Coalition's annual "Tour de Fat" event. In association with the New Belgium brewery, the event is designed to promote community amongst cyclists of all sorts & also raise awareness about the environment/bio-diesel fuels.

Mike's Bikes was there repairing people' bikes free-of-charge, and there was cool music playing. Fat Tire beer was being served & there was even a bike rodeo!

Good times, Good people.

Tour De Fat Website

Hill training...

Last night was not fun. Noooooo. Not fun at all.

I was bitter about being back at work, and generally upset about some other stuff in life lately. So I left work at 5:30pm, down the Embarcadero and over to Crissy Fields for training.

When I arrived, the weather was horrible--and it got worse.

Because it was so incredibly foggy, the coaches decided to keep us in the Presidio & do hill exercises. We worked the same damn hill for almost 2 hours, over & over & over again.

I rode the route 6 times (see link), until I couldn't do it anymore.

A few other riders and myself lapped the others a few times...felt good to know I was performing well even on the nasty foggy hills.


Presidio Hills Loop:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1149775

Day of the destructive tire tubes...

Although I was a bit tired from the weekend' activities, I managed to hitch a ride with my brother to the airport this morning. Getting through Burbank Airport was easy as usual, just the normal hub-bub airport security checkpoint stuff. I was back in San Francisco by 1pm, and stopped by Mike's Bikes to chat with Dan & pickup some new tubes, CO2 cartridges & a cycle computer.

He recommended that I get something which will allow me to work on both my cadence & also monitor speed, total distance, etc...I decided on the Micro Wireless CatEye Computer.

I headed home, fixed my rear tube (with help of my roommate) and headed off shortly thereafter for my 20 miles Marin Headlands session.
The ride itself was pretty normal; heavy foot & cycle traffic on the bridge, and tourists attempting to look back towards the city through the heavy fog. As I continued my ascent through the Headlands, the wind kicked up & the fog got extremely dense. Regardless of weather, the Headlands loop is by far my favorite ride that I've found in the bay area.
I continued towards the westernmost part of the area, where I found the coolest YMCA on the planet! It is nestled amongst abandoned army facilities, and is no more than 1/4 mile to the Pacific Ocean.
Just as I passed the YMCA to snap the last photograph, I looked down and found that my rear tire was AGAIN flat! I was miles from any real help, and started to panic. Then I remembered, being the smart guy that I am...I had packed an extra tube & C02 tank. Phew! So I flipped my bike upside-down on the side of the road, and went to work. The first time I repaired my tube, it took me nearly half an hour...this time I had a good idea of how to do it & spent no more than 5 minutes getting the job done.

Ft Cronkite & Pacific Ocean

I continued through the valley portion of the Headlands, and through the one-way tunnel. I thought it would be interesting to post the photograph for people to see...as a cyclist you actually can push a button which allows a little extra time to get through the tunnel before you are met with head on traffic.
After that, it was the normal route back to the city. I beat my time on the Headlands loop again, start-to-finish it was about an hour and a half.

The toughest portion of today's ride was repairing a flat on the spot, but i did quite well considering my relative inexperience with the bike!

Training tomorrow with PacWest Athletics, we're doing the same ride I believe.

Check back soon!

Wedding Day / Plans for Monday ride...

Today is my friend Brad's wedding! Woohoo! I will post some pictures & hopefully everyone involved will also be visiting the site in the near future, to check in and see how I'm doing with the training! Who knows...maybe they will even donate to the cause (wink wink).

So...As I previously mentioned, my rear tire is currently flat. I am returning to San Francisco tomorrow around 12pm, and have the day off. I will be fixing my tire & headed out for a 30 mile ride for the rest of the afternoon.

I am going to ride through the Headlands again, as that parcticular grade seems to be the best training on a ride of about 30 miles. If I am feeling extra adventerous, I may double back halfway and try a new route through the area with a seconday uphill section. Should be a great workout!

For now, time to celebrate my friends' special day!

Los Angeles for the weekend...

One of my best friends is getting married on Sunday to his lovely fiance! They live/work in Los Angeles, so I have headed back for the weekend to visit them & my family. I arrived at Bob Hope Airport yesterday afternoon, and Mom cooked me some tacos for dinner (still my favorite meal of all time).

I watched "Entourage" last night, and got to bed pretty early. I totally wish that my bike was with me today!!! Would have been nice to ride some roads in Southern California. My friend Brad had picked up my tuxedo--I am one of his groomsmen, and I went over to his place to try it on today. It fits wonderfully, and oh man do I look like a stud! Watch out, ladies! :)

Before I left, he pulled something else out of his closet. It was a Triple-Five Soul blazer that once fit me before I moved to San Francisco, but living in Los Angeles and working at an italian restaurant took its toll on my weight. I gave Brad the blazer when I left for SF, weighing about 215lbs. Since I have moved to the city, and started cycling more...I now weigh 195lbs. Not bad!

My goal is to weigh 185lbs when the Waves-to-Wine event happens in September.

@#$%*^!

Popped my rear tube on the way home from work today! Ugh. I don't have time to get it fixed until I return on Monday from Los Angeles.

Maybe some magical road bike fairy will come into my apartment while I am gone & repair it for me.

Meh.

Perfect way to finish a long day at work...

As I sat in the office yesterday, I couldn't help but looking forward to Day 2 of the official training program. It seemed like time was going backwards! I just wanted to get away from all the All-Star game hustle Downtown, get my legs moving & endorphines pumpin'...

I watched the clock strike 5:30 PM, and I was out the door like Superman. I rode along the Embarcadero, through Fisherman's Wharf & onward to the Sports Basement near Crissy Field.

Here's the link from start-to-finish of the ride:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1128373

Needing some new bike accesories, I picked up two water bottle holders (carbon-fiber may I add) & some water bottles. Also grabbed a cyclists multi-tool, so I can make minor adjustments to "Ol' Red" on my own. The training class met outside & we introduced ourselves to each other again.

I mentioned to some of the cyclists that aren't yet on a team, that I am recruiting! Who knows...Maybe some will join Team LisaWiz! Leslie (who I previously mentioned) wants to join my team, but asked that we make her aunt our "team hero". Not a chance. Lisa is the hero on this team!

So we embarked on our evening ride, which was initally going to be a hill exercise. I rocked out to a playlist made by none other than the Wiz awhile back and kept good pace. As we moved across the bridge & practiced drafting off each other, the wind started to kick up. Oh, and by "kick up" I mean 45 mph gusts as we cornered the various bridge towers. Scary!

Coach Ridgeway decided to keep us out of the Headlands due to the high winds & we proceeded down Sausalito Lateral towards Mill Valley.

Overall, it was a nice ride. I was a little bummed that we didn't get to practice riding up hills more, but it was nice to get out after work...listen to some tunes & clear my head of all my worries. My new pal Leslie even showed me a cool route through the Presidio to my apartment!

This is the bike path in Sausalito towards Mill Valley & Tiburon...

This is the view looking south from to my fair city...I suggest visiting Sausalito for a weekend afternoon--it's quaint, a little sleepy & somewhat tourist-driven. You can even take the Ferry there & back (or you can ride your bike like me).

Total trip time: 2 hours

Total Mileage: 22 miles

Toughest Section: The Windy Bridge! Those gusts were atrocious!