Alameda Ride

I took advantage of a break in the rain (I've seen more rain here in 10 days than I saw in 21 days in New Zealand, where it is supposed to rain all the time) to take my first ride since getting back from New Zealand. Decided to do a flat ride in Alameda (ride is here) - 20 miles total, good chance to practice good form on the bike. Rode around the old Naval Air Station a bit, discovered the Hanger 1 Distillery and Rosenblum Cellars - hell, have to go back and sample the goods next time. If you haven't been to Alameda, specifically the area that was the old Naval Air Station, you really should go. It's an amazing area - rather in disrepair now, but amazing views of the Oakland Estuary, SF Bay and of course, San Francisco. It's really quite desolate and that has a charm and allure in itself.

I rode along the beach, then over the bridge to Bay Farm Island. Dummy me - I kinda knew that this was a drawbridge and you do NOT want to ride a bike over the grate of a drawbridge. Luckily, there was a walkway on the right so I could stop, just before the grate and gracefully lift my bike over to the walkway and less than gracefully, get my bod over there. Unfortunately, caught my brand new leg warmers on a piece of metal fence, but such is life. The good news is that only the bike warmers and not my leg, got a hole in them. Got over to where it was safe and continued my ride. Alameda is a really cool place to ride if you want a flat ride - not many cars nor traffic lights. Nice riding, nice scenery too.

On Bay Farm Island, I rode just up to the airport, then looped west to the Bay, then back to the bridge to Alameda. Little did I know there is a separate bridge, next to the car bridge, just for pedestrians and bikes - imagine that! I was delighted! Much safer and no more holes in my leg warmers.

Got back to the car, just before the rain. Good ride, definitely felt it in my legs. Kept my pace where I could breathe normally (a goal for my endurance training) and kept the cadence around 90 for much of the ride.

Ride Stats

• Distance: 20.5 miles
• Time: 90 minutes
• Average Speed: approx 14 mph
• Average Cadence: 80

Holiday Post

I wish you all a warm holiday season filled with love, friends and family! Enjoy the time. A big wish for a happy and healthy new year - live it to the fullest.

I've been on a vacation for a few weeks, back now and ready to dig into more dedicated training for the ride. Fundraising is kicking up too, so let your friends know about a great opportunity to help out by sponsoring me on the Ride.

More fun accounts of my rides to come soon. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the holidays too.

Be well.

Sunol Ride

Saturday ride with my hubby, Ross. We decided to try southern Alameda county - Sunol area. First thought was to ride Niles-Canyon Road, which I've always heard is a beautiful ride. My question was traffic, so decided to drive it first, over to Sunol. If it looked good, we'd ride it, if not, planned an alternate ride from the Sunol area. Good thing we planned an alternate ride. Niles Canyon Road is a gorgeous drive, but the traffic is heavy and, the shoulders are minimal. Not a good biking road.

The alternate route is here. My thought was to park at the Sunol Wilderness Area parking lot and bike from there. Almost a good idea - it was already 2:30 and the park gate closes at 5. Ross correctly pointed out if we get a flat or any other problem, we would be hosed. So, out we drove to a nice parking spot on Calaveras Road.

The area is behind the Fremont hills and south of Pleasanton.  Gorgeous area, pretty undeveloped, few houses, lots of cows. Angle of the sun in late afternoon made it especially beautiful. There was a headwind, but it wasn't too bad. Road North, under I-680, to Pleasanton-Sunol Road. Noticed that much of the land on the East was San Francisco Dept. of Water land - did not register what that significance was. At least, not until the end of the ride.

Turned right on Pleasanton-Sunol Rd. and rode parallel to the freeway - really pretty ride, albeit a bit of noise from the freeway. Lots of cottonwood trees, a surprise. Cottonwoods like water and they frequently mark a creek - which they did in this case. Made it up to Castlewood Drive, where we turned, drove by the country club and then turned right onto Foothill Road. Very tony suburb, southern end of Pleasanton. Pretty, but a bit scary if you ask me - many gated communities - not my taste. Turned around at Bernal Road to head back. Nice midway point. Sun getting even lower and the angle, and shadows, were especially nice. Soon we hear the rumble of motor cycles and a troop of perhaps 30 cycles came roaring by us on the other side of the road - man were we happy to be going the opposite direction.




The ride back to Hwy 84 was uneventful, except when I asked Ross how he felt. He said his left hand was getting numb - as was my right hand - and I said it might be due to our riding slowly. Well, that's not the way to encourage your riding partner to go on more rides - he thought he was hoofing it and here I come along and say we were riding slowly. OOPS.


At Hwy 84, we noticed a gate across the street. Curious as we normally are, we rode across and discovered that it was the gate to the Sunol water temple, part of the Hetch Hetchy Water project from San Francisco. WOW! Great find. There is another water temple on the Peninsula, near San Mateo, called the Pulgas Water Temple. There is also a third I believe somewhere in the Bay Area. These structures are really cool - shaped like a small Greek Temple and if you look into it, or down it I should say (like a well), you see the water flowing. This is the fresh water system that supplies much of the Peninsula and the city of San Francisco. What a find. We could not go in, but the picture shows the temple in the distance and the plaque is on the gate into the property.

Statistics

• Distance: 18 miles
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Average Speed: 12.5 mph
• Wind: 10-15 mph. Headwind, for perhaps 50% of the ride.

Physical Feelings

• Definitely kept breathing almost normal, so pace was for endurance
• No hip achiness. Riding a bit slower than I would normally ride and no significant hills.
• Some hand numbness, not sure why.
• No arm, shoulder or neck achiness
• Legs a bit tired, no burning.
• Good energy during and after ride - no feeling of being wiped out.
• Split a Cliff Bar with Ross at halfway point and again, at end. Drank one bottle of water.

Moraga Ride - St. Mary's College

My Saturday ride to beat the Sunday rain was in Orinda and Moraga, on some fairly flat roads. Flat to start to build more endurance - goal was to ride with faster cadence for an extended period of time. I was frequently able to keep my cadence above  90 - very good pace for me and I really felt it in my hamstrings.

The ride started at Orinda BART. You can see the route here. The ride was made up of 4 five mile blocks: Moraga Way to St. Mary's Rd. to Moraga Rd. and then back on Moraga Way to the Orinda BART station. Much of the ride is relatively flat, which allowed me to really start working on pedaling technique. I focused on faster pedaling as well as effective pedaling - practiced some drills I've been reading about. The roads were in great condition - my only complaint is that there is much traffic and the shoulders are small to non-existent. I'd recommend this ride early in the morning, before traffic gets bad. Nice country feeling though.

The early highlight was a quick visit to St. Mary's college. Here's another example of a place I have known about for the 30 years I have lived here, but have never seen and it was biking that got me to see it. Gotta love this sport!

St. Mary's is a very small college in Moraga. Nice mission style architecture, gorgeous setting too. The church dates from the mid-1800's if I remember correctly. Here's a shot of the church. I did not get a chance to go inside.














To the side of the church is Galileo Hall. I had to get a picture of that - how ironic that a Catholic institution of learning would name a hall after Galileo - who the Church excommunicated. Nice to know that however things are at any one time, they will change. Anyone see gay marriage in the air?











From St. Mary's college, I rode the remaining 5 miles up St. Mary's road to Lafayette. Pretty, but non-spectacular ride. The thin to non-existent shoulder on the road was a bit hairy. I'll do this ride, in the future, earlier in the day, before traffic gets too thick. In Lafayette, turned onto Moraga Road. Funny, I totally forgot the climb on Moraga Road - 400 feet over 3 miles, not too bad, just a surprise. No problem doing it though. 5 miles on Moraga Rd., past a place that I have swum at, Campolindo High School (Soda Aquatic Center) - great memories and great pool there! Turned onto Moraga Way to do the last 5 miles back to the Orinda BART station - really started to feel my hamstrings at this point - the faster pedaling and pedaling drills were doing their thing - obviously works the hamstrings more than I was used to. Nice to know I was building up some new fitness!


Statistics

• Distance: 21 miles
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Average Speed: 14 mph
• Average Cadence: 75 (not certain)
• Wind: 10-15 mph. Some headwind, for perhaps 15-20% of the ride.

Physical Feelings

• Definitely kept breathing almost normal, so pace was for endurance
• Some achiness in left hip again
• Soreness in hamstrings from new work, nothing bad, just new
• No arm, shoulder or neck achiness
• Good energy during and after ride - no feeling of being wiped out.
• Ate big pasta meal the night before, may have been a good meal pre-ride.
• Ate single bar afterwards, drank one bottle of water.

Killer Climb in Redwood City

This was my first mid-day ride from work. A fine Tuesday afternoon it was! My coworker, who is also riding the AIDS Lifecycle ride in June, David, led the way. Goal was to ride for about 1.5 hours, up into the hills, possibly down Canada Rd and then back. Stop along the way to eat our lunch. As usual, forgot my phone, so no camera. Oh well.

Our ride route is here. We left Oracle headquarters around 12:30, gorgeous sunshine, light breeze, about 65 degrees outside, perfect riding weather. I still had a cold, but was feeling good enough to ride. The climb was much steeper than either of us figured - David was embarrassed because he didn't warn me of the degree of climb - he didn't know himself. No problem - this is what I love about my bike - I just slow down and peddle, it gets me where I need to go and I am not bushed doing it. The climb was hard for sure, 12-15% grade, but I did it with a small rest and no pain. Practiced some standing pedaling and some focused pedaling drills and relaxed arms and shoulders. Certainly some heavy breathing after the climb - maybe it's a good thing I did not have my phone.

The killer part was 42nd Ave. Once we made it to the top, some fairly level riding. All this through the residential areas of Belmont. We found a great overlook (would have been spectacular pictures), rested, drank lots of water and ate our lunches. Great views over the Bay, towards San Francisco and Coyote Point. Nice to see how high we had climbed.

Return trip was downhill much of the way. A few miles on Ralston, then off to side residential roads, then back to Ralston, via a wrong turn I made. Back to Oracle office by 2, just in time for a decent shower. No pain after the ride, felt great and the cold seemed to be better too.

Statistics

• Distance: 9.5 miles
• Time Riding : 1 hour
• Average Speed: 10.5 mph
• Max Speed: 30 mph
• Temperature: Mid 60's
• Wind: Approx 10mpg, mild breeze

Physical Feeling

• Good going into the ride, some burning thigh feeling on the steepest climb, but not too bad
• A bit of left hip achiness, probably from the climb
• No other aches or pains
• Not wiped out after the ride, but very tired later in the day. Thinking I need to eat more after the ride.
• Ate a turkey sandwich during the ride and a bar afterwards and a bar a few hours later. Still doesn't seem like enough.

Tiburon Loop

Ahh, the pleasure of a ride with my husband, Ross and friend Pete from Sacramento. We decided to ride the Larkspur peninsula on Saturday the 16th. The ride is here. And, again, I forgot to take pictures - ugh, the mind of a 50-something.

Given the fact that my stomach comes in only second to my gonads to totally controlling me, I decided to start the ride in Larkspur at Emporio Rulli, a fine Italian bakery. The goal was to have a nice food joint to end the ride at. And guess what, it worked!

We got on the road around 10:00, nice ride through downtown Larkspur. In the 30 years Ross and I have been in the Bay Area, have never been to Larkspur. Go figure! It's a charming town, lots of old Victorian buildings, great tiny park with huge redwoods and, you can actually park your car and not have to pay. Nice option when you cart your bikes on the car. The ride took us over to Hwy 101, over the highway and then, to the peninsula. It's hilarious how many bikers there are in Marin county - no kidding, more bikers on this road than cars. And, not just bikers, but fully garbed, color coordinated bikers - packs wearing the same colorful clothing. Damn I wish I had taken some pictures.

We don't get too far onto Paradise Drive before I get a flat. No big deal, small puncture and we are right by a Country Day school, so I get to change my flat on a nice wooden deck fully equipped with a picnic table. Made the job easier. I also got to test out my worthless bike pump - hey, it's stylish and fits into my saddle bag, but it only has 4" of play, so it would have taken me all day to pump up the tire. Luckily, other pumps on Ross' and Pete's bikes did the trick. Off we go, about 20 minutes lost.

Paradise Drive is gorgeous - many trees and terrific views of the San Francisco Bay. We passed by a marina filled with boats of all kinds, then past many homes built into the hill, with spectacular views of the bay. It was pretty cool - actually, I was freezing in my light jersey and shorts. Another lesson learned - as the weather cools I need to bring along some warmer clothes. Hey, it's all a learning process. After about 10 miles, we pull into downtown Tiburon and stop for a bio break and some coffee/hot chocolate. Great rest stop! And, I got to put on Pete's long sleeved shirt - what a god send. Just a bit more clothing made so much difference.

Spent about 30 minutes relaxing and sipping the hot drinks, then off we went to ride back to Larkspur and a potentially terrific lunch. Easy ride back, except that Pete forgot his backpack by the chair. I was leading the pack and at some point, no longer saw Ross and Pete in my mirror (ah, love the clip on mirror, makes it so much easier to see behind me!). I stopped, waited a few minutes, still no Ross or Pete. Hmm, the bad thoughts come - did they go down? I backtrack and as expected, soon find them. Pete had high-tailed it back to the cafe to get his backpack and was just catching up to Ross when I got to them. Nice to have remembered the pack!  Uneventful ride back to Larkspur.

Lunch was well, friggen fantastic. Great panini and cookies for dessert. So nice to sit inside, where it was warm and look outside to see the throngs of bikers passing by. Relaxing way to end the ride.

Statistics

• Time: 2 hours riding
• Distance: 22 miles
• Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
• Max Speed: did not record
• Temperature: low 60's
• Wind: bit of a breeze in places, 10-15 mph

Physical Feelings

• easy ride, no aches or pains, barely felt tired. No tired legs afterwards. Ate well afterwards, Cliff Bar with hot chocolate in Tiburon. Not a great night sleep prior night.

Riding the 3 Bears

Today's ride - do the 3 Bears. A ride I have been thinking about for a while, but have patiently waited until I had built up some fitness. So what the heck are the 3 Bears? Here's a picture, and I'll tell you - riding them was so much fun.

The 3 Bears

Actually, it's a great ride around 2 reservoirs east of here - the San Pablo Reservoir and the Briones Reservoir. See details here. Part of the ride is on Bear Creek Road, beautiful countryside and 3 large hills - thus the 3 bears name.

My favorite rest stop

San Pablo Reservoir

I started at the Orinda BART station, right at 10:00. All fired up to go and a bit unsure if I'd be able to do the ride. I've driven Bear Creek Road many times and gotta say, since I've started riding, feel very sorry for the bikers slogging up the hills - they are long and moderate grade, but there are 3 of them. I was willing to try it - overall fitness has been good, so definitely time to try. The ride starts pretty flat for 8 miles, good way to warm up. Nice views of the San Pablo Reservoir. Road is a bit hairy - areas with minimal shoulder to ride on, but overall, not bad, especially with my new rear-view mirror, which Ross says makes me look like a BORG alien. Once I got to the north end of the reservoir, turned right at Castro Ranch Road. Ahh, found a nice rest stop - how thoughtful of these people to build a special rest stop for bikers. 

Vineyards in Contra Costa County!

Soon, I get out into the countryside, rolling hills covered in the orange dried grass of the California autumn. Beautiful contrast with the green live oak. Ahh, love this countryside! Nice ride up Alhambra Valley Road to the junction with Bear Creek Road. Very different to see a vineyard here, had no idea there were vineyards in Contra Costa County! Wonder what the wine is like? Time for a break - nature stop, water and the lifeline of a biker, a Cliff Bar. This is the first point where I feel any tiredness, 1 hour in. Not sure if it is because of the stop and rest or really the tiredness. But, I push on and it is fine. Still trying to keep the pace to the point where my breathing is not too fast and I can talk (talk with myself that is!).

Top of the First Bear

Not long until I get to the first bear - long hill for sure, but not so bad. I got to the top, and, not too winded nor tired. Very happy, very surprised. Took a short stop to take a photo and drink more water. Tried hard to keep hydrated, fed and rested. Trying to build endurance and some reading has clued me into riding slow to get the body used to burning more fat than carbs and building the ability to ride for a long time - definitely worth a try. Will need endurance to ride 6 days, 80-100 miles a day.

Nice downhill, not too steep. Ride past the entrance to Briones Park, one of our favorite places to hike. Always amazes me how great this park is and how few people hike there. Second bear is just past the park entrance. This is a long, steady hill. Steep enough to be in the highest gear, but not too steep. Kept a pretty steady 5-6 mph as I did on the first bear. Reach the top soon enough, another water stop and take a picture. Then, off to the next and last bear.

The last bear was not bad - mostly because the downhill from the second one is not much, so not too much new hill to climb. Up, over the top and down, down, down. The downhill from this last hill is awesome, long and steep. Just about at my limit for an enjoyable downhill. Some gentle pumping of the brakes to keep me from going too fast. I make it to about 35 mph, fast enough. I'm really glad I have my rear-view mirror - I can easily spot any traffic behind me - when the coast is clear, I can ride in the middle of the lane and take the downhill nicely.

I finish the ride with the short trip down Camino Pablo back to the BART station. Great ride, happy to be finished earlier than I thought.

Statistics

• Time: 2 hours
• Distance: 24 miles
• Max Speed: 35 mph
• Heart Rate at 1 hour reststop: 120
• Average Speed: 13 mph
• Wind: Gentle
• Temperature: Low 80's

Physical Feelings

• No aches, not even in right side of waist. Legs a bit tired, but no burning feeling. Breathing steady but not out of breath. Kept well hydrated (2 bottles), ate 2 Cliff Bars (one after 1 hour, one at end). Ate big lunch right afterwards. Focused on relaxed arms and shoulders and good pumping action with legs while pedaling.

Bay Trail to Inner Richmond Harbor

A cool grey Saturday morning. Ross and I got started by 9:30 and rode from the house to the University Ave portion of the Bay Trail. Non-descript ride along various Berkeley bike boulevard streets to the pedestrian/bike overpass for I-80, then onto our path. See the route here.

It was a dead flat ride. Interesting point when you ride through Golden Gate fields - we could have stopped to bet on a few ponies, but alas, we elected to keep riding. Amazing that people still go to horse races. Golden Gate fields was busy! The ride from there was along I-580, past Costco and the Point Isabel Dog park. Pt. Isabel was a riot, have never seen so many dogs in one place and they all seem to get along. Definitely one of the more popular pooch spots in the East Bay.

Great straightaway past the dog park,  to the Richmond Harbor. Cranked up to 20 mph, felt VERY good. Amazing site to see a guy, in his wheelchair, taking a leisurely stroll along the path. Man, that makes me feel so lucky to be able to pedal a bicycle. Yet, this guy, in his wheelchair, seemed every bit as happy as I was just to be out enjoying the day! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, again.

Exploring the Richmond Harbor was great fun. Nice paved path around the entire harbor. Nice for us to see the spot where we had kayaked 2 weeks earlier in a beginning REI Kayak class (good class btw). We rode past endless marinas, filled with sailboats - my type of marina. Past Rosie the Riviter park and the former Ford Factory (where there was some sort of city affair going on with a really amateur band playing - could not get out of the quick enough!). Turned around past the factory to head back.

By this time, the sun was out, fog burned off, gentle winds off the bay. Gorgeous ride back. Really great to be riding with my hubby, Ross, who seemed to enjoy the ride every bit as much as me.

Statistics

• Total Distance: 25 miles
• Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Average Speed: 11 mph
• Wind: Gentle

Physical Feelings

• Exertiion: Easy to carry on a conversation. Did some moderate sprints on the straightaways.
• No aches or pains, hands fine - no numbness
• Tired later that day, but not too awful
• Bad night's sleep that night (did have a latte that morning)
• Ate Cliff bar at midway point, drank 1.5 bottles of water

Tunnel Road to Skyline Blvd. - Redux

Have to get on the bike to finish out my Thursday workday. The weather has cooled a bit, so looks like perfect biking weather. Tunnel Road is it for this afternoon.

Goal is to get up to the top of the hill with no stops, at a decent pace - this is a build endurance ride. Other than realizing that I MUST get a rearview mirror to clip on my glasses, so I can see behind me (oh, the ravages of being over 50 - hard to turn my neck back to see cars behind me), nothing major to report. I made it up the hill, from the house, to Sibley Park, in 45 minutes - no stops. Damn it felt great. I was able to keep a pretty stable speed of 7-8 mph. Saw a few other bikers and just a few cars - this is a wonderful road to ride on - feels like you are way out in the country yet, you are in the heart of metropolitan Oakland. Just look over my right shoulder and the reminder is the backed-up traffic trying to wind its way through the Caldecott Tunnel at rush hour. Oh, how nice a bicycle is!!  Thought about stopping at Mike and Kenny's to say hi (they live right near the top of Broadway Terrace, where it intersects Skyline).

The 5 mile downhill is truly awesome! Getting better at feeling control of the bike coming downhill - it's a pretty incredible experience - the bike is light and the feeling is almost like you are flying - but, the sobering realization is that you have two thin tires holding you up - a little sand, a blowout, and you are hosed at 30 mph.

Stats:

• Total distance: 11.5 miles
• Time to get up hill: 45 minutes, no stops
• Avg speed: 10.5 mph
• Total time riding: 1 hour 20 minutes

Physical Feelings

• Not out of breath, could have held a conversation, albeit, short sentences
• Same slight pain in left hip, but it eased up as I rode more. Perhaps it's a warmup thing since I start climbing immediately on this ride. No other pains or aches.
• Stayed hydrated - drank a bit over 1 bottle of water, some of it while riding
• Ate CliffBar at turn around point
• No hand numbness
• Slight tiredness afterwards, legs a bit tired, but not bad. Slept well, feel fine next day.
• Ate a bit more day of the ride

Tunnel Road to Skyline Blvd - The Hills are Alive

This was my first Autumn ride. Friday, September 24 - took the day off because my dad was visiting. Got out for an early ride, gave him time to wake up and do all the stuff, slowly, that an 88 year old guy does. He actually doesn't do that much, just takes a loonnng time.

The ride was up Tunnel Road, a steady climb to Skyline Blvd. You can see the ride here. This ride was a good test of hill endurance - a steady climb from about 150 feet at the house to 1500 feet at the highest point on Skyline - climb was over 6 miles. Nice goal that I wasn't sure I could do. Took it at a slow to moderate pace, 5-7 mph on the hill, and sure enough, did it!

Bay Area from Skyline

The ride is incredibly beautiful. Funny, I've never been on Tunnel Road  to Skyline - it's great to get out on the bike, gets me to places I haven't been before. The ride goes through much of the Oakland fire zone from the 1991 fire - all is rebuilt now and many trees regrown. Only thing strange is the preponderance of 4000 sq ft homes on the hills, looks crowded. Very obvious why people died in the fire - the road is thin and has many hairpin turns - no way you could possibly escape with a wind-blown fire on your ass.Good reason to ride a bike.

Turned left where Tunnel Road takes you to the beginning of Hwy 13, onto Caldecott Lane. OMG, feels like you are already on the top of the world. Pedal about a half mile to where Tunnel turns off to ascend the hill. Ahh, I'm curious how hard this climb will be. Surprisingly, not too bad for the first mile, steady climb, in lowest gear, but not very hard to pedal. Busy looking for a good place to stop to take a picture, but am lazy, don't want to stop and decleat - just want to keep riding. The views are awsome. It was 9:30 when I started the ride, so not too hot yet. Today is the first day of some predicted heat - really great to have a warm day, finally. Many of the hairpin turns bring incredible vistas of the Caldecott Tunnel as well as the entire Bay Area - from SF Airport all the way to Mt. Tam in Marin county. Gotta love living here!

I did it!!

The miles go by and the climb seems to be consistently moderate, but believe me, I notice each mileage sign. Tunnel Rd is a bike path - so Oakland has it marked with mileage signs identifying various destinations, like the East Bay Regional Parks. I am pleasantly surprised to get to the intersection of Skyline and Tunnel Road, a marker for me. Almost to the top (or so I think)! And, I am not too tired - not huffing and puffing (able to carry on a conversation with myself - damn I'm a good conversationalist or just bloody crazy), no burning legs, no aches or pains anywhere - yet. Really cool to feel my conditioning getting better. Here is a pictures from the intersection of Broadway Terrace and Skyline, proof I was there.

It really feels good to get to the area where Skyline flattens out. Ride by several East Bay Regional Parks - Sibley, Roberts and finally Redwood (my favorite). Lots of trees and very few cars - nice to be able to get out on a weekday when there are few cars. Ride by the house we rented when we first moved out here in 1981 - still looks the same. (8081 Skyline)  The ride is relatively flat, many pine trees, houses on the West side of the road, past Chabot Observatory and into the middle of Redwood Park, a place Ross and I love to hike. Hmm, there is a significant hill down to the intersection of Joaquin Miller. I can tell I am getting a bit tired. There is a half mile more to Joaquin Miller and I elect to bag that last half mile. Enough hills for the day - goal is to keep these rides fun, so I do! I stop, eat my Cliff Bar and get ready to ride the return trip. Oops, learn a good lesson - never take a chocolate covered Cliff Bar again and stash it in the bike jersey - it was like chocolate syrup - yummy, but a friggen mess. Continue to be careful to drink plenty of water - even getting it down to drink while I ride - another small feat of coordination for me. Also practicing some standing pedaling - not sure I like that much, yet.

The ride back is, well, fantastic. Try 3-4 miles of relatively flat shaded riding followed by 6 miles of downhill. OMG - this is why people take this ride. Amazing ride, beautiful downhill, no cars, total fun and feeling very good about balance on the bike while going fast. Hit 32 mph as maximum speed - plenty for now. Got back in no time - about 45 minutes. Great feeling of accomplishment!

Ride statistics:

• Distance: 20.5 miles
• Time riding: 2 hours, 10 minutes
• Average speed: 10 mpg
• Total climb: 2100 feet
• Highest elevation: 1498 feet
• Physical feelings
• Not out of breath
• Careful to keep well hydrated - drank 1.5 bottles of water
• No burning legs
• Slight ache in left hip, usual ache there
• A bit of numbness in hand as descending the hill, due to too much time in fully crouched position
• Rest of the day
• Somewhat tired, but not wiped out
• Drank much water, ate a great lunch and dinner, trying to eat well in recovery time
• Legs feel tired, but no soreness
• Ate a bit more on Thursday and Wednesday to prepare for the ride (tip from a book)

My First 50 Miler (Saturday September 11)

Hmm, it was 9/11 and it did not register - no catastrophes and no crazy foolishness - just a chance to  experience a truly beautiful ride through Contra Costa county. I was pushing my mileage to the max on this ride - from 36 miles previously to 50 on this ride. Let's see how it went.

I met my new friend, Pete, an avid cyclist from Sacramento, in Clayton at 9:30. It was cool and sunny, light breeze - perfect cycling weather.Our course took us along Marsh Creek Road, behind Mt. Diablo, to Deer Creek Road, then to Balfour Road into lovely Brentwood (just to get some extra mileage), then a loop back. Total distance just over 50 miles. You can see the ride here.

The first few miles are through Clayton, which is just east of Concord. It has a really cute, old downtown. Funny, it's a place I had never visited until my bike took me there. Marsh Creek Road narrows and becomes very rural - quite beautiful for riding. Pete and I plugged along at a nice pace - trying to not be too Type A on my rides, but hell, I have an odometer, wireless no less, and it tells me how fast, how far, pedaling rate (for you bikers, cadence) and distance. So easy to get attached to the numbers. We kept a pretty steady pace on the flat parts between 15-20 mph. Felt good. Having a minuscule bladder, it took me less than 30 minutes until I had to pee. The gods were with us - there was a California Department of Forestry firehouse conveniently placed at the 30 minute mark - the perfect place to stop and ask "could I use your bathroom"? One of the guys showed me where the bathroom was - through their dorm - oh my god, I was in heaven! But alas, only the bathroom (which I was thankful for), no sleeping firemen.

We rode the remaining miles to Deer Creek Road - beautiful rolling hills, the back side of Mt. Diablo towering over us, rolling grassy hills, spotted with live oak. We passed by ranches with horses and cows - it's wonderful in the Bay Area - in 30 minutes, you are in countryside that makes you feel like you are a hundred miles away. I know, I should have taken some pictures. Next time for sure! We passed Morgan Territory Road, a gorgeous road, but true killer hills. That will be a future tale for me to tell you - not there yet. Stopped at the intersection of Deer Creek Road for a snack and water break. Much appreciated. Still wondering when I'll fully get the cleating and uncleating down - I'm learning, but what an uncoordinated work of art I can be as I try to stop and uncleat from my pedals. Now, that is worth a video - dare any of you to catch me! If you do, promise I will post it here.

The ride through Brentwood and Antioch was uneventful - just some flat mileage (13 miles to be exact) and moderately busy roads. It was nice to get out of suburbia and back to the country ride on Deer Creek Road. By now, I was starting to feel the ride. Deer Creek Road has 2 nice hills and I definitely felt the second one, as well as the heat, which was pushing 95. As we were chugging up the hill, Pete asked me if I had a song going through my head - funny, because I did. No longer have a clue about what it was, but Pete thought it was something common for many people - helps you push through something challenging.

Reached the intersection of Deer Creek and Marsh Creek (getting the picture of lots of creeks?) and took another food and water break. Feeling pretty tired by this point and I know it's only 13 more miles, but alot of climbing. This was where I brought Peter Shelton to mind - the guy I am dedicating my ride to - the hardships he faced and dealt with - the challenges of the training and riding that I deal with - my discomfort, pain and hard work fall easily into the proper perspective.

The songs were really flowing through my head now as I cranked up the long hills. Pete was a great riding companioin, waiting for me at the top of each hill and urging me on. God the last hill looked big, but I did it! No spills, stupid maneuvers or injuries. All good news. Got back to the cars, packed up the bikes and Pete headed back to Sacramento, me back to Oakland. That's when I realized how blazing hot it was - car thermometer said 98 - wow.

Here are the ride stats:

• Distance: 50 miles
• Time riding: 3 hours 50 minutes
• Did not record average speed, but pretty sure it was around 15 mph

Recovery on Sunday:

• Hungry, hungry, hungry
• Lousy sleep Saturday night, so was pretty tired on Sunday
• No aches or pains - very nice
• Decent strength on Monday, so overall recovery was short

Previous Rides

Welcome to my ride blog! I am doing this primarily to keep track of one of the most significant experiences of my life - riding the AIDS Lifecycle ride in June 2011 to raise money to find a cure for HIV/AIDS, help people with HIV/AIDS and to educate people about the epidemic. (My AIDS Lifecycle page is here.)  I'll be writing about each of my rides, recording statistics so you and I can keep track of my progress. I'll also be writing about how this experience touches my heart and soul - it will be a tremendous and meaningful force in my life over the next 10 months.

How did I decide to do the ride? Briefly - it grew out of a long-seated desire to give back to my community and from the kick-ass inspiration my friend Steve unknowingly gave me. He rode the AIDS Lifecycle ride this past June - and his detailed accounts of each day on the ride, and our discussions before and after the ride convinced me that this was something I wanted to do. So, there you have it. Thank you Steve!  (This is Steve and his daughter Maddie.)

This will be quite a physical journey, so I decided to buy a new bike. I'll be riding an average of 80 miles each day for 6 days - good bike is a good idea. After some research,  I decided to buy a Cervelo RS roadbike. For those of you that are interested, you can see the bike here.

The features that I sought were:

• Quality - I want to keep the bike for a while. I do not want to upgrade in a few years. Lazy I guess. 
• Comfortable to ride - slightly less race prone posture. Achieved through slightly higher handlebars and longer wheel base.
• More comfort - traditional spoked (32) wheels instead of racing spoked
• Easier pedaling - special cassette in the back that allows for an easier time pedaling up hills

What sold me on the Cervelo was a side-by-side ride against three other bikes. For me, the Cervelo was it. Various people told me that I would feel which bike was right for me and sure enough, I did. I bought the bike from Pacific Bicycle in San Francisco. What a great experience! They listened to my requirements and went above and beyond satisfying them. Yea, could buy a bike online for less, but the guys at Pacific Bicycles more than earned the extra cost - I highly recommend getting expert advice if you are seriously looking at a new hobby or sport. I bought the bike in mid June. Hey, the guys at Pacific Bike are smart - so smart they told me I would fall early on due to the cleats - everyone does. I didn't let them down - fell first thing, in the parking lot of the bike store. Well, at least that was behind me quickly!

Here is a summary of the earlier rides I have done:

1. Alhambra Valley Road to Reliz Valley Road (July - 26 miles). One big hill.
2. Marsh Creek Road to Deer Valley Road (August - 36 miles). Same deal as the ride described above, only a bit shorter. Very tired by the end.
3. Claremont Ave. to Alvarado (August - Thur afternoon - 5 miles) KILLER hill. Had to walk the last few hundred feet, burning quads. Some fear on the downhill due to steepness.
4. Pinehurst/Skyline/Wildcat Canyon (August - Different Spokes ride - 28 miles) Big hills, especially on Pinehurst. Did fine, recovery was not bad.
5. Home to Richmond via Bayside trail (September - 20 miles with Ross) No hills, but significant wind. No problems and easy recovery.
6. Golden Gate Park to Great Hwy to SF Zoo (Labor Day Sunday - 15 miles) Easy ride, but too many cars and people.

To close this section... a big thank you to my husband Ross - my teammate in life. His total support, love and encouragement are my biggest inspiration. Thanks my man!!