Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Mojo Slim
04-30-08, 05:27 PM
I traveled to the SF Bay Area over the weekend to participate in "Day On the Ride", a training ride for AIDS/LIfeCycle, which is a fundraising ride from SF to LA, starting June 1. From BF50+, I knew that Taxi777 would be there, too.
In fact, I found him during the pre-ride announcements. But since he is a hill-hammerin' double century kinda guy, and I'm a middle-of-the-packer slacker with a bad leg, I knew I'd never see him on the road. True Dat. I hope he'll add some words to this post.
600 people took off in waves from Golden Gate Park. After short time on city streets, we rambled through The Presidio, which was fun.
The next milestone was the Golden Gate Bridge. I have ridden over it a few times before, but it's always a bit exciting. Here's a picture of the approach.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf1.jpg
After a downhill, we make it through Sausalito, which was still mostly asleep. The riders have thinned out, but we get a large crowd at a stop light, just before our first hill climb, Camino Alta. A digression: The night before, a friend made some significant changes to my bike fit. Normally, I wouldn't head out on an 80 mile ride after such changes, but (I will telll you now), all went well. In fact, I think the change helped me up the hill. The top arrived earlier than I thought it would.
Then through several small Marin County towns, including several stop signs/lights. After the first rest stop, traffic thins and the feared "White's Hill" looms. Again, I make it up with little trouble, not even getting into my granny. I am caught in a line of riders and had no choice but to ride at the speed of the slowest for most of the way.
Another big hill, then a provided lunch at The Cheese Factory. After lunch, a bit of a favorable wind to Samuel P. Taylor Park. Unfortunately, we couldn't use the bike path, which is just fab. The road ain't. Rough and trafficful. It was difficult to stop, but here's the one picture I snapped.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf2.jpg
Back to White's Hill (it's easier this way), back to the same rest stop, back through the little towns. Back over Camino Alta. By now, Sausalito is a zoo of tourists on rent-a-bikes. They're riding three abreast, stopping without notice, chatting in several languages and generally making it difficult. But that's OK. I'm on a bike and having fun. Here's a view of The City from Sausalito.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf3.jpg
One final climb out of Sausalito and I'm back on the GG Bridge (with more rent-a-bikes. AAAACK!). A different route through The Presidio and soon, I'm eating spaghetti and garlic bread. Oh, here's me at the end, with a few of the cheerleaders that greeted us all.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf4.jpg
81.81 miles (Hey! They said it was only 81 miles.). The bike worked flawlessly, I worked flawlessly. The next morning, I'm off on a 35 mile recovery ride with three 30-somethings. They hadn't ridden the day before and didn't seem to understand the concept of "recovery ride". But I am alive and posting.
In fact, I found him during the pre-ride announcements. But since he is a hill-hammerin' double century kinda guy, and I'm a middle-of-the-packer slacker with a bad leg, I knew I'd never see him on the road. True Dat. I hope he'll add some words to this post.
600 people took off in waves from Golden Gate Park. After short time on city streets, we rambled through The Presidio, which was fun.
The next milestone was the Golden Gate Bridge. I have ridden over it a few times before, but it's always a bit exciting. Here's a picture of the approach.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf1.jpg
After a downhill, we make it through Sausalito, which was still mostly asleep. The riders have thinned out, but we get a large crowd at a stop light, just before our first hill climb, Camino Alta. A digression: The night before, a friend made some significant changes to my bike fit. Normally, I wouldn't head out on an 80 mile ride after such changes, but (I will telll you now), all went well. In fact, I think the change helped me up the hill. The top arrived earlier than I thought it would.
Then through several small Marin County towns, including several stop signs/lights. After the first rest stop, traffic thins and the feared "White's Hill" looms. Again, I make it up with little trouble, not even getting into my granny. I am caught in a line of riders and had no choice but to ride at the speed of the slowest for most of the way.
Another big hill, then a provided lunch at The Cheese Factory. After lunch, a bit of a favorable wind to Samuel P. Taylor Park. Unfortunately, we couldn't use the bike path, which is just fab. The road ain't. Rough and trafficful. It was difficult to stop, but here's the one picture I snapped.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf2.jpg
Back to White's Hill (it's easier this way), back to the same rest stop, back through the little towns. Back over Camino Alta. By now, Sausalito is a zoo of tourists on rent-a-bikes. They're riding three abreast, stopping without notice, chatting in several languages and generally making it difficult. But that's OK. I'm on a bike and having fun. Here's a view of The City from Sausalito.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf3.jpg
One final climb out of Sausalito and I'm back on the GG Bridge (with more rent-a-bikes. AAAACK!). A different route through The Presidio and soon, I'm eating spaghetti and garlic bread. Oh, here's me at the end, with a few of the cheerleaders that greeted us all.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/bf4.jpg
81.81 miles (Hey! They said it was only 81 miles.). The bike worked flawlessly, I worked flawlessly. The next morning, I'm off on a 35 mile recovery ride with three 30-somethings. They hadn't ridden the day before and didn't seem to understand the concept of "recovery ride". But I am alive and posting.