silentben

Snot rocket! Basic method: Push your right nostril closed with right index finger. Slightly lean and turn head to the left and blow out the left nostril in a quick, sudden burst. Reverse for the other side.

With the advanced method you can blow both nostrils at once. It just requires a little more leaning and head turning (either direction is fine unless there's a crosswind )

In either case a quick glove wipe afterward can be helpful. When it gets below 60 my nose is like a leaky faucet so I'm doing this like every 5 minutes

porker2307

^ yes the world famous snot rocket. i was using it and as soon as i blew my nose i lost balance and swirved off the road and into the wet grass. good thing nothing broke

Ygduf

I have to recommend using the left index finger to hold the right nostril closed. This naturally puts the left elbow/arm out of the line of fire.

Mhendricks

Saturday ride starting at Redwood Estates up to Summit Rd. down Mt. Charlie to Glenwood. Rode for awhile on Glenwood then back up Mt. Charlie over 17 down Mt-Charlie to OSC Highway to Holy City then finaaly back to Redwood Estates. Great day for riding but I need some new winter gloves.

Beaker

Don't tell me I've uncovered another ex-pat???

loopybunny

No, just someone suffereing from an over-exposure to literature, television, film, and music from the UK.

I was actually going to use a different word but didn't want to inadvertently violate the ToS. "Rubbish" was the first word I thought of otherwise.

bigbossman 

And now for something completely different.

I went to the SF Veloswap last Saturday to sell off some stuff, and spent all I made and more on a new toy. Today, I took it for a spin in and around the foothills near home. I'd done some hiking around here, and always thought it would be fun to bang around on a mtb to really cover some territory and see the land. Buying a mtb was the farthest thing from my mind last Saturday, but an opportunity presented itself and I was in a position to take advantage - so I did.

I took it out today in its' inagural spin.... 10.5 miles and abut 2,000' of climbing. The weather was perfect, the scenery was grand, and I had one hell of a good time. This rig is more bike than I will ever need or will ever be able to utilize or appreciate, but I really had a time on it.

Happy Birthday to me!

loopybunny

I know it's not a weekend... I've had a pretty terrible week. Been under the weather and such so I haven't ridden much despite my goal of 100 miles.

Anyhow, yesterday I hit some hills while visiting family for T-Day. Despite not haven ridden more than 10 miles since the 15th and having very little experience with hills, I felt good. No, not good, amazing! Great to relieve some of the stress from the previous day. I wanted to ride longer and hit as many hilly sections as I could, but I was on kind of a tight schedule. I did about 9.5 miles in about 40 minutes.


Today the weather is gross. I've never ridden in the rain (well, not since I was a kid). I decided to get out before it started, but dressed accordingly to the best of my ability. About 3 miles out the sprinkles started. I decided to change my route so it would be a little shorter, just in case. Of course, by the time I was heading back, the sprinkles stopped.

Then I was stormed by a flock of freakishly large birds. Apparently some sort of domestic, yet mean, guinea fowl.


About a half mile from home, it started raining again so my cool down was a wet one. I timed my ride pretty well though because after about 5 minutes inside, the rain really started.

Hoping for a nicer day tomorrow.

slomustang

BigBossMan, mind if I ask whereabouts that is? Looks gorgeous!

caloso

Oh that wind just kicked my butt today.

bigbossman 

Diablo Foothills Regional Park. In the Danville/Alamo area, at the base of Mt. Diablo.

bigbossman 

Tell me about it - I was cycling on the Monterey Pennisula today, and we had some ocean breezes going on.....

jonathanb715

Got blown around in Livermore yesterday. With a nice gail-force tailwind, hit 36 going along North Livermore Rd., but then had to struggle back up Collier Canyon (which makes a great wind tunnel) into that same wind. Did just shy of 80 miles, 20 of them with some TnT friends.

JB

7bmwm3gtr

Yesterday I rode my first century. I can’t say i planned to, but i can’t say i did. It all depended on how i felt, and yesterday i felt great! The Wind was challenging, but riding against 15-17mph headwinds did not discourage me!

So my partner and i Rode up King Drive Near Classic Bowling Center and Manila Oriental Market in Daly City. We rode for 6 miles on Skyline Blvd, and proceeded on course to San Andreas Trail, Sawyer Camp Trail, and Canada Road.

We got pulled over by a cop because we missed a stop sign which we both didn’t see. We memorized all the stop signs except that one -.- Anyways the officer told us to stop next time and he told us he wouldn’t give us a chance next time.

We went up kings Mountain, and at the top Ken got a flat tire. It was funny because we couldn’t find the hole, but he changed it anyway jsut to be safe.
The descents were fun and really cold. I had to pee really bad, but being on the drops helped. We found a portable bathroom across Alice’s Restaurant near the gas station.

On the next descents I was cornering so well, i didn’t have to use the brakes or anything. (Only on really steep U-turns) I noticed that the Bontrager Race Light Tires are really effective at turning.

We headed back Canada Road and the two trails, completing 60 Miles when we got home. However, Ken had to do some work in his house, so i decided to keep going. I still went home to eat some fresh cooked home made filipino Lumpia! It was so good. I drank 20 oz of water and continued the 40 Miles.

I decided to go down to Guadelupe Canyon Pkway in the San Bruno Mountains, and went all the way to Millbrae, went back to South San Francisco via El Camino Real.

I crashed down into my seat when i missed the pedal-shoe engagement. But i was okay so i kept going into the Centennial Way trail, did that twice for extra miles, and went home. By the Time i was at the Gellert-King Intersection i had down 86 Miles.

I was hoping to have 90, but i didnt. at 89 Miles i was home, and i wasn’t giving up. I did this route called “Milestone Loop” which consists of 3 climbs that are grades of 2-5% and 2 descents. The whole circuit is 1 Miles. SO it was really boring doing that 10 times for an hour, which is pretty bad.
Regardless of that, i finished 100 Miles at 5:59 pm and got home at 6. I took the Picture at 6:02 because i messed up a lot.

So i finally did 100 Miles! It wasn’t too bad but it’s fun and i’m going to do it again some time.

***Oh and if anyone saw me and my partner, my partner was wearing red, black, and white, and he was riding an 08 Fuji Roubaix Pro which is red, black, white. I was riding a Trek 2.1 which is dark blue, light blue, and pearl white, and I was wearing an Astana Jersey. We’re both 16 Years old***

That comes to a week total of 126 Miles, the 26 Miles were pure Hill Climbing the grades of about 11-14% And a monthly total of 455.

tprevost

Did a nice 17 mile loop through Angels Camp and Murphys... really nice day!

pacificaslim

Took a short ride from my house in Pacifica to Golden Gate Park to watch part of the cyclocross race. I should be racing but...heck, maybe next weekend. The weather was just amazing - blue skies all the way and nice sized surf to look at. I almost turned around to surf instead but I haven't been out enough lately to have the paddling fitness to handle the big waves, especially at Ocean Beach. Only 23 miles, 1700 feet of climbing, with some serious over 10% grade sections that kill me every time... nice Sunday ride.

UmneyDurak

Brave man. I don't really like driving there. lol

loopybunny

After a week of vacation and pretty much having a tough time getting out and riding any significant distance, I finally pushed myself into a longer ride today. I did an out and back of 18.65 mi, ave 14.4 mph, max 19.8 mph, in 1:17.43 min. My back was bothering me once I hit about mile 12. Grr...

Almost got into an accident too. If you happen to know anybody driving a white PT Cruiser or a grey Vibe that was going to the post office on Sylvan at Oakdale Rd today, remind them rudely to not make right hand turns in front of cyclists. Not only that, but they shouldn't stop midturn right in front of a cyclist. I literally missed hitting the passenger door of the Vibe by inches and was barely able to "clip out" in time as I came to a stop. Thing that gets me, even though I yelled at the top of my lungs, neither of the people in the car seemed to notice I was there.

What really surprised me is that it's a gorgeous day here. About 60 deg through the entire ride, yet I only saw one other cyclist out. Not warm enough for a lot of people or are they recovering from the holiday?

Awesome! Both that you rode your first century and that you braved the horrible wind.

genejockey 

48 miles, from San Mateo to Woodside, the Revised Smaller Loop, and home. First ride in almost a month, and it is just amazing how quickly the fitness fades! Also felt like I was riding into headwinds in BOTH DIRECTIONS on Canada. But it was great to be out on the bike! Apart from the headwinds, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the temperature was pretty good for EndaNovembah, and the scenery can't be beat.

Lanceoldstrong

46 miles with Midland on the Bridge to Bridge loop:

Up Franklin Canyon and Cummings Skyway then down Crockett Blvd and over the I-80 Crockett bridge
Across Vallejo to Collumbus Pkwy and Lake Herman Rd.
A nice break at Lake Herman and then on home over the Benicia Bridge.

What a warm and almost windless day, bare legs on Nov. 29th, cycling perfection.

Midland

Diablo from Lake Herman.Mt. Tam from Cummings SkywayCarquinez straight.

gpinto

I was in the same general area on Sunday... From Walnut Creek to Pleasant Hill; up Alhambra Ave.; up Franklin Canyon and Cummings Skyway then down Crockett Blvd; Carquinez Scenic; Martinez; Back to PH through Morello Ave.

42 miles total...

Gorgeous day!!!

pelikan

High mileage 4 day weekend for me:

Turkey Day: Appetite Seminar w/BlastRadius. Pretty brutal. In over my head w/SingleSpeed but still good fun.
Friday: OLH in the rain!
Saturday: Trail repeats: McClaren Park <--> Crocker Amazon Park <--> SB Mtn
Sunday: 9 to Boulder Creek and back. First time I've ever done that on a bicycle...the descents were simply fantastic and much better than on a moto.

MarkoPolo

Saturday I shepherded bigbossman around the Monterey Peninsula for his birthday ride. The original plan was for bikingshearer to join us, but he left some mumbled message about Thanksgiving weekend family obligations. That excuse would have gotten more mileage had we not seen him and his beloved cruising around Pacific Grove later that afternoon.

We started the day in Pacific Grove as we cruised past the Point Pinos Lighthouse around Asilomar and then circled the perimeter of Pebble Beach on 17 Mile Drive. The wind was up but we mostly had cross and tailwinds (that would change later in the day). The surf was big - wild enough that it kept the surfers away - we didn't see a single board on the water. We soon headed inland and uphill - first up to the Highway One gate - then over and down Aquajito Road. We turned right onto Monhollan/Olmstead and towards Highway 68. It had been over 20 years since I'd ridden that stretch and I'd conveniently forgotten the 3 little climbs that featured 15%+ grades. Not long, but each one had us gasping. We made a short recovery pitstop at Starbucks, although Bossman took a side trip to the gas station to pick up a few of his favorite energy bars (Paydays).

We made a quick jog up to the former Fort Ord. The last time I'd ridden that part of the world it was still an Army base and off limits to cycling. It's been open now for quite a while and I wanted to explore a bit and, for us at least, see some new territory. The really good news was that as soon as we turned onto S. Boundary Road we hit a road barrier – closed to auto traffic – but open for bikes… sweet! We side-stepped the barrier and began a climb of about 3 miles to the backside of Laguna Seca Raceway. We contemplated cutting through the fence and taking a lap around the empty track, but a security guy just happened to pick that moment to cruise by in his pickup and give us the once-over. Instead we turned onto Barloy Canyon Road and begin another climb. By now BBM had about reached his tolerance level for hills, so it was a good thing the summit was near, followed by a nice long downhill plunge for a couple of miles. At the bottom we waved hi to a group of mountain bikers who had emerged from the brush – I’m not sure how eager I’d be to head off-road after reading the warning signs regarding abandoned military ordinance – but there seemed to be a lot of trails criss-crossing the area.

From the bottom, we faced the final hard climb of the day – again, not long, but it was one of those straight-up-the-hill, no-turns-to-get-in-your-way grunt and groans that found us both slaloming across the entire roadway (still no cars!) to find relief from the steep grade. When I commented that it was embarrassing that we had to weave our way up the hill, Bossman reminded me that only walking up the hill would be embarrassing – plus there was no one there to see us anyway! A quick downhill, a final juke around the fenced-off exit road and we left the former base and headed towards the coast on Reservation Road.

Here we rediscovered the wind, which we’d been protected from for the last 20 miles or so. I smartly tucked in behind and we made our way home via Marina and the bike path that follows Highway 1 through Seaside, Monterey (successfully avoiding dozens of potential tourist/bike collisions along the wharf and Cannery Row) and back to Pacific Grove. After the chance meeting with Bikingshearer and fiancée next to the 17th tee of the Pacific Grove golf course, we realized we needed another 3 miles for Bossman to reach his “magic” number. So we rounded Asilomar again and saw not one, but two new brides in full wedding dress coming up from photo sessions on Asilomar beach!
We yelled our condolences/congratulations and turned onto 17 Mile Drive and back to Bossman’s motel. We were still a bit short of mileage, but there was no way we were stopping with less than a mile to our goal so we circled through downtown PG, cut back through Washington Park (famous winter home of Monarch butterflies) and took a few extra circuitous loops before coming to a final stop.

I don't want to talk out of school, but the final numbers for the day were: approximately 3800 feet of climbing; 6 “are you trying to kill me with these hills” comments; and 53 years/miles. Happy Birthday John!


Note: he’s got pictures, I’m sure they are good ‘cause they always are, and hopefully he will post a few…

bikingshearer 

Hey, Mom-san said "everyone meet for breakfast at 9:30," pretty much exactly when youse guys were pulling out. No way I was going against Mom's wishes, and doubly no way I was passing up a free breakfast.

I am sorry about missing those gut-busting, lung-bursting, leg-destroying 15+% grades, though. And if you believe that . . . .