Saturday: Diablo ride
Sunday: 25 mile loop of Woodside road, Canada, bike overpass at Hwy 92, Ralston, Hallmark, Crestview, Edgewood, and then back south on Canada to a delicious lunch at the Woodside Cafe.

My seldom-bike-riding girlfriend Susanne did the ride with me on her super heavy mountain bike and managed all 2000 feet of climbing without complaining at all! Next weekend we'll go shopping for road bikes ;)

Ben...

Tandem man, it's the best:

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...coRuthrace.jpg

Funny you should mention that! We saw 3 tandems parked at the Woodside Cafe. One had a triplet attachment (not sure if that's the right term but it's an extra wheel, seat, and set of pedals for a kid). Another had a kid trailer.

Then this evening Susanne emailed a bunch of tandem websites to me that related to her wondering "why the guy always sits in front". Anyway a couple hours of reading pro-tandem propaganda and now I could definitely see one in my future :)

Thursday: LKHC, Mt. Hamilton
Friday: Absolutely nothing
Saturday: Mt. Diablo
Sunday: Montebello

I think I got my riding in :)

Thursday: Loop through the orchards and ag fields
Friday: The reverse loop
Saturday: Gordon Valley loop
Sunday: Afternoon loop similar to Thursday

Total mileage: 165+, all tandem. Life is good. :thumb:

Why is the guy always in the front? The party-line reason is that the man weighs more and it easier for the heavier person as captain holding up the tandem (and the stoker) at stop signs, stop lights, etc.

The real reason? Testoterone. Pure and simple.

No riding for me this holiday weekend. Thursday was rainy, and I was trying to shake off a bug. Friday was my birthday, and I was getting a couple of bikes ready for VeloSwap. Saturday was VeloSwap.

I was going to ride on Sunday, but the wife and daughter wanted to go hiking. So, we went up Las Trampas with the pooch and ran around up there for a few hours. Hiking is harder than riding - especially when you're the one carrying the backpack full of food, water, and everyone else's jackets and stuff.

Diablo and Danville, from Las Trampas Ridge:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...572/diablo.jpg

The pack mule gets a break, and everyone else gets lunch:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...6572/lunch.jpg

1 part testosterone
1 part the man is usually the better bike handler
1 part the man is usually taller and fits better on the front

Actually, your pooch seems big enough for you to offload some weight onto him/her? I've seen those doggie backpacks somewhere that allows the dog to share some load?

Yeah, well..... he's a pretty boy, not so tough. :)

On Saturday morning, I rode from Squaw Valley to Truckee, over Brockway Summit, then over Mt. Rose to Reno. Met my family for some shopping and returned with vehicle assist. It was pretty nice actually -- not that cold at all with thin hat and gloves, a windtex jacket and full length roubaix knicks. The only sketch part was off the NE side of Mt. Rose Summit, where there's lots of shade (i.e., some icy spots :eek: and a bit of a slurpee headache for the upper 500 feet or so).

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/002_reno.jpg

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/003_reno.jpg

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/008_reno.jpg

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/010_reno.jpg

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/012_reno.jpg

http://richsteele.org/cycling/reno/014_reno.jpg

Yesterday I rode from Reno up to the summit then back down, about 50 miles total and 5000' elevation. Yep, there are a couple of shaded sections that I am always careful on as it's tough to tell how the road will be under braking.

http://www.bosticman.com/bostic/cycl.../mrose1130.jpg

Are we talking about the dog or the owner?:innocent:

This last part is one of the things keeping us from a tandem. I'm the better bike handler and the stronger cyclist. However it is very difficult to find a bike that would fit both of us with me in front.

Oh well, one day maybe we will build ourselves a custom one. :p

How about a really big trail-a-bike? ;)

Steve Rex would be a good option.

So...my achievement was your recovery ride on Sunday, eh? You probably passed us going up. What were you wearing?

Between work, illness and weather I have not been out on a bike in three weeks (12/6). Because of the extended layoff I must admit I was feeling a bit lethargic, and had more than a touch of ennui. However, good sense (and a good natured push by the wife) got me out the door.

Even though I was wearing my normally adequate winter attire of knickers, long sleeve base layer, jersey, and full-fingered gloves, I didn't get half a mile before having to stop and put on my reserve jacket. Dang - it was nippy out under that clear blue sky!

After about 4-5 miles, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake, and fought urges to turn around and go home. Realizing that I felt sluggish precisely because I had been sitting around the house too much as it was, I pressed on. After all, Starbucks was only a 6 mile ride - I could certainly make that.

By the time I hit the first Starbucks, I was feeling much more in tune, and so passed it and pressed on. At 11 miles, I stopped for a coffee and a muffin at Peet's Coffee. I felt much better after that, and decided that instead of turning for home I'd make a bona-fide loop out of it.

So, I started out with renewed vigor and decided to tackle some light climbing. Along the way, I explored new neighborhoods, got dead-ended once or twice, and eventually made it back to more familiar roads back toward the house.

One more stop (for hot chocolate!) at a different Peet's in Danville at mile 26, and I made the final milk-run to home and hearth.

It never got over 50 degrees, so I suffered a bit in a chill breeze for most of the day. My two best riding buddies bailed on me, and I sure could have used the company as it was hard to shake off the holiday induced lethargy. But, after I got into the rhythm of things it worked out for the best.

Al told, a little over 31 miles and ~2,000' of climbing.

Diablo, as seen from a new (to me) neighborhood:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/diablo-7.jpg

Today was a good day: perfect blue skies and a break from the rain we've all been suffering through. The plan was to hit-up both Kings Mtn and OLH today but I ended up taking it easy today.

While on Canada Rd, on my way back home, I ran into my father who was just starting his recovery ride. I turned right around and spent some quality time with him on the Alpine loop. After it was all said and done I logged a really nice 70 miles today. Can't ask for much more than that. :)

Hey BBM what camera do you use? I'm always impressed with the quality of the pictures you post.

Nice!

Went up and over Mt. Diablo from Danville up the South Gate to the top then down North Gate into Walnut Creek back through Alamo/Danville/San Ramon/Dublin then back home to Danville. Got in 54 miles. Was really feeling the effects of not being on the road due to the poor weather as I was really struggling against the wind even on the flats.

A 3 year old Olympus Stylus 600, 6MP point 'n shoot. I post-process through Picasa - usually just sharpen, saturate, and crop. Almost always have to crop, as a 3x optical zoom doesn't give one much to work with on the longer shots.

I keep waiting for the camera to break so I can buy a better one that's not so obsolete, but so far this one's taken a beating and still comes through for me. Maybe I should loan it to Pete for a while. :)

Yep I got a ride comin up if you need a couple of picts;) if ya know what I mean...
It might be sleeping with the fish's

Lanceoldstrong racked me out with a phone call this am, and coerced me into an impromptu ride. He came down to my place, so I reprised Friday's ride with some ride company this time. Only one stop this time, at Peet's Coffee in Danville at about mile 26. The placed was jammmed with riders - more than even at high riding season. I guess there were a lot of folks with cabin fever, and the decent weather brought them out in droves.

We had a nice spin, and ended up with 30 miles and ~2,000' of climbing in the books. That brought me to 3,350 miles for the year, and Dan to just over 4,000.

Way to go, Dan!! And thanks for pulling me out of my riding funk - I needed it.