drummingpariah

I'm moving to W Grand & Linden this weekend. Where in Oak-town are you?

loopybunny

Hi all! I'm Michelle, 35. Originally from Sacramento but I had to move a bit south to find a job. Thankfully I got to stay in Northern California.

Started mountain biking back in the mid 90's, but when I moved I had to leave my bike (a Specialized Hardrock GX Sport) behind at my parents' because I didn't have room for it. When I got a bigger place, my bike came to live with me, but she was in a bit of disrepair. 6 years later, I finally got her fixed and quickly realized how poorly fit my bike was.

A couple of months ago, I finally jumped in and bought a new one, a Trek 6000. It's a smaller bike and a better fit. A much more comfortable ride. However, I'm in really bad shape and have no skills, so I'm slowly building up to longer rides. Unfortunately, I live in a really flat agricultural part of CA and we have no mountain biking trails, so most of my riding is done on country roads. Which I guess is okay due to my previously mentioned physical condition and lack of skill. It's been good for me to just ride and build up my strength again while losing weight and gaining stamina.

I've gotten to the point that I'm comfortable enough on the roads around here that I think I want to purchase a road bike as well. I don't know if I can make that a reality though since I have to buy a car, but a girl can dream.

And if you're wondering about my lack of skill... my friend and I went to Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland and I "ate dirt." This is how I know I have no skills. It was pretty embarrassing.

Beaker

Cool - welcome to the NorCal crazy house Michelle - and also to the "30-something getting back into riding" club. I take eating dirt as a sign that you're working out where your limits are - good stuff.

xg43x

I am William, I am 23 and ride a 2001 Trek 1000 built up Campagnolo Mirage/Xenon groupset. I live in Stockton, CA. Roads are boring and flat. I prefer climbing. Anyone want to ride, email at willie.binder@gmail.com

kyle16

This is my first post on this forum. I figured that i am doing a whole lot of biking now, so might as well meet a few people.

Me: My name is Kyle (if my SN didn't give it away already). I have been doing a whole lot of biking on the SF Peninsula for the past year or so. I have picked up the pace considerably since I decided to do the Livestrong Challenge. My bike is a 2005 Raleigh Competition. I have about 3300 miles on the bike now and planning on having a lot more coming up soon. I used to be one of those people that hated big hills, but now that I have forced myself to get in shape for the Livestrong Challenge, I have become addicted. Actually, I am just addicted to biking in general.

Other than spending time on my bike, i spend a lot of time with a snowboard strapped to my feet or have a camera in hand (I sure know how to pick the cheap hobbies). I usually try to spend at least 20 days on the snow a year, more if time allows. I am just starting to spend more time in the backcountry earning my turns. With photography, that is what I recently graduated with a degree in at SJSU.

That's it for now.

powpow

Hi Kyle. Welcome to BF. I'm a backcountry snowboarder as well. I just got a splitboard last year and I'm loving it!

Drakonis08

Hey Nor Cal,
My name is Curtis turning 21 this year. I'm a full time student and collegiate rower at Sacramento State and back home for the summer in Dublin, CA. I ride a tarmac.Looking into getting my legs stronger for crew so lately I've been doing solo rides(20-40milers) routinely here in the Tri Valley. Interested in joining other riders here in the east bay of if you would like to ride drop me a pm.
THanks

BlastRadius

Welcome Michelle, William, Kyle and Curtis. Hope to see you guys on a BF ride sometime.

kyle16

thanks powpow. So which split board did you get? I am snowshoeing it as for now until I can afford to get a split board. Also, where do you usually backcountry?

And thank you also BlastRadius.

loopybunny

Hey Kyle! I'm doing the Livestrong Challenge too. Easy route because I'm a wimp.

And Drakonis... woohoo for Sac State!

powpow

Hey Kyle, sorry for the delayed response. I bought the Voile SD Mojo in October. Skinning up is SO much more efficient than snowshoes, probably at least 25% faster. The transition can be a bit tricky in icy conditions, but it's not that bad if you practice.

I've done most of my bc riding in Jackson, WY, where I lived for six years. I haven't done too much in Tahoe, but Red Lake Peak and Waterhouse Peak are both nice and easily accessible by car. Red Lake can be sketchy in bad avy conditions, though.

Here is a pic from Red Lake Peak. You basically skin up the ridge on the left, and there are a bunch of ways to come down.

kyle16

Hey Powpow, the Viole is a nice one. And Jackson Hole? Doesn't get much better than that for backcountry.

Last May, my buddy and I went to Sonora Pass, to the first peak to the south when you are at the pass. I do not know what the name of the peak is, but it is right around 11,000 feet and is a fun ride down. We went down the large chute right in the middle of all the rock formations and it is a fun cruise down the rest of the way back to the cars.

Geoff16W

Hey east bay riders,

I live in Boston during the year, but I'm in Berkeley for the summer. I'm 25 years old, I've been riding a lot of solos through the Berkeley hills lately (I'm not sure what my level is because I rarely ride with anyone else, but I think I'm in pretty good shape). I've been doing some of the hills labeled advanced (though not without some struggle). I road up centennial rd. yesterday (that was excruciating; I think I'm going to go back to Spruce Street for a while). I also just discovered Bear Creek Road yesterday on the other side of the hill (very nice). Anyway, I'm riding almost everyday, about 20-30miles. If there's a group that rides around here, I love to join, or if you want a riding partner, send me a pm.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself,
ride hard!

Beaker

Hey Geoff, your post inspired me to climb centennial today (for the first time, I'm ashamed to say), and it was a beyotch. According to the dudes who put together the berkeley hills death ride thing, Centennial looks easier than Claremont - but not for me - sustained pitches of 15%+.

Not sure what kind of group you'd look for (although you seem pretty strong based on your 3bears time) - Grizzly Peak cyclists have lots of local rides - one of many, including some weekday rides starting in Berkeley

www.grizzlypeakcyclists.org

Geoff16W

Congrats on centennial. Its terrible - I had to stop for a second after that wicked bend -- there's a little turnout there where I found some other cyclists seeking shelter.

Thanks for the info on GPC, I just found that myself. Judging from three bears I'm probably an MB. I think the guy I was riding with made me a little faster than I am by myself (I'm still sort of new with the cycling thing). If you (or group others) ever want to ride the bears circuit again, count me in.
jw

Beaker

Let's try that one of these days. BTW, I'm thinking of doing this sometime in the next couple of months - possibly August. A great list of suffering over and around the Berkeley Hills. You won't get bored....

https://www.inl.org/bicycle/deathride.html

kenji51590

Hello my name's Brandon and I just got my first road bike today its a Scattante R-330 and from the mountain view area :]

spingineer

Welcome Brandon to the insane asylum known as NorCal BF ... be on the lookout for ride announcement in this forum. Hope to see you out on the road.

kenji51590

thx man ill sure be on the road :]

divegirl

Hi, I'm divegirl and I'm new to this forum. I just moved to the Redwood City area via L.A., Sacramento, Truckee, etc. Hoping to stay here for a long while. I've never lived in the Bay Area before so I'm looking to go road biking with others to explore the area. I ride a Cannondale R700, nothing fancy. I also enjoy mountain biking but I don't have one (yet). In addition I do triathlons but my current love is multi-day bike tours even though I've only done one - OATBRAN.

Also I just wanted to jump in here on the backcountry/skiing topic and let Kyle16 know that the peak you boarded in the picture above off Sonora Pass is actually called "No Name Peak". I've skied it a bunch of times and that has always been the consensus...at least everywhere I've looked!

Other notes about me...I love skiing (downhill, backcountry, cross-country), and I do triathlons and love open water swimming.

I'm free MWF to bike around the bay area so if anyone wants to join me right now I'm only about 16mph on the flats and who knows on the hills.

BlastRadius

Welcome, divegirl. Do you do scuba too?
There's lots of rides around your area. Keep your eyes open in the NorCal forum plus there's rides that are not organized on Bikeforums.

divegirl

Thanks BlastRadius! I'll keep my eye out for rides.
I don't scuba (but would like to someday); "divegirl" comes from being a springboard/platform diver for a number of years.

kyle16

Hi neighbor. As BR said, there are tons of different routes in the area. There is a plethora of choices to grueling uphills to some good flat runs. It is a great place to go cycling. As I am funemployed at the moment, I am up for some riding during the week. Shoot me a message if you are down for a ride.

Heh, the name is so literal for the Sonora Pass Peak. Really is a lot of fun to go down. I will just have to wait for better conditions next year. My goal for next spring is to make it up to Shasta. That looks like tons of fun to board down.

soul05

Hi guys, I decided to check out whats going on in my region. did not notice this thread before so I though I'd post. Well, my name is Tony. I am 25 y/o, turning 26 in August. I'm a student at SF State graduating this year with a sociology major. Aside from being a full time student, I also work at Gokart racer in Burlingame as well.
When I have time, I ride my fixed gear around. mainly along bayshore from sfo to foster city. i have a picture of it in my sig. this is my 4rd bike, my first "grown up bike" (my first bike was a specialized fatboy bmx) i had was a peugeot uo-8 frame that i bought off a guy in Foster City for 25 bucks. it turned into a fixed gear in which i learned a lot of bike mechanics.
i've only been riding bikes for 2 years? never learned until recently. when I was younger, my father had the best idea of locking up the bike outside instead of bringing it inside the house. of course the bike got stolen the very first night. he did not bother buying me another bike, so for the next 15 or so years, I did not know how to ride a bike.
So now I try to ride as much as I can. I also feel like I am neglecting my car sometimes, but I need to catch up on working to better my riding skills. but when I am not riding or working or studying, i like to eat out a lot and yelp my experiences. I'm also a mediocre snowboarder and a below average bowler.

Beaker

Welcome soul05 -- I'd say you have your priorities just right