A Couple of hills take two

I went out today and did the exact same loop that I did a little over a week ago.  I think this could become one of my favorite loops.  I tried using my Garmin to race my last time, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.  Anyway, I was 6 minutes faster over the entire course, but my average heart rate was the exact same.  There was a little less of a head wind on Hwy. 116 coming out of Duncans Mills and I think that could have been a little of a factor.  Here is a link to the loop.  I would like to share this loop with A1, I think he would get a kick out of it.  I'm sure he would want to add Sweetwater at the end, which I have been thinking about doing.  I think it would also be a blast with Claire on the Ibis tandem.  We did Box Springs Road on our last loop out there.  I don't think I saw any other cyclist out there at all today.  Tomorrow it is back to the bike shop after almost 3 weeks away.  I am looking forward to getting the grease back under my fingernails.

Willow Creek Loop

Well, I had a great ride this afternoon.  It started out a little tough since I had been planning on going over Duncan Road on my way out to Duncans Mills to meet Claire.  They were doing some construction on Old Monte Rio Road, so I tried a little detour up Summit Road.  I think that is the steepest road I have ever come across in Sonoma County.  If you are ever out on a ride with me and I suggest going up Summit Road, please say no.  I actually had to get off my bike with about 15 meters to go and walk.  I was pushing a 36x25, so it was a decent gear, but to no avail.  Anyway, when I got to the top I realized that it didn't go through, so I turned around and plummeted back down. 

I met Claire out in Duncans Mills and we road out Hwy. 116 to the coast and then turned up Willow Creek Road.  We both talked about all of the memories we have had on that road.  We used to lead the Labor Day Ride up there every year.  I think I can even remember the very first time we rode up it.  It was, of course, Claire's suggestion since she loves dirt roads and will go out of her way to find them.  When she used to lead the Hub rides, people would say that if it didn't have some dirt, then Claire wasn't happy.  Anyway, when we got to  the top, we went off road along the ridge and dropped down into Willow Creek State Park.  We went down Box Springs Road for the second time.

I dropped Claire off in Duncans Mills and then headed back Moscow Road and Bohemian Hwy. up into Camp Meeker.  From there I climbed up Morelli Road.  I had a hard time keeping my rear wheel from spinning on the way up.  I dropped down Harrison Grade and made my way home from there.  Here is a link to the ride.

A busted Dream Ride

Well, it was not a total bust.  We drove over to Bolinas with A1, A2, Jimmy Neutron, and Mel (A1's girlfriend), to do one of our favorite rides.  Claire and I were on the Burley tandem while A1 and Mel rode our Ibis tandem.  The fact that they were up for this ride on one of their first ever tandem ride says a bunch for A1 and Mel.  A2 and Jimmy Neutron were on their own bikes and feeling quite frisky on the uphills.  Anyway, part way up the first climb past Stinson Beach, Claire and I had a flat.  During the process of fixing it, we noticed that you could almost see through the tire in a couple of places.  We put a boot in, but we still didn't trust it.  We turned around there while the other folks headed on over to Muir Woods and so on.  Claire and I made it back to the Hub Bus and found another tire to use.  It was an Acrobat 700x37, so it rubbed a bit on the brake noodle, but worked otherwise.  We rode up Bolinas road, which is a 1500 foot climb to the top before climbing up Bolinas Ridge road for another 500 feet or so.  We met those guys right at the junction of Bolinas Ridge and Pan Toll Road.  We turned around there and had a nice ride back to the Bus.  Claire and I actually ended up with a couple more miles than the rest of the guys, but they ended up with a little more climbing.  We stopped for sandwiches in Point Reyes Station before heading back to Cotati.  Here is a link to our loop.

A couple of hills

I went out on a terrific ride today.  I rode my Cannondale cross bike, which is a little on the heavy side, but an incredibly versatile bike.  I tried to find as many hills as I could between here and Willow Creek State Park.  I then took a little ride on the ridge, and dropped down Box Spring Road, or at least that is what a sign said.  From there I rode back towards Guerneville on Hwy. 116.  I couldn't pass up the chance to ride up over Duncan Road, which is all dirt.  I had planned on riding over Sweetwater, but thought it might be good to get back home instead.  Here is a map of the loop.

Martinelli run

I went out today and pushed myself on a run.  I tried to keep my middle miles under 7:30's.  I was hurting pretty good at the end, but I did manage to negative split the run.  I had no unexpected leg pains.  The weather was terrific.  I had spent the morning cleaning out a bunch of ivy in our back yard, so I was a little tired.  Here is a map of my run.  My Garmin had poor reception and you can see on the map that it isn't totally accurate since it was a total out and back run.  That is all I have to say for now.

Riding to Healdsburg for a sandwich

Claire, Mathilda, and I rode into Healdsburg this afternoon for a sandwich at the Oakville Store.  It wasn't quite as warm as yesterday, but we were still both in our short sleeve jerseys.  Mathilda refused to do any work except when we were going downhill.

  Here is a link to our ride.

84 degrees in January

Claire and I went out on a fantastic ride yesterday.  Claire drove over to Graton where I met her on my bike.  We rode out over Cherry Ridge and then Occidental Road.  We had a little run in with a guy in a big truck on Occidental Road, but otherwise things were just great.  We "chatted" with the guy for a minute or two after he stopped in the middle of the road to give us some advise on riding our bikes.  He was an electrical contractor who was in a hurry to get to another job, so I was pleasantly surprised that he was such an expert on bike riding etiquette.  The weather was terrific and both of us ended up in short sleeve jerseys and shorts.  We climbed over Bitner to Joy Road and then back over Coleman Valley.  I dropped Claire back off in Graton and then road home.  What a day out there.  You almost feel guilty riding in this kind of weather.  We were just watching the news a couple of minutes ago and saw that it was like 10 below in the midwest.  Most of my family is still back there in Iowa and Missouri, and I feel for them at times like this.  I guess the kids will at least get a day off of school since it is too cold to go.

Oh, yea, here is a link to the ride.

Cross-country Skiing

Well, we just got back after some time up near Tahoe.  We were actually staying at a friends cabin on Donner Lake.  We went skiing three days in a row.  The conditions were okay.  The first day I used the regular rental skate skis and I did this loop.  I felt great after the day.  We went back to the cabin and watched the Florida/Oklahoma game on a very small tv.  I was rooting for OK, but to no avail.  The next day I rented some demos.  They were the Fischer carbonlite skate skis.  Claire got a pair to use also. We were both the first people to actually use the skis and they were fast.  This is the loop I did.  At the end of this day I was knackered.  Both days we were with our friends Greg and Sherie.  The snow was a little icy, but we made the best of it.  On the third day we went to Northstar and got some free cross-country tickets.  Claire and I did about an hours worth of striding.  That was our first time there and we both felt like it would be worth checking out again.  It is too bad that there is not a lot of snow out there.

Scenic Loop

I went out with Claire on the first day of the year and she walked while I did some running.  I felt great.  I walked the last part with Claire, so it slowed down my average speed and heart rate, but I also think that because of all the hills, it is a tough run to go fast on.  I attached my Garmin to my water belt and it seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping track of stuff.  I can't really check it as I run, but it is fun to check afterwards.  Here is a link to my run.  After the run I had a couple of beers and tried to watch the Rose Bowl.  I was rooting for Penn State, so I had to turn it off.  I made seven loaves of sourdough bread.  Claire loves the garlic/rosemary bread, so I made 5 loaves of that.  

Last Bike Ride of the Year

Well, I had a great bike ride to end the year with.  Here is the link.  

On side note, some of you may have noticed that I now have these great links to my rides.  My lovely wife bought me a Garmin as an anniversary/Christmas/birthday present.  It is the Edge 705 model.  Well, I try not to do any selling on the BLOG, but you can purchase almost any of the Garmin models from The Hub Cyclery.  We sell them for the suggested retail price you see on the Garmin page.  Sure, you could probably go out and search high and low and find someone who would sell it for less, but if you heard about it first here, or you think that it is worth supporting your local bike shop, then come on in and we will order up the model that fits you best.  A couple of us at the shop are riding with Garmins, so we would be happy to talk with you about it, you can even take mine out for a test ride.  That is the end of my side note.

Now, back to my ride...the weather was perfect, and I rode my Cannondale Cross bike with my nice heavy tires.  I think that bike weighs over 30 pounds.  Anyway, I went out over Mayes Canyon and dropped into Guerneville before heading back to Rio Nido for the canyon ride over to Sweetwater.  I got a flat tire on the backside of Sweetwater,  I found a tiny little sliver of green glass in my tire.  I rode back Westside Road and met Claire out there somewhere and we headed back Westside Road towards Healdsburg.  We came back on Eastside Road into a slight headwind.  It started to get a little cold at the end of the ride, but otherwise it was perfect.  We were both ready to get off our bikes by the end.  We fueled up on Pasta Bolognese which Claire had cooked up.  Well, Happy New Year.