Misty in Marin

I pleaded. I begged. I pouted. I jumped up and down on the hotel bed. I threw myself under a train. I tried to seduce The Boyfriend into submission, all to no avail, despite my shapely figure and shameful tactics. We started the Marin Century at 6:27am. It was barely light out! I was ready for my nap after riding a few minutes.

We last did this ride 2 years ago. My route, the 100K had changed, for the better. The BF, stud that he is, did the Mt. Tam 100M. We began in a thick and chilly marine layer that did not burn off until mile 45. I had to wear my arm warmers and jacket for most of the ride. The BF was rained upon in some forest.

Ah yes, back to the beginning. I got my revenge for the early start -- within a mile or so, The BF witnessed men already "chatting" with me.




Lookey, a giant marshmellow farm! How I wanted to roll in them and become all gooey and sticky. And meet the Jolly Green Giant and climb his stalk.





My entourage. Notice how happy they are. What can I say. I even had men in cars slowing down to chat with me. The BF shakes his head and sighs.

I love this ride despite finding the rollers to be more tiring than the Santa Cruz Mtns. Challenge. The descents would have been fabulous had it not been so darn cold.

I love the brie and figs served at rest stops. The cyclists were polite, calling out that they were passing.

Both of us banged it out the last 10 miles or so. The Boyfriend did about 9,000 feet of climbing to my 3,830. We'll be back another year, for sure. Thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors and police officers who make this a lovely ride.

Just the stats:

58 miles
29 mph max
13.2 mph avg
4 hrs 40 min riding time
(The BF finished an hour maybe after me!)

A Hard Tire is Good to Find

Ah, Mae West, my kind of woman.

I put The Boyfriend on probation when he failed to notice my haircut. You see Men, when your woman does something different, do notice unless you wish to find yourself in deep doodoo. (women nodding in agreement saying, "I hear ya Sister"). Me above, a few miles into the Marin Century (though I did the Metric).



The Boyfriend did receive a few brownie points because we slept in a wee bit at the motel in San Rafael before setting off on the ride together at 6:30am. The fog lingered as you see from the photo above.






The fog begins to burn off.




Sunshine and heat as the day wore on. I finished the Metric in 4 1/2 hours (a flat tire/improper tire pressure slowed me down a bit along with the illama that caught my attention -- should have got a photo; though I managed to hit 35 mph on a descent) and The Boyfriend (who did the scenic Mt. Tam Century) finished shortly after (amazing).



The Boyfriend redeemed himself by buying me new tires and having me practice changing a flat. He would have completely been removed from the Doghouse had he: a) served me wine while I changed the pretend flat tubes and new tires and b) invited a few Chippendale men for entertainment. But he was an excellent instructor who made the training session amusing. And well, the photo of him during the Death Ride where he looks like a darn cute Mighty Mouse kinda did me in, too. As I said earlier, "A hard tire is good to find or is it a good tire is hard to find?" Whatever -- I know I found my man.

Bambi and Brie

Friday night, The Boyfriend and I were enveloped in fog as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. It was like a living breathing mist, atmospheric like you expect in a juicy horror film, that swirled all around us; fierce winds with poor visibility until we entered Sausalito on our way to San Rafael.

Saturday, we headed off to do our 3rd Marin Century; actually, the Metric for me and the Mt. Tam century for him. Above, I have posted photos of me capturing each year along with a great shot of Big Rock below which greets riders after the first climb.



The Metric involves 3,830 feet of climbing and the Tam route includes 7,800 feet of climbing. The ride is varied with rolling hills, gentle and steep climbs, grasslands, redwood forests, ranches and pastures full of horses, cows and goats. The Boyfriend's ride was much more scenic than mine since his involved Mt. Tam.

This year, I had to brake for wild turkeys crossing the road and a really dumb deer, so dumb that I had to get off my bike and tell Bambi to move if she wanted to live a long life.

Prior to the start, we were waiting in line to use the restroom when we met a woman biking alone. I asked her to ride with me and surprisingly, I had to leave her after the first climb because she wasn't fast enough for me. Too bad as I enjoy the social aspect of bike tours. This year, I was high on gatorade and Powergels with the occasional slice of Brie, potato chips, figs and nectarines available at the rest stops (very nice volunteers and great food; Thank you). I was determined, focused and ready to to ride hard and fast.

Part of my ride involved biking in fog. Not the pretty romantic kind but more the dense kind. Along the way, I kept meeting men; some rode with me and others chatted about this and that at rest stops. I also met a woman who was wearing a jersey that I had thought about wearing that day, too. We discussed the sad state of women's cycling clothes. You see, women, in case you haven't noticed, happen to have curves and we come in different sizes. Some people thought it odd that The Boyfriend and I don't ride together. Hello, he's much stronger than me and a better cyclist. It reminded me of something I just don't get: men joining their women on shopping trips to the mall. Why I ask you? Most men look incredibly bored.

Anyway, after the tour, The Boyfriend listened as I said, "And then I met this guy ... and then there was this other man, and next, I met this guy and ...." He was probably thinking, "Let's see, you ate Brie and met men. Did you do any biking?" I set a goal this year, hoping to do 15 mph average for the 60 mile route. Last year, I did 12.6 mph. At this year's event, with only 10 miles to go and my average being 13.2 mph, I floored it and ended the tour with an average of 13.6 mph. So yes, I think I did some biking. As for The Boyfriend, he arrived about an hour after I had finished. Pretty impressive given that he did 40 miles more than me!

Next week, we're off to do the Tour de Max.

Got Milk?

This morning, I woke up with an enormous desire for milk. Got milk? Oh I believe so, something like a half a gallon in my tummy, making me look several months pregnant. After satisfying myself in Dairyland, I hopped on the bike for my usual ride to Alviso (photo above). Not a particularly interesting tale to share other than it was quite windy and there was this construction worker who told me that I was looking good. Good thing he couldn't see my stomach with the Bay of Milk in it. Move over Fribourg cows, there's a new Swiss Miss in town.

Sunday, I met up with The Boyfriend who was ready to do another ride even though he had just done The Death Ride the day before. Incroyable, n'est-ce pas! We did the same route we did on the 4th of July: Sand Hill to Canada to Mtn. Home to Alpine to his place. 32.8 miles, my avg speed was 13.9 mph which is what I did last time and for me, decent. Best part of the ride? The firefighters in uniform seen later at Starbucks. Oh alright, I must focus and begin to get serious as The Boyfriend and I will be participating in the Marin Century, Tour de Max and Tour of Napa in August. By the way, The Boyfriend in cycling clothes makes my heart race.