Off Again

Met up with 9 other ACTC members including P and C. Today's route: Riding the East Side (Piedmont, Old Calaveras, Calaveras to the Summit at Sierra Road at which point P, C and I planned to leave the group to descend Sierra and then climb it (though C and I only went up the first part while P did the entire stretch!).




How badly did I do today? Let me count the ways ... oh, let's not.

Still, I had a fun time with the group, that is, when I was able to catch up to them. They were a swell bunch who kindly and patiently waited for me. Tomorrow is another day....

Heading up to the Headlands

Another lovely warm sunny day in the Bay Area and perfect conditions for a ride in the Marin Headlands.

A thrilling descent though I had to walk a bit of it given my fear of heights. I snapped photos with my eyes shut though I kept them open while riding. Of course walking down the steepest part afforded me opportunity to meet a number of male cyclists eager to lend a helping hand to a damsel in distress. The Boyfriend is shaking his head and sighing.



Down the rabbit hole into Sausalito

Quick stop at Starbucks.

He: What would you like?

Me: You.

He: Focus Missy Focus.

Me: I am focusing -- on you.

He: Sigh. Blog about the biking!

Me: Okay, the Headlands loop is 10 miles. Take the Alexander exit once past the Golden Gate Bridge, going North. Park in the lot. Get on bike. Go. Go some more. Arrive in Sausalito, the American Riviera. Try not to flirt.

He: Sigh.

Dam fine looking cyclist in Sausalito.

Sailboats on the Bay.

Parting shot of the Bridge from the parking lot.

Smiling on Shannon

Met up with P at the Almaden Roasting Co. to do an ACTC ride that included Hicks (the flat part, whew), Shannon, Los Gatos Blvd., Hwy 9 and much more. I stopped on Shannon to take this photo of a side street. Shannon is very pretty and biking on this stretch made me smile even though sections are somewhat challenging. A lot of cyclists in club jerseys were out. These early morning starts though are too much for me. I lagged behind and eventually was on my own. After climbing Hwy. 9, I turned around (the descent was cold; I was shocked to see cyclists out in sleeveless jerseys but they're not weenie like me) and returned to the start, doing 34 miles altogether. P & S planned to go much further. Sigh, no funny moments to share on this ride!

Somewhere in San Jose

It was a dark and stormy ... no way Jose which is why I joined an ACTC ride today after lots of encouragement from my friend P to haul my tushy out of bed and into the saddle.

We started at the Berryessa Community Center with a route that had us meandering through San Jose neighborhoods at a speedy pace (and difficult for me to maintain), making our way over to climb Metcalf. The route included Yerba Buena Road, pictured above and below.




Yay yay yay, a stop. Boo boo boo, time to move on. Nice gang!






Shared details about Graham Baxter and Agile Compass tours with the man who took my photo.





Sigh, the gang exhausted me and I found myself having to walk up a good part of Metcalf. A guy in a pick up truck stopped to check on me. Such chivalry. Then again, it made me wonder how pathetic I must look for strangers to want to stop. Next, a guy on his motorcycle simply stopped and stared at me for a minute or two. Hmm, maybe I looked cute not pathetic?

One of the male cyclists came to fetch me and got me motivated to get back on the bike and finish the climb. He shared his tales about doing the Livestrong tour. What a nice guy.

In the end, we did 40 miles. Max speed 34 mph on one descent. My avg. speed of course plummeted from walking up Metcalf so we'll just skip that one. I enjoyed the ride and it was fun to bike with a group though I was mostly in the back and the last to finish. Shades of LKHC, eh.

Leonardo at the Tech Museum

New Year's Day was spent viewing Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Below are a few photos (taken without flash) from the exhibit.

My favorite.