The Nicest Day of the Year....

...was today.

Went out with the Sports Basement cycling group. Started from the Sports Basement Presidio branch, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, headed up to Mill Valley towards Mt. Tam.

Wacky -- this was probably the only time this year riding through Crissy Field and across the Golden Gate Bridge that I didn't have to deal with a headwind or a crosswind. The difference it makes in speed is tremendous. I was going 2-3 MPH faster along the Marina and across the Golden Gate Bridge than normal.

I'd thought I was getting weak and old because I couldn't peddle at high speed on the flats like I did when I was a seventeen year old back in Jersey. Now I know why -- it's not that I'm old and weak, its because San Francisco is a cold windy and nasty place to ride a bike during the Summer.

Anyways...

The pictures below capture just how nice it was today.

This was the view going along the Sausalito marina up towards Fort Point.


This was the view on the way back up to the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point.


Days like this, I think the Greenh0use Effect ain't such a bad thing.

Pimp My Bike

Finally got the parts to convert my old Cannondale into a flatbar roadbike.

But first, some background.

Back in early September I bought a used flatbar roadbike off of one of the rental bike stores here in SF that cater to tourists.

BIG MISTAKE.

They unloaded a 2008 model bike to me. Sounds good, right?

But they had done a poor job of maintaining it. I wasn't thinking too hard when I got the bike. I discovered multiple mechanical issues within a few days of using it. It was going to cost me $100 more to address the issues. I found out later that the rental companies don't bother maintaining the bikes properly -- let the renters beat them to a pulp for one year, then unload onto a dumb cheap shmuck like myself. The bike was heavy to -- almost as heavy as a mountain bike. If I had wanted a mountain bike I would have gotten that instead.

Luckily -- thanks to craigslist, I was able to sell it and get most of my money back. Craigslist also got me replacement. A neon blue 1980's Cannondale entry level racing bike.


The neon blue makes me think of Miami Vice.

The owner had taken better care of this 21 year old bike than the bike shop did the one year bike I had before. It took forever to get the replacement parts. AEbike.com is cheap, but slow. JensonUSA, thankfully, is pretty quick. But after I got my parts, I was able to get sometime on the public workbench at Boxdog Bikes in the mission.

The result is what you see below.


She's still got some issues, but the flatbars made the bike far more comfortable & responsive than it was with drop bars. And the thing definitely has a lighter feel than the bike it replaced.

I usually wince when I see people here in SF taking nice older road bikes and doing a wack job to them -- like taking a beautiful Italian steel roadbike frame and making it into a fixed gear. But now I understand, and maybe it isn't such a bad thing. In a way, these oddball conversions give these bikes a 2nd life.

If you wanna know what I'm talking about -- pay a visit to Boxdog Bikes or Pedal Revolution in the Mission. The guys at these stores are great at restoring old bikes -- and converting them into something new -- often a flatbar road bike.

Thank God for Craigslist, and the Frankenstein Bike subculture of San Francisco.

San Francisco Bicycle Culture II

More thoughts.

San Francisco, all 7 X 7 miles of it, is a complex mix of bicycle sub-cultures.

It has probably been talked to death elsewhere, but the urban bicycle sub-culture here is kind of fascinating. These are the single speed/fixed gear kids -- tight jeans, no helmets, ignoring the traffic laws, doing alley cat racing, disrupting Friday night traffic every month with their Critical Mass events.

Next are the fitness road cyclists. These are the guys with the overpriced roadbikes. I probably fall more into that category, even though I'm pretty cheap when it comes to bicycle equipment -- craigslist all the way.

Then there are the mountain bikers. Often they are yuppies, and they are definitely athletes. But they are made of much rawer and tougher stuff than most roadies.

Going to local bike shops and talking to the mechanics, the mechanics seem to fall into these schools. When they start talking about their own equipment, swapping war stories, you can tell who is a part-time/aspiring road racer, who is a hipster who loves fixed gears, and who shreds up the firetrails on the weekends.

I could never be a fixed gear/urban cyclist. But I will say one thing -- they are the reason so many beautiful old bikes are still on the streets of SF, in decent condition most of the time, having a second life as either a fixed gear or a commuter machine.

I used to wince when I saw people converting beautiful 1980's Italian steel racing frames into fixed gear machines. Now, not so much. Guys/gals who still ride these beasts understand and appreciate them for their capabilities and their classic beauty. When I've gone out on my early 1990's specialized Allez I've been able to keep up and in some cases smoke guys using much newer bikes. The fixed gear guys probably realize that those old steel frames can still fly like a bat out of hell.

Can't wait to take my baby shit blue 1987 Cannondale road bike, flat bar the sucker, and turn it into a commuter beast.

They ought to do a show here in SF, call it Pimp My Bike.

San Francisco Bicycle Sub-Culture

Last Friday I went bike shopping for a commuter beast. Did my rounds through Craigslist, came across a listing, and went to the sellers equivalent of an open house. He had several bikes he was showing at the same time to several people.

Showed up at the place. Chatted with a girl who had her bike stolen the week before. That wasn't so remarkable. SF, Berkeley, and Oak-town are notorious for bike theft.

The weird part was how her bike got stolen.

Her bike was stashed in the back of her truck. The thieves picked the lock of the door to her rear compartment (emphasis on picking the lock, no door or window smashing), and took her bike out.

Anywhere else in the country the thieves would have junked the bike and taken the truck!

Funny thing about SF. We love our bikes here.
So much a thief would ignore the bigger and more expensive truck for the cheaper bicycle.

The cops and bicycle advocates say that bike theft is a way of supporting a drug habit. But if you are stealing bikes instead of cars to pay for your junk, you are either a really stupid a junky, or a bike lover with some odd issues.

Foxy's Fall Century

Did Foxy's Fall Century yesterday.

It was the second century I ever did, the first since 2006 when I did Bay in a Day.

It was painful towards the end -- mostly around my crotch. The little training I got during the previous three weeks, hill workouts and spin classes, were just enough for my legs & lungs to get through it. But those workouts can't prepare you for the fire in your crotch from saddle soreness, or the stiffness in the upper back and neck from keeping your neck in the same position for 8 hours.

Still though -- it was gorgeous. Barreling down from Cardiac Hill past Lake Berryessea in Napa -- it was worth it. It was bright and sunny in the low 80's, much warmer than in the immediate Bay Area. I also never get bored by the sight of hundreds of gathering in one place, bikes and gear everywhere.

Moments likes that, similar to gathering up with a crew of wetsuited swimmers before a big bay swim, may you feel that you are part of something bigger. You feel you are part of a kind of sub-culture of weekend athletes.

At the end, me and the three other guys I was with were near dead. My lungs windpipe had a weird pain in it when I breathed, like it was overly exerted. The biggest guy in our crew bonked at midway and grunted the rest of the way -- more than I could have. The two other guys could barely look at the salad & pasta they served us at the end -- the heat and the riding nauseated them.

One of the guys commented on how I seemed so fresh after having done a century with so little training. He had no idea how much my ass and balls hurt at that moment.

How the Hell am I gonna do this?

A friend at worked persuaded me to do Foxy's Fall Century on the 18th out in Davis.

Did the Metric Century 2 years before. Wasn't bad at all.

But that was 2 years before, when I was a more dedicated athlete. And that was on 66 miles, not 100 miles.

Like the Tiburon Mile, I wanna do this to get back into doing the things that made me feel good about myself. I also haven't done a big bike event in a long time.

The past weekend's riding though, hit home how much my lack of bike riding could cost me.

Saturday went out with the Grizzly Peak guys on their second saturday ride. Wasn't hard, only 30 miles -- but on the toughest and most beautiful of the East Bay hills. Three bears, Pig Farm road, Wildcat Canyon.

When I've done these before it wasn't bad at all. Usually I picked a slower group or went alone. I made the mistake this time of trying to hang with the hammer group. I kept up -- but it chewed me up bad.

On the plus side of it though -- the three bears are such an incredible rush. Sure, mashing it up the hill without a granny gear behind guys stronger than me sucks. But the 3-4 mile long downhill descent at 40 miles hour, wind in my hair, bugs in my teeth, my specialized allez between my thighs...

MMMPPHHHH!

That's a rush.

My legs were paying for it the rest of the day though. Started getting an odd feeling at different times in my knees. It was the distinct kind of pain that comes from cycling. Running doesn't do that to me.

I probably should get a new training bike with a granny gear. Mashing it up these hills with what I got now probably isn't such a good idea -- given the uneven training schedule I maintain. Can't even conceive parting ways with my specialized allez. Sure it's early 90's tech, and a source of trash talk with my brother. But it's served me well -- can't dismiss that.

Next morning I went out with the Sports Basement crew. Deliberately took the slow group. They took me on a 33 miler up the side of Mt. Tam via Mill Valley that I had never come across before. Lot of switchbacks through a residential area. They were merciful -- the ride leader was not seeking to destroy anyone even though he could of. Had a lot of stops to regroup, probably too many.

Amusingly, the best climber on the crew was this high maintenance woman from either the UK or Australia -- couldn't completely make out her accent. She got mangled on the flats -- from behind you could tell she didn't understand the value of high RPM & cadence. But being scrawny, she was a natural climber -- even as she whined about each of the hills we were knocking off -- she conquered them better than the others in our crew.

It was without a doubt, though, the most beautiful ride I had done in a while. There was one spot we stopped at, about 2/3 of the way of the mountain. It was just a rest area with a pair of outhouses and a bar/inn across the street. It was too tempting to stop there for a beer.

Back to the rest stop.

I swear to God -- it had the most scenic outhouse I've ever been to. You step out the door after doing your business. On your left -- you see the bridget that connecst Marin to Richmond. Ahead, is the Pacific. In between -- the foothills of Marin leading up to Mount Tam.

Also passed by this place which is the Austrian/German clubhouse that I had heard about so many times during the past 3 years. It's the spot where every 3 months they have an open house -- beer, sausages, music, and the lovely view. I guess it reminds them of Bavaria.

Even though I took it easy, the hill climbing still hit me. It was all down hill from Mt Tam down to Mill Valley, and flat as a pancake from Mill Valley to Sausalito. But it was on those flats that I began feeling the fatigue in my legs. It was hard to maintain the fast speeds comfortably. I'm also thinking maybe its not a good idea to get into a bad ass tuck and bombing it downhill. Your legs don't move -- they get stiff. The day before on the East Bay there were even moments during the downhill where I could feel my feet becoming numb from a lack of circulation.

It was worth it though, for the climb, and the view on the way home. Right on the Sausalito waterfront, there was a great view of the Fleet Week airshow. Some of the aerial teams flew in low over Marin after performing -- so I got treated to low flying antique jets in formation coming over me.

Don't know -- it's not very patriotic, but the Blue Angels F/A-18's don't do anything for me. Some of these older jets and foreign jets that the other acrobatic teams fly are cooler as far as I'm concerned. I think one group might have been flying F-86 Shooting Stars -- antiques, but classy in their own way.

Also -- since he loves to show off his ride, the Maltese Falcon owner pulled up to Sausalito's waterfront as well. So going along there -- I got jets, I got the city skylines, and I got a drop dead gorgeous clipper ship.

Maybe blowing out my knees was worth it.