nina

on the way to the start of the mt. diablo climb we met nina on her saluki.

mercedes and lovely locks of hair

tuesday was day two for another epic climb. we were heading to mt. diablo. we saw a few local cyclists going there too, and i'm sure there are a lot more on the weekends as it's a popular climb.

off to work

sarah heads off to teach spanish to rich kids.

the descent

21 miles of this... or so i thought. i didn't know it yet, but i had a lot more climbing ahead of me. after this road decends to hwy 1 you turn south and start heading back around and up the south side. i bonked shortly after this point and it made the last 10-15 miles of climbing back inland to mill valley on the other side the hardest i've ever done. it had been windy all day, but now it was getting pretty cold. my swobo arm and leg warmers were great, but i had just a cycling cap on my head. i should have brought a stocking cap too. out on this stretch of hwy you are pretty much alone, and that means no place to refuel or recuperate. atleast the views of the ocean helped me forget the pain in the legs.

at the top

made it

clouds

rounding the northwest side, still a ways from the top but getting closer.

alpine lake

after climbing in the shade of tall pines the road decends down to the lake, and then the climbing starts again.

dark forests

in the first hour you climb through the trees. i saw only a few other cyclists, and one car passed me. that was it... you are quite alone on this road.

fueling up in fairfax

road to mt. tam

getting route suggestions from the guys at bicycle odyssey.

sausalito

clif bar girl

on my way into san fran to start my b-day assault on mt. tamalpais ride, i met melissa on the bart. she works for clif bar and was on her way with some other company peeps to do some riding from south san fran to santa cruz and then make their way to sea otter. we chatted awhile and she convinced me to do the full mt. tam loop, which turned out to be an epic ride indeed. thanks melissa!

sharing the lane

most of the streets downtown have a bike lane.

buena vista

the climb to the top of buena vista park is freaking steep but the views were worth it.

haight-ashbury

cruising through the haight... i saw roadie hipsters, brakeless trackies, and chic ladies. you see all types on bikes in SF.

ocean beach

i met georgia and darin as they were hanging out on the beachwalk. i liked the bling on georgia's bmx getup, and darin was riding a wicked track bike. the detail i liked most about his rig was the spoke card of his cat panter.

absolutely perfect

after golden gate park we headed for ocean beach. couldn't ask for more perfect weather.

pirate cycling league SF style

i got there too late to jump in on the race, but there still was a good crowd hanging out for a while afterwards. i met a few peeps and talked bikes for awhile. they were diggin' the t-check. the atmosphere reminded me of our own PCL.

sunday in the park

apparently on sundays they close off some of the roads in the park to cars. there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the weather. there were people walking, blading, picnicing, dancing... and kids (siblings i assume) fighting over a bike.

mwc colors in sf

heading to golden gate park for the race put on by the soilsaloon people.

o-town kitty

i was tempted to take this little guy home with me.

riding through oakland at 2am

i was told that riding through here alone at this hour was not a smart thing to do. apparently this is what i rode through. i assume it's mostly gang related, so nerdy looking mexicans on a bikes are in the clear. sure, i saw some sketchiness, but i had no problems.

heading home

or so i thought. i was on the wrong train (not all the trains go through the same transfer stations at this hour) and was heading toward south oakland. i'd have to ride home from there.

benders

SF has biker bars. benders features live music and they let you hang your bike up inside. wardog played a mean set.

tenderloin

after grabbing some kickass indian food we headed for the tenderloin to catch a gallery opening that sarah had a piece in.

robin

she's an artist, rides a cross check, and is fast = pretty cool biker girl. thanks for showing us around robin!

party on the bridge

we pulled up and this biker chick on a black c-check says 'whoa, looks like a cross-check party'. after talking bikes for a bit, the sun set and we headed back into the city. robin took us on a flyer through the presidio and golden gate park. her cross-check was setup ss with what looked like a 39x16 gear. she was fast, even on the hills. better keep up or you'll be lost.

t-shirt weather

i lucked out big time arriving on the perfect weekend in SF. it was like 75-80 degrees, which is unheard of for down in the bay. sarah and i were in t-shirts as we hit the bridge.

fillmore st.

getting some caffeine in pacific heights.

heading into SF for another fun night

ready for the hills

my first morning in cali, i set right to overhauling sarah's bike. i added a 34t inner chainring, an xt front derailler, and put on a 11-32 cassette. now she can ride up almost anything.

sf bike chicks

ginger messing around. we had just ate some burritos at the farolito in the mission.

finally

my flight was delayed in denver which made for a long day. upon landing i put the t-check together at the airport to make sure it was ok. i was about to take off for the city but i was running late to meet up with friends for dinner in the mission, so i ended up taking the BART.

it fits

prepping for my san fran trip, i've been practicing breaking the bike down and building it up. it should only take me 15-20min at the airport.

supah G

gina and i making the rounds tonight at some galleries .