so, how'd ya do this week?

i proposed a question on monday to see if you would try to trick that voice in your head that tells you "no, i can't," to flip it and ask, "why not?"

the past couple of weeks i've been taking page street home, as opposed to "the lazy," (aka the wiggle) as coined by a friend of the blog. i don't think the camera phone does that hill justice, but, meh, you can sorta see why people avoid taking it in large numbers.

and just last night was butter lap. i've had a little bit of a cough and crapola allergies lately, so breathing has been rather hard. and breathing is sort of important while going uphill. and last week i had some tire chorro and wasn't able to complete it even though i had started it.

enough with the excuses and other issues i told myself. i have got to finish it this week, and that's that. august is only getting closer, ya know?

on my way to the ferry building, the wind was so strong i almost got knocked into another bicyclist. he was rather kind about it, and we both just went sort of slow down market street since the wind was relentless the whole way.

the little voice in my head kept nudging me telling me i didn't have to do butter today cause it was gonna be hard.

you know what? it was hard with the headwinds, sidewinds, everywhichway winds. but then if i hadn't i wouldn't have been able to see this along crissy field:

or this at the 2nd stop:

hard, but still did it. so worth it. and...after work i love just riding along the flats looking at the bridge in the distance, watching it wax and wane as i travel around it. its firey orange never ceases to amaze me with its stunning beauty sitting majestic among the headlands greens, ocean grays and skies blue.

and yah, that is why i am glad i flipped it.

so, dear readers, on this day being sunset of the week, i wish you a happy great weekend. may it be full of riding and bikes and stuff. ;)

Here Comes The Sun & I Say......

The rain won't leave Northern California (a blessing, to be sure), but in between showers, we are getting some simply spectacular weather here in SF. It is bringing out the best in us.

Soon the skaters will be demanding more parking, and we will have to consider it.

It is open season for corner conversations.

We grab a friend and hit the road. There are cafés to be conquered! Let's conquer them together! Grab your bike and lets go!

Bless Me Father For I Have Biked

'Tis the season to bless your bike! Everyone seems to be getting in on it. NYC held theirs in April.

Los Angeles will be holding theirs at Good Samaritan Hospital on Wilshire Blvd. on May 18th from 8-9:30 AM (I may be there for that one). This will be conducted at the hospital by the on staff clergy and is a multi-faith event.

Jacksonville, Florida is getting in on the act, ride to follow.

Jackson, Michigan will be holding theirs on May, 8th.

If you are in Italy. you can drop by the shrine of Our Lady of Ghisallo, that patron saint of bicyclists. My guess is they will bless you and your bike there just about any time. You can even pick up a little medallion of the saint to put on your bike like our friend Eric did.



No matter what your belief, a few good thoughts thrown your way can not hurt. So go get your bike blessed!

limits

lately i've been rather enamored of the wnyc show, radiolab. i've been listening it to sporadically at work, despite the interruptions involved.

the most recent episode is called "limits." physical limits, mental limits, that sort of thing. the second story in the below segment highlights the RAAM, or race across america. 3000 miles. 10 days. think you could do it? what about going into it with "minimal" training? would you even want to do this? where does this desire to test oneself come from?

the RAAM segment starts at about 16 minutes in.

(i personally recommend that you listen to the first story too, about a woman who discussed completing the 4th ironman triathlon...)

the radiolab page for this show also has a link for a documentary about the race, bicycle dreams.

so as we venture into another week full of commuting, training, living life, working, whatever, try to think of something you previously thought was impossible and then tell that voice in your head, "no."

see what happens.

have a great monday everyone.

Gloating Cometh Before the Pride

Just a short post here- on Sunday, James (aka Hubby the Bike Man) completed the SF Randonneurs' Russian River 200k ride. He finished DFL and thus retains his place on the semi-official CYLRAB Back of the Bus team.

It turns out that all you need to do to ensure back of the bus status is to ride a completely untested bike twice as many miles as you have ever completed previously after doing NO training.

Of course, after doing this it helps to have a wife to come home to at the end of the ride who treats the over used knees of weekend warriors for a living. Although said wife does get to gloat over the sore knees while she works on them. Especially when said wife usually only sees this husband's rear end in the distance as she tries in vain to get up any hill with some sense of dignity and before the following Thursday.

black & white saturday

walk, walk fashion baby...

happy saturday, everyone! :)

Which Bike Today?

Over at EcoVelo, Alan has arguably one of the most drool worthy private collections of bicycles of all of the bicycle bloggers out there. He has articles on his Country and Commuter bikes. This has inspired me to share my own, impressive fleet.

First up, My Commuter-

You have all seen my Batavus Socorro. After my old commuter proved to be wrong for me, Hubby the Bike Man presented me with this wonderful bike. When I was still working, I used this to get me to work- 18 miles round trip (without child pick up) with a 20 mile train trip in the middle. I wore professional attire while riding it, and that basket in the front was perfect for carrying my purse, my lunch, my jacket... Where I worked in Richmond, CA , there was no car parking on the facility premises and the surrounding area was rife with crime. There was always space in my clinic to keep my bike, which meant no slashed tires or broken windshields.

Next, My Country Bike

With my heavy duty frame and front suspension, my Bat is great on rough terrain. I can use my bike on just about any road out there (except for maybe Downieville, but that's OK). Fire roads are no issue for me.

Now, we move onto my Kid Hauler.

Pick up at the preschool is easy. I pull up to the school, unfold my Bobike Junior, put Declan on the back and off we go. The seat has a folding rack in the back so I can carry the boy's backpack on it. It will carry him until he is 70 pounds, assuming I have not booted him off to his own bike by then. Because the Bat is so damn stable, I am able to carry my very wriggly boy home without feeling like we will tip over (although I am convinced that he wants to see if he can do the whole Thriller dance back there). I still have the Burley trailer hitch on there if I need to carry more than one kid or a big screen television.

Last, but not least, is my Everything Bike.

While I do not work these days, I am always out running errands, meeting people, working to slow traffic in front of my home.... and usually put at least 10 miles of errand riding on it daily, filling up the front basket as I go. After that comes picking up Declan. His school is a 6 mile ride from my home. We usually need to stop for groceries on the way home and pick up as much as will fit on the back rack (we go through half a gallon of milk a day and about 60 pounds of produce a week).

I would be lying if I let you think I have only the one bike, I do not. But I could. It is telling that this bike has about 5500 of the 6000 miles I have logged in the last year and a half. All it takes is one bike that you love to get you riding- until I was given my Bat I couldn't dream of riding like this because I had the wrong bike (too big, not appropriate).

However, if you are looking for a fleet, I can recommend Alan's as one to wish for!