I rode almost 90 miles today! We met bright and early at the sports basement in the Presidio for a 7:30 departure for the CAT2 series ride. We had to make sure we got an early start because there was an MS walk and they were closing the bike lane on the bridge at 8:30. We went Fairfax to Nicasio to the Cheese Factory to Point Reyes Station to Lagunitas and then back through Fairfax. It was a beautiful day, but a little cool. Once again I was glad I was in many layers.

I didn't have to direct traffic until after lunch so I was able to ride with the main pack for a lot of the day, which was a treat. Here's Tia in Fairfax

Here's a pic of a demure me lounging at the pond at the Cheese Factory:

And some of the boys getting ready to head off:

One of the riders had an especially unlucky day because his chain broke right before the Cheese Factory which was pretty much the most remote place on the ride. Ben tried to fix it by removing the broken link and then reassembling the chain.

I was totally impressed by his mechanical ability. My response would have been to stare forlornly into the distance and mutter "Can't someone help that poor man??" Unfortunately, Ben's mechanical wizardry was for naught because the deraileur was also damaged and he couldn't fix that. That sucks.

I spent several hours pointing at the turn onto the bike path in Samuel P Taylor park. It was kind of tricky because it was at the bottom of a hill and there was a little gravel at the turn so we had to get the riders to slow way down so they could make the turn without wiping out. At first, the lovely and talented Stephen Billars was helping me direct traffic but he hadn't eaten, so after a while Bob Katz took over so Stephen could go get some grub. Here's Bob hard at work:

I didn't have to sweep today (thank you Sandra and Michael!), so I headed home at a pretty rapid pace. Coming down White's Hill is always a challenge because the road isn't graded correctly, there's road debris in the shoulder, it's a steep hill, and there's a lot of traffic. I grabbed the whole lane as I came down which was the safest option for me but outraged the minivan behind me and the driver honked at me repeatedly. When I got into Fairfax Ben told me that one of our riders had wiped out on that hill , but likely wasn't seriously injured although they had taken him to the hospital. Minivans can honk at me all they want .....

Helped a nice couple who wasn't on our ride fix their flat and the girl with the flat had THE DIRTIEST bike. I was filthy when I made it into fairfax. Apologies again to the girl who I forgot to call out "On your left" when I passed her on Camino Alto. When I was heading up out of Sausalito, I saw this cool ship in the bay. I think it's a Junk:

Then I went home through the Presidio, down Arguello, and through the park. I went through down Haight (Caution: Hippies) and then up over Ashbury to Clayton to 17th and then down to Ord. Jeff made me an enourmous dinner (fried tofu with sassy sauce and chow mein noodles and a green salad laden with beets) which was really, really good. I'm pretty beat so I'll be going to bed early. I'm looking forward to getting up early so I can go riding before work.

I still haven't made my pledge minimum and would really appreciate it if you could pledge me if you haven't already. Here's the link so that you can pledge me on line:

Pledge Joseph!

And thanks again to all the words of encouragement from my very special cycle buddy, Kari Boatner, who is also a hottie:

I woke up early this morning because I wanted to get a ride in before the rain started. Well I got half a ride in before the rain started. The trick to training in the rain is to get as far away from home as you can before the rain starts so that you have no choice but to ride in it. I took Corbett up to portola and then rode over to Miraloma where I rode around Monterrey Heights for a while and then across Ocean into the Ingleside. The Ingleside is very pretty in the morning

Then I headed over to brotherhood way on the border of Daly City. Saw some good advice in sign form:

Then I went down Brotherhood Way. Here's a pic of the Greek Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity. So modern!

Here's me in my new red jacket which is just as waterproof as the old one but without the Hefty bag effect.

And then around Lake Merced over to the Great Highway. The rain started coming down pretty hard when at this point so I cut short my ride and decided to head home through the park. Where I saw two things of note. The first was the lovely and talented Julie Brown on a training run for her marathon. She was moving too fast to get a picture. The second was tulips at the windmill in the park! In the seven years I've been here I've never seen them since they seem to last a week and then they're gone. But today, I lucked out:

And then I headed home to warm up. The Wisteria looks beautiful in the rain:

And doesn't Mr. Poe look delighted with it?? Hello Gorgeous!

The rain quit mid day and we headed out to the Palace of the Legion of Honor to see an exhibit on French Jewelry. I was suprised at how much of it I hated. I didn't like the big comedy pieces that were so large that the wearer might as well have just taped money to themselves. Nor did I like the mid century avant garde pieces that were so wierd looking that you weren't sure if they were to be worn or used for some industrial purpose. I especially liked the enamelled pieces and the invisibly set stuff and my birthday is coming up.

We walked around the gardens afterward:

And then headed over to Sutro Heights Park. It's the last remaining piece of the estate of former mayor Adolph Sutro

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Heinrich_Joseph_Sutro

The gardens are still very pretty and we had a lot of fun walking around:

We then headed over to the renovated cliff house and down to the remains of the Sutro Baths. I'd never been down there before and it was totally cool. I want to go back when it's warmer and not so windy.

From there we headed back to the windmill because Jeff wanted to see the tulips for himself. Here's a great pic of him in front of some pansies. Hello gorgeous!

and one of pansies in front of pansies.

I've got a big ride tomorrow out to the Cheese Factory! Can't wait!

I went for a similar ride this morning to the one on Thursday. Up Corbett to Portola, down Woodide to Dewey to Taravel. Here's a pretty pic of looking up forest hill from Durantes:

The weather was so beautiful at the beach I wanted to move there. Not so much wind, shining sun, warmish, delightful. Don't I look delighted??

But soon the fog will roll in and stay there until, say, September. So I think we'll stay put in the Castro. Instead of coming up on Geary, I took Cabrillo which has a nice bike lane and far fewer lights than Geary and is faster, safer, and all around better of a transit route. From there I rode around USF over to Golden Gate and took Golden Gate to Laguna to Post and then in through union Square. I love my new red jacket that I got from Pearl Izumi. I need to get a couple new fleeces that go under it but then again, there's always a ton of bike stuff that I need.

Jeff came and took me out to lunch.  I love it when he does that.  We took a little walk through Chinatown after lunch.  Hello gorgeous!

Then we headed over to Tiffany's to get our wedding rings polished.  I hadn't realized how crappy mine was looking until we got them polished.  Now it looks new again.  The glamour!  Then we we headed over to Macy's to check out the flower displays.  Union Square was especially pretty:

I think the displays at Macy's were better last week when they were fresher and they were only OK.  Tried a few new fragrances but found nothing that suited me.  The Fresh Patchouli smelled like a mixture between Certs and Nyquil.  Ouch!  It was better on the dry down but who wants to smell that??  After that we headed down to an art gallery to see my friend Lisea's photographs.  Very, very pretty.

Walking back to my building we looked at the Flood Building that is slowly be converted into the new Ritz Carlton Residences.  It was the ugly, white, washington Mutual building when I moved here and I can't believe that they ever covered up this gorgeous facade with that cheesy sixties veneer.  It's hard to photograph but it's a beautiful beautiful building and I can't wait until it's finished.

Thursday, April 12

I spent a good part of Thursday on my bike. I got up early and took Corbett up to Portola to Woodside to Dewey to Taraval and then down to ocean beach. It was pretty windy at the ocean but really pretty. Here's a pic of a cargo vessel carrying USA made crap somewhere else:

I came back on Geary which is busy but pretty in the morning and then took Masonic to Presidio to Post and came in through Union Square. I felt pretty good and it was really cold but lots of fun. Jeff's still on spring break so I went home for lunch. Jeff made me an enormous lunch that included ribwich, french fries and both a fruit and a green salad. I was stuffed. What is a ribwich you ask?? Do you remember the McRib sandwich from McDonalds?? Would you be more inclined to enjoy such a thing if you knew it was a vegan item completely unincumbered by meat and whatever gruesome process it took to get meat into that shape? If so, the ribwich is the lunch for you.



I managed to make it back to work without blowing any spokes and got a lot of work done before the end of the day. I went for a long ride after work as well. I had class, so I had to end up at city college. My goal was to do the big hill heading into McLaren Park on Mansell up from Bayshore. It isn't easy getting to Bayshore and especially not at rush hour. I started out by taking Third street down to 16th st. The new mission bay construction is so cool! It's going to be such a neat neighborhood when they're done! From 16th, I got over to Pennsylvania St to see some of the original houses on Potrero Hill. So pretty and the views from up there were fabulous.

Then, I tried to get to Bayshore. My first attempt was the bike path off of Cesar Chavez under the 280. It unceremoniously dumped me back on Cesar Chavez going the opposite direction than I had started. Ouch! So I took some side streets and miraculously found a bike route that got me down to Oakdale. There's this random Restaurant at Oakdale and Bayshore called "The Old Clam House" that claims to be from 1861. The building looks old enough for that but you gotta wonder how a restaurant without a drive through window could stay open in that neighborhood. Bayshore and Oakdale with no parking. Ouch!

I had to wait for the crack ho to trundle by before I could take these pics. Sketchy! From there I headed down Bayshore but ended up in the wrong lane at another freeway crossing and ended up on Alemany on a busy street without much of a shoulder. Disaster! I managed to survive it and finally crossed at St Mary's Park. I'd pretty much given up on going up Mansell as it was pretty late, so I thought I'd just go into the park up to the overlook at Visitacion and Mancell that I like and leave it at that. I wasn't able to find the side entrance to the park. I don't know how I missed it. It's on Cambridge FYI so I ended up way too far over and finally connected with Persia. At this point I needed to get to class so I abandoned the idea of McLaren and headed to City College. I managed to photograph some of the beautiful murals on the side of a school at Persia and Moscow in the Excelsior.

 

Then I took Ocean up to class. I rode home the usual way. Tersesita to Portola to Corbett to Ord. Jeff left me a huge dinner-- I love it when he doesn't have to go to work. I was not allowed to speak while "Ugly Betty" was on. I went to bed early, because I wanted a ride on Friday morning.

It was raining Wednesday morning when I got up and I decided not to ride any extra in it so I hung out with Jeff and Mimi and then rode into work.  But by lunch the weather had cleared up so I went for a nice walk up Sansome to Greenwich and then up the steps to Telegraph Hill.  Everything is blooming up there and it's very beautiful.  The famous parrots of Telegraph Hill were out and about squawking and carrying on.  I tried to get pictures but green birds against green trees don't show up so well.

Then I went down to Jack Early park and headed back to work through North Beach.  Got a nice parting shot of Coit tower as I came around the hill.

I got an e-mail mid day that my class had been cancelled and the weather was still nice so I went for a long ride after work.  I went over the bridge and did Marin Headlands:

The deer didn't seem particularily interested in me:

and then came back into town and went up to the Palace of the Legion of Honor and then around Lake Merced and then home for dinner.  It was very very windy.  Kind of like riding into a blow dryer.  But the sun was shining and I had a great time.  I'm loving these longer days.

Tuesday, April 11

I went for a long ride over lunch.  I went out through the mission to Holly Park

and then I took Cortlandt down to Bayshore and came back on Hampshire.  Cortlandt is very hard to ride on because it's both very steep and very bumpy.  But I managed to make it down to bayshore unscathed. 

I'd love it if you pledged me for the AIDS lifecycle and thanks again if you already have.

Sponsor Joseph!

 

We had a great training ride on Sunday.  It was a little cool but the sun was shining and everybody had a fun time.  I  spent a good chunk of the morning pointing at the entrance to Samuel P Taylor state park so that our riders could get off of the terrible road and onto the delightful bike path.

We had lunch in Point Reyes Station.  Here are Ben, Kurt and I looking oh so glamorous.  Well Kurt and I are, at least.  Ben was a little hung over but you know the British and the glug glug.

Here are Kurt and Sandra.  Sandra's been sweeping these training rides a lot this season along with the lovely and talented Michael Fantasia.

A bunch of riders managed to get lost after lunch but we got everybody back at the end of the day.  Ben and I swept end we were done by 5PM which I thought was pretty early.  I went home and ate a mountain of food , sat in the hot tub, and then went to bed.

Saturday, April 7

Mr. Poe took me to THREE Targets to find the grill that satisfied his majesty.  We got it back to the house only to find it in hundreds and hundreds of pieces.  Jeff wanted me to help put the grill together but I saw the following equasion:

Joseph helps with grill assembly = House burns down = Joseph's fault

So I went for a walk instead.  Up by Buena Vista Park some creepy guy told me that I was a clone.  A clone of what?  I wondered... Because if I'm a clone than the Boys from Brazil gold standard has evidently slipped a bit.

Friday, April 6

I went for a ride before work in the fog.  It was cold and damp but the ground was dry so it was OK.  The park was practically too dark to take any pictures but I tried anyway.  Here's a gloomy looking conservatory of flowers:

Over lunch I had to go take my commuter bike into REI to get it worked on.  Walking back to work from there I passed by the cool new Federal building that's going up by the courthouse on 8th St.  Very modern:

After work I then had to walk to Lombardi to get my road bike.  I passed through Chinatown

and then up to Russian Hill where I took this cool pic of the fog rolling in:

My road bike ended up being a lot less expensive to fix than I had anticipated and my commuter bike ended up being more expensive because it also required a new chain.  But now both of them are in great shape which is good news because I'm on them a lot!

I took a nice picture of Mr. Poe with his prized wisteria on the way out of the house this morning. Hello Gorgeous!



I had a nice ride in this morning through Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights into the presidio. The view from the cliffs over the golden gate was spectacular:







Followed by an uneventful ride through the Marina. Until, some guys said to me as he was passing me on his bicycle, "That's a nice gear you got back there." The jury is still out whether he was talking about the bike or me.

Today I was a little tired and I had a lot of work to do and Mimi was missing Jeff and being very clingy so I took a bunch of short walks around town. Mimi isn't the only one missing Jeffery. I hate it when he's out of town.

I took my road bike over to Lombardi to get worked on and I'm hoping it's not going to be super expensive but the fact is that I've put 5,000 miles on that bike since the last time it was in and a few of the parts are going to need to be changed. The Chain, which should be changed every 2,500 miles, is a given. If I'd changed my chain 2,500 miles ago I wouldn't also be worried about my cassette, but I didn't and I am. I'm hoping the wheels aren't an issue yet because that's a big ticket item but I think they should be ok for another season. I'm hoping to switch to Mavic Ksyrium wheels next season..... although I might also be getting a new bike. Ritchey Break Away Bikes are about the coolest thing. The frame is held together with these special couplings that allow the entire bike to be broken down and stored in a piece of regular sized luggage that comes with the bike and then you don't have to pay the bike box fee which is $75 on some airlines. This would allow me to take my bike with me wherever I go because you can easily assemble and disassemble it yourself. Stay tuned!

Mr Poe finally made it back from his business trip at 11:30 and the universe is right once again.

Saturday, March 31

I subbed in for Kurt's Schade's bride of the cat series and the route was over the bridge and out to fairfax, skipping camino alto on the return and doing Paradise Drive to Trestle Glen instead. Kurt wanted to to point at the Trestle Glen turnoff so I hurried up to there. It seemed to me that a lot of riders weren't doing paradise drive at all and had instead just gone back over camino alto. So I did more sunning and less pointing:



Don't we have the best looking riders??







When the sweeps came through we got the word that one of the ride leaders had collided with a parked car and had to go to the hospital with probably a broken collarbone. I had that same injury back in 2004 and it's the worst. Your shoulder gets so stiff when you stop moving and for months it's impossible to get a restful sleep because everytime you move it hurts. Poor baby! I hope JR gets better really soon.

Saw David Gaus on the way back he's just done Alpine Dam and Mount Tam and was wiped out as he should be. That's a tough ride! Good for him.

At the end of the ride instead of going back over the bridge I went and did Marin Headlands out to Point Bonita and then back through the tunnel. My training really seems to be paying off because that hill's getting easier. Still not easy, but easier. The descent into Point Bonita scares the hell of me because the drop off is so steep that you can't even really see where you'd end up if you went over the guard rail but a good guess would be water. When I got back to the bridge I caught up with six of our riders who's left the ride at Fairfax and had gone onto Lagunita, a fifteen mile addition to their day. It killed me to inform them that they hadn't beaten the sweeps in. I should have lied.

When I got back into the city I went through the Presidio to the Palace of the Legion on Honor and then back home through the park. And to make me work a little harder I came home up over seventeenth street through cole valley which is a very very steep hill.

When I got home I snapped this pic of the Wisteria in our garden. Mr Poe has been working very hard on it and it looks spectacular



Friday, March 30

I slept in a little and wanted a short scenic little ride. I came down Market from my house and took Scott to Post to Grant to Clay and then into work. I got a pretty picture of peace plaza in Japantown



and then some of the Macy's building in Union Square. They have this huge banner up for a flower show they've got on. I can't wait to see it!





Then I went to work via chinatown. I defy you to find someone with a prettier commute than me. Well maybe the pope.



I had to go into REI over lunch to get my new tires put on my road bike. I could have done it myself but I'm glad I didn't because the mechanic noted three spokes that were poking throug the rim tape so he had to retape it. That's where all those flats were coming from, and I would have kept getting them if I hadn't got the rim tape swapped out. So I'm glad I took it in. Whilw I was waiting for my bike, I was petting this puppy, named Mato, who was tied up in the front of the store. Border Collie mixed with something. So unbelievably sweet.  I can't wait to get my new dog in June!



After work I did the lake Merced loop and snapped this lovely pic of the windmill on the way:



After Lake Merced I made my way over to West Portal and then came up over Clarendon, a hill I haven't done in a while. Long biking day but I felt great and it was a lot of fun.