It rained for most of the day on Monday.  Which was fine with me because I had planned on being off the bike all day anyway.  I was pretty tired from the riding over the weekend and my fingertips were still numb from Sunday.  Yuck.  When I looked out the window on Monday afternoon and saw nothing but rain and cold, it was very comforting to know that all I had to do was walk to the subway to get home.  I hit my $5,000 Lifecycle pledge goal on Monday which makes me very, very happy. Thanks so much to everybody who supported me! You're the best!

The weather didn't look much better on Tuesday, but I had a Lifecycle training ride in the afternoon and I had to at the very least show up at the Golden Gate Bridge to cancel it.  I came down Market in the rain in the morning and then headed towards the Presidio mid day.  I got a flat tire on Van Ness and North Point and I was amazed at how much glass I pulled out of my tire before I fixed it.  I also concluded that the tire itself was well past it's change-me date which added another errand to be run on Wednesday.  Two riders plus Buz my co-lead showed up for my Lifecycle ride and the weather turned out to be OK so we rode a reduced Tiburon Loop.  We cut out Camino Alto because they were doing construction and I was concerned there would be big metal plates and they would be wet.  Here's everybody in Tiburon:

I got home a little before 6PM.  I took a shower and ran some treats over to Grady who's on the mend.  then I headed home for dinner and we went to bed early.  I was beat. 

Bike Mileage:

Today 45.8 Week to date 45.8 Month to date 609.0 Year to date 2,918.3 To Goal 5,081.7 Over (Under) plan (84.4) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,330.0) Rolling Year 6,906.3 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,423.8

Sunday was our Lifecycle training ride and it was pretty fucking miserable.  The news was divided about how much rain they thought we'd get on Sunday but it was bound to be some.  It rained all night but it was clearing off when I got up and I figured the ride would be a go so I headed over to Sports Basement.  Here's the sun rising behind Crissy Field:

We only had a few riders so we sent the sweep vehicle and some of the ride leaders home and headed off.  It was very, very cold and my fingers were numb by Sausalito.  We got a few sprinkles but it was pretty dry as we headed over to San Rafael.  I got a couple of pics of pretty China Camp State Park:

We got rained on at the Marin Civic Center and then again before we got to Big Rocks on Lucas Valley but it was clearing off again as we headed to the top of the valley and it was gorgeous at the top:

Beau and Buz:

From there we headed through Nicasio and over to Point Reyes Station where, much to my horror, we were told that Whale of  Deli wasn't making Burrito's that day.  They told Buz that they thought they would save some money but not turning the grill on.  Not OK.  Not even a little.  Why didn't they just lie and tell us the pilot light went out or the burrito chef got deported or something like that?  Anything other than "We didn't really give a shit so we didn't bother" would have worked.  Mr. Poe suggested that I call the day before from now on and confirm that they've got it together before looking forward to burrito for fifty miles and instead eating oreos.  We got hailed on as we headed south on the one but that didn't last very long.  Thankfully, I had feeling back in my fingers by the top of White's hill.  I got home about 7PM which made it a 13 hour day.  Ouch.  I had a massive dinner and enjoyed it very much.  I managed to stay up until 9PM which seemed very, very late.

Bike Mileage:

Today 97.3 Week to date 275.2 Month to date 563.2 Year to date 2,872.5 To Goal 5,127.5 Over (Under) plan (86.4) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,270.4) Rolling Year 7,084.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,378.0

When I woke up on Saturday I learned via Facebook that our good friend Grady had been seriously injured in a bicycle accident the day before.  He's very banged up but the prognosis is pretty good.  Let's all pray that he has a speedy recovery.

Saturday was our monthly jersey ride for Different Spokes.  It didn't begin very well.  I showed up about 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave as I always do.  When I got there I realized that most of the board was on another ride and that I'd be facilitating it myself.  Which isn't a problem and I'm glad to do it but I needed to have sign in forms and I should have been there 20 minutes earlier.  Luckily I had a couple forms in my bag and I even had maps so no foul.  Yes, I vaguely remember David Gaus telling me something about this some months ago.

Wanderson met us at the bridge which is always a special treat. 

Eric:

Thomas Outt:

I swept the ride into Tiburon and got some pics of Thomas as he headed down Paradise:

Wanderson and Eric in Tiborun:

We headed over to Belvedere as we typically do and it was very cloudy but the view was still really nice:

Super cute James De Vinny:

I rode with Wanderson, James and Eric back to the bridge and we made really good time.  I got a shot of James at the Golden Gate Bridge:

I got home at 2:30 to a very, very pouty faced Mr. Poe.  Turns out that the pack of tamales in the freezer were vegetarian and it broke his little heart.  However it was good for me and I eagerly scarfed them down for lunch.  So fucking good.  My vegetarian tamales are amazing and likely the only reason to keep me alive once the revolution comes.  Then I got cleaned up and we headed down to Union Square.  I dragged Mr. Poe with me so that I wouldn't go home with another pair of shoes for him that didn't fit him and we also brought Ashley Jr.  He never gets to go!  Rufus threw an enormous tantrum when he realized that he wasn't going too.  It was epic.  Ashley Jr. was very, very nervous on the subway going down and then totally dazzled by all the people, sights, and smells of union square.  Particularly the hot dog stand. 

We made our way over to Prada where they were having a fund raiser for something or other.  Sadly, we it made it too late to get free champagne.  They had the ugliest models I'd ever seen.  Seriously not pretty.  If those women were models than all you need to model is to be super tall and to have thrown up everything you'd ever eaten because that's all they had going for them.  They had not pretty faces with angry scowls on them that I think was supposed to be modelesque but in fact just looked pissy and they had bruises all over their legs and looked like junkies.  And they were modeling these ugly sundresses that were not flattering.  Sadly, I didn't get pics of them.  Mr.  Poe thankfully was able to resist looking at price tags and ended up picking out a different pair of shoes than I had gotten him.  They look great and fit well and I think he'll get a lot of use out of them.  Here he is holding a seriously over stimulated Ashley Jr.:

Me:

We headed home and made dinner.  I tried to make a not deep fried version of flautas by brushing the filled corn tortillas with oil and then putting them in the oven on a rack.  They were very good but you can't beat deep frying.  After dinner we got cleaned up and wet to bed.  It had been a very long day.

Bike Mileage:

Today 49.7 Week to date 177.9 Month to date 465.9 Year to date 2,775.2 To Goal 5,224.8 Over (Under) plan (161.8) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,240.7) Rolling Year 6,987.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,280.7

Friday I took the day off of the bike and came down into work on Muni.  Over lunch I headed into Union Square to get Mr. Poe some new dress shoes.  I've concluded that shopping for Mr. Poe is much easier without him because he can easily become baffled by too many choices and shocked by how much things cost.  I found him a cute pair of rubber soled dress shoes and took them home and then spend a full 90 minutes trying to troubleshoot some issues I'm having with my work laptop with tech support without resolution.  Not their fault, it's just complicated.  After work I grabbed the wine I'd brought for the occasion and headed back to Union Square for my hair appointment.  I got to Anthony @ Pastel by the way and he is highly recommended.  Here I am in the elevator heading up to the salon:

Here I am in process.  I always feel like the alien queen in some 50's sci fi movie when I've got all the foil in my hair.  OK maybe I feel like an alien queen all the time.

I got done about 8PM.  It takes forever to look this cheap.  Anthony gave me a ride home and I had some dinner before bed.  Sadly, Mr. Poe's shoes were too big and would have to go back.

I'm a measly $215 away from my $5,000 Lifecycle goal.  I'd really appreciate it if you would pledge me if you haven't already.  The Lifecycle is less than a month a way and I'm really looking forward to it!

Click here to pledge me for the ALC10!

Thursday was bike to work day.  Although I love the idea of bike to work day, in practice it's a bunch of people who don't know they're doing all trying to head downtown at the same time while well meaning volunteers keep trying to throw you free stuff at random intervals.  It's what the kids would describe as a 'shit show'.  So I went into work very, very early and avoided all the drama.  I headed home for lunch and then went for a nice ride after work.  I headed off Columbus to Stockton to North Point to Van Ness to Francisco to Laguna to Chestnut to Lyon and into the Presidio at the Lombard Gate.  I headed over to Arguello and stopped at Jackson for a pic of Sutro Tower:

I continued on Arguello to Lake to Clement.  This is one of the many pretty commercial buildings on Clement.  I remember we used to get donuts here all the time back in the day when I could stay up past 9PM and I used to go on epic walks in the evening.  How I miss Mr. Nick:

I continued on Clement and stopped at the beautiful recent Synagogue with it's gorgeous architecture:

I continued on Clement to 34th to Balboa.  This is a pretty building on Balboa at 41st.  It's seen better days, but it's pretty and it has nice detail:

I continued on Balboa down to the coast and stopped for pics of the beach:

Birds!

I met some poor dog walker whose truck was stolen and was stuck at the beach with ten dogs that wanted to go home.  That totally sucks.  I headed down to JFK and went into Golden Gate Park.  I stopped for a pic of the north windmill:

I continued on JFK and stopped at the Conservatory of Flowers for a pic:

Me:

I headed home for dinner.  Mr. Poe was in a bit of trouble for not being very nice but thankfully he apologized up and down so that was the end of it.  After dinner we got cleaned up and went to bed around 9PM.  Of course.

Bike Mileage:

Today 25.3 Week to date 128.2 Month to date 416.2 Year to date 2,725.5 To Goal 5,274.5 Over (Under) plan (167.7) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,255.3) Rolling Year 7,001.0 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,231.0

It was foggy and a bit cooler on Wednesday but dry so I'm not complaining.  I came into work Market to 14th to Folsom to 2nd to Market to Sansome and into work and then headed home for lunch.  After work I headed off 2nd to Howard to 11th to Bryant to 20th to Florida.  I stopped to get a pic of this graffiti inspired mural at Dona Teres Market at 21st.  It's very recent and isn't on google maps yet:

Across the street is Pirate Cafe Radio Cafe.  Which is both a radio station and a cafe.  With vegan donuts.  Note to self:

I couldn't get a good shot of this mural on Florida at 23rd because of the sun but it's fantastic.  it's also very recent:

This mural is at 24th and Florida.  I think the outside seating area is recent and I approve:

Mexica-Tessen.  I love every part of that:

This fantastic Mural is at 24th and Florida:

I continued on Florida to 25th to Valencia to Tiffany to 29th to San Jose to Monterey to Ridgewood to Flood to Hazelwood to Greenwood to Plymouth to Wildwood to Faxon.  I stopped at Southwood for pics:

I continued on Faxon.  This pretty building is at Faxon and Ocean:

I continued on Faxon to De Montefort to Ashton to Head to Holloway to Denslowe to Lyndhurst.  This is one of the buildings in the pretty Junipero Serra playground:

I continued on Lyndhurst to Junipero Serra to Stonecrest to Broadmoor.  This pretty house was all a-flowerin':

I continued on Broadmoor to Stonecrest to Junipero Serra to Rossmoor to 19th to Eucalyptus to Melba to Ocean to Clearfield into 34th to Yorba to Crestlake to Wawona to 33rd to Ulloa to 18th to Taravel to Merced to Hernandez to Portola to Corbett to Ord and home for dinner.  I made Mr. Poe turn off the TV before 9PM and we went to bed.

Bike Mileage:

Today 26.8 Week to date 102.9 Month to date 390.9 Year to date 2,700.2 To Goal 5,299.8 Over (Under) plan (171.0) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,252.1) Rolling Year 7,005.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,205.7

Tuesday I ran my afternoon Tib Loop Lifecycle training ride.  I had a couple of riders show up who intended on riding the Lifecycle this year and this was gonna be their longest ride ever.  Eek! I told them that they needed to be realistic about how far they were going to ride each day and that it would be a better goal to ride every day then to try to finish day 1 and blow out their knees in the process.  I don't think that was the advice they were expecting and I doubt that's what the Lifecycle would have told them but I thought that if I told them that they could probably ride every mile if they powered through it than it wouldn't be good advice and that if I saw them on day 3 taped up like mummies I'd feel guilty for not being more honest.  You never know-- people surprise me every day and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if one or both of them managed to ride the whole thing.  I've got my fingers crossed for them. 

We headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and made our way over to Tiburon.  We had some crazy winds but it was a nice day albeit a little cool.  Here's everybody at Shark's:

Mr friend Stephanie showed up which was an extra special treat!

We made it back to San Francisco by 5:30 which I thought was a really good time.  I said goodbye to the group and made my way over to Immigrant Point for a few pics of the gorgeous afternoon:

Me:

I made it home a little after six right before Mr. Poe.  We had dinner and I watched a move and went to bed.

Bike Mileage:

Today 49.1 Week to date 76.1 Month to date 364.1 Year to date 2,673.4 To Goal 5,326.6 Over (Under) plan (175.9) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,249.5) Rolling Year 6,986.8 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,178.9

It was a gorgeous day on Monday.   Not nearly as windy as it was all weekend which was a relief.  I avoided a panic attack by riding into work Market to 14th to Folsom to 2nd to Market to Sansome and into work.  I headed home for lunch and took Market both ways.  After lunch I did some research on the internets which told me that the paint that they use for bicycle lanes is actually more skid resistant than the pavement underneath it.  I'm not sure that I believe that just yet but I'm working on it.  After work I headed off Sutter to Fillmore to Clay to Spruce to Washington to Arguello to Lake to 8th to Cabrillo to Funston and into Golden Gate Park at the Rose Garden.  The roses are in bloom and it was pretty gorgeous:

.

Me:

the De Young Museum as seen from the Rose Garden:

I headed over to Stow Lake and got a pic of the Chinese Pavilion.  It isn't easy to photograph in the afternoon with the sun setting behind it:

Stow Lake:

Golden Gate Heights from Stow Lake:

I headed over to MLK to the Great Highway and down the coast.  The beach looked beautiful:

I headed up Vicente and stopped for some pics of pretty Saint Cecilia's:

Why the flute?  She's the patron saint of musicians:

I continued on Vicente to 16th to Taravel to Dewey to Hernandez to Laguna Honda to Portola to Corbett to Ord and home for dinner.  Mr. Poe made steamed asparagus as an appetizer.  He hates to waste anything so he seasoned them with the salt and pretzel bits left at the bottom of an empty bag of pretzels.  it was genius-- they were delicious.

Bike Mileage:

Today 27.0 Week to date 27.0 Month to date 315.0 Year to date 2,624.3 To Goal 5,375.7 Over (Under) plan (203.1) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,290.1) Rolling Year 7,013.7 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,129.8

I took Friday and Saturday off of the bike.  Friday was on purpose.  I wanted a day off of the bike as I was planning on riding both Saturday and Sunday.  But Saturday when I woke up nobody had RSVP'd to my DSSF ride and the internets were saying something about 30 mph winds.  So I elected to stay in and watch TV all day.  To make up for it I ate as if it was a ride day.  Mr. Chris dropped off Sofi and Tonisha about 10:30 to much excitement.  Mimi hates them, but she hates them less than she hates Rufus so it isn't so bad.  Everybody was exhausted from all the playing/hating by noon and the dogs spent the rest of the day napping.

Sunday I was a bit more active.  I had my Lifecycle training ride.  The pospeds were all on their annual Russian River retreat so Buz and I had to run it all by ourselves.  I was a little disappointed with the turnout.  We only had about 50 riders and I'd expect so many more at this point in the season.  I hope they're riding on Satudays.  We had lunch at a place called High Tech Burrito.  I didn't have high hopes for it and it was about as good as I thought it was gonna be.  Their guacamole was only OK and the burritos were kind of mushy.  Definitely better than Grilly's but it was no Whale of a Deli.  The guy taking orders was the hotness and partially made up for the mediocrity of their food. 

This is Buz stretching:

Jen and Sandra.  Sandra and I go way back to my first year of training ride leading.  She isn't riding this year because she's busy brewing a baby friend:

Nicasio:

The pond at the Cheese Factory.  Geese! 

On the way home we ran into Ben at Cheese Factory who was midway through some extra human length freakshow ride:

We ran into Courtney, Monica, and Nick twice!  First in Petaluma and then they passed us in Nicasio.  Always a treat!:

The view from the top of the Nicasio Valley Road:

The back of the house:

I made it home at 7PM.  Given that I left the house at 5:30 that made it a fucking long day.  Mr. Poe had my dinner all ready and I was more than a little hungry.  Afterwards I got cleaned up and Mr. Chris came and collected the girls.  Mr. Poe and I were in bed by 8:30 and asleep soon after.  It was a wonderful day!

Bike Mileage:

Today 99.2 Week to date 199.0 Month to date 288.0 Year to date 2,597.3 To Goal 5,402.7 Over (Under) plan (208.2) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,241.1) Rolling Year 7,035.8 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,102.8

Happy Cinco de Mayo or 'Cinco de Drinko' as the kids are saying.  I came down Market into work and made it home for lunch. I totally panicked on the way back to work at the place where I wiped out a couple of weeks ago.  Working on getting over that because panic is never a flattering look.  It was a bit cooler when I left work but the sun was still shining and it was generally gorgeous so I've got no complaints.  I headed off 2nd to Howard to 11th to Harrison to 20th.  I stopped for a pic of my dear friend Mr. Pickle,  sandwich bandito:

I continued on 20th and stopped at Mission for a pic.  I was expecting a little more holiday cheer but I guess it hadn't started yet:

I continued on 20th to Valencia to Tiffany to 29th.  This is the view looking down 29th towards Mission from San Jose:

I took San Jose to Monterey into Santa Clara and stopped in Saint Francis Wood for some pics of the pretty:

I continued on Santa Clara to Portola to Claremont to Dewey to Laguna Honda into 7th to Hugo to 3rd to Frederick.  I stopped for pics of this building which is the San Francisco Circus Building.  It's got such great detail.  Love it:

I continued on Frederick to Cole to Waller to Buena Vista West to Upper Terrace to Roosevelt to 17th to Mars to Corbett and home for dinner.  During dinner, Mr. Poe and I started discussing all the things that had to be done before the Memorial Day party I'd already started inviting people to and had the unpleasant realization that it just wasn't possible.  Which gives me the sads because I like having parties but between our work schedules and my training schedule and the Lifecycle starting the next weekend it's just too much.  It's something we should have figured out before I started inviting people which makes me feel a little stupid but I've got nobody but myself to blame because I'm supposed to be the organized half of our relationship.  I'm just glad we realized this early and not when it's too late to cancel.  Because then we'd back to that unflattering panicking.

Bike Mileage:

Today 22.8 Week to date 99.8 Month to date 188.8 Year to date 2,498.1 To Goal 5,501.9 Over (Under) plan (241.6) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,239.6) Rolling Year 7,015.1 Since Inception 10/1/07 31,003.6