The weather is gorgeous in the bay area this week.  It's perfect not too hot and not too windy.  I came down Market into work on Wednesday and went home for lunch.  After work I headed off Columbus to Stockton.  This is the view looking down Stockton towards Fisherman's Wharf from Lombard:

I continued on Stockton to North Point and stopped for a pic of Ghiradelli Square:

I continued on North Point to Van Ness to Francisco to Octavia to Chestnut to Lyon and into the Presidio at the Lombard Gate.  I headed over to Crissy Field and stopped for pics of the Golden Gate Bridge:

Me:

I headed up to Lincoln and stopped a little west of the Golden Gate Bridge for pics of the Ocean on this beautiful afternoon:

I continued on Lincoln into Camino Del Mar.  This is one of the many gorgeous Seacliff homes:

I continued on Camino Del Mar to 32nd to Clement to 34th to Balboa and down to the coast.  The beach was pretty busy:

I went into Golden Gate Park at JFK and noted that the North Windmill was decorated for some reason:

I took JFK to Stanyan to Page to Duboce to Castro to 17th to Ord and home for dinner.  After dinner I took the dogs out while Mr. Poe did a little gardening.  I was in a baking mood so I made an apple cake.  It looks and smells good but I wondered about it.

Bike Mileage:

Today 25.8 Week to date 77.0 Month to date 166.0 Year to date 2,475.3 To Goal 5,524.7 Over (Under) plan (242.5) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,235.5) Rolling Year 6,999.3 Since Inception 10/1/07 30,980.8

My employer has given me some community service hours and I'm using them to run training rides on Tuesdays for the first four Tuesdays in May.  We're meeting at 1:30 at the Golden Gate Bridge and doing the Tiburon Loop.  I didn't want to get to adventuresome with the route because training rides can take vastly longer than you can ever imagine for a variety of reasons and I wanted to make sure we were done before dark.  Buz is co-leading with me.  The first ride was a lot of fun.  We had four riders show up and they were all a lot faster than we were expecting which was a pleasant and delightful surprise.  We headed over Camino Alto and headed into Tiburon via Paradise.  We stopped at Shark's and the sun was shining and the birds were singing. 

Buz:

Me:

I managed to talk everyone into adding on Belvedere and it was a beautiful day for it.  Here's everybody at the lookout point that DSSF always stops at:

The view was phenomenal!  It was such a pretty day:

I made it home a little before 6:30 which was both surprising and delightful.  I even beat Mr. Poe home.  I stopped to take some pics of the garden before heading upstairs.  The Wisteria has finished blooming and is slowly giving way to leaves:

But the calla lilies are looking spectacular:

The trumpet vine is starting to be covered in blooms:

and the jasmine is blooming and smells incredible:

and we got roses!  Lots and lots of roses!

I'm not sure what this is but they're so pretty and perfect for a moment I thought Mr. Poe was fooling me and they were plastic:

We had dinner and I walked the dogs.  After dinner I struggled again with Chanel Mimosa nail polish which defies even the most earnest attempts at decent application.  The two coats I used on Saturday looked streaky and unpleasant and Beau stared at my toes with disbelief on Sunday before looking at me like I was crazy.  So I went with three coats and that has a more even look to it but I got a little bubbling.  Ugh.  The worst part is it isn't even that flattering of a color but I'm going to master it or die trying.

Bike Mileage:

Today 51.2 Week to date 51.2 Month to date 140.2 Year to date 2,449.5 To Goal 5,550.5 Over (Under) plan (246.4) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,254.3) Rolling Year 6,989.0 Since Inception 10/1/07 30,955.0

Sunday was my Lifecycle training ride and I felt pretty awful for much day.  I was totally rocking Night of the Living Dead realness.  I was tired and sore and miserable until Fairfax where I perked up after eating some Nutter Butter cookies.  From there I felt pretty good until after lunch in Point Reyes Station.  My hip is still tender from the accident on the 22nd and the long ride I did Saturday made it very sore.  I think Beau was a little scared of all the groaning I was making getting on and off the bike.  But the weather was beautiful and I'm glad I went.

Here's everybody stretching before rideout in San Francisco:

Extra cute James De Vinny:

Beautiful Nicasio Reservoir:

Me:

I was pointing directions for a short time at Platform Bridge Road.  It was super gorgeous:

Here are Emily, Buz, and me at the Golden Gate Bridge at the end of the day:

I ate a massive amount of dinner when I got home and got cleaned up and went to bed.  Totally, totally beat.

Bike Mileage:

Today 89.0 Week to date 203.4 Month to date 89.0 Year to date 2,398.3 To Goal 5,601.7 Over (Under) plan (253.8) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,190.4) Rolling Year 7,156.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 30,903.8

Saturday I got up bright and early. Very early as I was still on East Coast time so I was out of bed at 4AM much to the chagrin of Mr. Poe and the dogs.  I had a Different Spokes ride on the calendar and I was worried it was gonna be too much for me but I figured I could always cut it short if I needed to.  Nobody showed up for my ride--  I think the high mileage scares a lot of people off--  so I headed off on my own.  I came down the Peninsula and stopped for a pic Devil's Slide as I came down Skyline:

Google maps had shown me a new bike route down into Pacifica going down Skyline Drive and it was indeed nice riding.  Much less terrifying than coming down on the freeway:

I got a bunch of pics in Pacifica.  It was a gorgeous day and the beaches looked spectacular:

I continued through Pacifica and made my way over to Devil's Slide.  They're finishing up a new tunnel that's going to make transportation a lot easier.  It's very futuristic:

I don't know what these things are but they sure are cool looking:

I made my way to Devil's Slide:

This is the view looking north towards the other end of the new tunnel:

I continued south.  This is Half Moon Bay with always has a bunch of people learning surfing:

I continued  South.  This is Tunitas Creek:

I made my way to Pescadero Creek and then headed into town.  I wanted to stop for a soda and some snacks and to my delight I found that they also had burritos!  They're good-- they aren't as good as Whale of a Deli in Point Reyes Station but they're a lot better than Grilly's in Fairfax.  My hero:

The Pescadero Community Hall:

Pescadero's pretty church.  I think the sign said 1868:

Me:

I started making my inland.  This is Pescadero Creek:

I climbed.  A lot.  This is from the top of Pescadero Creek:

I headed over to La Honda and then over to Woodside.  Things got a little ugly coming down 84 into Woodside.  The road is a nightmare.  No shoulder.  Crappy pavement.  Lots of shade so you can't really see the road.  And, with the winter we've had there was plenty of debris.  So I adjusted my speed accordingly.  About a third of the way down the hill I heard somebody screaming at me.  Not OK.  I tried to move over to the right but there wasn't really anywhere to go and I couldn't make it over far enough for cars to pass me.  At this point I was starting to get a little pissed because there was nothing I could really do and any idiot could see that.  I finally stopped to get a pic and realized that the yelling was coming from two sources.  The first was some old guy in a convertible--  that I could pretty much guess.  But I was also getting yelled at by cyclists who weren't happy with the speed I was going.  So not OK.  I hope the assholes who did that find themselves on unfamiliar rodes in similar circumstances really soon so they can see what jerks they were.  Not cool, Woodside.  This is the picture I stopped to take.  If the view hadn't been so pretty those people would have been treated to a very, very slow trip down Woodside as I tend to slow down a little or a lot when people pull crap like that to reward them for their awful behavior:

I headed into Woodside and contemplated how I was getting home.  I thought about Canada, but I was sick of climbing and I've down that route a couple of times.  I asked a few questions and settled on Alamed de las Pulgas.  It was good riding on mostly bike lanes and deposited me in San Carlos which has a really pretty downtown:

It also has a beautiful Romanesque Revival former train station:

It got ugly after San Carlos.  San Mateo doesn't have great bike routes that I could find.  I ended up on El Camino Real and then Delaware.  I should have headed over to Coyote Point in Burlingame but I opted against that which was a mistake.  It was bad choice after bad choice until I found the Centennial Trail near Tanforan that got me to South San Francisco.  By that point El Camino was wide enough that I could easily bike on it.  I got this pic in Colma.  I was feeling so beat by this point that I thought I could save everybody a step by just stopping here:

I limped home and had dinner.  I felt reasonably strong on the bike but I'm still working out a couple of injuries from my spill on the 22nd.  I got cleaned up and went to bed.  Long ass day.

Bike Mileage:

Today 114.4 Week to date 114.4 Month to date 885.2 Year to date 2,309.3 To Goal 5,690.7 Over (Under) plan (320.8) YTD Mileage vs Last Year (8,160.4) Rolling Year 7,080.9 Since Inception 10/1/07 30,814.8