March 15th - 21st

For the second week in a row, I've ridden over a hundred miles. On Tuesday, I revisited Mt. Diablo. This time just riding to the Ranger Station. I rode up Southgate and back down Northgate Boulevard. On Wednesday, I teamed up with 2 fellow members of TNT to tackle some of the East Bay's most scenic and arduous climbs. Topped it off on Saturday with a 44 mile ride in Point Reyes. All in all a great week in riding.

I've also been reading a book by Lance Armstrong, It's Not About The Bike. He's an amazing man. Period. He's overcome so much with his fight against cancer. He's an inspiration to me and many others like me as we hop on our bikes and go about our training rides.

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?" -- Lance Armstrong

This weeks totals:
Miles ridden: 120
Calories burned: 9,658

Two iconic rides, one short week

This week was a huge one for me!

On Thursday a team mate and I rode to the top of Mt. Diablo. This has been a dream of mine ever since I saw that peak looming over the East Bay. The trip from my house is just over 15 miles, with 4,137 feet of total climbing. The peak sits at 3,849 feet above sea level. It is the second highest mountain top in the Bay Area, and boasts that more of the earth's surface can be seen from it's peak mountain than any other peak in the world, except Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. And I rode my bike to the top!










Then on Saturday I rode my bike over the Golden Gate Bridge. That old bridge has been a piece of my life ever since I was a child. Awe inspiring each time I crossed it. Countless times in a car. Once by foot (with my lovely wife on her 30th birthday), and now once (well, twice - it was a round trip) by bicycle. That day was a 40 mile training ride with Team in Training. We left Crissy Field, went over the bridge, up through Sausalito, Mill Valley, Corte Madera, Tiburon, and back. All while battling a cold that my dear son brought home from preschool... (not the recommended way...)














I'm not sure how I'll ever top this week of riding!

The totals:

Total miles: 104.2
Calories: 7,583
Assent: 6,300 ft.

Rain, rain, go away!

This week my training fell off dramatically. It rained most days... I don't like to go out riding in the rain... I don't like the prospect of crashing (since I ride slick tires), plus I don't like to spend the hour it takes to clean my bike when I'm done...

My rides this week consisted of an hour on the trainer on Tuesday, 12 miles on Friday, and another 30 miles on Saturday. Dismal.

Saturday's ride was a blast, however! The folks from Team in Training went to Sunol and climbed the 'Wall.' To get there was 15 miles of near pure climbing. It was a great ride to test one's endurance to over an hour of pumping.

This week's totals: 56 miles, 4,120 calories burned, 3,000 feet climbed.

Next week's forecast is for clear skys. I'll definitely get more riding in then!

A bit tardy...

Sorry for not updating my blog in a timely manner.  I was dealing with pesky job interviews, all while trying to dodge the rain...

The week of February 22 - 28 was a good one for training, even though it rained quite a bit.  

On Tuesday I took another stab at Mt. Diablo.  This time I rode from my house to the south entrance to Mt. Diablo state park (through Walnut Creek, Danville, Alamo), then up Southgate road to the Ranger Station.  I saw all kinds of riders that day, all trying to get out again between rains!  There were team riders doing pace lines up the road.  There were guys on mountain bikes, knobby tires and all.  There were some older gents making their way up the hill for their umpteenth time.  For me, they were the inspiration.  It showed me that you don't have to become sedentary just because you get older.  From the ranger station I went down Northgate road back home.  I didn't heed the siren call of the summit...this time.

On Friday I road the Three Bears ride in Orinda with my mentor group again.  Saturday brought the TNT buddy ride in Sunol.  We started from the Dublin BART station and road out to a rural mountain road called Kilkare Road.  This road was almost a thousand feet of climbing in about 4 miles.  The group I was in made it to the top of the road first.  As we were descending we saw several other TNT groups just starting up.  Someone had the bright idea of going up again...  So most of us did!  That was a blast!

The week ahead calls for more rain.  Lots of rain.  I get the feeling that I'll be sending some time on the trainer in the garage!

This week's training totals:  84.5 miles ridden, 6,600 feet of climbing, 6,729 calories burned.