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2008 Cycling Log

date miles bike notes
1-1-200830BontyHeadlands Loop w/Carlos. First ride of the new year!
1-6-200845NsportParadise Valley Loop, "Break in the Rain Ride". Rode the fixed gear, left around 2:30pm got home in the dark around 6:30pm. Saw the aftermath of the storms over the past 2 days, lots of rubble on the roadways, downed trees, and even a couple of run-aground sailboats in Tiburon! Packed raingear but didn't need it fortunately.
1-13-200835BontyRode the Bonty over to Mill Valley w/Carlos, met up with some folks from the BB&T list, and climbed up Mt. Tam via Railroad Grade, and dropped back down via Elridge. Fish tacos at Joe's rounded out the afternoon. 35 miles or so. photos
1-19-200883ADVNMet up with some fellow SFRandos who were riding to Petaluma by way of Nicasio. Due to time constraints, I'd planned to head back at Nicasio, but ended up completing the loop with Jim E. instead. 8:30am to 3:30pm. photos
1-21-200838NsportRainy ride to Tiburon w/Carlos. Used new Performance rain pants and Canari gloves. 9am to 1:30pm
1-26-2008137ADVNSFR 2008 200k brevet. photos
2-1-200842NsportCommuted to work 3 days this week. 14 miles per day.
2-2-200850NsportSoggy Ride to Trips For Kids. Rode to San Rafael on the fixed-gear with Carlos to look for silver stems at TfK. Started raining in Larkspur and got worse all afternoon. We stopped for lunch at Cafe Trieste in San Rafael. 9am-3pm
2-8-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
2-9-2008100ADVNPetaluma unofficial century. Rode with Carlos and Greg to Petaluma via Hicks Valley Rd, Marshall-Petaluma Rd (aka Wilson Hill), Chileno Valley Rd, Western, Petaluma Blvd, D Street, Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Rd, Nicasio Valley Rd.. 9am-6pm. photos
3-15-200832FujiTennessee Valley Loop. First mixed-terrain ride of 2008, and my first "real" ride in over a month, a short loop through the Marin Headlands over to Miwok Stables, back to Sausalito via Tennessee Valley Road, and then on home. 32 miles. photos
3-22-200865BontyMixed Terrain Ride to Lagunitas Lake, including Greg's special Marin Headlands Loop out to Cronkhite Beach. 8am-5:30pm. photos
3-28-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
3-29-200860FujiMixed Terrain 101 route with Tarik, Carlos, Jim E., and Jeff photos
4-12-200898FujiAnother challenging, epic day. And by "epic" I mean that things went from anguish to euphoric to saddle sores. UnSEASONABLY warm temps (80Fs in April?). 98 miles door-to-door, 7am to 7:30pm makes for 12.5 hours of saddle time. Rougly 10,000 feet of climbing. Here's the route. photos
4-18-200814NsportCommuted to work 1 days this week. 14 miles per day.
4-25-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
5-2-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
5-3-200836FujiMarin Headlands loop w/Carlos photos
5-9-200870NsportCommuted to work 5 days this week. 14 miles per day.
5-11-200845KogswellParadise Valley Loop. First ride on the new Kogswell 700C P/R! So this is low-trail, eh? Random impressions: I REALLY like the 700x35 Panaracer Pasela tires @ 50psi -- super cushy but don't feel slow at all. The bike certainly felt different than my other bikes, not better just different. Steering felt kinda "slow" but not "heavy" like my CX bike sometimes does...maybe that's just due to tire differences? I could definitely tell that I felt most confident cornering/descending on this bike than any other, it felt totally neutral in fast curves, right in-between the RB-1 w/700C wheels which wanted to understeer and the RB-1 w/650B wheels which wants to oversteer. I still need to dial in the fit/position of this bike so the jury's still out.
5-11-20082NsportGrocery run to the Castro Safeway -- first time using the LoFi Porteur rack -- hauled 13 lbs of groceries home!
5-15-200852NsportBike to Work Day 2008. Rode from SF -> SNV with Erik via the bay route. Got rolling around 5:30am, arrived at work near 10:30am. photos
5-16-200849NsportCommuted to work 3.5 days this week. 14 miles per day. (half day this week because Thursday was BTWD and I rode the entire way in, see separate entry for that)
5-17-200850KogswellRode to the top of White's Hill then back home. Tested new longer/lower stem and different saddle position on the bike -- new stem felt good but saddle still needs more work. Felt out-of-power during the ride, with headwinds and chilly wet fog on the return across the bridge. Crown bolt on front fender loosened up on the ride and started to rattle, so I had to stop and tighten that. Had some problems with saddle comfort and need to look into that. Discovered that front derailleur is mounted too low on ST and chain rubs on *inside/underside* of cage in big/big gear combinations. Pedal Q still feels really wide as well -- different cranks or narrower BB? 2:30pm to 7:00pm
5-23-200856NsportCommuted to work 4 days this week. 14 miles per day.
5-24-200848FujiMixed Terrain 101 Route. Rode with Carlos and Gregg. Caught some rain as I was leaving home but it stopped by the time Carlos and I reached the bridge. Caught some more rain halfway up Railroad Grade, where we decided to bail due to no fenders, no rain gear, and Carlos' leg injury was acting up on him. Afterwards, checking over the bike, there was a bit of water in the seat tube/BB -- odd, since we didn't get hit with any hard rain. Is this just from rear wheel spray hitting the seat clamp and leaking into the post? 8am-2:30pm or thereabouts.
5-30-200842NsportCommuted to work 3 days this week. 14 miles per day.
5-31-200830KogswellShort ride to top of Camino Alto, then back home. Tested longer 120mm stem, lowered saddle, and 700x30 tires on the Kogswell. ride report
6-6-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
6-20-200842NsportCommuted to work 3 days this week. 14 miles per day.
6-21-200823KogswellDid a quick evening Conzelman loop with Carlos. Lowered the handlebars 1cm (feels better), reinstalled the 700x35 Paselas, and installed a cyclocomputer (working) on the Kogswell. 6pm-8:30pm photos
6-22-200817KogswellRode to Sausalito with Dawn, Erik, Stork, and friends; then returned via ferry photos
6-27-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
6-28-200855KogswellMet up with Carlos and Greg for a little mixed-terrain action through the Marin Headlands. First off-road ride on the Kogswell P/R! Later on, bumped into Cyclofiend on his way home through Sausalito, so I tagged along until San Rafael, and then looped back to Larkspur on a new route. Also first use of customized handlebar bag for front-loading on the Kogswell, which was an interesting experiment overall. photos
7-5-200863FujiTraditional mixed-terrain route to Lake Lagunitas with Carlos and Greg. Jim E. joined us, but then taco'd his wheel just after the start and had to bail. 9am-6:30pm. photos
7-11-200856NsportCommuted to work 4 days this week. 14 miles per day.
7-12-200863FujiTraditional mixed-terrain route to Lake Lagunitas with Carlos and Greg. Gino joined us for part of the way! 8am to 5pm
7-18-200814NsportCommuted to work 1 days this week. 14 miles per day.
7-20-200890KogswellHeaded out at 7:30am and hooked up with Chico Gino and Cyclofiend for a jaunt out to Pt. Reyes Station by way of Nicasio. A quick stop at Bovine Bakery for giant scones and coffee, followed by a visit at Black Mtn Cycles, and we were on our way back by way of Olema and SP Taylor Park. Another traditional refueling stop at the Java Hut in Fairfax, then back in Sausalito for a late lunch at Joe's Tacos. Got back home around 5pm with 90 miles on the clock. Weird weather today, overcast all afternoon and it never really warmed up. Also tried out the 30mm trail fork on the Kogswell -- definitely improves the handling with a 10lb front bag, but the bike still shimmys when riding no-hands (now at 18-25mph) and also discovered that the bike speed wobbles at around 40mph. Not too happy about that. photos
7-26-200880RB-1Nicasio Loop with Carlos & Greg. Out via Nicasio, back through SP Taylor park. photos
8-2-2008103KogswellUnofficial Marin Century (http://www.inl.org/bicycle/century.html) with Matt Isaacs. Rode the Kogswell P/R with 40mm fork, front and rear bags, and narrower Nitto B115 42cm bars; bike still shimmied but not quite as bad. 8am-6pm photos
8-8-200814NsportCommuted to work 1 days this week. 14 miles per day.
8-9-200830FujiQuick Headlands loop with Greg. 12pm - 3pm. Bumped into Gino and Claire twice!
8-17-2008125KogswellSFR Russian River 200k brevet. Rode with Gino and Carlos. 7am to 6pm. 11 hours. photos
8-23-200827FujiShort Headlands pavement loop with Carlos. Rode the Fuji with the new Salsa Moto-Ace anatomic-bend handlebars, they are much better than the previous Cinelli bars. Stopped in Sausalito for coffee and pastries. Carlos rode his Gaerlan travel bike! 11am - 4pm.
9-7-200855FujiMt. Tam Loop - Met up with the Cyclofiend for a climb up Mt. Tam via Railroad Grade, then a little loop back 'round. 55 miles for the day. photos
9-13-200864FujiRode up Railroad Grade to the top of Mt. Tam with Greg and Pete, then looped around over Seven Sisters to Alpine Dam, climbed back up and then down towards Fairfax, and then slogged on home. This was a pre-ride for the Box Dog Bikes rallycat next Sunday. 10am - 5:30pm or so. photos
9-14-200812.5NsportBikeride with Dawn! Rode out through the GG Park, where we stopped for hot dogs near the DeYoung. Then we continued out to the beach, and looped around and turned back home. 12.5 miles according to Bikely.
9-19-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
9-21-200863FujiMe an' about 99 other peeps rode the Box Dog 100k Rallycat over the GGB, up Railroad Grade to West Point Inn and then Mt. Tam's East Peak, over the Seven Sisters, down down down to Alpine Dam, up up and then down more to Fairfax, and then back to Box Dog Bikes in the Mission. Fastest time was somewhere around 3.5 hours. I did it in just about 5 hours flat. Overall the ride went off without a hitch, there was no major drama nor shananigans that I know of. It was organized and run as a mini-brevet, with checkpoints and a time card. Oh, and I won a cool Swrve hat -- thanks Gabe! 63 point something miles total for the day. photos
9-28-2008101ADVNPetaluma Deli Century with Robbins and Greg. 8:30am to 5:30pm. photos
10-3-200814NsportCommuted to work 1 days this week. 14 miles per day.
10-4-2008127KogswellSFR Winters 200k brevet. Overall time, 9:40. photos
10-10-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
10-17-200850NsportSF2G ride, Bayway route. photos
10-17-20087NsportCommuted to work 0.5 days this week. 14 miles per day.
10-18-200845BontyCarlos and I met to tackle the usual Traditional Mixed-Terrain Route, but after slogging through the Marin Headlands and up Deer Park Fire Road, we were beat. After lunch and a siesta at the sunny picnic tables at Pantoll, we knew that a shortcut was in order! We dropped down Panoramic Hwy to a connector trail to Railroad Grade, and then flew down that, encountering some trail closures and heavy digging at multiple points along the way. Being on MTBs, we ignored those. Carlos pinch-flatted over a rocky whoop-de-do, erm "water break", and while stopped for that repair we bumped into Patrick S, who was doing a little mixed-terraining of his own after spending some time at Biketoberfest in Fairfax (which I'd plumb forgotten about!). We chatted and agreed that the logical course of action was coffee and pastries at Peet's in Mill Valley, so we hightailed it down there! Refueled, we continued towards Sausalito when Patrick peeled off for home, and Carlos and I continued on up to the Golden Gate. It was cold enough at this point that I had to borrow Carlos' yellow emergency jacket from his pack -- it'd been chilly all day and I never really warmed up. I think we rode around 45-50 miles, and were gone from about 9:30am to 5:30pm. A lazy day's ride indeed! photos ride report
10-24-200850NsportSF2G ride, Bayway route. 6:30am to 9:45am.
10-24-200821NsportCommuted to work 1.5 days this week. 14 miles per day.
10-29-200850NsportSF2G ride, Bayway route. 6:30am to 10:10am.
11-2-200812.5KogswellNight ride to Ocean Beach and back. Tried out the new headlight mount and Terry Fly + American Classic seatpost on the P/R. 5pm to 6pm or so.
11-5-200850NsportSF2G ride, Bayway route. 6:50am to 10:15am.
11-7-200821NsportCommuted to work 1.5 days this week. 14 miles per day.
11-8-200847KogswellParadise Valley Loop with Greg & Carlos photos
11-12-200850ADVNSF2G. Solo Bayway route, saw 17 feral cats and 2 cows! 6:40-10am.
11-15-200885RB-1Rode to the Busy Bee Bakery in Inverness with Greg. 7am to 2pm or so. photos
11-30-200830FujiMarin Headlands MixTer Loop. Met up with Carlos at 10am for the quick standard mixed-terrain loop through the Marin Headlands. It was my first ride after fighting off a nagging cold for the past couple of weeks, and as such was a lung-scorcher. Ended up with just under 30 miles. photos
12-7-200814KogswellShort ride through GG Park out to Ocean Beach to test some shimmy parameters on the Kogswell photos
12-12-200828NsportCommuted to work 2 days this week. 14 miles per day.
12-24-200830NsportQuick Sausalito out-&-back with Carlos. We just rode to the end of the Mill Valley Bike Path, and then turned around. I'm guessing this is around 30 miles.
12-27-200850KogswellParadise Valley Loop photos