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So yesterday I rode another ALC ride... from the North end of SF, near GG Bridge, up to Marin, all the way up to China Camp (BEAUTIFUL!!! right on the water - amazing!), back down, then hopped on Paradise Drive for the Tib Loop and came home. It was CRAZY windy on the ascent back to and going across GG. So much so that it blew me OFF my bike. I luckily was able to clip out in time to get my foot on the ground, so I didn't eat it and I didn't damage Clyde. But it was rough. So harsh that it sounded like a contant very loud hum of machinery along the bridge, but that was the sound of vibration the metal of the bridge was making from the wind!!!I rode with my lesbians (finally - it'd been forever) but also we hooked up with the 3 J's again! It was awesome to see them again- they're such nice folks and will be additional friendly faces on the ride. And who knows, maybe my first set of East Bay friends!Here's my stats from yesterday...although it's missing about 5-8 minutes of time, probably 200 calories roughly and maybe a mile of distance. I popped a tube JUST before the ascent out of Sausalito, roughly 5-6 miles from our finish. DAMN! Luckily I had lesbians in tow to help :) ! And while changing the flat, JT held my bike computer and then forgot to get it back from her for the uphill to GG. But I got it back before we traversed the bridge. 
Day - Saturday, 4/19Ride Type - Onroad TrainingRide Distance - 64.95 milesRide Length - 5:15:25Avg Speed - 12.0 mphAvg Cadence - 82Avg Heart Rate - 142Max Heart Rate - 190Calories burned - 4849Total Training Distance To-Date: 926.92 miles
My buddies Philip and Craig drove up from the Inland Empire (sounds sexy doesn't it?) and joined me and my neighbor/buddy/tentmate Danny for the Tib Loop. We had fun.Day - Saturday, 3/29Ride Type - Road TrainingRide Distance - 46.89 milesRide Length - 3:50:27Avg Speed - 12.2 mph Avg Cadence - 83Avg Heart Rate - 143
Max Heart Rate - 191
Calories burned - 3771Total Training Distance To-Date: 757.98 miles
Today I finally rode the Tiburon or Paradise Loop as it is sometimes known. It is similar to the official ALC kick-off training ride I did in late October. Except that ride was 20 miles. Today's was 37 and a good bit hillier! My friend Liz was my companion and guide today and we parked at the Presidio Sports Basement. We rode up some hills (right off the bat, dammit), across the Golden Gate Bridge, down through Sausalito, just a smidge through Mill Valley then a gorgeous loop up and around Tiburon, then back through Mill Valley, doubling back all the way through Sausalito, across the bridge and back to the car. The loop was a challenge. The hills in and around Tiburon are no joke. But I got a second wind somewhere there and kicked it into high gear and took the rolling hills in a higher gear and basically put on my racing mindset and I kicked some major ass. I felt so good when my wind ran out I found myself yelling at the top of my lungs. I think mostly out of disbelief that I'm on this journey at all. I began my fundraising efforts in earnest yesterday by emailing everyone in my new firm, requesting donations and citing that if they want an additional last-minute deduction from their 2007 income, to go ahead and donate before 12/31/07. I sent out a short note and also included my rider recap from my roadie experience in 2007 on ALC6. Re-reading my letter brought those familiar goosebumps to my skin and I felt awash in the beauty that I took from that experience. And today, I wore my parking cone orange ALC windbreaker (it was freaking COLD) and when we stopped for coffee before climbing back out of Sausalito, I met some guys who were on the ride last year. It's always nice to meet kindred ALC spirits. :)At this point I'm rambling and my legs are pretty damned tired. But the hills out of Saus are tough. There are sort of 2 natural resting spots in the midst of 3 "portions" of the climb to the bridge. The first time I did this route, I stopped at each of those spots to regroup before climbing higher. But today - I didn't stop once. I took the entire ride in stride. And no, it wasn't fun. It actually was quite a bitch. And my legs HURT. But I did it. My body and my mind continually surprise me in pleasant ways by showing just how it responds no matter how far I push it.
And something really cool - I maxed out at 29.0 mph on some down-straights. When you're on a bike, that's pretty damned fast and both exhilarating and scary at the same time.
Here's the gist of the route we took. It's really wind-y (as in curvey not lots of wind) and covers too much terrain to get in really close, but it's directionally correct. The squigglies in the upper right corner afforded some ridiculous views.
Day - Saturday, 12/1Ride Type - On-Road TrainingRide Distance - 37.0 milesRide Length - 2:55:29Avg Speed - 12.7 mph Avg Cadence - 81 Avg Heart Rate - 148Time in zone - 01:44:11Time above zone - 1:00:15
Calories burned - 2512Total Training Distance To-Date: 352.6 miles
