señor taco’s travels

Chris and I went out for a ride this morning leaving the Rockridge BART at about 06.30. It was dark (thanks Daylight Saving Time) and a bit cooler than I had expected. There was some cloud cover and I knew we’d be riding up into it as we made our way up Tunnel Road.

Once we got towards the top we were chatting about how where we were was one of the worst parts of the ride up, especially if you’re trying to get up there as fast as you can because the road gets a little steeper and they’ve cut down all the trees on the right side. Wouldn’t you know it, we came around a corner and got treated to a spectacular view. There was the crescent moon hanging in the sky and fog as far as you could see, but we were near the top of the clouds so some trees further on were sticking up over the top of the cloud. The sun was just starting to rise and the sky lighten so the trees were in silhouette.

We rode on along Skyline to just past the Chabot Space & Science Center and then back. Once again I didn’t have a battery for my cyclometer so I don’t have any stats, but I’d guess it was about 22 miles or so.

It feels good to ride in the morning again, I’ve been missing it.

Chris and I went out for a quick ride up Old Tunnel this morning. It was cold, but not too cold. Neither of us had done that ride in over a month, but we both made it to Grizzly @ Skyline just fine. My back had been hurting since Sunday (it prevented me from riding) and I felt just fine this morning. It was clear but as we rode up but then the clouds and fog rolled in, making for an interesting downhill.

I’ve got to keep doing that once a week at least when it’s not raining. The dark isn’t my favorite, but it’s doable.

This morning there was a Cycle Buddy Ride for the AIDS/LifeCycle. My first plan, and a good one on a normal day, was to ride from my place in Emeryville over the hill to the Orinda BART to be there at the appointed ride time. When I stepped outside to go and ride early enough it was around 30°F. I quickly went back inside and slept for another hour and then ended up riding to the Rockridge BART and taking that over.

The ride itself was good, if a bit cold. I got to meet more cycle buddies and I had a good time riding with new people. There was ice on the side of the road at several points which was a little odd. I rode a decent pace the entire time. The only issue I had was a the end my left Achilles tendon was sore. Something is out of whack on my bike and I don’t yet know what. I’ll dig deeper into that this week.

Well, I just did a 50+ mile ride and I feel great. I rode pretty fast for the last part of it and I’m really happy with my performance. This was an organized ALC training ride, but I wasn’t an official ride leader. This was also my last ride of the year and I can’t wait to get back out in 2007 and rock on the pedals some more.

This last weekend I spent my Saturday and Sunday doing Training Ride Leader training for the AIDS/LifeCycle. I had a great time and now I’m an official Training Ride Leader.

I’ll be keeping a log here and on my personal ALC page and maybe on my ALC provided home page.

Have a great holiday everyone and I’ll see you out on the road in 2007.

I went with Keeth and CB again this morning on one of our normal Tuesday morning rides. I expected it to be a lot darker than it was, and then CB recalled it was darker before the Daylight Saving Time switch, so that was nice. It was cold though, about 42°F when I left the house. I decided to wear my knee warmers thinking I’d get hot, but I should have worn the full length leg warmers, they’re thicker and would have been better. As a result my feet stayed pretty cold. It was a short ride, just to the top of the hill at Grizzly/Skyline, but it was good to get out again.

Well, between a wedding back east and a cold that turned into a sinus infection I’ve been off the bike for over a month. Keeth, CB, and I went out and did the usual Tunnel Road route. I had one of the best rides I’ve ever done. I was really strong and rode every hill well until the last big one, where I just knew I was a little tired so I backed off (but maybe shouldn’t have). I’m happy that I could get back on the bike and just keep going. I have been in the gym for the last three weeks so that helped a little, but I think my body is now totally built for bike riding, which is both good and bad.

Well, I’ve been back home for a few days now and I’m slowly getting back into “real life.” I had a great time on ALC5 and I’m really happy I made the journey with no problems.

For those that are interested I’ve put up a page to collect information about my experience. You can read my daily notes that I kept on the ride and view the pictures I took during the event.

I’ve already signed up for next year so keep your eyes peeled as I continue training and post bits of wisdom. Oh yeah, I finaly remembered to re-enable comments so have at.

Well, this has been a really good week of training for me. With the exception of a blowout on Sunday cutting my ride short I’ve had good days of riding.

Sunday started with me doing a hill climb up Tunnel Road to Grizzly Peak Blvd. and up that to my friends house behind the UC campus. I was impressed that I made that 13.25 mile trip in 1:26:00.

The work week was all morning rides except for Wednesday. I did between 17 and 24 miles for each of those four rides. Today I went with my friend Matt from work and did a big loop that had some crazy climbing at the end. I was really spent at the end of that climb, but I did it and I know now I’ll be able to do the AIDS/LifeCycle as long as I go at my own pace and take breaks…and stay hydrated…and get good nutrition…..and sleep.

All in all it was my best week ever on a bike. I did 152.5 miles from Sunday through Saturday. I’m debating tomorrow being a rest day, but I’ll probably go out for an easy hill climb of about 20 miles or so and then take it easy the
rest of the day.

Don’t forget, you can sponsor me with a donation for the AIDS/LifeCycle at my ALC page. Thanks!

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this last week I did rides in the morning. I was certainly starting to feel it a bit yesterday, but I’ll just take the day off today and the get back to it on Saturday. I’m happy that the sun is finally coming up earlier now, it’s always better when you can see where you’re going.

I’ve also gotten every thing installed and adjusted to a good place on my bike. The only thing I might do is change out the saddle for one with more cushion to it, but I’ll need to go around and look for a good one for that.