Two rides on the half bike this weekend. I wish I had ridden closer to when I had taken the bike skills class. A lot of the fear was back, but I did ride. Jerry and I rode on the path out of Mike's Bikes in Sausalito. I was nervous, but I did it. I finally was comfortable enough to let go of one hand at a time. I did get spooked at the top of a hill, but I soldiered on.
I was absolutely fine until I decided to take one more little lap before putting the bike on the car. That's when it happened. I cut a turn too close, fell and managed to get my leg caught between the handlebars and the bike. I've got a bruise the size of a one and a half egg omelet and a few other scratches and bumps. But I got up and got back on the bike, and I rode it back to the car.
Today we rode through the neighborhood and it felt pretty good on the roads. We have a path that runs through the neighborhood and I did not like that as well. Too many walkers, kids on scooters and dogs. Strangely enough, I feel safer on the road with cars. I'm pretty sure they won't run into me if I stay close to the side of the road.
Tomorrow, we're volunteering to do Bike Valet Parking at the Sausalito Art Fair. We'll ride our new tandem, despite not having any rear brakes yet. It's a short ride and no hills, so we'll be fine.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
No Riding, No Eating
One might ask how in the world an endoscopy could be related to riding, but oddly it is. I had an endoscopy yesterday because when I ride, my usual everyday garden variety of heartburn takes on epic proportions. I won't wander into TMI territory, but let's just say it's really become unpleasant and it's affecting my level of hydration.
So off to the gastroenterologist I went. He's about 12 and a very pleasant fellow. We discussed his recent trip to Krakow before he put me under.
Turns out I have a hiatal hernia. Not totally sure what that is, but after I look it up on the web I'm sure I'll scare the hell out of myself. I go back to Doogie Howser in a month and get more details and see if we can make all of this better. In the meantime, it's a double dose of prilosec for me.
This week, Jerry hopes to finish rebuilding the new tandem so we may be able to ride it this weekend. We will also take a spin on our single bikes, and I'm really looking forward to that. Amazing, considering I dreaded even looking at that bike for the last year. Thank you, Lorri Lee Lown and the VeloGirls!
The new tandem is blue, so we can no longer refer to ourselves as the Green Machine. Any ideas for a new team name would be greatly appreciated.
So off to the gastroenterologist I went. He's about 12 and a very pleasant fellow. We discussed his recent trip to Krakow before he put me under.
Turns out I have a hiatal hernia. Not totally sure what that is, but after I look it up on the web I'm sure I'll scare the hell out of myself. I go back to Doogie Howser in a month and get more details and see if we can make all of this better. In the meantime, it's a double dose of prilosec for me.
This week, Jerry hopes to finish rebuilding the new tandem so we may be able to ride it this weekend. We will also take a spin on our single bikes, and I'm really looking forward to that. Amazing, considering I dreaded even looking at that bike for the last year. Thank you, Lorri Lee Lown and the VeloGirls!
The new tandem is blue, so we can no longer refer to ourselves as the Green Machine. Any ideas for a new team name would be greatly appreciated.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
I'm Single Again
Or at least I rode single today, and to my amazement and delight, it was wonderful. I took the VeloGirls Bike skills class to help me get over my fear of riding my single and it did that, and much more.
The class was pretty large, yet it felt like we all got great attention from the teachers, Sara and Lori. We got on, we got off, we rode, we braked, we slalomed, we had our butt places where no butt (at least on my bike) had gone before.
My single bike is a Bianchi Boardwalk-- kind of a hybrid-- flat bars but 27 gears and skinny tires, so in reality, not the most intimidating bike in the world. But it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't ride it out of my driveway. But today, I rode it around and around a parking lot, and down the road to another parking lot.
And now that I've got some confidence, Jerry and I will ride one afternoon or evening this week so I can keep my skills-- and my confidence-- up.
When I got home we went for a late celebration lunch at Comfort Food Cafe. While I didn't burn all the calories I ate, I felt somehow I had earned them.
The class was pretty large, yet it felt like we all got great attention from the teachers, Sara and Lori. We got on, we got off, we rode, we braked, we slalomed, we had our butt places where no butt (at least on my bike) had gone before.
My single bike is a Bianchi Boardwalk-- kind of a hybrid-- flat bars but 27 gears and skinny tires, so in reality, not the most intimidating bike in the world. But it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't ride it out of my driveway. But today, I rode it around and around a parking lot, and down the road to another parking lot.
And now that I've got some confidence, Jerry and I will ride one afternoon or evening this week so I can keep my skills-- and my confidence-- up.
When I got home we went for a late celebration lunch at Comfort Food Cafe. While I didn't burn all the calories I ate, I felt somehow I had earned them.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Our 15 minutes
Better late than never, Jerry and I were featured in the Marinscope papers, about doing the AIDS ride on a tandem. Here's a link to the article: http://marinscope.com/newspointer/subpage.php?story=Mn2
It doesn't explain anywhere that this is our attire for Red Dress Day. I hope readers don't think we dress like that every day on the ride!
This weekend, we rode up to Lagunitas for lunch, and compared to recent rides, it was a the cliched piece of cake. So much had to do with the temperature. It was sunny and beautiful, but not the unbearable heat of recent weekends. We had a lovely ride. After getting home and showering, we headed to our favorite Comfort Food Cafe and ate many more calories than we burned off.
We were successful bidders on a one-year-old Co-motion tandem frame, and it should arrive this week. We'll be tandemless for several days until Jerry finishes rebuilding the new one, so probably no tandeming this weekend. I will ride on Saturday, though. I'm taking a basic bike skills class the Velo Girls offer. After crashing a year ago, I'm still afraid to ride my single, so my hope is this class will get me over my fears. Who knows, maybe I'll be confident enough to ride on Sunday!
It doesn't explain anywhere that this is our attire for Red Dress Day. I hope readers don't think we dress like that every day on the ride!
This weekend, we rode up to Lagunitas for lunch, and compared to recent rides, it was a the cliched piece of cake. So much had to do with the temperature. It was sunny and beautiful, but not the unbearable heat of recent weekends. We had a lovely ride. After getting home and showering, we headed to our favorite Comfort Food Cafe and ate many more calories than we burned off.
We were successful bidders on a one-year-old Co-motion tandem frame, and it should arrive this week. We'll be tandemless for several days until Jerry finishes rebuilding the new one, so probably no tandeming this weekend. I will ride on Saturday, though. I'm taking a basic bike skills class the Velo Girls offer. After crashing a year ago, I'm still afraid to ride my single, so my hope is this class will get me over my fears. Who knows, maybe I'll be confident enough to ride on Sunday!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Jitters and Shakes
Yes, I stole that from the little place next to the Van Ness Goodwill, but it's fitting for our ride yesterday.
I had an impending sense of doom even before we left Mike's Bikes at around quarter to ten. Temperature was rising and I had flashbacks from the ride over White's Hill a few weeks ago when the temperature was unbearable and Jerry and I finished the ride exhausted and wrung out from the heat.
So something about me was jittery as we set out. I was short of breath and knew my symptoms were a result of nerves.
The climb over Camino Alto, which is usually no big deal, really took it out of me and I was happy for all that flat riding afterwards. We stopped, as usual, in Fairfax, then headed for White's Hill.
But from the very start it didn't feel right, and I could feel Jerry's energy flagging. We stopped once, and then again. At the second stop, almost to the top, I knew it was time to turn around. Jerry really needs a big boost of protein before he rides, and he hadn't had it, and my fears of rising temperatures pushed me over the edge to do a turnaround.
We sailed down White's Hill, and once again stopped in Fairfax. We went to the Fairfix Cafe. Jerry had a chicken gyro and I had a vanilla milkshake that I added cinnamon to. It wasn't the most exciting milkshake of my life, but it was cool and satisfied my never ending ice cream lust.
We hopped back on the bike, and the ride back over Camino Alto was oh, so much easier, though I asked for a stop just to cool off a bit.
We headed back to Mike's Bikes after doing a semi-respectable 27 miles. A far cry from 50, but it's not as if we have any big rides in front of us.
In fact, next weekend, instead of riding the Marin Century, we are going to staff the rest stop sponsored by AIDS Lifecycle. We'll get to see many friends and give a little something back to the organization we feel so strongly about.
I had an impending sense of doom even before we left Mike's Bikes at around quarter to ten. Temperature was rising and I had flashbacks from the ride over White's Hill a few weeks ago when the temperature was unbearable and Jerry and I finished the ride exhausted and wrung out from the heat.
So something about me was jittery as we set out. I was short of breath and knew my symptoms were a result of nerves.
The climb over Camino Alto, which is usually no big deal, really took it out of me and I was happy for all that flat riding afterwards. We stopped, as usual, in Fairfax, then headed for White's Hill.
But from the very start it didn't feel right, and I could feel Jerry's energy flagging. We stopped once, and then again. At the second stop, almost to the top, I knew it was time to turn around. Jerry really needs a big boost of protein before he rides, and he hadn't had it, and my fears of rising temperatures pushed me over the edge to do a turnaround.
We sailed down White's Hill, and once again stopped in Fairfax. We went to the Fairfix Cafe. Jerry had a chicken gyro and I had a vanilla milkshake that I added cinnamon to. It wasn't the most exciting milkshake of my life, but it was cool and satisfied my never ending ice cream lust.
We hopped back on the bike, and the ride back over Camino Alto was oh, so much easier, though I asked for a stop just to cool off a bit.
We headed back to Mike's Bikes after doing a semi-respectable 27 miles. A far cry from 50, but it's not as if we have any big rides in front of us.
In fact, next weekend, instead of riding the Marin Century, we are going to staff the rest stop sponsored by AIDS Lifecycle. We'll get to see many friends and give a little something back to the organization we feel so strongly about.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Co-motions and calmari
It was a weekend all about tandems.
On Saturday,Jerry and I joined the monthly Positive Pedalers ride in Orinda. It was a 40 mile ride through some east bay bedroom communities, with a lunch stop at a cute little cafe in Moraga or Lafayette or one of those little towns. I admit I don't remember which one. Jerry and I split a turkey sandwich.
As we were leaving the cafe, I saw a disturbing site, but what followed was even more disturbing. A family arrived on bicycles, and the preteen son, with his bike, tromped through shrubbery outside of the cafe. I shot a look at his father and asked if he saw what his son had done. He shrugged and said he didn't care. I said, I admit a bit snidely, "oh, you don't care-- they're not your bushes." He shot back, "They're not yours either."
With a dad like that, I hate to imagine how that young boy and his sister are going to turn out. Maybe fine, in spite of their father.
Anyhoo, back to the lovely ride. Lots of rolling hills, but Jerry and I both felt a tug in our heart after riding that Co-motion tandem last weekend. We decided we really need an upgrade in our tandem.
And I decided, after the ride, I needed ice cream. There was an ice cream place near the Orinda BART station, and I got a sugar cone with caramel cashew ice cream. It was heavenly. We sat on a bench in our matching Pos Ped Supporter jerseys, when another couple approached us and asked if the tandem up the street was ours. We told them indeed it was. After all, who else would be wearing matching jerseys. They were former tandem riders, and we had a lovely chat. Maybe we even inspired them to ride again.
Saturday evening we headed over to the new place that Leslie, owner of Theresa and Johnny's Comfort Food Cafe has opened. It's a sports bar of sorts with lots of fried food. We ordered the fried calmari and it was perfect. Tender, not overly coated with batter. Leslie came out of the kitchen and was surprised to see us. I told her how good the calmari was. She told me that calmari, no matter how good it is cooked, can get chewy if you don't buy the best stuff. So, I learned something that evening. Always buy the good stuff. But I think I knew that already.
Sunday took us back to the east bay, this time to a tandem shop, of all things. They carry Co-Motion, Santana and DaVinci. We ended up hanging out there for quite a while, and we'll go back at some point to do test rides. The owner was really pushing us toward the Santana. We guessed that maybe he gets a bigger commission on those, or he really thinks we'll like it a lot. Hard to say, but we'll give them all a try. Buying a new one will be a huge investment, so we may see if we can find a fairly new-used one. We want one with couplers so we can get it in and out of the Cessna to take on little trips.
The prospect of a new tandem is exciting, but a little scary. I'm pretty attached to the Green Machine, but it's time to move on.
On Saturday,Jerry and I joined the monthly Positive Pedalers ride in Orinda. It was a 40 mile ride through some east bay bedroom communities, with a lunch stop at a cute little cafe in Moraga or Lafayette or one of those little towns. I admit I don't remember which one. Jerry and I split a turkey sandwich.
As we were leaving the cafe, I saw a disturbing site, but what followed was even more disturbing. A family arrived on bicycles, and the preteen son, with his bike, tromped through shrubbery outside of the cafe. I shot a look at his father and asked if he saw what his son had done. He shrugged and said he didn't care. I said, I admit a bit snidely, "oh, you don't care-- they're not your bushes." He shot back, "They're not yours either."
With a dad like that, I hate to imagine how that young boy and his sister are going to turn out. Maybe fine, in spite of their father.
Anyhoo, back to the lovely ride. Lots of rolling hills, but Jerry and I both felt a tug in our heart after riding that Co-motion tandem last weekend. We decided we really need an upgrade in our tandem.
And I decided, after the ride, I needed ice cream. There was an ice cream place near the Orinda BART station, and I got a sugar cone with caramel cashew ice cream. It was heavenly. We sat on a bench in our matching Pos Ped Supporter jerseys, when another couple approached us and asked if the tandem up the street was ours. We told them indeed it was. After all, who else would be wearing matching jerseys. They were former tandem riders, and we had a lovely chat. Maybe we even inspired them to ride again.
Saturday evening we headed over to the new place that Leslie, owner of Theresa and Johnny's Comfort Food Cafe has opened. It's a sports bar of sorts with lots of fried food. We ordered the fried calmari and it was perfect. Tender, not overly coated with batter. Leslie came out of the kitchen and was surprised to see us. I told her how good the calmari was. She told me that calmari, no matter how good it is cooked, can get chewy if you don't buy the best stuff. So, I learned something that evening. Always buy the good stuff. But I think I knew that already.
Sunday took us back to the east bay, this time to a tandem shop, of all things. They carry Co-Motion, Santana and DaVinci. We ended up hanging out there for quite a while, and we'll go back at some point to do test rides. The owner was really pushing us toward the Santana. We guessed that maybe he gets a bigger commission on those, or he really thinks we'll like it a lot. Hard to say, but we'll give them all a try. Buying a new one will be a huge investment, so we may see if we can find a fairly new-used one. We want one with couplers so we can get it in and out of the Cessna to take on little trips.
The prospect of a new tandem is exciting, but a little scary. I'm pretty attached to the Green Machine, but it's time to move on.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Co-motion and confit
Jerry and I test-rode a Co-motion tandem yesterday. We took a 15-mile ride around Pinole, where the owner lived. Considering the seat wasn't quite high enough and I was too close to the handlebars, it was a good ride. Jerry said the bike handled well, and it's lighter than our Trek. We climbed some pretty steep hills without killing ourselves, despite it not being geared as low as our Trek. But at $3,000 we're not so sure it's THE bike. Another couple is going to ride it on Monday or Tuesday. We'll see if they make an offer.
Yesterday was Jerry's birthday. We went to yard sales in the morning, then to Barney's for lunch. But dinner was the celebration. We went to Garcon! on Valencia in the Mission. It was very good, though not sublime. We started with salads-- he had the salade maison and I had a salad with arugula, beets and grapefruit. Very nice, but not the taste sensation I had anticipated.
For main course, Jerry had penne with sausage and a sage white wine sauce. He enjoyed it quite a bit. I had duck confit with lentils and more arugula. The lentils had a nice smoky flavor and the duck skin was crisp, and while it was quite enjoyable, I wasn't in raptures.
We had a half bottle of a very nice central coast red. I'm sorry I don't remember the winery; I may check Garcon's website to see if they have a wine list.
We had dessert. Jerry had a tarte tatin that looked like no tarte tatin I'd ever seen. The "crust" appeared to be more cakelike, and the apples were buried inside. I had creme brulee that was in a small deep dish. I like the new style of shallow and spread out. Less creme, more brulee. I had a very nice cup of coffee. I'd asked for a refill that never came.
While it does sound as if I'm complaining I'll add that dinner really was lovely, and the restaurant was nice. We arrived at 7 before it got super crowded and busy, and I might even think of going back even earlier, so we'd get better attention and it would be quieter.
Yesterday was Jerry's birthday. We went to yard sales in the morning, then to Barney's for lunch. But dinner was the celebration. We went to Garcon! on Valencia in the Mission. It was very good, though not sublime. We started with salads-- he had the salade maison and I had a salad with arugula, beets and grapefruit. Very nice, but not the taste sensation I had anticipated.
For main course, Jerry had penne with sausage and a sage white wine sauce. He enjoyed it quite a bit. I had duck confit with lentils and more arugula. The lentils had a nice smoky flavor and the duck skin was crisp, and while it was quite enjoyable, I wasn't in raptures.
We had a half bottle of a very nice central coast red. I'm sorry I don't remember the winery; I may check Garcon's website to see if they have a wine list.
We had dessert. Jerry had a tarte tatin that looked like no tarte tatin I'd ever seen. The "crust" appeared to be more cakelike, and the apples were buried inside. I had creme brulee that was in a small deep dish. I like the new style of shallow and spread out. Less creme, more brulee. I had a very nice cup of coffee. I'd asked for a refill that never came.
While it does sound as if I'm complaining I'll add that dinner really was lovely, and the restaurant was nice. We arrived at 7 before it got super crowded and busy, and I might even think of going back even earlier, so we'd get better attention and it would be quieter.
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