How many thousand ft?
Maria and I headed to San Francisco for a little spring training (April 6-14). We arrived just in time for the most beautiful weather San Francisco has to offer. Here is a recap of our adventure and some routes that we based our rides off of. Special thanks to Francine Haas, Comrade Cycles and Johnny Sprockets for keeping us rolling. And Jefferson and Gary for the great stay our first 3 nights in the Mission.
Monday "Feelin It Out"
We hit the road to Alpine Dam. Our first day out on the roads was overcome with stops for map views and backtracking but by the end of the day we had the hang of it. We made friends with Market Street Cycles after they double checked our bike assembly capabilities and loaned us a map for the day. We would frequent this shop a handful of times over our stay.
Maria's first words on San Francisco: "Everyone here is living in a paradise island of happiness. THIS PLACE IS LIKE A PARADISE ISLAND"
70.5 Miles logged (we cut out the Paradise Loop section and climbed Mt. Tam twice :) )
6766ft of climbing
Falls: 2 (Maria)
Dinner: Pizza and Meatballs at Delfina Pizzeria
Tuesday "Long Day"
Headed up Route 1 to Point Reyes Station. We've never seen views like this. We've never seen descents like this.
Wednesday "Paradise Loop x2"
By this point our midwestern legs were already starting to slow down. We decided to stay a little closer to the city and hit the Paradise Loop. We ended up doing the loop twice because we felt THAT GOOD, and the sun was shining so bright.
Thursday "Rest Day"
I had to attend a conference for work and Maria had to see the sights.
Dinner: Fish Tacos and Ceviche at Nopalito
Friday "TEEEEEENERRRRSSS"
After I attended more stimulating lectures on design and typography, we met up with Cuttin Crew 4Lyfe member Christina Peck at The Mill. We got to ride around like a local and have chats with our pal. We ended the ride at Rapha where I had the best chocolate chip cookie of my life. Later that night we planned our epic Saturday ride up Mt. Diablo. We even made a cue sheet.
52.57 Miles logged
4,477ft of climbing
Dinner: Whole Foods Hot Bar. Unsatisfying.
Saturday "Mt. Diablo, East Bay"
We wanted to see what this Mt. Diablo was all about since we'd likely be climbing it in May for the Rapha Women's Prestige. It's no big deal. No big deal at all. Piece of cake.
70.0 Miles logged
6,911ft of climbing (A GOOD HOUR OF STRAIGHT CLIMBING)
Dinner: Pizza from Delfina Pizzeria*
*I've never seen Maria eat so fast.
Sunday "Ciao Maria"
Sunday morning we headed to Rapha to watch the Roubaix. I bought more of the delicious cookie for the road and we sat and chatted for a bit about our Diablo ride. We planned on crushing the Rapha women's ride, but Mt. Diablo certainly lived up to it's name. We did a few errands and went back to the hotel. Maria packed up her bike while I watched countless episodes of Law and Order. She left around 2 and the rest of my day was uneventful.
This is what Maria's face looks like when she's watching bike racing.
Monday "One for the road"
My flight was taking off at 5:45PM and I was itching for one last ride. I woke up and was at Market Street Cycles at 8AM to get a new tire. Oh, I forgot to mention, I descended Mt. Diablo with two large punctures in my front tire. So large that the tube itself was sticking out of both punctures. Once I got rolling I headed over the bridge and up Hawk Hill. Nothing too long or too fancy, just a final salute to such a great trip.
21 Miles logged
1,837ft of climbing
Lunch: Bialy & Salmon Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen
Grand Total
346.19 Total Miles
27,723 Ft Climbed
2 awful sets of tan lines
