What to Wear

I've never been a very good judge of exactly what to wear to most appropriately meet the capricious nature of cool weather rides and my thirst for significant variations in altitude during such rides.

Saturday morning Vince and I met at the train trestle at 8:00 am and rode the Crocket loop in pretty good time. The air was cold to start the morning, which always creates a wardrobe dilemma, especially when the afternoons are destined to be warm. I opted for shorts and knee warmers, a sleeveless t-shirt under my long sleeve jersey and a windbreaker. The bandana and long fingered gloves supplemented the helmet and cycling gloves.

It worked out nearly perfect. By the time I met up with Vince, I had climbed over the Shell St. hill, and was ready to take off the windbreaker. Once done, I was content to feel the 40 degree air through my jersey, but suspected the descents from our 2 climbs would be chilly. They were, but I was done with the windbreaker for the day. Following the 20 mile loop, I headed for Mt. D while Vince headed to finish some chores. I followed a familiar route across the west side of the Diablo Valley, and finally lost the knee warmers and gloves starting my ascent around 10:00 am.

I had a reasonable climb ahead of me and soon decided that I should have braved the cold earlier and chosen a short sleeved jersey. 1 hour 30 minutes from the North entrance to the top. I blame the less than spectacular results on being out of the saddle for so much this winter, and for riding 90% of the way in 2^nd gear.

Why in 2^nd gear? I don’t know. I got started feeling good, looked down and saw I still had one gear to go, and decided not to go there. It most certainly felt like the mountain got steeper, but I have no idea whether or not it helped my climbing ability, endurance, or muscle strength. It did get me passed by 2 cyclists near the top. However, their combined bikes, attire, and gear probably cost more than our Honda, so I’m fairly certain they were professionals or something like that.

The sun and a stiff breeze were in competition at the top of the mountain, so I positioned myself so as to give the sun as much advantage as possible. I slipped the long gloves back on after refilling 2 water bottles and headed for home. The windbreaker would have been nice on the way down, but one gets weary of the flapping, and the temperature relates inversely to the altitude.

Home in just over 4.5 hours for the 66 miles and approx. 5.5k feet of climbing. No sweat. I mean literally, I got home dry though hydrated, which means that I was dressed just about right, and the pre-spring air was feeling splendid.

Muddy Tracks

We’ve been running and hiking to stay in shape through the winter. The trails are muddy, the days are short, and the weather has been cold and rainy. Both the mountain bike and the road bike wince every time I open the shed door. They know what I’m thinking. I understand the trepidation. I’m not much fond of road rash either.

However, the mountain bike and I made a pact the other day, and we set off from the house for an hour ride through Briones to meet up with the others for our Tuesday trail run. My favorite women were going to drive up into the park to walk with some other ladies, so my bike was promised a ride home on the back of the Pilot.

Once I reached the park, and started up into the hills, the trails were predictably mucky. Very few bike tracks cut through the frequent slimy sections, but the equestrian and bovine traffic has been heavy. The trails are trashed. I managed to the top without stepping off, but only because of some rather narrow hard packed detours skirting the worst areas.

I reached our rendezvous just minutes before the group began to arrive; Phyllis, My wife and daughter, and finally Vince, Rachel, and the Black Dog. Vince and I ran a loop, taking us along both single track and fire roads, till we met up with the walker / joggers near the top of the park. The ladies had taken turns pushing Ella in the jogging stroller, often two at a time to make it up some of the hills. Boy was I glad I didn’t have to push her.

In all, we were out for just over an hour and covered probably 5 and 3 miles respectively. My quads were rather put out from riding and then running the painfully steep slopes. Bec found some new muscles on that hike, but Ella seemed no worse for the bouncing and jostling. Although, they say she did hike a fair portion of it herself.

We finished in the dark.

My bike breathed an almost visible sigh of relief as it was fastened securely to the bike rack.

3 days later – Friday, we went out again, with a similar group. No running this time. It ended up being basically a walk in the park. 5 year old Ella managed the majority of the 3 mile hike on foot. I pushed the stroller the whole time, empty and occupied. Vince was busy trying out his new video camera. Lots of mud.

Last night it was just Vince, Rachel, and Black Dog along with Bec, Ella, and myself. Vince and I attempted the Briones summit, but had to turn back at 40 minutes in order to make it back in the agreed upon 1 hour. It is likely that we actually found the steepest possible ascent. We managed to run, or maybe trot is a better definition, 99% of the way. Some areas were just too steep and slick to keep it up. Running down is a scream. I’m still sore today. Lots more mud.

Speaking for myself and my family, it has been a good winter so far. I have thoroughly enjoyed running the trails. It’s a bonus having my women so close too, as we share in a little adventure a couple of times each week.

I'm getting good at vacuuming out the Pilot.