More to come.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Update......
It's been busy lately, but maybe time to mention some of the fun rides I've taken lately. The ride to Santa Barbara, hilly ones in Sonoma and Canyon, very hot days, etc.
More to come.
More to come.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Why?
April 15, 2013
I did the Boston Marathon in 2001. It hurt (!), but was quite the accomplishment that I will never forget it. I lived on Newbury Street at the corner of Dartmouth back in the 70's during my sophomore year at Northeastern. This is directly behind the marathon finish line. It is a beautiful neighborhood that was far too nice for my patrician budget and tastes in those days. At the time, I couldn't really afford it nor appreciate it. I didn't know how lucky I was to live there.
Today was the double explosion at the Boston Marathon finish line. So far, a few people have died and over 100 were injured, some very seriously. Whoever set the bombs off was disgusting and cowardly. It made no logical sense. It had no purpose. It is a sad time and my heart goes out to the victims and all of my Boston friends, relatives and its residents who were violated by this act. Here is a picture of the BAA logo from my jacket from that run 12 years ago. I'll be proudly wearing it tomorrow and in the future.
I did the Boston Marathon in 2001. It hurt (!), but was quite the accomplishment that I will never forget it. I lived on Newbury Street at the corner of Dartmouth back in the 70's during my sophomore year at Northeastern. This is directly behind the marathon finish line. It is a beautiful neighborhood that was far too nice for my patrician budget and tastes in those days. At the time, I couldn't really afford it nor appreciate it. I didn't know how lucky I was to live there.
Today was the double explosion at the Boston Marathon finish line. So far, a few people have died and over 100 were injured, some very seriously. Whoever set the bombs off was disgusting and cowardly. It made no logical sense. It had no purpose. It is a sad time and my heart goes out to the victims and all of my Boston friends, relatives and its residents who were violated by this act. Here is a picture of the BAA logo from my jacket from that run 12 years ago. I'll be proudly wearing it tomorrow and in the future.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Hills.....and more.
The East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland) has great cycling right from the front door. There are many quiet backroads with some challenging climbing and great views of San Francisco Bay west and Mt. Diablo to the east. The hills are ever present and great for keeping you in shape. But if you want more challenge, it certainly is there!
Many of us cyclists pass by certain climbs everyday that are just a bit too steep for fun. But there is an organized ride that batches them all up in one day and makes a go of it....it is called the "Nifty Ten Fifty". Which means about 10,000 feet of climbing in a little over 50 miles. Ouch! And I was foolish enough to attempt it this year (April 7, 2013).
It was too steep for the gears on my road bike (50-34 in the front and 11-25 in the back), so I rode by son's mt. bike, which had a triple and lots of gears to help climb those beasts! I didn't see anyone else on a mt. bike. I was the only crazy one. Or maybe not.....at least I had the gears! I did the whole thing without any walking, but was slow enough to be the "Lanterne Rouge" up one of the climbs! (That's the French term for the last person in the peloton.....the caboose with the red lantern.) Oh well, I finished! And that's amazing for one more reason....the brakes on the mt. bike started to fail towards the end of the ride. The descents in some cases were sometimes greater than 20%, so I'd say that was just too much for the disks. By the end of the day, they were failing and my wrists were killing me from too much brake handle "squeezing". In a way, that was more scary than climbing these damn hills.
Here are some attachments with more info...my Strava stats, a story from the organizer (thanks!) and a pic at the top of the very last hill with a "forced" smile. Check that one off the bucket list!
Here are the stats for the ride:
The Results and Stories:
http://www.niftytenfifty.com/
Many of us cyclists pass by certain climbs everyday that are just a bit too steep for fun. But there is an organized ride that batches them all up in one day and makes a go of it....it is called the "Nifty Ten Fifty". Which means about 10,000 feet of climbing in a little over 50 miles. Ouch! And I was foolish enough to attempt it this year (April 7, 2013).
It was too steep for the gears on my road bike (50-34 in the front and 11-25 in the back), so I rode by son's mt. bike, which had a triple and lots of gears to help climb those beasts! I didn't see anyone else on a mt. bike. I was the only crazy one. Or maybe not.....at least I had the gears! I did the whole thing without any walking, but was slow enough to be the "Lanterne Rouge" up one of the climbs! (That's the French term for the last person in the peloton.....the caboose with the red lantern.) Oh well, I finished! And that's amazing for one more reason....the brakes on the mt. bike started to fail towards the end of the ride. The descents in some cases were sometimes greater than 20%, so I'd say that was just too much for the disks. By the end of the day, they were failing and my wrists were killing me from too much brake handle "squeezing". In a way, that was more scary than climbing these damn hills.
Here are some attachments with more info...my Strava stats, a story from the organizer (thanks!) and a pic at the top of the very last hill with a "forced" smile. Check that one off the bucket list!
Here are the stats for the ride:
The Results and Stories:
http://www.niftytenfifty.com/
 |
| Mike at the top of Vollmer Peak, the last climb of the 2013 Nifty 10-50 ride |
Monday, February 18, 2013
Bike Rides (Activity Widget!)
For lack of anything very exciting happening, I just found out I can post links to my rides that are posted on Strava. So, here goes....don't be too bored!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Happy New Year!
It's that time of the year again.....to go through all of my pictures and print a book. Or maybe two!
Why not share those digital pics, right? Well, I finally did it and they actually let you embed the code for the book now! Graduation, black belt, France, Saba, Cal Poly, and MUCH more that kept us busy! And that was only 2012. I also caught up by making a book using my 2011 pictures. You may have seem some of these pics already in different forms, but enjoy them again (or for the first time!).
Here it is.....2012 at the Gill household. And scroll down for 2011!
Why not share those digital pics, right? Well, I finally did it and they actually let you embed the code for the book now! Graduation, black belt, France, Saba, Cal Poly, and MUCH more that kept us busy! And that was only 2012. I also caught up by making a book using my 2011 pictures. You may have seem some of these pics already in different forms, but enjoy them again (or for the first time!).
Here it is.....2012 at the Gill household. And scroll down for 2011!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Floating with the flahutes.....
I learned a new term this past week. It's a reference to the "hard men" of cycling, the Flandrians of the past who rode in sh*tty weather over sh%tty roads for sh$tty paychecks. They called them "flahutes". While I can claim none of their "hardness", the weather in Northern California recently has forced those of us who want to get out on our bikes to at least "channel our inner flahute", as a friend said. The rain is falling pretty incessantly and if you want to ride, you're gonna get wet. So, here's to the flahutes!
Here is a shot of my soaked, dirty ankles (and dirty Lion of Flanders socks - how appropriate) from yesterday's even more soaked ride. Merry Christmas to all flahutes (and their tolerant friends)!
Here is a shot of my soaked, dirty ankles (and dirty Lion of Flanders socks - how appropriate) from yesterday's even more soaked ride. Merry Christmas to all flahutes (and their tolerant friends)!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)