San Francisco A Cycling City

December 13, 2005 at 6:01 pm | In Cycling, News, San Francisco | 11 Comments

I was just thumbing through the December 2005 edition of Bicycling Magazine and they had a 10 page write-up on how much of a great town San Francisco is for cycling enthusiasts.  I really couldn’t agree more.  Living in San Diego for 15 years, I was fortunate enough to ride in some of the best year-round weather and some of the most beautiful terrain in the United States. Or, so I thought until I moved to San Francisco two years ago.  This could be the most scenic city I have ever lived in and ridden in.  The vistas from each street, the headlands of Marin County, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, they all work together to make one of the most incredible cities to ride your bike in.  And, don’t think for a second that all of the hills make the cyclists here few and far between. Quite the contrary, there are more cyclists on the road here every day than I ever saw in San Diego. And, San Diego is reported to be one of the big tri-athlete training grounds in the world. Anyway, if you get a chance you should check out the article.

Back on the Bike

December 5, 2005 at 1:59 am | In Cycling, Fixed Gear, News | Leave a Comment

The weather in San Francisco has been dry, clear and quite cold in the past week.  I have not been on the bike much lately, aside from my fixed gear on the flats over Thanksgiving.  But, I have been eating, drinking and ahem, smoking for the past two months.  There has been little riding and a lot of Amici’s.  So, today I finally got off my lazy ass, took out the LeMond and went out for an easy 25 mile bike ride.  What I was reminded of was that there are two things that can really hurt your performance on a bike.  The first is not riding, the second is gaining weight.  I have managed to keep my, relatively high caloric intake, up over the past two months, while not doing anything to burn it off.

Part of the problem was that I was overtraining riding 40+ miles 3 to 4 days a week.  There were no easy rides or base mile rides, they were all fast-paced, training rides.  So, I was a bit burnt-out, but more than anything, I was losing performance. I could see my ride times declining a bit and more than anything I felt like crap every time I went out.

Today however, I REALLY felt like crap.  This was mostly due to the fact that I have not been riding and that I have probably put on 15 pounds in the past two months. I am 6′4″ and about 225 lbs right now and it is a lot of weight to push around on a bike. The other thing that was not helping was the cold weather and my ignorance. I thought about putting on some long tights to keep my leg muscles warm and somewhat protected…I did not.  Riding over the Golden Gate on the way out, my calves started cramping, I knew I did not make the wise decision.

The good news is that I got on the bike today, and that I will hopefully be back on a 3 to 5 day a week riding schedule. For now, I will probably keep the rides down to 20-30 miles and not push it while I am out there.

Don’t Mess With Cyclists!

November 11, 2005 at 3:54 pm | In Cycling, News | Leave a Comment

Ok, I’ll admit it, tights are gay.  But, we all know they are part of the gig and at some point, you actually think you look cool. Heh, well, you don’t. But, next time your buddies give you a bunch of shit for wearing the gear, tell them don’t mess with cyclists. That is all I have to say. :)

No Riding For the Kid

November 7, 2005 at 10:32 pm | In Cycling | 4 Comments

Well, I have been knee deep in work and trying to get all of our sites and what not launched, crawled, etc, etc, etc.  It has been a little frustrating as there is simply not enough time in the day. We are all working long hours and at times it can really get overwhelming. But, the really sad news is that I have not been out on the bike in over a week. I guess it is really ok since the past couple of days have been cold, wet and rainy.  So, I am not super sad that I have not been out there. But, I need to get my lazy ass out there like the rest of the cycling world. Life does not stop because the weather sucks. I could be living in Siberia.

Staying Motivated in the Winter

November 2, 2005 at 5:27 pm | In Cycling | Leave a Comment

Staying motivated to ride in the winter is not easy for me and I am sure it is not easy for other people as well. I am a person who likes the sun and riding in it.  I have not been on the bike in about 5 days, but this is really a function of the Halloween weekend, traveling and my new sleep schedule…I am trying to get to work by 6am.  So, I am taking some time to adjust before I jump on the bike and pound out 45 miles up and down the hills of San Francisco.  But, something that concerns me is the lack of sunshine, the cold and the rain. It is supposed to start raining here tonight and while I say that it will not affect my riding, I know that it will.  I will simply work in some other workouts like running the Lyon Street Stairs, a famous set of stairs here in SF, or maybe even some running. Imagine that.

Yippeee Cycling.WordPress.com

November 2, 2005 at 4:39 pm | In News | Leave a Comment

You know, I think somebody upstairs likes me sometimes…and I am not a religious guy.  I figured I would see if I could get cycling.wordpress.com and baboom, I did. So, what am I going to talk about? Road bikes and fixed gears baby. That is what it is all about. Tights, bikes and crashing. How ya do?

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