Fremont - Milpitas loop

30 miles - avg 12.4 mph

Driving within speed limit, I arrived at the Fremont Bart Station on time, where I was going to meet other folks for a 30 mile ride in East Bay. Weather was a little chilly but my new ALC (Aids LifeCycle) cycling jacket kept me warm. We were a group of 11 people. We left Fremont and rode south towards Milpitas. There was a steep hill on our way. We rode through some busy streets and at one point we were on Calaveras Blvd, at its busiest intersection (by 237 - 880 junction).

Carrying the bike just got easier

I got a bike rack today, paid $100 on Craigslist after some negotiation and installed it on my car that I bought two years ago from... Craigslist! So no more pushing down the back seats to put the bike in. No more removing the front wheel of the bike so it can fit in the trunk. No more excuses to take the bike to trails in SF or Oakland.

Free cycling jacket!

ALC (Aids LifeCycle) sent me a free cycling jacket today for reaching $1500 fundraising within 45 days of my registration. Works for me ;-)

Record: 38 miles

38 miles - avg 13.1 mph

I joined another training ride in San Francisco today. We again took off from Sports Basement parking lot in Marina and went over the bridge. On my way to Sausalito a cop on a motor bike rode by me and gave me a "warning". Apparently I didn't check the oncoming traffic well enough when I stopped at the sign. I heard stories that cops write tickets to bikers if they don't obey the rules, especially at stop signs. You are supposed to stop completely and put one foot down, which of course is a pain in the *utt if you have clipless pedals. Anyway, I got my first "warning" on a bike.

After the bridge, we went down to Sausalito, then passed through Mill Valley just like in the previous ride. But this time there was more: we went all the way to Fairfax. A really steep and long hill (called Camino Alto) took all my energy. I really needed that smoothie when we arrived at Fairfax!

By the time we got back to San Francisco my bike computer was showing 38 miles! This is the longest bike ride I've ever done. I put my bike in the car and started driving back home. Ok so I was happy and proud of myself about the new record, until... I saw the flashing lights of a cop's car behind me on highway 280 :-/ What's it today with all the cops? I got my first speeding ticket on my new car and second speeding ticket ever. The first ticket I got was 5 years ago and courtesy notice never showed up, the ticket was never entered into their computer so I didn't have to pay anything :-) Maybe I'll have the same luck again???

Another milestone: $1500!

My fundraising total hit $1500 today, that's more than half way to my