COLD Weekend Ride

[willy in pacifi]

Here in the SF Bay Area we have had a cold snap for the last week or so. I live near the beach so it may get down into the high 30's and on my commute to work it is very manageable with the right gear on. I actually kind of like having to put lots of stuff on just to see if I can keep warm and enjoy a ride in the cold and dark.

But this weekend was my monthly 200k on my usualy route thru Marin and Sonoma County. This makes 36 months in a row of riding a 200k or longer.

It was in the high 30's in SF near the water when I started around 6:30 but as I got further away from the water it got damn cold. It showed in the mid to high 20's and thou I was dressed for it I do not have anything to cover my face. My face actually hurt and even with long semi thick gloves my fingernails hurt even worse. Eventually the sun came up and things started to thaw out but even at noon there was still frost on the ground in the shady areas.

Next week I will be in San Diego and will be taking a bike with me. If anyone is around for the holidays let me know and maybe we can meet up for a ride.

willy in pacifica

[Ti Designs]

Originally Posted by willy in pacifi

It was in the high 30's in SF near the water when I started around 6:30 but as I got further away from the water it got damn cold. It showed in the mid to high 20's and thou I was dressed for it I do not have anything to cover my face. My face actually hurt and even with long semi thick gloves my fingernails hurt even worse. Eventually the sun came up and things started to thaw out but even at noon there was still frost on the ground in the shady areas.

Welcome to my world. I hate putting my bike in the car and driving to rides. If it's a ride around here (within a 50 mile radius) I'll ride to the ride and then home again. I can handle the miles, it's the cold mornings and the loss of light at the end of the ride that I'm not crazy about. And then there's the "stick around, have a beer with us"...

[Gothard]

That particular Vanilla is the one I covet most.

Edit: What ahppened to your rear fender?

[willy in pacifi]

Originally Posted by Gothard

That particular Vanilla is the one I covet most.

Edit: What ahppened to your rear fender?

After a year and a half and probably 10,000 miles it started to fatigue at the rear brake bridge. The paint still looked fantastic but not being one piece allowed it to rub here and there. So the guys at Vanilla are going to paint up a couple sets for me but in order to match the paint I had to send up a sample of the fender. So I took the fender off and cut off a few inches.

I was thinking of taking off the front but there is really no need to other than it looks odd. But when I am riding it looks the same since I do not look at my rear wheel while I am riding. I was tempted to take the front off and throw my cross wheel on it to see how tough it would look and scare a few people into thinking I was going to race cross on it.

I still use it to commute and there are some brevets coming up where I need the lights so they would need to stay on anyways.

willy in pacifica

[goonster]

Originally Posted by willy in pacifi

This makes 36 months in a row of riding a 200k or longer.

Chapeau!

That's impressive.

[willy in pacifi]

Originally Posted by goonster

Chapeau!

That's impressive.

Keeping the streak alive is tougher than it seems. During brevet season it is easy to ride a 200k or longer since we have four brevet groups in the area. But during the off season you have to get out there on your own. The tricky part is that the route has to be sactioned by RUSA as a Permanent. There are a few in NorCal but to I have to drive to Santa Cruz or Davis. So I set one up myself that starts out near the Golden Gate Bridge then heads thru Marin north to

Nicassio
Petaluma
Valley Ford
Pt Reyes Station
Back thru Nicassio
Back thru Marin

The pictures above are just after the Cheese Factory on the way to Petaluma.

I have a few other permanents but they are point to point along the coast for when I ride to SLO, Santa Barbara or San Diego.

For my January ride I plan to ride from SF to SLO over MLK weekend with a bunch of others. The others ride to Monterey on day one then to SLO on day two. I plan to leave during the night of day one and ride all night to meet them for the start of their day two ride to SLO. This way I get in a non-stop 250 miler althou I will stop in Santa Cruz at the Denny's for a midnight snack.

willy in pacifica