Chris' Journal

Training rides #12 and #13
I took it relatively easy this weekend, for two reasons. First, Sunday's weather just didn't cooperate at all (more about that in a minute). And second, I'm trying to stay aware of the risks of overtraining. My knees have started to give me just the smallest bit of difficulty again, and I want to make sure it doesn't turn into something more serious. (By way of background, I spent much of last summer very quietly but painfully working through some moderately serious knee pain, caused in part by poor bike adjustment and in part by pushing myself way too hard on the gears.)

Saturday, I did the now-familiar Tiburon Loop yet again, with a group of about 20 other riders. With added distance riding to and from the start point in Golden Gate Park, I ended up with 49 miles for the day, on a ride that was basically uneventful.

Today, however, was another story. I was signed up for a 45-mile ride beginning in Sunnyvale, but the weather was threatening at best and dangerous at worst. That, coupled with an 8:30 check-in time down in Sunnyvale, and I decided to skip that ride and instead go to a 21-mile quick ride across the Golden Gate and into Mill Valley -- with a much more civilized 10 a.m. check-in time. And with an extra 5 miles of cycling each way to get to the start point, that would make a decent 31-mile ride for the day.

Before I left, I saw on the radar that rain was just offshore. But I went anyway, as did about a dozen other people. But just as we finished hearing the safety speech, it began to sprinkle. And since the ride was advertised as "rain cancels," that was enough to officially cancel the ride. A quick show of hands, however, showed that many of us still wanted to go ahead unofficially, so we took off and headed to the bridge. Somewhere along that stretch, our group dwindled to just four people -- and I'm not quite sure where everyone else went.

As we headed down into Sausalito, the road was wet, but the rain had mostly stopped, and we had a quiet ride into Mill Valley -- albeit it at a somewhat faster pace than the 10-12 mph average that would have been used on the official ride. I, therefore, found myself behind the other three riders, but I stuck to my own pace and eventually made my way to the coffeehouse in Mill Valley where, just as we finished, it began to rain.

And it kept raining. Lighter at some points, but generally heavier. And I was thoroughly soaked by the time I got back across the Golden Gate, with still another 5 miles to go until I was back to my weekend accommodation. Thus I became even more thoroughly soaked. My poor bike lost virtually all its grease, and the poor brakes were extremely worn down, perhaps because I insisted on crawling down the steep San Francisco streets so I could actually control my stops on the wet pavement. My wool socks were soaked from the inside out, and my shoes are still wet some six hours later. There was mud and other assorted debris in the hair on the back of my head. The bicycle is covered in crap.

And it was good. Why? Certainly not because it was pleasant -- far from that -- but because it's much-needed experience. If it should rain during AIDS/LifeCycle, we keep riding. And now, with 16 wet miles and another 15 very rainy miles, I at least know what it's like. And I know that I probably won't willingly do it again any time soon.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you haven't done so already, now is a great time to donate to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. I still need another $392.77 in order to ride.

Miles bicycled this month so far: 594
This year so far: 1,155

Advertisement