Coastal Ride - Half Moon Bay

Sunday's ride was out to the coast. I've done this ride solo before, but it was wonderful to have Dennis along to help push me. The main route is up Old La Honda and out to the coast. We peeked in at San Gregorio to check out the General Store. Next time I'll bring my wallet as the danishes looked delicious!

We continued up Hwy 1 to Half Moon Bay where we ate lunch at the San Benito House on Main Street. They bake their bread fresh and have the most delicious sandwiches! This is also a good place to fill up water and use the restrooms. Dennis and I both agreed that only half a sandwich may be a better idea before attacking the 92 and skyline hill climb next time.

Hwy 92 ocean side wasn't as bad of a climb as I expected, and we hammered up the incline. I'm not sure if I was just tired or if the sandwich was weighing me down, but skyline felt as if it would never end. It was a long and arduous hill climb, and Dennis didn't help by saying the down hill should be coming up after every turn. We passed Alice's and topped off the water bottles at Roberts Market. Dennis split off at Alameda but next time he'll finish the ride because Melissa met up with me and treated me to some delicious yogurt at the Corner Yogurt in Redwood City.

Great Ride Dennis!

Half Moon Bay Ride ~4 hrs 45 min.

Conquering El Diablo

This Saturday I went on a 50 Mi ride up Mt. Diablo from Dublin with my buddy Mike. The ride up was easier than expected. We snapped some photos, downed some shot blocks (my new favorite, just stay away from Raspberry), and headed home!







Coming down proved a bit treacherous. Wind almost pulled me off the road, squirrels were playing chicken, and multiple cars decided to park in the middle of the road around blind curves.

I thought my rides along the coast had wind, but there were times where I felt I was standing still while peddling. Makes sense why they have all the windmills along the 580!

Total Ride time ~4 hrs.

Map is below, but I don't have any sensor data yet as I still haven't decided on which bike watch to purchase. I used to be a big polar fan, but Polar doesn't have a big online presence and I've read is not very Mac friendly. I've been reading about Suunto and Garmin. If I was only a cyclist I would choose the Garmin hands down. It seems to be made for bikers, Garmin Connect is simple and easy to use, the maps are great, and everyone I've talked to loves their unit. So why am I leaning towards a Suunto? The main features that separates the Suunto watches and Garmin are battery life and being water proof. Suunto saves battery by having the GPS unit as a separate POD. If that POD dies you can still collect data from the rest of your ride. I'm hoping to use this watch for triathlons as well and having a watch that I can wear in the water is ideal. The Suunto also collects heart rate while you swim, but I've yet to see how useful that is.

Mt. Diablo Ride

I Am Precious

Janeen and her bike precious are going to help be my source of inspiration. I don't think I'll be as witty or have as comprehensive data as precious does, but I'll do my best. ;)

First Post!

I'm a pretty big geek and like to geek out indoors and outdoors! This blog is going to be dedicated to my outdoor adventures. I normally am pretty low tech when it comes to getting outside, but I am going on a bike trip from Canada to Mexico along the west coast of the US in September 2010 and have been pressured into writing about it.

Hopefully I can recount some experiences for anyone who is looking to do similar trips, or those geeks who want to live vicariously. I'm hoping to keep some heart rate and GPS data for those who like data!

Enjoy!