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The Skateboarding Dog 2.0
via thedw.us
Tillman "The skateboarding dog" spielt "Tony Hawk: RIDE"
Und zwar besser als Du!
I, for one, welcome our new videogame-playing canine overlord!
11/14/09 NEXT UP: MATTERHORN BOBSLED RIDE !
11/14/09 NEXT UP: MATTERHORN BOBSLED RIDE !
via Pixelpipe
Epic Foundation Rides
Last weekend started with a super lazy Paradise loop ride with my boys from Dolce Vita. On Sunday, DVC hosted a killer clinic on cornering, which culminated in a set of descending drills in the Marin Headlands. (I'll link to the official blog post, eventually)
The Epic part of the weekend happened on the post-clinic ride. Originally planned to be a chill Inner-Nicasio ride, it became and Alpine Dam/Seven Sisters ride once we finally made it into Fairfax.
The Ride
I love this ride. The climb out of fairfax to the golf course, followed quickly by the climb to the first summit. A quick descent, another few switchbacks, and then a nice long descent into the redwoods. If you carry your speed off the descent you can cruise through the next few turns and make it over the last little riser before another descent down to Alpine Dam.
After a quick stop at the dam, the climbing begins in ernest. This is one of the routes to the top of Mt. Tamalpias, and it's the lush one. Cooler than the Bolias-Fairfax (BoFax) climb, and more tree cover than the XXX climb, this one is beautiful. If you don't believe me, check out this picture (Though it doesn't do it justice).
It is days like that which remind me how lucky we are to live and ride here. I can't wait to get out there again.
A bright start to November in the Northwest
Sunny first day of November, so I rode north. Despite the sun, it was surprisingly cold. I wound up at Sound Harley Davidson because they have an outdoor fireplace and I made the excuse that I need a new cap for our vacation later this month. Seems like weekends would by busier than weekdays for motorcycle dealerships, but most of them are closed on Sundays.
I love all the posters of vintage bikes that they have at Sound H-D. Just wish they'd sell copies of them. Lots of shots of springer front ends, which my brother and good friend Leon both ride.
Ride Log 10/20/09
57 miles
Jayson and I decided that it was too nice out to not go for a ride, so we agreed to meet at the corner of Gotfredson and N. Territorial roads about 6:15. Aaron's had a stiff, painful neck muscle all day and chose to forgo joining us. We continued up Gotfredson, took Brookville west to Curtis north, then veered off on Angle/7 Mile Rd. and followed it all the way up to E Shore Dr. We followed that along the east shore of Whitmore Lake. It's a beautiful area with a lot of nice houses surrounding the lake, and the setting sun had all the trees glowing orange and yellow. From there we went up and around the north shore of Green Oak Lake, which was almost as nice at Whitmore, I think, but the fading light made sightseeing difficult. I was also discovering that the combination of my dirty visor and the "starburst" effect around light sources caused by my RK procedure was screwing up my night vision somewhat, so I had to focus on Jayson's taillight. After rounding the lake we headed into South Lyon in search of food, and ate at Crossroads Grille & Bar. I had a great bar burger, and the cute, flirty waitress brought us a couple slices each of pumpkin bread and banana nut bread that they bake there. She told us she loved motorcycles and used to ride pillion with her ex-boyfriend, but could never ride one herself because she "couldn't work the gears". She also told us about the time she burned her leg on the exhaust because she was wearing a skirt and sandals. I was proud of myself for not shaking my head, or rolling my eyes, or telling her we saw videos about people like her in our Motorcycle Safety Foundation training course. Besides, she was too nice to berate, and the pumpkin bread too tasty. After completely negating the benefits of the 4-mile run I'd had before riding, Jayson and I parted ways and headed home. The return was uneventful, though I expected a deer to jump out in front of me at any moment, and I did pass a few recent carcasses on US 23 south. When I exited at Maple Rd and started to enter the first roundabout, it suddenly felt like something soft and fluttery hit the back of my left calf. Thinking it might be a bird or bat I brushed at it, but there was nothing there. It was only after I'd gone through the roundabout and was coming to a stop at Miller Rd that I realized what I'd felt was my calf spasming. I'd done a hard calf workout yesterday, gotten a massive cramp last night that woke me out of a dead sleep, then ran four miles this afternoon before riding nearly 60 miles in a semi-crouched position, and my leg had had enough. The bike vibration, tight boots, and my focus on the road masked most of the pain, but it was bad enough that I had trouble shifting until I reached the corner of Dexter, where it relented. I'll definitely be eating a banana and doing a lot of stretching before bed tonight. I'd love to go riding again tomorrow, because the high is supposed to be 66º, but it's also supposed to rain, so we'll see.
