rain

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cadence x 686.

December 15, 2011 in general | 1 comment

this looks very promising, I’d love to pick up the jacket…you can snag the barrier jacket on cadence for $300USD, and the blockade rain pant for $275.  speaking of city riding specific cycling jackets…

has anyone had experience with the mishka spetsnaz mark 3 jacket?  at $206, it’s a whole digit cheaper than the barrier rain jacket, and utilizes neat stash pockets.  unlike the barrier rain jacket, it doesn’t pack down into itself.  it does however have pit vents for temperature regulation.  that being said, both these options are still more expensive than the northface venture jacket, which is still my go-to shell, day in and day out.  for $100, it has pit vents, northface’s hyvent dt technology to wick sweat away, and it packs down into the pocket.  hard to beat for the price, but if I’m feeling adventurous, I might invest in one of the shells above.  I’m tempted to try the spetsnaz mark 3 since I have yet to buy something from mishka…plus, they’re based out of new york.  it might be interesting to own a technical shell designed to work in new york.  hmm.

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thursday’s ride.

December 15, 2011 in general | 2 comments

forgive me bike gods, for I have sinned.

by far, the worst morning I’ve ever had on a bike.  I went to my company’s holiday party last night, and though I didn’t drink anything but water, I woke up feeling rather drained in the legs.  determined to have a purposeful first day back on the saddle after yesterday’s break, I headed out this morning with the rain shell on.  the forecast read rain, but I didn’t see a spec in the sky…yet.  fast forward to camino alto.  as I made it to the top, the rear tire went flat.  okay, not exactly the most ideal situation at 7 in the morning…I took out the tube, and felt around the casing to see if I could feel any punctures or debris that would’ve caused the flat.  after swapping the tube out for a fresh new one, I descended.

flat again.  now it’s a pain.  I tracked down the puncture and used the patch kit in my back pocket to remedy the hole.  I took another look at the tire and saw that there was a piece of glass sticking out from the tread – “that wasn’t there before…” I thought to myself.  cars started coming out from the wood works, and soon, people were off to work.  and there I was, waiting for glue to set under a patch.  the glue finally set in the cold temperature, I swapped it on, and started pumping it up.  and then nothing.  it wouldn’t inflate.  I took out the tube again, and inspected it.  there was another ‘snake bite’ near the first puncture.  so a total of 3 punctures on 1 tube.  I took out the patch kit again, glued the patch, and held it for dear life.

swap it back on.  pump it up, again.  okay, now it feels like an inflated tire, let’s roll.  as I came around the intersection for half paradise, it was going flat – I pulled off, inflated it a bit, and hoped it would stick until the bike path.  unfortunately, it went flat within a minute, and I pulled off towards a fire station.  2 tubes, 3 patches, it felt like a hopeless situation.  I still had my first tube, so I took out my patch kit once more, and tried to seal it up.  it worked, but only momentarily – then it started leaking air somewhere else.

time to throw in the towel.  I hate giving into situations like this, and relying on other people to bail me out, but I had burned through so much time, still so far away from home.  I called my mom, who was thankfully still home.  I made it back, safe and sound.  I have no idea what I would’ve done without her, it was just an unlucky morning.  on the drive back, she received a call from my grandmother’s care giver – her husband had just passed away.  she had mentioned several days ago that her husband was feeling ill, and that she would be staying home for several days to take care of him.  and though I never met him, I feel great sorrow for a life that was lost.  she treats my grandmother so well, she’s the last person I would ever want something unfortunate to happen to.  rest in peace.

thursday, you used to be good to me.

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thursday’s ride.

November 24, 2011 in riding | No comments

50% chance of precipitation yielded a fine, and heavy, mist throughout the entire ride.  needless to say, my leg warmers and shoe covers were soaked through in a matter of minutes, which was a bit of a pain for 2 hours, but oh well.  riding in water logged bibs isn’t ideal either, considering it resembles the feeling of a wet diaper of sorts.  at least my upper body was warm and dry, that has to count for something.

riding on holiday mornings is always a plus.  people usually sleep in, which means less cars on the road.  pair that with the fact that the weather was rainy, and the roads are even more clear.  there were a few runners out, and even less cyclists riding.  initially, I woke up a bit before 6am, thinking I would have to ride earlier to get to work.  I forced myself back to sleep for another half hour, at least until the sun started to come up.  the doppler radar had some rain clouds over san francisco, but they appeared to be passing.  but since it wasn’t really rain, I guess it couldn’t show it on the radar reading – I really have no idea.  I peaked outside the window and saw the ground was completely soaked.  on days like this, where it’s the first rain in a short while, it’s important to remember that oil tends to come up from the road surface since it’s less dense than water (thanks driver’s ed).  so I lowered my psi a tad, threw on my shell, and headed out.

the bike side of the bridge was open, but I rode on the pedestrian side to avoid any early morning cyclist shenanigans.  sometimes it’s just easier taking the pedestrian side because you don’t have to worry about cyclists shooting around the pillars, or riding no-hands while shooting high definition video footage from their flip cameras, not even pay attention to where the hell they’re going on the walkway.  sausalito was as quiet as a sunday morning, which was nice.  the beginning of the bike path was completely flooded, and I was hoping that the water hadn’t risen on the other side.  I remember about a year or so back, the entire path was flooded from sausalito all the way into mill valley – at least 4-6″ of water all the way out.  it was intense…

luckily, today it wasn’t too bad.  after completing a full loop, and still soaked through, I headed back towards the city.  I saw a big group of guys coming through, as I was heading out.  definitely recognized connor (metromint) in front, followed by a slew of freewheel and chica sexy riders behind him.  hope you guys had a safe, dry ride!

I hope everyone has a good thanksgiving.  I’m looking forward to doing some cycling laundry and then eating food.  a lot of food.

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friday’s ride.

November 18, 2011 in riding | 3 comments

the forecast said 90% chance of rain showers this morning, but there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight as I left the house.  I packed my new rain shell in the back pocket, just in case though.  today marked the first day I would do half paradise loop.  I’ll be working in the office starting next week, temporarily on a macbook pro, but shortly after december 2nd, on a full desktop of sorts.  that being said, I wanted to see how much time I could shave off of my morning ride by cutting it about 13km short.  unfortunately for me, I hit nearly every single red light there was to encounter on the ride, which gave me a good ‘worst case scenario’ type time to account for when leaving for the ride in the future.

traffic was heavy today all over the place, which might’ve been the reason why all the lights were sporadically changing.  it started drizzling while I was passing through sausalito, but I figured the clouds would pass.  shortly thereafter, I saw maurice sitting outside of cibo (a cafe?).  I think I also saw him coming up the bike path right as I was about to begin camino alto – sadly, we never saw each other again.  hope you had a good/dry ride!

it was my first time wearing the showers pass pro tech st rain shell, and I have to say, it’s definitely on point.  it’s extremely lightweight and compact.  the arm sleeves are long to accommodate for riding on the brifters, and it has a generous rear vent to keep the air flowing through the shell.  it breathes quite well, and with its medium height fleece lined collar, my neck was warm and comfortable.  it also has a slightly offset front zipper which really helps keep the shell form fitting even when zipped a little farther down – it also doesn’t chaff on your chin, which is a huge plus.  the front zips up and down really easily, which was somewhat of an issue with my goretex shell and hincapie one.  the zipper track is wide and sturdy, which doesn’t seem like too big of deal, but when you’re riding in the rain, constantly adjusting your temperature, having a zipper that goes halfway down to all the way up your neck in a second without snagging is completely awesome.

the rain and drizzle was on and off for the whole ride.  definitely glad to have made it through without getting horribly soaked though.

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friday’s ride.

November 11, 2011 in riding | No comments

well, the forecast read right.  it was going to rain a little bit in the morning.  and when I woke up the check the radar, the rain clouds were coming from the coast, moving upwards towards the city and marin.  I packed a rain shell in the back pocket, knowing the rain would be coming shortly – I just didn’t know when.  so off I went, to enjoy the little dry weather there would be this morning.  the roads were fairly quiet though the week, and since it’s veteran’s day today, it was even more empty around marin.  people probably knew the rain was imminent.  either way, I made it more than halfway around when the rain started trickling down from the heavens.  as I pulled off the road to top off my bottle, I tossed on the shell and wrapped up my gloves in the back pocket.  nothing worse than holding onto shifters with soggy, cold gloves.

I stopped along the bridge to take the shot above, and was passed by 2 road commuters.  oddly enough, I ended up in a rotating paceline with the 2 of them through the entire length of crissy fields and the marina greens.  I guess we all figured that the headwind was so strong, and we were all going just about the same pace, we might as well save some energy getting a neat line formed.

riding in the rain isn’t always ideal.  but I’m just glad to have only had it on a third of the ride, rather than the whole ride itself.  that would’ve been horrible.

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monday’s ride.

October 10, 2011 in riding | No comments

after about an hour of riding in straight misty fog, I came to the conclusion that a rain shell was definitely on my short list of things I should’ve brought prior to leaving the house.  but I checked my usual 2 points of weather contact, and both looked clear – I usually peak my phone first, to see if there’s a rain cloud near the clock reading, and then if there is, I check the weather underground – support your local, they’re out here in san francisco!  anyway, both looked clear, from what I could see, so I left thinking it’d just be another misty commute out to marin.  but the precipitation never let up.  so needless to say, I was a bit damp by the halfway point, dreading stops of any kind, which would leave me with a dropping core temperature, and a falling heart rate.  a recipe for a cold…luckily, I caught all the lights, thanks to the majority of people either not out and about, or sleeping in because it’s columbus day.  whatever the case was, I was back at the wet bridge once more, hoping there wouldn’t be any construction.

well, my hopes were shattered when I was stopped by a cop while approaching the danger zone.  from what I could see, bridge construction workers were taking down the fencing around the scaffolds they had up, so maybe within the next day or so, it’ll all be cleared up.  that being said, on the pedestrian path (the opposite side), there’s still construction going on – I hope they continue to leave the bike side open after the danger zone is no longer a factor, but I have a feeling they’ll be closing it up until 3pm on weekdays, just like old times.  which I’m fine with, since the tourist/summer season is basically over.  anyway, back to today’s adventure at the danger zone.  I was asked to stop, and wait a couple minutes until one of the maintenance mini-truck, scooter things went through.  the cop struck up a conversation with me and said, “every single morning I see you riding across, and I think to myself, ‘man, I see that guy every day…where the hell does he go?’  you have to be putting in some miles if you’re riding like that.”  we talked a bit about tiburon, paradise loop, the weather, and what I did for a living to be able to ride that far most mornings.  the cyclist behind me then asked, “hey, I just have to ask you, how you keep your drivetrain so clean?”  so I rambled on about keeping the chain lubed but dry so that it wouldn’t attract dirt, wiping it, and such.  the cop chimed in and said that his (cop issue?) mountain bike suffered from the same problems that the cyclist behind me had – gunky drivetrain.  the cop was intrigued.

anyway, once the maintenance truck passed, we were able to go ahead.  after a couple minutes, I was back into rhythm, and headed home.

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thursday’s ride.

October 6, 2011 in riding | 3 comments

60% chance of precipitation: that’s what the forecast read last night for this morning.  60% chance of precipitation: that’s what the forcast read early this morning.  so as you’d expect, there might have been some rain on the ride.  well, that’s somewhat of an understatement, because it was pouring for about 90% of the whole ride.  there were bouts of quiet, morning air, followed by the shattering sound of rain against the bill of my helmet and rain shell.  then somehow, the powertap’s cadence went bonkers and started missing out on half of my pedal strokes.  besides having really damp feet, the cadence being horribly low/inaccurate, having a broken presta valve up front (the valve locked up this morning, and then spun clear off, at the head…), the ride went fairly smooth.  I high-fived connor (metromint) as he was heading back towards the city, so that was somewhat of a highlight to a rather gloomy morning ride.  he was riding next to someone with a backpack, but I’m going to reserve names for fear of identifying them completely wrong (but I want to say it was naveen).  the rest of the ride was dead quiet.  I think I saw a total of 3 people on bikes the entire time after I started the actual loop.  maybe once the forecast reads past 50%, people just assume it’s going to rain.

I should’ve definitely ridden yesterday, despite the rain.  it would’ve kept my legs much more primed for riding…oh well.  the weather is looking clear through to next week, so I’m planning on stacking up the riding daily.  on an unrelated note, I’ve been working as a freelance contractgor for the past couple days with an interactive company here in san francisco.  it’s a short-term (read: 2 week max) job, but it’s giving me the opportunity to work on user interface design, which is great for my resume and portfolio!  I’m definitely going to invest in some cycling bits as soon as the check drops…shower’s pass rain shell, gore ride on pro sealed cables, tubes, tires, and such.  maybe more cycling clothing as well.

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tuesday’s ride.

October 4, 2011 in riding | No comments

another foggy, but not so damp, morning ride out in marin.  the forecast said there wouldn’t be rain until later, and the doppler looked pretty clear, so I didn’t pack my shell into my rear pocket.  I was hoping the dry weather would stick until after I arrived back home, and luckily, it did.  with the expected rain monday to wednesday, it seems as if a majority of the riders I usually see opted to either stay indoors, or commute another way.  which was fine because the roads were clear and quieter than usual.  there were only a handful of people walking and running along the bike paths in marin.  thick, grey clouds loomed overhead and darkened as I rode back into sausalito, heading back home.  then a light mist.  then a heavier drizzle.  and as soon as I began regretting not taking the rain shell, the precipitation stopped.  and surprisingly, it held off for the remainder of the ride.  mother nature cut me a break this once, I guess.

we’ll see about tomorrow.  there’s a 90-100% chance of precipitation, and thunderstorms predicted for the whole day.  I’ll check the doppler to gauge my timing, but I’m hoping the rain clouds come after 10am.  fingers crossed.

oh, and as a side note, alberto contador (saxobank) is here visiting the bay area for a day or two.  he posted on his twitter yesterday, regarding an open invitation ride:  “Hello Bay Area.Come join me for a road ride tomorrow in Sausalito.We will leave Mike’s Bikes in Sausalito at noon to do the Paradise Loop.”  not too often a pro (really, really pro) cyclist comes out here to the bay area.  local pro’s are one thing, but the contador won 6 grand tours and is arguably one of the best climbers in the world.  and though he was accused of doping, or having a blood transfusion, who cares.  very few individuals in the world will ever be able to match his power output and efficiency, let alone be fast enough to land a spot on a pro cycling team, or be invited to a grand tour.  respect.

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monday’s ride.

October 3, 2011 in riding | No comments

50% chance of rain, yea right.  the sky didn’t drop 1 speck of water on my face through the whole ride.  usually, riding in the dry is the most convenient, and arguably the safest kind of weather, but preparing for the worst, I left the house with my rain shell stuffed into my vest pocket.  compounded with the tool sack I have in my jersey pocket, from behind, it must’ve looked a bit ridiculous.  I was really expecting the rain to come mid-ride, though.  I was still in bed in the morning after my alarm went off – I was checking the doppler radar, seeing if I could estimate the condensation and wind direction.  there appeared to be light showers coming from the pacific ocean, moving diagonally upwards towards marin.  I figured it wasn’t worth the risk not to bring a shell.

but the rain never came.  and the roads were fairly quiet, once again.  I heard a loud firecracker-like pop sound as I rode over something around paradise loop, and thought it might’ve been an explosive pinch flat of sorts, but luckily, it wasn’t.  I’m still not sure what it was, though I did check over my bike to see if anything broke or cracked.  everything seems to be solid.  but that was probably the only eventful thing that happened the whole ride.

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the knee situation.

June 28, 2011 in general | No comments

picture in a picture.

the orthopedic room.

the second drawer from the bottom had “cookies”.  I really wanted to pull the drawer out to see if there were really cookies down there, but the doctor walked in as I was contemplating.  he suggested that I get my knee scanned so that we could see what the problem was, if there was any.  filling out the paperwork took longer than his visit with me, but that’s how it goes.  luckily, I was able to make an MRI appointment the same day.  unfortunately, the campus was a short walk away.  and I only say unfortunately because it was pouring rain by time I made it back outside.

after walking 2 miles in some really heavy rain, I was pretty much soaked.  definitely should’ve brought out the waterproof pants.

look at this guy, he took 3 seats in the lobby.  I killed two hours down there, since my appointment wasn’t until 1:50pm.  after draining my phone battery to oblivion, I took the elevator up to the office to fill out their paperwork.  the guy who was going to do my MRI scan was actually able to scan me earlier since I was his only scan of the day.  he said I could’ve showed up a lot earlier, too.  so, I guess I didn’t need to kill two hours in the lobby, watching that guy multi-task with his awesome thinkpad.  oh well.

the scan itself took about 40 minutes.  my right leg was placed into a machine that looked like a donut.  the guy set me up in a pretty comfortable chair, and had my left leg extended as well.  and there was a blanket.  so, yea, I fell asleep pretty quick.

I have a followup appointment to discuss the scan on thursday.  hopefully, I get to take a copy of the knee scan so I can post it.  or maybe the doctor will let me take a picture of the scan.  I’ve never seen my knee in 3d before.

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