My Vacation Workout

I spent last Wednesday through Saturday in San Francisco with my friend Rich and his family.  Great rides were planned and great weather was a major bonus. Here are some of the highlights:

The following 2 pictures were taken from an area called the Headlands.  Its directly NW of the Golden Gate Bridge.  There is a steep 1.5 mile climb to get to this point.  It is worth the effort.

This is obviously a dam.  The nice part about this is that it was a beautiful area with lots of huge redwood trees.  They are enormous.  The not so nice part about this area is we had to climb and then descend to get to the dam, and then climb again to get out of the area.

That dark spot on the road to my left is called a shadow.  It happens when sunlight hits an object.  I have included this explanation for my friends in Michigan who may be unfamiliar with this process.

This is riding the ridge line after climbing away from the dam.  It's beautiful, but hard.  Seven or so tough little climbs that just keep on getting harder and harder.  This was my 2nd time riding it.  The 1st time it was impossible to see anything because of the fog. The picture may lead you to believe that it was a bit overcast this day as well, but it really wasn't.  We were enduring 80 degrees and sunny.

There is the blue sky I was talking about!  That is some mad camera skill right there- climbing and shooting pictures.

Does anyone know how you practice hang gliding?  I mean how do you have a successful 1st attempt?  There is not a lot of room for error.  We were coasting down this mountain and came upon this guy getting ready to launch.  He waited for about 5 minutes for the wind to be good and then he took 3 steps and was in the air.  Crazy.  I like the ground.

California is a hot bed for cycling.  We went out Saturday morning with 10 of Rich's friends to do a long ride.  On the way out our group merged with a bunch of other groups.  By the time we stopped at this little store-where the picture was taken- we were in a group of 40ish.  We stopped, the other 30 kept going, and there were still at least 40 other riders in this parking lot.  They must make a fortune on selling Gatorade and energy bars.

This photo is no surprise to anyone who rides with me.  I am mandated to stop for these tasty things on any ride over 3 hours.  I find it is the perfect combination of sugar and fat to keep you pedaling.  I have corrupted many a rider by introducing them to the thigh pumping goodness of these!

This is the return back over the bridge after every ride.  It is always Real cold when you get by the bridge.  The wind comes off of the ocean and blows right into the bay.  It is at least a 15 degree difference in temperature.  

The object on the left is a sail.  If you look closely in the middle of the picture you can see someone on the waves.  They were kite sailing.  Now that looks fun.  There were probably a dozen people ripping up and down the beach with their sails and boards.  I think crashing with this wind aided device would be more forgiving than with the hang glider.

Totals: 4 rides / 290 miles / 16,000 vertical feet / great times / tired legs