Saturday morning I did the same ride I had done before on Friday — out and back along the Foothill Expressway. I went farther this time and went past the Stanford campus. There were more cyclists out there than cars, it seemed. A few groups of people blew by me — something that would never happen at home. Still, it was cool to be out there with a whole ton of other cyclists instead of being alone as I usually am when at home or in Williamsburg.
Saturday I went to a bike shop in Palo Alto to look at tires. I wasn’t sure that I would buy any, but when I got there I noticed they had the same tires I already have. Just by comparing those to the ones on my bike, I could definitely tell I needed new ones. I forked over the cash and put them on that night.
Sunday was a mistake. I decided to try a loop I picked out from looking at the map. I went south into Sunnyvale and then turned west. I only wanted to go a little over an hour since I had gone farther the day before. The roads in Sunnyvale and Cupertino sucked for cycling. There were way too many lights and I hit nearly every one of them. There were a ton of cars. Once I got past Highway 85, traffic thinned out and I found the road that I intended to take back towards Los Altos and Mountain View. This road was narrow and windy and it started to get hilly. Mountains loomed closer as I went and the hills got worse. A few other cyclists whipped by me going the other way.
The mistake came when I came to an intersection and went the wrong way. I remember seeing signs, but none of the places were of anywhere I knew, so I stayed on the road I was on. I should have turned. Instead, I went straight, up some more hills, and then had a big downhill past some wineries into a canyon. I should have known I was going the wrong way when the vegetation changed from arid chaparral to large fir trees that I’ve seen in the mountains.
When I got to the bottom of the downhill, there was another intersection and I incorrectly assumed that this was the road I was supposed to take back to Mountain View.
It was the road to hell.
Actually, the road itself was hell. It was the start of an endless climb that took me at least 45 minutes to get to the top. The road headed up into the mountains and met with Skyline Boulevard. I didn’t know this when I started and figured I was going the right way. But it became obvious as I kept going up and up and up and up. I was in the smallest gear and it hurt. I knew for sure I was going the wrong way when I got out of the canyon and started to gain altitude and see everything laid out below. Plenty of cyclists flew down the mountain the other way but I only passed one other guy on my way up.
I thought about turning around but I didn’t give up hope that there would be a shortcut to take me back. There wasn’t one. I got to the top and saw signs for Santa Cruz and San Francisco and it was then that I knew I was in for a long ride. I was already over an hour and a half in. I had gained around 2700 feet in altitude since leaving Moffett, which is at sea level, and probably climbed more than that to get out of that canyon. I took the right towards San Francisco and headed along Skyline, which was fortunately not too hilly.
Somehow there were packs of other cyclists up there along the ridge. I can’t see why anyone would endure all that suffering just to get up there. I would say that running up the mountains is just as hard as cycling — meaning maximum effort. Eventually I got to Page Mill and started a long, windy descent. It took as long to get down the mountain as it did to get up and I was flying. Finally, I made it into Palo Alto and headed back through the neighborhoods to Mountain View and Moffett. I didn’t get back until nearly 1 PM. I stretched, took a long shower, and collapsed in a chair for the rest of the afternoon.
I wanted to go into San Francisco on Sunday, but I was wiped. I watched Taxi Driver on my computer and read some the rest of the afternoon. That was a weird movie. I’m not sure what the writer’s intent was with that film. It’s hard to tell if the main character is good or bad, especially at the end. The personality of De Niro’s character seems to be not unlike that of a school shooter. He is lonely and desperate at the beginning and then something snaps at the end and he goes off the deep end on a rampage.
The past two days I’ve just stuck to the same out and back route. It’s cold in the mornings on the bike. I’ve been getting up earlier, though. When I get back it’s a lot warmer, so it’s hard to figure out what to wear. This morning I rode for awhile with a guy who was going about my pace. He had a Bianchi as well, along with the same tires as me. His bike was a lot more expensive than mine. This guy also sprinted to beat a traffic light and just flew away from me like I was standing still. I really don’t have the legs to do that. Heck, I can’t even run like that. Then, after I get back into Moffett, a base cop stops me and says I have to stop at every stop sign. It’s a major pain to do that with clips. Yesterday when I stopped at a light I lost my balance and fell flat on the pavement. Now my right leg is all bruised and sore. Regardless, the cops around here are insane. I understand there are laws, but give me some slack.
My achilles appears better, but I’m not sure when I want to try running again. I would like to go tomorrow but I am not in any rush. I don’t want it to come back, so I am considering waiting until Thursday.
Today we went out to a sushi bar for lunch since I am leaving at the end of the week. I usually don’t eat lunch since I eat a decent amount at breakfast and don’t get hungry again until dinner. I don’t like the whole social pressure associated with food and eating. There was a big thing in the news about how if your friends are fat, you probably will be too. I can see why that is when there is a huge influence from your peers to make you eat what they want when they want to. When you refuse it’s like you are some kind of whack job.
Anyways, I had never been to a sushi place like that before and have only had it once or twice. It was really good, though.
I give my presentation tomorrow on my work and I am more or less set for that. My mom comes in on Thursday and then we leave on Saturday. It’s going to be weird leaving here and then going right back to school. Transitions are always hard for me, especially fast ones. I won’t be at home barely at all, so I am considering going home more during the semester since I don’t have any more meets or mandatory practices. Sarah will be at home, too, so I can see her too.
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