My new girlfriend

Her name is Tam.

She makes my heart race when I'm near her. She makes me hot even when the weather is cold.

Cheesy, yeah, but I had a slightly euphoric ride up to East Peak today and during the climb it occurred to me that I love Mt. Tam.

This morning I set out in 50 degree, foggy conditions and climbed up thru dense fog (falling off of trees, like rain) to 80 degree, sunny conditions...I couldn't even see SF from the top of Mt. Tam because the fog was so thick. Descending was great, as always. Then stopped at Crissy Field to watch a bit of the Big Air Wind Jam. Gotta love that.

I think I picked up a cold on the flight home from two less than stellar Superweek races. :-(

I've also had WAY too much caffeine today.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Tomorrow: Gilroy Garlic Festival

Holy Shit, I may have won a Stage of the Tour!!!

Is this me?

2-Week Blur

Not even sure where to start this post. Eric and James got in Monday night and left on Thursday morning. My parents got in Thursday afternoon thru Sunday night. Denny flew in that Monday night and left this morning...2 full weeks of friends and family in town and it was a ton of fun.

Eric/James Visit: (see previous post)
- Riding with Eric in the AM
- Meeting up with James in the PM to tour the city

Mom/Dad's and Aunt/Uncle's Visit: (see previous post)
- Neighborhoods
- Long drive up Highway 1
- Drive down Highway 1
- Napa

Denny's Visit:
- Neighborhoods
- Stinson Beach for the 4th...Denny and I with friend's Katie and Shana
- 4th Fireworks at Aquatic Pier
- Denny hit up Muir Woods, Sausalito, Golden Gate Park, Japanese Tea Garden, Ocean Beach, Haight-Ashbury over a couple days while I was at the office
- Alcatraz and Angel Island

Lots of beer, great wine and eating out. I haven't been on the bike in about 7lbs!!!! wow. **update...morning weigh in was better...only about 4ish gained.**

Time to get back to my normal routine...starting with the Tuesday night Sprints at Golden Gate Park tomorrow night. But for now, I'm going to enjoy some wine, watch a movie and completely crash out. Here are some pics from Denny's trip:

Stinson Beach on the 4th

Late lunch in Napa (Denny, Shana & yours truly)

Denny's new apartment

Ayala Cove at Angel Island (with my good friend, Mt. Tam, way off in the background)

I love my new city and that giant playground of mine just north of the bridge.
_

Visitors

I'll fill in with more descriptions later, but here are the highlights......so far...

Eric and James in town for a few days...Eric with bike, James without bike but definitely armed with an outdated SF Tourism Book.

Monday: Sushi and Irish Bar in North Beach.

Tuesday:
1) Ride. Alpine Dam Loop - Tam - Home (about 6,800 ft. of climbing)
2) Tour. Chinatown, North Beach, Wharf, Marina, Black Horse on Union for some Cask pulled ESB's!!!

Wednesday:
1) Ride. Hwy 1 up to Stinson Beach, up Panoramic to Tam entrance, then Headland's Loop (another 6,800 ft.)
2) Tour. Chinatown, Japanese Tea Garden, Haigh-Ashbury, Random Bar, Castro, Mission, Zeitgeist for some pints

Tuesday's Ride

Wednesday's Ride

Self-shot of us leaving Tam's Peak on Tuesday

Parent's in town Thursday - Sunday...
- Thursday: Chinatown, North Beach, Wharf
- Friday: Breakfast at Cafe Trieste in Sausalito, drove Highway 1 up to Stinson Beach...then continued up to Marshall for lunch...back down 1 and up Bofax Rd up to Tam's Peak...then Headland's Loop (easier trip by car)...then we met up with Aunt Joan and Uncle Greg for dinner at Scoma's.






Tomorrow - Ocean Beach, Cliff House and then Half Moon Bay to see the Maverics...maybe more...

My parents fly out late Sunday and then Denny fly's in Monday for a week...more to come.

Race Recap

Burlingame Criterium (South Bay)

Today's crit really seemed slow and easier than most others I've been in out here, but it was a tight course and crash-tastic. At one point, I almost had a guy sliding sideways plow into me...I narrowly avoided that one and then with 2 to go (and feeling amazingly fresh), I moved up into my ideal position for a sprint finish. During the final lap, one guy took the turn ahead of me WAY too hot and went all the way out to crash another guy into the steel fence and cracked his Trek Madone (saw him afterwards). He also took out my buddy Ken in the process. At that moment I had two choices: 1) Barrel into these guys and probably break my fork and go end over end or 2) Hit the brakes hard, wait for a safe spot to move around them while I watch my prime position fade away. I chose the latter and rolled in for 49th...sucked... The finish was my kind of crit finish...two easy turns (more like curves) and then just one long straightaway. I really thought I would give us a good west coast result.

bummed.

One of my Get A Grip Teammates, Eric, is coming out this week to ride and he wants to climb as much as possible...should be a tough Tuesday/Wednesday for us. Can't wait.

Jersey and Shorts!

Today, I rode in my jersey and shorts. No arm-warmers, no leg-warmers. Not hot, not cold . Awesome weather today. My riding buddy got sunburned, but my Italian skin soaked up the sun and just made my farmer's tan even "better".

That's all for now...Burlingame Criterium tomorrow morning.

Tour of Ohio - Seth Meyer

Seth Meyer, one of my Get A Grip Teammates, is toughing it out in the Tour of Ohio in an Elite Pro/1/2/3 category! He's been posting a recap of each stage on the Get A Grip Racing Team Blog.

Check it out when you get a chance...Today was Stage 3; a 64 mile Road Race with 5 KOM (King of the Mountain) climbs. Seth found himself in an early (less than 10 miles in) breakaway that nearly made it to the finish...he was in this break with some of the best...check out his posts on the team blog: Click Here

Keep killing it Seth!