TandemHearts

We’re lucky to have a great Regional Park nearby – Black Diamond Mines.  It is an awesome place to mountain bike with great trails and spectacular views of Mt Diablo and the Delta.   There is one section called “The Wall”  that is really tough to get up.  It rises up about 600 feet in just about 1 mile.  Every time I can make it on my bike without stopping I want to do a happy dance!   It’s freakishly steep, rutted and has some loose sections.

While biking we’d see “crazy”people trail running out there.   I always thought you had to be a pretty serious, strong runner to go there.  Well, I’m now a member of the crazy runner group!     I did not run the entire wall, but someday I will.

This is data from Garmin GPS recorded during the run.  The Wall starts at just about mile 5 and continues to the highest point of the graph.  My first goal is to be able to run that entire “little” hill from miles two to three. 

This is a picture of The Wall that Thom took in April, 2004 – the first time I made it to the top on my bike.  And I assure you, biking out here is WAY easier than running!

It’s been about three years since I have regularly ridden my mountain bike.  The accidents I had in 2007 really messed with my confidence on the bike and I’ve been putting much of my time and energy into training for triathlon.  I have missed the dirt though and this summer we’re planning a mountain bike trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, so I need to find my mountain bike place again. (more…)

The last photo gallery of the Ridge Trail was all about the climb. The nice thing about climbing is that there is usually a descent to follow. Today, we embrace gravity and show a little bit of the descent.

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I went for a walk on a winter’s day. – The Mamas and Papas

Veronica spent the weekend in Maine, while I stayed in California. January was a wet and cold month for us, but February is shaping up to be much nicer. When we talked on the phone, we compared weather. I went mountain biking – she made snow angels.