TandemHearts

We spent a couple of days camping at Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville, CA, just south of Lake Tahoe. We wanted to do a short “test” camp out to work out the bugs in our equipment and figure out what else we needed to buy. Of course we also had to do a little bike riding. On the drive up we passed some guys riding out of Placerville. They were headed up a huge climb and were taking a break. We stopped to make sure they were fine. (more…)

On June 2 I rode the Eastern Sierra Double Century. This ride features some of the most amazing scenery and the worst roads I have ever ridden on. Out of the five double centuries I have completed, it was the hardest for me. This ride starts at 4,000 feet and climbs up to 8,100 feet. Most people notice the thin air above 8,000 feet. The area is also extremely dry. I thought where we live was dry – 30 – 40% humidity is our norm. But in the Eastern Sierras the norm is 10 – 20%. The low humidity and the elevation really made this ride difficult for me. (more…)

The Central Coast Double is a great ride, very well supported and with gorgeous scenery. I, however, went into this ride nervous about whether or not I could complete it. At the beginning of January I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do any doubles this year. But as the weather warmed up and the rains ceased, I began to feel the urge to do something insane again. Yet I did not feel like I had trained with enough hills and distance this year. Most of my rides have been one or the other, not both. I did not even start seriously training until March. I knew I had a good fitness base, but still…The Triple Crown website gives this ride an Extremely Hard rating. At 209.7 miles, it is the longest single day of riding I have ever attempted. I counted twenty- two climbs in the very compressed elevation profile on the ride’s website. I’m pretty certain that many of the rollers were not included in that profile. (more…)

Spring has come to California! The hills are green, the flowers are beginning to bloom and sleeveless jersey season has begun! Get out your sunscreen.

Sonoma Mountain is a nice little climb, about an hour drive from us. After the ride, we reconned in the car another climb and did our good deed for the day. We stopped to give a tube and lend our pump to another cyclist who had a flat. He had already used up his spare tube. There is a reason we carry two tubes with us when we ride.

Click on the pictures to link to the gallery.

While all the major bicycle makers have sent their production overseas, a small industry exists for hand built, custom and semi-custom bikes. The Show gathered some of the best in San Jose to torment anyone who loves bikes and did not win the lottery.

The Gallery is very cool.