Sean’s Blog

Honestly, I need to get a camera or something. This is the only photo I have that has anything remotely to do with this ride…and as you can see it does little justice to how beautiful the ride actually was.

Compared to last year, the weather for the opening brevets has been incredible. I’ve already managed to get a forehead tan line and it’s only February. I’m ramping up this year to hopefully complete a Super Randonneur series. Despite only being back on the bike for the past couple of months, I’m feeling pretty good. I learned a bit from last year’s rides about nutrition and bonking, and luckily I haven’t had to experience the hurt of not eating properly before and during a ride. I am pretty sure though as the distance increases, I’ll have a few more run ins.

Two short weeks to go until the SF Randonneurs Russian River 300k. Last year I was really intimidated about this ride and now I am feeling a bit more comfortable with the distance.

Here’s my Strava upload, which is an awesome service by the way! I can’t wait to see my year end stats.

Yesterday was the first brevet of the San Francisco Randonneurs 2011 brevet calendar. It also marked one year since my very first brevet with the SF Randos. It’s been a little over a month since the surgeon gave me the okay to get back on the bicycle and I was really pleased to feel like I was in shape enough to give this brevet a go. It’s a beautiful course that starts at the Golden Gate Bridge, heads north then a little west through the Pt. Reyes National Seashore then meanders back to San Francisco.

On a sad note, this ride was dedicated to Don Mitchell who passed away in November after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle. The SFR 200k was Don’s favorite brevet. I had the chance to meet Don while he was volunteering at the finish control of last year’s Russian River 200k. He had just completed the Devil Mountain Double Century the day before which is over 200 miles and over 20,000 feet of climbing. Despite such a great accomplishment, Don was very humble about his achievement. He also politely declined when some friends and I offered to make him a peanut butter, jelly, and potato chip sandwich. Don left us too soon and will be missed.

All in all, this was a great 200k to start off the season. There wasn’t a single drop of rain (last year it rained a little) and the weather was absolutely ideal. It was also the largest brevet the SF Randonneurs hosted in history with 150 riders attending and another 20 on the wait list. (This is the only ride with a rider cap because of restrictions imposed by the Pt. Reyes National Seashore.) My left leg is still a little atrophied and my pedal stroke is a bit lopsided based on the fact that my right (stronger) leg started to cramp up while my left leg never did. I think I was also a little under gunned because I noticed on most of the climbs, my pedals wouldn’t spin nearly as fast as anyone else’s. But despite all these factors, my friends and I still managed to finish in just under 10 hours, besting last year’s attempt by about an hour.

This year I would really like to attempt a Super Randonneur series (200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k in a calendar year). There’s a lot of talk of this year’s Paris Brest Paris which is a 1200k ride in France that is kind of like the Olympics of randonneuring and happens only once every four years. I’m going to focus on the Super Randonneur series first, which is an intimidating task, then we can talk.

Here’s the Strava upload by the way.

During the winters, I feel really fortunate living in the Bay Area. The weather is really tough to complain about and you do get some great views. A couple of years ago, during January, I also took some pictures during the bike commute and was equally as pleased with the views and weather. Golden Gate Bridge in January

I’m also really getting a kick out of this Garmin and uploading my rides to Strava. I’m hoping I can get most of my mileage documented this year. A friend recently told me that when he documented all of his miles for the year, he came to the sad realization that he rode way less than he was telling his friends. I have a feeling I am too.

Strava Upload

Didn’t ride at all on days six and seven. But I did get out today for the bike commute to work followed by a ride up to Fairfax. Then did a quick equipment change at home and did some cross riding in the park again.

No photos this time around.

Strava upload.

237/500

Not even half way to the 500, but I’m actually quite pleased to considering I’ve been back on the bike for only three weeks now. It feels pretty good, but I have a little time before I’m back in decent shape.