Early yesterday morning, Will and Abe left for Tahoe to get some snow legs before their big CAT-skiing trip to interior BC after Christmas. I, on the other hand, stayed cozy in bed and then spent the morning doing all the fun little things that I needed to do.
Ashley convinced me to do a mountain bike ride that day with her and Sandy, so we convened at 512 just after noon. Sandy used to live in San Rafael and knew of a good ride with fire roads, single-track (illegal, as we later found out) and great views. And the other plus was that Tully, Sandy's doggie, could come on the ride with us because it wasn't a state park.
View of San Rafael and Mt. Tam as we start the big climb
Ashley ahead on some of the single-track before it gets really sketchy
View of Mount Tam as we climb up the fire roadI'm not going to lie to you, the climb to the ridge was a be-otch, anyone who actually enjoys that kind of torture really is a masochist. It was a really good work-out (or really, I should say, I got worked).
That said, it was a bee-oo-tiful day and the views were spectacular. It makes sense that you have to climb a lot to get that view. On top of the ridge, you could see Mount Tam to the right, and the bay to the right. My favorite single-track (legal) ride is China Camp, and you could see the road leading to China Camp State Park from the ridge.
View the bay from the top of San Pedro Ridge, China Camp to the right
Sandy and Ashley...go GBC!
Tully hanging out on the side of a fire roadI now know what "illegal" single-track means. These are areas of trails that are not maintained by anyone (like say, in a state park) and they are about half the width of a typical single-track trail. Which means that there's very little room for error. I was glad that I didn't choose this ride to try out my clipless pedals, but in converse to that thought, clipless pedals help you ride through more technical sections without coming off your pedals and using your power. Oy!
Novice rider (Bea) + illegal single-track (sketchy) = a big bail & sliding 20 feet down a big ravine
Big bail = sprained right ankle and scratches all down my left side
It took me a good chunk of time trying to climb out of the ravine with it's steepness, the handicapped ankle, dirt and leaves providing no traction, as well as getting my bike back up on the trail. Yowza. If I wasn't already challenged riding on the trail, I could now add sprained ankle into the mix. And the trail was so narrow that all the wild bushy stuff kept hitting my legs and my cuts...ow!
The aftermath of falling off sketchy single-track and into a ravineI was relieved to get back to the fire road, and from there it was a sweet downhill ride to our start point. I knew I was ready for the ride to end, as all I could think about was going to Starbuck's and getting a yummy grande chai tea latte with soy.
The whole ride took about 2.5 hours, a significant ride, as I usually do the 1.5 hour rides. Go GBC!
So, after the biking debacle, we headed back into the city, whereupon I seemed to pass 5 hours or so rather quickly doing relatively nothing.
I decided to join Ashley and Whitney and go to a party that their good friend, Carrie, was holding at her house in the Marina. That's right, I went to a party in the Marina...I wrapped my ankle with athletic tape (Heather, you'd be so proud of my novice wrap job) and rallied.
Carrie lives in a rad house on the corner of Marina Blvd and Scott Street, with a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge from her rooftop. It was a good time, and we even managed to talk to people we didn't know, which is not our usual practice.
Rich, Whitney and Ashley
Three Santas and some festive elves
Flip-cup, keg stands and more
Ashley regulating her beer intake...
Shaun and Anna, showing up late and watching all the drunk peopleI pulled the chute around 2 am, and got my poor, hurt, tired butt into bed...apparently, my body enjoys reminding me that 29 is right around the corner...
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