Great writeup, Rene. I've stood on the Marin headlands, but apparently not high enough... THAT was some view from where you guys were.
Your story reminds me of a similar experience I had with a blowout (on my Kogswell P/R, following a mad descent with lots of braking)... Fortunately for me the blowout occurred as I came to a halt at the bottom, not while I was screaming down the mountain. But that's some scary stuff, when your brakes generate so much rim heat. On Jan 2, 3:02 am, René Sterental <[email protected]> wrote: > Bidding good-bye to 2011 couldn't have been any better. In great RBW > spirit, I finally met fellow list member Ray Shine who had always offered > take me on rides around San Francisco. It is entirely my fault for > having taken so long, but it finally happened. > > Yesterday I met with Ray at the San Francisco Marina and together we rode > over accross the Golden Gate Bridge and then up Conzelman Road into the > Marin Headlands to do Ray's loop. Being the last day of the year and with > the gorgeous weather we had, the place was invaded with tourists on cars > and rental bikes. Luckily, the rental bikes were turning left into > Sausalito and not going up Conzelman Road. Ray was amazed at how many cars > there were, so we were careful but had no issues. > > Plenty of roadies on CF bikes passed us, and while no one asked how much > our bikes weighed (who would ask that after taking a look at me...?) I got > an incredible number of compliments on my Atlantis. Even Ray complimented > my bike when we first met. He was complaining that no one was giving him > any compliments on his black Yves, although a couple of people complimented > us both as they passed. Still, he couldn't believe the number of > compliments. > > After taking some photos of the view of the Golden Gate, the city and the > Bay at the highest vista point, we went down the 18% descent that has seen > Ray crash twice last year; fist in January when he broke his collarbone and > recently when he had his rim blow-out. We went cautiosly with cars coming > behind us and pumping the brakes so the rims wouldn't heat up too much and > stopped in the middle where more photos were taken. That descent is > absolutely breathtaking. It's not just the 18% downhill grade, it's the > fact that you have the ocean in front of you and just a guard-rail between > you and the breathtaking view. Just awesome. > > After the descent we continued on Conzelman Road to its end, took some more > photos of the two bikes and then Ray got me on the Atlantis with all the > silver parts reflecting the setting sun. Back via Bunker Road and then up > to Conzelman Road via McCullough Road for a final descent on the steepest > initial climb up Conzelman, back over the Golden Gate Bridge and finally, > once down on Crissy Field the search for a coffee place that was closed and > then further ahead, a Starbucks that was open. > > Having had nothing to eat since breakfast, combined with a few days of > getting back on the proper eating plan plus not enough riding in the past 6 > months resulted in my legs feeling completely empty by the time we finished > the ride. A good soy latte and a chicken sandwich restored me and tasted > like glory. Ray's company and guiding was nothing short of wonderful and to > me, the first of many wonderful rides that I'll be asking him to take me > along. > > On our way back after crossing the Golden Gate we saw the only other > Rivendell bike that we'd see all day, and as luck would have it, the owner > ran into us again as we were walking from the Starbucks to find a bench to > sit down and eat on the Marina. Words and salutations were exchanged, > mutual admiration comments on our bikes (he was riding a beautiful orange > Sam) and he and Ray exchanged contact info since both live in the city and > Ray has seen him before. > > For me, the most incredible thing was how incredible the spirit of both Ray > and this other rider who is in his 70s is. As a "younger" man in my early > 50s, it's awesome to see how these men contradict the traditional image I > grew up with that as we got older we were just not supposed to be doing > these things anymore. I guess I understand now why I always rebelled > against so many things that were "taught" as the norm as I was growing up. > > A wonderful afternoon on the last day of the year spent in the best way > possible; meeting a new friend, doing a new ride, feeling awed by the > beauty of the SF Bay Area and feeling just thankful for everything, > including finally nailing the fit of my Atlantis with the 150mm Bullmoose > bars as its cockpit. > > Using the now immortalized words by Manny... pictures prove it actually > happened! *http://tinyurl.com/74smdkq* > ** > I'm feeling pretty bullmooish about 2012!!! > > Happy New Year everyone!!! > > René -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
