On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

On Wednesday evening, Cara and I step on a plane, and everything for the next three weeks will be very, very different. Hue, Nov 2005 I was last in Thailand in 2005. In Thailand, I was only in Bangkok, then from there ventured up to Ha Noi, wandered down the coast by train, then by bus to De Lat and on to Saigon/Ho Chi Min city. It was an amazing trip, so many sensations. And so I return, as I knew I would. This time, we're joining Red Spokes Bicycle Tours for a tour from Thailand to Laos. Then from there Cara and I are diverting to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat for three days before flying back to Bangkok. New territory, new experiences, new people, new sensations. A real cyclist. But as I sit here in a cold apartment, the sound of the rain outside penetrating the dark windows, chilled fingers typing on the keyboard, I am very, very excited by this . Yes -- the heat. We all have windows of comfort. Some are biased to hot weather, some to colder weather. I'm definitely in...

On Friday, I took my bike on Caltrain for the first time this week. I've been exploring a new and underutilized transportation mode. Strange it's so rare: it's easily the cheapest of all common modes, essentially no equipment is required. In the city, it's faster than MUNI. Parking is trivial, far easier than even for a bike. The only downer is limited cargo capacity. It's running. And it's such a relief to be able to reach the platform just as a shiny Bombardier baby bullet pulls in, punch my 10-ride, and get on without even a hint of concern about capacity. Then I sit down at a nice table, plug in my lap top, and I'm updating a report, catching up on email I popped earlier, or whatever. None of the creative chaos which is the bike car. Sure, running with the back pack is a bit of a hassle. But using the small pack which I got at ESSDERC in Edinburgh, after I tighten down the shoulder straps it isn't too bad. Nice easy pace. Start really slow...

Monday night... trying to get to the Low-Key awards. I'd run from my office to Stanford to meet Cara at Page Mill and Foothill. It seems that run was the most rapid segment of the trip from there. Cara picked me up at the corner, after a very involved 15 minute exercise in switching from east bound to west bound on Page Mill amidst the brutal evening commute traffic out of Stanford, and we were off for Sunnyvale Sports Basement via 280, 85, 237, and Lawrence Expressway . It's 23 minutes as the Google flies, but it took us almost exactly 60. After somehow missing the exit for 101 on 85, it was at best slow walking pace down 237 until we somehow managed to escape with what shreds of our sanity we could salvage at the Lawrence Expressway exit. Ah, for the good old days of $4.50/gallon gasoline.... It's a fundamental principle of economics that you tax things you want people to do less of, avoid taxing things you want people to do more of. For example, I think we all agree...

Thanks so much to Pat Parseghian and Patt Baenan for doing the heavy lifting last night for the Low-Key Awards Ceremony! The Low-Key Awards are always special, how many other cycling events have something like it? (The California Triple Crown series does, to its credit.) This one, though, was super-special for me, because while I look forward to the chance to give out awards (I am floored at how many enthusiastic volunteers the series attracts), I was totally shocked and very touched to receive an award of my own, from the others. And Patt Baenan, who does amazing work for the Lance Armstrong foundation and serves as the Low-Key series treasurer, gave me a very special gift.... a signed print of Alberto Contador! Oh, my.... this one goes straight to the framing shop!!!! Signed Contador Print Thanks to all who braved the brutal South Bay holiday traffic and sat through an over-the-time-budget ceremony! It was a special event, which I wouldn't have forgotten in any case, but d...

Even though I don't have a car, I rarely take the bus in San Francisco. On its opening night I joined Cara and members of her extended family for Milk , the incredible film about the life of former San Francisco Supervisor and gay activist Harvey Milk. After the film, I left Cara at Filmore and Geary stop for the Muni 22 bus , a popular route which basically runs straight home to Potrero Hill. Wanting to get a run in, I'd changed into my running clothes, handed her a bag with my "pedestrian" gear, and set off. This "race" wasn't even close -- I got back well ahead of her. This Saturday night we took the same bus back to the same location. We were meeting Cynthia and Nathan at Maki, a quite good Japanese restaurant in Japan Center. With the help of NextBus (actually, a bit easier is NextMUNI , a MUNI-specific page) and some favorable luck were able to time our connections. However, after we got home, the web page for our outbound leg was still open...

When I was recovering from hepatitis following a trip to Mexico, I was elated to be out for my first "long ride"... I was with a group which used to meet at City Cycles in San Francisco: Fairfax, Alpine Dam, Ridgecrest, Mt Tam. All told, 60-something miles with a bunch of climbing. Good, long miles. As I finished the climb to Ridgecrest at one of the many regroupment points of the old City Cycles ride, I saw some runners passing by on a nearby trail. They slowly plodded along, each with a belt pouch, while a few gathered spectators/course volunteers clapped. Something was going on! When I asked if it was a trail run, I was told yes, it was the Mt Tam 100k. I was floored.... 100 km on this terrain? Here I was feeling warm and fuzzy about my ride, and these folks were doing nearly the same on foot. I was impressed. Later, A similar experience on Mt Diablo.... I reached the summit of the 3600 foot climb to find an aid station. Another trail race, another sick sum of ki...

An early Christmas present for California cyclists is the annual announcement of the Tour of California route. The 2009 route was just announced, and highlights with my San Francisco area perspective include: stage 2 : On roads I know so well... a climb of Tunitas Creek Road, passing the Bike Hut , past Bear Gulch on Skyline then the fast descent to and of west 84, out to San Gregorio, then the tailwind-aided run to Davenport (watch the tracks). Then it's a personal favorite, up Bonny Doon & Pine Flat, then deviating from my usual route, down Empire Grade into Santa Cruz for the finish. Cool stuff, and a real chance for time gaps, without a lot of distance from the bottom of the climb to the finish line. stage 3 : Of course, they couldn't start a stage climbing Sierra Road.... they were going over Mt. Hamilton Road this year, surely. Wrong . The stage opens with the really tough climb of Sierra Road after all, then down the technical Felter descent, then right on su...

I love to watch Cara race cyclocross -- she's so smooth, so natural. Okay, so not to the level of watching Jonathan Page glide through the deep mud at 2002 Nationals at Domaine Chandon in Napa, that was simply amazing... here's Travis Brown and Todd Wells chasing: Travis Brown and Todd Wells at 2002 Nationals ( CyclingNews ) Okay, that was the best. But for Women's C category, Cara's really smooth. Unfortunately I missed seeing her race at last weekend's Pilarcitos 'Cross Race at Golden Gate Park , as I was awaiting results at the Run Wild for a Child 10km running race, which I had just completed. Usually I really enjoy photographing the women's C race, as they don't get as much attention as later fields. But there were some good photos taken of the race, including one of the start , from which I extracted the following. Also shown in the photo is the best 'cross racer of the decade, Belgium's Sven Nijs: Cara (top), Sven (bottom) Two ride...

The old Run to the Far Side is now Run Wild for a Child . While it doesn't inspire perhaps the same old costume creativity, the costume prize list is still stronger than those for running performance, providing a focus on fun appropriate for the holiday weekend. This was my third competitive run of the year, after the Dolphin Running Club Embarcadero 10km and the Quimby Low-Key Hillclimb . Despite residual fatigue the day before from Thanksgiving's Low-Key Hillclimb , I was hoping to approach my goal of 40 minutes today. As I slowly ran around the start area to warm up, it was hard to imagine how I'd be able to pull this off, as my legs were a bit sore. But a series of loosening exercises combined with light running had me feeling good enough at the start. Road running is so surreal.... each mile has its own character, inspiring a shift of focus on what is such an internally focused sport. A tension between relaxation and effort. Relaxation is the key to efficiency,...