new year's day was a bust for me. but i was happy that i got to see da dawg on the second day of 2009. i got lots of pictures but few turned out well. these two are my most favorite.
the apartment next door to us here in lovely san francisco got burglarized yesterday. they made off with all his electronics some time between 9 and noon.
did you know that i have a bike? a real bike, with tires and everything! it's actually a hard tail mountain bike by gary fisher. jg got it for me back in 1998. and that's about the last time i rode it.
i don't know what possessed me to get back on the bike. i think i shocked jg when i suggested that we go for a ride. he rustled up all the gear in less than five minutes. pretty good considering all our possessions are in unmarked filing boxes.
deyoung museum
i had forgotten how much fun riding a bike is. by some miracle, my bike is still in perfect working order. my helmet and my gloves are pretty much brand new.
bison paddock
you might be wondering why i let my bike rot for a decade. i have jg to blame for that. he took me on a real mountain biking trail the very day he gave me the bike. i loved the challenge, but i did not have the skills. i didn't even know how to unclip my shoes from the pedals. each time i came to a stop, i would fall over with my feet still clipped to the bike.
yesterday was a perfect day for a ride. the weather was pleasant and half of golden gate park was closed to traffic. i had fun zipping around without worrying about cars. we ended up at ocean beach. by pure coincidence, we met up with these two clowns across from the beach chalet.
beeze+amanda
we stood around catching up and then decided to have a picnic lunch. they drove to get sandwiches and we rode to meet them at the sloat beach parking lot. we went past an impediment of sort along the great highway. see for yourself:
i was moving at a pretty good speed but i managed to steer clear of it. hitting that thing would have meant going over the handlebar.
safely parked
we took our time eating and watching surfers negotiate the monstrous waves. i was more interested in the dogs playing fetch along the water. one lucky couple had two waffles.
some unlucky person lost a good looking dog.
the picnickers
after lunch we went our separate ways. beeze and amanda left in their piece of german engineering. jg and i got on our bikes and headed home.
the ride back was difficult for me. the grade was gentle but it was steadily up and up. i had to walk my bike for two short stretches. jg was very patient during my slow trudge home, a lot more now than he ever was when he took me on that fateful mountain biking trip.
12.42 miles round trip
in less than two hours. can you believe it? i'm sure that's a joke for any regular bicyclist. but for me, an average lazy hiker, it's incredible that i could cover that much distance in a day.
over all, i had a great time blast riding my bike. the only complaint i have is that my a** is a bit sore today. but that's because i didn't wear my padded shorts. with all the proper gear, i can imagine riding every sunday.
i took that picture today on the coastal trail at about a mile in from the traihead. it's normally a very windy trail. today, it was gale force. the gusts were whipping my pony tail around so much that it gave me a headache.
heather at 1:38
despite the cold blasts and the hair yanking, i enjoyed the hike. i had too much on my mind to be bothered. i only decided to turn around when i realized that i didn't have any water with me.
my brother is a flea market junkie. he's under strict order to buy all the polaroid film he sees. look what he found this past weekend.
$2
he once found a four pack of polaroid film wrapped costco style. the seller wanted $5 but my brother walked away because the film had expired. needless to say, he still hasn't heard the last of it from me.
so now he buys indiscriminately. he once called me from the flea market asking, "there's a radio that's made to look like a pack of polaroid film; do you want it?
jg and i got up at 4:30 to go snowboarding yesterday. we left the house by 5:30 and arrived at northstar by 9.
approaching donner pass
sunny and clear
the resort was borderline deserted. we got first class shuttle bus service, "discounted" lift tickets, and the trails to ourselves.
view from our lunch table
schnowboarder
i only wiped out five times all day. that's not counting the spectacular falls i took each time i got off the lift. i can zip along on the slopes like a pro, but i still tumble off the lift like a beginner.
the slopes got more crowded in the afternoon. jg and i did a few runs together before calling it a day. we left the resort at 3:45 for a date with the sacramentoans.
max+april
we were generously treated to an international dinner at the tower cafe. the food was delicious. the desserts, ooh la la!
high light of dinner
april and max shared a bread pudding topped with melted chocolate. jg and i had a slice of the yin+yang cheese cake. next time in in sacramento, i'm buying the whole cake.
good snowboarding, great food, and excellent friends. a truly perfect day.
