Friday, June 3, 2011

Conquering Mt. Tampalpais!

I did it! I've been talking about climbing that hill on the trike all year 'round and I finally did it. I didn't even leave the house looking to climb that monster. As I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, I just kept going on and on and on past Sausalito. I saw a big hill that went back towards the City, decided to head that way and later found the hill turning into a mountain.

The ride would've been a death trap on the one lane (in each direction) on a foggy day at 8am. Luckily it's Friday in the middle of the afternoon and no fog in sight.

No pictures to prove I fulfilled the trek, but what can I say?

Along the way just before Corte Madera, the drivetrain started getting really stiff. I stopped, turned back and found that the cable came off the rear internal gear hub! Uh oh. Last time I tried putting the cable back on, I had to use tools that I didn't bring with me on this ride. Prepared to sit there for 30 minutes to fix this, I took a deep breath and began the repair. Maybe it was my patience or maybe it was practice from last time, but I was able to fix it in just a few minutes and I was on my way.

I found a new bike path that literally runs alongside the 101 freeway. If it wasn't for the fence dividing the path from the cars, I wouldn't have dared to go on this path. Mid way through, I decided to look back to see if my flag was still there.

Slowing down and looking back towards the sky, I saw a white pole half as short as the one I had installed this morning.

No flag.

No one would have stolen it this time, so I figured the red flag I lost a couple weeks before just fell off during my ride. This has never happened before. It's odd that the flag is falling off. That's two flags now! At least I can feel better knowing that the Bay to Breaker's folks weren't the thieves I thought they were. It was my fault both times. I need to tape this thing together next time.

Off to the bike shop I go tomorrow. Now do I want yellow or orange?

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