Category: cycling

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Paradise Loop

Decided to try and tackle Paradise Loop today. By far the longest cycling ride I’ve yet gone on. 45 miles later, I’m ready to pass out.

Here’s the route as recorded by Runmeter on my iPhone 4.

Paradise Loop Bike Ride - GPS Route

Here are some of the raw statistics output from Runmeter:

paradise-loop-gps.png

Ride Time: 4:46:04
Stopped Time: 23:23
Distance: 45.41 miles
Average: 9.52 miles/h
Fastest Speed: 28.06 miles/h
Climb: 1916 feet
Calories: 2272

A little slower than I’d like, but hey! There were some hills toward the end of the ride (coming out of Sausalito and approaching the Golden Gate Bridge) that were rough for me to deal with. Made it though!

Now, every joint in my body is sore.

Finally, here are a few photos from the ride.

Richmond Bridge

Paradise Drive - Backside of Tiburon Penninsula

Golden Gate Bridge from Tiburon

Golden Gate Bridge

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Cycling trends

Hah! Andrew Martin jokes about today’s “silly bikes.”

However, the latest trend is for the minimalist courier bike, which supplements the disadvantages of the road bike (no mudguards, bags, lights) with the bonus disadvantage of having only one brake and no gears at all. It’s more difficult to ride one of these up a moderate incline than it is a mountain bike, yet that’s the point: they show the rider is super-fit, which is why they particularly appeal to men worried about turning 30, who are not super-fit but want female passers-by to think they are.