Permanent sock tan!		Training Diary: San Francisco-Tiburon Loop March 17, 2001 I went for my first group training ride today. I have to admit the thought of joining the group ride made me a bit nervous at first, but I quickly realized how cool these organized rides are when our amateur peloton set out at once, over 30 riders in all. All my training up to this point has consisted of solo road and mountain bike rides around the East Bay hills. I'm quite lucky to have some scenic, hilly terrain in my backyard! I hadn't done much riding in Marin county to date, so I definitely looked forward to this weekend. Conditions were absolutely perfect: blue skies, glorious sun and gentle Spring breeze. 70 degrees by the late morning. Go ahead and weep. It was a fine, fine day. My modest bike mechanic skills came in quite handy today. Flat tires and mechanicals seem to be great, accidental ways to meet new friends as well. On the outbound leg alone, I stopped to help 6 different riders with bike trouble. 4 different riders got flats even before we made it out of SF. Another broke their chain just inside Sausalito. Another busted their front derailleur on the return trip. The group, led by Jim Murtha, met up at the Sports Basement (an unbeatable store for all sorts of outdoor sports gear) at 8:00 AM. From there, we rode up the Embarcadero, past Fort Mason and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. This was the third time I've ridden on the bridge, but the first time I've done it on the weekend, when they open up the West pedestrian walkway for bikes only. Nice! After crossing the bridge, we rode through Sausalito's bike paths, then climbed Camino Alto and the Corte Madera Grade -- decent climb. The route then headed East from Corte Madera, through the rolling hills of Paradrise Drive into Tiburon where we all stopped for lunch. The return trip after lunch simply took as along Richardson Bay, back to the Sausalito bike paths and back the way we came from the bridge. The loop, plus my rides to and from the BART stations helped me rack up a total of 70 miles. I felt great after the ride. Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everybody.
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