the parrishioner

Sausalito

  2006 Sausalito Criterium

On Saturday I raced the Sausalito Criterium - 15 or so laps on a short course with seriously steep hills. After a couple laps I was well off the back, and after six laps I got a flat. With no wheels in the pits I was forced to drop out, which was simultaneously a relief and a bummer - I was having a lot of fun despite completely sucking out there.

So - another race, another DNF. But flatting out is way better than crashing out, wouldn't you say?

Ups and downs

I went for a long walk this afternoon. On the way up Vulcan Stairway, I lost my footing on a slippery step and fell and hit my back. Other than that it was a lovely walk.

And for crying out loud I swear my next post will be about something other than an injury.

Crash Saturday, hurt Sunday

Having completed all the Early Bird crits and training sessions, I have upgraded to category 4. Casey from NCNCA sent me a little "4" sticker to put on my racing license.

I took my new status out for a spin yesterday by doing the Apple Pie Criterium in Santa Rosa. On the last lap a bunch of people went down right in front of me. I rolled over a downed rider like he was a speed bump ... ended up lying on the ground along with 6 or 7 other people. Finish line was 400m away and I never made it. Too bad - I was feeling good and in decent position.

I'm bloodied but ok. Another cracked helmet. Bike is fine.

Feeling Caltrain on the outside

  Caltrain station, San Francisco

I had a mini-revelation on the way to work today. I took the inbound N-Judah to the end of the line, where it happens to connect with Caltrain, one of our regional commuter rail services. There's a station there that I have always thought of as the "Caltrain" station. And indeed the outside of the station says "Caltrain", but today I noticed that the little signs on the platform say "San Francisco".

So, from the perspective of San Francisco, the station is "Caltrain". But from the perspective of Caltrain, the station is "San Francisco". This seemed like a very nifty trick at the time.