Momentum

Bonita Lighthouse and Tiburon Loop

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The solitary nature of my life is not easy to tell. Compared to my time in Vermont, I am considerably alone. When I arrived at UVM I started seeing Samantha almost immediately, and from that point on I was not alone until a year ago. February 14th I sent her a dozen anonymous roses, and that was the last "good thing" I did for her. I was, in her words, a bad boyfriend. She was right. I did not treat her as if we had a future, for deep down I knew we didn't. Disillusioned by my indecisiveness about our relationship and with UVM in general, she pulled out of her excursion into Northern New England and started to reconnect with her roots: Judaism (or identifying as a Jew) and New York values and culture. I realize now I caught her in the typical post-high school discovery phase, when the Jewish suburban girl ventures to Vermont to lead a "green" life, save the planet and date a local backwoods boy.
So it has been a year and 4 months since I've been out here, and I've been alone--just to reiterate. It is what I sought in Burlington quite often, and what I was able to get growing up in Maine . The rail-road tracks use to be my refuge. It is more than a cliché: the rurally raised, discontent youth taking his guitar down to the tracks and writing tortured prose and poetry. Clichés exist, sometimes, because they are unavoidably ubiquitous.

Since I've discovered cycling I feel as if I've returned to those tracks in Central Maine. I set out alone and spend time in a solitary state; me, music and my wandering mind. Signing up for the Lifecycle as given me plenty of motivation to get out and on the road.

I spent a solitary Friday morning with coffee and a book (The Selfish Gene) in Alamo Square Park. Later, my good friend Steph took me surfing for the first time. It did really well at first, popped up on the board and all. But, about 2 hours in I began to get sea sick.

Saturday morning I set out to tackle a headland ride I've been meaning to do for a while. It was suppose to be a small ride, but turned into a sizable day of riding. After crossing the bridge I continued up a considerable grade, probably 800ft in 1.5miles. My gearing was acting up, so I didn't climb this impediment as gracefully as I normally would. Yet, I cannot help but notice the constant and delightful improvement I made from week to week.I took this picture (left) at the top of the climb.

The descent down the back was incredibly steep. I was on my way to Bonita Lighthouse, perched on dark, sheer, distinctly Northern Californian cliffs located at that

famous opening to San Francisco Bay. This picture is from a lookout just North(right). I continued east into beautifully perserve landscape of hills and valleys with plently of winding trails for mountain biking and hiking. Would you believe that I'm less than 5 miles from a major city?

I rode through on tireless legs, jamming to my iPOD and thoroughly enjoying the warm sun. It is amazing how quickly the temperature rises as you move inland. After passing through a tunnel that bores under the most coastal hills of the headlands, I turned onto the road leading to Sausalito. I could've turned right and headed for home, but I just didn't want to stop. This is pattenly unlikely me. I catch myself really pushing while I ride.

Below are some pictures I took from Tiburon, a rich little town at the end of the loop I tacked on to the Lighthouse ride. I talked to my sister while I was on the phone and told her I would post these pictures I took while we spoke. These are for you Natalie...

At the end of the day I was pretty impressed with myself. I did 55 miles and 3600ft of climbing, averaging 14.3 miles an hour. Strong enough for now, but I've got much greater challenges to train for! Aidslifecycle.org/5423 donate today! and thank you.