My grips were bad.

On April 22 I wrote that I visited a coffee shop while waiting to return to the laundromat. When I was done my friend let me know that she had needed help at the apartment. I got the laundry and we walked back to the apartment. When she left on her way to a party, I prepared for a ride to Fairfax but was really behind. When I finally left I knew I had no time to spare.

I sent a direct message to an acquaintance on Twitter saying happy birthday and that I wouldn’t be able to see stop by his birthday party. Then I rode the Wiggle and went to the bridge nonstop. I measured my progress and then crossed the bridge descending into Sausalito. I was bummed I didn’t have a bell. I passed cars and decided at Sausalito to get coffee.

I tweeted to some people I follow, checked my progress and noted that I had no time to spare. I rode to a bike shop to fill my tires and then headed across the marsh and over Horse Hill. On Meadowsweet a guy climbing the hill called me lucky. However, riding fast on that downhill is really dangerous because of the bumps. Also, my grips were bad.

I didn’t really slow down as I traveled through Ross, San Anselmo and Fairfax because of the rush and my body was screaming in pain. Near Olema Road I had to slow down but it made my time and physical pain issues more acute. At Sir Francis Drake Highway I tried to take a secondary route but it turned out it was wrong.

I found the right route through the equestrian neighborhood and climbed to the pipeline trail. I had to walk because the incline was too great. However, the new bridge was worth it. I didn’t realize the far side had climbed so much. The new grade was perfect for everyone - horse and bike.

I rode back nearly the same route except at Bon Air I headed to the ferry. I passed a student driver and a couple of roadies. They were using mountain bikes on Bayside Hill but I passed them.

I made the ferry fine but had no cash so I only ate some corn nuts. One of the cyclists on the boat seemed familiar but she didn’t want my bike near hers for some reason so I didn’t say anything. I asked the constable about the boat.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.