Mark an urban awakening.

Decided to extend my knowledge of SF dirt today and passed through Bernal Heights on the way back from a mostly standard loop of Twin Peaks. This is the view from the north side of the hill.

I'll prob start to include this hill in more of my runs and rides--it's about a mile from our apartment.

... newly discovered by me atop Mt Davidson (near Twin Peaks). The plaque marks it as a memorial to the 1,500,000 Armenians killed during the Armenian Genocide (which Vonnegut included as the driving thematic event in his novel, Blue Beard). The cross is huge but hidden by trees if you were to seek it from below.

Sent from my iPhone

In an effort to mix the riding up I've started riding the mountain bike a bit more. These are a couple pictures taken on my first effort to explore what's offered within the confines of the city itself. Looking up at Sutro Tower in the cover of fog:

Looking downtown from Twin Peaks:

Sutro Tower (the tallest structure in SF) from the comfort of my couch.

Until just recently I hadn't really been riding at all having taken a year long hiatus or so. And since switching over to the road bike I've rarely used my mountain bike at all. Gone are the days of meeting a select group of friends and riding 25 miles in the pitch of night with only our HID lamps to light the way. As much as I love the road bike, I do miss the trail riding. Here are some photos from the last ride I remember -- from 5/08 -- with some teammates and friends. The route took us up Alpine road to a fire road that led to Page Mill and then Skyline. We rode some single track along the ridge and then took a fast descent down and home. Not sure what the distance was, I'd guess 20 miles.

Rumors are floating about that Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement to race under his former coach with Team Astana for the ’09 cycling season; this would be wild.

 

 

http://www.velonews.com/article/82892/sources-lance-armstrong-coming-back