Climbing Bikes

[shannon_a]

These last few days, I've been riding up into the hills. I'd really like to get better at climbing, which is to say riding my bike upward, especially since we have these hills just east of us, keeping me from getting to things eastward, so I've been practicing riding up them.

It's hard work. I bet it would be easier if I lost some weight. But I've taken four runs at the hills since Tuesday, heading pretty much straight east from my house, and I feel like I'm starting to build up some endurance. I can now regularly get up above the Claremont Hotel, which is a bit above 400 feet, or about 200 feet above my house.

Great? No, not really. But it's the same height as Lake Temescal which I just barely made it to two weeks ago.

Fortunately, to aid me in my work (and to help my biking overall), Google Maps now has a Terrain option, which shows you topographical lines. Yay.

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I've also learned that there's quite a few more secret paths in South Berkeley than I thought there were. These are stairwells and paths, winding between houses. I knew of a number in North Berkeley, but I now know a nice set of them that I can get to from our house. I'll have to take Kimberly on the tour when she returns, as there were a number that I couldn't look at today because I didn't feel like hauling my bike up and down stairs.

Comments

[cedarash.livejournal.com]

Hey Shannon,

Your tales of riding in the hills east of your house bring to mind a couple things.
1st I expect part of the area you ride is just above married student housing, Smyth-Fernwald (my home years ago). Anyhow, I set up several bluebird boxes in that area. On university land & in several private yards that are next to the open areas (with permission). I was makeing the boxs out of old pallets that paper for the print shop would arrive on at work. Folks in the neighborhood seemed happy to get a free bluebird box in their yard. Anyhow, after a decade anything I built is likley long gone, but I'd be curious if some folks have continued the pratice, and more importantly if you seen any Mountain Bluebirds or Weastern Bluebirds on your trips. That's Bluebirds not Blue Jays. If you don't know them, do a search on wikipedia to see a picture of them. I know Mountian Bluebirds had been spotted in the area when I was there, although I never got a chance to see one. Bluebirds once were the most common birds in America untill two Englishmen let loose a bunch of Starlings (a british bird) in New York at the start of the 1900s. Starlings are agressive and tend to kill Bluebirds. This as well as loss of habitat has really pushed the Bluebirds population down. So keep your eyes open please.
2nd when I lived there, another resident of married student had been a member of the U.S. olympic cycle team. The day after she gave birth to her child I saw her riding her bike up those hills. I was most impressed. So as you say it's good for endurance.

[shannon_a]

I actually haven't been up by S-F. All of my trips have been further south, mostly toward the direction of the Claremont. But, I'll make a trip over there sometime soon, when I go up the hill, and see if there are still any bluebird boxes.

I don't think I've seen any bluebirds when I was up there riding, but most of the time my attention is on the road and the cars, except when there's a particular vista to look at in awe for a bit.