Berkeley Death Ride

… that’s what bicyclists call the route that begins at the foot of Marin Avenue, up which I’ve been trying to schlepp my weary bones once a week. I’m grateful beyond words to Anna, who has volunteered (or was it coercion?) to join me. Today we left from my house, without cheating by driving to the base of the hill.

Anna and I plan seven more of these painful hikes between now and when I leave for Nepal. After the half-dozen trips I’ve made so far, this is what I’ve learned about Marin Avenue.

• Judging from the smell, people must cook a lot of curry and barbecue around here.
• There are millions of spiders all over the place: tucked in bushes on either side of you, slung between branches overhead and stretched out across your path, invisible until your nose slams into their stomachs. This is not a good thing.
• People driving up the street don’t know how to go easy on their engines.
• The smell of burning engines is distracting.
• Experimenting with going uphill on your tip-toes is counterproductive.
• Young people who power-walk past you make you feel inadequate.
• When young people tell you, “I go fast because I’ve been training for two solid weeks,” you want to trip them.
• Thinking about all the food you’re going to eat when you get home is a good way to pass the time.
• Thinking about all the things you have to do later is a bad way to pass the time.
• From the top you have a sweeping view of the Bay Area: the Golden Gate, San Rafael and Bay Bridges; those towering cranes down at the Port of Oakland; Alcatraz and Angel Islands; the Berkeley pier; the TransAmerica Building and Twin Peaks in SF; the Headlands and Mt. Tamalpais in Marin; and a dusting of flea-sized sailboats.
• Walking slowly downhill is harder than walking down quickly.
• Swishing your hips back and forth while walking downhill is easier on the knees, and a whole lot sillier.
• Hiking while sucking in your stomach muscles hurts.
• People driving down the street don’t know how to use their brakes properly.
• The smell of burning brakes makes you think about what would happen if someone lost control of their car and crashed into you.
• When you get home, an apple tastes really, really good.

Here’s Anna:

Here’s the view going up…

Here’s the view going down…

Here are my legs [photo by M] which are almost back to Irish dancing condition.