We used to get in honest-to-god-fights about riding together. He’s faster than me so I would hold him up and hurt his training. I liked riding with him and felt like it was quality time for us both doing what we loved. Many times it ended in tears.

Over the years we’ve figured it out. We maybe get a ride in together once a week, which is enough to keep me happy and not so much that it affects his training. We know that it will be an easier ride for him and a harder ride for me, which is fine because that has been decided and agreed to going into it. We play games – he’ll take a slightly longer route (that will meet up with the route that I’m on) and try to catch me and I will bust ass to try to not get caught. We’ll pick a meeting place and do our own thing for a little while. We do more mtb rides together than we do road rides together which works great because while I love knowing that he is out there (somewhere) with me, I also like focusing on what I am doing on my own. And then we still stop for beer on the way home. When we DO road ride together he’ll pull and I’ll hang on for dear life. Or sometimes he’ll ride his cross bike and I’ll ride my road bike and that helps some too.

And we’ve both started riding more with other people, besides each other. Which not only keeps us both happy but its a lot of fun to spread the bike love around.

re: Marin Ave–I used to live a few block from it and did it on occasion. It’s part of this fun little ride: http://www.niftytenfifty.com/

The riders on Tunnel, I’ve found, generally form the good vibe. Once more removed it’s hit and miss. The rich dudes are definitely more stuck up, but I’ve been cold-shouldered by the hot, the not, and the downright homely. It is a veritable freeway of bikes on some days; I get why some don’t wave.

Coincidentally I rode by the exact spot of the Oakland Hills fire “epicenter” as it was starting. At the time it was a smokey grass burn close to Skyline, no flames visible. By the time I reached the bottom of Claremont a few minutes later the top of the mountain was a wall of flames!

Dude you should do a Lance-style tweet call-out next time you need a group ride in these parts. Plenty of nice riders amongst the handless, waveless unwashed.

The contents of this comment can not be held to a high grammatical standard, as it was co-authored by a lap warming dachshund.

My wife back in college, again the late 80s, used to do Old Tunnel and Pinehurst on her daily rides.

I can see the appeal of these roads: challenging yet gorgeous. If I were a long-distance cyclist, I’m sure I’d have had them under my belt too.