Bykgrl

BykGrl presents two interesting and informative videos for bicyclists about the trail along the American River from West Sacramento to Folsom, in Northern California. These two videos cover how to get to the trail, the main trail points, difficulty of ride, scenic points of interest, animals and other sites along the road.

“The Wall”: The last of three videos about a bicycle ride up to the top of Mt Diablo.

It was a great day for a bike ride up Mt. Diablo. Three coyote sightings! If you’ve never done this ride, you need to treat yourself soon.

There are two routes for road bikers: Northgate or Southgate. We did Northgate, which leaves from Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek. I love to watch the large flocks of geese there who compete for territory with the picnickers and baseball players.

After passing the entry guard shack at the Northgate entrance to Mt. Diablo State Park, we traveled a few miles of rolling pastureland, viewing grazing cattle and horses. It’s always a challenge, and you must pay attention to the ground squirrels who live on both sides of the road and frequently play games of chicken with cars and bikeriders

The first coyote was near this squirrel kingdom, so I guess he wasn’t hungry. In fact, he seemed quite comfortable with us riding by less than 20 feet away – until I stopped to pull out my camera. Guess he (or she) wasn’t ready for prime time, so he scooted out of sight.

Once we started the climb, I wasn’t about to stop for the second coyote we saw. However, I did take a rest for three other bike riders who were clustered around the 2000 ft. elevation sign, taking pictures of each other. I took one of all three of them, and they told me about their preparation to ride in Colorado – a ride 130 miles and up to 12,000 ft! I thought Mt. Diablo’s 3,800 ft. was high enough!

Since there wasn’t enough time for a ride all the way to the summit, we stopped short at the Junction. Our three new friends caught up to us and told us about some other good riding spots on the Peninsula — I’ll write about them after we check them out!

The ride down was chilly and a little windy. I miss the fields of golden poppies that were blooming a month ago, and the lush green hills have already turned brown. Still, Mt. Diablo is incredibly beautiful even on a bad day, so check it out! There are mountain bike trails too, hiking, camping, picnic spots, and even a car ride to the top gives you an appreciation of all this area has to offer.

We’re always looking for enjoyable bike rides in the Bay Area, and would love to hear your comments about good places to go – or bad places to avoid! Or, if you have a good Mt. Diablo story, I will post it here.

These pictures weren’t taken today, but are at a great scenic point on the Southgate ride of Mt. Diablo – Rock City.

Yesterday we rode one of the East Bay’s most beautiful road bike rides — the Carquinez Scenic Road. This has got to be a well-kept secret – even on a beautiful sunny Sunday, there was hardly anyone else on the road. The views of and over the Carquinez Strait are fantastic. It was warm, but we had a slight cooling breeze which was just perfect!

The heat and the breeze brought out dozens of hawks, some of which glided just a few feet over our heads. It seemed like every type of boat was out on the water – sailboats, motorboats, tugs, and kayaks.

This is a paved road which is closed to cars for a few miles, so the pavement is not maintained. Watch out for unexpected potholes and ruts! Especially the area by the cemetery in Martinez. There are many portions of this road which are really bumpy, so if your bicycle seat is already causing some pain, this just makes it worse. Today, because it was not a very long ride, my seat was fine – no pain, no numbness.

And the overwhelming plus to this ride is the portion with NO CARS! And it curves and wanders, and rolls up and down, and the view, and the view, and the view…Anyone who is considering taking up bike riding or who wants to become re-enthused about this sport should try this ride! If you are not familiar with the East Bay, this is one of the best places to learn. It is great for couples and families with children. Although I prefer my bike, it is also a great road for a walk.

Soon, this will be one of the featured rides in my upcoming e-book about Great Bay Area Bike Rides, and I’ll include all the details, maps, and photos. Watch for further announcements on this site!

For now, here’s just one photo of the view towards the Benicia Bridge.

We ended the ride at the Martinez Waterfront Park. The bocce ball courts were in full use, the playgrounds and picnic tables were crowded, and lots of kites were flying. A glorious summer day, and lots more to come.

We’re always looking for enjoyable bike rides in the Bay Area, and would love to hear your comments about good places to go – or bad places to avoid! Or, if you have a good story about a particular ride, I will post it here. See you on your bike!

Hey, bike women!  Is bicycling getting to be a real pain in the butt?

Whether you are new to bicycling or an experienced rider, bicycle seat problems are just as common for women as they are for men.  Don’t feel you are alone!

It can be very frustrating to set out on a nice bike ride – either a leisurely “get-some-fresh-air” ride or a “burn-some-calories” sprint or distance ride, start to get into your pedaling groove and – all of a sudden — start feeling that discomfort.  You hope it’s just a twinge and will go away – but it keeps getting stronger and then stronger!  First, numbness in your butt and/or your crotch area, followed by real pain in your sit-bones.

You wiggle and squirm and try to adjust your posture, your hand position, and where you are putting pressure on your seat, but it’s too late!  You try to start riding standing up for brief relief  (I find this particularly hard to do).  Bumps and potholes became particularly excruciating.  You start worrying about how this is going to affect your sex life!

Once this pain starts for me, it doesn’t stop until I get off the bike.

There is a body of thought that says that time will heal – in other words, the more you ride, the more your lower regions will “harden-up” and adapt.  This didn’t work for me (maybe I’m just too tender).

Of course, I am not a medical practitioner, but I personally feel that if you continue to feel severe pain, you will continue to do worse and worse damage to your body.  So, don’t just suffer through.  Relief will not “magically” come!

In my years of cycling, I’ve learned that no solution works for everyone, and some people just can’t find a foolproof solution.  However, there are quite a few things that I’ve tried:  Different bike shorts, adjusting the bike seat (saddle) height and tilt, adjusting the handlebar height, different types of bike seats, and bike fittings.  I’ll talk about each of these in the following posts.

WOMEN’S BICYCLE SEAT PROBLEMS – SOME SOLUTIONS

If your bicycle seat is causing you to experience pain, numbness, bruises or sores in your genital area, inner thighs or buttocks, don’t feel alone!  I have been there, and many other bike riders have too!  As I have said before, a proper bike fitting and correct posture are important first steps.  There are plenty of articles on the internet about different types of bicycle seats (saddles), but first, here’s some things experts recommend will work for most people:

1.    You must wear good quality bike shorts with a chamois pad.  Don’t get cheap when purchasing these.  Cheap shorts are almost as bad as wearing non-bike shorts.  The pad must fix well against your crotch, and the legs should not move as you pedal.

2.    Chamois cream is helpful to guard against chafing.  Use it liberally, rubbing it both on yourself and your bike shorts pad.  However, it doesn’t do anything for pressure pain or numbness.  And, obviously, don’t use it if you have open sores.

3.    Check your posture on the bike, seat and handlebar height and position.  Most bike stores will help with a fitting, and in many cases it will be free or low charge.

Have you experienced these problems?  Have you tried and/or benefited from these or other solutions?  I’d love to hear about your experiences.

If your bicycle seat is causing you to experience pain, numbness, bruises or sores in your genital area, inner thighs or buttocks (sit-bones), don’t feel alone! I have been there, and many other bike riders have too! I’m the bicyclist you see riding down the street squirming from one cheek to the other at the end of a long ride.

As I have said before, a proper bike fitting and correct posture are important first steps. There are plenty of articles on the internet about different types of bicycle seats (saddles), but today, I’d like to talk about bike shorts - those tight, lycra, mid-thigh length shorts with an interior chamois crotch pad, usually found in basic black or bright team logos.

Yes, bike shorts do look funny! (to non-bikers). And initially, they feel pretty funny too - like you are wearing a big diaper!

But there is a real good reason to wear bicycle shorts, and I mean only good quality bike shorts. You can’t go the cheapo route for this purchase. Any bike shorts are necessary to reduce the chafing caused by the seams in regular street clothes. And you need high-tech breathable wicking fabric to move sweat away from your skin. But good bike shorts - those are the ones that have the best-sized and best-thickness chamois pad which will reduce the pain, numbness, bruises or sores in both your butt (sit-bones) and tender labia area.

No, I haven’t gone out and personally tested every brand of bike short! But I have tried my share, and found that cheap shorts are almost as bad as wearing non-bike shorts. Some good brands that I can recommend are Pearl Izumi and Performance.

The pad must fix snugly against your crotch, and the legs should not move as you pedal. I’ve had shorts where the leg wasn’t tight and they were really annoying. Also, it doesn’t seem to help me if the pad was too big. And I’ve even tried two pairs of shorts, which just made me feel like I was going to fall off my seat all day.

Chamois cream is helpful to guard against chafing. Use it liberally, rubbing it both on yourself and your bike shorts pad. However, it doesn’t do anything for pressure pain or numbness. And, obviously, don’t use it if you have open sores. I personally hate the feeling of chamois cream — it’s like sitting in a puddle of jello!

Remember to check your posture on the bike, seat and handlebar height and position. Most bike stores will help with a fitting, and in many cases it will be free or low charge.

Have you experienced these problems? Have you tried and/or benefited from these or other solutions? I’d love to hear about your experiences.