Pete Gilbert

race 5_pete
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

In race form on 1200 meters of climbing in a New Zealand race. Hopefully we are on track to team for the 2005 Transalp Challenge from the German to the Austrian and finally Italian alps.

Tuesday November 30

Fighting a cold -- taking time off the bike other than casual ride around town. Still doing the Soloflex and played a good hour of Ultimate today (and will be sore for it). Family left today as well...but the full Kachru clan arrives on Thursday!

Uncle Jack Cooking

Uncle Jack Cooking
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

This dude has skills -- in the kitchen as well as on the keyboard and with the Sasha baby. Here's Jack dealing with the vagaries of the antique stove at the Barrel.

Sasha and Mum

Sasha and Mum
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

The big and little bosses in my life

Thursday November 25

Roller ride. 10 minutes warmup. 30 minutes 125+ bpm. 60 minutes 135+ bpm with 10 minutes at 145+ bpm. 10 minute warmdown.

Smokehouse

smokehouse
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Our closest eatery to Colby St. Breakfast, lunch and dinner of champions. Note the "double dog" -- always a favorite.

Tuesday, November 23

Roller ride: 10 minute warm up. 30 minutes at 125 bpm+. 60 minutes at 135 bpm+ with 5 minutes at 145+. 10 minute warmdown.

New Phillips Bike

phillips bike
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

This 50 year old beaut is my new round-town transportation. The Ritchie is gone! Stolen from the hospital despite being locked with a mondo chain. That bike always hurt my butt anyways.

Sunday November 21

Missed Saturday ride -- no baby sitter and Amita on call at the hospital.

Rode from the Piedmont shop -- 2 hours moderate tempo -- to the Oakland zoo and then I broke off to ride back. Suffered flat tire and a flat on the replacement. Fortunately, the boyz bailed me out.

Hairpin on Pinehurst

Hairpin
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

This last curve on the descent was the scene of today's crash.

Pinehurst Descent

Pinehurst
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Pinehurst is almost always damp and wet in the corners except in the middle of summer (where it is still wet about half the time with the fog). Today, the most aggressive rider dumped on the last hairpin (even though that particular corner was dry). Conditions were very humid today.

Tunnel Road Map

Tunnel Road Map
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Tunnel Road is the access route to all the East Bay rides. Its a gentle grade the whole way up. About 30 minutes to the top from my doorstep at a moderate tempo. The classic ride is to come back up Wildcat -- a little steeper at the start and even more gentle near the top.

Thursday November 17

Repeat of Tuesday 1.45 Hour, 28 Mile loop on Tunnel Road, Pinehurs and Skyline. Same crew. I've been nervous on descents, not really trusting my new tires and wheels. I'm afraid to really lean in aggressively -- especially with all the mixed dry/wet patches. Today it was warm in the sun, but with a lot of humidity that could create set spots even though there's been no rain for a couple of days. Pinehurst had all the usual pine needles and fallen leaves. Five us on the descent with me in the number four position and feeling at the edge, with even a small wheel slip in one corner. Made me wonder how the boys ahead were keeping upright. Sure enough, the most aggresive descender dumped it on the last (and dry) corner. Sparks flew -- but no serious injury or damage. Everyone else admitted that they had slipped on various corners as well. Goes to show that a group can mutually entice one another into an unsustainable descent pace. I can see that I'm going to dump it on these wheels sooner or later. We had several other close calls (debris, cars on the line, bad lines) before the ride was over and done. Its good that I'm riding with these more experienced guys (two of them with European road racing experience). Brennon is cool and strong. Found that his Ultimate team also played in the national championships.

Played Ultimate at Pixar studios for the first time out here. I was so nervous that I dropped a view easy passes. Much better on the defense, or trying to catch a tough pass than an easy one. Will be sore tomorrow! Great new sport for me. Fernando is excellent on offense and defense. Good to learn from.

Wednesday November 17 Ride

Redwood mountain bike loop, counter clockwise and then clockwise. 2.45 Hours. Found out that I could ride the clockwise loop (at dusk) in 48 minutes for the lap. This is the second time I've done the double loop. Yikes, I realize that for Transalp, I'd have to do 10 loops to equal a day in the saddle there. Long ways to go.

Tuesday November 16 Ride

28 Mile, 1.45 Hours Winter base miles/cadence ride. Tunnel Road, Pinehurst and Skyline. This is a standard ride for some of the Solano Boys (Brennon and crew) that have upgraded to cat 3's this year. Low tempo rides with fast descents. Good coffee and tea at the end. Perfect weather (still in shorts).

Sunday November 14

Piedmont Cycle Shop Ride. Up Tunnel Road, down Pinehurst, out to Walnut Creet, down to San Ramon, back Crow Creek Canyon, Redwood, and Up Pinehurst again. About 70 miles. Moderate tempo with some mixed run ups on the flat downhills. One chap cramped up and we broke up for an escort home. 4+ hours.

Saturday November 13 Ride

Alpine Dam, Mt. Tam Ridgeline. 3.5 Hours at light tempo.

Friday November 12

Ultimate toss with Fern -- soon to be the captain of my team

Thursday November 11

Rain Day Roller Ride. 10 Minute Warmup, 20 Minutes at 125 bpm +, 30 Minutes at 135-145 bpm, 10 minute warmdown.

Wednesday, November 10

50km 3.0 hr mountain bike ride from San Ramon to Berkeley. Light rain, mostly road ride, plus West Ridge of Redwood Park with muddy conditions. Tempo pace.

Tuesday, November 9

One hour roller ride. 10 Minute Warm Up. 20 minues @125+ heart beats per minute. 30 minutes @ 135+ hbpm

Muddy Moots

Muddy Moots
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Back from the Redwood ride on the mudder ride.

Redwood Park Ride

Redwood Park Ride
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Ganesh Chaturthi in Our Garden

Ganesh
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — has become one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also shows how popular and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.

The Lord of Success
The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.


The devotees of Ganesha are known as 'Ganapatyas', and the festival to celebrate and glorify him is called Ganesh Chaturthi.

Significance of the Ganesha Form
Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head
The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

However, there's another less popular story of his origin, found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana: Shiva asked Parvati to observe the punyaka vrata for a year to appease Vishnu in order to have a son. When a son was born to her, all the gods and goddesses assembled to rejoice on its birth. Lord Shani, the son of Surya (Sun-God), was also present but he refused to look at the infant. Perturbed at this behaviour, Parvati asked him the reason, and Shani replied that his looking at baby would harm the newborn. However, on Parvati's insistence when Shani eyed the baby, the child's head was severed instantly. All the gods started to bemoan, whereupon Vishnu hurried to the bank of river Pushpabhadra and brought back the head of a young elephant, and joined it to the baby's body,
Ganesha, the Destroyer of Pride
Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is the personification of material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations. "All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian belief," says D N Singh in A Study of Hinduism. "He is both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all Hindus."

Sunday November 7

First off season team ride with Jason and the folks from the Piedmont shop. Excellent sunny weather in the high 50s and low 60s. Mix of some quality cat I and II riders, plus trackies from Jamaica, and an odd Aussie, eastern european or two. Gentle pace up Tunnel road, then fast descents down Wildcat canyon. I still dunno what the new wheels/tires (and myself) can and can't do on the descents. I'm skittish. Then a roll north, a loop through the Three Bears with moderate climbing tempo, and then steady tempo up Pinehurst. Total of 50 miles in about 3 hours.

Saturday November 6 Ride

From the Bridge, out to Muir Beach and Stinson Beach, up and over. Good weather, no winds, first ride out on the new Richard Sachs. Easy tempo. 40 miles.

AmitaSashaHairDay.JPG

AmitaSashaHairDay.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Mother Amita and baby Sasha doing the milk and burp drill.

JackHIke.JPG

JackHIke.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Jack on the Wildcat stoll.

WildcatGK.copy

WildcatGK.copy
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Good early November weather up on Wildcat. That's Mt. Diablo in the background.

TheMoots.JPG

TheMoots.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Took the new (used) Moots for its first road trip. Gordon showed me his favorite single track Redwood ride. The dual suspension really ate things up on the rutted downhill. This photo is just north of Arcata, about 5 hours up the coast.

Arcata.JPG

Arcata.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

The prior week, we slipped of to Gordon's place in Arcata (5 hours up the coast). Did a singletrack redwood ride on the morning and caught the beach there after. Gordon is building his mead business (honey from wine) one case at a time. This pic is the view from the deck of his house looking south.

RefurbishedRS.JPG

RefurbishedRS.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Refurbished Richard Sachs road bike was received back from the shop today and is ready to ride for the upcoming season. 1998 Frame and all new Campy 10-speed grupo.

Wednesday 11/3/2004 Training

2.5 Hours on MTB. Up Tunnel Road to Redwood for one lap clockwise and one lap counter-clockwise on the Redwood offroad trails. Low 50s with light rain and lightening whipping up towards the end. Rode at tempo both ways.

BarrelEndofSummer.JPG

BarrelEndofSummer.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Late October photo of the Barrel. The lawn needs work big time.

PatrickLea.JPG

PatrickLea.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Patrick and Lea just moved in downstairs at the Barrel. He's a guitar playing DJ from Colorado and she's singer. Sasha enjoyed their music much more than my singing

ChrisatBarrel.JPG

ChrisatBarrel.JPG
Originally uploaded by Greg Kidd.

Chris is our tenant for the main Barrel house. He also does a good job with Sasha (as he's a pediatrician at Marin General.

First Test Post

This is the first test post from Robert Gregory Kidd