Wow! It's been a long time since I've added anything here. We haven't been biking all that much. I've been on a few road rides and we've been out with Sierra in the trailer a few times. But, we spend a lot more of our free time playing tennis. If you look at Sierra's pages, you can see that she's starting to play tennis now too. Since last year, Kimi's 4.0 ladies' team went to districts where, unfortunately, they lost. Our Mixed 4.0 team went to districts as well, and lost. Kimi finished her Women's 4.0 league at 12-5. We'll see if she gets bumped up. I finished my 4.0 Men's season at 6-1. Since I played so few matches and played so horribly last year, I don't think I will get bumped up.
But, I did get out today to practice serves. My motion is getting better, but still need some work - getting rid of that huge step in the beginning, getting my hips and shoulders open more and getting complete pronation.
This first one is my favorite. If you listen closely, you can hear the ball hit the post on the back fence - kinda like ringing a bell.
May 10, 2009
Today, we took Sierra out for the first time in the bike trailer, a Chariot Cougar 1. You can see a few pics of her in her Spring Gallery. We rode from the house out to the San Tomas Aquino Bike Trail and out to the Sunnyvale Baylands Park. We played on the swing for a little while and returned. It was great! And, it will be even better when the next legs of the bike trail are open, which should be soon. We'll have to find a better helmet for Sierra (one that fits in the bike trailer better). But, other than that, it was a great 90 minute outing with the family. I can't believe I'm actually finding a good use for my old mountain bike that's been sitting around for many years. Now that I know that I can't go very fast on flat ground (it's kind of like pulling a parachute), we'll have to see just how hard it is to climb a hill. Kimi is enjoying the relaxed pace these days.
Jan 31, 2009
Ray, Shirley, Kimi, Sierra and I went to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. The grandparents baby sat while Kimi and I got a day of skiing in at Heavenly. It was a beautiful sunny day with no fresh snow. So, I decided it would be a good day to try to get accustomed to my new snowboard that Kimi got me for Christmas. It's FUN!!! The video makes it look like it is no work at all. In fact, it is WAY more work than skiing. Those turns put a very big load on the quads, glutes, etc... Anyway, we need to work on the video productions. I didn't know where Kimi was filming from and made my best turns up top where she couldn't see me. Oh well. I'm happy that Kimi got any video at all. It's clear to me now that I NEED TO GO FASTER!!!
Sept 1, 2008
Kimi and I won our first 4.0 mixed tournament today at Fremont Tennis Center!!! I've spent the last 2 years working hard trying to get to a level where I could play at Kimi's level. Today, all that work paid off - BIG! Hopefully, it won't be long before we add to our winnings.
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July 26, 2008
Kimi and I played the Santa Clara University Bronco doubles tournament. Randy got a new lens for his camera and wanted to practice taking some pictures. Thanks for the pictures, Randy!!! Now, I know what to work on next! Oh... Kimi and I finished 3rd.
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July. 7, 2008
I completed Kimi's road bike upgrade. The finished weight is 14 lbs. 7 oz as shown, including cages and computer (6.57kg). Yes, it's too light to ride in the pro peloton. I think we're done, at least for a little while. Isn't it pretty? It's even prettier when Kimi is riding it.
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Parts:
- Frame/Fork: 2006 Giant TCR Advanced
- Wheels: American Classic Sprint 350 w/ Sapim spokes
- Crank: Stronglight Pulsion Compact 34/50
- Bottom Bracket: KCNC ISIS Ti
- Pedals: Time RSX
- Bars: Modolo Curvissima
- Stem: FSA OS-99
- Levers: Campy Chorus
- Front Derailleur: Campy Record Carbon Compact
- Rear Derailleur: Campy Chorus
- Cassette: Campy Record 13-29
- Chain: Campy Chorus
- Brakes: Zero Gravity Ti
- Seat: Selle San Marco Aspide Glamour
- Seat Post: Use Alien
- Tires: Continental GP-4000 (they're a little tight on the AC wheels)
- Tubes: Performance Lunar Light
- Cages: Performance Forte
- Skewers: Bold Precision Ti
Jan. 2, 2008
Well, the
biking books on 2007 are now closed. It turned out to be pretty lazy
biking year for me. I guess I spent too much time playing tennis In
total, I rode my road bike only 90 hours. Back in 2004, I put 205 hours on
my road bike. 2007 was the worst (by this measure) year I've had on the
bike since I started road biking in 2001. I climbed
only 116,000 feet and covered only 1276 miles. On the bright side, I set
my fastest time up Montebello road this last summer at 36:05, beating my
previous best by 40 seconds. I guess this is due to the fact that I'm also
the lightest I've been in many years. My normal summer weight has been
156-158 lbs. This summer, I was consistently around 151.
Unfortunately, I did not set new personal bests up my other benchmark climbs.
My best effort up Metcalf this summer was 14:47, while my PB is 14:32 in 2005.
My best effort up Hassler this summer was 6:05, while I did 5:56 in '06 and '05.
-Steve
October 16, 2007
Kimi and I just got back from a week at the Palm Springs Tennis Club http://palmspringstennisclub.net/ . The people at the club are super nice, the food at Spencer's is great (especially the appetizers). And, most of all, the tennis director, Glenn, is awesome. Not only is he a great player (top ranked USTA 45 player in the country at this time - http://www.itftennis.com/seniors/players/activity.asp?player=100008927 ), he's a really nice guy and a great teacher. We took 4 hours of lessons from Glenn, used the ball machines a lot, and played some doubles. The people at the tennis desk (Pam, Mario, and Jo Jo) are great because they arrange all the matches for guests and members. Our typical day consisted of tennis until noon or so, lunch by the pool, nap by the pool, ball machine in the afternoon followed by more tennis, and a nice dinner in the evening.
We enjoyed the food at a few other places as well, Shanghai Red's and Melvyn's in particular. Since we didn't have a car, as the week rolled on, we ate more and more often at Spencer's since it is on-site. Next time, we'll try Citron as well. I had a great lunch (Sopes de Carnitas) at Mariposa. But, it was so heavy that it took me 3 days to digest it.
We also received our anniversary present to ourselves yesterday. We were spending a lot of money getting our racquets restrung. Now, we can start doing it ourselves. It should pay for itself in less than 2 years.
September 5, 2007
Kimi received her trophy for the tournament she won (see below).
June 18, 2007
Another ski
weekend at Kirkwood for Kimi and I. In spite of the 12-18" of snow that
fell on Thursday, the conditions weren't great on Saturday. Friday brought
80 mph NE winds, which scoured all the slopes of snow. But, the weather
was nice and sunny and the winds were gone by Saturday. So, we had a great
time anyway. I was totally excited to try my new
We went to Kirkwood to start off the ski season. We bought season
passes. So, we'll be there a lot this winter.