Thanks Craig.

I arrived here on Sunday evening (Snowmass, Colorado).  Never been this high up without an airplane before (the village sits at a shade under 8000 ft).

During the ride I ate a banana and saw a groundhog (marmot).

If you see more marmots, please take pictures and post them here.

Any varmints?

This is a California marmot wanting to know about lunch.

That looks like the suicide rodent I saw this morning.  Could be him.  Same unpredictable on un-hinged look in his eyes.

Thank you for the photo.

@Adam
If you're still there and you're tired of Independence and Maroon Creek, someone just mentioned to me the the Castle Creek Road climb and the Reudi Reservoir ride--neither of which are as challenging elevation and climb-wise as Independence.

That's a ferret. Marmots are nicer.

Varmint!
(covers a wider range of critters)

No marmot today, just some weird chipmunk creatures (chipmunks but not red/brown but grey).

I hope you weren't using your brakes on carbon clinchers!
Say hello to Evgeny Nudler. He owes me an email response.

Carbon clinchers, I wish.

Did you see the incredible shrinking head of Barry bonds?

http://m.deadspin.com/5929432/barry-bonds-is-skinny-again

i think the Super Record-Equipped Dogma and Assos shorts are from Competitive Cyclist.  Barry was wandering InterBike last year and some of my peoples ran into him.  One in the bathroom--and he didn't even ask for a specimen.

Hello!

Why not bring your own?  If you're starting one place and flying back from another, a cardboard box should be the ticket.  Just pad well.

It's always nicer riding your own bike. Just be cognizant of fees for traveling with a bicycle. It can get ridiculous. But if you find an affordable rental, go for that. Just bring your pedals and saddle and bike fit numbers.

I thought it would be entertaining to share rides in various places outside of NYC.

I have ridden up Mt. Diablo many times, usually starting from my parents house in Danville. This year, part of this route was included in the Tour of California - though not all the way to the top. It was a beautiful, clear morning with lots and lots of riders on the mountain and views across the Berkeley Hills to the fog rolling in across the Golden Gate, Mt. Tamalpais and my old haunting grounds on the Peninsula. To the east was the Sacramento River delta and the central valley. It was worth getting an early start, because by early afternoon the temperature was approaching 100 deg.

It took me 1.5 hrs to get to the summit and 30 min to get back home!

Strava Record of my ride

I have flown Iberia to Spain a few times and I seem to recall it was $100 out and eur100 back. I have also rented bikes abroad and been very pleased with the choices on offer. If you just want to ride and keep fit then I recommend renting, but if you intend to do a sportif or train hard in the mountains then the familiarity of your own machine will pay dividends. For me the downside of traveling with a bike is not so much the cost but the hassle: a bigger taxi to the airport, wheeling round a heavy bike box, having to drop off at the oversize luggage counter, collecting from the oversize luggage carousel, not forgetting assembly and disassembly (if you have an ISP this can be a real pain). Even if traveling with your own bike pack shoes, pedals and helmet in hand luggage just in case you bike goes awol (unlikely with direct flights, but alarmingly common with connections)

I'm still in the Bay Area. This would be a nice route for our Feb training camp, round trip of course.

Danville to Oakland

Not sure if Virgin Atlantic flies to Spain, but they advertise that bikes are free!

I was able to rent a mountain bike in Granada last year, but it was a total clunker. Try to arrange ahead of time there, if possible. However, the mountain biking there was truly great. Lots of trails through rugged hills, some stream crossings, lots of old olive groves and even a Roman-era aqueduct or two. Also near there is Sierra Nevada which is a famous mountain biking site.

One more ride, which almost killed me. It wasn't the route so much, which is lovely and mostly devoid of traffic, but the temperature was 95deg by the time I got home. My climbing legs are also pretty toasty.

Anyway, another option for a Calif training camp offering panoramic views of SF and the Golden Gate.

Danville <-> Skyline Dr.

Anyone have any experience bringing bikes on Amtrak heading up to Albany (or Buffalo)?

Amtrak's website and customer service is pretty crappy and I can't seem to get the answer I want. Maybe that is because they just don't allow bikes?

edit: It seems like one option is to start the bike trip in Buffalo, so I can take the Lake Shore Limited which allows checked bags. hmmmm. It seems to stop in Albany but I can't seem to find tickets for it.

I checked on Amtrak's on-board bike policy this spring.  You absolutely need to call, as their policies vary from train to train and station to station