My trusty commute bike 
With the seasons turning towards the sun, I've been able recently to climb aboard and challenge myself. My first "difficult" ride was a few weeks ago; the weather was great and I took off for the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond. Once across, I took the famous lookout road that winds up along the Southern bluff of hills overlooking the bridge. Every view was a postcard, but I am definitely not accustomed to an endless climb. However, once you've reached the top of Hawk Hill, with the perfect view of the city and bridge behind you, all the work uphill is worth the effort.
And then you get the descent. It's a rip-roaring roller coaster all the way to the beach at Fort Cronkhite. Since bicycles get to use the Barry-Baker Tunnel, the work on the way out (although still uphill) isn't nearly as overwhelming as the climb up to Hawk Hill. That's a good thing -- I was already exhausted! Of course, this guy thinks this ride is just "not really long enough to do on its own". Well, I've got some work to do.
I did challenge myself a bit further the next weekend. I rode up through Sausalito to Mill Valley, climbed up from a redwood grove to the Panoramic Highway, and then down Highway 1 back into Marin City before biking back home in the Haight.
I'm hoping to continue riding longer and hillier routes until I can eventually achieve my own "century" -- a one hundred mile ride.
So here is the challenge to you, dear readers: name my new bike! I have two, so it needs a name. My dad has a Masi, so it can't just be "Masi". Now accepting your suggestions!
What should I call her?
8 comments:
What about Siam? It's the same letters as Masi, and it's a county you have visited!
Ceffylina? This is derived from ceffyl. A mythical horse with no wings who is able to fly which is what you will be doing in the hills of Marin.
Frumblefoot? This is derived from the hobbit translation of Ransom. Why hobbit you ask, why not?
(Who resisted finding out THEIR Hobbit name? Not I.) At least the Hobbit Name Finder is consistent. And my name is Ruby Frumblefoot of Scary.
But your bike's name? No doubt it will tell you.
My bike emphatically said, "Raven."
Good luck--is it harder to name a bike than an offspring?
Loved exploring hobbit names. There are also elfin ones. Elfin: Ransom=Nenmacil, Daniel=Elessar, Mather=Laure, Emily=Harilde, I am Nessa Arcamenal. Further hobbit names include: Daniel=Till, Mather=Goldilocks, Emily=Berylla and I am Ruby Bulge of Hobbiton. Maybe the best is hobbit for "steed" - Fingolfin. Would you like to ride your fingolfin?
Well, not to flex my geek pecs, but...Fingolfin is not hobbit for horse. Tolkien considered the hobbits a subset of men and while their colloquial tongue had some pecularities, it was the same language spoken in Gondor and Rohan and other realms of men.
Fingolfin was in fact the name of a great Elvish King who challenged and fought against the Dark Lord Morgoth in single combat. This was in an age prior to the story of the Lord of the Ring. Fingolfin's story is detailed in the Silmarillion. Now, Fingolfin did ride a famous warhorse -- it was named "Rochallor".
According to an online Elvish dictionary, "rocco" and "roch" are words for horse in Quenya and Sindarin respectively (there is more than one Elvish language Tolkien devised). It does seem that Fingolfin's name for his mount is derived from the Sindarin for horse, and at least one website suggest the suffix relates to "Spiritied", making the direct translation of Rochallor "Spirited Horse".
Alright, I've descended a little too far into outright geekery and will back out the room slowly.
My, my - aren't you precocious? So - how about Rocco for your bike?
I say Hyperion it is a Titan means "he who goes before the sun"
And here I was thinking of normal names, it turns out I am no match for the geeky = I slump away
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