Patty "Wild Card" P.'s Profile

I am pretty new to the cycling world, and I wanted to make sure my shiny new bike was fitted correctly for me. Luckily I have many cyclist friends, and they pointed me in the direction of 3D Bikefit.

I arrived a little early as another fitting was wrapping up. I got to chatting with the previous customer and he couldn't stop raving about the entire process. Definitely a great way to go into the experience.

Kevin is running quite a legit operation here. We began with a physical examination -- looking at the arches in my feet, the angles on my feet, ankles, knees and legs, the curve in my back, various flexibility and movement ranges, etc. I learned a lot about the way my body is set up and this information helped Kevin find the right position on the bike for me.

And then came the fun part. I got on my bike on a trainer in the middle of the studio. I had a video camera facing me and one on my left side. There was a big screen tv on my right showing the video of me riding. We were able to shoot me from various angles and bike settings. We could then compare various settings side by side to see how saddle and handlebar positions affected my riding. At one point, there were even lasers involved to make sure my knees were straight. Afterward, I got a fitting report that includes my bike fitting measurements and before and after photos from the video. It was all super high tech and super awesome. Most importantly, my bike is now correctly fitted for me, allowing me to ride comfortably and with more efficiency.

Definitely recommend a fitting from 3D Bikefit for any cyclists out there, newbies and veterans alike!

A friend sent me a dozen chocolate chip cookies saying that as a baked good lover, I had to try Uncle Chip's.

He was right, they were some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. I gave a few away, but I definitely had more than my fair share of the 12 cookies. They were big, they were chocolately, and they had just the right combination of crunchy and chewy.

The ingredients are basic and fresh. It astounds me that these cookies are so moist but don't have any eggs. I'm still wrapping my brain around that one.

I liked Uncle Chip's so much that I immediately went online and ordered some for a friend of mine for Valentine's. What a delicious and affordable way to make someone's day!

Wes has done my hair for about a year and a half now, and through that entire time I've been completely obsessed with growing it out. I would beg him to trim as little as possible and Wes always indulged my long fancies, no matter how much time it took him to blow dry my super long thick hair.

And so, when I walked in last week and asked Wes to chop it all off, it was a pretty big deal. For both of us. We talked over the cut in detail -- how my hair would behave at various lengths, how I would style it, etc etc. Wes provided thoughtful feedback and gave me his much needed expert opinion before whipping out the scissors and going to work.

As someone who has never done much experimenting in the world of hairstyles, it took an immense amount of trust for me to allow someone to cut almost 15 inches of my hair.

And Wes did not let me down. The cut is absolutely perfect. My new short hair is fun and sassy, and the flood of compliments has been completely overwhelming. Sometimes, short hair can end up being more high maintenance than long hair, but Wes was able to give me a cut that I can style quickly and with ease.

I cannot recommend Sammy Oliver Salon and Wes Pine enough. He is by far the very best!

I'll admit, I'm slightly ethnocentric when it comes to my alma mater. Slap "Cal" or "Berkeley" on something and I'm all over it. And my future children better be prepared for 18 years of me pressuring them to get into and go to Cal. I mean, I'll love them no matter what they choose of course...as long as they choose Berkeley. So when a friend invited me to attend the Cal Football Women's Huddle, I practically died.

Here's the event lowdown: approximately 300 classy Cal fan ladies arrive at Memorial Stadium around 5pm to enjoy an hour of complimentary beer and wine along with various snacks. Once we're all nice and liquored up, Coach Tedford and the team come out, give us a motivating pro-Bears speech, and woo us with their charms.

Once the talking is out of the way, we cram ourselves into the tunnel, rush the field, split up into 10 teams, and spend the next two hours moving from station to station running drills and learning the difference between various positions.

For those of us who view Cal Football players as minor celebrities, playing football with them in Memorial Stadium is a bit of a surreal experience. And at this point, I'm old enough that flirting with 19 year old college students isn't really appropriate -- but young enough that they couldn't really tell whether I was a fellow student or not. It's kind of hard to control oneself around so many talented and strapping young men.

We kicked, we tackled, we back pedaled, we caught, we threw, we dove, we ran....and we had an absolute blast. Both my friend and I agreed that the Cal Football Women's Huddle was the most fun either of us had had in a long time.  I'm looking forward to making this one an annual ladies' tradition!

Roam is a burger place, but I'll freely admit I came for the fries and shake.

After examining the menu posted in the window during Union St Fair, I decided I'd like to try Roam and patiently waited for it to open and the opening craze to die down. A friend and I finally made it in about a week a go, and we were both pretty pleased.

Roam is my kind of place: casual. You stand in line, order your food, grab some condiments and silverware, find yourself a table, and wait for food to arrive. I like the mix of private tables, larger communal tables, and bar seating. They do have beer and wine, but I didn't happen to see if there is a happy hour.

My friend ordered the French and Fries (truffle parmesan french fries, avocado, gruyere, dijon mustard) and I had the BBQ Veggie (caramelized onions, bbq sauce, oil and vinegar slaw, and aged white cheddar -- I opted for no cheese). She thoroughly enjoyed her burger, especially the French fries on top. It made me wish mine was served with onion rings or something of the like. I liked mine too -- it's not easy to find a good veggie burger, though I was hoping for more bbq flavor. If I were to get this burger again, I'd definitely ask for extra sauce.

We also split the Fry-fecta (Russet fries, sweet potato fries, and zucchini onion haystack) and a strawberry shake made with frozen yogurt and a bruleed marshmallow on top. The zucchini haystack was amazing, russet fries were good, and sweet potato fries were take them or leave them. The shake was delicious and I love the option to choose between frozen yogurt or ice cream. I'm looking forward to trying the chocolate and salted caramel next time around. The marshmallow is a nice alternative to whipped cream.

My friend decided to order a bison burger for her boyfriend on our way out. Our food came out relatively quickly but they were slammed right after she made the to go order and it took about 25 minutes. I'd recommend phoning ahead if you don't plan to eat in.

I'll definitely be back to Roam -- there aren't many other places that offer good sustainable food at such an affordable price. Especially in the Marina.

I was in the mood for chocolate. Not your casual Hershey's craving, but seriously in the mood for chocolate. Enter Christopher Elbow.

The chocolates are beautiful and many flavors looked amazing, but I was able to narrow it down to four:

Peach Caramel: white peach pate de fruit topped with thick caramel inside a chocolate shell. I don't usually go for peach, but this was a really flavorful and unique chocolate. I love the pate de fruit paired with the caramel.

Passion Fruit Caramel: passion fruit infused caramel inside a chocolate shell. I love passion fruit, but I liked the makeup of the peach caramel better than this one.

Ginger Caramel: ginger infused caramel inside a chocolate shell. I love ginger, and this one was packed with flavor.

Vietnamese Cinnamon: rich chocolate ganache infused with Vietnamese cinnamon. I've been on a cinnamon kick lately, and this one may have been my favorite of the bunch. It's a toss up with the peach.

With each chocolate priced at $2, this is not a cheap chocolate fix. I spent $8 to satisfy my craving with 4 little chocolates. And they did tide me over....at least until the next day when a new craving struck.

Another cupcakery in the Marina? Sure, why not?!

I initially stopped into SusieCakes just to check things out. I later returned after a hard workout when I was good and ready to stuff my face with cake.

I changed my mind a few times but ultimately decided to go basic and try one vanilla and one chocolate cupcake. As others have noted, the vanilla cake really is on the dense side -- much too muffin-like for my preference, but the frosting was amazing. The chocolate cupcake tasted like it came straight out of Mom's oven -- perfect old fashion chocolate cake and rich fudgy frosting.

I was pleased with my SusieCakes experience. I returned home and started reading reviews online only to find out then about the amazing strawberry cupcake with strawberries inside. I returned to SusieCakes a few days later just to try that cupcake. I was disappointed to find not one single strawberry in my cupcake. I guess there is a difference between the standard strawberry and the seasonal strawberry. My fault for not paying more attention, and the standard version is good, but dammit I wanted those strawberries in my cupcake!

Overall, I like SusieCakes. This bakery feels the way a bakery should feel -- warm and welcoming. The baked goods have a very homemade feel, no fancypants decorations here. I'm looking forward to trying more than just the cupakes!

Complete and total clusterfuck.

Never before have I felt I needed a tutorial before entering a bakery. Selling baked goods to people really does not need to be this complicated. Millions of other bakeries across the nation do it daily with ease. 85C should take note.

Anyhow, my visit to 85C consisted of 15 minutes outside in line, 10 minutes wandering the self serve bread area with confusion. Only about 1/3 of things were labeled and I wasn't sure how to pick anything out without seeing what else was available further down the line. We were then moved into the line, though I still wanted to check out the display case of pastries and cakes. I shoved my way through the crowd of people waiting for coffee drinks to get a look. After 10 minutes in line we finally reach the cashier to pay for our bread and I order two additional pastries. Rather than giving them to me then and there I was given a number and had to wait behind a bunch of coffee orders to get my pre-made slices of cake. Really?

10 minutes later our number is called and we collect our boxed pastries. I drive home, open the box, and see that they've given me the wrong item. So I drive back to exchange for what I ordered. About an hour and a half after initially arriving at 85C I have in my hands what better be some seriously delicious  baked goods.

And? They were alright. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious San Franciscan I'll just come out and say it: it's really hard to find supremely delicious baked goods in Southern California. On a general scale, they just aren't as good down here as they are in the Bay Area.

The strawberry half moon cake was ok (two pieces of sponge cake with strawberry filling and coconut). There was too much cake and not enough filling. The chocolate bun was nothing special -- chocolate bread with cranberries and chocolate chips. The cranberries and chips were pretty sparse. The coffee creme brulee cake had plenty of coffee flavor but I failed to find what part was supposed to be the "brulee". The pecans on top? That's not creme brulee. The fillings were good, but I wasn't feeling the sponge cake. The only real winner in the bunch was the mango panna cotta. It was incredibly flavorful, rich and delicious.

Maybe the people running around 85C with trays piled high know something I don't know. But I don't see myself coming back to give it another shot, one trip into this model of inefficiency was quite enough.  They won't suffer from my absence though, the constant line out the door means 85C is doing something right for someone.

Since Caroline has been kicking my cupcake filled butt into shape for about 7 months now, this review is long overdue.

I was addicted to Caroline's teaching style from the first spin class I took with her at Equinox. I ended up joining The Bay Club mostly so I could continue taking her classes (she also teaches at Club One). For those working out on a budget, Caroline does free fitness challenges at the Lululemon Grant St store, posts helpful workout tips on her blog (http://thecarolineinth...) and has a few short video workouts posted on youtube (http://www.youtube.com...).

There are no trendy gimmicks with Caroline, but you're guaranteed to  to get a seriously hardcore workout. And if you don't have to shower after one of her classes, you aren't doing it right. Caroline will kick your butt, but she will do it with constant encouragement and a smile on her face. It doesn't matter how bad of a day I'm having or how tired I am, Caroline can always inspire me to dig deep inside myself and find more.

Even when I'm not in one of Caroline's classes, she still manages to be there helping me along. Her peppy Twitter (https://twitter.com/ca...) and Facebook updates keep me motivated every day and I've even taken to repeating some of her mantras from class to myself during my long runs -- "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it" is one of faves.

I've found that some trainers can be very intimidating. Caroline is exactly the opposite. She's approachable and accessible. I've emailed her a few times for running tips and she always replies quickly and eager to help. Honestly, I could go on and on about what an amazing trainer Caroline Jordan is, I cannot recommend her enough to anyone who is looking to whip themselves in shape.

Thank you Caroline -- without you, my ass would be a A LOT bigger!!

I was so lucky to stumble upon La Maison du Chocolat when I did. After many many long days of walking all over the city, my feet were starting to get pretty tired. It was slightly lost and with achy feet that I came across this magical gem and had one of the most mind blowing  eating experiences of my life.

I entered the shop and immediately noted that all labels were in French -- it was going to be a guessing game of deliciousness. I selected two chocolates and then made a beeline for the freezer filled with ice cream delights and picked out a colorful looking entremet.

I walked out of the store, plopped down on the nearest bench, and dug in. One chocolate was extremely delicious, though I still have no idea what it was. The other was filled with hazelnut, of which I am not a fan.

And then, I took a bite of the entremet and my life changed forever. From the bottom up, it consisted of: pieces of crumbled chocolate cookie topped with a layer of rich chocolate ice cream filled with small rounds of malted chocolate, a layer of white chocolate orange ice cream that tasted very much like a sorbet, a thin layer of orange gelee with small pieces of candied orange peel and vanilla bean topped with a square of intense dark chocolate. Each bite brought with it a new layer with different flavors and textures. It truly was magic in my mouth.

I had never had anything quite like this entremet before, and I've yet to find anything quite like it since. One of my only regrets about Paris is not trying more items from the La Maison du Chocolat.