Wheels Within Wheels

Bruce Gordon and CHP

2005-11-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

Tuesday went past Bruce Gordons' on way back to car. Showed him problems with bike and he showed me fixes. He saw I had bent the handle and offered a new bar at cost. He also GAVE me a new set of toe clips and toe straps as he was impressed that I regularly rode on the 101 shoulder. Wednesday I took him up on it. He was confident I could take care of all of the fixes. (go to his web site. Bruce is one of the top bike builders in the country and possible the preeminent touring bike builder in the World.) Northbound Wednesday I waved over my shoulder at a CHiP car stopped to investigate an abandoned car. Later I waved again as he drove past, and HE WAVED BACK!

To outsiders HWY 101 between Novato and Petaluma is a busy 4 lane freeway that is still an open road with many driveways and side roads opening onto it. It should have been upgraded decades ago but it overlaps Marin and Sonoma counties and it may be politics that prevents an up-grade. I first rode it in 1983 and backed down a CHP sergeant who didn't want me there. Tough. I had a Caltrans map that said it was open. Since then they have been friendly. It has been said that I have a certain amount of Bravado to ride there. Perhaps, but I have so much fun blowing past hundreds of cars during occasional jams.

Bravado and Nice CHP

2005-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have a temp job at the Novato Costco. Too far to bike the whole way. A tidy run from the south Petaluma Park-and-Ride lot to Novato and back. 90% along the HWY 101 shoulder; hee, hee, hee! I will get seven days of thrills at about 18 miles a day. The computer is still flacky.

South-bound today I saw a big motorcycle and rider pulled over in a driveway along this section of open highway. I waved even before I saw it was a CHP officer. I didn't notice him wave back. I know he knew I was there though. Seconds later he waved over a motor-cycle. The putt-putt pulled onto the shoulder where I would have been forced into traffic to go around the stop. The officer waved the rider forward another quarter mile to where they could pull completely off of the shoulder, allowing me to pass safely. This was at the construction site for the Marin landfill interchange.

North-bound I checked out the construction. There is a possible bike tunnel through an overpass ramp. More likely it is a passage for the local farmers' cows as I saw a bikeable path on only one end of the tunnel. North-bound barricades forced me right to the edge of the traffic lane. Al;most as dicey as the south-bound San Antonio Creek bridge at the county line.

Soggy is as soggy does

2005-11-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

No headlight needed on way to CSJ; normal Paciific Standard Time. Wet forecast for PM wife said to wait for her at winery. She had to go back to work, dropped me off near BiCentennial.

Black and Black with Stripes

2005-10-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

Dark to work and dark back. Full lights 3/4 of the time. Stripes on the road and stripes on the otherwise all black critter I passed in Annadel. It had its tail at full extension on the other side of the narrow road. Fortunately it did not feel too threatened and did not fire on me.

Three riders with lights to work and three back. One coming back had good lights.

Wines within Wines

2005-10-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

Another cold dark ride to work. 47 degrees F and headlights for the first 8 miles. Thumbs cold but better than yesterday. Few grapes at work, cool weather delays ripening. Maybe even without more sugars in the grapes the acid levels will drop to the point where they must be harvested. Special meeting this AM. One announcement: No one has had a "reportable" accident so everyone was handed a bottle of wine. I swapped my 2000 Pinot Noir for a 2003 Joberg Reisling with the man who got the job my wife tried for. I am a professional and can keep my feeling under control. He is pleasant.

I wish I had a base line to see if more people are commuting. Certainly there are several regulars who do not have good lighting.

Double Fun

2005-10-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

I rode the creek trails loop ride to check it out for the official SRCC group ride next weekend. The Wendell Creek crossing was a bit slippery. I'll think about a portable way to make it safer, like a roll of wire mesh.

Heading upstream on the south side of Santa Rosa creek I first met a single lady then two couples all together on mountain bikes. Both times they asked me for information about that trail, then other rides in the area. Maybe non to rare riders ARE getting back on their bikes. Perhaps gas prices are getting more people to cycle. I have no real choice but to ride.

Save Money on Wine

2005-09-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

A rarely used or abused secret about wine is that winery employees get extreme discounts on wine. I've gotten 40% and 50% discounts. AND the company usually does not care how much you buy. Well, 500 cases of fume' blanc might upset them but 2 to 5 cases wouldn't. When I asked if I could buy a batch of wine for a national charity having a local event I gathered the impression I could roll up with my 3/4 ton pickup, a certified bank check, and fill the truck. Pity that most of the wines I lick that they make are sold out.

Bike wise the saddle loosened again on the way home. In fiddling with it I was finally able to really adjust the position. My old leather saddle is not too compatible with the modern seat clamp. The rebuilt light harness worked well. I will still make an all new one soon.

I may still help out at the MS Wine to Waves tour tomorrow.

Update

2005-09-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last night rode home in the dark. Well the sun had JUST set at the wineries I had light to see half way home. A grassy field in the WhiteOak area of Oakmont had some 12 to 14 deer grazing. I haven't seen such crowds in quite a while. Almost every morning I see a few deer going to work thru Annadale.

Velologger

2005-09-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

I use a bicycle-specific mileage and maintenance logging program called VELOLOGGER. I keep working deeper and deeper into the system. As I wear out or damage my bikes I find out how to record that new problem. Latest thing is the original front BLT wheel 700 mm with 36 14gauge spokes has been going out of true. I handled the left/right wobble but the out-of-round is more than I am familiar with. Still 0ver 5000 miles before the first adjustments says good things about Bruce Gordons' wheel building. I am described as a horse and tend to break parts easily. I will replace the original front wheel with the one from my older commute bike. That wheel was made for me by Hugh Freed who crewed with me in RAAM 1988

Phishing trip

2005-09-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

12+ to 13+ miles to work, a hard day at the winery, and 13 to 20 miles home since the last post has left me too tired to do much blogging. Also the system has so many defenses built in now that it not as fun to list updates. Needed tho, the spouse is a leader on a high level web service and needs these professional level defenses on the home system.

Cycling is a steady 600+ miles a month, most of it commuting. Some sundays I have a fun ride. Once a week I go home thru Annadale State Park, an off-road paradise. The saddle is working loose and the front wheel needs truing as a result

Visually Challenged tandem party

2005-08-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Each August the local bike club (SRCC) assembles at the Earl Baum Center for the Blind for a tandem rally. This year I took the COUNTERPOINT OPUS 2 down there. Gave several rides in the parking lot before and after the ride. Larry learned the hard way how fast he needed to put his feet down when I lost control of the bike. I was out of practice and had forgotten how fast the bike tips when a large stoker is more than an inch or two off of center. Forgiven, forgotten tho' I later saw a 2" sq. patch on his elbow where the outer keratin had peeled off. No blood though.

We, three other tandems, and a single did the 4.2 miles down the path to near Sebasopol and back. Five or six tandems when on the 24+ miler to Windsor and back. The Ruggles of NorCal Bikesport provided snacks, fruit, drinks, and hotdogs/vegeburgers.

The Center had 7 or 8 tandems in a nice shed. I could have been giving rides for years. I need to call and see what the rules are. I doubt if a total stranger would be trusted with one of their machines and a visually challenged stoker sight unseen. I wouldn't. I would like to try one of their regular 2bikes with a lighter, more coordinated stoker than Larry. Easier is safer. If an A level ride starts near the Baum center it would help.

Graduation Exercise

2005-07-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

29.74 miles 3 hours ^250 feet^

Still unemployed so went of the clubs' Friday AM ride. Was repeatedly frustrated by the 12-13 MPH pace of the A level ride. After 8 miles I started sprinting down each rollie and up the other side, waiting for the group at the top/next turn/bend. The snack stop in Larkfield was at a new coffee shop offering $2.65 muffins. Eesh! The chat lasted what seemed like 1/2 hour and had more politics then I cared to hear. Time was even spent discussing the quickest route back after voting against the Reibli Road hill route back. Sigh. As the group got moving I pulled up to the ride leader thanked her for a nice ride but "I need to get back quickly so I am taking off now." The route they were going to take had multiple stop lights and many stop signs. My route resembled a straight line with two kinks to avoid lights. As I got back to the start some of the B or C riders were getting back from their longer, harder rides.

Chasing the Cs and Bs

2005-07-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

22 miles 2 hours ^1000 feet^

The city offered a 5-10 mile ride with city council members as part of the 4th festivities. The SRCC knew that wasn't enough distance and organized a 35-45 mile ride starting at 8:30. I stayed on the tail of the C group until they split off on Lichau Road for an out and back climb. I stayed with the B riders that were going directly on up Sonoma Mtn Road. That three of the four riders were ladies was sheer coincidence ;).

Still I was wheezing up the slope. I was a half minute slow at a road junction where the four stayed on the official route for another 1500 feet of climbing and 20 more miles. The other guy waited for me. I thanked him, made my excuses, and turned the other way. Still I got the training I needed. Doing an entire B/C route depends on having enough time.

I returned to the start through Bennett Valley passing the city fly casting pool dedicated to my father. I stopped there and remembered the fun times I had in the woods as a kid while he fished. The rest of the family did fun things while he outsmarted fish.

At the finish (Juillard Park) Bruce Gordon, the builder of my good bike, had a booth exhibiting some of his more interesting bikes. One was powder-coated to look like rusted steel. Another was a Retro one-speed with a ZAP motor built in. The battery was camoflaged in an antique styled wooden case.

After reaching home I packed for our semi-traditional kayak ride to watch the Sausalito fireworks.

speed improvement

2005-06-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

36.7 miles 2.75 hours ^500 feet^

Club BC ride from Healdsburg to The Lake Sonoma lunch stop for the TT. Keep up with the C riders for 8 miles then with the B riders to the stop. Took my own way back and tied the Cs.

Hilly! Race?

2005-06-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday the SRCC had a strenuous loop ride around the south end of the Maacama ridge. The other eight riders might have been considering the TERRIBLE TWO, I just wanted to finish. The route went from just south of Kenwood, thru Sonoma, turned east into Napa Cty, north along the east side of the ridge, then back over Dry Creek Rd and Trinity Rd to the start. Making it interesting for those strong riders were 5 added out-and-backs up the ridge that doubled or tripled the climbing. I just did the basic loop which was an announced option.

At the 9:00 AM start I found I had left my new helmet at home. The leader said since I was doing the "flat" option we would likely pass each other along the way. Got it in One. I kicked off at 9:45 and went straight for Sonoma down Hwy 12; a commuter route not recommended for fun cyclists. I skipped the Lovall Valley loop and made a water stop at one of our favorite wineries, HOMEWOOD, where I learned they would be releasing their Late Harvest Mt Veeder Zin on August 13th. As I left the parking lot I looked right before turning left and saw the Gang of Eight waiting to cross the nearby State Hwy 29. I was caught a mile later and the leader said, "It looked like the plan worked." as he passed me.

Ir was four miles later over into Napa County before they disappeared ahead of me. I stopped on Old Sonoma Road at my 20th mile and had a sandwich. The group was doing the Henry Road loop as I passed it 2 miles later. I neverr saw them again. Still it felt good to know I was on the course with them. I feel better on a ride if I am part of something, even when I don't see someone all the time. I passed the Patrick Road and Redwood Road turnoffs and started the long grind up the Mt Veeder road. A small vineyard on Mt Veeder is the source of the Zinfandel mentioned earlier. Mt Veeder Also contained the epicenter of the 5+ quake that damaged the town of Napa several years ago.

Every 5 to 10 minutes cyclists would pass me going either way. Up hill ones were always friendly, downhillers were silent and casually dressed on low-level bikes.
Perhaps the silent ones found it hard to talk to someone who was earning his way to the top. There were 2 miles of gentle rollies after halfway along the road then a brake screeming waste of energy down to Dry Creek Road. Two miles of sweat up to the final loop of Wall Road where I stopped for my second sandwich (mile 40). The four solo riders who passed climbing the hill all asked if I was OK. I just waved the food and said OK. One guy descending went by at 30 to 40 MPH. One doesn't chat with people going that fast.

The county line was half a mile later and the road changed to a gentle climb. For another half mile until nearly the true summit there was the strange phenomena of dual numbers on the mail boxes. Someone assigning numbers on the Napa side of the hill had kept going into Sonoma County, 6900, 7000, 7100 ... The Sonoma side went all the way to the county line. Curious.

The road dropped gradually to the junction with Cavedale Road then "Katy bar the Door", There was a sign warning 12% grade next two miles! More screeming brakes, good thing I was alone. Finished and went home.

The route plan was a good idea. If I can ever settle my work schedule a month or more in advance. I will lead some similiar, if shorter, rides for the club.

The Hills Are Alive with the Sounds of Derailluers

2005-06-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

17 miles 1.5 hours ^1200+ feet^

The club ride for today was of some 60+ miles in the rolling hills along the Marin/Sonoma county line. I could have done the distance but not at the speed of people who frequently do such mileage. Yet the area has some lovely scenery and I wanted to get my spouse out of the house and away from the "Coom-pew-ter"(Scotty - STARTREK IV).

I drove us and my BLT in her car to the HWY 1/Petaluma-Valley Ford Rd junction. I had the spouse drive ahead to Tomales and park near the MOSTLY NATIVES Nursery. That was insurance in case the morning rains returned and to expose her to some of the best scenery on my route. Taking off I noticed the bike 'computer' was showing speed but not distance. I had had this problem many times. Flash of insight. Checked the clock function. Disabled. Turned on. Mileage started accumulating. OK, time X speed = distance.

At the top of the Hwy 1 hill just north of Tomales I saw a lovely sign. A oh 12 inch circle holding the words GOT LUNGS? . As I got closer I saw the grayish outer edge of the circle was actually the serration of chainring teeth. Genius, I wonder who put it there. And at the top of over a mile of about 10% gradient. If you can get to the sign on that hill without putting your feet down you do indeed have LUNGS.

The spouse was parked at the agreed upon place. With a fresh filled water bottle and a very rich snack from the local bakery. I had arranged for my private Sag to be out of view of the center of town (v small town) so I could blow past the crowd of club riders I expected to be resting there just about then. Life is sweet at times. There WAS a good crowd there and several heads did snap turn and follow the heavy guy on the heavy bike with home-brew lighting systems and even a heavy floor pump sticking out of a loaded bag on a rear rack. Twenty MPH thru town and disappeared up the next hill. Fancy gear and fancy bikes and they were stopping to rest while the FRED didn't stop. An old Argentine Tango saying, "It doesn't MATTER what the people on the side of the floor are saying about your dancing. They are NOT dancing, and you ARE so they do not count."

West to the Dillon Beach turn-off had many lovely flowers. Farther East things are turning brown but this near the coast Spring lingers. Down to Laguna San Antonio, up past Whittaker Bluff Road, and down the Franklin School Road to Valley Ford and the finish. Near the end of the last hill one cyclist said "Hello" as he past. I asked and he said he was with the SRCC. He stopped by the kayak launch on the Laguna Americano but I still had speed on and didn't want to reveal my declasse squeeky brakes so I went on by.

Found the car in town by the Valley Ford Hotel and Restruant (JUST OPENED THAT DAY) instead of Dinucchi's as expected. I unloaded and secured the bike. Spouse not in car so I started checking the stores. Second store had a double sized JOLT COLA can decorated like an Energizer (tm) battery. Had to buy it. Stepping out of the store I heard my name called. Spouse was eating in the VFH&R eating. Extreme sociable staff. Owner was still installing stuff, good wood in the place, OLD glass still in most windows. Spouse had seen First customers leaving, expected they were associates of the owner and staff who had come for a formal opening meal. Spouse and I (I expect) were the first TRUE customers. Owner gave me a tour, outside back area open patio style, good for a group of cyclists. May arrange a tour there. He also collected curious rocks and native artifacts all of which he trotted out for us when we mentioned our knowledge of such things. Mostly leaverite but pleasant to discyss them with him. Older man working on porch described where he had found small garnets in a blue/grey matrix in Occidental Creek.

Mostly breakfast typoe stuff on an as yet unprinted menu. Nice spinach/suasage/egg scramble w/hash browns. Spouse horrified at the amount of JOLT I consumed. Will try to modify the can for water bottle use.

32 and a Festival

2005-06-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

32 miles 2.5 hours ^700 feet^
16 miles 1 hour ^-100 feet^

The SRCC ride from Willowside School looped north, west to Hacienda Bridge, south to Occidental Road and back to the start. Good company and good pace when moving. RE-group and break stops too long. After Forestville I mostly set my own pace and let the leaders yo-yo past me. Could have finished far ahead but waited at Hall.

At Wohler Bridge chat was about a Filipino Festival in Fulton. At the finish I borrowed a Cell phone and got spouse meet me there. Interesting, spouse enjoyed it. The goat meat had a large portion of slivered intestines which proved a little firm for my current teeth. Ala-carte live entertainment was bizarre.

Ice-cream later.

Monday, Tuesday, Rainday

2005-06-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday I explored new ways to and from my new job as a paratransit driver. Today it rained so I had the time and interest to blog. Paths through my town (~140,000 people) are many. Routes to work are simple, LOW traffic makes main (read direct) roads good. Return runs almost all force you through choke points going over or under a freeway. Being a commercial driver and having 30 odd years as a bike commuter I have a whole lot more tolerance of traffic than most fun type cyclists. Besides it is such a hoot leaving motorists behind in traffic. Now if I could get a mirror to stick to my helmet there would be even more fun. Looking at girls behind me of course.

This company doesn't like overtime so if you end up working overtime due to passenger needs you are hit with days off the next week or so. I put in for those days to be on wednesdays and fridays when my club has weekday rides.

1/15th of a 600K

2005-05-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

22.35 miles 1 hr 48 minutes ^200 feet^

Saturday and Sunday we helped out at the Clear Lake Oaks checkpoint for the SRCC 600K Brevet. Saturday from 10:30 to 2:30 PM Riders passed outbound to Davis. Later, much later, They returned from 11:00PM til after we left Sunday morning. High West winds ran until, oh,2 AM Sunday then died off. One man, Denny, had had a slightly detached retina before the ride. It started getting worse near Davis and by the Pope Valley checkpoint He was completely blind in that eye. He got to us just after sunrise. We delayed leaving until he had a long talk with a Dr. John who was running the CP with his lady friend. We took him back to the start in Healdsburg to check out with Donn King, the organizer. We then took Denny to the Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa where he could have the needed surgery. Good Luck. I expect him back next year.

Oh, my ride. After :30 PM Saturday I rode into the wind back down the course looking for stragglers. None. Found two wineries (nothing good) and the road to two hot springs at mile 11.17. Made that the around. Going out could cruise at 16-18 MPH. Going back was more like 18 to 21, peaking at 30.5. Nice wind!

Spot the baddie Ride

2005-05-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

2 miles 20 minutes ^ feet^

I ma long post but lost it when I clicked on a wrong button.

Basically I showed up for a court hearing for a drunk driver who killed a female cyclist. The SCBC asked people to show up for all of his legal hearings to clearly show the judges and defense lawyers that a lot of cyclists are taking the case seriously. That the system can't just make the problem go away quietly. One lady in the audience came in with a civil case lawyer so we cyclists would have an expert watching the action.

Spot the Baddie Ride

2005-05-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

2 miles 20 minutes ^200 feet^

Not much of a ride EH? The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition E-mailed that the drunk who killed a woman cyclist with his car would appear in front of a judge today at 2:00 PM and would any cyclists who could please show up. Ok, I got there 1/2 hour early never having visited a US court before. Security couldn't pass my bag of bike tools and kindly told me where the 50cent lockers were. Two bad lockers the third was ok. By the time I got back 100 plus jurors were going through screening. I waited with another cyclist going to the same hearing. When we got to the area of the particular court room (out of 12 or 14) a bailiff who recognized the little bicycle pins we wore smiled and said, "This is your room." Nice.

We took two second row center seats. His seat was broken so he moved over one. Most of that row and the third row filled when we both looked at the bad seat and figured how to fix it. We did. He grinned and said, "we will let the next person test it." SO, the next person appeared to be Christine, head of the SCBC (Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition). Of course it didn't fail (drat). My buddy pointed out the defendant (drunk).

When everyone else was there, the judge came in. A bailiff said the public (us) didn't have to stand. Legal maneuvering. The judge said as the last judge had denied bail after charging the man with 2nd Degree Homicide the accused could have an earlier bail returned. Defense attorney turned it down. He then said he could have the hearing delayed until o/a June 6th. Or so I understood. Hearing wrapped up, we left.

Outside the (to me) youngish prosecutor was explaining what went on to a group of the cyclists. At the June hearing both will say if they are ready to go to trial. If yes the judge can set a date for a jury trial. I reclaimed my gear and headed home.
Low 80s' by that time, much sweat going back up to the house. Next time I can go, if ever, I'll only take a lock, trousers (out of respect for the judge) and a snack in a cloth bag.

Semi Metric Century

2005-05-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

55 miles 4.5 hours ^300 feet^ 5/15/05 Sunday

I got the time and/or start of the make-up ride wrong. So just rode up to Lake Sonoma where the lunch break was supposed to be. No-one there. On the way back found Windmill Farms, south of Healdsburg open and offering Fava Beans (without the nice Chianti). I picked up pound which I shelled and the spouse cook later. No gas trouble so the Book of Lists may be in error. Considering the weight of gear I carried, such as a big floor pump, I put out enough effort to equal a Metric Century.

Trash Crew and Others

2005-05-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

31.66 4 hrs 24 min ^400 feet^

This was the SRCC Friday ride. I had an 11:30 dental appt. so just planned to ride to the start 13 miles and back 12 miles to have a purpose to the ride. The A ride went part way back towards town and the dentist. Great! I am really getting beyond the A riders. At the top of Vine Hill I said, "Excuse me" to the ride leader and dropped down the hill. I had, by far, the highest sectional density of the group so Sir Isaac took me down the hill far faster than the others. I waited at the Druids Hall til the first one caught me. Then down Trenton to River Road and another wait. The slope isn't steep but the road surface is bad and my Bruce Gordon with 700x32 tires can handle bad roads nicely. When the group joined me at River Road the Leader said we might not see you again. I had told her I would have to split off somewhere. I tool off at 17 to 19 MPH on the smooth flat road. One cyclist was in view behind me as I passed the groups' turn on Slusser. I waved back and went on to the dentist.

It is not so much that my fitness is a lot better, rather having lost over 20 lbs in 4 months the power to weight ratio has improved.

Sunday 5/22/05

The spouse and I joined the group picking up trash along Chalk Hill Road. There was not too much trash on out 1/2 mile segment. Good, because out feet hurt by the time we finished. The club sprang for lunch in Windsor.

Eye for #1

2005-05-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

I was expecting a call to help at the start/finish for our local 400K Brevet. I knew fewer people were needed than at the 300K as a 24 hr Safeway was an unmanned check-point near the middle of the out and back. Still it is nice to be involved and with my current limited income a free snack at the s/f CP is worth the 28 mile round trip by bike. All is not lost as I plan to ride the 100K ride for people who helped at the Wine Country Century. I'll just alter the route to go past the Brevet check-point.

The 100K is the farthest i have gone in years but I've worked up to it. See this space tomorrow evening.

Catch Up

2005-05-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

32 and 39 and 26 miles 3 and 4 a 2.5 hours ^about 2000 feet^

Chalk Hill evening ride

SRCC club ride: I rode 5 mi to San Miguel School, a regular starting place for rides. Found the Staff restroom was open. 15 minute wait. Ride group of 9, two ladies. One was a Kaiser staffer from Oakland teaching computer stuff at the local clinic. Found about our evening ride on the Net. This was a B Class ride and I was dropped as soon as we reached the first climb. I, another man, and the ride leader stayed with the Oakland lady. We took turns chatting with her. I did much better than the last time I did Chalk Hill road, partly due to more fitness, more due to having lost 20 pounds. A truck politely waited for us four to get over the narrow Maacama bridge. Just before the turn-around at Hwy 29 a big pick-up swerved over the double yellow into our lane at sharp bend blaring its horn. When we met the other 5 riders they said he had gone by at 60 in the 35 zone. They heard its horn blow seconds later and figured it was passing us four. I returned a bit faster again getting behind but not truely dropped on a hill.

The Chalk Hill chalk is not true chalk but a light, fine grained volcanic ash.

Thursday: morning SRCC ride

All two of us. I rode 9 miles to the Windsor library (and 9 back) where I met the leader. He felt too many of the short fun ride were in and south of Santa Rosa so he promoted short "sniff the flowers" rides north of town. Bravo; pity I can't ride more of them to boost his morale but a new job starts next week. We went north on Old Red, south on East Side, over Wohler bridge, and west to the hill looking over Hacienda Bridge. He REALLY did not care for River Road and its traffic so we returned to south Windsor westside and other back roads. We split near Shiloh and Old Red and I went home.

Friday: Friday SRCC A Class ride

Howarth Park to Moms' Apple Pie shop near Forestville and return. Generally the Joe Redota trail out and Willowside, Third, Prince Greenway back. Nice chatting but I clearly see I need to up-grade to B status.

New position

2005-05-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

I am deliberately secretive in not saying where and for who. Seasoned bloggers know why. It is related to the field I studied in college and pays more than my old (veerrry old) work. A few months to dig out from under then start building a nest egg. The nest needs fixing. Now if the spouse who edits this would find happy work we would be dinks.

LandPaths/Activist ride

2005-04-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

26 miles, 4-1/2 hours, ^280 feet^ cool riding, over-cast, little wind

LandPaths, the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, Santa Rosa city parks department and others covered their due diligence needs by sponsoring a ride from City Hall to points west.

Recumbents, arm-power, wheel-chairs, pedestrians, and vanilla bikes took part. Walkers and chairs went down the Greenway. Bikes and one recumbent went to CATZ coffee shop in Sebastopol.

I and another bike went to the fruit and veg market just outside of town. I continued north to Occidental road and returned home via the Willowside Middle School plant sale. Found a good, large sized water bottle from a local bike shop as I left the sale.

Tailwind friends

2005-04-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

25.6 miles, 2 hours, ^300 feet^

Clo-terium May 1st, courtesy Bike Peddler

I risked a 50% chance of rain and did the Sonoma commute today. A lovely tailwind made the 12.8 miles in the AM easy. South of Glen Ellen I heard VOICES. Looking back I saw a pair of fast riders I had had whiz by several times. With the help of the wind and a slight downhill I hit 22 MPH as they passed me. Time enough to learn they were also commuting and one had NorCal Velo shorts on.

Also saw they blew through the STOP signs at the Sonoma development Center. BAD boys, what would the Ruggles (owners of NorCal Cycling) think of you, setting such a bad example for all the developmentally challenged kids there?

The Ruggles operate the bike shop on College Avenue that is more oriented to road bikes. They are opening their big new store very soon.

Coleman Valley Round Trip

2005-04-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

20.5 miles 2.75 hours ^2722 feet^

Sunday the 24th I "led" a SRCC club ride. I had proposed a small set of rides into the lovely and very hilly land west of Occidental. This area has the second highest rating for hilliness and I felt was being avoided by new riders.

At the 9:00 AM start four other riders were waiting. One was a lady with a mountain bike ready to go down Willow Creek road; 20 miles and 1700 feet of rutted dirt road. Another was a local from Joy Road who had just joined the club. He went out to the coast and home along Hwy 1 and Hwy 12. The other two were veteran riders I knew. One went out to the coast (Hwy 1) and back as I did (much more slowly). The other stayed with me to the coast then took the 30 mile option over Hwy 1, Bay Hill road, Hwy 12, and the bohemian Hwy (shudder) to the start.

After having company to the coast I returned at a pace suitable for nature viewing. Red Columbines and other flowers were still in good form. An interesting clover had a red/magenta core cored with white tips. This clover was tough enough to be growing through fresh asphalt in places. A turtle and a pheasant were also seen.

Profile Fun

2005-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Found I could click on my profile words and get a list of bloggers with similiar interests. Of all bloggers, found 8 listed mining. Only one said anything about ral mining. "She" lives in one with hot wind problems. (I recommended a look into Hilsch vortex tubes.)

Time Trial

2005-04-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

6.95 miles, 45 minutes, ^850 feet^

Did the climb up Adobe Canyon Road to the park at the end. Easier the second time. Fitter and mentally set. As I learn the way down, I descend faster. The fire road to the mountain top needs knobbier tires than I have. Will set up VELOLOGGER to save this road as a fixed course. Keys sticky, system gets that way when it's been on too long.

Wine Scouting

2005-04-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

25.4 miles, 2 hours +/-, ^300 feet^

Passed three tourist cyclists preparing to check wine and olive oil tasting room just south of Glen Ellen on my way home. Decided to do a little wine tour of my own.

As mentioned before there are many wineries along my current commute route. I used the word scouting, not tasting, as I do not drink or even taste while riding or driving. I stopped at two wineries that I haven't visited in years; Mayo family winery and the Wellington winery.

The Mayo Family Winery tasting room was just being set up as I rolled in. They were pouring a dozen or so types that day, mostly '02 and '03s. They had an undated Zin port my spouse can try later. The Wellington people had the usual pinots, zins, and merlots as well as a white port and a zin port that had had its fermentation stopped with 7 year old Cognac rather than the usual grape alcohol. I hadn't heard of that before.

Fresh Meat

2005-04-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

31 miles; 3 hours; ^200 feet^

I'm supporting a 300K Brevet this evening so I only did the easy club ride in Windsor this AM, with 10 extra miles done to and from the route.

The route ambled through the suburbs and vineyards around Windsor. A lady showed up "On an impulse" with a borrowed bike. Her chatty enthusiasm drew in other riders like vultures to fresh meat. People talked about clothes, bikes, used bikes, bike fit, bike routes, and anything they would get her to talk about. She liked to talk too and it was entertaining to hear her verbally running over one male rider who kept interrupting her so he could talk.

Near the end of the ride I pulled along side her and asked, "Do you feel about talked out?" She indicated that maybe she was. I replied, "Well, many people like to see a new rider, it lets us tell our old stories all over again." She smiled.

Glen Ellen

2005-04-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

25.6 miles; 1:50 hours; ^300 feet^

This was a basic Friday commute off of Hwy 12. The trip back I pushed it more than usual, as I had to get to Monte Rio by 1:30 PM.

Flushed a covey of quail as I passed the Dunbar school. The surprise made them seem loud—not as loud as grouse, though.

Up, Up, and down

2005-04-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

31.75 miles; 3:52:30 time; ^2800 feet^

The forecast yesterday was for less than 40 degrees, and the spouse volunteered to drive me to Sonoma so I could just ride the warm leg of the commute; the return home.

I saw this as an opportunity to catch up on my elevation gain. The Hwy 12 route home can go past Cavedale Road which leads to Trinity Road which comes back to Hwy 12. So Be It!

The turn onto Cavedale came at mile 4.5. After a quarter mile or so the real climb started. About 90% of the climb was spent in my 3 lowest gears: 19, 21, and 24 gear/inches. Speeds stayed at 4.2 to 4.6 mph. (Any faster and I promptly went over my aerobic threshold.) Every half mile or so I'd stop and have a drink of water.

At my second stop a lovely updraft was supporting a group of vultures right next to the road. Seeing these superb gliders at 15 feet or less was a thrill. I doubt they would have stayed there for a car.

At mile 4.3 I saw a lady ahead walking up the hill. A moment later the first car I'd seen on the hill came past her. "Now there is a traffic jam," I called up to her. She nodded and kept walking. I caught up with her when she stopped to check her mail at mile 4.6. We had a good chat while we both caught up with our breathing.

"This is the end of the major climb" she assured me. She had trained on the hill for a charity bike ride and had hurt her knees. Well golly gee, I thought, what a horrid place to start training. We discussed the excellent wild-flower show. I mentioned biking up Trinity Road on my way to a Christian retreat when in high school. "Oh, I know that place. It was sold ten years ago and had been a place for drug dealers and a brothel at times since then. It is up for sale again."

The grade did ease off for a half mile but bit back just before the top. Normally I don't like to go into oxygen debt on a long climb but if a good stopping place is just ahead, I will. That happened just before the top at mile 5.8. I put on my sweater for the descent ahead. A drop, short climb and another drop brought me to Trinity Road. My front brakes may still be squealing but at least they work somewhat.

A mile down the hill a FLAGMAN AHEAD sign warned me of road work. The guard stopped me, called ahead, then said I could go but watch out for the Toyota. Around the curve I found another worker had stopped the Toyota to let me go by. At the bottom of the work zone the guard there had halted all traffic until the cyclist (ME) could go by. What service!! None of the motorists honked or shook their fists. Humor the loony cyclist perhaps or just a bunch of nice people. At the bottom a short semi trailer had pulled off of Hwy 12 blocking Trinity Road. I waded through the mud on the roadside and continued north.

I found that the climb had worked my legs to the point that I could not go much over 12-13 mph. Five miles later, in Oakmont, I started to recover. Took the long cut through Spring Lake and Howard Park for variety. Got home and took a long soak in the tub.

Uphill by Bike and Bus

2005-04-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

22.44 miles; 2hr, 56 minutes; ^1780feet^

The SRCC had its Pine Flat Challenge today. 70 miles from town to the top of the climb and return. I was not interested in the miles, just the altitude. As an experiment in savings, I took Sonoma County Transit Bus 60 to Healdsburg and back. The driver admired the lighting system on the bike and we chatted for most of the trip north.

I started at 170 feet across the road from my spouses' car dealer. Up to 200, down to 176, then 214 at the base of the climb. I was there some 10 minutes early and found the letters P F C for Pine Flat Challenge chalked by the bridge marking the base of the climb. The letters were next to a chalked starting line.

I figured they had started already and said that to a rider who rolled up. He took off quickly and I followed him after having some more water. Most of the climb was spent in my 4 lowest gears. One to two miles later several small groups blasted past me. Even a support car. Then others came by one or two at a time. "Oh yes," the stoker on the one tandem told me "We all started a couple of minutes after Noon".

I continued, drinking and nibbling on a Powerbar. At 5 miles from the bottom I checked my time, distance and the bus schedule. If I had continued I might have made mile 6 but going to the top at mile 7 would have made me late for the 2:06 PM bus. Next bus; 4:34 PM.

I could have made the whole climb by getting home later than I wanted to. Next time.

The descent was just within the capacity of my brakes, large, thick cantilevers. I kept it to 16 to 22 MPH for safety's sake. (Stopping at 5 miles also got me off the hill before the hot shots tried coming down at 30 plus MPH.) I waited almost 30 minutes for the bus, Mile 6 would have been OK.

A genuine loony tried to get on the bus ahead of me. He had a grubby skate board, a cheesy guitar with several missing strings, sun shades with lenses shaped like little grey aliens eyes, and several eyes tattooed on his scalp. The driver, Leo, would not let him board for free. The loony finally threw what he thought was a terrible epithet at Leo, "CAPITALIST" and stomped off. When I got off I complimented Leo on how he handled the whacko.

reCYCLING

2005-04-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

36.34 miles; 3:04 hours; ^500 feet^

Skipped the club ride; spouse and I were recycling not cycling.

Later at 3:00 PM went out to put on some miles. Good climbs were more miles away than I wanted. Started up Old Red towards the Mill Creek climb just to have a direction to start in. Was caught and politely passed by a trio of lady racers. I could have drafted them (with their permission) but was working into a Zen mood.

West on River Road. (For those out of the area River Road follows an old railroad grade. FLAT.) Saw the miles were going well so decided for Martinelli Road. Quiet and lovely road. High point for me (see my bio) is the quarry at the south end. A short grunt up Hwy 116 into Forestville and the north end of the Joe Redota trail is available. I had hit 38 MPH going down the hill last month and was pleased to see that I didn't need the granny going up. I am making some progress.

The trail was busy compared to Martinelli, Pedestrians or bikes every 1/4 mile. Just south of Graton a hand-lettered sign on the side of the path said

Range eggs $X.xx/dozen, Ring Doorbell

I had kept up on the fluids and took a bite of a POWERBAR each time I hit the top of a rollie. Never felt too tired.

Passed through Sebastapol and turned back towards Santa Rosa, staying on the Joe Redota Trail. This trail is also on a railroad grade like River Road, the difference being the Redota Trail followed a local farm freight line over hill and dale twisting like Chubby Checker. The River route was a major passenger line before WWII and was as flat and straight as it could be made.

Nearing Santa Rosa I passed two ladies rolling slowly along. One called after me admiring my dark Red/Pink shorts. I thanked them and said I commuted and needed high visibility. The second asked where I got them. Southern California, I said.

"That figures!" caught up with me as I disappeared ahead of them.

Mild Adventure

2005-04-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

25 miles, 2 hours

I've said it before: "An adventure is what happens when you don't plan well." (Quoting George Mallory of Mt. Everest fame.)

Starting in Kenwood with a 30% chance of showers, I felt my lower colon rumbling as I rolled south, a warning that I could not make it to the store in Glen Elen. Having commuted for many years I had noted every single possible emergency toilet place on the whole run, so backup plans were already in place. A work crew 1 mile south of town had installed a porta-potty, behind a gate, But I had located the gap in the fence. Fortunately no one was around—I rolled through the gap, parked out of view of the main road, found toilet paper there, finished, and pedaled away staying in truck tracks on the dirt road.

Heading north again saw rain over Sonoma Mountain, ahead and upwind. As the first drops fell I peeled off the sweater and put on the TYVEK coveralls I'd found last week.

Six miles later the rain stopped and the sun came out. Off overalls and three miles to the finish. The suit acted more like a wet suit. At least it kept the chill off. As the ultramarathoner Lon Haldeman has said, "No rain gear can keep you completely dry, just warm-and-wet. I can live with that."

Adobe Canyon and errands

2005-04-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

7.93 miles, 50 minutes—and about 1000 feet ^climb^

Too cold to want to commute this morning. I took the bike along and stopped at the Landmark Winery on the way home. The winery is just off of Hwy 12 in Kenwood and is by the bottom end of Adobe Canyon road. The road climbs to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. The gatekeeper said his shack was at 600 feet. Oh sure, and the base is 400 feet from a topo map. I hadn't just climbed only 200 feet. I'll check it later.

I went another 1/4 mile to the Ferguson Observatory at the end of the pavement. Dirt roads go on up to the ridge overlooking Napa Valley and to the top of Pine Mountain at 2700+ feet. I turned around and imitated a dropped rock. The pavement is better than Los Alamos road but the descent is still too twisty to really open up.

Also ran errands by bike: 5.74 miles, 45 minutes, total of 13.5 miles today.

Needed to visit the PO to drop off a letter to a local quarry operation saying I'm interested in being Weighmaster at one of their road works—got the hint from the leader of the last Tuesday night dinner ride.

Then went by the mr regular office to drop off a receipt to be reimbursed. I love it when they reimburse in cash. I would like to give a link to them, but the one time I tried to send the manager an E-mail it messed up my system—still have not gotten it fixed.

Toxic waste ride

2005-04-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

25 miles

(Coming up with titles is fun.) Last week I found one of the white Tyvek® coveralls worn by vineyard workers when they are spraying. It had been rained on for several days, so I didn't mind using it. This AM it was 38 degrees, the coldest yet that I've tried to ride here. I pulled on socks, shorts, and T-shirt. Then bike tights and long sleeved shirt. Then the Tyvek® coveralls, which I covered with my 25 year old Performance rain jacket. Gloves were a pair found by another volunteer on Saturday. Basically, only my head had any chance to get cold.

I started a bit late and caught up with the AM rush south down Hwy 12 into Sonoma. Wide shoulders and a rolling downhill let me pass some 50 to 75 cars. A fix-it truck I passed three times going south later passed me going north. The driver beeped and waved.

The forecast is for scattered PM showers Wednesday. I am considering driving from Kenwood north one mile to the Landmark Winery parking lot then going up Adobe Canyon road to the gate house at the state park entrance. That gives some 1200 feet of climbing. If weather cancels, this route allows a RAPID bailout if it starts raining on the way up.

Wheezing Hills

2005-04-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

18 miles, 3.5 hours—and 1200 feet ^up^

The Santa Rosa Cycling Club has started an altitude gain challenge for April (April Alpina), having just finished a mileage contest in March. I signed on for 15,000 feet, the minimum. The commute generates 200 to 700 feet, depending on where I start.

It is going to rain for 3 days this week so I went out looking for some climbing this afternoon: over Montecito Heights (200'), up Los Alamos to Cougar (800'), and back over Montecito (200').

The climb up Los Alamos takes 5 miles to get to the top at Hood Mountain State Park. I am fit enough to try it, but about 1 of the 2 miles I made was in my lowest gears. Approaching Cougar (Lane? Road?) I noticed that whatever doctors have been hearing in my left lung for years was getting really loud. Try holding your upper teeth on your lower lip and sucking air though the gap—sounds like the breathing of a guy I heard on his death bed. My pulse was near max as I was having to stop every half-mile or so, but no heart-attack feelings. My breathing was getting towards max flow as my chest muscles and diaphragm really loosened up. That was when I heard the "strangled squirrel" sound. Until I get the problem, if it is one, fixed I'll regulate my climbing rate to prevent that sound.

I sanded my squeaking front brake pads, put on a wind breaker, and started down. Got maybe a quarter mile before the front brakes started squeaking again. As this road is rough and has a lot of sharp blind curves I didn't let the speed get much over 25 mph. Even with full medical coverage I didn't feel like going around a curve at 40 and hitting the back of the FedEx truck I knew was on the hill. Back on Montecito I did manage to hit 36 in a 35 zone.

I will keep looking for those good descents!

Creek cleaning

2005-04-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

8 miles, 45 minutes

Rode down to the park built along the creek through town. Met a dozen and more volunteers as well as the city works man responsible for creek affairs. We spent 2-1/2 hours pulling trash plants like ivy and fennel. One guy found a hypodermic syringe, which I put in a safe place. Later I passed it to the city worker who safely removed it.

On the ride home people (mostly women) were working in their yards.

Joke Entry, Not.

2005-04-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

24 miles, 2 hours 4 minutes

Have I lost my sense of humor? My spouse led me to a long list of April First joke postings on BlogCritics. I could usually see why they were funny or why they would get the goat of an intended victim but I found it hard to even crack a smile at most of them. I have said that I am an analog type person; I sometimes react better to physical jokes. A trace of potassium permanganate in the food that gives the victim green urine, or a layer of fabric between two layers of thin pancake batter that produces an uncuttable pancake is more my speed.

Friday is limited by my work schedule. The basic half commute from Kenwood. Given lots of time and better weather I took a route that avoided Highway 12. Near the Hannas Boys Center I found three pairs of classic burlap sandbags WITH sand. Emptied two and took them. At least one local quarry will let locals have a few bags of sand or other sizes of aggregate in return for a couple of 6-packs of pop or a little chocolate. Too much trouble to charge for such a little amount. Coming back stayed away from Hwy 12 again and, yes, the back roads are still hard on the rump but at least you can look at the scenery.

The Big One

2005-03-31T19:53:00.000-08:00

48.5 miles, 3 hours, 48 minutes

Still some Blogger problems and a bad case of random lame cursor, so this will be brief.

I started at 5:45 and still got to Sonoma 1/2 hour early.

On the ride back I met a muddy cyclist leaving the trails at Annadel Park. We lived near each other so had a chat while we headed home. The spouse met me at the bottom of the 200-foot steep climb to the house saving me from putting my tired legs to the effort. We went to a local burger palace.

Testing, testing

2005-03-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

36 miles

This post is a day late—Blogger was having problems so I waited until they were (I hope) fixed. I started from the Annadel Park free lot on Channel Drive, partly to approach 500 miles for March and partly to see how my body would handle the mileage increase.

As usual I saw and heard invasive feathered velociraptors (wild turkeys) between the start and the Oakmont retirement community. The two short grades in Oakmont were easier than two weeks earlier, a good sign. I went straight down Highway 12 again. This MAY be a higher risk than the back roads. It is CERTAINLY softer on the sit bones. Reaching Sonoma I stopped at the Safeway to check the time. Sonoma Safeway had some really soft chewy onion bagels. I knocked back two. Safeway is to be praised for allowing(tolerating?) my parking inside the store.

Going Home I passed 9 wineries and tasting rooms for 15+ smaller ones. The scenery is nice too.

My quads had a mild "burn" which faded by bed-time so I decided to do the 49 miles full round-trip from home to Sonoma. This would also put me over 500 miles for the SRCC March mileage contest.

Night Dinner Ride

2005-03-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

8 miles 38 minutes

The Santa Rosa Cycling Club (SRCC) had 5 Tuesday night dinner rides to promote riding during the "March Madness" mileage contest. Night rides seem less popular than day rides and rides to meals seem less loved than miles to ride. So, when I and the acting ride leader were the only two to show at the start I was not suprised.

We waited 10 minutes past the official start then spent 5 minutes picking a destination. He seemed to want me to pick the site, and I, he. I had a budget limit and he countered with a local discount card offering half price meals at local eateries. Finally he suggested the East/West restruant in Sebastapol. East/West has a vegan/vegetarian/fish/chicken/salad menu with ONE 1 ONE beef offering. It is also recommended by Aunt Connie who can eat anywhere she wants. Done.

The trip out was College>Fulton>third>Hall>Occidental>High School>hwy 116. We talked bike stuff and life stuff all the way out there, during the meal, and on the way back until he split off. I will spare you some of the esoterics of reflective systems and union activities. I mentioned working as a weightmaster at a winery and he hinted there might be an opening soon at Syars' operation on Todd Road. It would pay better than I am getting now. Besides some of what I do now (home health care) made him a little grey.

Over the rainbow (golden colored)

2005-03-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

Today I lead the club ride through Marin county and over the Golden Gate Bridge, all three of us. My ride started with two ladies showing up at the optional start in SANTA ROSA. One lady rode there from a few blocks away and the other arrived in an ecomony car with a three bike rack on the roof, (Wizard!) We consolidated in her car and I got to leave my 12 MPG truck behind. Waiting at the official start in Corte Madera brought no new riders.

Promptly at 9:30 AM we headed up the grade between the start and Mill Valley. 250 feet in 2 miles how horrid. For half a mile across the top of the hill the route parallels the 101 freeway. Near the end of that path is a section of hillside dedicated to local horse riders. Two uniformed workers were removing a dense patch of thistles next to the horse paddock. A pleasant descent on Lomita took us to the bike path on the old North West Pacific railroad grade. Crossing Blithedale we continued on the bike path across the tidal flats at the head of Richardson Bay. Major streams of cyclists and a few walkers were going the other way. One of the ladies told me the Paradise loop (?) starts there, goes through the expensive Tiburon area, past China Camp, and back over the hill we had just gone over. Minutes later we reached Sausalito and took surface roads the rest of the way to the bridge. Mikes' Bikes, where the path joins the road, had a seething mob of cyclists around it and the adjacent deli. Talk about location, location, location. Mikes' had it. The climb to the bridge was sweaty and not too painful. We had seen a number of rental city bikes with their riders coming down the hill as we climbed. There were a whole lot more on the bridges' sidewalk. It is one thing to deal with novice riders, whole family loads, on a wide city street. It is an entirely different matter on that narrow bridge path. To add to it most of the bridge maintenance sheds and equipment are kept on the west or bicycle side. And the sharp doglegs around the Bridge towers. The next time I go over the bridge I may just do it at 2:00 AM to have a peaceful ride.

At the south end we three hydrated, ate parts of energy bars, and had our picture taken before the statue of the bridges' builder. The coast back into Sausalito was fun. It is one of the few times a 210 lb. Man on 40 lb. of bike and gear can challenge the posted speed limit. It was almost the only time I could lead the lady who was a sprint distance triathelete. Or maybe she was less inclined to do dangerous things. No shopping was requested in Sausalito, these ladies were dedicated. The men removing thistles had finished and were putting other plants. I loudly praised them as I went by. At the north end of the 101 path the frontage road has a steep, smooth, and nearly straight drop into Corte Madera with a good run-out. We hit 39, 41.5, and 42 MPH, respectively. At the end we loaded up and headed back to Santa Rosa.

Brrrrrrrr

2005-03-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

0 miles 0 hours

I've been in California too long. Got up at six, ate, packed, and loaded bike onto car for shuttle to Kenwood. The forecast was for 40 degrees but I was seeing frost on the ground as well as frost on roofs. The vineyards north of Kenwood were running their sprinklers or fans to keep the just leaved out buds from freezing. Swell, that means 32 to 34 degrees. My fingertips went numb at 42 degrees two weeks ago. Cancelled ride.

Grinding out the miles

2005-03-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

26 miles 1 hour 54 minutes

Again, another commute from Kenwood to Sonoma and back. If all I did was commute the task would get boring and I would draw back from cycling. That happened to me in Southern California after grinding out 20 miles a day for four and a half years along the Santa Ana River Trail. The S.A.R.T. is basically a concrete trench. It took eight years, a move to Northern California, and a bike so good it made me ill not to ride it to get active again.

Active is using my commute as a training ride. I use the basic principles shown on the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association site as guidelines without an obsessive focus on a rigid schedule. Well, there is some rigidity. I will be safe and I will get to the other end. Remember it IS a commute, a person depends on me to be there, and I do get 31 cents a mile to do it. Threshold work going up hills, recovery down slopes, and keeping my pulse rate up in between.

The firmest dream

2005-03-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

Last night I woke from a dream remembering only that I had one. Just now I woke from one I didn't (and never want to) forget.

I was sitting at one end of a long table surrounded by a casual group of people. A mature, bearded man several places up the right side turned and asked me, most seriously, "Can you see beyond?"

"You're not asking me to see the spaceship behind Hale-Bopp, are you?" I replied to his question with a question.

"No," he answered, implying he meant the question honestly.

"in that case I have a problem with it. To see beyond you first have to accept certain beliefs and tenets unquestioningly and without critical analysis. Like," and I looked up the table where the entire group is watching me, "Sorry about this, any of you Christian people, Jesus is the Son of God." I heard a gasp and several people flinched.

The questioner nodded and said, "I see."

I perceived a feeling of partial withdrawal from the others at the table. I smiled and said, "...and they all moved away from me on the bench." A youngish lady on my immediate right had a puzzled smile on her face. "You didn't catch that, did you?"

"No."

"It's from the 60s' anti-war movement, a movie called Alice's Restaurant by...," and then my mind drew a blank! I hummed, in my mind, a few bars of the title tune. Nothing!

In some high-stress dreams, the stress can wake you. I felt my quickening, and thought, I mustn't forget this, it is a basic part of my growing up. If I can't remember it, I'm starting the long slide. Focusing my mind I drew up the image of a dying man on a hospital bed, tubes installed. "WOODIE... no, Arlo Guthrie," came in a flash. And I relaxed.

Knowing this was a memory I wanted to keep and share with my engineer spouse, I got up and blogged it.

Why?

2005-03-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

Why cycling? Why not some other obsession?

My mother "taught" me how to ride. My older brother and sister knew how. I suppose she felt it was time for me to ride.

Father never rode. The one time he had been on a bike as a child, the child who owned it caused it to crash. Possibly the pain and embarrassment at failing kept him from ever trying again. Mother simply put me on a bike and had me try to steer while she pushed and kept me from falling over.

One day she started me down a bump in the driveway a few feet high. After making it all the way across a large parking lot without putting my feet down I turned to share my pleasure with her. SHE was at the far side of the lot. I was stunned for a moment then turned the bike around at the entrance ramp of a garage I had stopped at, pushed off and pedaled back to her.

To borrow from Braveheart, "FREEDOM!"

Hours later I was whizzing around a corner of our house and almost ran over Father, just back from working in far-off New York City. He was startled and I still feel, pleased at my success. It was difficult to impress him, and having done so, the effect has made me love cycling to this day.

my first C ride

2005-03-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

25 miles; 1 hour 50 minutes

Scattered rain showers this morning almost convinced me to me stay home. It is strange to look out of one window seeing rain, then not seeing rain out of a window on the opposite side of the house. It told me that the showers were not lasting long enough to stop me from riding.

At the start of the SRCC short ride I found one other man in the parking lot. He had planned to ride his tandem but his wife had cancelled. Also, he thought the ride started at 9:00 AM so he was about to leave. I've had that same experience so I bring the club newsletter along—I showed him the start was at 9:30. Minutes to go, and the leader shows up on a track bike. He was also going to tandem but HIS wife cancelled too. One more rider showed (minus a helmet), so the leader said we would go by his nearby home for one. As we left the lot one more rider peddled up.

Consensus was to not do the whole 30-35 mile route planned, but just go to a coffee house in Windsor by a round-about way, then straight back to the start. The last man to arrive split after 3-4 miles. I could understand that. This group tended to be C-class riders, who regroup less frequently than some and cruise at 19 to 22 MPH on dry flat roads. With the wet roads we kept it to 16 to 18 MPH which is more than I normally commute at. About 10 miles into the ride a lady club member caught up with us, worked her way through the group and disappeared off the front in 2 miles.

This group gives good drafting. I would drop behind on short climbs and regain on descents� lb of cyclist, bike, and gear is good for something!

When I or the guy on the mountain bike would get too far back the leaders would slow a little 'til we caught up. Two little showers and one sharp downpour, none more than 3-5 minutes, didn't dampen our spirits. Leaving the coffee shop I lead into a 10-15 MPH headwind until the first rollie when the two stronger riders took the lead.

We talked at full volume back and forth on the way back When I talked about unusual ideas for rides with the mountain-biker he mentioned a road-kill ride he had been on. People had to carry a plastic bag and bring back at least one piece of road kill. Extra points were given for the most unusual piece.

While not as badly chilled as I was on the January 1st ride, I still needed a soak in the tub when I got home, partly to get the salt off of my skin—it had been stinging my eyes near the finish.

Oops, got wet.

2005-03-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

25 miles 1.75 hours

Cloudy, fifties, and dry to Sonoma. Rain and Sticky back. Bus to Kenwood leaves at 10:57 Next rain time will leae client 10 minutes early.

At 299 miles for the month, will need to change my club mileage goal to 500.

longer commute

2005-03-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

37 miles, 2 hrs 46 minutes.

Rain is forecast for the end of the week so I decided to try a longer commute to keep the miles up. Moved the start from Kenwood (25 miles) to just south of Spring Lake park in Santa Rosa (37 miles). The free public parking area is just outside of Annadel Regional Park. Annadel is one of the best local areas for mountain biking. If I have any spare energy I can take my heavy tired Bruce Gordon touring bike along the singletrack there.

Got to the lot at 6:05 AM and found signage saying no parking before 6 AM at this time of the year. WHEW! Close. Had enough light not to need headlights. 6 miles to Kenwood and 13 to Sonoma. Came back almost entirely on Hwy 12. Got hungry nearing Kenwood and stopped for water, orange, and Hostess Cupcakes.

Rear wheel still making clicking sounds like loose spokes rubbing on each other. Granny gear started shifting again. The new (to me) state-of-the-art click shifting is going out of adjustment again. Will learn how to fix it as I can't afford to waste $25.00 at the bike shop every 1000 miles or so. I understand I can turn off the "click" shifting somehow. I learned stick shifting when I learned to drive so I am not impressed with "click" or "automatic" shifting for bikes.

I am wondering what the longest regular bike commute is and who does it. Pete Penseyres used to go from Fallbrook, CA to the San Onofre power plant and back a trip of some 80(?) miles. And set the all time solo speed record for the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) about that time. Lon Haldeman used to do a 100 mile round trip to work at a bike shop northwest of Chicago.

Readers, please post candidates!

HIGHER RISK, HIGHER SPEED

2005-03-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

25.14 miles, 1 hr 41 min.

The air temp was 42 degrees this AM. It was about the lowest I have ridden at since Colorado nearly 18 years ago. My finder tips started to go numb even while blowing on them through my fuzzy gloves. Another layer on my hands and legs would have been appreciated.

I took a new route to Sonoma. Went down Warm Springs Road instead of Hwy 12 and Arnold Drive. The trip takes one extra mile to get to Glen Elen. The road isn't any smoother, just a more even down gradient. At Glen Elen I took refuge in the market/deli for 5-6 minutes to warm up. Then Arnold, Agua Caliente, and Hwy 12 to Sonoma.

Coming back I went the whole way on Hwy 12. So much smoother than the back roads, wider shoulders, and more gradual curves so cars can see myself and other vehicles farther ahead. Quid Pro Quo: heavier, faster traffic

Got too involved in an antique video game and missed the start of the Tuesday Night Dinner Ride. Next week I suppose. Hope the club will keep up the night rides for when the weather gets hotter.

Green Fingernails

2005-03-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

0 miles, 0 hours

Mondays, I have two health care clients between 7:00 AM and 2:00 to 3:00 PM I'm not inclined to ride after that. I maintain training effect by striving to ride on Sunday and Tuesday, weather permitting. Sunday would be a club ride that doesn't leave me fried for work. Tuesday is easy. I can commute in the morning and do a club ride in the evening. I am more cold tolerant than heat loving so I may be doing more dark rides come summer.

Oh, the green fingernails. Today I saw two ladies with French manicures, the layer being green instead of white.

test ride over the Golden Gate Bridge

2005-03-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Join Me for the official SRCC March Magic Ride March 28th at 9:30 AM in Corte Madera

24.5 miles 2 hours 5 minutes

In two weeks I lead a club ride from Corte Madera to the far end of the Golden Gate Bridge and back. I needed to have ride sheets to pass out giving distances, turns, Street names, and other details, so I decided to do a test run. Today the spouse dropped me off by the California Pizza Kitchen in the Corta Madra Town Center at 11:00 AM.

Calif. Pizza Kitchen at Corte Madera Town Center

Cyclist's route description: First, around the shops and exit left on Tamal Vista. At the light, eyeball the third left only 100 feet ahead. A steady 1 mile climb up Meadowsweet hooks left just where the route continues south on a path separated from the 8-lane Hwy 101 by a chain-link fence. Path becomes Lomitas—be sure to take the opportunity to enjoy the really good views of the Bay here.

Lomitas turns left at a little school, then reaches a light at Blithedale, a major local road. The bike path continues on the other side of Blithedale. It runs on a old railroad grade for several miles across brackish wetlands. After passing under the 101 and reaching a controlled intersection by Mike's Bikes, a good way to go on is to cross the local main road and take the bike lane. The side roads and old bike paths are rough. On one stretch along the old RR grade, tree roots have made the path almost unrideable.

A caution when going thru central Sausalito on a weekend. Shoppers and tourists don't always use the cross-walks and will move without warning. At the south end of town the road turns right—west—uphill. In one block, there is a left turn for 3-4 blocks, then another left turn, and the climb to the Bridge has begun.

A-level or less fit riders will need their lowest gears often.

CAUTION: When resting, move off of this busy, narrow, twisting road.

Fit riders who are not bothered by narrow, dark underpasses can go straight to the top of the climb, under the 101, past the on-ramp, left into a little parking lot, and on to the Bridge.

Other riders are advised to take the Ft. Baker road to the right, double back under the main road, and ride on into the old army base. (The base used to tend the submarine nets protecting San Francisco Bay during WWII.) The route reaches a T-intersection where you go left on Moore. Past the Coast Guard base one weaves past several concrete barriers and starts a serious climb up a wide, smooth, traffic free road. (In a 40-gear-inch low I stopped twice climbing to the little parking lot at the north end of the bridge.) Even if you are not tired (I was), stop anyway and get a good look at the bridge structure and the seismic retrofitting.

At this point wipe off the sweat and put on a light wind breaker. The Golden Gate Bridge with approaches is nearly two miles long, one mile gentle climb and one mile drop down towards San Francisco. Take care going around the towers and other obstacles, there isn't much clearance and oncoming cyclists don't slow down much. At the south end the path makes a sharp right, doubles back under the bridge, climbs steeply up to the south (pedestrian) bridge-walk, then drops to the tourist area and snack shops. I took one hour, nine minutes going south with note taking.

Rest, eat, rehydrate, and return.

When you take the bike path next to the 101 that goes over the hill between Mill Valley and Corte Madera, resist using your brakes. The last 100 yards is sharply up and momentum can carry you over it. Once off the path go straight down the frontage road. Do not turn left and go back the way you came. Freewheel down this STEEP hill past a small on-ramp. I reached 43 MPH without trying. Smooth gentle curves. This road leads back to the intersection you crossed leaving the Corte Madera Town Center. Head into the lot and back to your car. I have a voucher for the California Pizza Kitchen and will have a snack before going home—any who like are welcome to join me. In this test trip, I took 56 minutes to return.

Brevet visit

2005-03-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

0 miles, bike maintenance today

Went to Healdsburg this morning at 6 AM to see if they could use my help on a brevet ride put on by the SRCC brevet section. They were fully staffed already, with more volunteers than needed, so I came back to the house to tighten that shifter cable for my front gears.

I got an idea about a multi-level ride for April on Coleman Valley Road, will pitch it to the club ride organizer. This one should be accessible for short-ride folks, power riders and even mountain-bike riders, finishing on different roads, but starting together.

Finders Keepers

2005-03-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Rode 25.5 miles in 1.75 hours. This put me 11 miles over my goal for the week.

To you snowbirds I used a sleeveless mesh top on my ride back to Kenwood and used two waterbottles in 12.8 miles. At mile 3 on the return on Arnold Drive a tiny red widget caught my eye. It was a PLANET BIKE taillight in working order. Off, blinking, and steady. Not a fraction of the power of my yellow Zenon strobe but the Steady red setting will make me street-legal if an officer with an attitude stops me. Minutes later I noted a steady flow of bikers going south. At Glen Ellen I found the Friday morning group from the SRCC resting by the Deli. I stopped and greeted Janice Unice and friends. They reacted well to my commuting the general route they were doing for fun.

Later on my way home from an afternoon assignment I spotted a BELL bike helmet on the road shoulder. Its outer micro-thin shell had only minor cosmetic damage, fixable with a compatible adhesive. Certainly better that the 10 year old one I had.

finding a bit of history

2005-03-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

24.8 miles, regular commute.

Going down to Sonoma, I went looking for the access to the hiking trail along the old railroad grade through Glen Ellen and found it—local guy walking his dog said, "Go back three or four houses and there's a dirt path there that leads to it." Another guy walking his dog along the path warned me I'd need to get off the bike and walk farther down the path, that it was "real muddy."

Sure enough, it was.

March club meeting and ride

2005-03-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

9.89 miles and 47:05 minutes. Return from club meeting in dark.

Usual club business, Santa Rosa Cycling Club that is. march mileage contest, brevets, sign-up for April ride leaders, workers for Wine Country Century. ( I grazed Pizza-Hut salad bar 'til full.) We were spoken to by: Amanda Jones, Regional Director, League of American Bicyclists; the Sacramento Lobbyist for the California Bicycle Coalition; two officers of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition, and a member of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. Basically they said what they were doing for cycling. Biggest common agreement between the 5 was that signed FAXes and signed letters DO carry weight with polititions. The club leader asked them to inform him when letters or bodies at meetings were needed and he would pass the word on.

Highlight for me was when I told the 80-odd people there of my brother Earle's offer of a hose-type water stop near the 10 mile point above the Lake Sonoma dam on the March 26th ride from Healdsburg to the end of Rockpile Road and return. General applause and cheering swept the crowd.

tuesDAY & NIGHT

2005-03-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

47 miles total, 24 in the AM, and 23 in the PM.

My usual Kenwood-to-Sonoma and return in the AM. Lessons learned: 1) about every fortieth vehicle was a semi-truck or similar sized flatbed. They can't squeeze left in the 12-ft lane to give you a little extra room so if you are bothered by massive higspeed things whizzing past you 12 to 18 inches away stay off of Highway 12 in the late morning; 2) if you sweat for 13 miles, sit in the shorts for 3 hours than sweat another 12 miles, please remember to replace the shorts and bathe. I kept wearing the shorts all afternoon and through a 23-mile ride after sunset. Sore, tender, burning—all are apt descriptors. A tender knee also, as I couldn't switch into my granny on the steepest hill. I need to tighten the cable.

Still I call the night ride a success; a good workout, I know my battery will power the 30-watt tractor headlight for that long, and a new rider saw the difference between her 3 LED headlight and a bike headlight on steriods (thanks, Ed Kearney). Next set of spare change I'll switch from a wide beam to a spot lamp. On one downhill I couldn't see as far ahead as I wanted. Fortunately I'd done that hill many times at night.

an "ADVENTURE"

2005-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

0 miles today.

Mallory, the ledgendary British climber was approached by a lady at a party, who begged, "Oh, Mr. Mallory, do tell me one of your adventures."

"Madam," he replied haughtily, "I don't have adventures, I plan too well."

Well, today I had an adventure. Just after noon I was on a remote road taking an elderly client on his weekly 4-hour excursion. In trying to cross a large pothole I went about 10 MPH, not wanting to get stuck. Stuck would have been better. The left front tire hit the far edge of the pothole hard enough to put a 1" by 3" dent in the rim, deflating the tire.

The flop, flop, flop told me to stop immediately. I hauled out the jack, and little emergency spare, got the old tire off; and as the spare went on an vigorous older man in a truck pulled up from the other direction. He might have made it by but he choose to come over and help. He noticed the spare was low in pressure, bad at the best of times, and a disaster on this remote old road. He offered his tire pump which promptly let the rest of the air out of the spare. It turns out the pump hose was damaged both near the clamp end and near the pump. (I've had the same problem with my bike pumps.)

Fortunately the man was a found-items artist and had a leatherman multitool. An air duct strap he'd found earlier sealed the pump end and an old mountain bike tube he used to support his bicycle in the back of his truck sealed the other end. He pumped as I held the seals tightly. We got about 30-40 PSI back into the spare. He even stayed behind me as I wye-turned and crept down the rutted old road 8 miles to the nearest service station. I'd thanked him before and once again as I put 60 PSI in the spare. He suggested that I find a reliable auto salvage yard and get a new rim and tire.

An hour later I have the old gentleman (my passenger, remember him?) back to his home, then reported to my spouse. The short answer I got was, "You broke it, you fix it!"

Valley Tire and Brake, our reliable source of wheel wisdom, could not fix such a large dent. When I announced the intention to go to a local salvage yard for a replacement, I trust VT&B to have stopped me if such a move would have been a mistake. Creans was nearby but closed. Pick and Pull, a regional auto salvage chain, had an outlet in north Windsor.

I walked in with the damaged tire/rim, told them I was absolutely new at doing this, and asked I what should do next. The two entrance clerks said the fee to search was $2.00, rims were out the door to the left, and I had to leave the old stuff outside. They had a friendly helpful manner. I had taken in my tire wrench thinking I'd need to take a wheel off of a car. It was much easier—there were several hundred tire/rim sets by the back door! (I expect there is quite a demand for them by newbies like me.)

I measured the wrench against the old rim. Back inside I found what they classed as a 14 (as opposed to 13, 15, or 16) was the closest fit. As a check, I noticed that 13s generally had 4 bolt-holes, and 15s had mostly 5 and 6 holes. The 14s almost all had 5 holes, what I needed.

I went back and asked the clerks if VT&B was likely to send me back if I purchased this particular 14. I learned help like this is somewhat of a no-no; sales here are as-is/no-returns. One clerk carefully turned away and the other looked left and right then tapped a tiny dent I hadn't seen. With a smiled thanks, I went back and got another set. The cashier checked the set and said, "$15.00."

Cool! I don't want to think what a dealer would ask. And the used tire was better than the old one on the car. As you are not supposed to work on cars in the lot (grin, nudge, nudge, wink, wink from a clerk, it is only a tire after all), and it was 10 minutes to closing, I drove a mile down the road, swapped the spare there for the "new" rim and tire, put the spare back under the trunk floor, and drove home.

I only told my other half it was fixed, and to check out my Blog posting for "the rest of the story.

saturday club ride

2005-03-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

25 miles at a comfortable pace.

A pleasant 25 mile loop in dairy country. (dairy second after wine) Group blew apart at the start. Fit mileage junkies took off planning to do two, three, or more laps. I gave them a zen farewell at the top of the first, short climb. Felt the lactic burn in my quads. Settled back to a comfortable 11-13 MPH average. Stopped at 10 miles to remove a layer. A woman and man caught me just then and I joined them. Pity in a way as I saw 8 to 12 road reflectors laying at the roadside in the next mile. I collect them to line my bother's steep dirt driveway. Good chat until the last hill. We caught upon with a female friend at the crest. I joined her and we left the other two behind. This lady was experienced and I trusted her to lead the rest of the route. She also rides at night. At the finish (for me) one of the top riders asked, " What? not doing 9 more loops?" I replied, "I'd do a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge and back if I needed more miles." I didn't mentioned the spouse and I were doing a barrel-tasting tour of little-known local wineries later. 25.44 miles in ~1 hr 43min. 14 more for the week than planned.

time to upgrade

2005-03-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

0 miles (raining)

First entry without the coach standing by. That is an upgrade all in itself.

My half commute, driving halfway to work and biking the rest will soon not be enough. Enough? That would be adding 10% to my mileage each week until I feel my body nearing over-stress.

By the end of March I will have sufficient time including Civil Twilight to get the 26 miles to work. Home in the early afternoon is no problem until it gets hot. If 10% a week lasts until June commuting and club rides will not be enough. Then starting 100+ mile weekend rides. Or a shift to intensity training.

Nice Day to Ride!

2005-03-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

26 miles, mild and overcast.

Found a way through a "bark park" that looks like a nice walk as well as a pleasant ride path.

Bicycle Log Beauty: VeloLogger by WatWare

2005-03-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

0 miles, rainy work day, knees hurting.

When I bought my Bruce Gordon BLT (Basic Loaded Touring) bike last year, I set out to get back into cycling shape. I wanted to be in the same shape I was when I did the Brevet series in southern California, when I was cycling 30 commute miles each day. I set up a big sheet of paper with my notes, but it quickly got unwieldy.

The program recommended by a good cycling buddy was Dave Watkins' VeloLogger, so I contacted them at their Web site, and I was quickly in receipt of the program.

It's easy to use from the first, with lots of goodies buried deeper in the program as you continue to play with it. The best thing about it is how easy it is to get reports on the raw data.

For anyone who wants to cycle instead of dinking around with records, this is a great program! Especially if the cats eat your record sheets...

Tuesday night dinner ride?

2005-03-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

26 mile commute, threatening rain but not actually drizzling.

I hoped to ride with the SRCC Tuesday night dinner ride tonight, now that they started them up again, but it's pouring rain. Oh, well, maybe next week.