Tricia - Go girl!

Tricia looked so cool in her "Go Girl" jersey I begged her to play model on our Monday evening ride. This has got to be an ad for something, but I'm not sure what.

Shadowland bonus photo

The light around here gets so nice on Summer evenings. The shadows grow and everything glows. I need to find a better way to shoot from my bicycle. Maybe a new Nikon point&shoot would be just the thing. One with a high ISO and stabilization technology. And costs very little money. And comes with a huge card. Yeah... That's it...

The joy of brake levers

The darn Paul e-lever, as cool as it was, just didn't work out. I tried it in different bar locations and could never get it to where it didn't bother me. I was told that a cross type lever wouldn't work, but that was incorrect. I bought Salsa cross levers and used just the right one. Now my brake lever is not right under my grip making a lump. Much better! I think I'll save the e-lever for the fixed gear bike I'm dreaming of building.

Bonus Tricia on BART photo

Important saddle update

I know the world has been waiting for this important piece of information, so here it is at last. I have a new saddle. It's a Selle Italia SLK, all split and stuff. Gone is the hatchet that came on the bike, Gone is the Performance saddle that tore up my shorts. Thanks for your concern.

Pig Farm Hill

Back in the 70s I used to ride up Pig Farm Hill with Matt Gass. There were still pigs there. Matt couldn't ride by without making pig sounds. Now it's just a name. On Sunday Tricia and I rode up Pig Farm and out Bear Valley Road to Upper Happy Valley Road (ouch, steep) and down to Lafayette then back to W.C. and Bay Point BART to home. Trish says it's a steep, switchback ride on the way up rewarded by a scary steep decent with switchbacks on the way down. A good time was had by all. Tricia looked way cool against the glass bricks at BART.

Bike to Work Day

Yesterday was Bay Area Bike to Work Day. I put up posters, sent email, handed out handbills and sent global phone mail at Los Medanos College. In the end 12 people showed up with bicycles for our noon-time gathering. I know several others rode and didn't come to the event. It's a start, I guess. Thanks 511.org for the cards and blinkers. I'm handing out the blinkers to students here and kids at Tricia's middle school.
Maybe next year we can get a few more players.

Los Vaqueros Resevior ride

Fast-riding Joyce took us on a serpentine trip through Brentwood out to Los Vaqueros Resevior. It was one of the faster rides I've done. Only 35 miles, but quick. I'm pleased that I wasn't totally beat when we got back. Too much of the ride was in major wind, but that's the price we pay for living in glorious East Contra Costa. Still, it was pretty once we got through the never-ending house construction zones. I drank a voodoo PowerBar recovery drink afterwards. I felt good, but who knows. Maybe I don't want to feel stupid buying an expensive recover drink and convinced myself if works.

New commute record

This isn't a big deal, except for me.
I started commuting in September. It took 50 minutes to do my 8.19 miles. I've gotten faster and faster. I don't always hammer the ride, sometimes I just take it easy, so this isn't a daily test.

First ride: 50:00
Last PR: 34:50
New record: 29:35

Five minutes faster than my last PR and pushing twice as fast as my first day!

I also rode my new bike today. Usually I take my skinny tire commuter bike with light, but I'm leaving work before dark today so I took the road bike. Lack of wind helped too.
Still, it's a PR and I'm really stoked!

Forte saddle &%^$#@

I bought a Forte saddle from Performance. It looks cool it rides very comfortably, and it weighs just over 200 grams. Not bad. But... There's always a but...
The stitching on the raised logo is so coarse it destroyed my bib shorts in 100 miles. I am so mad. It sent the saddle and shorts back to Performance. I asked for a refund on the saddle and a new pair of bib shorts. Will Performance come through for me? What saddle should I get? I'm watching a couple of eBay auctions. Apparently If I want a Specialized seat I need to measure my "sit bones." Will their 130 or 143 mm seat fit me best? I will not be uploading photos of the measurement process.
UPDATE: Performance sent email saying they are sending new bibs!
UPDATE 2: New bibs are here, but I'm still waiting for the saddle refund.
UPDATE 3: They credited my member account with points, which is great!