Diablo, Art & Wine, Cervello fail

Tricia, Joyce and I took a pleasant ride on a beautiful day. We went up Diablo Northgate, down the South, around Blackhawk, over to Lafayette, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. Fifty miles of enjoyable California beauty. Tricia and I followed up by cycling over to the Walnut Creek Art and Wine Festival.

We did have one interesting encounter. On our way though Pleasant Hill we were both passed unnecessarily closely by a rider in a full-tilt Cervello kit that matched his Cervelo bike. Then, even though he'd blown past, the gap never grew more than 100 feet. We caught him at a light, and he took off. I rode up next to him, mostly to check out the bike, and when he noticed me I could see him try to subtly drop the hammer. I just stayed next to him and said "Hi." He didn't respond, but he did try to burst away again, but couldn't. I could tell he was hating that some old guy was just riding next to him as he tried to show me how cool he was. Eventually he turned right where I turned left. All bike, no legs.

We can do it

Tricia had an ... interesting...day at work, so a little bit of motivational poster seemed to be in order. Not that I've ever even heard her threaten to punch someone. It's just a little post-workday hyperbole, for entertainment purposes only. I made it using a Flickr Toy at BigHugeLabs.com.

Contra Costa Bike Commuter of the Year

Tricia was just named Contra Costa County Bicycle Commuter of the Year by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition! I am so proud of her, and she's pretty stoked herself.

We'll be attending their awards ceremony on Bike to Work Day.
Here's what the EBBC posted on their site:

Tricia is a school teacher at Antioch Middle School and is also a dedicated bicycle commuter. She started about three years ago, commuting when the weather was nice. Now bicycling has become her default mode.

Rain, shine, wind or dark she pedals to and from school, taking her students’ papers for a ride through Antioch. Every day she exposes her 140-plus students to the possibilities of bicycling. She parks her bike in her classroom where her students can see it.

Tricia is aware that she is a cycling model for her students. She's careful to obey traffic laws and doesn't get on her bike without her helmet. She even makes a point of hanging her helmet on her bike's handlebars in the classroom. She uses bicycle safety articles in her informational reading lessons. She encourages and inspires her students and co-workers to give bicycle commuting a try.

According to Tricia’s husband, Curtis Corlew, she influenced him and some of his colleagues at Los Medanos Community College to begin bicycle commuting. In a community where riding a bicycle can mean you can't afford a car, or aren't allowed a drivers license, Tricia's commuting is working to change attitudes and perceptions through a positive example.

EBBC applauds the positive examples that Tricia and displays. We know that there are thousands more of you commuting every day. Please let it shine!

Recovery and flowers

Tricia and I had Friday off, so we went or a short 25 mile recovery ride. I thought I was feeling pretty good after the Marin climb-a-thon of the day before, but yikes, I could barely move. Just riding at 70% heart rate was a pain. I felt so slow. But it was a beautiful day, so I convinced Tricia to play model in mustard.

Tricia does Diablo

Kestrel in the Cold
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

It was way to cold Saturday morning. Or at least colder and more wet then we expected it to be. But that was OK. Tricia and I were at least going for a ride with our friends Joyce and Dan. And our ride was going to include Mt. Diablo.

Tricia had never been on Diablo. I think I made it sound to hard, so she just wouldn't go. Now, after doing Seattle to Portland (back to back centuries) and Waves to Wine she was finely up for it.

After a chilly foggy start the weather warmed up and it was a cool, but beautiful day. Tricia just rocked, of course. Easy up, fun down. Just a blast. We went up Northgate, down the South, through Danville, out Pleasant Hill Road to Releiz (a pleasant climb indeed) and back through Pleasant Hill. I wasn't at all surprised she road so strongly, and I don't think she was either.

Kestrel RT700 hits the road

Tricia with Kestrel RT700
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

Here's Tricia with the new bike. Wow.
At last, the Kesrtel RT700 frame arrived and is built up. I took off the parts from by Motobecane Le Champion SL and moved them over. (except the front deraileur; had clamp-on, needed a braze-on)

Parts list:

• Dura Ace Brakes
• Ritchey WCS seatpost, stem and bars
• Selle Italia SL-K saddle
• Ultegra deraileurs and shifters
• Ultegra compact crankset
• Ultegra pedals
• American Classic 420 wheels

I removed the AMERICAN CLASSIC stickers from the wheels, to good effect I think.

Now, we all know that when you wax your car and fill the tank it just runs better. So, it may be that I'm still on buyers high but: I sure like the ride. It's solid, tight, comfortable, and smooth. It seems to ride smoother than my aluminum bike. There are no rattles or pings. It seems to roll quietly. It seems like it doesn't transmit road vibration much.

It sounds different too. The American Classic wheels were like sounding boards before. The hummmmmmed. They do it more quietly now.

Because the bike is quieter, it seems to inspire confidence. There no hard vibration to make me feel like I'm going crazy fast when I descend. It just seems smooth. It's light enough,but so was my last bike. I'm sure it will climb well. I've only done short 1 mile climbs thus far.

This bike a jut a hair smaller than my last. It feels good now, but I'm going to move the seat back a tiny bit, then think about a longer stem.

Did I mention how cool it looks! Even better than the photos. Life is good, even if I have a cold.

Here's a four-photo Flickr slideshow of its first weekend out

Fog land

It looked rather gloomy this morning, but Tricia and I told Joyce we'd ride, so when she called we went out at 8:30, into the fog, headed toward Antioch's Empire Mine Road and then out toward Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
It wasn't that cold, and I dressed right, so it was actually nice. Then we started dropping in and out of the soup. It was delightful. The light was beautiful as we rode along the edges of gloomy and bright.
I was happy as I felt pretty good after being "off" for the last week.
We talked about doing Seattle to Portland again next Summer. Hummmmm.

50 plus jersey

On the day that everyone else road the Diablo Challenge I didn't. I had a great ride through East Contra Costa with Tricia. You can, however, see Diablo in the background. She shot this photo so I could show off the 50 plus jersey I designed for the over 50 forum on bikeforums.net.

Waves to Wine

We made it! Waves to Wine was harder than Seattle to Portland, but the scenery was worth every bit of uphill and suffering. It was a blast. I made digital recordings along the way and hope to have a small segment on the Fredcast podcast I'll post a link when (and if) it happens. There are more photos than will fit on this blog, but here's one more. Please be kind enough to note that I'm modeling the new 50 plus bikeforums.net jersey I designed!
Need more? Try this link to the mp3 audio report of the ride

Commuter babe

Tricia moved from Dallas Ranch to Antioch Middle School, but she's still bike commuting. New this school year is her rack and trunk. It's a Topeak. The sides fold down to make room for more eighth-grade English papers than you'd ever want to haul home, much less read. Tricia rocks!

STP: We lived!

On Saturday July 14 Tricia and I joined 8998 of our closest friends at the University of Washington, Seattle for a 204 mile two-day ride (2230 people rode it as a 1 day ride!)
The 28th annual Seattle to Portland ride organized by Cascade Bicycle Club had riders from 44 states, England and even Serbia.

This was our first century, and on day 2 our second century, and we lived to tell about it!
I embraced my "Fredness" and bought a glasses mirror, a bento box type carrier and a larger seat bag so I'd be sure to have arm warmers and a jacket, Cliff bars, a cell and camera, keys, and other creature comfort junk.

Our legs held out, and we'd put on enough miles our rear ends were fine. We'd both purchased new saddles about two months before, mine a Selle Itilia SLK and hers a Terry Falcon.
Tricia rode her Trek 1500 and I rode my Motobecane Le Champion SL. Though I carried a camera, and have been known to shoot while riding, I didn't do much this trip. There were just too many people around, and I was concentrating on my riding.


Riding in a group of 9000 really gives you a look at cycling diversity.
There was every age, height weight and fitness imaginable.
We saw bikes that were scary amazing full "unobtainium" zillion dollar machines and bikes that were just plain "Lube my chain? HUH?" scary.
Among the diamond frames were numerous recumbents of numerous styles, some with windshields and full fabric enclosures, tandem recumbents and the cutest recumbent with a tag-along child carrier that the kid peddled.

With the numerous tandems there were also a couple of -- what to call them -- 3 person tandems?
There was a even big wheel unicycle and even a skate boarder.

We did see a few bikes that made us wonder what -- or even if -- their riders were thinking. Bikes that had us wondering if they would make even a trip around the block. But we were well prepared having listened to the Fredcast (a way cool cycling podcast) on preparing for your first century. We even replayed Fredcasts 05 and 07 on the drive to Seattle. The STP organizers also have a lot of info on their web site that helped us feel ready for our biggest ride to date.

Though it was 104 degrees two days before, and raining the Tuesday afterward, the Cascade Bicycle Club ordered up perfect weekend weather in the upper 70s. Under the scattered clouds we could often see Mt. Rainier as we rode through Washington.

The midway point in the small Washington town and Chehalis for 2 day riders. We stayed with a really nice family that opened their home as part of a soccer club fund raiser.

Two of the other highlights are crossing the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon. The state troopers queue up riders, close the bridge to traffic and couple hundred riders own the bridge as they pass over. It's done for safety, but the result its a great view and an amazing sight.

Coming into Portland and crossing the finish line makes you feel like you've just finished the TDF. There were literally hundreds of people cheering as we rode in. It was almost embarrassing.
Because the ride has only one minor climb a day. I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to try a two day long ride, and it seems like an ideal ride for those wanting to knock off 200 miles in one day for the first time.

We had a great time.

If it walks like a duck

Tricia got shoes that click into the pedals and click on the cement. She can walk like a duck just like the rest of us, only is looks cuter when she does it!

I've been told this video doesn't play on some computers, and my server seems slow lately. Here's a link to a lower quality version on YouTube

East County Road Race

Tricia and Joyce battle it out for the yellow jersey in this years East County Road Race. The grueling competition feature a 130 mile ride over some of the steepest hills in North America. These professional riders can hit speeds of over 90 mph on the downhills, and attain 40 on mountain passes too hard for cars to climb.

Darn it, this doesn't play right on some computers. Here's a link to it on YouTube

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.

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.

The weekend, sans art

It's a photo free weekend, darn it. Maybe I need to get inspired and buy that new camera.
Tricia and I rode to Bay Point, took BART to Pleasant Hill and did the Franklin Canyon-Crocket-Martinez loop, went to a Thai lunch in Pleasant Hill then BARTed back to Bay Point and rode home. 61 miles. We're getting ready for Seattle to Portland!

I got up early and took the new bike to Mt. Diablo just to see how it, and I, would feel. It was a cool morning and I was glad I took my recently purchased leg and arm warmers. I rode to the junction in about 55 minutes and felt pretty good. The decent wore me out. I'm just not as free with tossing the bike into corners as I was at 22. But the good news is that I made it and feel like I'll be able to make one of my goals -- to summit this summer.

Bonus Photo Carquinez

Tricia floats over a part of the Carquinez Scenic Loop in Martinez where the road has slid away

Carquinez Scenic Loop

Tricia and I went on a lazy ride on the Carquinez Scenic Loop between Martinez and Crocket, California. It's a ride I used to do in the 70s before the road was closed, but it's a beautiful as it ever was. If Tricia hadn't had front derailer issues (those darn triples...) we'd have had a perfect day. As it was, it only rated 9.75
We love the road painting where some creative soul colored in the shapes made by the tar patching on the road. A good time was had by all.
UPDATE: I found a map of our route on RouteSlip.com

Bonus photo

She's a juicy tomato. I'm full of beans.

First ride

When you ride a bike, what are you riding? The shoes, and pedals, the seat, the frame, the shifters? When I took my new bike out for the first time everything was so different I didn't know what to think. I'd never ridden brake/shifters before. Not once. The Ultegra pedals feel different than my old Mavic Look knockoffs. The seat isn't the one my rear is used to. The wheels even sound different as they hum on the pavement. How can I evaluate this bike? Is different better, worse, or just different?
Tricia went out with me and helped me shake down my new toy.
This bike is one cm smaller than my last bike, but feels bigger. I think it's because the brake/shifter hoods have a larger, longer platform than my last bike which makes me feel more stretched out.
Going from 7 freewheel to 10 cluster is great. The Ultegra shifts like a dream, it's amazing smooth and quick. I still have to think about it too much, as in "Big lever moves to larger sprockets, I want a lower gear, so push the big lever on the right." But I'm sure it will feel normal soon.
We rode in big wind, which made the ride both slow and fast. On one stretch we had a huge tail wind and a mile downhill where I broke 35 and got to try that 11 tooth cog. I may never need it again. I'm still thinking about changing it for a 12-25.
My other bike, an '87 Cannondale, is all aluminum with big 'ol tubes. This bike has carbon forks and makes the ride is so much less jarring. I'm really surprised how much difference it makes when I travel over highly "textured" roads.
But the thing I notice most, and like most, is that this bike is so light. Combined with the American Classic wheels is just jumps when I apply power. Going up hills is more fun, and a bit faster than it was. It could just be the famous placebo effect, but I don't think so.
Still, getting this new bike turned into my bike is going to take some time.
EVENING UPDATE: After 2 rides I broke down and started adding junk to my clean ,sweet ride. Pump, water bottle cage and bottle, seat bag. I guess I need that stuff, but the bike is so much cleaner with it.
NEXT UP: Sigma wireless computer. Maybe a TV and a trailer with a hot tub.