Los Altos Hills memorial ride

Tricia and Curtis -- memorial ride
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

Tricia and I joined about 1000 other cyclists in a memorial ride in memory of cyclists Kristy Gough and Matt Peterson who were killed when a sheriff's car crashed into them on a training ride to Stevens Canyon in the Los Altos hills.

The ride was really a procession. We took over the highway on the ride from Foothill College to the crash site. Though it was a sad event, it was good to get to be with so many other cyclists. Even though we didn't know Matt and Kristy, we know cyclists who know them, and we share the same community. We rode with our Nor Cal Bike Forum friends, which made the ride all the more meaningful for us.

Mercury News moving story on the ride.
Mercury News video

Tricia and Curtis Los Vaqueros

Tricia and Curtis Los Vaqueros
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

You just gotta love California. Here is in early March, the flowers are in bloom, and weather is a sunny 70. It was a perfect day for a ride. We knocked off forty-something miles that included Los Vaqueros Reservoir and Empire Mine Road, smiling as we went. It wasn't a fast day, it was just plain 'ol fun.

The only bad part was dropping by 2Real Bicycles in Brentwood only to discover they'd gone out of business when we weren't looking. They were a nice bunch of people and I'm sorry to see them go. We always tried to buy something every time we went in, even if it was small. I guess it just wasn't enough.

I'm not Tricia

The Bikeforums.net gang from NorCal went on a 52 mile ride all West Contra Costa. It was a bit windy, but still, it was great to get out after all the rain we've had. Tricia was a an educator conference, so Joyce went with me. She wanted to be sure no one would think she was my wife, so she wore an "I'm not Tricia" name tag. (Though Pete still referred to her as "The tall Tricia, AKA Joyce" in a post on bikeforums.)

Though the day started overcast, the sun came out and we ended with another miracle California day. I love this state even more when the mustard blooms.

The Kestrel seems like a better bike every time I ride it. I got to decent through the highly textured road of Franklin Canyon on this ride. In the past the road quality has beaten me up pretty well. Now, through the magic of carbon fiber, I felt just fine at the end. What a blast!

Wine Country Century

I keep signing us up for stuff. I sure hope we actually like riding enough to do all this stuff. There's the ride in Gilroy, the Waves to Wine, perhaps Seattle to Portland. We getting pressure to do the Grizzly Century . Tricia is doing the Cinderella Classic and I'm headed for the Davis Double (gulp...) and now we're signed on for the the Wine Country Century. Is this getting out of hand? At least I didn't spring for the jersey. That's got to be some sort of progress, right?

Tour of California

What a blast. Cyclists everywhere, and bike swag galore. There were amazingly fast and cool pros. There was nifty free stuff. There was even great weather. I couldn't have asked for more that at the prologue of the Amgen Tour of California of at Stanford.
I went with Joyce. We were going to leave early, but kept saying "one more rider" until it was such a short time till Levi was up we waited for him.
Here's Levi zipping by with Joyce in the background. We had so much fun I talked Tricia — who didn't go Sunday — into joining my NorCal Bikeforums.net friends for a ride into Point Reyes Station to see stage 1.
We drove 1.5 hours, rode 10 miles, goofed off. Watched cyclists scream by for 20 seconds, rode 10 miles, drove 1.5 hours and had a great time no matter how stupid it sounds.
Here's the peleton going faster than fast. Real time. It's what we waited for, then we went home.

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.

Tierrabella Century plans

I signed up Tricia and myself for the Tierrabella Century (www.tierrabella.org) on April 19 somewhere near Gilroy. One hundred miles seems like enough, but now I have friends pushing to do the 200K route. Tricia just gives me "the look" so I'm thinking that won't be happening. But the important part is that the jersey looks really nice. That's gotta be more important than the actual bike riding part, right?

BikeForums.net Marin ride

I went on a NorCal Bikeforum.net ride on Friday, a day I surprisingly had off due to weird scheduling at the college.

I drove through too much fog to get to the Marin Civic Center to meet up with two other riders, Pete and Sean of BikeForums.net. Once I got to the start the weather was stunning. We sounded like some bad tape loop most the day, constantly telling each other "Is this great, or what?"

The new bike was just perfect. It feels both light and solid at the same time. And it just looks so cool I can hardly believe it.

We had a pretty mellow ride... That was until Pete took offense when a T-Mobile pink jersey clad dude zipped by on a steep climb. He jumped and matched him and together they went off into the distance. Thankfully the testosterone wore off and he waited for us at the next turn.

We had very tasty sandwiches in Point Reyes. I think they cater to cyclists, and may be putting something special in the fixin's. We felt so good the rest of the ride is was almost weird. I'm hoping they open a sandwich branch somewhere closer to home so I can feel like that more often.

Around mile 55 when our brains just started blurting out random noise, Taxi and I discovered that all the women we aren't married to but have crushes on are gay. We don't know what that means, but we figure it's best for all involved it worked out like that.

At the top of the last hill when we stopped for that rock photo my phone rang. It was Tricia
"Where are you?"
I Explained.
The phone rang again.
"Where are you?" she started.
It was out friend OrbeaJ proposing a ride.
Then, I swear this is true, it rings again.
"Where are you?"
It's my 17 year old daughter.
While I'm on the phone I can hear Taxi explaining where he is to his wife.
It's great to be missed.

Tricia knew we'd started at 9:30. I think she was figuring "OK, 22 MPH, no stopping. Less than 3 hours for these studs. He'll be home by 2, even counting the drive afterward."
But in reality, 14mph on bike average and lunch made it a longer day (but don't tell anyone. We like to lie about our amazing speed.)

Here's a link to the route.

Commuting by bicycle to Los Medanos College

I arrive at LMC just about dawn. We have a new solar collection system in the parking lot that looks like magic. All the different flavors of light combined with the rain create a very interesting effect.
That's me in my new rain jacket and geeky reflective helmet cover.

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

New package!

Amazing. It's actually here. UPS wouldn't leave it at the door, even though I'd left a signed note. I had to drive into Concord to pick it up. The color is much nicer than any photos show. It's darker and more metallic. It's so light Tricia can balance it one one little finger and not spill a drop of wine.
I'll be moving all the parts over this week and I hope it will ready to ride on President's Day. While I wait it's on display in the living room. It looks pretty swell there.

Curtis Corlew 1987 Cannondale Black Lightning

Curtis Corlew 1987 Cannondale Black Lightning
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

I haven't always been the age I am now. Twenty years ago I was about 20 years younger. I'd just purchased my Cannondale Black Lightning and was a might concerned about the new technology... indexed shifting. But I was a modern guy, note the Cateye Solar computer on the bars. so I didn't set the downtude shifters to friction.
It's hard to remember how wild this bike looked at the time. It had fat aluminum tubes in the land of skinny steel tubes. It was a rocket from Mars, even if I was a slug from Walnut Creek.
But I looked pretty cool, huh?

The check's in the mail

I put money down on a Kestrel R700 frame and was told it would ship in February. But today I got email saying the frame was in! I paid and, as of today, I have a shipping number. I should have a new frame in not so long. And look at this thing. Is that one cool looking bike detail or what? By the way, that's copper, not orange. I don't want to even hear the word "orange." The term is "copper." Are we clear now?

BART vs Bikes

Bay Area Rapid Transit wants you to use it, and wants you to take your bike, but not when it would actually be helpful. Use this handy widget to find out the hours BART will screw you.

Year end mileage, final ride of 2007

Motobecane: 3481
Commuter: 2872
'87 Cannondale: 815
Total: 7168
Finished off the year with a quick 20 around Antioch. Then Joyce called and wanted to hit the Diablo Junction, so we did... almost... (that's her in the yellow.) It was so windy we stopped before we got there and went for beer and burgers. Still, a good way to end the year.

Money saving tips for cyclists

I've been asked "How do you get so much bike junk?" I'm going to share my techniques here.

The trick to getting more bike stuff is to endlessly expand your available rationalizations.
As a bike commuter every tank of gas I don't get is $50 for bike stuff. BUT THAT'S ONLY A START!!
The expensive gym around here is about $100 a month. I'm not a member because I cycle. Therefore, that's $100 tax free savings to me! Every month! See where I'm going here?

Everything I buy as a Performance Bike member gives me a 10% credit. Now, I'm saving that to get my sweet cycling wife a present. Do I want to look cheap, or get her something nice? That's right-- something nice.
And how can I get my Performance credits up? Only by buying more bike stuff. It's a win-win!

Do you have a neighbor that water skis? Every dime they spend on their boat counts as money you save by not spending it on YOUR boat that you don't own!
If you do it right, it turns out you can't afford NOT to have a bunch of new bike stuff ALL THE TIME!

Send me $27.50 for my new book on how this works, or better yet, don't send the money and you save $27.50 to spend on your bike. Not enough? Then don't buy copies for your friends and save $27.50 on each friend you didn't buy for! Tell your friends not to buy it for you and in no time they'll be rolling in bike swag too!

Christmas report

I had a great Christmas, with the Tricia, the kids and my Dad. Trees, presents, too much food; We had perfect traditional Christmas. Santa (in the guise of Tricia) gave methe gift of music: CD Box set, USB Turntable and iPod. Pretty amazing! But though I gave her all kinds of bicycle swag, I got no bike stuff myself. Until I opened my Dad's gift of $$$. I jumped on the performance.com 20% off Christmas day special and ordered a new pair of Pearl Izumi shoes. The arrived today, and I put the cleats on. Testing and cleat alignment begins Saturday if it isn't raining too much.

Dog day afternoon

I think I may hate dogs. Not your dog, with an actual name and a responsible owner, just dogs in general. Especially the ones that are pitbulls and loose on the streets. Especially the ones that chase Tricia and I when we are out on an otherwise delightful ride. I think anyone who has a dog that bites someone should go to jail, just as if they'd stabbed them with a knife. Maybe a permit and insurance should be required of all dog owners.

UPDATE: What's with this page? It has 1000's of more visits than any of my other pages.

Davis Double

I've read PrincessZippy's ride and training stories at tandemhearts.com. I've read the info at the Davis Double site and Bob's tips for surviving the ride. I'm thinking that I need a goal for 2008. I'd like to do something big before I get so old I can't (and that's getting closer all the time.)
The question is: Can I do it? Can I possibly get ready to ride 200 miles in one day? How much commitment would it take to train? Heck, how much pain would it take? Could I even finish before they drag the stragglers off the course? What is the true meaning of fear? I hear my Mom whispering "If Jimmy jumped off a roof would you jump off ?" How long can I think about it before i actually have to decide? Why am I asking all these questions and who do I think will answer them? I guess sometime before January 1 I'll need to make the call. Devote half of 08 to riding, or get a clue and figure out something a lot easier to aim for.
Take my poll on the right and help me out!

Garmin 305 and Ascent GPS extravaganza

I went nuts and bought a Garmin 305 GPS unit with speed, heart rate, cadence and auto flat tire fixing. Then I got Ascent, a cool Mac program that makes it all useful. But what's even better is that I can send the GPS data from Ascent to Google Earth and watch my ride like I'm flying over it.
I don't know if I really need this stuff. I have notions of training and becoming stronger, faster thinner and younger. Maybe that'll happen. Maybe I'll just have fun. At least it came with rebate coupon.