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.

Bike forum Diablo Ride

bike forum diablo 1.jpg
Originally uploaded by ccorlew

I met a few riders I know from the cyberspace land of Bikeforums.net for a ride. We went From Danville up the South gate to the junction, down the North gate, out to Clayton and around the "back side" of Diablo via Morgan Territory Road and back to Danville. We did 60-some miles and a ton of climbing. It took most of the day as everyone was very kind and we didn't drop anyone. I had a blast.
Here a slide show of photos via flickr.
Below is a live Google map of the ride


View Larger Map

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.

New frame time?

I haven't been feeling well. I'm still bike commuting, but I'm not doing riding much more. Instead I'm looking at bike porn and imagining a new frame. Is that so wrong? I can make up ton of reasons why I need one. But perhaps the best one is that I can get this extra cool Kestrel RT700 for under $800 through a group buy on Bikeforums.net. Check out these photos, or this Kestrel page. This frame is sold online all over for more than twice that, and lists for over 2K. I'm not nuts about the bronze, but what a great frame. If it happens it looks like I'd pay in December and get a frame in Feb. I'm thinking about it. Spending money on a new frame is even better than training or losing weight, right? And it supports he economy. I'd be acting as a good citizen by getting it.
Of course, if I do get this, I'd better plan on a new something for Tricia too. She likes her Trek 1500, but I'm sure she'd like something new even more.

UPDATE: I broke down and put a deposit down. Delivery is sometime in February.

Day of yech

I don't mind commuting in the cold, but riding for fun in the cold just isn't much fun. It's been a gorgeous week, but Saturday was overcast, dark, and cold. I wore a base layer under my jersey and regular bibs. Mistake. I was cold and slow and felt crappy the whole shortened ride.
I told Tricia we should just have taken the commuter bikes and gone grocery shopping instead of trying to enjoy the day.
Maybe I'm just getting older. Maybe I just had a bad day. Maybe Monday will be nicer.
UPDATE: Darn it. Monday was a tad overcast, but still, the sun did come out late in the day. But I couldn't gt myself outside. I feel so blah. Is it a virus, old age, or just that I'm lazy? Usually playing on the bike is fun. Today I don't want to do anything. I hope this feeling crappy ends soon....

Seasons change

Even though the time changed and it's lighter in the morning, the days are getting shorter and colder. The fog that sits on the canal during my morning commute has reappeared, but the bugs seem to be gone for now.

Last year vs this year

It was a year ago the Tricia and I went on our first organized ride -- a 30 miler through Lodi. It was a big deal. This Sunday we knocked out 35 around Antioch as a no-big-deal afternoon jaunt. Kinda cool for us! Such a small thing I didn't even photograph it.
In other news, it's getting darker sooner. Tricia has her light charged up and is mentally preparing for her commute through some... interesting... after dark areas.