Not only did we see, and stop to nibble on, blackberries, we saw three river otters in Marsh Creek as well as another animal that we couldn't identify. Perhaps it was a beaver or a mink. And we finished our ride before the temperature hit the over 100 mark. Not bad!
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Seen on our Tuesday morning ride
Not only did we see, and stop to nibble on, blackberries, we saw three river otters in Marsh Creek as well as another animal that we couldn't identify. Perhaps it was a beaver or a mink. And we finished our ride before the temperature hit the over 100 mark. Not bad!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Pedalfest 2015
Bicycles everywhere! Oakland's PedalFest at Jack London Square was a blast. Weird bikes, cool bikes, bike advocacy, bike-powered music. Food. It was just too much fun.
We started by riding 15 miles to BART. Tricia got more than a couple of comments on her cool Shelia Moon cycling dress (it even has pockets in the back!)
Of course, navigating a city by bicycle can be challenging. Most maps don't have enough bicycle-specific info. We managed, but didn't enjoy playing leap-frog with the busses, or later riding down a busy road when we were sure there was a better way we just didn't know about. On the plus side, Oakland drivers seem used to bicycles and don't get angry that they exist.
We started by riding 15 miles to BART. Tricia got more than a couple of comments on her cool Shelia Moon cycling dress (it even has pockets in the back!)
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Sneakin' Kellie through the Alley
Tricia and I took our friend and relatively new cyclist Kellie out for a ride across the Benicia Martinez Bridge, the Carquinez Bridge and along the Martinez Scenic Drive Trail. She's stayed with us to watch the Saturday edition of le Tour and brought her bike with it's flat tires. She rides in Sacramento and had recently posted on social media about her many-flats day. I helped her with her flats and discovered lots of thorns hiding in her tires. I'm hoping she's learned to check them. I know I got a lot of practice patching tubes and digging our pointy objects.
Our ride, though windy at the start, was pretty much perfect. Maybe it's the bridges, or the social pace, or the fact that we don't ride this loop a lot, but it feels longer than really is. Still, I highly recommend the Two Bridges loop. Great scenery, fun bridges. Go do it.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Tricia's birthday doings
We started Tricia's birthday cycling events with our favorites folks from BikeForums.net on Saturday with a 60 milers around Mt. Diablo. It was our first real ride in a while, and it went wonderfully.
We kept it going on our Tahoe trip.
We kept it going on our Tahoe trip.
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Cyanotypes and bike parts
You may know that in my other life, when I'm not on a bicycle, I'm a professor who teaches, among other things, photography.
Lately I've been working with cyanotypes as a way to reconnect with the physical part of photography in an increasingly digital world. It's been fun.My first effort, at Tricia's suggestion, was to make photograms of bike parts, much in the way Anna Atkins did with seaweed in the 1840s. I liked the results enough that I framed a set. I'm not sure how I'll move forward with this. It might be fun to try making them on fabric. Or maybe use nicer paper. But there will be more.
Friday, June 12, 2015
It might be art
I'm starting to get angry phone calls in the middle of the night, threatening me with all sorts of bad things if I don't post more content here. I'm hoping to live a little longer by repurposing these Instagram photos....
Tricia at the Sand Creek underpass in Brentwood. Someone painted it, and now it looks totally cool and is less scary and more cheerful.
If you haven't ridden the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento you're missing out. It isn't epic, but it is often very pretty.
Tricia at the Sand Creek underpass in Brentwood. Someone painted it, and now it looks totally cool and is less scary and more cheerful.
If you haven't ridden the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento you're missing out. It isn't epic, but it is often very pretty.
I'm in a Facebook group about "Look at pictures of my bike leaning on stuff" so I leaned on this poster in Sacramento.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Sidi shoes vs Shimano cleats
We'd looked for perfectly matching ruby-shaded replacements, but I don't think they make them any more. Tricia, a woman with white bar tape and a white saddle, decided she'd give white shoes a chance. Sidi, of course. And they do indeed look marvelous.
It would be silly to get new shoes and not get new cleats, so she bought a pair of Shimano SPD-SL road cleats as well. I installed them to match the placement of her old cleats and figured we were good to go.
Nope.
They wouldn't clip in to her Ultegra pedals. I thought at first maybe they were new and just stiff, so I tried it. No deal. After much frustration, fussing about and looking hard it turned out the problem was the interface between the shoe and cleat. The bottoms of these shoes are more curved than her old shoes. Enough that the cleat bent when I tightened it down, making it impossible to click in.
As far as I know there isn't a custom titanium shim for $189.00 to solve this, so I used a couple of old zinc washers I had, installing them under the front bolt. It took two for each shoe. But it worked well enough that Tricia was able to wear her new shiny white shoes today.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Amgen Tour of California 2015
I think I've hit almost every Tour of California. This year Tricia and I went to the opening day in Sacramento. It was a tough call; whether to try and catch the peloton crossing the Rio Vista bridge and hope for a great photo op, or go to the festivities in Sacramento and see the women's race too. Sacramento won.
We also tried to ride through the finish line, which is kind of like throwing a football around on the field just before the Super Bowl. We were politely shooed away.
We had fun looking at all the stuff to buy. Tricia was bike jersey shopping for her son's one-year-old.
Kellie fell in love with a Bianchi.
After the men left for their large loop and we finished watching the women race the city circuit we went to lunch. We rode back to downtown just as the men flew in. We were able to watch the race finish from a delightful beer bar where we could see the actual race go by and watch the TV finish at the same time. The only thing that was less than wonderful: I brought the wrong camera, so I don't have the cool photos I'd hoped to have.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Cinderella Classic vs Calarveras Road
Tricia rode this year's Cinderella Classic, a womens only ride sponsored by the Valley Spokesmen. Not only is she trying to recover from the flu, but her riding friend had to cancel. She ended up doing the 65 mile course by herself. She still had fun.
After I dropped her off at the Alameda County Fairgrounds I took my bike out to Calaveras Road and did my own own ride.
No great tales of anything, just a pleasant ride on a beautiful day.
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Bonus fun photos
There's a swell relief map of the California Delta out at Big Break, a East Bay Regional Parks site. Here it is on Google maps, zoomed in. It's kind of fun to keep hitting the zoom out control and go from the park's map to the Google map. It makes sense if you try it.
My dentist expects me to ride in and be wearing cycling shoes. Bike in the waiting room? No problem. #bestdentistever
Friday, April 03, 2015
It's #30daysofbiking month
Tricia got a new bike jersey in honor of 30daysofbiking. Then she went out and rode really fast. A good time was had by all.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
White Sidi straps
Sidi replacement straps for the ones I broke cost more than I wanted to pay. I found a supplier who had white ones (instead of the standard black) on sale for much less than half price. Plus, maybe they look interesting. So that's what I have now
Monday, March 09, 2015
I'm too powerful for my shoes
I blew out my Sidi on Sunday's ride. Yep, that's the kind of power I create.
The good part is that Sidi offers replacement parts, so I went to the almost-local shop and picked up a new strap. Unfortunately when I got home I realized I had broken the other part of the strap, and not the replacement I'd gone out to buy. Oh well. It will all work out eventually. I ended up ordering a snappy white set online and on sale.
I also bought replacement outer heel pieces for Tricia's Sidi shoes. Pro tip: Don't let them wear too far or the screws will become so ground down they are almost impossible to take out. Pro top 2: Tri-flow at least loosens them enough that you may only wreck three screw drivers getting them out.
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Diablo summit 2015 at last
Tricia and I normally ride up Diablo on New Years or at least soon after. This year we just didn't get it done. Between fog and cold, and then my getting sick it just didn't happen. Until today.
It was a glorious day, and despite the fact I can tell I haven't spent and time climbing this year and was very very slow, it was still fun.
Tricia, on the other hand, looked her usual wonderful self as she skipped and scampered up the mountain.
Here's hoping this bike riding for fun trend continues.
It was a glorious day, and despite the fact I can tell I haven't spent and time climbing this year and was very very slow, it was still fun.
Tricia, on the other hand, looked her usual wonderful self as she skipped and scampered up the mountain.
Here's hoping this bike riding for fun trend continues.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Instagram. And white bar tape.
I use Instagram. There, I said it.
Here's an Instagram photo of Tricia's new bar tape. Expect more. With filters. And special effects. Like borders and tilt shift.
Here's an Instagram photo of Tricia's new bar tape. Expect more. With filters. And special effects. Like borders and tilt shift.
Monday, February 16, 2015
I don't often get flats, but when I do...
I like the part where she told me she flatted in front of a house where a man was working in the yard. He told her "I heard that!" then asked "what are you going to do?" She said "I'm going to fix it." "Here?" he asked. Yep. And she did.
Tip o' the hat to Park emergency boots. They helped her limp home. Don't ride in Antioch without them.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Not riding is awful
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Loyal readers of this blog (as if they are a common as unicorns) may have noted no activity lately. Strava followers have surely noticed the same. There's a reason: Illness.
And not just a cold, but a bonus ear infection that even put a stop to my daily bike commute. I missed eight days, which is the longest I can remember being off the bike in years.
My ears are still a mess, and I have trouble hearing. But the Doctor put me on meds that are supposed to help. After my layoff I rode to work today. At last.
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