I've had an idea for a month or so to blog about the impacts, mostly positive, that trains have had on our local bike routes around here. And I'll get to that.
But first, I wanted to talk about the wine country fires. Sad. Scary. Exhausting. Harrowing. There are many emotions surrounding these still burning fires. It's been a week since they started and they seem to keep going because of the consistently dry and windy Indian summer conditions. These fires come on the heels of many other natural and man-made tragedies, including major hurricanes in the Caribbean and Texas and the Las Vegas shootings. Not to mention the current bluster out of Washington and the potential for that to flare into WWIII! Remote as they are, these disasters still have an effect on us. But the Napa/Sonoma fires are in places we know well with people who are friends or colleagues who have lost property. Our air has been terrible, but that's nothing compared to losing a home, business or even life. The fires are centered in the area where we visit our friends in Kenwood a few times a year to escape from everyday life. It is a place where I could easily spend the rest of my life. With the windy, dry conditions continuing, others may also sadly join those who have already lost everything. Bonne chance a tous.
So back to trains, which now seem frivolous. The simple point I was going to make is that many of our routes, bike paths and more, were legacy train lines. And they've opened up many opportunities for us riders. There are places in the hills and beyond that were major train lines, but little evidence of them exists today. Even so, we bike riders get to take advantage of their earlier presence. That's enough on that topic for now.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Friday, June 30, 2017
Pedal Power? Too much automation? Memorable Rides!
Does Cycling Need to Be "Plugged In" To Be Fun or Effective?
Again, it's been a long time with a blog entry.....sorry! Yep, still riding quite a bit (check out my Strava miles!). I didn't have this as a goal, but if I keep it up, I'm on track for hitting 10K miles this year....that'd be cool! In any case, I'm just out for fun, so don't plan on it. I'm retired, so goals are now for others. ;-) Enough with any stress in my life!
One topic that's on my mind a bit is this....we cyclists seem to be inundated with more gadgets than ever lately. Not necessarily me, but some of my friends and in ads everywhere. Is cycling becoming automated? Computerized? Aren't all these gadgets just distractions? Radar detectors, e-shifting, video-cams in light housings, heads-up displays, and of course, e-bikes. There are of course, rechargeable lights and even helmets now that have built-in flashing lights. They may serve a useful safety purpose. But I'm not sure what to think about some of this other stuff. Does it really help us ride any better or safer? Sure, I'm an engineer (or was) and should be wowed by all of these toys. Hell, I'm a Strava junkie and have been logging my miles since first getting a cyclo-computer back in the early 80s. But too much is, well....too much!
It's probably been 20 years, but I remember the first time observing someone carrying a cell phone on a bike ride. It was some kid with this big brick in his jersey pocket and I thought "What a wanker! Does he really need that thing for a simple bike ride?" But times change. Look at all of us now! GPS, camera, etc....all in our pockets. Ok, even mine. And practically all of us. But it goes beyone that. Is all of this other paraphernalia necessary? Or is it taking away from the simplicity and beauty of "the ride"? Aren't we supposed to be "escaping" a bit when taking a ride? Awhile back I posted a thought regarding what a friend said about cycling....."it's the closest we'll get to flying". I like to think that's the case.....we're just out here floating around, enjoying the ride. With that said, do we all of a sudden need autopilot and gauges? Radar and cameras? Being constantly connected to the inter-web?? Just a thought. Now, go take a ride. Of course, don't forget to plug in first or you may be walking home or calling Uber for a pickup.
But first this........ While I haven't checked off any of those bucket list rides yet, but I did put in some good mileage in the past six months. Here's a quick look at a high points and some "epic" rides I've taken since then.
- I did hit my new annual high mileage record - 8503 miles in 2016!
- My friend Vlad was on a sabbatical for the first six months of the year, so we took a number of mid-week long rides, some with some "adventuring" added!
- New Years rides around Eureka and Arcata.
- Many road outages due to crazy rain this winter (Alhambra Valley, Redwood, Miner, Canyon, Palomares, Calaveras, Morgan Territory.......and I'm sure more!) pushed us to add some adventuring to some rides, as we looked for ways around or over these closures. They have put fences up and started ticketing people, so we have to be careful not to be "too" adventurous!
- I took another trip to Florida, did some good rides with the local club (Highlands Pedalers) and found some more Florida dirt, as well as washout-prone sand!
- I discovered "Old" San Pablo Dam Road.....paved to the boat launched, followed by some nice (when not wet!) dirt.
- Remember the Pt. Richmond STEEPS! This park road is maybe 1/4 mile long, but must be 25%. It's enough to hurt the arms. Ugh....
- I finally went back and conquered the backside of Mt. Hamilton with Marius - first time non-stop!
- I rode Mt. Diablo a few times so far this year...once in 100+ deg heat. Yikes.
- We did the spring version of the Davis ride....always a great time!
- I did the abridged version (due to road closures) of the GPC century in May. Of course, it was only 75 miles, so I rode to and from the start to make it 112 miles!
- The trail now goes all the way to Treasure Island....it finally opened and TI is accessible everyday.
- I joined Marius and rode out Mines Rd. and some of Del Puerto Canyon (and more!) to see the Stage 2 of this year's Tour of California (and collected lots of water bottles in the feedzone).
- We rode another fun Memorial Day Ride to Santa Barbara....and enjoyed some new dirt out by Santa Rosa Creek Rd. Steep, scenic and fun!
- Caryn and I went to Solvang and joined Dan, Lauren and Jeff for a couple days of gorgeous riding.
- I joined John and Frank for a cruise around Santa Cruz County and due to the winter rains, found some roads were closed here too. Still!
- I tested a new under-seat pack.......it was like a swingin' udder, swinging back and forth every pedal stroke. Especially if I stood up to pedal. That wasn't good. So I added a rack and it provided much needed stability. Now it's time to use it on a little over-nighter!
It's becoming a habit to take a pic or 2 or 3 on rides these days. So here are some of my faves from forays of the past six months.
Again, it's been a long time with a blog entry.....sorry! Yep, still riding quite a bit (check out my Strava miles!). I didn't have this as a goal, but if I keep it up, I'm on track for hitting 10K miles this year....that'd be cool! In any case, I'm just out for fun, so don't plan on it. I'm retired, so goals are now for others. ;-) Enough with any stress in my life!
One topic that's on my mind a bit is this....we cyclists seem to be inundated with more gadgets than ever lately. Not necessarily me, but some of my friends and in ads everywhere. Is cycling becoming automated? Computerized? Aren't all these gadgets just distractions? Radar detectors, e-shifting, video-cams in light housings, heads-up displays, and of course, e-bikes. There are of course, rechargeable lights and even helmets now that have built-in flashing lights. They may serve a useful safety purpose. But I'm not sure what to think about some of this other stuff. Does it really help us ride any better or safer? Sure, I'm an engineer (or was) and should be wowed by all of these toys. Hell, I'm a Strava junkie and have been logging my miles since first getting a cyclo-computer back in the early 80s. But too much is, well....too much!
It's probably been 20 years, but I remember the first time observing someone carrying a cell phone on a bike ride. It was some kid with this big brick in his jersey pocket and I thought "What a wanker! Does he really need that thing for a simple bike ride?" But times change. Look at all of us now! GPS, camera, etc....all in our pockets. Ok, even mine. And practically all of us. But it goes beyone that. Is all of this other paraphernalia necessary? Or is it taking away from the simplicity and beauty of "the ride"? Aren't we supposed to be "escaping" a bit when taking a ride? Awhile back I posted a thought regarding what a friend said about cycling....."it's the closest we'll get to flying". I like to think that's the case.....we're just out here floating around, enjoying the ride. With that said, do we all of a sudden need autopilot and gauges? Radar and cameras? Being constantly connected to the inter-web?? Just a thought. Now, go take a ride. Of course, don't forget to plug in first or you may be walking home or calling Uber for a pickup.
But first this........ While I haven't checked off any of those bucket list rides yet, but I did put in some good mileage in the past six months. Here's a quick look at a high points and some "epic" rides I've taken since then.
- I did hit my new annual high mileage record - 8503 miles in 2016!
- My friend Vlad was on a sabbatical for the first six months of the year, so we took a number of mid-week long rides, some with some "adventuring" added!
- New Years rides around Eureka and Arcata.
- Many road outages due to crazy rain this winter (Alhambra Valley, Redwood, Miner, Canyon, Palomares, Calaveras, Morgan Territory.......and I'm sure more!) pushed us to add some adventuring to some rides, as we looked for ways around or over these closures. They have put fences up and started ticketing people, so we have to be careful not to be "too" adventurous!
- I took another trip to Florida, did some good rides with the local club (Highlands Pedalers) and found some more Florida dirt, as well as washout-prone sand!
- I discovered "Old" San Pablo Dam Road.....paved to the boat launched, followed by some nice (when not wet!) dirt.
- Remember the Pt. Richmond STEEPS! This park road is maybe 1/4 mile long, but must be 25%. It's enough to hurt the arms. Ugh....
- I finally went back and conquered the backside of Mt. Hamilton with Marius - first time non-stop!
- I rode Mt. Diablo a few times so far this year...once in 100+ deg heat. Yikes.
- We did the spring version of the Davis ride....always a great time!
- I did the abridged version (due to road closures) of the GPC century in May. Of course, it was only 75 miles, so I rode to and from the start to make it 112 miles!
- The trail now goes all the way to Treasure Island....it finally opened and TI is accessible everyday.
- I joined Marius and rode out Mines Rd. and some of Del Puerto Canyon (and more!) to see the Stage 2 of this year's Tour of California (and collected lots of water bottles in the feedzone).
- We rode another fun Memorial Day Ride to Santa Barbara....and enjoyed some new dirt out by Santa Rosa Creek Rd. Steep, scenic and fun!
- Caryn and I went to Solvang and joined Dan, Lauren and Jeff for a couple days of gorgeous riding.
- I joined John and Frank for a cruise around Santa Cruz County and due to the winter rains, found some roads were closed here too. Still!
- I tested a new under-seat pack.......it was like a swingin' udder, swinging back and forth every pedal stroke. Especially if I stood up to pedal. That wasn't good. So I added a rack and it provided much needed stability. Now it's time to use it on a little over-nighter!
It's becoming a habit to take a pic or 2 or 3 on rides these days. So here are some of my faves from forays of the past six months.
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