Ride HSU

Earlier this week I did some riding including this fun curb.

Funky mushrooms on campus.

Sunday Shop Ride: Toughest bike gang in the land

Ryan & I (on the left) have an averaged age of 27.

The other 5 average 61, yet we're all on the same ride-

More at home on the bike than the couch?
Recently I bumped into a rider in the forest who just turned 60.
He said he couldn't believe it. I blurted out that I couldn't either.
Faster, fitter, more focused than most youth at 60?
I've found another reason to ride.

Ryan and Bob before the ride at Life Cycle.
Where am I? At home fixing a flat tire.
I rolled in 10 minutes late but thankfully Lynn was there to send me in the right direction. After chasing down the pack (Ryan's flat on Hwy 101 helped), I rode 4 hrs 30 mins over 60 miles that cimbed 7,100+ vertical feet. The route was up Kneeland and down to Lawrence Creek...

Phillip descending to Lawrence Creek

VinceHarvey
Chillin' at Lawrence Creek.

... then back up to Butler Valley Rd where our crew parted.
Vince and I rode the remainder of Butler Valley to Korbel while everyone else descended Kneeland.

Vince & Harvey

BobVince, Harvey, camera-man Phil, Ryan

Thanks for the photos Phil!

The weather was great for late November, clear and cool.
The scenery near the Kneeland airport is off the hook. I'll take a panorama someday and spare you the extended narrative landscape-drooling.

Oh, wait a sec.
Thanks Google!

Know Vem Ber Strikes!

Today was cold. Frost. I wished I had brought gloves this morning!

Cruised Arcata after work on the Monocog. Drawn by the clear skies (cold front), I ended up down at the marsh/bay trying to beat the after-work dog/baby walk traffic.

Deep channels of water remain during low tides.

Many of the specs in the photos are actually birds.

The smudgy town is Arcata. Its a little less smudgy in person.

How foggy is Arcata? Today I realized how unfamiliar I am with our hillsides. The tight nooks and crannies hold the fog, creating the illusion of a much smoother contour.

Thanks to that fog I saw a phatty Pacific Giant Salamander!

Ryan and I were in the Community Forest yesterday when I saw a huge salamander mid trail. The first I've seen in this forest, and the biggest salamander I can remember seeing. It was about 10" head to tail. My house-mate works in the watersheds and reports they get bigger than 12".

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I miss bikes. I mean sure I was riding one a few hours ago, but over the past few weeks I've put in a fraction of my regular bike time. The plan is to take a few months off bike riding. The winter is a hard time to ride on both people and bikes.

What do I do with my down time?

1. Play Free Rider 2-

2. Research epic, long, scenic, mountain bike rides such as

a. North Umpqua Trail in southern Oregon, 79 miles
&
b. The Colorado Trail, Denver to Durango in 535 miles

3. Research how to get a pump-track built in my local park

4. Listen to electronic pop single, Royksopp's "Remind Me"

5. Dream about building my own indoor mtn bike park

At least I have bikes to wrench on. I'm fixing problems for some friends & putting a special *NEW* bike together as well. Stay tuned to see who just got a sweet ride.

Sunday Shop Ride: Korbel/Fieldbrook

Rode 42 miles with Vince and Phil. We climbed up Maple Creek Rd from Korbel and descended to Pauly Creek.

After a quick snack we doubled back into Blue Lake before tackling frequently hostile Fieldbrook en route to McKinleyville.

Top speed 42mph.
That means the new front disc brake did well on its first test.

When I got home I thought my legs were dead.
But, then I rode my SS all afternoon. I got food, cruised campus, and rode the silly trail I built around my house.

Mushrooms on the Hammond

I saw at least five different types of large mushrooms today, but none as beautiful as the Agaric.

You can barely see all his friends in the background.

This section of the Hammond Trail never gets old-

What's not to love when this is the view?

I never did get a hang of this "road" biking.

I rode 20 miles today. Sitting around the house has taken it's toll on my fitness. It is definitely the off season.

Amanita Muscaria: The Wall

One of the positives about cold, dark, rain for days at a time is the myriad of fungi. We have all sorts of mushrooms, moss, and even slimes... yes slimes. I saw a huge Amanita (fly agaric) in the forest today. 9" tall and the cap is 9" wide!

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News from the North

Thanks for the pic Ryan!

Ryan & Nancy (Two Tales, Two Cities) completed their ride from Portland to SF. They did take the scenic route to the "unknown coast". The detour included two serious climbs and a steep descent down "the wall" over 70miles (as opposed to 35miles HWY 101).

“The Wall,” a mile long climb that has sections of 23% grade
as enjoyed by Tinker Juarez

Click on the chart of the Tour of the Unknown Coast to see the elevation change. Follow the grey line right to left and stop at mile 30 to trace Nancy & Ryan's ride.

Ignore the purple.

Note: "The Wall" @ mile 80. Chart source J. Robbins.

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Tour of the Unkown Coast Scrapbook blog is awesome!

Hot Blogs Today!- see them added to my new "Blogs Links"

Copenhagen

The hippest new bike blog is Copenhagenize.
It features bike culture in Denmark with an American perspective.

Watch this movie highlighting Copenhagen's success with urban planning and what we can learn for our own cities.

Copenhagen cargo bikes featured in the LA Times.

The space required by cars, a bus, or bicycles.

Bike commuting in NY is "off-the-hook"!!!
A recent story in the NY Times sites a 35% increase in bike commuting during 2007!

Clam Beach RIde

Spun a leisurely 25 miles to Clam Beach and Little River State Beach. I saw a river otter diving for food, egrets, banana slugs, cows, cats, dogs, lots of bids, and seals.

It was beautiful. I saw big puffy cumulus clouds in the Mad River valley, flat dark rain clouds to the north, and sunny heavenly back-lit clouds to the south and west. The light today was perfect for spotlighting a single swath of sea. A mile out on the ocean a large unbroken ray beamed down and sparkled brightly. It was dazzling, even from my vantage point in the perpetual mist of Clam Beach.

Fixer

I'm fixing up my buddy Wes' Rocky Mountain.

Made in Canada, eh?

Diagnosis: Snapped rear dérailleur cable anchor bolt, missing seat collar, incorrectly sized seat-tube, no saddle, broken front brake cable housing, loose headset, bent disc brake rotors, and the whole bike came plastered with old dried mud.

I still need to true the wheels, adjust the new rear dérailleur, get something to sit on, and briefly investigate the suspension fork.

It's really not as boring as it sounds.