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12/31/02- THE IRON PIG RIDES AGAIN!
I should be nicer to my old Cinelli. Heck, I should be nicer sometimes
to my 5900! But ride we must and, given the forecast for this morning
and the wild winds & rain last night, it most definitely seemed like a ride
for the rain bike. Actually, I ended up rather severely over-dressing,
as it only lightly rained on us a couple times, but the roads were a mess.
Todd & Kevin showed up, each doing their part to remind me that it's not the
bike, it's not the rider, it's a combination of the two sometimes that holds
you back. What, blame things on the bike? Why not? With
downtube shifting you find yourself often in a less-than-desirable gear and
it's quite the hassle to change compared to STI. Plus my rain bike's
low gear is a 42/24 which is low enough for King's Mtn, but, for me, just
barely. It's just not so fun when you're in your lowest gear for most
of the climb. And then you're thinking hey, that gear used to be
plenty low enough! However, that thought necessarily includes a
flashback to climbing the hill in 21 minutes as well.
Tomorrow morning is the annual ride up Mt.
Hamilton! Am I in shape for it? Heck no. Have I ever
been? Heck no. So what? It's still a great ride up the
hill, never really all that steep, just long. Speed? What's
that? I have faint memories of having done the race with a time of 58
minutes to the top; tomorrow, something around 1:45 will be just fine.
I'll try to not think that's almost half-speed...
12/29/02- SQUEEZED IN A QUICK RIDE UP OLD LA HONDA
today, but had to ride my rain bike (the old Cinelli) because I've got the
OCLV at the shop, getting it cleaned up a bit for Wednesday's New Year's Day
assault on Mt. Hamilton.
Not a terribly fast ride up the hill at 24.58, but hey, I time from right
where you turn onto Old LaHonda, not at the bridge like everybody else.
That 100 feet must be worth a least a couple minutes! Almost skipped
riding, since I had a few other things I had to get done, but the holidays
haven't been too kind to me, as I noticed I was using a different notch on
the belt.
And saw a great movie tonight too... the second Lord of the Rings
installment. Long, yes, but great story telling (even to someone who
hasn't read the books, like me!). So much more interesting than the
last two Star Wars movies, where you found yourself paying more attention to
the special effects than the story or characters.
12/26/02- NOTE TO SELF
be careful who you sell nice bikes to. Ron D showed up on our ride
this morning (along with Kevin). Actually, he showed up late and
caught us on the climb. This would not have happened on Ron's older
bike! But someone made the mistake of talking him into replacing his
12-year-old 1000 with a new TREK 2300, and he kinda likes it. Either
that or he's in secret training. Probably a combination of the two!
12/24/02- 38-42 DEGREES THIS MORNING
but it really didn't feel all that cold. In fact, while I usually feel
a bit sluggish when it's cold out (which is relative, since 38 degrees feels
a lot warmer than the upper-20s we'll experience soon!), this morning
I felt almost... perky? Kevin, Todd, Richard B & Ted Z showed up, with
Kevin & Todd taking off fast. Surprisingly, after I spotted Kevin &
Todd a pretty good lead, I was able to keep them in sight. Richard
drifted off the pace a bit, but it was Ted that I waited up for at Huddart
Park. He hasn't been putting in too many miles lately, so I had an
excuse both to be social and to pull off three suicide intervals to
bridge the gap up to Richard. Ouch!
Normally we'd all do the secondary loop on the west side of Old LaHonda,
but, since it was Christmas Eve, the shop opened up at 10am (instead of 11),
not giving me quite enough time to get in the extra miles. Darn, since
I could have used those miles to get ready for Mt. Hamilton on New Years
Day!
12/23/02-
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE A MECHANIC AND YOU BUILD A BIKE
FIVE SIZES LARGER
 THAN WHAT YOU RIDE?
I'm sure some
mechanics would skip out on test-riding their masterpiece, or hand it off to
someone taller. But not at Chain Reaction! Check out Bruno, our
ace Service Manager in Redwood City, test-riding our largest stock bike, a
25" TREK 520. They simply don't come any more dedicated.
When Bruno's on a bike, he's ten feet tall. Well, this bike anyway!
12/22/02- THE
SCIENCE OF SANTA CLAUS- Darn, should have gotten on this one
sooner! Check it out; we've had this on-line
for a couple of years, and this is definitely the time to read it.
Don't remember where it came from, but it's a fun read.
12/20/02- I COMPETED
IN A RUDENESS COMPETITION, but not sure if I won or not.
Normally, I'd say someone yakking on a cell phone (that would be
me) at the checkout stand would win, hands-down. But maybe not
this time. I was at the Best Buy in San Carlos, getting something for
my daughter, and got a call from my brother regarding something about a bike
in our Los Altos store. Important enough that I couldn't just tell him
to go away, as I normally would (not because it was my brother, but because
I was in a checkout line). So what could be worse? How about a
checkout clerk who just would not give up on trying to sell me their
optional warranty. I mean, I'm telling him no, I don't need it, please
complete the sale. But he insists on waiting so he can explain the
benefits to me. I tell him no. And there are other people in
line. He continues. Even after I get off the phone he continues.
Next time I go there (assuming there will be a next time?) I'll offer to
exchange business cards, only mine will say "I don't do business with places
that employ pushy salespeople selling extended warranties." What a
scam. The place advertises non-commissioned salespeople, but I think
that only applies to actually selling the item. The warranty? No
way they'd be that pushy unless they had a strong incentive to do so.
12/19/02- IT ALL
EVENS OUT IN THE END. Tuesday it was pretty nasty at
times, but as the ride went on, the sun broke through and the day got nicer
and nicer. Nice enough so that, later in the day, it didn't seem like
any big deal that you went out and rode in the wet.
Today was the flip side of that. It started out nice and then,
almost like clockwork, the storm moved in at 9am, just like the weather.com
site said it would. Kevin was the only other brave soul who came along
for the fun. Just wind and a few sprinkles until the last fifteen
minutes of the ride, when it decided to dump on me. But the
good side of it is that the weather's going to get progressively nastier
throughout the day and, somehow, the worse the weather gets, the more
impressive it seems that I got out and rode this morning. Even though
it wasn't all that bad!
12/17/02- YOU
COULD WAIT UNTIL IT STOPS RAINING, or you could just ride
anyway. I'm in the latter camp. If I start making excuses for
not riding because it's raining, what's next? Anybody who's known me
very long knows never to schedule anything that would conflict with
my Tues/Thurs morning rides, and that includes
storms, parent-teacher conferences, visits to the dentist, you name it.
So why would anyone think I'd skip this morning's ride because it was
raining? Peter H didn't; in fact, I think he specifically came out
because it was raining. Perhaps a duel of the rain-bikes?
Of course, being a proper Brit, Peter quickly noted my rain bike is anything
but proper, as it has no fenders, er, I mean, mud guards. A
nice ride, although we just rode up King's Mtn and back, since the roads
were a bit of a mess, cars were flying a bit too fast, and the glare on the
road from the sun shining through the occasional break in the clouds made it
almost impossible to see things at times.
Of course, the other reason not to wait until it stops raining is
because, well, it just might not stop! Current forecast shows rain on
through New Year's Eve. That could create quite the epic
New Year's Day ride up Mt. Hamilton, since it's
most likely to be snowing there the whole time. Brrrrr.
12/13/02-
MEMORIES OF FRANCE. Once in awhile I check out the
rec.travel.europe newsgroup, to see what people are saying about France, my
adopted foreign country. As many know, I've been there four times in
the past three years, mostly to follow the Tour de France but on my last
trip a visit to Paris with my wife. Someone posted a message saying
how rude the French were to Americans, which elicited a rather strong
reaction from me, since I didn't experience this at all (and if the French
could tolerate someone as culturally uncouth at myself, I figure they're
pretty nice & tolerant people!). Anyway, it reminded me of something
that may not have ended up in one of my diary entries. I was at the
Gare d Lyon train station in Paris with my wife, buying a ticket on the TGV
to Avignon. I had studied what I should say (in French) and rehashed
it immediately prior and, with some fear & trepidation, went up to the
window to try and order the tickets. The clerk, being very nice and
trying to encourage me, actually lied and told me that I spoke French very
well! Once in awhile, a lie told with a sincere smile can be one of
the nicest things to happen to you. This was one of those times.
12/12/02- 48
DEGREES AND IT FEELS LIKE A PERFECT DAY ON A BIKE! 48
degrees and many don't
 want
to leave their house or heated car, yet at mile 28 on a ride it feels
absolutely wonderful. Ueyn and Kevin showed up this morning, but
thankfully not the Ueyn who did 19 minutes on Old LaHonda last
Saturday! Pretty civilized pace, with Kevin feeling a bit stronger
heading up Kings Mtn (no surprise there!), with me coming in half a minute
behind at 29:02. Yes, you do start thinking about where you lost those
three seconds that would have given you a 28-something time! No fog,
just a bit of dampness on the ground.
And yes, I'm still looking for that defining picture of the west side of
Old LaHonda. Seems to be a very elusive thing!
12/10/02-
MISTREATMENT OR RESPECT? In a perverse sort of way I look
forward to riding in the rain, simply because I'm out there while everybody
else decided to be rational and sleep in for a couple hours (OK, a few
actually use trainers while watching a stage of the TDF on TV, but how can
that compare to the excitement of sliding around in the rain?). I did
see one other guy out there, doing intervals up King's Mtn Road.
But, thankfully, Ueyn didn't show up. Why thankfully? Because he
casually mentioned yesterday that he'd just gotten a time up Old LaHonda in
the 19 minute range.
But the question about
mistreatment or respect is all about the bike. When it rains I leave
the 5900 at home and take out my 1973 Cinelli. Not the most fun thing
to ride, since it doesn't have indexed shifting, it's not nearly as
comfortable as my 5900, and only has one brake that works really well.
Still, it's kinda fun being retro once in a while, and it's not like you can
avoid it being a yucky ride, so why not?
But what did my poor old racing bike do to deserve such a
fate (only being brought out for nasty weather and special old-farts
events)? Nothing really, I only have fond old memories of it.
But isn't it better that it gets used now and then, even if in the rain,
rather than rusting away under the house?
12/08/02- AN
ALMOST-FLAT RIDE TODAY as I got out for a short ride out
Canada to 92 & back. Didn't have much time, so it was just 15 miles in
45 minutes... but even a short ride is way better than no ride!
And it's nice, once in a while, to not ride up any nasty hills. Met up
with Deke on Canada Road, one of our customers on a big orange Klein Q-Pro.
Because my ride was so short I was able to push pretty hard, and I think he
got the idea I'm a lot stronger than I really am! But I did tell him
the Blade Runner line, the one that goes "The candle that burns twice as
bright lives half as long."
12/05/02- SPARED
SOME HORSES on this morning's ride. Started out pretty
strong; on the hill immediately outside my front door, it was clear that my
bike really wanted to go. Sometimes you have to tell yourself to put
one foot down, then the other, now repeat, and eventually you (painfully)
get underway. But not today. When I got to the start I found
Kevin, Ueyn and Harry, the latter being a nice guy who shows up every once
in awhile, but it more likely to be seen at 6:30am with lights. As
I've said, good thing there are morning people in the world, to balance
people like me. Getting on my bike at 7:35am is early enough!
But about those horses... I briefly considered a high-speed run
up the hill, chasing Kevin. But the social part of me thought hey,
Ueyn's not looking to challenge people this morning, and Harry, while not
the fastest up the hill, is very dependable, always there, never slowing
down. So I get to ride up the hill at a pace where conversation
is just barely possible, which is kinda nice (except for the two time I
unleash a heroic, for me, attempt to jet up to Kevin... made it the first
time, when he had about a 20 second lead, but missed him by about 15 yards
the second time, about a third of the way up the hill). Anyway,
finally found a use for those unused horses on my final climb back over
Jefferson on my way home. Felt good. Nice day to be on a bike!
12/03/02- RELAXED
PACE UP THE HILL THIS MORNING but not really sure why.
Kevin must have had a pretty hard workout, because Ueyn & I were in cruise
mode all the way up. Normally Kevin would be hauling fast up the hill,
with Ueyn close behind, and me? My best chance is if one of them
falters for some reason. But today was an easy 31-minute cruise up the
hill, including waiting for Kevin a couple times. Usually they'd be
waiting for me! That definitely left quite a bit in Ueyn's legs
on Skyline though, as I hung onto his wheel while as if he were motorpacing.
No colder than 40 degrees, but that will be changing, I'm sure.
Pretty amazing that you can be flying downhill with temps in the mid-40s and
be perfectly comfortable, and yet if feels cold at home when the temp goes
below 66. What's up with that?
11/29/02- NOT
VERY THREATENING, AM I? If you recall from reading
about my prior trips to France, there's something about me that encourages
strangers to come up and ask me things. The usual stuff, like
directions, or how something works, that sort of thing. Only trouble
is that they're asking in French, and for whatever reason, think I do (which
I don't, not past a few simple phrases needing for buying things at a deli
or supermarket anyway). Well, yesterday it happened here, at Safeway.
The lines are a bit long so I decide to be a bit daring and try the
self-checkout stands. Never done that before (and didn't occur to me
that you couldn't do the entire transaction yourself if you're buying a
bottle of wine). So I get not one but a couple people coming up to me
in a short period of time asking me how self-checkout works. Strange.
But not entirely unpleasant, especially when life imitates art for just a
few moments as this young French woman (did she follow me back?) asks
something about the process and notices my (French) bottle of wine, and,
well, you know in the commercial when that beautiful lady asks the guy in
the car "You like art?" Only my wife wasn't there to roll up the
window (nor, hopefully, is she reading this!).
11/28/02- GREAT
TURKEYTROT! Read all about
our 5th-Annual TurkeyTrot, a moderately-challenging
 and
very enjoyable 55-mile ride. Experience it almost first-hand, as I've
included not only photos & descriptions, but also
temperature, altitude and heartrate info from my Ciclomast HAC-4 bike
computer.
The ride was definitely the high-point of the day, although dinner with
some of the family over was nice too. But seeing the new Harry Potter
movie with my kids later in the evening? That was hard. Harder
than the steepest parts of Tunitas Creek even! I'm not sure I get this
Harry Potter thing. Maybe the books are better than the movies?
Whatever the case, I just don't come away with any sense of wonder from the
Harry Potter movies, and I'm always conscious of the fact that I'm watching
a movie. Definitely looking forward to Star Trek Nemesis and the new
Lord of the Rings movies!
11/26/02- I'M READY! After
Thursday's ride, which didn't exactly fit the definition of a workout, and
not being able to ride on Sunday, I approached this morning's ride up King's
Mtn with some measure of fear & trepidation. Turned out to be
unnecessary. Beautiful, crystal-clear morning, not as cold as it could
have been (although it did touch 39 degrees briefly), great company (Ueyn,
Bruce, Steve & Kevin) and a great road. What more could you ask?
Well, there are times when all the ingredients are right, except for the
engine. But today the engine felt great. I feel like there's
hope for the TurkeyTrot ride on Thursday!
11/25/02- 5TH ANNUAL TURKEY TROT RIDE THIS
THURSDAY! We've got the details up including a map and
profile. Yes, it will be hilly (isn't it always?). Yes, you'll
make room for all that food later in the day. And yes, it will be fun!
Keep in mind this is a zero-support ride, so bring your own food & water.
Ride leaves from the usual Tuesday/Thursday meeting place, Olive Hill &
Woodside Road, at 7:45am. Details on the
ride page.
11/20/02- WHERE DID WE GO??? Our biggest turnout of the year, don't even remember all the names, but
Steve, Kevin, Bruce, Harry, Ueyn, Rolf, and one or two others. Rolf?
What's a Rolf? That would be Rolf Dietrich, the wheel guy, who cruised
through the area an met up with us for the ride. Even swapped out some
wheels for me to try on my bike, his latest & greatest. And therein
lies the tale...
Wouldn't you think somebody trying to sell a killer wheel would make sure to
put it in the best-possible light? But what I end up with is a nice,
light wheel, with a nice, skinny 20c Conti GP tire, but with maybe 80 pounds
of air in it. No floor pump around, and we were running a bit late, so
by the time I'm looking for someone with a decent frame pump, people are off
& running. Me? I'm not mashing my pedals, more like mushing.
There are so many reasons not to ride on under-inflated tires!
About 1/4 of the way up the hill I give up, pull off to the side and try to
inflate the tire some more (while watching everyone ride off into the
distance). Only there's something funny about the valve on the tire,
and maybe, just maybe, we eventually get it up to 100psi. This on a
tire that, due to its small size, is rated at 150psi.
By the time we finally make it to the top it's probably 20-25 minutes after
everyone else, and we're all alone. Absolutely stunning day, by the
way, can't complain about the California weather right now (not that we ever
have a right to). We turn around and head back down the hill and, on
Albion, Rolf pinch flats. Imagine that!
When
we got to the shop a bit later, I donated a floor pump to the cause.
Wheels should be evaluated on their own merits, not on the basis of setting
up one more optimally (tire-wise) than another. Sigh. People just
don't get it about tire inflation. One more time- when talking road
bikes, unless you weigh under, say, 130lbs or so, full rated pressure at
all times, and don't check it by hand, top them off with a gauge before
each ride.
11/19/02- SO I GET THIS PHONE CALL
tonight around 6pm, from someone asking if I know anything about the lunar
eclipse. Yeah, that's pretty weird, a customer calling me for
astronomical info. But it gets weirder. It's a call from a cell
phone, on a plane. Actually, it's the pilot. Calling from the
cockpit.
Just another typical day at Chain Reaction! We routinely go that extra
mile for our customers. Guess I should fill in the blanks and explain
that the pilot was Kevin, the guy I ride with on Tuesday & Thursday
mornings, and that the plane was on the ground, at the gate.
11/19/02- TOUGH DAY ON THE HILL. Maybe
it was staying up late last night to see the Meteor shower (waste of time,
too much moonlight to see anything), maybe it was the sore arm & shoulder
from playing ball with my kids on Sunday, or maybe it was just simply an off
day. Whatever it was, it was slow and brutal this morning on the hill.
Kevin, Ueyn, Bruce & Steve in attendance, with nobody feeling particularly
fast. Doesn't stop people from the ritual sprints on Skyline though!
If you want to see an eBay auction in its closing moments,
check out
the action on our Zipp wheels this afternoon. This is our first
time doing anything like this, and have to admit it's fun, almost exciting
to watch.
11/17/02- HORSEPOWER WITHOUT HILLS!
Today I tried to prove to myself that it was possible to get a good workout
without climbing to Skyline. I don't think I could have done so
without use of a heart monitor to keep my effort up though. Actually
had a pretty good time, and wore myself out a lot more than I thought I
would for a ride just under 30 miles. Almost didn't ride at all, as it
was beginning to get late, but figured I'd feel pretty stupid if I spent
most of the afternoon watching the 49er game. As it turned out, I left
at halftime and,
because they went into overtime, made it back before the
finish! Unfortunately, it wasn't a finish worth watching, but it was
definitely a ride worth riding.
If you're interested in looking at a printout from the HAC-4 computer, I've
included on that you can click on that shows you the ride (temperature,
altitude, speed and heartrate) in detail. Kinda fun to look at; just
click on the graphic for the full-sized version.
11/16/02- POOR GREEN TURBOSERVER.
What? Well, it's like this. Took my kids to Fry's Electronics
tonight to get some more paper for my printer, and, while there, some of
those wild computer cases with clear side panels and fluorescent internal
lights caught my eye. The black, silver, blue & white versions were
all $139.99. But the green one was on sale for $89.99. Only
difference being that it was green. My kids thought that was so sad,
poor green Turboservers that nobody wants to buy just because they're green.
Almost bought one out of sympathy (but boy, they were ugly!).
So got me to thinking about a few bikes on the floor that we've had for a
while, bikes that people don't like the color of. Somehow I've got to
go for the sympathy thing, promote them as orphans waiting for a home,
somebody to ride them, etc.
11/14/02- WHERE WAS EVERYONE? I've been getting used to having a small crowd on the Tues/Thurs rides
lately, but today it was just myself & Kevin. Absolutely spectacular
morning too, with the best views of the coast from the far side of Old
LaHonda yet! Unfortunately, when it's just the two of us, it
means no resting at the top of Kings, just ride right on up to Skegg's
without a break. Probably good for me though, and gets that
not-at-all-important average speed up.
11/13/02- OUR FIRST EBAY AUCTION
went
online last night! No, this isn't a new direction for Chain
Reaction, just an attempt to get rid of a few expensive items that haven't
gone anywhere very fast. In this case, a pair of 650c Zipp carbon
sew-up wheels. Why I brought them in in the first place is beyond me!
Next to go will be some Zipp carbon-fiber road cranks.
11/12/02- WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY (OR TWO) MAKES!
The last few rides up King's Mtn had seemed especially
tough, but this morning's ride (actually yesterday's, as I'm a day late
here) was great! Ueyn, Kevin, Steve & Bruce showed up on a nice
morning with almost clear skies and a bit warmer temps. And, finally,
I felt like I showed up! Instead of having
trouble getting my heart rate up, my body responded exactly like it should
have. I really felt great! Not super-fast or anything, but one
of those rides where it seemed like everything fell into place, no weak
links. That feeling later in the day like you really accomplished
something. But do keep in mind that 28:30 up the hill isn't something
most people would be inclined to brag about, but after a 35 minute ride last
week... I ought to graph the HAC-4 computer data from the two rides and
compare them!
11/11/02- AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT. That would be me, on a mountain bike.
A rare sight indeed, but one that happened this morning at
Stevens Creek
park. TREK was having a
 dealers-only
demo of their 2002 bikes, where bike shop employees could drop in and take
the latest cool bikes out for a ride. I didn't have a whole lot of
time, but any time I can ride a bike up a steep hill, how can I refuse?
So I grabbed a TREK Fuel 100 dual suspension and climbed up Coyote Ridge
Trail. Quite some climb! The amazing thing was that, despite
rather muddy conditions in places (it had rained nastily a few days before,
and then again yesterday afternoon), I managed to ride up the entire thing
without having to get off and push even once. For the real mountain
bikers out there, that won't seem like much of an accomplishment, I'm sure!
But for me, having to hang my weight way out over the front of the bike to
keep the wheel down, it was pretty darned exciting. The photo
shows the top of the trail, overlooking Garrod Farms, just to prove I was
there, on a mountain bike (the skeptics will assume that my 5900 is hidden
out of sight!).
11/08/02- THE THINGS I LEARN FROM MY EXPERIENCES
WITH OTHER RETAILERS hopefully make Chain Reaction a better
place. I've been trying to buy a particular DVD-RAM (like a CD-writer
only it writes DVDs), one that neither of the usual places (Frys or Best
Buy) have in stock. Finally located one on CompUSAs website, said it
was in stock at their San Bruno store, with limited availability in their SF
store. Silly me, I figure that limited availability probably means
only one in stock, and the San Bruno location might have a few. So I
call the San Bruno store, only it's one of those things where you can't get
through to a live person, but instead have to navigate an automated system
that, if you know the part number, will let you find out if they have it in
stock. After getting past the ridiculous prompts where you have to say
"yes" or "no" into your phone (and quite loudly too; it frequently told me I
had to try again, only louder, really making you look like an idiot to
anyone within earshot), it told me that yes, they had it in stock.
Dummy me, I thought that meant they had it in stock!
But when I get to the store, it takes them maybe 20 minutes to figure out
what I'm looking for (which took me about two minutes on their website), and
then another five minutes to decide that they sold their last one earlier in
the day.
Things like this help me to understand why it's so important to make
sure you're on the same wavelength as the customer on the phone, and try to
reduce mistakes as much as possible. We'll never be perfect, we'll
never stop making the occasional mistake and perhaps seriously inconvenience
somebody due to a misunderstanding. But we'll do what we can to get it
right, and it helps that I know, first hand, how it feels when things go
wrong.
11/07/02- FIRST RAIN RIDE MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT.
Looked at the weather forecast last night, said it was going
to be thunder & heavy rain & 26mph winds by 9am. Got all the heavy
gear out, including rain pants, jacket, booties, etc., ready for bear.
7:05am and I'm up and looking out the window, and it really doesn't look all
that bad. Sure, it's wet, light drizzle, bit of wind, stuff all over
the road, but hardly the makings of a major storm. 7:15am and Kevin's
left a message on my phone saying he won't make it, looks too nasty on the
roads (this follows an email last night from Ueyn, saying not to wait for
him if it's wet out). So it's up to me.
Immediately it feels like I'm over-dressed, as rain pants & jackets
don't just keep rain out, they also keep sweat & heat in! It's not
cold at all, maybe 58 degrees at the start, and the rain? Just a
little drizzle. This is turning into a major disappointment!
About a third of the way up Kings I take off the jacket, but leave the rain
pants on, kinda hoping for a downpour at any minute. But, it never
comes. A bit of wind, yes, and a lot of garbage on the roads, and a
whole lot of fog up on top (thank goodness for bright flashing tail lights!)
but no heavy rain, no epic storm. A bit further up the hill I see
Nicole heading down the hill; she does a really early morning ride from the
other direction, and we frequently pass on Kings. "This separates the
men from the boys" she yells, to which I reply "Or the stupid from the
stupider!" But like I said, it really wasn't all that bad. Maybe
next time.
11/05/02- REPEAT OF 10/31 RIDE, ONLY WORSE!
Don't know if it's the upcoming weather change or what, but
the three of us, myself, Ueyn & Kevin, were all feeling so slow this morning
that we chose to ride up through the back side of Huddart Park up to King's
Mtn, mostly because it makes the time to the top almost meaningless (it adds
a bit of distance as well as some steeper sections that bog you down).
Normally, at the top of Huddart Park you exit the steep section and make a
welcome right-hand turn onto King's Mtn about one-third of the way to the
top. Normally it's welcome, that is. Today, even though that
turn marks the end of the steep stuff, none of us felt like the tough part
was behind us. Some days you get the hill, some days the hill gets
you. We fought the hill and the hill won.
Overall, what's the difference between a really fast ride and one like
today? For starters, on fast days the slower members of our group take
27-29 minutes to get up Kings. On a slow day (sometimes known as a
"High Gravity Day") the fastest riders will be lucky to break 30 minutes.
On a fast day, everyone looks forward to the relatively new extension of the
ride, the loop down 84 towards the coast and back up Old LaHonda. On a
day like today, people look for reasons to bail out.
11/04/02- NOT THE RIDE I'D PLANNED SUNDAY
but still fun. There were supposed to be several of us doing a ride to
Santa Cruz and bike, about 100 miles, at a moderate pace. But
something came up with everyone but Kevin, and even he couldn't do 100 miles
since he had to be back by 1pm. So instead we headed up Old LaHonda,
down to the coast, traveled inland a couple times on our way north to Half
Moon Bay and then up 92 and south on Skyline to King's Mtn, for a total of
60 miles. A much tougher pace in the hills than I'd planned; what I
really feel I need right now are some longer, relatively easy rides (and the
weather forecast for next weekend doesn't make it look too likely anytime
soon!).
11/01/02- A WHOPPER OF A TALE,
but it's true! Took the day off and went fishing with my
almost-10-year-old son. Up to this point, fishing is about as much as
we'd mastered. That catching thing seemed terribly elusive. But
today that changed. Drove to Del Valle reservoir, near Livermore, and
rented a small motorboat to cruise the lake and try our hand at trolling.
Seems a bit strange, cruising along at a walking pace, hoping something gets
interested in whatever you're dragging behind. Kinda boring, too.
After a bit I spotted a small cove where I figured, if I were a fish, I
might hang out there (I'd also noticed that some rather experienced-looking
anglers were spending time in other inlets).
Took about five minutes and my son was claiming he had a fish on the line.
I, of course, was certain that he'd snagged it on a rock, but then there was
this thing where the reel was spinning backward against something, and it
wasn't because the boat was drifting. Dang, my worst nightmare, he'd
hooked a real fish! Turned out to be about a 14", maybe 4lb largemouth
bass, way bigger than anything I'd expected to see. The not-so-fun
part was the amount of time it took to remove the hook from its mouth, long
enough that I had to warn him that we might not be able to release it.
Eventually I got the fish free, and my son was one proud kid. Well,
no, he now calls himself an Angler. Maybe someday he might be a
cyclist? But for now an Angler isn't all that bad.
What, no cycling angle? Of course there is. On the way back
home, we went through downtown Livermore and I finally got a chance to stop
at Livermore Cyclery, owned by the Howards, whom I've known for years.
Very nice place, very good people. If you live in the East Bay, I
can't think of a better place to go for your cycling needs.
10/31/02- BOY, THAT WAS HARD!
You know how sometimes you go to bed kind of dreading that morning ride (not
wanting to admit it to anyone, of course!), but once you get out on the bike
everything just feels so great and you remember why riding a bike is such a
wonderful thing? This morning wasn't one of those days. The body
just wouldn't get going, as if my blood had been replaced with recycling
90-weight sludge. By the time I got to King's Mtn, I was able to force
my legs to do their job, but that's what it felt like, a job. Once on
Skyline things were a bit better, but it was one of those rides where the
reward comes from having done it, and feeling much better afterward.
Four of us today; myself, Kevin, Ueyn and Mark.
10/30/02- YOU'RE SCARING ME!
Yes, you.
We recently changed servers and have access to better logfiles
and reports than previously. For example, since 10/15/02 (only 15 days
ago), we've had 15,354 views of this page (um, not quite... more like 3000
when I rechecked the logs, but that's still quite a few!). I must be reading the
report incorrectly. Otherwise, guys like Ueyn & Kevin, who end up on
this page frequently, are going to start demanding royalties!|
CREDIT GIVEN WHERE CREDIT DUE.
I should have pointed out a few days ago that I got help with the
non-underlined-until-moused-over text links from Richard Brockie, who showed
me the code used by the
Fremont
Freewheelers. Of course, I just noticed that he doesn't use such
techniques on his
own website. Hmm.
10/29/02- BACK TO NORMAL,
thank goodness. Ueyn, Bruce, Mark, Steve and Kevin in attendance on
this morning's ride, and, while it was a little cool at the beginning (47
degrees through Woodside), once we got on the hill, it was a nearly-constant
58-59 degrees for the next 20 miles. Very nice, pleasant day to ride,
although it did seem the diesel and chimney fumes were hugging the ground.
Kevin's looking quite strong after his return from the Ironman, and Ueyn
nearly made it to the top with him, getting a time just under 27 minutes.
Me? I like to watch. Trouble is, you have to get up faster than
28:50 if you want to see the leaders finish!
10/27/02- IS THIS THE END OF EVERYTHING?
That's what my almost-10-year-old son asked, as the Giants made their final
out and lost the World Series to Anaheim. But it's over, which is good
for the bike biz, and, in a totally-selfish sort of way, it's even better
for business because the Giants lost, just as it is when the 49ers tank one.
All those people who feel stupid that they gave up time they could have been
riding (or ended up doing honey-do things earlier when they'd normally
ride), well, they're now released and will recognize that cycling is that
one true constant in their life, that one thing that's always reliable,
always there for them.
10/26/02- I HATE THE RALLY MONKEY.
There. Now I feel so much better. In case you don't know what
I'm talking about, it's that darned Anaheim Angels mascot in the World
Series.
Sigh. One more night watching baseball, but at least tomorrow night it will
be dark when it starts (5pm) with daylight savings time ending, so it's not
like it's going to shorten a bike ride!
I'm also pretty tired of that "monkey with a cold" Sprint commercial!
Hopefully it will end with the World Series.
10/24/02- FAN MAIL? NOT!
We've had the Killer Squirrel web page up
for nearly five years now, with all manner of submissions by readers of our
website. And, I've kept a lot of them off the page, because
they were simply too gory, or indicated a disregard for animal life etc.
But today I got our first-ever email questioning my judgement and morals.
Read it for yourself on
the Killer Squirrel page, as well as my response.
This morning's roll call? Kevin, Ueyn, Dick and myself.
Dick? Who's Dick? That would be Dick Kiser, our sales manager in
Redwood City, resident mile-dog. It's been maybe a year, perhaps more,
since he last made it out to one of our Tuesday/Thursday rides up King's Mtn.
Perhaps we'll see more of him in the future!
10/23/02- BRRR! Tomorrow
morning feels like it's going to be the first real taste of winter.
Sure, it got down to 44 degrees Tuesday morning, but that just didn't seem
all that cold. Tonight there's a chill in the air that's somehow
colder than the actual temperature. And today marked the first time
the home heater was turned on since... May? Not really sure, but it's
been a long time!
Yes, sure, us Californians really are wimps.
10/23/02- TRAP DOORS & MISSING LINKS-
two things I forgot to mention yesterday. The first refers to an
entire field of trap-door spiders found as you're climbing Old LaHonda on
the west side. It's on your right as you're about a mile or so from
the top, and the only time you'll see it is when there's a bit of dampness
in the air, exposing the hundreds of webs laid in a veritable minefield that
would be impossible for a bug to miss. I keep forgetting to bring my
camera and get a shot of it. One of these days...
The other item is a change to the way pages are linked on our website.
Normally, links are underlined, but I'm trying to clean things up a bit and
use links that are blue & bold, but not underlined. Like this link to
our King's Mtn ride page.
The problem is whether people will understand that it's a link!
10/22/02- UEYN, KEVIN, BRUCE, STEVE, MARK...
did I leave anybody out? As the days get shorter, we find an
increasing number of people on our morning rides up King's, probably because
they can't get in an evening ride after work. Kevin's just back
from the Ironman in Hawaii, Ueyn's dealing with a painful back that a
Chiropractor says is a result of a tilted hip, Steve's out to prove
that sprinting is an ageless art, Mark is simply enjoying the ride and I'm
out there because somebody has to keep these guys honest when everyone
agrees not to ride hard on the last part (Old LaHonda's west side), an
agreement that lasts for about the first 30 feet after you turn onto it, and
then all hell breaks loose.
10/20/02- YOU RUN INTO THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A BIKE.
I got out on a short ride this afternoon, after wasting
part of the morning watching the 49er game, then a few honey-do things,
finally heading out about 3:30 or so. Figured I'd have a nice quick
ride up Old La Honda and back down 84, nothing too ambitious, just keep the
legs loose and make sure I didn't feel like I spent the whole day in front
of a TV, watching football and baseball. So I'm cruising across
Woodside Road (at Roberts) and spot Sal, someone who's done quite a few of
the epic rides on our site, heading nowhere in particular. So we head
on up together, enjoying what had to be about the perfect weather to climb.
64-69 degrees, no wind, really nice out! But the curious thing was how
many bikes were heading down Old La Honda.
Found out why. At the top of Old LaHonda we headed north on Skyline to
Sky L'Onda, and then down 84.
 Usually,
you worry a bit about some hot-shot thinking you're not fast enough and
trying to pass you where it's not safe. Either that or you're stuck
behind Grandma driving 15mph the whole way. But not today. Today
was fine. For about half a mile. And then 84 became a parking
lot, at least in the downhill direction. Solid stopped cars, literally
for over two miles, with us trying to ride a precariously-narrow piece of
shoulder, dodging rear view mirrors all the way. Not fun! The
problem is that stoplight they installed near the bottom, where they're
doing the construction work. Normally not a big deal, but today, you
had people coming back from the Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay, and it
had to be nightmare for everyone in a car. We got down in maybe 25
minutes, but I'll bet cars were stuck there for way over an hour.
On the way back, we rode Godetia, a shortcut from Canada
to Jefferson, for extra credit. That's Godetia in the photo on the
right, and it's way steeper than it looks. Mercifully short though.
If you've never ridden it, it's the first street you come to after passing
the back entrance to Canada College as you're heading north on Canada.
10/16/02- IF YOU GO INFINITELY FAST, DOES THE
ROAD BECOME SMOOTH AS GLASS? Don't think I'll ever find
out, but did have some fun on Tripp Road towards the end of this morning's
ride, as I decided to see if I could hold 25mph+ on it and see what it felt
like. Not quite smooth as glass, but definitely a lot less bumpy than
normal. Nice morning for a ride, with Harry, another guy whose name I
forgot (but I've got to remember to call Kreitler to order a roller for) and
met up with Ueyn on the way back.
10/15/02- WE'RE STILL UP! A
nearly-seamless transition from one web server to another, the only glitch
being about 10 minutes when you could get chainreaction.com but not the
aliased chainreactionbicycles.com, because I didn't specify something
properly. The web is such fun!
Tuesday's ride went very nicely, despite a very heavy overcast that made it
appear we'd be riding in the clouds. Showing up were Ted, Steve L and
Bruce, riding the extended version (which has now become the norm) which
takes us up Kings, south on Skyline, down the west side of 84 as far as the
old red barn, and then head back to Skyline via the west side of Old LaHonda,
then north on Skyline a bit and down 84. As foggy as it was, the roads
were curiously dry! Yet another great time on a bike.
10/14/02- WATCH THIS SPACE,
but hopefully you won't see anything change! We're moving our website
from an older "webfarm" to a newer, more modern one that will be easier for
me to update, especially when I travel. But the process of making the
changes is rather scary, since, if I typed in the wrong configuration info,
the website will simply cease to exist (until I figure out how badly I
fouled up and fix it). Cross your fingers!
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to riding up the hill tomorrow morning.
Don't know if Kevin will be with us, as he's got the Ironman Triathlon
coming up in Hawaii this Saturday. Go Kevin!
10/10/02- BICYCLING CURES EVERYTHING.
At least for me! Something hit me late yesterday, started feeling a
bit tired (even sleepy), a few aches & pains... some sort of present from
Las Vegas, no doubt. Go to bed wondering what it's going to be like
after a week off the bike, riding up the hill. Well, as usual, it was
great! Ueyn, Bob & Steve showed up, and we had a fun ride up the hill
in cooler weather that reminds us summer's just a memory now. First
time with leg warmers. Sigh. But sure felt better after the
first couple minutes on the bike, and even better now. That bike
thing... it's pretty cool!
10/09/02 YEAH, WE RACKED UP! Getting
Lance's autograph on a few of my photos was pretty cool. Even cooler
was what went on yesterday morning, final day of the show. TREK has
been taking a position of leadership in advocacy issues having to do with
cycling, and decided to put on a big-time Lance event in the main exhibit
hall. So they had Rob Roll, OLN's irascible commentator, do an
interview with Lance on a stage in the middle of the TREK booth.
Basically, the show ground to a half for nearly an hour! The only
people without eyes riveted to that stage were some of the Taiwan vendors
who seized the opportunity to have a quick smoke in the hallways.
But what about the advocacy stuff? Well, John Burke, TREK president,
and also president of Bikes Belong, a cycling lobby group in Washington DC,
had a raffle for people who had made donations to the various groups trying
to make the US a better place for cycling. We'd been planning to join
Bikes Belong anyway, and added IMBA (a mountain-biking organization), CTC
(California Transportation Commission) and the LAW (League of American
Wheelman) to the mix.
What was being raffled? Oh, not much, just a bunch of signed jerseys,
hat, limited-edition Graham Watson
photos (I really wanted one of those!), and a couple other things. Oh
yeah, we won a new custom-painted Lance Armstrong 5500 frameset, autographed
on the spot by Lance himself. Grand Prize as it were!
But somebody needs to bop my brother Steve upside the head just a bit.
About an hour later, we're in one of the exhibitor's booths and the rep asks
Steve how the show's going for us. Steve answers that it's "OK."
OK??? Like, I ask him, how could it possibly be any better???
The frame will be on display in our Los Altos store in about a week.
10/07/02 10:30pm NOW YOU'LL KNOW
why I'm staying longer than I'd like at the Las Vegas Interbike trade
 show, and
missing my usual Tuesday/Thursday morning ride. Pictures don't lie...
what can I say... the chance to actually say hi to Lance and get him to sign
a couple of photos I took... it just couldn't be passed up. So my
brother Steve (in the photo on the right) and I find ourselves at Morton's Steak House, with a bunch of
other TREK dealers, waiting for our moment with Lance.
At first you're thinking it's kinda silly, a whole lot of people stuffed
into a small room, waiting for the greatest cyclist of our generation to
grace us with his presence. And, who knows, he just might not show at
all! It's happened before, most notably at a post-race Tour
de France party a couple years ago, when legend has it he chose to go out
drinking with Robin Williams instead.
But, right on schedule, there he is, suddenly at the front of the room,
having arrived there by some form of invisible conveyance such that
nobody saw him enter, even though many were watching. I'm told he just
came right in the front door...
 As for
the photos Lance signed, I'd have to say we scored big. Bigger
than big. Lance got personal, "editorializing" one of my most
memorable photos of him, the one on Alpe d'Huez, right after he took off and
left Ulrich in the dust. The one where the guy in the big floppy hat
moved into the photo at the last moment, ruining the shot.
Ruined? Maybe not! Things have a
way of turning out the way they ought to, and it seems that the guy in the
floppy hat served a purpose after all. Something that didn't occur to
me at the time, or even later, but Lance picked up instantly. When
I gave the photo to Lance, he looked at it kind of funny, and I was thinking
maybe he couldn't tell what was going on, or where he was in the photo.
Uh, no. What I got back was a signed photo, with a line through the
name on the floppy-white-hat-guy's jersey. A line through the "Cofidis"
name, the team that cut Lance instead of believing he could come back from
cancer.
Needless to say, I'm thrilled.
 10/07/02
6:30pm- THIS IS LAS VEGAS, AFTER ALL. And
what would Las Vegas be without an Elvis sighting? Better yet, a dual
Elvis sighting, one full-size, one mini-me version. The things people
will do to try and sell a product! And then there are the infamous
Marzocchi girls, women chosen to showcase something other than product
knowledge. They've been a staple of the show for a number of years,
clad in attire that's more commonly found on the sidestreets along the
strip. I recall a time when they were something you could depend on
for an interesting diversion, but now? Seems like they're just a bit
on the scary side! Sorry no photos, but PG13 is as far as we'll push
this website's rating.
10/07/02-
MEANWHILE, AT THE INTERBIKE TRADE SHOW...So why do you go to
a trade show? Well, you never know where that next cool product's
coming from. A year or two ago we discovered the Tirefly, this cool
little blinking LED light that attaches to your valve and lights up as
you're riding. Stupid, fun, & we sold quite a few. But a really
tough one to top! Yeah, I know, we're supposed to be checking out the
latest carbon cranks from FSA, or see what Colnago's new paint job's like,
or find out if there's such a thing as a lugged steel frame anymore (pretty
much not). But most of that stuff will come to us, as distributors
visit the shop trying to hawk their wares. All except the Colnago, but
we just want to look at those, not buy them (they're way expensive and have
one of those "Warranty? If you have to ask about a warranty, this
isn't the frame for you" type of attitudes).
 The
younger people on our staff really enjoy the trade show, since they often
aren't around when the distributors come by with the latest & greatest
tubeless ATB tire. And they're still blown away when they spot an Eddy
Merckx (shown in the photo signing autographs) or Greg LeMond in a casual setting. But us old farts have
business to conduct, credit managers to get to know (credit managers are
very important people in any business), and roller coasters to ride.
Oops. OK, there is some fun involved! Or was supposed to be,
but, after walking a couple miles to New York New York hotel, we found the
way-cool roller coaster shuts down at 11pm (what's with that?) and it was
11:45.
Found out that Gary Fisher is a regular "diary" reader
here! I've probably known Gary about as long as anyone else in this
biz, going back to the days when I was a junior racing for Pedali Alpini and
he was a young senior with Marin (not related to the current bike company).
In fact, Gary Fisher's the only person who ever called me up on the phone
and threatened me with great bodily harm, something he probably doesn't
remember (as they say, if you remember the 60s & 70s, you weren't there).
That's a story for another time.
10/05/02- ROAD
TRIP (AGAIN)! But nothing so exciting as France I'm
afraid. It's off to Las Vegas for the Interbike Trade Show. I'll
be gone until Tuesday evening, which means I'll be missing the regular
Tuesday morning ride. I should also mention that our Redwood City
location, which is normally open on Mondays, will be closed, and on Tuesday
will be minimally staffed. Best to wait until Wednesday for anything
you need taken care of.
10/04/02- RODE
WITH MY DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL TODAY- WHAT AN EYE OPENER!
- The bike lane along the busiest street is narrow, the cars encroach on
it as they get ready for a right-hand turn onto another very busy street,
and the vegetation on the side is so overgrown it lashes out at you
as you ride.
- The crosswalk across from the school has a push-button, but the cycle
runs FIVE MINUTES. Seriously. You get someone who's worried about being
late for school, you've encouraged them to walk or ride, and they
encounter something like that... while the cars in the left turn lane get
a green signal... what's the message?
- The main drag in front of the school is littered with debris in the
bike lane, so much so that I'm amazed I didn't get a flat.
- The bike racks, located in the car parking lot, have been shoved
together to make room for another car space. There are two of them, at a
90 degree angle, so the first four or five spots of each are useless.
ARRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!
10/03/02- WHY WE RIDE.
Sometimes it's not even about us, sometimes it's what we can help other
people with. Sure, it's great to get out there in the morning, climb
the hill and feel like you've accomplished something for the day. But
it's even better when someone else shows up and says that he wouldn't have
been out there if he didn't know that someone else would be.
10/01/02- OLD
FRIENDS, NEW FRIENDS, GREAT ROADS, what's not to like?
Steve Lubin, one of the organizers of the Old Farts ride below, showed up
this morning for the ride up King's Mtn, along with Ueyn Block, and Ted
Zayner was waiting for us at the top. Steve and I go way back, as he
was one of the "elders" of Pedali Alpini when
I began racing. Let's see, I'm 46 now, Steve's 53, that would have
made him a whopping 23 years old! Fortunately, Ueyn (late 20s) was
very kind to us this morning, and we had a very enjoyable ride up the hill.
Hey, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
I rode
my '71 Cinelli again too, which is kinda fun but also makes you realize just
how much nicer bikes are today. Modern bikes have brakes that stop
you, gears that shift and don't slip when you're climbing, and a more
comfortable ride. What's not to like?
09/29/02- SORRY
FOR ALL THE MISSING DIARY ENTRIES! I've got a lot of
catching up to do, but rest
 assured we did get back Thursday afternoon from
France, and today (Sunday) is both the first day I've felt relatively free
from jet-lag and, perhaps more importantly, my first day back on the bike in
nearly two weeks. Interesting ride, the annual "Old Farts" event for
racers from the mid-60s to very early 70s. I barely made the cut-off
date, but there was somebody a year younger than I in attendance. Lots
of fun, and gave me an excuse to ride my '71 Cinelli again. Also
working on a new page about traveling through France and specifics on getting around
in Paris via the Metro.
09/26/02- OK, FOR
THOSE IN NORCAL IT'S 09/25/02 and my France trip is about
over. Sorry for the lack of daily entries, but there has been zero
free time for updating the website, and since this is a personal, but
business trip, and this being Paris, the city of romance, and I'm here with
my wife... there are other things to do in the evenings besides spending a
couple hours on the website. But not to worry, I'll be catching up
shortly after I return, hopefully late Thursday (that's when I return, not
when I catch up!).
09/22/02- THE DAYS ARE JUST PACKED is
an understatement. We've almost become blasé about Metro, and today
added to our list of accomplishments our first SNCF rail trip, out to
Monet's house in Giverny. Actually, you take the train as far as
Vernon and then either take a cab or bus the final six kilometers. But
why, when instead you can rent a bike for just $12? Well... those
bikes weren't worth $12 if you had to buy them
 outright!
But it did help me to understand that a bike will continue running, even
with nearly all of its components falling apart, misadjusted or even with
flat tires. If you check out the photo, you'll see that even the rear
quick release is used dangerously incorrectly, with the lever screwed on
instead of clamped, allowing the wheel to pull out of the frame under
pressure. But we made it, and it probably took a lot less time getting
there and back on bike than it would have waiting for a bus or taxi.
Actually, there was one little side trip we did shortly
before taking the train to Giverny. The SNCF train to Giverny wasn't
leaving for an
 hour and a
half, so we took Metro line 1 up to the Grand Arch at the end of the line.
Pretty cool place, but I have no idea what that statue of a thumb is for.
Can someone enlighten me on this?
When we got back to Paris after that little excursion
(actually, a nearly all-day event), we ate at a nice Brasserie not too far
from our hotel, and did what the locals do... set up the chairs so they're
facing the street and watch the people go by. It's really a lot of
fun, making up stories about who people are, what they do and where they're
going, and especially trying to figure out if they're locals.
 After that
it was off on the Metro once again, this time to the Eiffel Tower. My
thought was that it might be spectacular at night, and the lines might be
pretty short, since Sunday night is probably when most people have left for
home and the new influx of tourists won't arrive until sometime Monday.
Call me correct on that one! Walk right up, buy your tickets and
you're on top before you know it, no waiting anywhere.
Tomorrow we're off on the TGV to Avignon, in the south of
France.
09/21/02- BACK IN
FRANCE AGAIN! Seems I just can't
get enough of this place, but it's a bit different this time, since there's
no business, not even any bicycling involved, just myself and my wife seeing
the place. The past three trips I've learned quite a bit about getting
around (more than just basic survival skills) so, when I saw some combo
flight/hotel deals that looked too good to be true, jumped at the chance.
 The
flight over was a bit better than expected, as United had overbooked the
direct flight we were originally scheduled on, so they routed us on a
connecting flight via Dulles (Washington DC). Cool thing about Dulles
is that they still have those "smoker zoos" within the airport- glassed-in
sections where the puffers get to look really desperate and stupid to
everyone on the outside looking in.
Oh yeah, and they upgraded our segment from Dulles to
Paris to Business Class. Have you ever flown Business Class? For
that matter, anything other than cattlecar-class coach? I hadn't, and
I'd always wondered what went on behind those drawn curtains, and the
warnings to use the bathrooms in your own compartment. Well, you know
how, in your mind, you really resent the sort of person who's able to fly
like that, because you imagine they're getting all sorts of special
treatment that you aren't? You're right, they are! For starters,
you get a seat that's so comfortable that you almost don't want to go to
sleep in it. You also get more legroom than almost anybody could
possibly use, and, when the person in front of you moves their seat all the
way down? It's still much further from you than a coach seat fully
upright!
You want to talk food? Again, you have no idea.
You actually have a printed menu with a few items to choose from, and the
stuff actually tastes decent. A wine list. Your nuts are served
to you in cups, not little plastic things that are impossible to open and,
my wife noted, it was all pecans, cashews and macadamia nuts... not one
single peanut among them.
 For
this trip I'm based in Paris, where I'd spent the final three days of my
last TDF junket. That last time I got around entirely by foot or Open
Bus (these big double-decker yellow busses that you pay $24 for and drive
all over town, allowing you to get on and off as often as needed), but this
time I've mastered the Paris Metro (subway), RER (urban rail system) and a
bit more of the SNCF (high-speed trans-country rail). RER, by the way, is
where a band of mariachis got on board and started playing weird
south-of-the-border versions of classic American songs, and then passed
around a tin cup.
When I get back I'll be posting detailed instructions on
the Metro, RER and SNCF, all the stuff you'd really like to know but isn't
included in the stuff they send you (like how to work the ticket machines in
the metro, which isn't terribly difficult, but something that you needlessly
dread ahead of time
 because
nobody tells you!).
Oh, almost forgot, across the street from our hotel is
Pizza Bruno! I had no idea that Bruno, our service manager in Redwood
City, had a side business in Paris.
More to come soon, but got to get to sleep shortly as
another big day ahead of us tomorrow- probably a trip to Giverny, to see
Monet's home and the actual garden found in so many of his paintings.
Today we visited the Orsay Museum, quite a magnificent place and much easier
to see than the immense Louvre. One of the more surprising pieces to
find there is the famous painting "Whistler's Mother", which is almost
entirely forgotten next to all manner of impressionist paintings by the
likes of Money, Van Gogh and Renoir. Of course, it also happens to be
entirely out of place in those surroundings! |
09/18/02- A VERY SAD DAY
TODAY.
This afternoon Jim Latham, a former employee of ours from way, way
back, and who, for the past many years has worked for Garner's bike shop
down the street, came by to let us know that Mike Garner, their owner, had
died of a heart attack while on a bike ride. Mike was only 48, with a
wife and four kids, as well as the bike shop. Things hadn't been going
easy for them as they'd recently closed their Palo Alto location and were
operating just out of their Redwood City store, and now this. I've
known Mike for 31 years, not really well, as he traveled in different
circles than I, but he was part of the group of peninsula cyclists that I
grew up with. It's particularly difficult dealing with my feelings on
this as I prepare to head to France tomorrow morning with my wife for the
next week. Please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers, and
the shop as well.PS: If you send emails
during the next week, it will probably be a bit of time before I get around
to replying. I'll be back a week from Friday, but it will take several
days to catch up with everything.
09/17/02- A BIT DIFFERENT RIDE TODAY
as Kevin didn't feel like hitting up too many hills,
so after the top of King's Mtn we headed north to 92 and then back on
Canada. In fact, Kevin didn't even want to ride up Kings, but we
talked him into it, telling him we'd (myself & Ueyn) take it easy... and we
actually did! Also had a newcomer along, Mark, who'd ridden with us
once before. Now, we could give Kevin a bad time for not wanting it
push the pace up the climb, but one has to remember that the guy's already
done a hard swimming workout before we see him!
09/15/02-
SF GRAN PRIX PHOTOS UP
but not a whole lot of them, things didn't work out too well
for taking pictures. But I did meet Lance Armstrong's mother (very
nice person). Lots of people there this year, even more than last!
09/14/02- SF GRAN PRIX
TOMORROW and we're going to be there! We even
closed our Los Altos store (which is normally open Sundays) so staff and
customers can attend. Lance & George Hincapie will be the obvious fan
favorites, although there will be some local guys on the streets too,
including Tracy Colwell, one of our long-time customers and former
Tuesday/Thursday morning Chain Reaction rider. Afraid he kind of
outgrew us, especially when he posted that 19:51 time up the hill some years
back. We'll (obviously) have a page up after the race with photos.
09/14/02- RECORD LeMOND SALES
in our Redwood City store today. In fact, I think that's all that was
going out the door! I normally don't talk much about the commercial
aspects of our business in these pages, but it was a rather exceptional day
in that we typically sell far more TREKs than LeMonds (due largely to the
huge number of 5200s we sell). Seems that people can't pass up a
killer $999 deal on a bike, whether it was the Klein Adept Comp special we
had some months ago, or the current one on the '02 Alpe D'Huez. Life
could be worse!
09/12/02- ANOTHER GREAT DAY TO BE ON A BIKE!
Sure, a bit cool and slightly-foggy
at the start, but no more than halfway up King's Mtn and it warmed up to the
mid-60s and stayed that way for the rest of the ride. Kevin, Ueyn and
Ted Zayner showed up, and we enjoyed a detour through Huddart via Greer
Road, connecting back to King's Mtn at the park entrance. Our extra
loop that we've added, Old LaHonda's west side, has really become something
to look forward to. It adds about six miles of very pleasant riding,
especially Old LaHonda itself, where I don't believe we've seen a single car
the past 10 or so times we've been on it.
09/10/02- KA-BLAM!
We'll get to that in a minute. Nice ride
this morning, good to get out before it got too hot. Had a ringer show
up, John Thompson, who's a Cat-1 racer and also happens to be our TREK rep.
Toss in Kevin Keenan and you've got the makings of a first-class
testosterone brigade. Ueyn & I comprised the mortal contingent, with a
new guy showing up that I forgot the name of. Poor guy, any other day
and things wouldn't have been quite so fast!
I did find a way to hang with the a bit longer with the
tough guys. Since this is a "social" ride, there's a bit of talking,
which can quickly put you out of breath if you're not in shape. Got
smart this time. When they'd ask me a question, I'd answer with either
a thumbs-up, thumbs-down or just a flat palm (so-so). Worked pretty
good! But around the entrance to Huddart Park I shut down and
waited for the new guy and rode the rest of the way with him.
As is customary lately, we've added a bit of extra mileage
to the route by heading west on 84 instead of east, and climbing back on Old
LaHonda. About 50 feet into Old LaHonda, bam, my front tire was sliced
nearly an inch by a big piece of glass. First flat in about a year,
guess it was my turn!
09/08/02- DID A TEST RUN TO
WOODSIDE HIGH SCHOOL with my freshman daughter, wife and 4th-grade
son. The idea was to see if it was really practical to have her ride
to school, as well as see if the three of them could make it back up the 370
foot climb to our house. It actually went quite well, all things
considered. Only took 18 minutes to get there, where we had a picnic
lunch and a tour of the campus before heading back home. Not quite so
fast getting back, but still only took about 40 minutes or so, much faster
than I expected. Of course, it might not be so practical (or at least
she'll claim that's the case) when she has a backpack with a ton of books in
it!
The bike rack itself is a rather sad sight,
sitting in a corner of the school's parking lot, with space for, at most,
twenty bikes. Twenty bikes for a school with over 2,000 students.
And I'm told the bike rack is never full. I'm going to work to change
that, one bike at a time, starting with my daughter. Something wrong
about that statistic that says only 2% of kids walk or ride to school now,
vs 30% twenty years ago.
09/05/02- OUCH, THAT HURT!
We had two very strong riders
today, Kevin and Pat, pushing the pace up King's Mtn (and pushing
considerably faster than my 27:24 time). The fun part was up on
Skyline, the section past Skegg's Point where it flattens out and the
stronger riders take hard pulls. Pat was a man possessed, pulling at
31mph on a section that I can't do better than 28 (and that's on a very good
day). Kevin tried to come around at one point, but it was useless...
31mph on the flats, with no tailwind... it's just too much. In fact,
it's so much that you're wondering how you can even hang onto the wheel, but
of course you realize that losing that wheel is going to be a lot more
painful than staying on it!
But that wasn't the
tough part. Kevin decided to show us a new road, a little offshoot
from 84 as you head west towards San Gregorio, named Kebet's Ridge I
believe. It takes a quick little drop and then goes up. For one
mile it goes up. Seriously up, 10-15% up in fact. And then, just
before the end, it stops going up. At that point it goes straight
up! Fortunately, for a mercifully-short period of time, and then
you're deposited at the end of the road, in front of a very large home with
a big friendly black lab. The climb is almost exactly 1 mile, and you
climb 530 feet. The first part of the descent is one of those time you
feel like it would be pretty easy to go over the bars. Yikes!
09/03/02- THANK GOODNESS
FOR FOG! After yesterday's heat,
it was really nice to be climbing King's Mtn in the mid-60s. Three of
us today, two officially (myself and Ueyn) and then we came across Eric, out
there for his morning wake-up ride. Eric seems to wake up pretty fast;
don't know what he'd be like later in the day!
09/02/02- FIRST CHAIN REACTION FISHING TRIP A
SUCCESS! From the viewpoint of
the fish, that is. We saved every possible fish in Loch Lomond we
could, by removing five boats and a certain amount of space on the lake from
someone who might have actually caught something! But I have faith
that eventually we'll screw up and some dumb fish will accidentally get
hooked on one of our lines.
09/01/02- SORRY, BUT THAT'S
NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE.
It's questionable that I should bring this up,
since a very good rule of business is not to diss customers. But this
one was beyond belief. I'm helping somebody on the sales floor and one
of our employees tells me there's a warranty issue I need to take a look at.
OK, fine, couple minutes and I'll be there. What I saw and heard
amazed me. This guy has (no, had) a
 perfectly-good 1993
TREK 8000 mountain bike that he'd cut a section of a chainstay out of.
And he was claiming it to be a warranty situation. Why? Says
that the frame just broke as he was riding along, and since he was worried
that somebody else might try to ride it, he naturally sawed out part of the
tube.
OK. I've heard
just about everything in 31 years of bicycle retail, why not? But you
look at the frame closely, and you look at the cut-out section of tube, and
there is no evidence whatsoever of anything other than hacksaw cuts
on the tube. At this point, you also need to understand that I take
mutilation of a perfectly-good bicycle frame very personally. To me,
it's like taking a crayola to the Mona Lisa. The customer
insists that the only reason I'm not going to take care of it is because I'm
going to eat the labor, since, of course, TREK will take care of the frame.
Well guess what? Nobody is going to get something that's
obviously a result of abuse past us. Every other decent customer
loses in a situation like that, because you raise the costs for everyone in
order to take care of illicit claims.
I'm still upset about this. Normally, I live by the
idea that the more sure you are about something, the more likely it is that
you're wrong. So you have to try and figure out how you've totally
blown it, how it actually was a legit claim and you did a terrible injustice
to the customer. Right. I thought that for a minute, but, just
as the customer was leaving the store, I realized what had really happened.
Somebody had either lost a key for a lock or was trying to steal the bike,
and sawed through the tube to free it from its shackles. And
then had the audacity to claim the frame was defective. If the
customer returns, calling the police may be the appropriate response.
08/27/02- WE WON!
Well, it's not really a contest or anything, but Chain
Reaction was just presented with an award recognizing us as the #1 Klein
dealer in the US! Also got a chance to ride the '03 Klein Palomino, an
awesome dual-suspension mountain bike based on the Maverick design.
Wow! We're going to be selling a lot of them. I'd initially been
concerned that it was going to be an overly technical bike, something that
would take time to learn how to ride and appreciate. Nothing could be
further from the truth... you just get on it and go. Even a klutz like
me. We're going to be selling a lot of Kleins next year.
08/21/02- WHAT WILL I
REMEMBER MOST
from a few days I spent in the mountains with my family?
Would it be renting a mountain bike so I could ride the trail around the
lake, and noticing the front quick release was installed incorrectly (so the
wheel could drop out)? Or sneaking in a road bike ride over Pacific
Grade? Maybe the night-time trip to the lake to fish, with my son
saying maybe it was time to leave, because the wolves might get us?
Nah, must have been when, after spending two hours on a boat on the lake
fishing (not catching!), we're heading back to the ramp only to see them
re-stocking the lake with a whole lot of big fish for someone else to catch?
None of the above. It was the sight of my son
standing next to the bed this morning at 6:45am, asking if it was time to go
fishing.
Nice to be back, but fishing was a lot of fun (might be nice to try catching
though!).
08/18/02- GONE FISHING,
literally! Heading up to Alpine Lake (next to Bear Valley) with the
family, for a few days of fishing, horseback riding and just getting away
from the usual stuff my kids are more likely to do back home (video games,
theme parks, shopping...). So you won't be seeing me on Tuesday
morning, nor Todd, who's starting his cross-country training in the mornings
now. But Kevin and Ueyn might be there, so don't be afraid to show up.
If you don't see anybody by 7:50am, figure it's time to start heading up the
hill on your own!
08/15/02- FRESH MEAT
on our ride this morning. Aside from the usual suspects (myself, Todd
& Ueyn), Dave H, one of our customers a bit less accustomed to the fine art
of flogging oneself up a hill, showed up. Got him up there
considerably faster than his prior best time on Old LaHonda indicated would
be likely!
08/14/02- OLD DOGS LEARN
NEW TRICKS. That heart monitor
really has taught me a thing or two, most notably that I'd been screwing up
pretty badly for quite some time, trying to sync my breathing to my cadence
(while climbing). Don't do that! While it may seem logical and
almost elegant to do so, it can really mess you up, since your cadence while
climbing is typically unsteady, causing your breathing to go all over the
map. You'll climb much better if you force yourself to breathe fairly
steadily, deliberately un-syncing respiration from cadence.
08/13/02- EVER FEEL LIKE
YOU'VE SUDDENLY LOST 15 POUNDS
and can just fly up the hills? This
morning was like that. Can't say why, but I felt really, really good.
Not so good that I could drop Kevin, Ueyn and Todd, but good enough to get
another time under 27 minutes up King's Mtn, and good enough that the back
side of Old LaHonda was just plain fun. It was also nice that it was
my first "quiet" ride on my bike in several months, since I'd finally
replaced the terribly-noisy larger 3 cogs on my cassette.
[shameless plug mode /on] Here's the chart for this morning's ride from
my HAC-4 bike computer (you can e nlarge
it by clicking on it). The climb up King's Mtn begins at about 5
miles, and is pretty obvious from the heart rate section! It's amazing
that I went all these years without ever using one of these gadgets.
If you want to figure out the ride from the chart, check out the altitude
graph. The first little rise is my cruise over Jefferson to the start.
The dip in heartrate at about 3 miles is the formal start of the ride, Olive
Hill & Canada Road. The long rise is obviously King's Mtn, with the
top depicted by the sudden drop in heart rate. From there you climb a
bit more to the top of Skyline, and then descend down to the bottom of
Skyline and then down the west side of 84 to Old LaHonda (mile 17 or so).
From there you climb back up to Skyline, and it's pretty much all downhill
after that!
OK, so besides the cool gadget factor,
why do you want a heart monitor? Because it can help you to
relax. Yes, strange as that seems, it's not about flat-out max effort
all of the time when climbing a hill. You need to be as efficient as
possible, which means watching your heart rate and figuring out how to climb
at the same speed, but with a lower pulse. Or, better yet, the same
pulse but a higher speed! What I noticed today was that I was
breathing a lot better than normal, forcing myself to not get too ragged and
uneven. [shameless plug mode /off]
08/11/02- FLOATING AWAY
FROM YOUR DAUGHTER AFTER SHE GETS TOSSED OUT OF A RAFT
in the rapids is an interesting experience!
Made considerably more interesting by the fact that your guide was also
tossed out, but in an entirely different direction, and so you're suddenly
put in charge of figuring out what to do with a raft that now has yourself
and three other adults, none of whom speak English very well nor have proven
able to paddle at the same time.
Fortunately, it's
one of those things where so much is happening so fast that you don't really
get a chance to panic, and eventually get your raft over to the side of the
river and hope that your daughter finally gets a clue and heads down-river
towards you. You're yelling instructions to her, of course, but find
out later that she couldn't hear a thing due to the sound of all the water
crashing around her. But she does finally get a clue and floats
downstream towards us, making it to the raft about the same time our guide
finally does. But not, of course, before first trying to stand up in
the water, something you're told not to do, because you might get
your feet caught in rocks on the bottom, with the current then forcing your
body underwater. )But before thinking this all sounds too dangerous,
keep in mind that it's the South Fork of the American River, and if you
can't get back to your own raft, just wait a minute and another one will
coming along.) Too bad it wasn't one of those places where they take
the photos! Overall a very fun trip though, a pleasant diversion with
the kids.
08/08/02- AM I A SNAKE-OIL
SALESMAN OR WHAT? But it's really true, cycling does cure
just about anything that ails you. Got the blues? Go out and
ride and you'll feel better. Not feeling well? Same advice.
This morning I got out of bed not feeling the greatest, rather sore muscles
here and there, sort of like I've been fighting off a minor bug for the past
few days. Didn't really look forward to getting on the bike.
But, of course, I did... kinda wondered why for a few minutes, then started
to feel better, then much better, and in no time I was having fun.
Serious fun. Turned the day around by just riding my bike.
Some of the usual suspects showed up this morning, including
Bob (who took another minute and a half off his time up King's Mtn), Ueyn
and Todd. Beautiful morning, temps in the mid-60s. Great for
climbing!
08/06/02- CONGRATULATIONS
TO KEVIN KEENAN,
one of the regulars on our Tuesday/Thursday
morning rides up King's Mtn, who qualified at the Vineman Triathlon for the
big one in Hawaii.
This morning's ride had
myself, Todd & Kevin showing up. What, no sign of Ueyn? Kevin
thought he might have seen Ueyn on his way down King's to our starting
point, riding up the hill. Sure enough, as we started up King's Mtn,
there was Ueyn, riding down. Oh no! Now there is Ueyn, riding
back up after us! Seems Ueyn is doing intervals on King's Mtn.
Nasty stuff that makes you much stronger.
For myself, I tried something a bit different. Using
a heart monitor (the Ciclomaster Hac-4), I tried to keep my pulse below 160,
forcing myself to try and relax and steady my breathing. Got about
halfway up that way before having to abandon 160 in favor of 170. Felt
pretty good and relaxed, finishing in 27:21.
08/05/02- CLOSURE
finally. My missing luggage from France
finally arrived, so, as of this morning, I guess you could say that my
French adventure is over. Nearly two weeks this time, twice as long as
my previous two visits, and just long enough to get really settled in.
In some ways I think I tried to do too many things, especially that first
week, when the group I was in was dining in fancy restaurants, jetting
around to watch the race, and trying to get in some quick bike
rides. That was enough for most, but for me, after a late dinner, it
was off to my room to spend maybe two hours working on the diaries and
downloading photos. Once I was on my own, the fancy dining went by the
wayside, and that freed up at least an hour, maybe up to three, each day!
But I still won't admit where I bought a couple of my meals... but I'm
paying for that tomorrow morning, as I try to drag this flabby body up
King's Mtn.
08/01/02- BACK IN THE USA.
Arrived home from France last night, and, despite one of those
incredibly-long travel days (the type where you're up for a couple days
straight), managed to get up and go riding this morning. Took a bit of
improvising though, as one piece of my luggage, the one with my shoes &
pedals in it, has yet to make it back. So I used some ancient mountain
bike shoes and the SPD pedals off my wife's bike and you know what? It
felt just fine. Something about being back on schedule, back on the
usual King's Mtn morning ride, back with Bob and Ueyn, that just felt great.
Also nice just to be back on the bike again, since all of the riding I did
in France was in the first week, and it's been about 8 days since I've
turned a crank.
For entries from 7/18/02-7/31/02, PLEASE GO TO OUR FRANCE DIARY
page
07/18/02- ALL PACKED AND READY TO GO,
but had to get in the regular Tuesday/Thursday ride in first! Todd
Norwood, Ueyn Block and Bob (first time with us) in attendance. As is
usually the case, we don't settle for the new guy riding his/her usual time
up the hill... we go for the personal best! And we got it, as Bob
shaved over a minute and a half off his time up the hill. If he keeps
doing that for the next couple of weeks, he'll be in the TDF in no time!
And me? I'm off to France. Might be a couple days
before you hear from me again.
07/16/02- MAKE THAT A DIET COKE TO GO.
What, no Coke, Pepsi? Sorry, you've got the wrong guy! Or at
least that's what happened towards the end of this morning's ride.
Kevin Keenan, our most regular regular, is a big-time Diet Coke nut.
It's about all I've ever seen him drink. And this morning we did a
different loop than normal, skipping Kings Mtn (a car had overturned on Hwy
92, closing the road and putting a lot of traffic on Kings), so we did an
extended version of "the loop" which, on the return, brings us close to my
house. So I called my wife on the cell phone (while riding, and no, I
didn't use a hands-free kit) to see if we had any Diet Coke. Of
course, my wife hears me breathing heavily (I was climbing at the time I
made the call) and gets all worked up about something bad, like maybe I was
calling because I crashed or something. In the end it didn't matter,
no Diet Coke in the house, only Pepsi (and Kevin drinks only
Diet Coke!).
PS: And what does it mean when your
heart rate monitor shows no pulse? Well, that depends. For
example, if it takes more than 10 seconds to figure out that it's because
you're not wearing the transmitter, it could be an indication of IQ!
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