Putting His Brompton Where His Mouth Is

Many of you out there in the world outside the blogosphere have heard of a bicycle store in Portland, Oregon by the name of Clever Cycles. CC was started by Todd Fahrner who has become something of an internet friend of mine over the last year. Todd invented the Stoke Monkey, too.

A little bit ago, Todd informed me he would be riding to SF from Portland at the end of August. I was more than a little jealous. A long distance bicycle tour is a dream of mine that I hope to fulfill in the not too distant future. What makes the tour really interesting is that Todd has decided to make the journey on his daily ride- his Brompton.

He has made a few modifications to make the long distance a little easier, but overall, it is just a regular old, everyday Brompton.

Todd will not have his trusty dutch bicycle to carry his folder with on this trip, but he will have his hammock and his IPhone and his GPS. With a Twitter page to keep us updated, we can all see how all you need is a bicycle to get you where you are going as Todd follows the coast on his folder.

Good luck, Todd! Let me know when you are hitting the Golden Gate so I can take your finish line shots!!

Another 115

October 3, 2009. San Francisco to Point Reyes and back. This is what we looked like at the end of that ride.

This is what we looked like at the end of this ride.

This is what we looked like while we were riding.

There were hills. We rode up them. There was heat. We drank water. There were trees. We appreciated them. When beer:30 caught up with us in Fairfax, we answered the call. This is what we looked like.

I wonder if they have a Cucuy dark.

Beer needs appropriate music. Good thing there is always a jukebox when you need one.

The latest in ride fashion is Flashdance style. What a feelin', keep believin'...

Some of us had better hair than others. I think he goes to a special barber who makes sure the wind always hits him at exactly the correct angle.

Thus endeth the ride report. Ride on!

And stretch.

The 3 of us here in SF: Calitexican, Ade and I – kicked some butt and finished (last, but we finished!!) a 115K Brevet. Here as a quick teaser. I have a pic of our calitexican and the one on top borrowed from Adam's photostream of Grace, because I think they were at the same spot stretching, a bit earlier than us. Stretch those buff arms ladies!
More to come this week :D

Grace on flickr By TyrellVoightKampff

calitexican

We Return To The Scene Of The DFL

Last year at this time, as some of you may remember, Meli and I decided to try our hands at long distance riding. We took our first ride over 40 miles from San Francisco to Point Reyes and back with the SF Randonneurs.

It was a great time, and this weekend, we do it again! This time, we have the Calitexican to keep us company, along with several other friends and 120ish others! There were 35 people on last year's ride, many of them were experienced long distance riders. This year, there are a whole lotta new-to-distance riders that have signed up and I can't wait to see all their bright, shiny bicycle faces on Saturday morning!

Who knows? Maybe this year we won't be dead freakin' last, just among the dead freakin' last.

The idiots.

A couple of weekends ago we went on to a ride up north of San Francisco. We were ready to ride at 8AM on a sunny Saturday and we all joined the now annual Fairfax Foray. For those of you outside the Bay Area, the weekend mornings at the Golden gate bridge are hectic if you are on a bicycle. Not because happy tourists attempting to capture a memory of a majestic beautiful icon. Not because of our splendid mid 50° degree summer fog. Not because of our views. Yes, as locals we can never get tired of that. But there is something that happens on the north end of the bridge – the lycra bullies.

The verbal abuse the daily, normal, typically everyday people like me and my peers, and perhaps most of you that read this blog, get on this bridge on the weekend mornings, is certainly abusive.

I have always say I have met nice folks with full-on lycra that are very nice and sweet. That does not apply 90% of the time when I happen to be with my friends, on our-OUR Golden Gate Bridge.

So here to share, some of the things that I overheard within 2 minutes. Mind you, as the photos below show, the bridge was rather calm.
Too bad we intruded for these people, to shave 3 seconds of their time and some use of their bitter spit, to let us know what idiots we are.

As we turned the corner (it is pretty sharp) it goes like this:

"You are all idiots"
"Stopping in this spot is DANGEROUS"
"Move out of the f***ing way"
"Riding bikes on the bridge is very dangerous"

In front of me: Matt and Melyssa aka Calitexican

Behind me: Volker – laughing at 'danger'

I just have to laugh, and ride.
These *ssholes that go out of their way to insult us are plain out lame.

Do I see them riding butterlap everyweek?
No.
Do I see them dodging doors day in and day out throughout the city on a daily basis?
No.
Do they have fenders, because when you RIDE so much in the city, you *know* that was urine?
No.
Do they haul their fancy road bike up and down Bart, Muni, AC transit or CalTrain because they commute, went to a party, or are so tired after you went bike camping 100 miles away from here that you are just trying to get home?
No.
Are they having fun?
Certainly not.

So who are the idiots now?

We continued our ride, we can put up with the daily hussle in the city - these posers on lycra don't intimidate us one bit. Suckers.

They have no idea we rode to Fairfax, (about 18-20 miles up from SF) looking freaking happy and had a blast. There is no heart monitor to measure that nor energy bars to put up with us.

Of course, there are a handful that as fast and mean as they look, take a sec of their bridge experience to say normal things, like 'oh hello' or 'good morning'.
To remind you what idiots we are, here are some pictures of our ride.

and also, don't they know we are doing a century in August?! :D
Thanks for insulting, but try again later.

dat's rite!!!

Bike Girl

This is my daughter, Úna.

She is eleven years old and she is already an experienced bicycle commuter.

Úna rides all over town with us, in all kinds of places. Unlike many of her peers, she has a "real" bike- A lugged steel Trek Singletrack with fenders, a front basket, a rear rack, dedicated lights... for her birthday we bought her a Timbuk2 pannier bag. It was way too expensive for someone her age, but if she uses it as her book bag for the whole of middle school (which she plans to ride to), it will be a good purchase. We have started her on hauling cargo.

She has conquered the Paradise Loop, about 25 miles with hills,

and we are not sure, but it is possible she rode almost 30 miles on her 40 year old Columbia last Halloween when we brought her along for Critical Mass.

Kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Úna knows her way around town, she knows where the bike routes are, she knows how to signal her turns and how to hold her own. She has no fear of the road and just takes her time.

It also wears them out so they go to bed early.

Night & Day

Day time. Riding out to get some work done, pick up kids, return milk bottles...

Night time. Mid-week Butter Lap around town. Gotta get better at the hill climbing if I am going to make it in August.

Mix it up a bit. Just because you commute does not mean you can not race. Just because you like the open road does not mean you can't hit the street.

The Road Of A Hundred Miles

It should always begin with a restroom stop.

More to come.

Gloating Cometh Before the Pride

Just a short post here- on Sunday, James (aka Hubby the Bike Man) completed the SF Randonneurs' Russian River 200k ride. He finished DFL and thus retains his place on the semi-official CYLRAB Back of the Bus team.

It turns out that all you need to do to ensure back of the bus status is to ride a completely untested bike twice as many miles as you have ever completed previously after doing NO training.

Of course, after doing this it helps to have a wife to come home to at the end of the ride who treats the over used knees of weekend warriors for a living. Although said wife does get to gloat over the sore knees while she works on them. Especially when said wife usually only sees this husband's rear end in the distance as she tries in vain to get up any hill with some sense of dignity and before the following Thursday.

The Revolution Will Be Blogged

What is revolution and how do you know you are a part of it? I was thinking about this while I rode to pick up Declan from school. When you do something that makes people look at you askance, something that makes them think about how things are done, something that makes them uncomfortable you are on the path of the Revolutionary. When your actions challenge the status quo without destroying the individual you are on the path of Revolutionary. When it becomes obvious to you that the path you are on is the only one you can take because it will lead to the world you want to live in, you have started to become a Revolutionary.

When you see others do the same things, speak the same words, work for the same world, you have joined the Revolution.

From my place in it, it will look something like this-

Be revolutionary.

wednesday whispers of sundays past

a few sundays ago, friend of the blog *honeychild* and i went for a ride up twin peaks. there was a break in the rain and all i wanted to do was be outside.

i had a new steel tool at my disposal, new gearing, new fears. with *honeychild*'s encouragement, we went up. and up and up and up and up. and then when we got to the top, we saw this.

we busted out the bagels we had gotten at the cafe at the bottom of some hill or another. as we were nomnomming away, i spied some young man bounce off his fixie and jump and sit on the stone wall overlooking our gorgeous city all in one move like it was taking a breath of fresh air.

not to sound too SF or anything (ok, i am anyway...), but his energy was really nice and youthful and carefree. these things i have on my mind as about as i turn another notch on the odometer.

so to twin peaks, awesome friends, achieving new goals and pushing oneself. all things i have chosen to do in this new year of my life.

happy hump day to you and happy new year to me!

Happy campers.

by kevincyr

We have been talking and thinking about doing some bike camping soon and draggin friends with us. Can't wait for the spring and see what other adventures we might get into, including perhaps a century... oh yea. Thought I'd share this sweet painting by Kevin Cyr, based out of NYC. Neat stuff.
Have you gone bike camping? if so do tell :D
Happy Sunday!

Cameron As Pickup Truck

When Hubby the Bike Man and I decided to purchase a cargo bike we decided we wanted one that could be used by either of us or our oldest son, Cameron. Cameron is 15, 6'3" and quite strong. Now was the time to learn how to ride a loaded long tail. For a variety of reasons, Cameron will not be getting his driver's license next year, nor will he be getting a car for college (even though when I bought my car new in 1999 it was with the thought of passing it to him when he was old enough). Instead, when Cameron goes to college in 2 years he will get to choose what type of bicycle he would like to have, including a cargo bike if that is his preference.

Here is what Cameron had to say about his first Xtracycle hauling job : )

Today was something different. Instead of riding my usual Rockhopper, I learned how to ride the Xtracycle, otherwise known as the F.U.B. We use it all the time for shopping trips or to carry Declan. It was a Salvation Army trip today. Compared to what my dad pulls, that's nothing, but it was my first haul. Here I am pretending to feel a sense of accomplishment (that came later).

At this point, we were entering the Mission District. You ALWAYS have a car on your left, and the F.U.B. is a bit wider than your general bike when it is loaded up with cargo. Compared to my Rockhopper and my touring bike, the F.U.B. is too wide. I was a little paranoid about stuff falling off, or clipping a parked car, or getting clipped by a driver. Otherwise, the cargo makes downward slopes easier, and makes headwinds a complete pain, or so I'm told. The headwinds we faced were after taking off the cargo.

The balance is also a little weird.

Now we're on Valencia Street. As you probably know, it's flat here. Still a false sense of accomplishment, but I was getting more comfortable. The highlight of this stretch was Úna's comment and the ensuing conversation. I quote from a mostly accurate although very possibly askew memory of said conversation:

"Cameron, that seat makes your butt look big," says Úna.
"Úna, the only person whose butt doesn't look big on that seat is your father's," replies my mom.

It's true. My dad is pretty skinny. Very skinny. Bone thin. But anyways, what's your opinion: Does the seat make my butt, or anyone else's for that matter, look big? I guess that's just retribution for not having to pay for gas.

The fact that Xtracycle is pretty much a pickup truck on its own, I guess is part of why I'll never need a driver's license:

A bike works just as well.

Hang Ten!

A little daredevil fun from the guys at Rock The Bike.



Of course, with practice, you get better!

Teach Your Children Well

Do you have kids? If so, I bet you remember the last time you took a look at your precious angel and thought "do I really need to be with you today?" as they sprouted a second head and whined about whatever the hell it is they decided to whine about this time.

For myself, that was today. All day.

After running errands and grabbing a snack, I decided to tag along with James and Cameron. James just finished building Cameron a road bike and they wanted to go ride and play at the big empty parking lot at City College so Cameron could learn about his bike (which is very different from his every day bike).


I figured that a few acres of smooth pavement, free of cars and open for bicycle speeding would help contain the beast that Declan had decided to emulate for the last several hours. James loaded up the F.U.B. with his bike and Declan's and off we went.



James wanted to ride his Miyata around one last time before he turns it into a fixie (I know. You don't need to point out to me just how much opportunity there will be for teasing here).



While James taught Cameron the joy of the "brifter" and how to pedal with one leg (bonding),



I played with Declan.

There is a path that runs the length of the reservoir and leads nowhere. It has a great view and is one of those places a little kid can feel like they are having an adventure without any real danger of anything happening. I let him lead me up there so he could show me the stellar view of the motorcycle class taking place (as well as the McDonald's he has never been in but always tells me is his favorite).


When everyone was done, Declan was in a much better mood. He has been wanting to ride his bike on the street with us ever since we took off his training wheels. The streets in the neighborhood were unusually quiet and I had James with me to play sweeper so now seemed like the time.



After firm instructions to stay on my right side and a promise from him that he would listen, we started off.



This is an ironic picture to me. This is Phelan Ave. and it is currently one of the most contested streets in San Francisco in the battle for traffic calming and bicycle infrastructure. This is one of the things that has caused my neighborhood to be considered the least bike friendly neighborhood in San Francisco and my neighbors to be the most anti-bike.

I am very proud to say that this is the first City street that my 4 1/2 year old son has ridden on his very own bike.



Declan was great the whole ride home. He listened, he kept his eye open, he watched for cars and he made sure I stopped at the stop sign : ) We couldn't do this most days in my neighborhood, but I am glad we were able to do it today.

Get those kids on their bikes! They will thank you for it : )

Small Packages

Aiko here is making the blog rounds this week, and one look at her will tell you why- she is damn cute!



Cute, though, is just the door to this wonderful story. Aiko is 84 and rides the 150 miles of the 2 day City to Shore MS ride in New Jersey. She has done this every year for over 20 years. She rides a single speed bike, she wears the clothes she always wears (including her heels) and she rides the race with her family (including great-grandchildren!!) as a team.


Aiko is a remarkable woman, to be sure. More than that, though, she is the benchmark of what we should all strive for. She is a woman without boundaries. With complete style, being only herself, she completes tasks that most of us think of as monumental but really only require a different point of view to be manageable. Through a simple, determined act, Aiko proves that the only things that hold us back are our own, self imposed mental limitations.



Reading her story makes me want to ride. It makes me want to be better as a person. It also makes me want to start a purse and heels group to do some charity riding! Who wants to join me?

(huge thanks to "the skepticaloptimist" for the pictures!!!)

I Would Not Have Thought It Possible

Three thousand, four hundred and forty seven miles from October 14th, 2008 to October 14th 2009. That is how far I have got puttering around town, buying groceries and going to work. It wasn't a monumental effort. It was just daily life.

It isn't the distance that is important. It was what I got out of those miles that counts- new friends, new opportunities, new strength, new life!

Get out and ride my friends! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Three Wheels, Ninety-Two Years

This lovely picture and story was sent into our Flickr group by "Cold Iron", a bicycle mechanic at Cycle City in Alameda, Ca. He sends in lots of pictures of his customers with their bikes. I like the stories he puts with the pictures because they show us all that a cyclist is just a person with a bike. This story, however, was super special to me. I just recently ended 12 years of working with Senior Citizens and this generation is, by far, my favorite. With a daily dwindling number of WW2 vets left, to see one out on a trike... makes my month!

Mr. F was born in 1917.

He's lived through 17 U.S. Presidents.
He was 9 or 10 when Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
He was 22 when the Nazis invaded Poland.
He was 30 when the British left India.
He was 39 (my current age) when Elvis made his television debut on the Milton Berle Show.
He was 52 when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.
He was 64 when Iran freed the hostages from the American Embassy in Tehran.
He was 73 when the Berlin Wall came down.
He was 86 when the Centenial of Powered Flight was celebrated at Kitty Hawk.

I am fascinated with the history of the 20th Century, and it's a real treat for me to know such a man.

I think there is so much that can be learned from someone who's lived through so much change... and can keep a positive energy, and a fresh attitude... the way he has.

I plan on riding well into ride into my 90's. When I grow up, I want to be just like Mr. F.