Hub blog

Bolinas Ridge Loop

2012-01-08T12:04:00.001-08:00

This is a loop we did a couple of weeks ago. We were on our Ibis tandem and our friends Bill and Debbie were riding their Burley with cross tires. This was a tough loop since there doesn't seem to be any flat sections on Bolinas ridge. Claire and I had a small mechanical that we were able to fix. The ride down from the top of Tam was quite chilly and the headwind from Stincon Beach back to our car in Point Reyes was very discouraging. - Posted by Chaz

A good cross loop

2012-01-08T09:18:00.001-08:00

Here is a link to a great cross loop out of Forestville. It ended up being around 47 miles with some sweet single track right in the middle. Loop

- Posted by Chaz

A couple of good tandem rides

2011-12-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

It is winter time, so time to go a little slower and be a little more adventurous. Claire and I have been riding our tandem on road and off road for over 20 years, and we love to share that with other tandemist. Last week we took out our friends Bill and Debbie and showed them a couple of our favorite roads around the West County. Last Tuesday we started by parking in Duncans Mills and doing the Duncan Road/Old Caz loop. This loop is the inner loop of the first Grasshopper Race out of Occidental which takes place in late January. We were able to get across Austin Creek without getting our feet wet which was a first. There have been times in the past where the water has been almost up to our waists.

Today we drove out to Point Reyes Station and did a 40 mile loop that included about 12 miles of dirt along the Bolinas Ridge. It was a tough 40 miles taking almost 4 hours. Bill and Debbie were very excited about the dirt, I think they are addicted now. Here is a link to that loop. By the end of the ride we were all pretty knackered. At one point, about 5 miles from the finish, we could smell something burning, when Bill commented on the smell, Claire pointed out that it was just her legs. We really missed having Aaron and Melinda along on both of these rides.

2012 Full Vineman

2011-11-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

I'm looking for two individuals who are interested in participating in the 2012 Full Vineman Triathlon on July 28, 2012. The Vineman offers a "3 for the price of 2" discount if people sign up together. Instead of $350 per person, it would be $233 per person. Please let me know before Dec. 31. You can email me at shop@thehubcyclery.com. Thank you for spreading the word.

Furnace Creek 508

2011-10-08T11:51:00.001-07:00

We are just outside of the town of Mojave getting ready to head into California City. Our friend Debbie is doing it solo this year and we are crewing for her. We are at the 70 mile mark.

- Posted by Chaz

Just a little 47 miler out of Occidental

2011-06-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

On paper this seemed like a pretty easy ride. In retrospect, I should have known that if you have to climb Willow Creek Road, Coleman Valley Road, Bay Hill Road, and JOY Road, it is not going to be easy. I had set up the course on my Garmin, and it had shown 2800 feet of climbing. It ended up being 4200 feet of climbing, and that is after the initial very flat 20 miles.

Willow Creek Road

The day started off pleasantly enough with a late breakfast at Howard Station in Occidental. We left from there and dropped down Bohemian Hwy. and headed out towards Jenner. We did the first 20 miles in under an hour and that was taking it easy. That was when the real fun started. Willow Creek Road was a little wet in sections, but beautiful as ever. We cleaned the two sisters, slow but steady. Coleman Valley Road was B-E-A-utiful with awesome views of the ocean from the top. We stopped at one of these lookouts and shared Claire's leftover buttermilk biscuit with some jam on it before plummeting down to Hwy. 1. Bay Hill Road was a doozy. I won't bore you with the rest, but suffice to say that Joy Road seems to get steeper every time we do it. Luckily we got to almost coast the rest of the way back to the car after that.

Half Moon Bay Loop

2011-06-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Descending Pescadero Road
(A1 & Melinda are up ahead)

This was a fantastic loop that Claire came up with. We were joined by Jimmy Neutron, Aaron, and Melinda. It was not the warmest of days, but the sun was shining almost the entire time. After heading down hwy. 1 for about 8 miles, we turned on Stage Road. I would have to rate Stage Road as one if the nicest stretches of pavement I have ever ridden on, at least in the top 20.

Jimmy Neutron

The ride ended up being almost exactly 62 miles with around 6200 feet of climbing. That is the perfect formula for a bike ride, 100 feet of climbing per mile. I would strongly recommend this loop, it was worth the drive to Half Moon Bay.

We ~~CONSUMED~~ DEVOURED a loaf of artichoke/herb bread in Pescadero

Saturday evening run at Annadel

2011-05-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening run at Annadel

Claire kept us motivated after a day at the shop. I was ready to head home and make some pizza and drink a couple of homebrews, which we eventually did, but Claire got us up there for an hour. Beautiful evening, and except for the fact that only 1 person out of 15 said "hi" to me after I greeted them on the trail, it was a great run. Seems like they have been smoothing out Rough Go trail a tiny bit. That is a great trail to run up, but running down Cobblestone was a bit of a challenge. I felt pretty good considering I hadn't run in quite a while. Not to much soreness the next morning.

A little before work ride.

2011-05-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Lefty Guts

Claire, Aaron, and I went out for this little loop before work this morning. This is one of our old favorites that we hadn't done in a couple of years. Sonoma Mountain Road hasn't changed very much over the years, which is a good thing. I love the bumpiness and the narrow roads. Here is a link to the loop.

Bogg's 8 hour race (reduced to 7)

2011-05-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Bogg's 8 hour race (reduced to 7) by hubster43 at Garmin Connect - Details

I know thus happened quite awhile ago, but better late than never. I did this race on my Cannondale Singlespeed 29'er. I had no expectations what-so-ever, so I was pleasantly happy with how things went. It ended up being a 4 mile loop on fire trails, which was pretty repetitive by the end. Claire came out and fed me some good food during the ride. I think she was hoping for a relaxing day, but since I came through every 20 minutes or so, she was up and down all day long. By the end I was pretty knackered.

Eureka Canyon Loop

2011-05-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Eureka Canyon Loop by hubster43 at Garmin Connect - Details

Claire and I did this loop on our tandem. Claire came up with a slightly different way of making our way over to eureka canyon which made the loop better than last time.

Eureka Canyon/Bear Creek/Jamison Creek/Empire Grade

2011-05-15T08:00:00.001-07:00

Eurika Canyon/Bear Creek/Jamison Creek/Empire Grade by hubster43 at Garmin Connect - Details

I went out on my own for this 70 miler. With 7200 feet of climbing, it was a nice little challenge. Jamison Creek Road was quite steep for what it is worth.

Tandem Ride up Bonny Doon Road

2011-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tandem Ride up Bonny Doon Road by hubster43 at Garmin Connect - Details

Claire and I battled a little bit of a headwind on the ride up highway 1 before we climbed Bonny Doon Road. We also got to do Ice Cream Grade Road which I haven't been on in almost 14 years.

A couple of days off

2011-03-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Climbing the 30% grade up to Islands in the Sky

We did an "interesting loop" on Monday. It was A1's design with some input from Claire and I. We parked in Guerneville and headed West on 116. We turned up Old Monte Rio Road in order to get off the highway, and after having to walk around some road construction, we headed out towards Duncans Mills and Willow Creek State Park. After entering the park, we climbed up the main fire road that takes you to the top of the park. It is very, very steep and was slow going on the tandems. After getting to the top we rode the ridge before dropping down some cool single track and hitting Willow Creek Road. We ended the ride by going over Green Valley Road and over Mayes Canyon. It was only 30 miles, but a hilly, muddy 30 miles.

A1 and Melinda in Willow Creek State Park

Before

After

On Tuesday I finished a little garden cart project that I had been working on for a week or so. Most of the time was spent just waiting for the paint to dry.

A couple of good rides

2011-03-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

A1 and Melinda fixing a flat

Out on Chalk Hill Road

With the break in the weather, we had the opportunity to get out on a couple of very different rides. On Monday, A1 and Melinda met us at the corner of Old Redwood Hwy. and Mark West Springs Road for a mellow 40 miler. Some of us had been off of our bikes for a while, so we wanted something not too challenging, but adventurous at the same time. Well, I picked out a great loop, thank you very much. The weather cooperated with just a couple very tiny sprinkles from time to time. After the ride we feasted on soft tacos at Taqueria El Sombrero #2 on Piner Road.

This hairstyle is making a comeback.

My bike after the ride.

On Tuesday, Claire suggested that I go out and test myself on my single speed mountain bike since I have the 8 hour race at Boggs coming up in a month. Well, I did just that. I ended up with 45 miles up in Annadel in almost exactly 5 hours. I did the same loop twice and hurt pretty good on the second loop. I was cramping a tiny bit in the legs and a little more than a tiny bit in my triceps. Luckily, I have small triceps so it didn't hurt very bad. It was good and muddy in some sections of the park, and after trying to dodge those on the first loop, I was too tired to steer around them on the second loop. Here is a link to my ride. A funny thing did happen at the end of the ride. Right when I stopped and leaned my bike up against the bus, I heard a hissing sound and my rear tire went flat. I was pretty much totally knackered at that point and was extremely glad that I wasn't still out on the trail trying to fix it.

My legs

A great 36 miler down the coast

2011-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Top of Bay Hill Road

After spending 7 hours pruning fruit trees on Monday, Claire and I decided that we needed to get out and enjoy some sunshine on Tuesday. We picked out a great loop leaving from Monte Rio. We were leaving ourselves the option of heading over Joy Road after going through the town of Bodega, but decided against it after suffering up Bay Hill Road. We both were very tired from the previous day, and I think that I was still recovering from my race on Saturday. My average heart rate was only 124 with a high of 162. During the 70 mile race on Saturday, my average heart rate had been 162. If it wasn't for the great company and the sunshine, I would have been suffering even more. We did have a pretty good tail wind heading down the coast.

Heading down Hwy. 1

My favorite sled

2011-02-22T17:42:00.001-08:00

- Posted by Chaz

Grasshopper #2 Fort Ross

2011-02-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I went out and did the second Grasshopper on Saturday. It was nice and chilly, but I had dressed for it with my magic Cannondale Jacket and my big, blue gloves. My feet were ice cold, but by the end of the ride I had gotten used to that. It was definitely a smaller field than the first Grasshopper which I can only assume was from the very cold and slightly damp conditions. Or maybe it was the description of the ride which listed a number of very steep climbs on it. Anyway, having only one bike ride under my belt during the previous two weeks, I felt well rested and ready to go.

As we coasted down Bohemian Hwy., I was sitting nicely in the middle of the pack enjoying the gentle spray of ice cold water off of the tires in front of me. The start of this race is definitely interesting in that you end up coasting quite a bit during the first couple of miles, or at least that is supposed to be what happens. Luck was with me that morning and I managed to hit a giant pothole right at the town of Camp Meeker. Both of my water bottles flew out of their cages and I felt like my front wheel was going to break in half. I was able to exit the pack and cross the road to rummage through the underbrush for my bottles. They were easily found, and my wheel was nice and straight. Good old hand built wheels and 28mm tires. The tricky part was that now I had to do a little chasing down the road. Not what I had been planning, but definitely a nice warmer upper. I caught the back of what I thought was the pack, but there had been a split in the middle, so I had to do a little effort to bridge the gap up to the front pack. I don't think it cost me much for the day, but I knew that I didn't have a lot in my bank account for the race. Most of the ride into Cazadero was pretty uneventful from their.

When we hit our first climb up Fort Ross Road, I bid the front pack a fond farewell, and let myself drift backwards at my own pace up the climb. It was going to be a long, long day, and I knew that I needed to save something up for the latter part of the race. I got sprinkled on a tiny bit as we climbed Fort Ross Road, but not enough to make me too wet, just enough to keep the road wet. The drop down Meyer's Grade was a little less fun than usual because of the wet roads, but still quite a scream.

From Hwy. 1 (the PCH for A1), we turned up Willow Creek which, as I have mentioned many times, is one of the best climbs in the county. The road was wet and muddy and bumpy and what more could you ask for it a climb. Oh, yea, there are no cars on the road. I had a tiny bit of cramping happening on the steeper sections of Willow Creek, but nothing too bad. I grabbed some GU and water at the top and made a right hand turn onto Coleman Valley Road. I was surprised that I had no inclinations to turn left, which would have dropped me right down to the Hub Bus.

The rest of the "race" was just a survival sort of ride. My plan of pacing myself over the first couple of climbs seemed to be paying off as I caught and passed some folks as they were trying to work cramps out of their legs. The climb over Bay Hill Road went well with no cramping. The final climb, Joy Road, was the butt kicker. I was with a group of around 5 guys when we hit the bottom of the climb and as both of my thighs cramped, I figured that I would just get dropped off, but they were in the same boat, and we all stayed pretty much together. I do wish that I had a little easier gearing on climbs like that, or maybe that I had eaten less cupcakes.

Here is a link to the course.

Willow Creek State Park Loop on a rainy day

2011-02-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

I got the chance to go out and do my favorite loop yesterday. It was a nice, drizzly day with some decent rain by the end of the ride. I was racing my best time from a couple of years ago, and was 50 feet ahead when I hit the entrance to Willow Creek State Park. But, alas, that entrance had been fenced off, so I had to drop down Willow Creek Road until I found another entrance. It ended up being some nice singletrack up the side of the hill. That part ended up sending me off course, so the race was over. The new route was a nice addition to the ride and I am looking forward to doing this loop in the future.

A couple of runs in Belen, NM

2011-02-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

We have been down in Belen, NM for a couple of days visiting my grandparents. They just celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary and they are both 97 years old. I was able to get out on a couple of runs while we were here. The first run was 7.5 miles and I just found a flat, dirt road that headed out into the desert. It was below freezing out there and I was in my shorts and a long sleeve running shirt. It was all fine and dandy until I turned around at the half way point. At that point I realized that I had been running with a nice tailwind at my back. The run back home was cold and a little slower. I got some pretty funny looks from some of the locals as I ran down the road. One guy in a giant bulldozer went by shaking his head pretty good. I don't think I blamed him. The second run was a 10 miler which was much more imaginative. I ran down to a drainage road for quite a while before hitting the Rio Grande River. I then ran up the river until I couldn't go any further because it was blocked my bushes and the such. I felt great on both runs except for being a little cold by the ends.

The Rio Grande

How lucky we are

2011-02-03T22:24:00.000-08:00

Looking out over the mountains at Royal Gorge

We drove up to Donner Lake on Saturday night for a day of cross country skiing on Sunday. We were very, very lucky with the weather since it hadn't snowed in weeks and things were looking bleak, but we got 8 inches of snow Saturday night and had a perfect day of skiing. I chose to skate while Claire, Greg, and Cheri strided. Here is a link to my skating.

The next morning, Monday, Claire and I got up at 4:30 in the morning and drove back to Sonoma County for A1's birthday ride. Aaron had chosen a loop over Sweetwater and up to the top of Mill Creek Road and back. It ended up being around 52 miles long with plenty of climbing. We started the ride with 8 people and ended up climbing Mill Creek with 6 people. For those of you who haven't climbed Mill Creek, it is a dead end road that climbs up around 10 miles from Westside Road outside of Healdsburg. For the most part the climb is pretty gradual until the final mile or so. This part is referred to as "The Ladder" and pitches upwards at over 20% for most of it. I had only been to the top once before, and most of the others hadn't been up there before. It was definitely a grunt at the end.

The top of Mill Creek (after climbing The Ladder)
Paul is taking the picture so you can't see him.

Old Caz Grasshopper (again)

2011-01-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

So, I had an impromptu day off on Thursday and decided to do the Grasshopper loop on my single bike. After having a great breakfast with Claire at Howard Station in Occidental, I took off at exactly 10:00 for my ride. My main focus was to not push myself to much so that I would have plenty left over for the climb up Willow Creek at the end, and the 15 mile ride home after that.

Well, the plan worked perfect until the final climb up Willow Creek where I decided that I wanted to try to meet a finishing goal. What a weird concept, the entire ride I'm not worried about my time, and then with 10 miles to go, I pick an arbitrary time and make it a do or die situation to beat that time. Anyway, my arbitrary time was 3 hours and 45 minutes, and I beat it by 15 seconds. Hurray, I think. I was in a world of hurt on that final climb. For most of the ride I had been keeping my heart rate under 160, but for the final climb I was hitting almost 190. To make a long story short, I felt much better than I expected I would and the ride home afterwards wasn't even that bad. And no cramping!!!

Here is a link to my loop. The first lap is the Grasshoppper loop and the second lap is the ride home afterwards. I did end up with enough energy to make some taco pizza for dinner, which I thought was great, but Claire wasn't quite as excited about it.

Oh, yea, I almost forgot. Claire and I went up to Annadel on Wednesday and I got to ride my new Cannondale single speed 29'er. It was a beautiful evening and we saw plenty of other folks up in the park enjoying the park. Here is a picture of Claire riding off into the sunset.

Old Caz Grasshopper

2011-01-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

We raced the Grasshopper this last Saturday. There were 7 Hubsters out there at the start out of 245 racers. That means that we made up almost 3% of the field. Quite a showing. Lets see if I can remember everyone. From left to right...Claire, Handsome Jeff, Troy, Melinda, A1, Chaz, and Eric the Fireman. Here is a link to the loop. Claire and I were on a tandem as well as A1 and Melinda. For those of you who aren't familiar with this race, it is considered a "cross" race since about a quarter of it is on dirt. It ended up being just a little over 50 miles long and had 5000 feet of climbing.

Waiting for the start

This year the race started out by heading up Coleman Valley Road. There is nothing like a race that starts with a 10 yard warm-up before turning up a 15% grade and climbing around a 1000 feet. Needless to say, we were separated from most of the solo bikes by the time we started heading down Willow Creek Road. We had plenty of encouragement from the solo riders as we were heading up the climb.

By the time we hit the coast and started heading back inland for the rest of the race, the pack of racers had thinned out. The solo Hubsters were up ahead somewhere, but the two tandems were sticking together. We worked together like a finely oiled machine on the flats and ate up the climbs like a thinly sliced piece of chocolate cake.

In the shadows on Willow Creek

The final climb up Willow Creek was a doozy with plenty of cramping going on. Claire, much to my dismay, decided that we needed to stay on the bike for the "two sisters", which are a couple of very steep pitches on Willow Creek that leave plenty of riders lying on their sides or walking. We cleaned them.

We finished in fine spirits at the top of the climb and then coasted into Occidental after having to fix a front flat on our tandem.

Claire and I rushed home, showered, and then met some friends for a night out in San Fran. We didn't get home until almost 2 in the morning after seeing the Old 97's in concert. Needless to say, we were a little tired the next day at the shop.

A1 and Melinda before the start

Aaron and Melinda finishing at the Old Caz Grasshopper

2011-01-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

A beautiful ride through wine country

2011-01-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well, this Monday's ride was terrific. It was the first time this year that we got to ride in shorts and short sleeve jerseys. It was a great group. The ride turned out to be 55 miles and we averaged right around 18 mph. This was one of our last rides before we race the Grasshopper this coming Saturday. Claire and I will be on our Ibis tandem and Aaron and Melinda will be on their Cannondale RT1000. They have it set up REALLY cool with 26" wheels for off-road and 700c wheels for the road.

Willow Creek State Park Loop

2010-12-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

"Snow" at the top of Joy Road

A little trail maintenance.

Jimmy Neutron

Knackered Jim

Well, A1 and Jimmy Neutron joined me on my favorite loop. We were expecting heavy rain and cold temperatures, but much to our dismay, it didn't actually rain hard until we hit Duncan Road. A1 must have had a good breakfast because he was riding quite strong. There were plenty of fallen trees in Willow Creek Park to climb over, and the last one was almost our undoing as we came around a corner a little fast before realizing that a tree was across the trail. We each, in turn, came to skidding halts only a couple of inches away from it.

Coleman Valley/Willow Creek

2010-12-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

Melinda in her new Hub Jersey

We had a great Monday Classic ride last week with just enough mud to keep Melinda happy. We parked in Graton and rode from there. Claire and I were on our Burley tandem, A1 and Melinda were on their C-dale tandem, Jim, Mike H., Eric the Fireman, Don, Paul and Michelle rounded out the group. Some folks were a little worried about how muddy Willow Creek Road might be, but as Claire put it, "it will just be a little tacky." It was a first for Melinda, and she loved it.

Long time, no post

2010-12-03T10:42:00.001-08:00

I am sorry that I haven't posted in so long. It is not for lack of great bike rides. We have been going out every Monday for "classic Monday" rides. This was Claire's idea and it has been great. We have been sharing many of our old favorites with some of the young people who work at the shop. Claire and I have been on our tandem along with A1 and his wife, while Jimmy Neutron has been on his single. We have also had some others along from time to time. We have done nine or ten so far. I will post some of the routes later on.

- Posted by Chaz

Whirlwind trip to Santa Cruz

2010-10-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

We packed the bus up Sunday after work and took off for a night of camping in Santa Cruz at New Brighton State Beach. Jimmy Neutron, A1, Melinda (A1's wife), Claire, and I all piled into the Hub Bus and hoped for the best. The next morning, after a breakfast of pancakes, we headed out on the Eureka Canyon loop. A1 and Melinda were on their Cannondale tandem, Jim on his cross bike, and Claire and I were on our trusty Burley tandem. The day before it had rained, but the weather was perfect for our ride. Jim took off on the climb up Eureka Canyon, and when we met him at the top he had a huge smile on his face and was very excited about how great the climb felt. It is a pretty gentle climb that goes on for around 10 or 12 miles. After riding the ridge for a while, we got to drop back down to Santa Cruz We all agreed that the ride down Old San Jose Road was one of the best descents we had ever done. After a quick stop at Pleasure Pizza for a couple of slices we headed home.

Claire has decided that we should be doing a classic ride every Monday. Last week it was Pope Valley/Ink Grade, this week was the Eureka Canyon Loop, and I can't remember what comes next. It is fun taking the employees out and showing them some of the loops we have been doing for years and years.

Biting off more than I can chew

2010-08-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we got out for some rides on our "days off". First on Monday, the day the shop is closed, after going in for six hours to try to catch up on things and place some big parts orders, Claire and I got out to Annadel for a nice little ride. I rode my 1FG up RoughGo, which seemed a lot harder than it used to be. Either I am getting older or the trail is getting bumpier.

On Tuesday, another day off, we spent about three hours in the morning putting together our big bike order with Giant. After that we packed up our tandem and drove to Windsor where we parked and went out on a nice 40 miler. The weather was perfect, and we stopped at the Jim Town store for some chocolate pudding and a couple of Bubble Ups.

On Wednesday, I got up with the great idea of riding over the geysers. It has been quite a while since I have been out that way, and I was anticipating a good ride. I figured 60 miles or so, Claire thought a little longer. Anyway, it turned out to be 85 miles with a good headwind from Cloverdale home, which was the last 25 miles. I had run out of water after going over the geysers, but wasn't worried since I was riding through Cloverdale. I only had enough money for a bottle of water OR a bag of potato chips, so I just drank out of a hose and enjoyed the potato chips. Needless to say, I was knackered by the time I got home, but it was a good knackered.

The Link

2010-08-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

The Link is what Giant calls there annual dealer meeting. Their top 10% of dealers are invited, which we have been for the last three years. We are in our second full day here, and after a morning of seminars, we have gotten another chance for some demo riding. Today, at A1's request, I took out a 2011 Giant Trance X1. I have to agree with A1 on this bike. It climbs, it descends, and it is quick in the technical stuff. I sort of had two different rides on this bike. First I went off by myself and climbed to the top of the mountain. I rode the exact same route as I did yesterday on the Anthem X 29er. I felt like I was able to climb faster, and the technical switchbacks were definitely easier to negotiate. When I got to the top, there was a pretty good lightning storm going on, so they had shut down the lift. I had planned on meeting Claire up there, but she had gotten stuck at the bottom. I chose to ride down to meet her, and got a pretty good drenching on the way. The ground was perfect with the dust being packed down by the rain. The thrill of hearing the lightning and thunder happening almost simultaneously added to the excitement. At the bottom Claire and I took a couple of minutes to walk through the product gallery which featured all of the 2011 bikes and accessories. Here is a link to my ride.

When they opened back up the lifts, we were one of the first back on. Claire was riding a Reign X and was very impressed with Giant's brand new seat post which raised and lowered with the push of a lever on her bars. Our first run down was pretty uneventful, except for Claire getting a little sideways in a couple of corners. She managed to keep the rubber side down and we both finished with big smiles on our faces and raced back to the ski lift. We got another ride up and headed out for some very cool single track around the other side of the mountain. Well, we got a little lost, thank you very much, but managed to finally make it back only about an hour after the demo stuff was supposed to end. Both of us were a little bit on the dirty side, but we were in great spirits at the end and ready for a sit down dinner with a bunch of other dealers.
Here is a link to our ride.

Demo ride on Giant Anthem X 29er

2010-08-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to take out an Anthem X 29er today for a very good test ride. I will post some pictures later on. I rode the chair lift up first and then rode the bike up second and then met Claire for two more chair lift rides. I really pushed myself on the climb, which felt great. The bike climbs great and it sure felt like it had more than 4 inches of travel on the down hills.

Utah

2010-08-03T06:45:00.001-07:00

Well, Claire and I are here in Park City, Utah checking out the 2011 Giant Bicycle line. We arrived yesterday and are looking forward to some informative meetings and some demo rides.

Here is a picture of the plane they sent to pick us up.

- Posted by Chaz

Lake Tahoe

2010-07-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire and I went to Lake Tahoe last week for four days of camping. We camped at DL Bliss campground which is only a couple of miles away from Emerald Bay. We spent our first day kayaking down to Emerald Bay and out to the Tea House on Fannette Island. We picnicked on the way back, and I even jumped in the water and swam for a bit while Claire towed my kayak.

The next morning I got up and climbed the 500 feet out of our campground to Hwy. 89 for a clockwise ride around the lake. I had planned on taking it pretty easy, but I ran into a fellow who was getting ready for the district road race championships, and we traded turns pulling for a while. George, that was his name, pulled off for some coffee after about 30 miles, and I rode on by myself. At the 42 mile mark, I heard and felt a nice little click in my drive train. I had just broken my chain a couple of weeks earlier, and figured that I must have cracked another link. Well, that wasn't the problem, it turned out that I had broken the spring inside my Crank Bros pedal. That meant I couldn't clip in for the last 33 miles. It wasn't bad if I concentrated on keeping my foot in place, but as soon as I stopped thinking about it, my foot would slip right off. This was a little disconcerting, mainly when I was climbing up around Emerald Bay at the end of the ride. Anyway, I survived and felt quite good even at the end.

On Thursday, Claire and I did a 15 mile hike from our campsite over to Vikingsholm and then up to Eagle Lake. The hike was much tougher than the ride around Tahoe. We both had some good blisters to show for it, but we were lucky enough to have some homebrew waiting back at the campsite for us.

Younger Chaz

B B and B

2010-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was a triple B day. I made three loaves of bread, I transferred 10 gallons of beer from the primary to the secondary fermentors, and Claire and I went out and did a great 30 mile bike ride over Coleman Valley and down the coast.

Sweetwater (beat by a minute)

2010-06-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

I had the chance yesterday to go out and do Sweetwater on a demo ***** road bike. The ***** rep had brought by 3 or 4 bikes for Claire and I to take out. First off, it was good to be back on a traditional double. I believe it was Alexi Grewal who once said, "there are no climbs in the U.S. where you need more than a 39x21 gear." Well, I had a 39x25 yesterday, and there were a couple of cupcakes that were telling me that I could use an easier gear. Anyway, the ride went great, with only one pothole big enough to eject both of my waterbottles. I lost some time there and got beat by previous Chaz by about 1 minute. I also got held up by some road construction on River Road, otherwise I would have won. That is my excuse, and I am sticking by it. Here is a link to the loop.

20th Anniversary

2010-04-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Claire and my twentieth anniversary of owning the shop. It is hard to believe. Twenty years has just flown by. I still remember our first day when our friends Frank and Malcom came in and bought a tube so that they could be our first customers. We still have that dollar bill with a little message around the edge that Malcom wrote.

At that time we lived in the house behind the bike shop and only had to walk out our bedroom door into our office and then into the shop. Things were definitely different back then, much slower pace, more time for ice cream on the porch. Claire and I would take turns going back and making dinner while the other person kept an eye on the shop. Sometimes our employees would complain about the smell of dinner that wafted into the back of the shop, saying that it wasn't fair when all they had to eat was Powerbars.

It is probably good that we don't have lots of time for ice cream anymore.

It has been a very exciting twenty years, and Claire and I are looking forward to the next twenty.

Spring cleaning

2010-03-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we are on our way into the shop this morning. We have stopped off at Aroma Roasters Coffee shop for some refreshments and 10 pounds of coffee. Yesterday we spent 4 or 5 hours in the back cleaning things up. Boy, did that make a difference. We can fit many more bikes in there. I wish I had some before and after pictures. Maybe I can describe it for you. Close your eyes, now imagine a big room filled with bicycles placed safely, but chaotically around the floor. Now imagine all of the bikes in a nice row with some hanging safely from the ceiling. That is before and after.

A good couple of days off

2010-03-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

It is back to work this morning, but not before Claire and I had a couple of good days off. I was able, with Claire's persuasion, to get out for some exercise 4 days in a row. Saturday I rode into the shop, taking the hilly route. Sunday morning, I got us out for a run around the neighborhood. Monday I rode the rollers for an hour, see graph on the right, and then we went out for a hike in Armstrong Redwoods. We got hailed on a bit, which made it all the more interesting. Yesterday I went out and did my favorite loop again. I felt much, much better than I did last week. Last week my whole body was aching on the ride, and this week I felt great. I was around 6 minutes off of my best time. And to top it all off, yesterday I made 6 loaves of sourdough.

Willow Creek loop AGAIN

2010-03-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Well, after being off the bike for a couple of weeks, I decided that I needed to get out and hurt myself a bit. I did my favorite loop on Monday hoping to beat the rain. I did beat the rain, but just barely. I was about 20 minutes off of my summer times for this loop. I knew that I would be slower, but I didn't think I would be hurting quite so much by the end. For the most part, the ride was uneventful as far as traffic goes. I did see a couple of mountain bikers up in Willow Creek State Park, and I think I startled them as I cruised by on my cross bike. Duncan road was a bear as usual. It is around a 20% grade at the bottom, and it is always a hard transition after coming down the flats of Hwy. 116. There were a couple of more trees down across the trail, but nothing that I couldn't claw my way over. When I got home I realized how sore my entire body was. At first I thought it was the ride, but after even waking up the next morning still feeling the same way, I figured I had caught a little bug. Claire knew I was feeling too good when I chose Sprite over beer and only one slice of pizza at Zachary's in Berkeley.

Back in the "Spring" of things

2010-02-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back from Minnesota. We had a great time, but it is always good to get back to Northern California after some time away. The shop has been hopping, at least when the sun comes out. It is great to see everyone busy here. A1 has his hands full trying to unpack and merchandise Claire's huge orders, Andre has been working his poor fingers to the bone repairing bikes, Paul has been trying to get as many new bikes built as possible, Jim has been trying to balance his last semester of school and work, and I have been just kicking back keeping them busy.

Frostbike

2010-02-21T06:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it is our third day in Minnesota, and we are really enjoying our stay. We have been visiting one of our favorite bicycle parts supplier, Quality Bicycle Products. QBP is probably the biggest supplier in the US for the bicycle business, and they have flown us out and put us up in a hotel so that we can visit their warehouses and visit with other bike shop owners. There are probably a 1000 dealers here or so, almost a small Interbike, which is our industry trade show. This has been much more satisfying than some of the Interbikes we have been to because of the fewer people, and the real concentration on the bike industry.

Here is a photo of their warehouse and a photo of Claire with the Michelin Man. We are heading back over today for a couple more seminars and then they are having a big giveaway of stuff at the end of the show. We will be flying back to CA on Monday.

It has been a whirlwind adventure.

A couple of good rides

2010-02-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back to work tomorrow, but not before I had a chance to get out on a couple of bike rides. Yesterday Claire and I went out on a 40 miler to Healdsburg and back. We stopped in Healdsburg for a cup of coffee and a sticky bun, which fueled me for the way home. I had just put some new fenders on the Burley tandem, and it was fun to see them doing there job as we cruised through a few puddles here and there. On the way back Eastside Road, we decided to head up Windsor River Road to get away from the narrow sections. It was a great detour that added about 2 or 3 miles to the loop. We went down Starr Road and over to Mark West Station Road. That is such an awesome area to ride.

Today I met Eric the Fireman in Graton for a little loop out to the coast. We headed up Harrison Grade and made our way into Occidental before heading up Coleman Valley. We are very, very lucky to have these roads in our backyard. After hitting the coast, we turned South and headed over Bay Hill Road before stopping in the town of Bodega for some Gatorade and Cheese-Its. From there we headed up JOY Road, which is such a beast from that side. After dropping back into Occidental, we headed over Graton and then split up from there. It was great to ride with Eric, but I felt a little guilty for making him pull me down the coast before Bay Hill. Not too guilty.

Just a quick post from San Jose

2010-02-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I am down in San Jose for the second day of the Park Tool Summit. Yesterday consisted of leaving the house at five in the morning, checking into the hotel, and then eight hours of classes. Yesterday was Rock Shox, Campagnolo, and Fox. Today will be Hayes, Shimano, and SRAM/Avid. These classes are VERY hands on. We rebuilt a couple of shocks and also some Campy Ergo levers and hubs. It was a good time, but I was exhausted by the end of the day. I will write more about this later.

Last Saturday was the Grasshopper. Since I was doubling my miles for the year in that one ride, I was not expecting to be very competitive. This worked good since I was able to try and take it easy on some of the climbs. I still suffered miserably on the way up Willow Creek. Here is a link to my Garmin data. What could be worrisome here is the fact that my average heart rate was 179, and that was "taking it easy" on the climbs. A1, Jimmy Neutron, and Engin, our Cannondale rep were all there also. I will try to post a picture later, I need to get down for breakfast and some coffee.

Grasshopper this weekend

2010-01-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, the first Grasshopper race is this weekend. It is earlier than usual this year, and has caught me off-guard. I'm never in too good of shape for this race, but this year is worse than usual. I was telling Claire this morning on the way into the shop that I thought it was better than to be totally out of shape for a race like this instead of being just a little out of shape. In years past I have made the mistake of thinking I was in better shape and falling apart by the time I reached Willow Creek. I would get caught up with the "racing" at the front, and then by the time my body figured out what was going on, I would be in way over my head. This year I plan on taking it easy for at least the first half of the race, and then hopefully have something left for the final climb up Willow Creek. The conditions should be ideal. I am a little bummed that the weather report does not predict heavy rain. As A1 and I agree, the first Grasshopper should take place in pouring rain. It should be quite sloppy on Old Caz though. I am looking forward to that off camber corner towards the bottom that always has about 8 inches of mud to sink into.

Yesterday I went out and ran for EXACTLY 5 miles while Claire walked. That is the thing about having a Garmin GPS on your wrist. Here is a link to the loop.

When we got home I put some sourdough bread and pizza dough together. Claire put feta cheese and some other tasty stuff on it, including anchovies.

Oh, yea, on Saturday night W, C, and S are coming over for dinner. W and I will be opening our first bottle of homebrew. It is a "potentially dangerous" IPA. We also have a lager in the basement right now bubbling away.

A couple of good rides

2010-01-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got out on a couple of bike rides. It has been a long time, much to my dismay. I got a new Cannondale cross frame, which I built up with Campy Record stuff off of one of my old road bikes. It is a gorgeous bike that is a pleasure to ride. I haven't had a chance to weigh it yet, but I am sure that I dropped at least a couple of pounds from my old C-dale cross bike.

Anyway, on Monday, A1, Jimmy Neutron, and Bill came out for a wet, wet ride. We had decided that we were going rain or shine, and I think that all of us were hoping for rain, and we got it. We took off to do my favorite loop through Occidental and Willow Creek State Park. It has been a while since I had been out with Bill on our single bikes. It brought back plenty of memories as every time we regrouped, he would give a little "Wahoo!" By the time we got to Duncan Road, Bill had worn all the way through his brake pads, so he had metal on metal when he braked. It was a horrible sound, and I don't think it slowed him down too much. We had called Claire before Duncan, and she drove the Hub Bus out and met us for Mexican food at La Tapitia in Guerneville. We were plenty wet and cold at that point, but still in great spirits.

Yesterday, Claire and I loaded up the Ibis tandem and drove out to Duncans Mills for a ride up Willow Creek road from Hwy. 1. It was not raining. We had attempted the same ride last week, but had been turned around by the lightning and pouring rain. Actually the pouring rain hadn't bothered us, but the lightning out on Hwy. 116 was a little frightening. On the way up Willow Creek Road yesterday, I was trying my best to dodge puddles to keep our feet as dry as possible. At one point we came around a corner, and encountered a little flooding. We had to ride about 200 yards through water that was about 2 feet deep. It was pretty funny. I couldn't see the road, but I could see the road markers on the side, so we just stayed in the middle. At one point we hit some cattle grates, which took us both a little by surprise. I wish we had had the camera. It was entertaining to look down at the front wheel and not be able to see the hub. We hit a couple of other patches just like that before we finally made it to the climb. Our feet were not dry anymore. We had thought about heading through Willow Creek State Park, but decided instead to drop down into Occidental and then ride down Bohemian Hwy. back out to our car.

On Saturday I will be doing the first Grasshopper race with A1, Jimmy Neutron, and hopefully Eric the Fireman and Bill. I am hoping for rain.

A nice ride in Annadel

2010-01-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well, Jimmy Neutron and Claire arranged to get together yesterday for a little mountain bike ride in Annadel. I was invited also. Ever since JN got his new mountain bike, he has been quite gung-ho about getting out there and riding the trails. Claire was also on her new mountain bike, which she still needs convincing to buy. JN was on a Rize 3 and Claire was on a Rize 1. We drove over to the bottom of Lawndale and started the ride from there. Here is a link to the ride. It was a little muddy in places, but otherwise perfect conditions. I think we only saw two other people up there. JN is getting quite fast on his mountain bike.

Update just to update

2010-01-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

I figured I better put in an entry so that this doesn't look neglected. Claire and I went back to the shop today after a couple of weeks off. Things are really hopping, which is very, very exciting. A1 is back, and the enthusiasm in the shop has never been higher. It was great to show up this morning and see that everything, and I mean everything, was running smoothly and the shop was looking GREAT. It turns out that Jimmy Neutron has some hidden talents in the merchandising area that he has decided to finally show us. He and Andre moved some stuff around while we were gone, and both Claire and I were very impressed. Even Paul showed up wearing pants with no holes in them. There was plenty of work to do and, of course, we weren't able to finish it all.

I am really looking forward to 2010. I think we have our best staff ever as well as some solid lines of bikes. I apologize if this sounds self promoting, but I'm just JACKED (that is for Eric the Fireman).

Hiking in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park

2009-12-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

On Monday, I made some sourdough bread. I used just a bit of whole wheat to give it some color. I tried using less starter than usual to give it a longer rising time. This gave the bread a more sour taste, which is more like a San Francisco Sourdough. We are taking a couple of loaves over to our friends house for use with some cheese fondu.

Yesterday, Claire and I went out on a great hike in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. There are over 10 miles of hiking trails in this park along with a campground and a swimming pool. It is worth checking out. They actually run a half marathon thru the park, which I assume must be a loop you do twice. The trails aren't flat, but there is nothing too strenuous in there. This was our second time there. The first time I ran back and forth while Claire hiked, and this time we stuck together, which is much more enjoyable.

We are away from the shop until next Wednesday. A1 is back at the shop, and alas, A2 has left us for some adventures in Southern CA. We will miss A2's enthusiasm, and physical humor. We are excited about having A1 back. Oh, yea, we did have A0 over for dinner last week as he was visiting from CO.

A run and some rollers

2009-12-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went out on a great, hilly run around a neighborhood near our house. Claire walked while I ran. There are some interesting single lane roads running up through the hills around Forestville that are just perfect for exploring. Here is a link to my loop. My goal was 5 miles. I felt really good and didn't have any pains during or after the run.

This afternoon I went down into the basement and rode the rollers for a little over an hour. I did my favorite workout. This workout consists of a 15 minute warm-up (with a couple of 1 minute efforts), this is followed by 5 on, 3 off, 5 on, 3 off, 4 on, 2 off, 4 on, 2 off, 3 on,... all the way down to 1 minute efforts at the end. Here is a picture of the graph of my heart rate. I got it up to 192 on the last interval. I was pretty worked over by the end.

A nice, cold 40

2009-12-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

Claire and I went out yesterday on a tandem ride with our friends Bill and Debbie. They took us out on one of their favorite 40 mile loops. It was a very fun loop over Chalk Hill and Westside Roads. Except for the chilly temperatures, it was perfect. We saw lots of other cyclists on the road, which is always a good sign.

This photo was taken in the town of Trona, CA during the Furnace Creek 508. Bill and Debbie, along with another couple, were in the process of setting the mixed tandem team record. Claire and I drove support for them.

Very interesting "ride"

2009-12-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I will try not to exaggerate when I write about this last adventure, but I am sure that it will sound like I am. Anyway, Claire and I decided that since it was not raining, we would go out and do one of our favorite loops through Healdsburg on our Burley tandem. We had the Garmin set up so we could race one of our previous times, and we were both JACKED about getting out there. First thing that happened is that I turned the wrong way right out of our driveway. We didn't realize it until we had gone about a half mile and we were getting farther and farther away from the "course" that the Garmin had set up for us. When we stopped to turn around, I noticed that the front STI shifter was broken and we couldn't shift out of our big ring. We rode back to our house and decided to hop on our Ibis Cousin It tandem which we have set up with big old cross tires. When I pulled the tandem out, we had a flat rear tire. We both laughed about how maybe we shouldn't be going out on the ride, but we fixed the flat and decided to go ride over Sweetwater.

We headed down River Road and turned into Rio Nido on our way to Sweetwater. We were both feeling good and ready for a nice steep climb. As we started to hit the steep part of the climb on Sweetwater, we could hear screeching tires coming towards us down the hill. Claire, being the reasonable one on the tandem, suggested that we pull off to the side and let whoever (or whomever) was coming down the single lane road in such a hurry to go past. We both watched as a white pickup came careening around the corner ahead of us almost not staying on the road. Claire gave a little arms up gesture (not finger, or hand) which suggested that the driver might have been going to fast. Anyway, he screeched to a halt and started to get out of his truck. I decided that the smart thing to do at that point might be to head in his direction at a run since I had the uphill advantage. Thank goodness I had my Shimano hightop SPD sneakers on and not my road shoes. The driver hopped back in his truck, and after exchanging some "pleasantries" with us and telling us that he could go as fast as he wanted since he lived on that road, headed on. He even commented on the fact that we should go back to the city and ride instead of on his road. Claire and I climbed back on the tandem and started back up the road. About 10 minutes later, we heard screeching tires behind us, and again decided to pull over. Here comes the same guy flying up the hill at full speed. He didn't really pay us any attention as he went by, which was fine with both of us. Remember, Sweetwater road is a very, very twisty, narrow road. Claire pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. At first, the dispatcher just suggested that we should just find a safe place to get off the road. As Claire was discussing things, another driver came down the road. He lived at the top of Sweetwater, and told us that he had almost been hit by the guy in the white truck. The dispatcher was listening a little more at this point. And then a guy in another truck came up the hill behind us and when we asked him about the white truck, he said that he knew who owned that truck, and that the guy was on a rampage and was out to kill two people. The dispatcher was definitely listening now and was sending some sheriffs out. The new guy in the truck was telling the dispatcher quite a bit about the crazy guy and also mentioned that the guy was armed and out to kill people. To make a long story short, we hung out until the sheriff arrived, he took our names, and then we headed back down Sweetwater. We rode home after that and decided that we just weren't destined to get in a nice ride today. Here is a link to our "ride".

Oh, yea, I almost forgot. When we were on top of the hill talking to the sheriff, a call came in saying that the crazy guy had driven through someone's gate and into their mobile home at the bottom of the road. That was before he came back up the road past us. It will be interesting to read the sheriff's report tomorrow and see what happened.

Heading back to work

2009-12-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well, today is our last day of vacation, and we will be heading back into the shop tomorrow. It has been a very, very busy week since we had 19 people at our table for Thanksgiving dinner. I started the time off with a couple of good rides, but haven't been able to get out as much as I would like with the dinner preparations and the such.

I got out the day before Thanksgiving for an hour long run through the regional park down the street. I felt really good, and had to make myself head home after 3 loops around the park. It was a beautiful day, as the whole week was.

On Saturday, my mom requested a bike ride through Armstrong Redwoods. After a quick handlebar swap and recabling of her bike, we loaded the bikes up into the Hub Bus and drove down to Guerneville. It was the perfect length ride for everybody.

Yesterday I hopped on my Cannondale R500 road bike and rode over to Occidental where I met Claire. We then switched to the Burley tandem and headed out towards the coast. Here is a link to the ride. Like the rest of the week, the weather was incredible. We had a tiny bit of a headwind on the way up the coast, but nothing compared to a summer day. The Willow Creek climb was perfect. Who could not love that climb?

Some good rides

2009-11-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

I got on the rollers for the first time this fall on Sunday evening. I am always amazed at how fast an hour goes by on those things. I had the "Killer Headwind" going, which made the first part of the ride very, very cold since I was down in our basement and the "headwind" is directed right at the front of me. Anyway, after about 10 minutes, I was warmed up enough to turn on the extra fan I have set up in front of the rollers. I didn't do any specific workout, just tried to spin and enjoy the moment.

On Monday Claire, Mathilda, and I went out and did our favorite 20 mile loop. Mathilda had been itching to get some miles in. It was a beautiful day out there, and I got a chance to wear one of my long sleeve wool jerseys that sits in the closet most of the year.

Yesterday I was joined by Eric the Fireman for my Willow Creek/Joy Road ride. We left at a little after nine in the morning. Eric was on his beautiful green Surly cross bike with his yellow wheels. He was very color coordinated as Claire pointed out before we left. About a month ago I decided to add Joy Road into my favorite loop, and it really changed the whole ride. For those of you who haven't been up Joy Road from the Bodega side, DON'T DO IT! Just kidding... It is a steep uphill. It ends up being around a 1000 foot climb by the time you get to the top. The ride was uneventful otherwise except for getting to watch Eric the Fireman careen out of control on Duncan Road right before the washed out part of the road. He stayed upright, but you could tell it had gotten his heart pumping a little. He blamed his sunglasses. A couple of years ago I came upon a guy lying in the dirt right at that point during the Grasshopper race. He had had the wind knocked out of him after losing control there. It worked out good for me, since I was able to use his body as a step in order to climb up the other side of the washed out road.

Making Bread

2009-11-18T22:31:00.000-08:00

Made bread on Tuesday. Three loaves of whole wheat sourdough, and two loaves of toasted walnut sourdough, which Claire had requested. Also made two pizzas. Plenty of carbs in the house.

A couple of days off

2009-11-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it is Tuesday morning, and it looks like some rain is moving in. I have just broken my KitchenAid mixer trying to double up a recipe of sourdough bread. I actually don't think it was totally my fault, since the piece was plastic. I have located the piece I need to replace, but the trouble will be finding a place to buy the piece. I feel like one of those bicycle customers who just need a small part for their shifter or brake lever, and we have to tell them that that piece doesn't exist as an aftermarket purchase. I had planned on kneading the dough by hand anyway after mixing it just a bit with the KitchenAid. It is rising right now next to the wood burning stove.

Claire, Mathilda, and I took advantage of the incredible weather yesterday by getting out on a 32 mile loop which included a stop at Andy's Produce for some fresh veggies. We also sat out in the sun and had a cup of coffee from My Friend Joe's coffee shop. Here is a link to the loop. I would highly recommend this loop since it is relatively flat and stays off busy roads for the most part. The loop also takes advantage of the West County Bike Path, which everybody should explore.

Sunday I rode my bike into the shop. It was a little chilly at the beginning of the ride, and my chin got a little cold, but otherwise I was quite comfortable. I think a skull cap is one of the best winter items for bike riding. I could make up some statistic here about how much heat we lose through our head, but somebody might check up on it and prove me wrong.

A week back at the shop

2009-11-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been back at work for a week after our time off. The shop has been busier than I would expect at this time of the year, but who am I to complain. Well, I guess I can only complain because we haven't had as much time to ride as we would like to have. I did get out for a great run Wednesday morning. It was just an out and back route on Martinelli Road, but with the coming of fall and the changing colors of the vineyards, it was gorgeous. I also felt great for the entire run.

On Saturday morning I rode into Monte Rio and met up with Eric the Fireman and a bunch of folks from Charles Schwab. I was lucky enough to have been invited by another Eric who works there. I guess this is sort of an annual event for them. I haven't been out on Kings Ridge in ages, so I jumped at the chance to get out there. It also helped that Claire offered to take care of things at the bike shop so I could have the day off. Anyway, when Eric T.F. and I got to Monte Rio we were greeted by a bunch of very friendly people on fast looking bikes. I haven't been riding much, so I had psyched myself up on just being able to make it out to Stewarts Point where I figured I could almost coast back down Hwy. 1 and back to Monte Rio. I hadn't heard that the route took us up Fort Ross Road before dropping back down to Hwy. 1. Boy, that almost did me in. I think Fort Ross has been less difficult at the end of the Terrible Two than it was this time. Here is a link to my ride.

I do have to say that the bag of Fritos from the Stewarts Point Store might have been the magic potion that helped me survive Fort Ross Road.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done

2009-11-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I had to go out this morning and do my Willow Creek Loop, but this time I needed to drop down through Freestone and head back over Joy Road. Ouch, my legs were really feeling it. By the time I was heading home on River Road, I knew that I had had enough. After yesterdays 13 mile hike, and the day before's 58 mile bike ride, I was feeling pretty knackered by the end of the ride. I was trying to take it pretty easy, if that is possible on this loop, but I got a little carried away on the stretch from Freestone out to Joy Road. At one point I looked down and my heart rate was running at 182, which shouldn't be happening on a flat section of road like that. I paid for it when I hit the bottom of Joy Road. Whose idea was it anyway to name that road? Here is a link to my loop.

We did make some awesome burgers for dinner as well as drinking some great beer. I even made homemade hamburger buns for the first time. Sorry, no pictures, they all got eaten.

Wine Country Ride and a walk through Point Reyes National Seashore

2009-10-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Claire and I went out on our Burley tandem and did one of our favorite loops through the vineyards. We love to do this ride at least a couple of times a year. It really reminds me of how lucky we are to live in this beautiful region that people travel from all over to see. We stopped at the Jimtown store and had a cappuccino and chocolate pudding. The vineyards were all changing color and losing their leaves.

Today we went out to Point Reyes National Seashore and did a 13 mile loop out Bear Valley Trail. We had a picnic lunch out at Arch Rock over looking the very, very calm ocean. We drove the MG out and really enjoyed the beautiful day. It got a little cold on the way home.

Oh, yea, and on Wednesday, we went down to the Lagunitas Brewery and did some tasting and took a short tour. Their tap room was shut down for the day, so we were treated to an extra long tasting. Chaz has a hard time saying no to free beer.

It sure is great being on vacation.

Sweetwater (beat by a minute)

2009-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I went out this afternoon and raced my April self again. Last week I got beat by 6 or 7 minutes, but this time I only got beat by 1 minute. In fact, at the corner of Sweetwater and Westside road, I was 20 seconds ahead, but I hit a big headwind on the way home, and I'm out of shape. I didn't have my heartrate monitor, which was probably a good thing on the climb since I was gasping for air. Here is a link to my loop.

Dream Ride

2009-10-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Claire and I are really enjoying our time off. It is great to stay around Sonoma County and be able to enjoy things like a tourist. Yesterday we drove out to Bolinas with Eric the Fireman to do the Dream Ride. It has been a while since Claire and I have done the ride, and Eric the Fireman had never done it. It was supposed to be windy, but that didn't affect us much except for a great tailwind heading down Hwy. 1 at the start. We parked on the side of Olema-Bolinas Road, which is nicely shaded so Mathilda could hang out in the bus and wait for us. This is a terrific 30 mile ride. You get a bit of everything with the ocean, Muir Woods, and then Ridgecrest over Mount Tam. We were lucky enough to do the ride on a weekday, but we have done the ride on a weekend before and leaving early helps out. You can add mileage by parking in Pt. Reyes, or Olema.

After the ride we came home and made pizza.

Not a lot to report

2009-10-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't got out for as many rides as I would have liked to lately, but hopefully next week that will change. Claire is arranging the week off for us as I speak. Let's see, Claire and I rode the Ibis tandem over Old Caz on Tuesday. We took 9 minutes off of our last time. The conditions were much nicer since we have had the rain. We were still able to ride across Austin Creek, but this time Claire's feet got wet. We started and ended in Duncans Mills. Here is a link to the ride. I accidentally reset my Garmin a couple of miles into the ride, so it shows up shorter than the 22 miles. Here is a picture of the top of Old Cazadero Road.

We also went out last Friday and did a relaxed ride through Annadel. It was a beautiful evening, and we both just needed to get out and unwind after the day at the shop. We are heading back up to Annadel in a couple of minutes, and I am feeling the need to push myself a bit tonight. We will see how things go.

A couple of rides and some bread

2009-10-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

We went out on Friday and rode in Annadel before having pizza at Mary's across the street. I planned on taking it easy, but got a little caught up in things on the climb up Marsh. At one point I looked down and my heart rate was 199, I had to remind myself to relax. It was a perfect evening, and we saw plenty of other people up there.

On Sunday I went out and did the Sweetwater loop. I set up my Garmin up to race myself from a previous loop in April. I got my butt kicked. I did lose some time on the downhills since it was wet this time, but I lost more time on the uphills. It was fun though.

On Tuesday, during all of the rain, I made bread. Three of the loaves are garlic/parmesan/rosemary, four of the loaves are garlic/pepper jack, and three more are half whole wheat. All are sourdough, of course.

A short run

2009-10-09T08:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we are back in the swing of things at the shop after our time in Death Valley. We have been trying to catch up on our sleep after staying awake for about 35 hours in the car following our riders. I did get out on a short run Tuesday evening after work. We are going to try to get out of the shop early today to go mountain biking, but sometimes things get a little too busy for us to do that.

Here is a picture of a propeller from one of those windmills.

Back from Furnace Creek

2009-10-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Claire and I drove down with 4 of our friends who were doing the Furnace Creek 508 bicycle race. They were in the two tandem relay division. If you have some time, check out the website, and check out the video. This is a race that I have completed once in 1994, and have crewed for various riders 4 times. Claire has crewed 5 times since she crewed for me in 94. The race rules say that each rider must have a crew that drives behind him or her during the night and provides all of the food and water and support that the rider hopefully needs. This race starts in Valencia and ends in 29 Palms. It goes through Death Valley at about the half way point. Anyway, if you check out the website you can get more info on that if you want. Suffice to say that this race is always very difficult and has a high drop out rate.

This year many people felt that we had the worst conditions in the history of the race. The heat wasn't bad, but the head winds from the 210 mile mark on were horrific. There were many stories of riders getting blown off the road going through Death Valley. Claire and I witnessed our own riders hanging on for dear life as the winds pushed them across the road and to the very edge of the pavement. We witnessed this for an 8 hour stretch through Death Valley. This was a stretch the they should have been riding at almost 20 mph, but instead were riding at 6 to 8 mph.

Well, we are very happy to report that our riders finished the event, and were the only participants to break a record. This record was broken by 5 minutes. It was incredible to have been a part of that. I wish I could say more, but I don't think that time or space would allow me to really convey what this event was like.

Well, we tried...

2009-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

We got off early from the shop and decided that we needed to get ourselves out for some exercise. We had decided on doing the Sweetwater loop, even though it was 90 degrees out. We hopped on our Burley tandem and rode on down River Road. It was definitely nice and warm, but as soon as we turned into Rio Nido, it cooled way down. Well, to make a long story short, we broke our chain part way up Sweetwater. It was in one of those corners where you are probably pushing around 24% or so. Anyway, a broken chain wasn't any big deal, so I took out a link and put it back together, but when we took off again, the chain started skipping around like crazy. It turned out that we had badly bent the easiest 3 gears on our cassette. We couldn't use the 4th one down either since the 3rd was bent into it. I figure what happened is that when the chain broke, it came over the top of the cassette, and since there was no chain on the bottom of the ring to balance things, it just bent it over. We did the same thing many, many years ago shifting into the big chain ring on the top of Old Caz. Claire wanted to keep going on, or at least give it a try, but pushing a 30x17 gear up a 20% grade was not in our power. So, we turned around and rode back down and then did a little ride through Armstrong Redwoods before coming home on River Road. Here is a link to our loop. Getting home sooner than we had expected did allow us the time to sit on the deck and enjoy some beverages while the sun set.

Tomorrow A2 will be getting married.

Willow Creek Loop on the Ibis Tandem

2009-09-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

Claire and I went out yesterday and did my favorite loop on our Ibis tandem. It was a great time and we were in no hurry. We stopped in Duncans Mills at Gold Coast coffee and had some pastries after we had descended 1400 feet down Boxsprings Road. We added in Duncan Road at the end. This is a fantastic ride that I would recommend to anyone with a cross bike. We got a little warm at the very end, but otherwise the temperatures were perfect. I had a mocha while Claire stuck to straight coffee.

Just a plain good loop

2009-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Claire, Mathilda, and I went out on our favorite loop, and then were having so much fun that we added in something extra. It was a beautiful day out there, with lots and lots of cyclists. We don't get out too often on Saturdays, so it was neat to see all of the groups and individuals enjoying the day. Everyone had big smiles on their faces and waved to each other. It is not surprising that sometimes those folks in their automobiles get so jealous of the cyclists. We did not experience any of this jealousy yesterday. Here is a link to our loop.

Oh, yea, and our figs are finally ripening up, so I went out and picked some of those. You have to wait until they are almost ready to fall off the branches to get the right ones.

A good full day off

2009-09-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon we went over to Napa and did a run/hike in Bothe - Napa Valley State Park. It was an amazing experience with the light mist coming down the entire time. I felt great on my run except for losing some skin on my big toe. I had noticed that my sock had a hole in it, but didn't think that much of it. I paid for it by the end. Here is a link to my run. I ended up running around 8 miles.

A couple of brief rides and runs.

2009-09-13T09:49:00.001-07:00

We finally managed to fit in a couple of days of exercise. The shop has really been kicking our butts. We both feel like we are working as hard as we can, but we are not able to keep up with the business. Anyway, last week we decided that we needed to get out for some activities, so we took off early two days and came in late one day. On Wednesday we went to Howarth Park and did a short run. On Thursday we headed back and did a little mountain bike ride. And on Friday morning we went out on a very pleasant tandem ride through wine country. We paid for this time off on Saturday, but I think it was worth it...

Willow Creek Loop with some singletrack (For A1)

2009-08-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to get out for a bike ride yesterday. The shop has been very, very busy, and Claire and I have been going in early almost every day and have been too knackered at the end of the day to do anything. We finally got two days off in a row, and I took advantage of some free time on the first day to do my favorite loop. The weather was perfect, and since I haven't been riding, I didn't put any pressure on myself to go hard. When I got into Willow Creek State Park, I decided to explore some single track that Claire and I had done a month or two ago. Riding that stuff on the cross bike is quite an adventure, but I managed to stay upright the entire time. I have a feeling I will be doing this loop again some day with A1 when he gets back from down south. This was the kind of loop you could lose a friend on though since the singletrack had plenty of drop offs and loose dirt in the corners. I had to force myself to go over Duncan on the way home, but once I had gotten up the 22% grade to the start of the dirt, I was glad I had made that choice. I did have a flat with about a half a mile to go, and I used the lazy method of a CO2 cartridge instead of my pump. Here is a link to the loop.

What a life

2009-08-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sitting on our deck with Claire and Mathilda listening to the Old 97's on my iPod and drinking margaritas that Claire made from scratch. She is using Debbie A's recipe, which we have grown quite fond of. My only complaint is that Claire bought some terrible chips to go with the salsa, but, that is a minor complaint in the scheme of things.

We went out this morning and, after a couple of mochas in Duncans Mills, rode over Old Caz. It was all Claire's idea, which is one of the multitude of reasons that I love her. We had to do Duncan Road first, of course, and when I checked my Garmin at the bottom, it was reading 21% grade. We weren't in any hurry today, so we took our time as we climbed Old Caz. At the top we stopped for a couple of pictures before climbing over the gate and starting the dirt descent. The thing that makes descending interesting on the Ibis right now is that I have some of the coolest looking brakes ever made that do not really slow you down. I am not going to say what type. Anyway, on my single bike, the fact that they didn't slow you down was really no big deal, but descending down a beat up dirt road where I ended up on my head the last time I rode down it, you want your brakes to slow you down. So, anyway, it was a hoot as we headed into some of the corners with me grabbing both brakes as hard as I could, and nothing really happening. We stayed upright, and that is really all that matters. We crossed the creek at the bottom without even getting our shoes wet and climbed back up out of the valley before dropping, or should I say, plummeting down into Cazadero. It was the perfect length bike ride, and we were happy that we parked in Duncans Mills instead of Occidental. Here is a link to our ride. And here are some pictures.

OUCH!!!

2009-08-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire and I went out for one of our favorite loops with Mathilda along in the trailer. We decided to take a "shortcut" through Riverfront regional park on Eastside Rd. on the way home. This gave Mathilda a chance to take a short swim. All would have been fine and dandy at that point, but I decided to do the Sweetwater loop afterwards. After getting a flat out on River Road, I rode down through Rio Nido and over to Austin Creek Road. I knew I was in trouble right when the climbing started on Sweetwater. I should have turned around, but I kept going. It was over a 100 degrees on the climb, and there wasn't much shade up there. I ran out of water somewhere on the backside, and barely made it home. I haven't felt like that in a while. Here is a link to our ride. The picture is from when we were in Tahoe on our way back down from Angora Lakes.

Back from Colorado

2009-08-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from our Giant Dealer Meeting in Colorado. It was a great time and really got us excited about the 2010 product line. On the final day, Claire and I took out a couple of Giant Trance X1's and did some mountain biking. We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain, which was over 11,500 feet and took a really fun singletrack all of the way back down. At the bottom we switched bikes, Claire took out a XTC 29'er while I hopped on an Anthem X1. The Anthem sure is a fast bike, it climbs like nobody's business, but still soaks up most of the rocky stuff. Here is a link to our ride.

We are back at the shop, and things are really going great there. I did finally get to build and sell a brand new 2010 Cannondale F5. The bike was beautiful. I think this bike will be one of our best sellers. It has a very sexy frame, and a pretty cool RST front shock that was made custom for Cannondale. Anyway, we have a bunch of new Cannondales in stock, and I need to get to building them.

2010 Giant Dealer Meeting

2009-08-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

Well, we are in Keystone, CO with Giant bicycles getting educated on the 2010 line-up. We got in yesterday evening just in time for dinner and some really good beer, maybe too good. Anyway, we spent most of today in meetings checking out the new line-up of bikes. It is pretty exciting stuff. We had a really great lunch out on the patio, and then about an hour later they brought out pizza and cookies. It was one of the first times in my life that I passed up the pizza, but not the cookies. At around 3:30, we had a chance to go out and demo some bikes. I took out a XTC 1 29'er that was very, very fast. I ended up doing some single track, and then climbing up a long fire trail to around 10,500 feet. For part of the climb it was raining and thundering, which was awesome. Here is a link to my ride. When I got back from the ride, Claire and I hopped on a shuttle which took us out to some stables where we had dinner. Giant had built a little pump track off to the side so there were people racing around the jumps while we ate BBQ. It was pretty cool being out there in the mountains as the sun went down.

Where does the time go

2009-08-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Saturday evening, and we are home from a very, very busy day at the shop. We worked with A2 and Jimmy Neutron and spent most of the day not knowing which end was up. It makes the day go by much faster this way. I ended up doing three road bike fits which I hadn't expected, but people keep buying road bikes. Luckily Andre and I did about 10 tune-ups the day before, so the work board wasn't that full.

Tomorrow, Claire and I take off for a "business meeting" with Giant. It is taking place in Keystone, CO. We will be there thru Wednesday and are looking forward to seeing the 2010 Giant products and getting to test ride lots of their bikes. I am happy that it is in Colorado this year instead of Utah so the beer will be better.

Last week, Claire and I went to Tahoe for a couple of days to get some time away from the shop. We camped at Fallen Leaf lake. We canoed around the lake one day and spent most of the other days sitting on the beach and reading books. We did ride up to Angora Lakes and did some cliff diving. The ride up to the lake was quite steep, and Mathilda refused to do any pulling. She did push on the way back down, so I can't complain too much.

A couple of days off

2009-07-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, we are enjoying our second day off from the shop. Yesterday I decided to wait until it got very hot outside and then I headed up over Sweetwater. I had planned on doing the Sweetwater loop twice, but my legs were tired from working. I was enjoying the heat though, so I headed out through Healdsburg after Sweetwater. I was motivated to burn off some calories since we were heading to Aleworks for dinner with A2 and Jimmy Neutron. Tuesday night they have $9 pitchers and $2.50 Bratwurst. Jimmy Neutron had just gotten back from Hawaii, so he had lots of stories to tell us. Here is a link to my loop. I ran out of water in Healdsburg, so I stopped at Veterans Memorial Beach to get some. I think it was over a 100 degrees out there.

Today Claire and I went out on a really neat 33 mile loop from our house. We wanted something pretty flat so that we could just stretch out our legs on the tandem. We both agreed that it was a great loop considering the lack of traffic and the lack of any real climbing. I think I will have to add this loop to the Hub Cyclery Ride page. It has a little of everything including the Joe Radota t rai l. Here is a picture of us going over Wohler Bridge.

All work and no play...

2009-07-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Tuesday and Claire and I have the day off. We went into the shop yesterday, even though it was closed, and worked our tails off trying to catch up. I did a bunch of tune-ups while Claire placed some huge orders with different vendors. It was sort of weird being there ignoring the phone and having the doors locked. We had worked seven days in a row, and needed to make sure that we could take today and tomorrow off. Jimmy Neutron is back at the shop today after being in Hawaii for a week, and Andre will be back on Saturday. That should make things a little easier.

Hilly Commute into Work

2009-07-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

I had the luxury of riding into the shop on Wednesday morning. I decided to leave a little earlier than usual so that I could take a hillier route into work. I feel pretty darn lucky living in Sonoma County and having these roads to ride. I hadn't been up Burnside in quite a while, but I hadn't forgotten how incredible the views are from the top. I was happy to be descending down the steep side instead of climbing it.

We have a couple of employees on vacation this week, so things have been quite busy at the shop. I feel like I am working as fast as I can, but, as Claire pointed out yesterday, my work load doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. Claire and I had planned on going in early for a tandem ride before we open, but instead we will be heading in to try to catch up before a busy Saturday.

Back into the swing of things

2009-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back in the routine of things. I rode in to the shop and home on Sunday. I had quite a headwind on the way home that evening, but I was in no hurry, so it was no big deal.

I was supposed to meet Rich on Channel Drive for a ride through Annadel on Monday, but we got our times mixed up and he showed up an hour after I did. I ended up going out by myself. Except for a flat tire, it was a terrific ride. It was a 23 mile loop that I would suggest to almost anyone, especially A1 and A2 (when he is up an running). I rode my 1FG, which is my Cannondale Single Speed.

Back from Utah

2009-06-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back from Park City. I think that I am still trying to recover. The last night for us in Utah was a doozy. We ended up being out until almost 3 in the morning with some of the Cannondale people. Claire and I had to get up the next morning at 6 to fly out. We went to downtown Park City to a night club named Harry O's. It was a pretty interesting experience. The picture on the left is of Claire and I and our Cannondale Rep, Engin. The picture on the right was taken by one of the "go-go" dancers who was standing on a big platform. Claire took her picture first, and then the dancer offered to take Claire's picture. I am probably out on the dance floor at this point trying to keep track of my sandals.

I went out on Monday and rode my favorite loop through Willow Creek State Park. I raced myself on my Garmin. I ended up being about 2 minutes slower than my fastest time which had been in late Feb. It was nice and hot outside, which I really enjoyed. I could tell that I was tired right from the start, and even thought about cutting the loop a little short, but I persevered. I did have a flat tire on Box Springs Road, which is inside the state park. That was my first flat going down that pretty bumpy fire trail. It was actually a welcome break to sit down and patch the tube and relax for a couple of minutes.

I went up to Annadel last night with the Cannondale carbon Rize 1. I had the premonition that I might run into Rich S., and I did. Rich is a former employee at The Hub Cyclery, and a friend of ours. He just got his masters degree in Botany or something like that, so he is a smart guy. I ran into him after climbing Rough Go and Cobblestone. I actually had a pretty ridiculous fall on Cobblestone and was saved by my Camelbak. I was threading my way through a little rock garden on the climb, and I fell over. It wouldn't have been bad at all, but I just kept tumbling, and finally ended up slamming my back up against a giant boulder. I felt the impact through my Camelbak, which acted as a cushion. I broke the buckle on my Camelbak, but otherwise it came out unscathed. I had a couple of bruises here and there, but nothing else. The worst bruise was on my elbow, so when I was having a couple of beers at Third Street, it hurt to rest my elbow on the bar. Anyway, after I ran into Rich, he turned around and we headed back up to Live Oak and then to the top of Burma. He was on his single speed with about 50 mm of travel in his worn out front fork. I had forgotten what a great bike handler Rich is and he made it seem very easy weaving his way through all of the rocks. I thought I would include a little quote from Rich that describes him a bit. I was chatting about business and the such as we climbed, and then I mentioned that I didn't want to monopolize the conversation, and Rich said, "Go ahead, you are doing a good job of it." I think it was funnier in context. Here is a link to the loop.

Cannondale One20 Demo Ride

2009-06-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Claire and I took out a couple of 2010 Cannondale One20's. It was not one of our best rides. We got a little lost trying to find the singletrack, and then, after climbing all of the way to the very top of the loop, We realized that we were running a little bit short on time so we turned around. It was a wonderful singletrack descent through the trees back down. We made it back, and now we are getting ready to head down for Cannondale's cocktail hour and dinner. Here is a map of our ride.

Today we checked out the 2010 Cannondale clothing line and then their accessory line. They had a fashion show for us. I was impressed with some of the new chamois for 2010. We also talked about their custom clothing options. Both Claire and I are excited about getting some Hub clothing made up in the near future. They ended the meetings by going over some of their marketing strategies for this coming year. It really got everyone in the audience fired up.

2010 CAAD 9's

2009-06-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the 2010 CAAD 9 road bikes. I am still riding a CAAD 8 bike and loving it, so we are excited about these. Our former Cannondale rep is now in charge of designing the road bike line, and I know that he always felt like Cannondale's aluminum road bikes were misunderstood. I personally have ridden almost every material there is for bike frames, and I love the snappiness of my aluminum Cannondale. Anyone with a history in the bike industry knows that you can make an aluminum bike frame ride many different ways just by changing the diameter of the tubing and the shape. Remember the old Vitus road bikes that road like wet noodles if you weighed more than 140 pounds? Anyway, here are some pictures...

Cannondale 2010 Product Launch

2009-06-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it is the second day of our Cannondale weekend here in Park City, Utah. Yesterday we were listening to presentations from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. They did give us 1 hour for lunch. Our butts were pretty sore by the end. The 2010 lineup looks pretty exciting. They showed us some top secret stuff that I can't talk about until after July 4th. They also showed us a 12 pound SuperSix road bike that they had floating around held up by balloons.

After the meetings, we had the opportunity to take some of the bikes out. I hopped on a brand new 2010 SuperSix and went out for a 36 mile ride with some other folks. There was some rain threatening, but it never materialized. It was a great loop with a couple of nice long, gradual climbs. Here is a link to my ride. Except for the bars being a little high for me, it felt incredible. It was very, very responsive when I stood up and threw it back and forth a bit. Claire took out a 2010 Carbon Synapse for a ride.

We will be heading back down for some more meetings to discuss some clothing and accessories and then some marketing stuff. Claire and I are planning on taking out a couple of the RZ One20's for a ride. We have picked out a 12 mile loop that should be challenging. For 2010 Cannondale is doing a RZ One20 and a RZ One40.

Before lunch we ran into Tinker Juarez. Claire had had her picture taken with him about 7 years ago and we joked with him about getting another picture in 7 more years. He is quite an amazing guy who has been racing forever. I did hear him mentioning that he was going to have to go out on a longer training ride that afternoon because of the pasta they were serving up for lunch.

2010 Cannondale Dealer Meeting

2009-06-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire and I are here in Park City, Utah. Here is the route we took to get here. The elevation is off because of the pressurized cabin, but thank goodness for that. Anyway, we will be heading down for dinner pretty soon and meet some of the other dealers here. Tomorrow will be full of meetings in the morning and early afternoon, and then about 3 hours for some bike demoing. I already got to check out the 2010 SuperSix, and it is BEAUTIFUL. I will get some pictures and post them on the website. Saturday will be more of the same, and then we will be flying back on Sunday. I am going to wear a button down shirt tonight so I can get some respect.

We worked until 10 last night getting the shop ready for our departure. We had received 75 bikes from Giant that day which had to be inventoried before we could start building them. A2 is in charge while we are gone, and we really feel like we have nothing to worry about except for maybe the music selection at the shop. It has been super busy at the shop, so hopefully the guys won't get too overwhelmed while we are gone.

Not enough time

2009-06-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

Well, Claire and I will be taking off for Utah tomorrow for the Cannondale 2010 bicycle launch. It will be a busy couple of days with plenty of meetings and plenty of demo riding. We have already set up some mountain biking for Friday and some road riding for Saturday. I am really excited about the 2010 line. It sounds like the 2010 SuperSix is going to be a hot bike. We have been putting in some extra time at the shop to try to prepare for our "business trip".

Summer is in full swing at the shop right now and I feel really bad whenever I have to tell people that our repair schedule is backed up. I remind customers that they wouldn't want to eat at a restaurant with no cars in the parking lot. Some people are scheduling appointments for tune-ups which works really great. That way they only have to leave their bikes for a day or two.

Thanks to Claire I have had the opportunity to commute into work and home a couple of times lately. I have made sure to take the scenic routes. I would have a connect to a ride link here, but my Garmin has decided not to download my last two rides. I am trying the switch over to the Crank Brothers pedals and I am happy with them so far. I had been riding some very old CODA SPD pedals, but they kept breaking in half on my rides.

We have 75 bikes coming in from Giant today. I'm glad I won't have to be stocking them. There will be a smattering of 2010 bikes in the order, but mainly Boulders and the such. I think we will be seeing an order of Cannondales in the next week or so. We are also busy building up as many Nirve cruisers as we can. They definitely have lots of character.

Very Long Time, No BLOG

2009-06-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been quite a while. As is the story of almost any bike shop owner, as soon as the summer hits, there goes any free time. Things are in full swing at the shop, but Claire and I have been able to get out from time to time on some mountain bike rides and some shorter road bike rides around the West County. Next week we will be heading to Utah to check out the 2010 Cannondale bikes and after that we will be heading to Colorado to check out the 2010 Giant line-up. We have had the opportunity to spend some time on a couple of the Cannondale Rize 1's, which are amazing carbon fiber mountain bikes. Last Monday we explored Willow Creek State Park on the bikes. We found some great single track and plenty of tall grass. Here is a link to our ride. Yesterday evening we went up to Annadel with A2 and Jim for a nice short ride. A2 has been off the bike for a while, so he was quite excited, and Jim had the chance to ride the Rize 1 and was loving it.

Willow Creek Loop AGAIN

2009-04-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

Boy, I just can't get enough of this loop. I went out this afternoon and did the loop on my own. I tried to take it easy, and I was 10 minutes off of my fastest time, so that was taking it easier at least.

Back from Santa Cruz

2009-04-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire and I had a week off from the shop, and spent 5 of those days camping at New Brighton State Beach just south of Santa Cruz. We managed to barely make it down there after the Hub Bus broke down on 19th Ave. in San Francisco. I don't know if you can call it a total break down since we didn't have to get towed anywhere. For some reason the Bus stalled at a light in stop and go traffic. It was very hot down there. It decided that it didn't want to start for a couple of hours, and then it ran just fine after that. Go figure.

Anyway, I went out for a couple of runs down there. Run 1 and Run 2. Since I have been having some tightness in my calves, I kept the runs shorter than usual.

We went out on an epic ride on Tuesday. It was very hot down there. Mathilda rode along in the trailer, but was no help at all on the uphills. She did help on the final descent back to the campground though. We rode up Eureka Canyon, which was nicely shaded for the most part. It was a wonderfully gentle climb with almost no traffic. At the top it was a bit more exposed, and both Claire and I were running low on water. We stopped at a fire station just before turning down San Jose Road which plummeted us back down into Capitola. We had a bit more climbing before we got back to the campground. We must have looked a bit knackered at that point, because a woman in a car actually pulled up next to us and asked if we needed water.

The other days we spent riding around Santa Cruz and sampling pizza. We still think that Pleasure Pizza has the best, and on Tuesdays they have slices of cheese pizza for only a dollar. We also tried Pizza My Heart in Capitola, but didn't like it quite as much. One of the days we rode all the way up West Cliff and checked out the surfers. We ended up with over 25 miles that day. Mathilda enjoyed all of the rides.

Sweetwater (plain and simple)

2009-04-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

I went out this morning and did the Sweetwater loop. Since we are taking off for Santa Cruz tomorrow for a week, I thought I should do this loop so that A1 can follow it when he is house sitting. It took exactly 20 minutes for the climb, and I'm usually around 18 minutes, so I know how I stand in that department. The entire loop took 1 hour and 26 minutes which is right around my average. I had to be a little careful on the back side of Sweetwater since it is pretty beat up from the winter. I got a pretty good two wheel drift through one of the first corners when I hit some gravel. Since I still have my third crash coming up, (they come in threes), I figured I should be careful. I hit some pretty good potholes on the other side of Sweetwater, but that is what Sonoma County is all about.

Long time no blog

2009-04-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been awhile. I have been getting out on only a couple of rides a week since the shop is so busy. Last Monday Claire and I rode the tandem and Eric the Fireman rode his beautiful TCR Advanced SL around the Chalkhill Loop. The weather was perfect, and except for Eric feeling a little frisky on his road bike, it was a good paced ride.

Today Eric the Fireman and A1 came out to the house for an epic ride. We were all on our cross bikes as we headed out over Green Valley and Harrison Grade into Occidental. As we headed up Bitner, Eric had some mechanical problems. We tried to fix things by making his bike into a single speed, but the roads were so steep that the chain just wouldn't stay where it was supposed to stay. We bid farewell to Eric on Willow Creek Road, and A1 and I headed on through the state park and dropped down to Duncans Mills where Claire was waiting to meet us. We then rode over Duncan Road and over Old Caz. A1 and I decided to push ourselves a bit on the climb. At one point my heart rate was 197 and his had broken the 200 barrier. On the way down Old Caz, I got a little out of control in one of the corners and went ass over teakettle. I managed to land on my head and crack my helmet as well as scratching up some other parts of my body. It was a pretty funny fall, I had passed A1 on a couple of the sharp bends, and I was going a bit faster than I should. At least this is what I realized as I over shot a corner and went into some soft dirt and rocks on the side. I remember my head hitting and then watching as the bike flew over the top of me. My main concern was that my wheels would still be straight enough that I wouldn't have to hike out of there. We were almost to the crossing of Austin Creek, and it would have been a long hike out. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and we got back to Duncans Mills feeling good. We then stopped for some Mexican food in Guerneville before heading home.

Exploring with Claire and Mathilda

2009-03-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

We went out yesterday and did a nice casual, interesting ride. It was all Claire's idea as she had heard rumors that there was a way to get from Wohler Bridge over to the River Front Regional Park which is off of Eastside Road. We put Mathilda in the trailer and Claire hopped on her trusty Ibis SS while I road my Cannondale cross bike. Here is a link to our loop. We did some exploring around Sonoma County Water Agency property. I am pretty sure it was all legal. We ended up at the park and we rode around the lake.

On the way home we stopped by our own regional park and let Mathilda swim a bit. She even fetched a stick once for us. She was a little sore by the time we got home. In fact, when we got to our door, she didn't want to get out of the trailer.

I had my first "crash" in a while. I was on my unicycle and it was more embarrassing than painful. Usually the unicycle just goes flying, but this time we both went flying. I ended up with a couple of cuts on my leg, but luckily I had just shaved the day before, so there was no hair to make things uglier. While I was unicycling, Claire was taking Thom the cat for a walk.

Mountain Bike Ride with Claire

2009-03-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire and I finally got back out on our mountain bikes. It had been quite a while, and the last time was quite muddy. We had to go into the shop early so that I could pull apart my shock and regrease the bearings and rebuild the oil cartridge. The great thing about those Cannondale Headshocks is that the come out as good as new with some TLC. Anyway, we got out of the shop at a little before four even though there was lots of tune-ups to do. It was too nice of a day to not get outside. Here is a map of our loop. Claire stopped and took a picture of some turkeys that were strutting their stuff on the side of the trail. Mathilda stayed back and guarded the Hub Bus while we were out. Claire took her picture, but since we haven't washed the back window since the last rain, it is sort of bleary.

Long time no blog

2009-03-23T18:19:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have written. Things have really picked up at the shop, so I don't feel like I have a lot of extra time to put stuff in here. I have been out a couple of times since early March. I have gone for a couple of runs where I felt great. I ran the Elmo loop the other morning and felt really good. Then a couple of days ago I went out for my neighborhood run and felt a little tightness in my lower calf at the end.

Claire and I were going to go out on a mountain bike ride the other afternoon, but when I pulled my mountain bike out, I realized that sitting around for a couple of months covered in mud hadn't been good for it. I need to spend some time fixing it up, thank goodness it only has one gear. We did go out and do our favorite loop together. Today we went out on the tandem for a 38 mile loop. We both agreed that it was a perfect day for a ride and it was the perfect loop for the day. I had been fooling around with the Garmin and had put our loop in as a course beforehand. This meant that we could race an imaginary person who was riding 15 mph the entire time. We ended up finishing about 4 miles ahead of the person. Next time I will have to put in a faster pacer.

Oh yea, I did ride my Somec fixed gear in to work on Wednesday. I then decided to take the long way home. I rode out Roblar and then out to Freestone and Occidental. At that point I was getting pretty tired and hungry. The shop had been busy enough that I hadn't had a chance to have lunch. I had eaten a can of pineapple right before I left, but I think it was wearing off. Anyway, I climbed up Graton Road and then turned onto Harrison Grade for some reason. Remember that I was riding my fixed gear (39x15). Then for some even crazier reason I turned on Green Valley Road and headed over to 116. Needless to say, by the time I got home you could stick a fork in my legs, they were cooked. I ended up with a little over 60 miles for the day.

Grasshopper #1 (Old Caz)

2009-03-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday was the first Grasshopper race of this year. The weather was beautiful, but as A1 would agree, not perfect. The perfect weather for this race is a good steady rain storm with plenty of gusty winds, but you can't have everything. I don't want to get my facts wrong, but I could swear there were over 200 people there at the start, it was huge. Claire was on her trusty Ibis SS and I was on my favorite Cannondale cross bike with my retro brakes that don't slow me down. Claire and I were positioned in the last third of the group as we headed out of Occidental. As we FLEW down Bohemian Hwy., I was sort of moving up through the group and chatting with old friends as I went. It was a pretty safe trip down Bohemian compared to some of the rainy years in the past. Claire had moved up in the pack also, and we ended up riding together out to Duncans Mills. At one point there was a little split in the pack, and everyone behind us was happy to leave Claire out there to pull it back together. As we turned on to Hwy. 116 and headed back towards Duncan Road, I made sure that I was getting up into the front third of the group. When we turned on to Duncan Road, we came to a complete stop. For those of you who have never turned onto Duncan Road, you basically go from level ground to a climb that hits around 20% at a couple of points. The road also narrows down to around 10 feet wide or so. At this point I actually got off my bike and ran part way up the hill, passing many of those stubborn cyclists that don't believe in running. There was another log jam at the gate entering the dirt section, but it wasn't too bad. Again, I got off my bike and ran up the first dirt section, which is faster than riding. Thank goodness for my blue canvas Shimano Hightop mountain bike shoes (I have four pairs of them).

Let's see, where were we? Oh, yea, Duncan Road went without incident for the most part. Thanks to my retro brakes that don't slow me down, and some good winter eating, I was able to pass plenty of people on the downhills. As Eddie Merckx once said, and I may be paraphrasing here, "It is not the climbs, it is the cupcakes that get you." Anyway, I got into a pretty good group that worked together to get to the bottom of Old Cazadero Road. I definitely wasn't the fastest climber around, so I made my way up the climb trying not to lose too much time. The back of Old Caz, which is dirt and mud at the bottom was a blast as usual. I passed about a dozen folks heading down the hill. At the bottom we crossed the creek, which was up to around my thighs or so. There was a guy at the bottom thinking about trying to ride his bike across, but he luckily changed his mind after being warned by some spectators at the bottom. The climb out of the bottom isn't bad, and takes place on some good hard packed dirt. I passed up a couple of more heading into Cazadero. One of the guys decided I was the guy to be around since I obviously knew where I was going. He decided to call me "Cotati" the rest of the ride. After doing some backroads above Cazadero, it is flat out to the coast. This guy who I was riding with decided that he would pull at 22 mph all the way. I had to get up to the front a couple of times so that I could rest. He basically pulled me and a couple of others all the way to the bottom of Willow Creek Road. And at that point, my thighs said that they had had enough. I made it up Willow Creek at my own pace. I ended up giving some food to another cyclist who looked like he was going to pass out on the steep section of the climb. My final time was 3 hours and 10 minutes. I have nothing to complain about here considering my fitness level. It wasn't the worst shape I have been in for this race, but definitely not the best either.

I hung out at the Hub Bus waiting for Claire. I had enough time to drink an Arrogant Bastard Ale and eat some potato chips. Claire rolled in at that point looking totally knackered, but with a big smile on her face. She was extremely happy with how it went for her. We exchanged some stories and watched a guy brake his front axle on his Mercedes before heading into Guerneville for some Mexican Food.

Here is the link to the ride. My average heart rate was 175, ouch.

Still trying to figure out the Garmin

2009-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well, for some reason my Garmin decided to combine my ride on the rollers a couple of days ago with my hour long run over the Scenic Loop. Here is a link to it, but it is all messed up. It says that I was going for 49 hours, which was how long the Garmin was sitting around between the two activities. I know the Garmin was off the entire time also, so I don't know what is going on. I was doing my favorite workout of 5 on, 3 off, 5 on, 3 off, 4 on, 3 off, 4 on, 3 off, 2 on, and so on. That is the graph above.

I felt terrific on the run. My lower leg didn't hurt one bit. I hadn't been able to run for awhile, so it ws a blast to get out there. Here is a graph of the elevation compared to my heart rate.

A couple of good rides

2009-02-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I got out on Friday with Claire and A2 for a little lunch ride. We did the Roblar-Valley Ford loop. It was very pleasant out there. I think A2 had a good time. He is a jack-rabbit on those uphills. We had to be back at the shop for a meeting with our C-dale rep. We are real excited because we have a bunch of the 2009 bikes on the way.

Yesterday I went out and hurt myself pretty good doing my Willow Creek Loop. I raced my last time on the loop and beat it by around 5 minutes. I have my time down to around 2:36 or so. I think my goal will be to go under 2:30. The conditions were fantastic with Willow Creek State Park being very tacky and not too muddy. I ran into another cyclist right at the beginning of the ride on Martinelli road. He was also on a cross bike with his Gianni Jersey on. It turned out that he lived right up the hill from me. He was on his way out to meet some friends before doing a very similar loop to mine. I felt really good the entire ride. My average heart rate was 168 and I hit 193 on my way up Duncan Road. I did get some minor cramps in my thighs at the very end. I am looking forward to the Grasshopper race next Saturday. It is too bad they have to charge for it, but I understand, with all of the legal crap in the world, it is important to cover your butt sometimes.

Riding the rollers

2009-02-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

Claire and I went down the basement and rode our bikes in the yesterday morning. We did a Chris Carmichael workout that we had on tape. These videos are a great way to stay on the trainer for an hour without going crazy. You can purchase these on DVD at The Hub Cyclery. I rode the rollers while Claire rode her Cyclops Fluid trainer, which is available at The Hub Cyclery. We did the time trial workout, which I think is one of the harder ones. Here is a graph of my heartrate.The workout consisted of some 5 minute intervals with 5 minutes of rest in between each, with a final 12 minute interval at a little bit lower intensity. Today we hope to get out with A2 for a lunch time ride. A2 is really getting into mountain biking, and doesn't get out on the road all too often. Now that he has a new Cannondale 29er singlespeed, he wants to spend all of his waking moments in the dirt.

Willow Creek Loop Take Three

2009-02-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went out on my cross bike and did my favorite loop. Actually, that was not a link to my ride yesterday since my Garmin decided that it would not let me download my info. I decided to race my last time over the same loop using the courses feature of my Garmin. That was pretty cool and I was able to keep up with myself except for heading through Willow Creek State Park where it was a lot muddier that it had been last time. I also had some trouble at the very end since the wind was right in my face on the way home on River Road. My average heart rate was higher than the last couple of times. I think I averaged 167 beats per minute instead of 150ish the last couple of times. I got poured on a couple of times during the ride, but except for very cold feet, I was quite comfortable. I finished 2 minutes slower than last time.

Today I tried to go out for a run, but after not warming up at all, my leg really hurt. I definitely need to do some more stretching. I was pretty bummed out.

Remember, if you are interested in a Garmin, we can get you one at the Hub Cyclery.

Back to weekly rides

2009-02-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it was great having the time off in January and riding a bunch, but now it seems that we are back to our once a week rides. The shop has been way too busy for February. Anyway, last Monday Claire and I rode with A1 and Melinda. We were on tandems and we did the Dillon Beach loop. It has been a while since Claire and I had done this loop. It used to be a weekly ritual, or so it seemed. The wind was in the totally opposite direction as usual, so it was interesting riding out Fallon-Two Rock Road and being pushed along. A1 and Melinda were real troopers as usual.

Yesterday Claire and I went out to Occidental for breakfast at Howard Station and started our ride from there. As we left Occidental, it was drizzling pretty good, and we were both wondering if the ride was such a good idea. Eventually it stopped drizzling and there were actually patches of sunshine as we rode along. We had planned on doing the Old Caz loop which is the first race of the Grasshopper Series. Claire was the person that first introduced me to Old Cazadero Road years and years ago. Since we hadn't ridden all week, we tried to just take it easy, but climbing up Duncan Road and then Old Caz, it is hard to take it easy without falling over. We were on our Ibis tandem. I had put some Paul Retro Brakes on the bike a while back, and those are the coolest looking brakes, but they don't slow you down very well. That made for some interesting descending of Old Caz. Claire and I both thought about Rich and Paula and how much they would enjoy that ride. When we got back to Duncans Mills for the second time, we stopped for some coffee at Gold Coast Coffee Company and noticed that some weather was moving in, so we chose to just head back Bohemian Highway instead of going out to Willow Creek Road. It was a good choice since it started pouring rain about 2 minutes from the finish for us. Here is a link to the loop. I forgot to start my Garmin right away, so it starts down by Camp Meeker. Oh yea, when we crossed Austin Creek at the bottom of Old Caz, the water was only up to my shins. Being the gentleman that I am, I pushed the tandem across the creek with Claire sitting on the back so only one of us had to get our feet wet.