A couple of days off

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 trail. Here is a picture of us going over Wohler Bridge.

All work and no play...

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

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

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

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

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

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...