Today was a slow starting day for the Co-pilot, sleep has been rough lately with the teeth in the rear starting to make their appearance. After yesterday's long ride I thought we could go out on the river trail for a bit and see how long things hold up. Once again the fog was pretty thick.
Things were going well at mile 6, but the fog was making everything damp. I decided to pass on the playground and detour out along Canada Larga Rd. I was thinking that some ponies and cows might make the morning a little more interesting.
It helped wake her up a bit, but like I sad we were slow starting....
after a couple hundred feet of altitude gain on the back roads the motor was feeling the slow start too, and decided it was time to point things back down hill.
The cows and bunnies were just OK, but scarring up a flock of birds was almost like a cup of coffee,
And then we were back to the ponies!!!!
Pure stoke! just enough to keep her from falling asleep on the way home. All in all we squeezed in about 14 miles in an hour an 15 minutes, not too bad for a loaded down xtracycle.
For my co-pilot that is. No opie to babysit today, I needed to go to the market, so it was time to expand the range a bit. First stop was the swap meet. The fog was back in full force this morning.
From there along the coast to the other side of town. Plenty of Co-pilot snacks make for a better trip.
Half way to the farmer's market we took a break to watch a giant date palm getting pulled like a weed
Then off to get some fruit, veggies and meat.
Even with plenty of cheesy crackers and fruit samples, energy levels were fading fast as we headed for home
Overall he trip went great. We pushed both time and distance further than we had before. The dividends were a bike full of food, some tired legs and a serious nap for Co-pilot while I am catching up on things.
Have fun, and Play outside!!!
The fog blew out last night and it was a perfect day to ride across town and explore a bit.
The temperatures are running in the mid 60s and there was barely a puff of breeze, so we headed off to a new to us play ground.
Post playground view back towards home. Tomorrow we head out even further to the farmer's market. As she is getting bigger the range we can go while still having fun is getting bigger.
My wife's bike is almost off to its new home now that she has fallen for the Sequoia. This bike has served her well and has many miles left in her. Originally a 700c bike that would barely fit 26mm tires, the conversion to 650b was transformational. It now fits 37mm panaracers with room for 45mm fenders. This being the smallest size it also sports a low trail front end geometry and handles like a dream with the load up front.
Last night I put 4 coats of garnet shellac on the yellow tape grips and the results are even better than I had expected. This weekend I will be running the new chain, cables and a few finishing touches.
Projects like this really are a lot of fun. A full write-up on the final build is soon to come.
Soliciting reader opinions on the pedal color, are the gold pedals too much or do they mesh well with the shades of brown throughout the bike? I like them, but am on the fence with a switch out to silver. Let me know what you think.
Signing off to get ready for our weekend in carmegedon as we head south into L.A. for our friends wedding. Have fun and get outside!!
Around Town July 14 2011, 0 Comments
This has been a busy week, and it is barely half past. Most of the bike time has been errands. No trip around town is complete though without passing by the beach.
Someday we will get back to surfing, for now it seems to elude us.
Back to the shop to complete some jobs.
June Gloom? July 11 2011, 0 Comments
The summer time fog rolled in late this year and is hanging around a while
It makes the light flat and the pictures challenging and quite undramatic. On the plus side it holds in the heat and makes for warm morning rides.
The Sunday standard ride for veggies, sunny at home but heading into the fog.
Nice day for a ride, the weather is warming up and the crowds are out in force.
Even then there are still some quiet moments.
Early morning ride with a little girl who would no longer sleep,
The city is trying to repair and re-invent our beachfront, the new multi use path is a nice bonus, still a bit off at the ends, but better than it was.
Nocino? July 06 2011, 0 Comments
Late morning walnut hunting. The time is a little past for the early walnuts, but this tree started a bit slow this year.
I keep track of the edibles I see out on my rides, walnuts are one of my favorites, but will not be ready for another couple of months. Last year I had posted some pictures on flickr from a gathering expedition near the top of Sulphur Mtn., and there was a comment that I should look into making nocino. Having no idea what that was I resorted to google and found this
nocino recipe. Now off to the store this afternoon to grab a few more ingredients.
This tree is a little easier access then the one on Sulphur mountain.
We spent the first part of the 4th of July weekend with family up in Atascadero, Ca and it was beautiful but HOT. The highs were over 100 deg F most days, so most riding was done as early as possible. Saturday morning I was up well before the sun,
to head out on a 108 km loop that had been recommended by Big Blue Toe from bikeforums.net. The route would take me through the ranches and coastal range south of Paso Robles, down to the coast from Cayucos to Morrow Bay, through San Luis Obispo and back up the Cuesta grade to Atascadero. Here is the map and stats:
The first third of this ride through the hills along mostly dirt roads was hands down the most beautiful ride I have ever done along the central coast. I look forward to incorporating it into other loops in the area.
On the stretch between Atascadero and the coast I think I saw no more than ten cars. The time of day may have had somethng to do with it, but I will take it where I can get it. The hills have transitionioned from spring green to summer gold, while the trees are green and thick providing welcome shade in many areas.
Twenty miles of country back roads with fourteen miles of well mainteined gravel made for a wonderful morning of riding. For most of the gravel section there was a creek runnng alongside the road with the occasional mini waterfall
After a few hours I had my first glimpse of the coast and ocean:
It looked like there may be a bit of welcome fog hanging on which would help keep the day's temperatures in check. The drop down to the coast was incredible, with ony a short climb along Old Creek Road,
and then down hill the rest of the way.
Once on the coast the temp had dropped almost 10 degrees thanks to the sea breeze. Traffic was still light on the Hwy 1 into Morro Bay, you can just see Morro Rock through the fog.
Once in town it was time for a coffee break. I had been on the saddle for a little over four hours at this point. Morro has no shortage of coffe shopes these days. My Aunt nad Uncle have some friends that own the best IMO, Top Dog, and is well worth a stop if you ar pssing along on this stretch of coast.
Keeping a comfortable pace, fat tires and having you bike well set up makes it much easier to smile like this after 4 hours of non stop riding. The 20 minute break was welcome, but I knew I would regret it as the day was heating up. Back on the road I headed out through the state park and estuary to Los Osos..
From there it was hot and uphill for the long ride home through SLO and back up the grade.
Things were heating up incredibly fast and I knew it was going to be a tough hot ride up the Cuesta grade. Once out of SLO the next 5 miles has a gain of almost 1000 feet. The planned route kept me off of the highway shoulder and on the old Stage Coach Rd, with more gravel. At the start of the way out of town spirits were high, and things were looking good.
An hour and 1000 feet later I was still moving, but thiking this was a much better idea on paper.
In 20/20 hind-sight, and post ride review of the map I realised that many of the bike walking sectoins were pushing 20%. This is still very ridable if you have appropriate gearing and the legs for it. I had both, but had not fully planned for the temps creeping closer to 100 deg. Once over the crest the ride was all downhill.
What an incredible day. Things were going very well untill the climb out of SLO. I slipped on my water intake thinking I was "almost there" and paid the price with some serious cramps setting in 5 miles from home. I have been using a watch to remind me to drink a bottle an hour, but should have been drinking a bit more in anticipation of the rising temps. My usual blend of Hammer Nutrition HEED and Perpetuem was not enough this day. Luckily I was able to lounge in the pool and rest through the rehydration phase.
I look forward to rdiding every leg of this loop in different combinations in the future.
Things were going well at mile 6, but the fog was making everything damp. I decided to pass on the playground and detour out along Canada Larga Rd. I was thinking that some ponies and cows might make the morning a little more interesting.
It helped wake her up a bit, but like I sad we were slow starting....
after a couple hundred feet of altitude gain on the back roads the motor was feeling the slow start too, and decided it was time to point things back down hill.
The cows and bunnies were just OK, but scarring up a flock of birds was almost like a cup of coffee,
And then we were back to the ponies!!!!
Pure stoke! just enough to keep her from falling asleep on the way home. All in all we squeezed in about 14 miles in an hour an 15 minutes, not too bad for a loaded down xtracycle.
