Campsite at Cassini Ranch for 2 days --- $50. 

Keeping up with Lyresa & Cheryl on Kings Ridge Road --- Priceless! Some things in life you just have to train for. For everything else, there's mastercard. 

Bill Bushnell climbing a little knoll up Highway 1 

Chris Hill of the Western Wheelers 

View of the Coast from Highway 1 

View of San Francisco Bay on the way up Mt. Tam 

View from the top of Mt. Tam 

Rivendell Reader #35

The ultimate destiny of outdoor gear manufacturers is to be bought out, and end up selling women's clothing and accessories. Burberry outfitted the Shackleton expedition in 1914, and now its biggest market is women in Japan. Eddie Bauer used to be an expedition outfitter. Bean, Orvis, and Patagonia are going that way too.

I don't believe it

If you're rich, you can afford advisors who can get you fantastic rates and good advice. Heck, you could pay me for similar advice. It's us middle income folks who have to scrounge around for every penny...

Scott Burns endorses my position on I Bonds

If you haven't invested in I Savings Bonds before now, this is the time.... To put that 4.8 percent yield in perspective, Bloomberg.com tells us the yield on 30-year Treasuries is only 4.51 percent. It's 4.19 percent on 10-year Treasuries and 3.88 percent on five-year Treasuries. While we can hold I Savings Bonds for as long as 30 years with interest tax deferred, we can't redeem them before five years without a penalty of three months' interest. The long-term yield may be uncertain, but these securities currently offer more yield with less risk.

I've been putting my money where my mouth is. It's only May and I've already maxed out my $30k a year allocation in I bonds.

Why we buy, by Paco Underhill

A great book on the science of retailing and product placement.

There are two main strategies for coping with the presence of men in places where serious shopping is being done.

The first one is passive restraint, which is not to say handcuffs. Stores that sell mainly to women should all be figuring out some way to engage the interest of men. If I owned The Limited or Victoria's Secret, I'd have a place where a woman could check her husband---like a coat... If I were opening a brand-new store where women could shop comfortably, I'd find a location right next to an emporium devoted ot male desire---a computer store, for instance, somewhere he would happily kill half an hour...

Cavedwaller, by Dorothy Allison

"I won't marry you, Nolan," Dede said. "I love you. No lie and I'll live with you. But I won't marry you. I won't marry no one."

In reply, Nolan put his mouth over hers and kissed her. His hands stroked her shoulders and slid down to caress her back. "Dede Windsor, you are the most difficult woman I ever met, worse than my mama. And you know damn well I'd rather live in sin with you than be carried off to heaven with any other woman in the world. Only thing you need to know is that I will want to be a real daddy to this child."

EE Bonds go into fixed rates

This makes them an extremely bad deal. That takes them completely off the table for me.

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond's new book, in which he claims a cautious optimism:

I already mentioned the seeming political impossibility of inducing First World citizens to lower their impact on the world. But the alternative, of continuing our current impact, is more impossible. This dilemma reminds me of Winston Churchill's response to criticism of democracy: "It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In that spirit, a lower-impact society is the most impossible scenario for our future---except for all other conceivable scenarios.

Yet the entire books rife with examples of not just other conceivable scenarios, but scenarios that have already happened. Of ancient people desecrating their environments to the point of no recovery. I fail to see how Americans will ever become environmentally conscious enough to act soon enough to prevent an environmental collapse in the world. We're even in denial about global warming.

Shimano touts dual control levers

Do the people in the ad look happy? After seeing them, do you want to run out and buy a Shimano product? Or do they look like someone who just gave you the finger?

Joe & Mike enjoying the gentle grades after climbing and descending Crother's road. 

Dick & Donna climbing Mt. Hamilton 

Joe enjoying the view after a brisk descent 

Springtime in the California desert 

Fields of yellow, lavendar and green on the backside of Mt. Hamilton 

Joe Gross enjoying the view just before the descent to Rest Stop #2 

Western wheelers taking a break at rest stop #2 

Mike fixing his second flat of the day 

The 3 of us at the end. I look worn out, Mike looks kinda funny, and Joe looks ready to do it again. 

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Back to waterbottles

I experimented for a bit with cycling with a camelbak. After 3 decently long rides with the camelbak, I'm going back to waterbottles. (Yes, they're heavier, no, I'm not getting rid of my Camelbak completely --- it's still a great solution for hiking)

Why?

1. Balance. When cycling, the camelbak has a tendency to slip and then put all the weight on one shoulder or the other. This is extremely annoying, and at times painful. And all the contortions I go through to try to correct that while riding is dangerous.
2. Comfort. Having something heavy on my back when it's hot is uncomfortable. Plus it puts pressure on my lower back, which already is the most vulnerable part of my muscle groups.
3. Hygiene. I like having one bottle for Cytomax or other sports drinks, while having a second bottle for just plain water. If I put Cytomax in my camelbak, I'm stuck with Cytomax and no water, or I have to put a water bottle cage on my bike, in which case why not reduce back pain and have no camelbak? If I carry just water on my Camelbak, then I end up using Endurolytes or some other pill based stuff, which just isn't as effective as Cytomax (because I have to stop to take them). If the point of the Camelbak is aerodynamics of saving weight, then having to stop to take Endurolytes kinda defeats the point, doesn't it? On top of that, once you've put something like Cytomax in your Camelbak, it's impossible to clean it out completely, so you risk your Camelbak gunking up and becoming a nest of horrid biology experiments.

With that, I ended up putting water bottle cages on my Fuji, and also putting on a pump mount and mountin the pump on the frame. It's not a bad way to go, and it's proven its value for years and years and miles and miles.

By the way, the Camelbak is unbeatable for hiking. It lets you drink while walking, and it carries a lot more water than a few waterbottles. I frequently find that I drink a lot more than I normally do, just because it's so convenient.

Booty from the Cupertino Bikes Swap Meet

Shimano M520 pedals (new in box): $20
Solvang Century Socks 2 pairs: $5
Pedros Orange Peelz 16oz drip bottle: $2
Entrance fee: $2

Not bad at all!

Tripel Karmeliet, the Beer for non-beer drinks

I'm not a beer drinker. I don't like it, and never picked up the habit, except for a three week bike trip in Europe where I found that beer was cheaper than bottled water.

Then one day, Charlie Ayers at Google hosted a special dinner and served Tripel Karmeliet. It was a fantastic beer, and I went back for a couple more servings. Then I was stumped. How could I buy it? I found it at Beltramo's, but they had four small bottles for $14 or so. On top of that, there was a time when they lied to me, telling me they had it in stock and then when I showed up they didn't have it!

I was glad when a search on Google brought me Internet Wines and Spirits, which sold the 750ml bottles for $9 each (after the hefty shipping and handling charges), which was quite acceptable. The delivery was quick, and everything showed up unbroken.

I was worried that the beer wouldn't live up to my expectations after this time, but I shouldn't have been concerned. It's just as good as I remembered, and worth the extra effort of finding it online, especially since there wasn't any other beer that I enjoyed.

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel about cloning and organ donation. It's also about the value of art. A true literary novel, it's got multiple layers at every level, making the novel rich. Unfortunately, the detached voice of the narrator (one who perhaps was raised to be detached about her body) makes everything quite distant for me.

Vanguard reduces hurdle for admiral shares

This is great news! The $250k limit used to be a massive barrier. Now, $100k isn't exactly chump change, but it does affect my investment strategy --- my goal now is to bring as many of my funds up to $100k as possible to enjoy lower costs.

The Fuji, after all adjustments
Replaced the Fuji saddle with a Flite (both seats have Ti rails, so no weight difference), replaced the stem with the moto-ace 115 rise 110mm (100g weight increase).

Commute time on my 8 mile (slight downhill) commute: 18mph. (Including slowing down for stop lights, etc, etc.) A full 3mph faster than my Heron. Forget everything anyone ever told you about "weight doesn't matter." It does!

Totoro & Holy Cow conspire to push Hello Kitty off bed 

Me with my Fuji Team SL, Steve Prothero, and anotherWestern Wheeler 

Fantastic New Restaurant Scoop

Lisa & I found a fantastic new Vietnamese restaurant in San Jose. It's so new it's not even in either Google local or Yahoo local. Asia Moon Restaurant, 385 S. Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128. Phone: 408-248-0018, Fax: 408-248-0019. Hours: Mon-Sun 10:30am-10:00pm.

We tried the vegetarian spring rolls (very good, it was truly vegetarian). I then had the filet mignon with garlic noodles while Lisa had the lemongrass string bean with garlic noodles. The garlic noodles were heavenly (the last place we found good garlic noodles was Thanh Long in San Francisco), and the filet mignon was delightful. (The Vietnamese know how to do beef!) The string bean was pretty good as well. Highly recommended. It wasn't crowded (yet), but it soon will be.

Remember: you heard it from me first.

Joining the SVBC as a life member.

There are not many organizations I'm willing to associate with for life, but the SVBC is one of them. They were responsible for many improvements in cyclists' lives in the Bay Area:

• Accessbility to Foothill Expressways and other expressways in the area
• Bikes on Caltrain
• Dumbarton Bridge Bike Path

As someone who's used all those facilities, I've gotten more than $500 of value out of them already. (The savings of living for 7 years car-free in the Bay Area has more than made up for that!)

Lyra's Oxford

Set in the Oxford of His Dark Materials, after the events of that books have taken place. It's a little fluffy piece, but doesn't take too long to read, so it's not a waste of time.

"But it feels like it," Pan said. "It feels as if the whole city's looking after us. So what we feel is part of the meaning, isn't it?"
"Yes! It is. It must be. Not the whole of it, and there's a lot more we don't even know is there, probably... Like all those meanings in the alethiometer, he ones we have to go deep down to find. Things you never suspect. But that's part of it, no question."
The city, their city---belonging was one of the meanings of that, and protection, and home.

Stress Test on the Fuji

Did a 51 mile ride today, about 35 of which was with the club. The wheels, which had been giving me so much trouble before, seem to have settled down and gave me no trouble despite the pounding I was giving them. I know Grant says there's not much difference between bikes and frames when it comes to weight, but let me tell you, the 10 pound difference between my Heron touring bike and my Fuji was the difference between me being able to hang on and accelerate with the fast club riders at 28-30mph, and being dropped on the first rolling hill we came across. Sure, I don't think a pound or two makes a difference, but 5 pounds makes a world of difference, and 10 pounds --- it's like having an extra couple of pounds of muscle!

On the climb I worked full bore (the bike is geared so high that I have no choice other than to work really really hard) and went up the hill at speeds between 6-9mph, a full 2-3mph faster than I was able to manage before. Half of this was due to the weight and the other half was due to the position Terry's given me: it's a position further back and lower and he's right about me being able to recruit more muscles when I need power --- I was spinning up the hill in a 36x27, and my cadence was a full 10-20rpm faster than the folks I passed, even the ones with lower gears. I am extremely pleased overall with the bike. It is light and everything I wanted a light bike to be.

I am not so pleased with the stock saddle. I think it's a bit too narrow, but more than that, the cloth fabric top grabs my bike shorts and causes a ton of chafing, which has rubbed my bottom a bit raw. That saddle will get replaced! And of course, the stem has to show up --- the low position is making my shoulders and neck sore.

Car Politics

My suspicions are true: evil people drive SUVs, and Republicans are evil.

Quote from Alan Moore

Excerpt from An Interview With Alan Moore

That seems to be something that people don't understand about super-heroes---there is no perfection, you know? You can't be Superman unless you want to.

Well I think being Superman---I mean to even be a superior being---it's not actually to do with having powers or to believe. You've already got powers. All of us have incredible abilities, talents, things that can achieve miraculous things. Most of us, yeah, we've got all of these superpowers and we never do anything: we sit down on the sofar and watch TV, and drink beer and zone out---and I suppose that if we had got telepahty or super-breath or the power of flight or invulnerability, we'd probably still sit on the sofar and watch TV and drink beer. It's like, most people, it wouldn't matter whether they did rescue a dying alien, jet rocketing here with babies from an exploding planet, or find the magic flying ring or whatever, it wouldn't matter, because it's not heroism or super-heroism or just simply being a decent person. It's nothing to do with gaining special powers to do this with.

If you are a fully aware and awake human being, you will see the quite marvelous powers that you, as an ordinary human being, already have at your disposal. And you'll see how you are using those powers or not using them. Now, I mean, there's plenty of people on this planet---I mean, in terms of what they could accomplish---how much below fictional Superman does say, Bill Gates rate? Bill Gates has this superpower of immense wealth. Now you've got that much money, am I right in thinking that you could pretty much do anything?

Sure.

And Bill Gates is not the only sort of fantastically rich person on the face of the planet, so these are people who have superpowers. When have they saved the world, ended hunger, done magnificent, massive gestures---did they even save a snoopy girl reporter from falling out of a window? They didn't. We have people with super-powers on this planet and they're not necessarily superior people. On the other hand we have some people on this planet who would seem to be completely disadvantaged and not have anything going for them anmd yet they've accomplished fantastic acts.

I'd like people to actually think about, what does heroism mean? What is power? Does Stephen Hawking have a super-power? I mean, he would seem to me upon the available evidence to be much smarter than, say, Superman or Brainiac 5. Ands he's even iun a wheelchair, so he could join the X-men or the Doom Patrol, or any of those kind of differently-abled friendly super outfdits.

The super-powers don't really matter at the end of the day, it's the characters that are important. Just as it doesn't really matter whether me or you or the reader ever gains the ability to run faster than light and get a neat costume. That won't make any difference to us. If we're an asshole now, all we will be then is an asshole in a neat costume who can run faster than light. This is not going to really improve the universe any, you know? The important thing is that ordinary human beings are fanatastic. They are fantastic in what they can do and what they can be. They can do fantastic things to their world for good or ill. They don't need powers. They don't need outfits and chest insignia. With things like Watchmen and a lot of my subsequent work I've tried to sort of suggest that. That habing superpowers wouldn't necessarily make you a nice person and that ordinary human beings are what we've got to work with: we don't have any superheroes here.

Source: The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore, pg. 118

Post script in 2012: Bill Gates has indeed done amazing things with his money since.

Fitting the Fuji

I'd already fitted the bike as well as I knew how, but somehow I knew something was wrong. On a recent climb up highway 9, I'd found that I had some lower back pain near the top. It went away but I knew more climbing would exacerbate it. One of the problems with fitting yourself is that you have a hard time watching yourself while riding, so I ended up going to Terry Shaw at Shaw's Lightweight Cycles. I wanted the job done right, and Terry Shaw is the most knowledgeable bike fitter I know. (Runner up is probably Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycle Works)

I showed up at Shaw's in the afternoon, and after changing into my riding gear he had me ride around the parking lot while he watched. After that, he had me pedal the bike while holding on to the wall and took a few measurements. Then he moved the seat backwards and down. (I always set the seat too high when getting a new bike, and then end up scooting the seat forward to compensate) He rotated the bars up a little, and that made the bike more comfortable. I still needed a taller stem (which he didn't have in stock), so we ordered a Salsa.

After that, he had me back at the parking lot, and asked me to do a few exercises. One was to set the bike at a fairly high gear, and then accelerate from a slow speed, but rather than push down on the pedal, to kick forward as much as possible, "like kicking a ball." I did that, and the bike almost jumped when I first started. "You bring onboard more muscles when you do this, and it's like firing on 8 cylinders instead of 2. The racing bike almost demands this style of riding, which is very different from the more upright touring position." He then had me do this a couple more times and then had me spin at an easy gear but still maintaining the kicking style. From this, he determined that my stem should be a 115 rise, 110mm stem. (i.e., I did not have the flexibility to go lower)

He also recommended handlebars that weren't as wide --- I had 42s, but I'd do better with a 40cm. He did say that according to traditionalists I'd need a 36cm handlebar, but if you need to stand a lot, wider bars were better. Given that 2cm wasn't that far off from ideal, he suggested that I rode around a bit first before making that adjustment, since that could be an expensive adjustment.

At the end of it all, Terry seemed impress by my performance in my position. "You're not just a tall skinny Chinese guy, you're a tall skinny Chinese guy who's a decent cyclist," he declaimed.

And that was it! $75. As they say, $5 to order a new stem, $5 to adjust the seat, and $65 to know which to order and how much to adjust the seat. If it makes a difference to my comfort on the bike, it's well worth the money. When I first started cycling 13 years ago, I had multiple fittings (one every 3-6 months) while I developed my cycling style. Now with the addition of a new bike to my stable, I'm having to adjust my cycling style yet again. We'll see how it goes!

The Amber Spyglass

Book III of His Dark Materials

"I remember. He meant the Kingdom was over, the Kingdom of Heaven, it was all finished. We shouldn't live as if it mattered more than this life in this world, because where we are is always the most important place."

The subtle knife
Book 2 of His Dark Materials.

But Will was there before she could find her feet, and the subtle khnife was at her throat.

"Why did you do that?" he shouted. "Why did you kill him?"

"Because I loved him and he scorned me! I am a witch! I don't forgive!"

And because she was a witch she wouldn't have been afraid of a boy, normally. But she was afraid of Will. This young wounded figure held more force and danger than she'd ever met in a human before, and she quailed. She fell backward, and he followed and gripped her hair with his left hand, feeling no pain, feeling only an immense and shattering despair.

"You don't know who he was," he cried. "He was my father!"

Another pleasant surprise on the Fuji Team SL

No lawyer's lips. Absolutely amazing in a bike at this price. Even my custom tandem came with them! Fuji does "the right thing," once again. They may very well be the Bridgestone of the 2000s.

The Golden Compass

Book one of "His Dark Materials" trilogy

"Why on earth should she?" he said. "Why should a distand theological riddle interest a healthy, thoughtless child?"

"Because of what she must experiencde. Part of that includes a great betrayal..."

"Who's going to betray her?"

"No, no, that's the saddest thing. she will be the betrayer, and the experience will be terrible. She mustn't know that, of course, but there's no reason for her not to know about the problem of Dust. And you might be wrong, Chrales; she might well take an interest in it, if it were explained in a simple way. And it might help her later on. It would certainly help me to be less anxious about her."

"That's the duty of the old," said the Librarian, "to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old."

They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.

First ride on the Fuji Team SL

After 10 yeras of never owning a bike that weighed less than 24 pounds, I finally went whole hog and bought a Fuji Team SL. It weights 16 odd pounds after I put in pedals and swapped out the cassette from a 12-23 to a 12-27.

After fixing shipping damage (which still cost less than sales tax would have been!) and putting on a bike computer, I took it for a 10 mile ride. The first thing you notice about the weight loss is the acceleration. It's amazing to go from 0 to 20mph in about 6 pedal strokes almost effortlessly. Then the climbing. The lowest gear was a 36x27 (thank goodness for compact cranks), but I found that when climbing 15-16% grades I was still standing up and going in a straight line and not to-and-froing like you see on TV sometimes. Very nice. (My touring bike has a low of 19 inches, and I think I've had to go into the granny on the same hills!) Now, Ultegra STI isn't necessary if you have low enough gears that you can sit and spin up anything, but if you have to stand up for any significant hills (anything > 8% grade), then I think STI is almost a necessity. Shifting while standing took a little bit of getting used to, but wasn't as disconcerting as I thought it would be. I found I could shift in both directions (both up and down) under power.

Descents were a blast. This bike geometrically speaking is practically a clone of the Bridgestone RB-1, with perhaps a slightly shorter top tube and a slightly high bottom bracket, so that's not suprising. I took it up to about 35mph, and won't hesistate to do more.

I still have to get the fit dialed in a bit more (whenever I get a new bike I have a tendency to set the seat too high), but I'm very surprised by how I seemed to fit this bike almost naturally. (Once again, given that I selected this bike partly because it was so close to the Bridgestone RB-1, isn't surprising)

The price I paid for this bike $1642 after customization, was nothing short of amazing. My 1993 Bridgestone RB-1 was built from frame up and cost $1800 or so, and that was in 1993 dollars! On the other hand, the RB-1 had components so reliable that even after 8 years it was running as well as it was brand new. I have my doubts that the Team SL will still run like that in 3. (The wheels are the weak spot, they are very light, and even given how light I am, I expect them to get trashed very shortly) Nonetheless, the bike's a great buy, and I look forward to spending a few miles on it.

First ride on the Fuji Team SL

After years of riding primarily on heavy bikes, I finally bought a really light one: the Fuji Team SL. It's a stock 2004 model except:

1. I put a 12-27 cassette on it. (Why do stock bikes always come with such high gearing? I'm not Lance Armstrong and it seems to me that most other riders aren't)
2. I made the brakes moto-style (right front, left rear)
3. I'm replacing the tires with Avocet 700x25s as soon as I can.
4. I've got a Sigma sport computer mount on it.

Initial impressions: the big difference between a really light bike (< 17 pounds) and a heavy bike is how easily you accelerate. It's amazing to stomp on the pedals and almost immediately get up to cruising speed. I expected a big difference in climbing, but that actually didn't come out right away (though thinking about it, the fact that I was climbing 16% grades in the low gear of 36x27 is pretty darn impressive --- I had to stand up, but I didn't have to swing switch-back). And of course, I was climbing faster! Significantly faster 2-3mph faster, maybe more.

Descents were a blast --- the bike does ride a lot like my Bridgestone RB-1 used to: extremely neutral and stable on descents (a sure sign of good geometry) with no skittishness whatsoever. This is a bike that wants to carve corners. The wheels seem to be a bit fragile to me, but maybe that's because they feel so light! I took the bike up to about 35mph and will have no qualms doing 40mph.

Ultegra STIs take some getting used to. Standing up and shifting is nice, and a little bit disconcerting at first but I think I can get used to it. The brakes take a bit of reaching to, and I think the handlebars need to be rotated a bit. I think I'll have to dial in the fit a bit more. I don't know why, but every time I get a new bike I have a tendency to set the seat too high at first and then adjust it down. By the time I was done, though, (not surprisingly) everything was set up like my Heron touring bike, except for the low handlebars. (Nothing I'm going to do about it, it's a racing bike and wants to be ridden like one) We'll see. It's better to adjust one thing at a time.

All in all, for $1642 (after new cassette, all the labor fixing up shipping damage, etc), it's not a bad deal. My RB-1 cost $2200 after all was said and done, and weighed 8 pounds more! Of course, the RB-1 ran for 8 years before getting hit by a car, and ran as nice 8 years later as the day I bought it, despite hard use, and I'll be surprised if the Fuji Team SL does the same. Nevertheless, I think it'll be a nice experiment for someone who has between 1993 and now never bought a stock bike (and in fact, after I bought a stock bike in 1992, I almost immediately thrashed the wheels and headset and replaced them with good stuff!).

Elfenland + Elfengold
What a great game! Nail biting till the last round, and lots of strategy and fun.

Spring Trip Report
Two of us were planning a Jobst-style tour of the Alps this summer, so we decided to do a shake down overnighter on March 12-13 to test out equipment issues. 2 other co-workers joined us at the start but would not be staying overnight.

I had my Heron with a Nelson Longflap mounted on my Brooks, fenders (the Heron served as a commute bike as well), and a Topeak Morph. Mike had a Canondale with a Camper Longflap (which impressed me by its sheer size). Emil showed up with an REI Novara with aerobars, and Noah showed up with a Bianchi Volpe.

We made a few detours in Cupertino to get around the wine festival, headed up McClellan road and then made a turn onto Stevens Canyon road. The weather was cloudy with very little wind as we rounded the quarry and made a sharp right onto Montebello road, a normally untrafficked road that for some reason saw significant traffic (i.e., more than 6 cars per hour) that day.

The cool day made for good climbing and I struggled to keep up with Mike & Emil, who were setting a pace not at all normal for anyone carrying a load. I discovered that my saddlebag reached far enough down to make contact with the fender, which made an annoying squeaking noise. Cinching the straps up further solved that problem but I might well have to do without the fenders for the actual tour, where I expect to overstuff the bag on a regular basis. We climbed hard until we stopped at the Montebello school to wait for Noah, who hadn't ridden a bike for awhile. After 10-20 minutes Noah showed up looking a bit worn, but after a bit of rest signalled that he was ready to go.

The remainder of the climb wasn't steep, but we finally burst through the fog a mile from the top and saw a glorious view of the Bay Area covered entirely by white clouds, with Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo, and parts of the coast range peaking through it. We felt like we were at 7000', though Noah's altimeter only read 2300'.

After stopping for pictures we passed through the gate leading to the fire road and kept going towards Black Mountain. All around us the hills were lush and green, with daisies, poppies, sprinkled throughout the fields. At the top of Black Mountain we paued to enjoy the sun, and peered out towards the ocean to see that the coast was entirely fogged in. We all had sunscreen on but guessed that we really did not need it that day.

Down towards Page Mill road we went, negotiating a few ups and downs with care, since none of us had tires wider than 25mm. Nobody crashed, however, and we all emerged safely onto pavement where a water fountain awaited us. At the corner of Page Mill road, Noah decided that he'd had enough and turned down the mountain. The rest of us completed the climb. There, Mike discovered that his tires were low, so we stopped to pump it up, hoping that it wasn't a slow leak, and descended Alpine road, a fast swooping descent that alternated between sunny warmth and cool hillside as the road threaded its way towards the Redwoods. After a particularly beautiful section Emil noticed he had cellphone coverage and stopped to call his wife to arrange for a pick up at the lunch spot in Pescadero.

We then plunged into the deep Redwoods along a stream, the cathedral of trees with its fresh and scented air permeating our skin, face and lungs. The descent was fast but we were not in a hurry and were sad when we emerged at the bottom at the corner of Pescadero Road, where we turned once again uphill. A quick stop at Sam Macdonald Park HQ to relieve ourselves and we went on ahead. The air was still, so we made rapid time into Pescadero where we stopped at Norm's market for OJ, freshly baked artichoke garlic bread, cheese and meat. The 3 of us demolished short work of an entire loaf, and then Mike and I bought ingredients for the evening's dinner. Emil discovered that his wife had gotten slightly lost and wouldn't show up till later, so we all decided to take another short loop to stay warm.

We rode onto Cloverdale road towards Gazos creek road. There was now a slight South wind, making us work for our progress but also chilling us, so the pace wasn't as high. Past Butano State Park, however, we received a bit of shelter and the rollers started as the road turned towards the coast once we arrived at the intersection with Gazos Creek road. This is a fun, one-lane road with not much traffic, and I was sorry that we reached the coast so quickly.

There, Emil turned right while we turned left (erroneously due to a navigation error of mine). But we stopped for directions at a gas station and quickly corrected ourselves and headed North, this time the wind assisting us and we arrived quickly at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Youth Hostel where a soak at the hot tub was welcome after the day's journey.

The next morning, our bags being lighter from not having to carry dinner, we headed up the coast in still air towards Pescadero, swooping down into the quiet hamlet from above via Bean Hollow Road, heading North. A couple of quick climbs had us passing farmlands (now under a conservation easement paid for by the Peninsula Open Space Trust), and under cloudy skies, we pulled into San Gregorio general store, where we each had a cup of coffee before proceeding.

The descent on Highway 1 to Tunitas Creek road was exhilarating as usual and very low traffic due to the early hour. We rode along this road until Mike had to stop to adjust his saddlebag, which had sagged
onto his tire. After snugging up the straps the bag now had plenty of clearance, so we kept going despite our growing interest in what appeared to be a shouting match between a cow and a rooster in the farm where we'd stopped.

The coffee must have had a stimulative effect on me, for I felt extremely strong, climbing Tunitas Creek with vim. Despite the load, I felt very good on the road, and quickly soared along the stream and breathed in deeply from the fresh clean air. Halfway up the hill the sun broke through and sent shafts of light down through the trees, forming corpuscular beams which lit up little spots of yellow on an otherwise dark road. This further encouraged me, since the road levelled off for a bit and I shifted out of the granny and rode the rest of the way to Skyline which was lit up by a warm morning sun.

Mike joined me after awhile and we descended Kings Mountain road back into Silicon Valley, where at the bottom of the hill Mike found the saddlebag dragging against on the tire. A strong pull on the bag and the entire saddlebag mount came off in his hand, so we stopped to re-attach the saddlebag mount onto his saddle. I advised him to put some loc-tite onto the threads for the actual trip, and then we rode my favorite backroads home, arriving just in time for lunch.

My ultralight showed up. I spent a half hour putting it together this
morning. The wheels are out of true (might well have been damaged
during shipping), which I can fix myself if I have to. I think the
headset's a bit loose. The brakes are right rear instead of right
front, which I don't like. I need to get a 12-27 on the rear (instead
of the stock 12-23). So I guess I'm making a trip to Cupertino Bike
Shop this afternoon.

On the other hand, here's what I'm impressed by:

The bike is light! It's really light. I know that 15 pounds is light,
but one has no idea until one lifts it. The fit and finish of the Fuji
is nice. Even though the carbon fork is carbon, when you look at where
the brake shoes are on the brakes, you can see that they are right at
the bottom of the slot, exactly where Grant would put them. The same
goes for the rear. I'm going to mount 25s on the bike, but I think I
even have room for 28s if I was so inclined.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Socialized Medicine Works

Surveys by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and other organizations, have reached the same conclusion. The superiority of VA hospitals is so obvious that by now it ought to be common knowledge. But it isn't, because an insane political consensus that firmly opposes turning health care over to the government--because the government is presumed incapable of doing anything well--doesn't want to hear that government hospitals are outperforming private hospitals.

The Silver Spike

I should really have read this right after The White Rose.

Many men admire Raven. He fears nothing concrete. He takes no crap from anyone. People who mess with him get hurt, and the hell with the consequences. But those are the only dimensions he has. They are the only dimensions he permits himself. How can I remain emotionally entangled with a man who will not allow himself emotions, however much he did for me in other ways? I appreciate him,. I honor him, I may even revere him. But that is all anymore. He cannot change that with some demonstration, like a boy hanging by his knees from a branch to impress a girl.

Shadow Games

Continuing on my Black Company binge...

I guess each of us, at some time, finds one person with whom we are compelled toward absolute honesty, one person whose good opinion of us becomes a substitute for the broader opinion of the world. And that opinion becomes more important than all our sneaky, sleazy schemes of greed, lust, self-aggrandizement, whatever we are up to while lying the world into believing we are just plain nice folks...

The White Rose

What the greater of two evils show up, but you've been fighting the lesser evil for year?

"I do not want to die, Croaker. All that I am shrieks against the unrighteousness of death. All that I am, was, and probably will be, is shaped by my passion to evade the end of me." She laughed quietly, but there was a thread of hysteria there. She gesured, indicating the shadowed killing ground below. "I would have built a world in which I was safe. And the cornerstone of my citadel would have been death."

Shadows Linger: Book 2 of the Black Company

The Black Company switches sides.

I could think of nothing to say. It was no less than I had expected, and had hoped she would accomplish, for she was the lesser evil, and, I suspect, remained possessed of a spark that had not committed itself to the darkness. She hads shown restraint on several occasions when she could have indulged her cruelty. Maybe if she felt unchallenged, she would drift toward the light rather than farther toward the shadow.

The Black Company

Inspired by The Black Company Campaign Setting, I'm re-reading the series.

There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.

We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. The politics, the ethics, the moralities are irrelevant.

International Bond Funds

80 people in the Western Wheelers Morgan Hill LDT ride today

Perfect weather, little wind, beautiful green hills, what's not to like? I feel sorry for non-bicyclists. They don't know what they're missing.

The Monk and The Riddle

Randy Komisar writes about the difference between drive and passion. Acknowledging that most things in life are out of your control, he claims that the important part in life is to be doing what's the so important to you that you're willing to do it for the rest of your life.

Yet many still believe that those who enjoy exceptional achievements and accomplishments rode to the top entirely by themselves. The media always look for a single person, a CEO or an entrepreneur, to personify the accomplishments of an entire company or industry. It makes good reading, but it's simplistic. Someone in the Valley suddenly finds himself worth $100 million dollars and begins to believe he earned, and therefore deserves, that money because of his skill and ability... If you're brilliant, 15% to 20% of the risk is removed. If you work 24 hours a day, another 15 to 20% of the risk is removed. The remaining 60 to 70% of business risk will be completely out of your control.

On the way to Steamboat Springs, Colorado 

Piaw & Lisa on Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 

Lisa Near Stinson Beach 

View from the top of Matt Davis Trail 

Fenders
I loaned my rain bike to a visiting Googler, so I spent Sunday afternoon installing fenders onto my commute bike. It took a couple of hours and a few zip ties and quite a bit of patience, but when done, the bike has fenders that are quiet, which is very nice. I guess I'd always been intimidated before by fenders, but I really should never have been.

Scarlet's Blog

Not a must read blog, but it's well-written, which is something I can't say for every blog on the web.

Backpacking no more

The lonely planet guides have been getting steadily worse over the last few years, and this article explains why. When the owner of the company repudiates the mode of travel the company was founded to serve, it's quite clear that no one there takes the work seriously.

To be honest, I'd never found much use for the lonely planet guides. As a cyclist, their guides focused on towns, rather than the places in between towns, which are by far the more interesting things on a trip.

Piaw & Lisa, Sequioa 2004, Summit Road, Santa Clara County 

Piaw & Lisa, Sequoia 2003 Canada Road, San Mateo County