Today-Wednesday-A ride up to the Lakes on Mt. Tam to a Barbecue in the Redwoods with some old friends. Saw a number of Wild Turkeys and deer, and Mt. Diablo was easy to see 25 miles away. Nice out, about 68 F. and sunny...
Went up on Pine Mountain with Joe Breeze, Otis Guy and Wende Cragg to re-create a photo dating back 40 years. When the camera man showed me the photo, I realized I could have brought the same jersey if I had known!
They told us to dress in character, so everyone wore jeans, soft caps and in my case a replica of my old Army fatigue shirt, while Joe sported his denim work shirt. The bikes were borrowed right out of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame collection, three coaster-brake 1941 DXes and a 1939, Wende's Alan Bonds conversion with derailleur gears and an Alan Bonds paint job. Joe as usual ran behind as he worked to get Wende's old klunker working. We got up on the hill with bikes in trucks, and Joe realized he had forgotten his own bike.
This required a call to the museum for Joe's son Tommy to bring it.
We posed on the spot of the photo from the very first ride in 1975. Ironically, I was the only one there today who had been on that ride, but I'm not in the photo because I was the photographer.
The one-speed coaster-brake, 45 lb. bikes were all geared around 68 inches, impossible to ride uphill. It felt like a victory that I got five feet further up the hill than Otis did. We were posing anyway, so we stayed near the vehicles, just a hundred yards or so up the rocky hill. We rode around for the cameras for a while and then went about our other activities.
Today-Saturday-Rode up to the Council Rocks above town about 900' up to the West with Charlie Kelly and big Warren. CK had a tumble on the OG trail where it drops off pretty steep to the side on the way up. He ripped the pocket and side off the cargo shorts he wears over cycling shorts-see pic-his camera also departed and was finally found by Warren. Beautiful out, 72 F. and sunny...
Today-Tuesday-We rode up to Tamarancho on Iron Springs road, about an 800' climb. A 14' box truck passed us on the way up, then we caught up to him later, backing slowly down the road because the road grader above had broken down, and blocked the whole road. He must have had a hell of a time backing down to where he could turn around, probably 5-600 yards or more. Of course, we went right around him and continued up to the top...
Today-Wednesday-We rode to Ross and then up past Phoenix Lake to Concrete Pipe fire road and then back to Fairfax. I spotted one of the coolest hot rods in the lot below Phoenix Lake, a 5 window '32 Ford Deuce coupe with a chopped top and a Big Hemi ...
Today-Saturday-The 2 day Fairfax Festival starts today, with food, drink, and free live music. A ton of people downtown. I stopped and listened to some tunes from a pretty good band, then left for a spin up White's Hill and back home via the old Railroad Grade. took a snap of the little treehouse I discovered recently, accessible only by a small trail-very cool...
Along the same lines yesterday (sorry didn't have time to post then) I combined my two passions - cycling and drag racing.
There's a drag strip about an hours ride away through some great forest trails, the perfect first outing for my new (to me) Intense Tracer.
Warm and sunny on the ride there, liked the feel of the Tracer, suspension but not too much of it - unlike the Uzzi and 5.5 that I've owned before.
Spent the afternoon watching hot rods and muscle cars duelling it out, let me say now that the sound of a blown V8 though open headers cannot be beaten.
Then on the ride home, good timing in some ways and bad in others, the heavens opened up with a full on thunderstorm. It was like riding in a shower-cubical placed onstage at a Metallica gig, trails turned into streams and I felt like an 8 year old riding through an endless puddle
...
