Out Riding. And Building.

I've been so busy with everything else bike related in my life, I've been neglecting this poor little blog!

Geez, over the past three months a lot has happened.  Lets see...

- I have a frame currently being painted.  Another is almost ready to go to paint.

- I found a lovely Takhion Aero that's actually my size!  I tore my quadriceps tendon, so I'm off of fixed geared bikes for a while, but once it's healed I can take it to the track.

- I attended NAHBS, which filled me with inspiration and where I got to meet so many wonderful people!  

- I met some other local framebuilders, who are rad and wonderful people.

- I met some other local cyclists through LA's Bikes and Coffee Camp, who are also rad and wonderful people.  

- The shop got an overhaul, and now it actually looks like a proper shop.  

- I did the Solvang Century, which was my first century ever.  My knee held up just fine, I kept a decent pace, and I love my bike more than ever.  

I'm in the shop a lot these days, which I'm loving!  If you're in LA and want to stop by, please let me know.  

The Sunken City: Exploring Alviso and Drawbridge

The Silicon Valley seems like the sort of place that wouldn't at all be synonymous with a ghost town.  With buildings upon buildings housing companies such as Google, Apple, Oracle, etc., and the demand for housing high in an already dense area, the last thing anyone would imagine here is an abandoned town slowly sinking into the slough.  

But yet, that's exactly what there is. 

Drawbridge, California has an interesting history and can only be accessed by a treacherous trek along an active rail, but you can get pretty close and see some abandonment in the nearby town of Alviso by bike.  An amazing write up up Drawbridge's history and some excellent photos can be found here, but I'll also share some photos from a jaunt last weekend to check out the Sunken City.  It's been nicknamed such as it is slowly sinking into the bay, which started when an increase of infrastructure caused more water to be pumped into the slough.  This is why Drawbridge was slowly abandoned.

The Guadalupe River Trail which goes through downtown San Jose leads right to Alviso.  So that's where we started.  

The trail runs right past the airport - a few years back before this section was added, you had to ride through the airport.  It was not fun.  

This mural covers the San Jose Mineta Airport parking garage.  I always thought it was cloth, but looking close it appears to be something like ping pong balls stuck into some sort of mesh.  Kinda cool! 

The trail ends right where Alviso begins.  Alviso is still populated, but there are areas that are no longer used.  

Once we reached Alviso, we found a public shore access area that seemed to have been abandoned for some time. 

The building slightly above my handlebars was the South Bay Yacht Club.  It was upkept, but still seemingly abandoned...there were also boats in the harbor - but no way to get them in or out of the harbor.  The whole place was a bit eerie.

In memory of Tim Haines.  Found in the grass near the abandoned boats.  He was loved.

Following a rocky, gravelly trail, we passed by old dilapidated buildings and century plants sprouting trunks showing their age.  Eventually we came to a loading dock that is still in use, which turned out to be a part of the Alviso Marina Park, on the edge of the Alviso slough. 

The modern docks were a stark contrast to the old buildings and endless grasses on the slough, but we were able to ride all the way out to the end of the gangways.  

A sign on the gangway.  It pertains to weather conditions and boats, but I think it's a good bit of advice in general! 

Leaving the docks and heading left was the nature preserve, which is where we were going.

From the docks we followed the trail to the nature preserve, which was trails winding through grasses and out to the slough.  It was a bit surreal.  

A sea of grass.

The wooden trails were guarded by these gates, which stood up from the grass and made interesting silhouettes over the bay.

We moved on through the slough, which almost felt like a path riding out into the ocean.  Shorebirds and seafoam were everywhere - there were more pelicans here than I'd ever seen in my entire life.

The trails went on for some miles through the slough.  They were rough, sandy, and gravelly - probably better suited for a CX bike or a mountain bike, but my bike did just fine!

We stopped to look back towards the bay.  

The trails continued on, but eventually we came to these tracks which are still active and serve the Altamont Commuter Express Train and the a few other Amtrak lines.

The tracks were the only entrance and exit into Drawbridge.  Though I wanted to head out, a bike on live tracks is not the safest way to cross into Drawbridge, and it's closed off to the public.

The road to Drawbridge.  The land mass narrows and there's eventually nowhere to go if the train comes.  If you're going to cross, you'd better know what you're doing! 

No trains coming from either direction, so I had to try to shoot my bike on the tracks!  

Following the loop of the slough trail, it eventually led back to Alviso through a seemingly abandoned natural area which slowly gave way to neighborhoods.  

One of the last signs in the nature preserve.  Someone bothered to give the ducks blue collars.  

With the wind at our backs, we took the Guadalupe River Trail back to San Jose and had some well deserved burritos.  If you're in the bay, I recommend heading out to the slough and exploring - it's well worth it!

One More From The Road

My friend shot this while on the previously mentioned ride, and it was too good not to share.  That's me in the foreground!

Rocking the orange jersey.

I in no way have the dexterity to remove my cell phone from my back pocket, unlock the screen, and take a photo while riding, so I'm glad that someone else does.  I usually grab photos using my shoulder attached camera on my Chrome bag, but I didn't have it that day.

Really can't get over how amazing this ride was.  

Lollipop

I've been told it's called that because the route looks like a lollipop.

I mean, sorta

A few awesome coworkers and I set out on this ride since we had some nice weather this weekend, and it was such a beautiful ride that I'm aching to do it again!

Winding through the rolling hills, redwood forests and oyster laden shoreline, this 63 mile ride is truly some of the best that the north bay has to offer.  We started out bright and early in Fairfax, the birthplace of mountain biking, and began by climbing out of town to be greeted by miles of rollers through California redwoods.  The smell of the trees was just as refreshing as the cool air, and this was definitely my favorite part of the ride.

Just as we were coming out to the Point Reyes area, we stopped to fix a flat.  Something managed to hack all the way through a Gatorskin, so we did a quick fix until we could get some change to get a dollar bill patch.

While we were here, 16 Ferraris passed by.

Point Reyes Station is the first third mark for this ride, and also the location of a killer little coffee shop (and apparently some kind of Ferrari party).  I enjoyed a ginger scone with some local chai while the aforementioned dollar bill patch was successfully installed.

All local ingredients too!  I need to explore this town more.

Point Reyes gave way to a gorgeous winding coastline that went almost all of the way to Tomales Bay - we did pass a great little oyster bar that smelled amazing.  

Turning back inland, a climb known as Marshall Wall was my next challenge.  It's a tough climb, but there is a bit of a break in the middle to allow for a minute or two of rest before continuing up.  The views on the way up are worth it, and I had cows mooing at me along the way, which is not something I've ever encountered before on a ride. 

At the top!

We stopped briefly at the top to enjoy the view and shed some layers.

Some of the best riding buddies.

Dropping back down towards Novato, rolling hills and open farmland surrounded us.  Fields full of yellow flowers, roads with wide shoulders and few cars, lots of other friendly riders, and perfect weather - it was a picaresque, perfect way to see this part of the bay.  I kept wanting to stop and take pictures, but was too busy enjoying the ride.  

Eventually the route rejoined with the redwoods, and we rode the last few miles back to Fairfax.  

This ride has really sparked my desire to explore more of the north bay.  I think next time a pit stop at that oyster bar is definitely mandatory.

"Snow"

I keep seeing all of these awesome looking wintry adventures on fat bikes, and admittedly, I'm pretty jealous.  

While I don't have any real snow to go riding through, I was greeted by a different sort of white covered ground on a ride this weekend.

If you squint it kinda looks like it could be snow.

Not only was the ground covered in petals, any sudden gust of wind made it seem like a blizzard was coming through.  It was very pretty, and only lasts for a short time each year, so I was glad to get out and enjoy it! 

I'm still trying to see if there's a way I could get up to Tahoe for the weekend to actually get a legitimate fat bike experience before the season is over.  It just looks like so much fun! 

Sunset Jaunt

I went out for a ride and managed to catch a pretty amazing sunset through a break in the rain.  It was pouring down for quite a while, so I had the bay all to myself.

Since this is the path that I commute on, you might think it would get old to ride it again on the weekends, but when I get to go out on a slow jaunt and really explore, it's a completely different experience.  

Looking towards the East Bay.

You can just barely make out Oakland in the background.

Wildlife observation path leading all the way out to the bay.  A bit muddy, but lots of fun.

I rode out further as the clouds were really starting to move away.  

At one of the many observation points along the bay. 

A short but sweet ride amid the utter craziness as of late!

Lotta Honda

Bay Area cyclists know Old La Honda well.  It's considered a benchmark climb, one of those climbs that everyone knows their average time for, one that is often used to compare with just about any other climb in the area.  It's also said to be the best way to get up to Skyline, which leads to a whole slew of other routes along with some great views.  This isn't my map, but here's the steep section of Old La Honda if you're looking for an idea of just what you're up against.  With an average grade of 8% and certain sections that come in at 26%, it's a walk in the park for very few people, and I am not one of them.

Once you get to Skyline after a lot of swearing and gasping for breath on OLH, you have a few options: you can go either north or south on Skyline to complete a loop back, or you can continue straight as OLH descends west and eventually connects with highway 84.  From there you can go to the ocean, or enjoy a gradual climb back up to Skyline.  

The last time I attempted this climb was when I was on my hi-ten Nishiki Custom Sport Mixte.  I was a student and knew next to nothing about bikes, and the climb destroyed me.  I don't even think I made it to the top.  There was a lot of profanity.

Today I tried again for the first time in years, with much better luck.  I had to stop twice to wait for my arrhythmia to settle down, and even though I was slow I maintained a decent pace and made it to the top despite the fact I was pretty sure I was dying.  It was tough, but gorgeous, and descending down the other side of Skyline was totally worth the crazy climb.   

At the bottom of OLH, off 84, about to climb back to Skyline.

It's quite dark winding through the forest, so lights are a must!  

Unfortunately I had to cut back up to Skyline and cut my ride short since my heart was on the fritz, which is just something that happens every couple of rides.  Nonetheless, it was a great little ride and I got about 4000 feet of climbing in, so here's to hoping I'm a little faster next time!

Not Quite Winter

We're in some desperate need of rain out here, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy the 70ish degree days we've been having lately.

Just perfect.  

There is a wonderful trail in my hometown that I frequently ride with my dad whenever I manage to get home for a day or two.  It winds through the town in such a way that you would think you're out in the country somewhere, not in your own backyard.  It's also a great demonstration of each season, and the winter berries were quite the contrast against such a warm day.

A great ride and the perfect end to a three day weekend.

Though it certainly makes for nice riding, I'd really like to get the cold back soon, at least for a little while.  Winter riding in itself is rather enjoyable for me, and there hasn't been too much of it lately!  Perhaps I'll have better luck in February, and better yet we'll get some rain so that summer doesn't end up being miserable.

Autumn

For anyone that doesn't think we get seasons out here in California...

The best time of year.

What was supposed to be a quick ride to get away from being slammed the past few days turned into a two hour adventure in the mountains.  Totally worth it.  

The weather was perfect, too.

Sure, it's nothing compared to New England, but it's still pretty breathtaking.  And you get to ride over crunchy leaves!

Taken on a quick jaunt through the Tom Sawyer Trail today.  If you live in the Bay Area and haven't been up there lately (or ever), it's stunningly beautiful right now - keep in mind it is a MUP, so be nice about sharing it with everyone else.

Indeed It Is

Blogger is Being Challenging

So here's a quick picture of an octopus sewn to a tree that I found on an urban exploration ride before the site deletes my post again.

There's even a koi fish in the left corner.

'sup?

How does one even do this?  It's amazing.

It Really Doesn't Take Much

My cell phone has being dying a slow and sad death over the past few weeks, so today when the charger ripped in half and the volume completely went kaput I rode down to get a new one. 

Naturally the first thing I had to do was play with the camera.  

So far so good!

My little jaunt through San Mateo also led me to discover a few new things, such as a better way to get to Trader Joes and another bike shop.  I also had to jump on El Camino for a little bit, which seems to have become almost as bad as PCH in terms of riding.  There are a lot of parallel bike routes, but it would be awesome to see some more signs (or even infrastructure) on El Camino since it's such a direct route.  

Nine also got a decent cleaning and tuning, since it was making some gnarly noises over the past few days.  I thought it was the bottom bracket, but when I removed the belt and checked the spindle and bearings everything was fine.  After cleaning and regreasing things are silent and smooth again, so I'll just chalk it up to Phil Wood grease saving the day again.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Outside Doesn't Suck So Much Right Now

The temperature dropped from about 113 to 83, which actually felt refreshing after the past few days of feeling like I was being smothered by a giant hairdryer.  As such, my dad and I decided to hit the local trails for a bit this morning.

It wasn't until I left my hometown after high school that I realized how bike friendly it was, and for a long time there was a killer biking blog that turned out to be based here.  Infrastructure, signage, trails, bike racks - there's enough here that it was award a bronze level award by The League of American Bicyclsts.

There's one trail that we always seem to gravitate towards - with multiple entrances and side trails that make it possible to traverse the entire town, plus little areas to stop along the way, it's the perfect ride. 

Blackberry bushes!

A nice little snack.  Not too many were ripe, but the few that were tasted quite delicious.

My dad, my riding partner.  Don't let the bike fool you, he's fast on that thing. 

I love this lacing pattern.

"Why does it only have one speed?"

At the local high school.  The remaining Fourth of July decorations are the epitome of summer here for me.  

We made it back before it got too hot, but it was still warm enough to get the quintessential summer feel of riding in my hometown.