Cyclist, eh?

Yesterday our city had the pleasure of hosting Yvan Martineau and the friendly team from L'Amerique à Vélo. Following a mail that was circulated by Ralph Fertig of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, a group of intrepid, curious and simply francophone showed up at the Dolphin Fountain to join our Canadian Guests in a ride around Montecito and Mountain Drive. It was a great meet and greet among cyclists from different groups and allegiances, and a great occasion to see the wonderful place where we live through the eyes of our guests.

L'Amerique à Vélo will be  a 3 episodes series broadcast on the chain Québéquois Évasion in occasion of the 2010 Tour de France. And that was also the reason for pedaling in Santa Barbara: the irresistible call of our views was only part of the story. After the group ride, I participated with a selected few  in an attempt to best Lance Armstrong's alleged climbing record of San Marcos Pass. Needless to say, no one succeeded or even came close, and I was sternly reminded by my heart monitor that it's time to start hill training again.

Another great day of international, bicycle-related fun: I can't wait to post some footage!

(photo courtesy of Ralph Fertig)

Aurora

I finally had the chance yesterday to try out the beautiful Christmas present from my wife: a 2009 Jamis Aurora.  What a magnificent bike, so different from the many I have ridden in my cycling life!

Oddly shaped, at least compared with my "other" road bike the Aurora is the Subaru Forester of bicycles: rutted roads don't scare her, it flies over everything, handles very well. In part this might be due to the 28mm. Vittoria Randonneur tires it comes equipped with, in part to the almost upright riding position of the traditional geometry frame. One thing is sure: there is nothing more comfortable than steel bikes!

Sure, it might not be the bike for sudden uphill sprints, especially at over 27lbs. "naked." However, with the generous gearing provided (30x32 is the lowest!) it's enough to point it at a hill to be sure that, sooner or later, one will get to the top. Exceptional comfort, and payload too: the bike comes with all the possible braze-ons and eyelets for cargo racks and panniers. It's my intention of make of this beauty my main transportation for my daily commute, shopping, and why not, vacation. I'm looking into my first multi-day tour, a dream I had since I was way too young to ride around by myself.

Some initial pictures below:

Turning heads in San Francisco

I'm off riding because of intense back pain, so all I can do is watch videos of other people riding. I don't endorse this kind of cycle behavior, but it sure looks fun:

YouTube - Bobby Root - Mountain biking

All there is to say...

...about cycling, at the conclusion of the Liz Hatch (aka Roubaix Girl) teaser for the upcoming Cyclefilm DVD.

Fantasy Solvang Prelude

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I don’t know how it happened. This year’s course was undoubtedly confusing, criss-crossing the Santa Ynez Valley between Solvang, Ballard and Los Olivos. At some point, however, I noticed something wrong. People appeared more worn and tired that they should have been, and I passed them with oomph, my legs still fresh.
My course map at that point was so disgustingly soaked in sweat that fell apart as I opened it. I slowed down and asked, what road was I on? IOf course no one knew, on the Solvang Prelude and Solvang Century days totally outnumber the locals. I finally found someone who had some idea, perhaps due to the turn-by-turn directions he kept clipped to the handlebar. Smart guy. Turns out I was at mile 40, while I was registering just 25. Somehow, I had, gasp, cheated.

But I wanted my money worth, after all I don’t get to ride in the Santa Ynez Valley every weekend. I climbed the Foxen canyon “wall” (just a little 6% bump, vastly overrated in my humble opinion) and at the next fork in the road, I pulled a Robert Frost: I turned right instead of left, and went up Foxen Canyon, well past the Zaca winery, and at least one worthwhile hill (albeit short). Then I was in pedaling paradise. Near zero traffic, magpies that chattered at my passage, one hawk hunting on the hills on my left. I got back to the more traveled route with some regret but with plenty of renewed energy, and made it in stride through the end.

Kudos to the organizers for the police deployment that made navigating congested Solvang easy. The garbled route could definitely be improved however, as well as the SAG stops: some water at the turnaround point Nojoqui wouldn’t have cost that much, and some volunteers warning drivers about the bike traffic would have been nice.

Steering Wheel Laptop Desk Causes A Stir

Steering Wheel Laptop Desk Causes A Stir - All Tech Considered - Technology News And Culture Blog : NPR

This one I yet have to see on the road. Who's going to be more likely to whack me, the guy with an ice cream tub between his legs (spotted, Patterson overpass) or the lady eating cereal and a banana in the same fashion (El Colegio)? At least this way their food would not be so precariously balanced. (Note: check the absolutely hilarious reviews).