21 March 2009
17 March 2009
Winter in Santa Cruz
Well, the weather finally caught up with us here in Northern California. As usual, it's been raining for the last month. I've only got in two good rides in the last month.
I did a quick afternoon Swanton Loop with Kelly and Asia. Asia got a flat, and we somehow managed to tear the tube. He had to call someone to pick him up since none of us had brought an extra tube, but he had ponies to keep him company as Kelly and I continued on. After we finished the loop, Kelly wanted to take the farm roads and railroad back. I wasn't prepared for it. My back and my wrists started hurting from all the bumping up and down and then I wiped out on the RR gravel. I didn't enjoy it, but Kelly seemed to be having a ball. By the time we got back to Santa Cruz, my mood was less than amiable, and I was starving. I hadn't planned on leaving so late, so the breakfast I had didn't last through the ride. I felt weak and dehydrated, but some cactus tacos (Kelly's Recommendation) at Taqueria La Cabana gave me enough fuel to make it to my GF's place.
The other ride was pretty nice. My GF, two of our friends, and I did the Watsonville ride and got some burritos. The only problem was coming back a little later than planned and being pretty cold.
I put some wider bars on the bike and some nice Shimano brake levers. I haven't re-wrapped the bars because I've decided to get some bar end shifters. If I lean forward in a sprint, I tend to knee my down tube shifters - sometimes hard enough to make them shift. The bar end shifters seem to be a good way of getting my shifting up on the bars without the large cost of or risk of breaking integrated shifters.
I've also ridden the bike enough that it's starting to need a bit of maintenance. In the next month or two, I'd like to put a sealed bottom bracket in, rebuild the headset, rebuild the front wheel, and straighten out and align the chainstays and rear dropouts (they seem a little off).
I might pop down to Big Sur for a night or two this weekend after finals are over. A friend has a big group campsite for the weekend, and he said I could join. When I get back, my girlfriend, Kit, and I are going to take advantage of some free lodging in Tahoe for the rest of Spring break. We're going to bring our bikes and maybe do some camping while we're there. By the time the Spring quarter starts, the weather should be consistently warm and dry enough for lots of weekend trips!
I did a quick afternoon Swanton Loop with Kelly and Asia. Asia got a flat, and we somehow managed to tear the tube. He had to call someone to pick him up since none of us had brought an extra tube, but he had ponies to keep him company as Kelly and I continued on. After we finished the loop, Kelly wanted to take the farm roads and railroad back. I wasn't prepared for it. My back and my wrists started hurting from all the bumping up and down and then I wiped out on the RR gravel. I didn't enjoy it, but Kelly seemed to be having a ball. By the time we got back to Santa Cruz, my mood was less than amiable, and I was starving. I hadn't planned on leaving so late, so the breakfast I had didn't last through the ride. I felt weak and dehydrated, but some cactus tacos (Kelly's Recommendation) at Taqueria La Cabana gave me enough fuel to make it to my GF's place.
The other ride was pretty nice. My GF, two of our friends, and I did the Watsonville ride and got some burritos. The only problem was coming back a little later than planned and being pretty cold.
I put some wider bars on the bike and some nice Shimano brake levers. I haven't re-wrapped the bars because I've decided to get some bar end shifters. If I lean forward in a sprint, I tend to knee my down tube shifters - sometimes hard enough to make them shift. The bar end shifters seem to be a good way of getting my shifting up on the bars without the large cost of or risk of breaking integrated shifters.
I've also ridden the bike enough that it's starting to need a bit of maintenance. In the next month or two, I'd like to put a sealed bottom bracket in, rebuild the headset, rebuild the front wheel, and straighten out and align the chainstays and rear dropouts (they seem a little off).
I might pop down to Big Sur for a night or two this weekend after finals are over. A friend has a big group campsite for the weekend, and he said I could join. When I get back, my girlfriend, Kit, and I are going to take advantage of some free lodging in Tahoe for the rest of Spring break. We're going to bring our bikes and maybe do some camping while we're there. By the time the Spring quarter starts, the weather should be consistently warm and dry enough for lots of weekend trips!
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