LA area folks: Please help find Christine's stolen Batavus!

STOLEN!! Batavus Breukelen 56cm Step-Through Bike By josef | December 15, 2010

We have some sad news that we’re hoping someone out there in internet land can help us make into happy news: one of our customers had her bike stolen from the porch of her house on Manzanita Street in Silver Lake between 6pm on December 14th and 11am on December 15th. If you have any info, see anyone riding it, etc. please contact the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop at 213-909-8986 or info@flyingpigeon-la.com The owner, Christine Louise Berry, had a very deep and personal relationship to her bike (as do we all, I find), but it was also her primary means of transportation. She was profiled by Velo Vogue on June 22, 2010, describing the bike: “[I] chose a bike that replaces a car: it’s sturdy, visible, beautiful. The line of it is sweeping. It’s got this long stride. And the way the top bar slopes down — it’s so f-ing elegant. It has a skirt guard and a hub-generated light that never needs batteries – everything is made to last. Ultimately, it’s just springy, really fun, and I never have to think twice about riding.” We know the bike is floating around somewhere in LA right now. If you see someone riding it – snap a photo and post it online. We’ve got the serial number for the bike on file and have some more detailed information about the bike to identify it. In the meantime, we’ve loaned Christine a Flying Pigeon 3-speed, a lock, and a set of lights. We’re hoping that in the next few days someone will help us find this beautiful machine and get it returned to its rightful owner! Send any information to the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop at 213-909-8986 or info@flyingpigeon-la.com

http://flyingpigeon-la.com/2010/12/stolen-batavus-breukelen-56cm-step-through-bike/

double b-day weekend rides 12.11,12.10

Dave M. called a fixed gear ride in Woodside on Saturday. We met him and Brad S. at the school and rolled out on our usual route. Zeus, Bianchi, Torpado and Frejus were the chosen machines for this refreshing ride in the trees. It was the usual route: Woodside, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside. Dave told fun stories of riding the Sunol back roads with an older gentleman that had a cycling history of the golden age in the early 50's in England. We lost track of Brad and Dave near the end of the ride but had lunch behind the school and connected by phone later to make sure we were all OK. Thanks for the great ride Dave & Brad!

Sunday saw me riding alone on a route that I've been itching to try: the Big Basin Loop. Left Boulder Creek late morning and rode up Hwy 236 (Big Basin Way). Nice to see some holiday decorative cheer out in the woods. Never noticed it before in a car but Taungpulu Monastery is on the left a few miles out of town. Pretty cool seeing the pagoda & shrine poking up through the Redwood forest while climbing on the bike. I stopped to check it out, the driveway up is very steep! After a few pics I rode down, Italian brakes squealing, disturbing the peaceful atmosphere - sorry Taungpulu Tawya Kaba-Aye Sayadaw of Upper Burma. Back on the road I continued to climb and after the BC country club it became a bit steeper, not too bad but kinda long to the top and Sempervirens school. From the school into the park was a nice downhill, cool, in the trees cruise. Stopped for some sun and my 2nd sandwich at the snack bar/store but it was closed today. After a little break it was time for the big climb of the day. The one lane road out of the park back to Hwy 9 is truly beautiful with amazingly huge redwood trees. A great percentage of the road surface was still wet from rain and kept the temps down. A few miles into the climb the landscape abruptly changed from wet Redwood forest and green lichen to dry scrub oak and Spanish moss then a couple miles later back again! When the climbing part of this section is over there is a nice loooong downhill (mostly) to Hwy 9 but the road surface is less than ideal here - since I rode the Masi 3V stopping at least once to relieve numb hands was necessary. I really wished I'd ridden a more touring oriented frame at that point. After thinking this part would never end the stop sign at Hwy 9 suddenly appeared. It seemed like the 8 miles back to Boulder Creek took about 10 - 15 mins! The road was so smooth with banked sweeper turns and mostly downhill through more redwoods and hardly any cars - what a pleasure! To sum it up I think this was a great training ride: some long medium climbing in the beginning, a sweet stop in a great park, more climbing then a super fun smooth cruise - all in beautiful Redwoods and almost all shade. Hard to beat! I'll be doing this again soon and hoping you can join me...

more pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157625417431075/with/5258128269/

'til next time, "Have a Nice Ride"...