Saturday, August 8, 2009

8.8.09 mt. tam ride

Carlo called this ride starting in Fairfax at 8:30am! Am I getting old or is that just too damn early to start a weekend ride? As it turned out he was right on the money - it became quite warm in a couple hours. The goal was Mt. Tam and I can proudly say that in 3 attempts I have now failed 3 times. ;^)... We came within a couple or 3 miles of the top. Didn't matter, the ride was extremely fun for Robert, Carlo and me. To say there was a lot of climbing would be an understatement. Carlo said he hadn't done this ride for 40 years - sure couldn't tell... We stopped at the dam and yakked a bit about the deer that almost pounced directly on Robert and Carlo a couple miles before then soldiered on up another hill into the cool redwoods and ferns. At the entrance to Mt. Tam S.P. we had a picnic lunch - Carlo brought pate', sliced baugette, homemade tapenade and some excellent cheese. I brought a bottle of dago red and we had lunch European style on top of the world. The ride back into Fairfax seemed to go pretty quick. Couldn't believe we had climbed all that way!! The downhill runs were so long it made my hands hurt. I think this was our route:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/fairfax/259912271740

Elevations stats: min=112' max=2057' ascent=2598' descent: 2605'

Iced tea at Java Hut in Fairfax after checking out yet another celebration downtown and then headed home. Guys - I want to do this again. Can we go to the top next time?

More pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157621859299445/

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

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

8.1.09 ride - alone again naturally...

the masi 3v at rest at rossotti's in p.a.

Took a nice ride by myself to celebrate the first day of August. Not sure why I'd been ignoring the Masi 3v lately except for the nasty low gear knashing that sounded like bad rear derailluer trim but this ride was OK and even the lowest gear worked flawlessly. The chainline on this bike bothers me a bit as it's not balanced very well - maybe if I had less cogs on the back wheel... I'm thinking of taking this bike for the ride around Lake Tahoe next month. It's either this one or the Super Course I just finished building - I really like the drivetrain on that! It's got a TA triple crankset, Suntour Vgt RD, Simplex FD w/cable stop (the only FD I had laying around with a cable stop) and Campy nuovo gran sport DT shifters. - works very well but that's a blog for another day... The weather for this ride was just perfect. I stopped in P.V. at a lemonade stand run by a little girl and discovered she was selling lemonade to save money to go to Rome, Italy! Now, there's someone with a long term goal - I think she was all of 7 years old. Her Russian mom was getting a kick out of seeing her daughter so focused. The whole ride took about 3 hrs. from my house to Page Mill Rd. and back, 35+ miles, very leisurely pace, very enjoyable...

Until next time, "Have a Great Ride".

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

7.12.09 los altos ride

Marc called this one earlier last week:

Hello, I'd like to call a vintage ride for this Sunday, July 12 starting in Los Altos from the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. We'll do the Woodside loop by way of Los Altos Hills. Lunch stop at the Plantation! Let's meet at 8:30AM for a 9:30 rollout. I know it's early, but then we have some time to shoot the breeze before we start. Set your alarms early, because times are not negotiable ;^) This ride is @25-30 miles and somewhat hilly in the beginning. I know many of you are familiar with the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. But I encourage anyone who has never joined our NorCal contingent to ride as well. Therefore, those of you who are not familiar with the location can call me on my cell phone for directions: 925-784-3521. I am looking forward to this as I will update youse guys on the doings of the BVVW in the Big Apple. Great group of guys and gals. What to ride? Well as they say in certain racing circles: run whatcha brung!

more pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157621369047450/

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stephen's pics here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stephen.bryne/LosAltosVintageRide#

Monday, July 13, 2009

chasJapan1


chasJapan1
Originally uploaded by ericm
charles in japan. here are a couple pics charles colerich sent of himself in japan in the early 60's. i forgot what we all looked like then before the beatles changed everything...

chasJapan2


chasJapan2
Originally uploaded by ericm
charles in japan