Bike Ride at Russian Ridge Open Space

5.33 miles
A loop that included the Bay Area Ridge Trail, the Hawk Trail, and the Ancient Oak Forest Trail.
Some singletrack and some old vehicular roads.
2 Burritos.









My wounds from last week are healing and my intelligence is developing a bit too. I managed to make an hour and a half ride without damaging any part of my body. I can feel the pleasant effects of a solid cardio workout, and I am thinking, oh yeah, endorfins mixed with the glisten of sweat and dirt, and fatigue, and that lactic acid burn; That feels great.

A Day of It

Ok, so I made this awesome dinner. Fresh Pacific Ling Cod and asparagus with Tator Tots and -- umm -- frozen corn. Then I worked on the Surly.

Before ...

After. Shimano Deore XL trigger shifters, Easton Bar, Ergon grips and some shorty bar ends. I adjusted the derailleurs and fiddled with every other whatnot.

The Details

Shimano hubs.

A Bell, A light, destination label, really cheap headset™, and some hefty chunks of aluminum.

Okay -- so these darling wheels are Schrader, which makes a 700c x 2.1 inch tube really hard to find -- turns out Bikeman.com has some.

Shimano Deore derailler, and Sram Powerglide II 34 with creepyLotsOfGears™.

Used Shimano SPD pedals ... and Suntour SR triple Crankset which I'll need to shift by hand. Additionally there's a Brooks saddle, Panaracer 29" x 2.1" tires and a hefty™ seat bag. With all the frills, it's about 30 lbs. and gosh -- it hums when I ride it.

Loof closely at this warning label found on the stem. This product is not recommended downhill competition, stunt jumping, or any aggressive off-road riding. This probably needs to be fixed. I am going to have to make a shirt that says that.

I am reminded of a few things after reading that. One -- that I walked out into the mud flats once when I was about 8 and got seriously stuck, two -- that I rode a hacked down shopping cart go cart off the levy in that very same spot, one of my earliest and most painful off-road experiences. Three -- that I broke a stringray like bike (find one for yourself over at the Unimart) in the chain stay area by taking it down that very same levy out where that Japan Air Lines airplane went into the bay (we rode our bikes two miles out to see it). After breaking my bicycle, I had to walk home dragging it. And four, that I saw an airplane crash site in the Superstition Wilderness during the ill-fated descent of Siphon Draw that *&@!*# screwed my knee. I find it interesting that memories are ll linked together like that, and that there are so many painful experiences associated with stunt riding.

It's Here

Well, I was surprised to find that it was made in Taiwan. And showing some surface scratches.

Gussetted head tube.

With some stuff on it.

The frame has nice curves.

I am missing a couple of key parts. The headset ... And honestly, I forgot that crank and bottom bracket removal requires special tools.

Gilby, I am thinking you'll notice the Brooks™ saddle.

The State of Pickles

I have no idea why I would ever get sweet pickles on a sandwich, but I did. Who ever thought of that? It seems that pickles really aren't all that good anymore; they just don't tast like they used to when my grandmother made them, or when you would find a barrel full of them in the local hardware store. I would eat one of those. Really. Even the best pickles these days are somewhat disappointing.

The state of pickles isn't quite what it used to be. Some things aren't quite as good as they used to be.

I am pretty sure I am not going to be disappointed in having bought one of these. I can't wait for it to get here.