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  <a href="http://www.budnitzbicycles.com/">Paul Budnitz</a> makes ...
  

Source: http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/rss/norcalbikers.xml

1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="https://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599</id><updated>2024-02-28T03:20:27.154-08:00</updated><category term='governor'/><category term='helmet'/><category term='landis'/><category term='urban downhill'/><category term='movie'/><category term='vo2max'/><category term='overcome'/><category term='review'/><category term='polar'/><category term='repairs'/><category term='obstacle'/><category term='retro-direct'/><category term='bike ride'/><category term='Levi Leipheimer'/><category term='electric motorcycle'/><category term='radio'/><category term='race'/><category term='education'/><category term='speed'/><category term='tires'/><category term='slo'/><category term='computer'/><category term='good cause'/><category term='discrimination'/><category term='how-to'/><category term='cork'/><category term='suzuki'/><category term='douchey'/><category term='overpriced'/><category term='ride report'/><category term='mountain bike'/><category term='popsci'/><category term='imba continental divide trail advocacy'/><category term='bike lock'/><category term='purchase'/><category term='rio'/><category term='new world disorder'/><category term='Mojo'/><category term='conference'/><category term='bamboo'/><category term='lagromba'/><category term='bike lane'/><category term='criterium race bike bicycle sacramento golden state rio strada'/><category term='gps'/><category term='fatrike'/><category term='BMW'/><category term='big wheels'/><category term='use'/><category term='coaching'/><category term='bad bikers'/><category term='beach'/><category term='scooter'/><category term='road'/><category term='trials'/><category term='courier'/><category term='america'/><category term='apps'/><category term='photos'/><category term='isle of man'/><category term='trials carbon road bike skills'/><category term='action'/><category term='fashion'/><category term='discount'/><category term='yuba'/><category term='motivation'/><category term='record holder'/><category term='challenge'/><category term='rim trail'/><category term='professional bicycle'/><category term='podium'/><category term='69er'/><category term='lance armstrong'/><category term='santa cruz'/><category term='blog'/><category term='carbon fiber'/><category term='acceptance'/><category term='Wee Ride'/><category term='festival'/><category term='california'/><category term='sup'/><category term='pescadero'/><category term='fat trike'/><category term='turkey'/><category term='bike night'/><category term='parts'/><category term='rocklin'/><category term='specialized'/><category 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term='procycling'/><category term='first ride'/><category term='mbyod'/><category term='links'/><category term='zamora'/><category term='kona'/><category term='PEDs'/><category term='event'/><category term='advocacy'/><category term='Titus'/><category term='unicycle'/><category term='fat bike'/><category term='cheater'/><category term='not-a-bike'/><category term='mistakes'/><category term='3 wheeler'/><category term='polar heart rate monitor cleaning elastic strap deodorizing'/><category term='practicality'/><category term='yolo'/><category term='tape'/><category term='trail a bike'/><category term='commute'/><category term='press'/><category term='tuscon'/><category term='innovation'/><category term='speedometer'/><category term='women'/><category term='cheat'/><category term='floyd landis'/><category term='whistler'/><category term='future'/><category term='camp'/><category term='electric'/><category term='bike build 2011'/><category term='folsom'/><category term='red bull'/><category term='amgen'/><category term='web'/><category term='hybrid'/><category term='transport'/><category term='motorized'/><category term='wood'/><category term='armstrong'/><category term='award'/><category term='prairie'/><category term='twfk'/><category term='langster'/><category term='paddleboard'/><category term='mbo oregon oakridge mountain biking'/><category term='northern'/><category term='cyclists'/><category term='imba'/><category term='toilet'/><category term='bike friendly'/><category term='exoskeleton'/><category term='power'/><category term='dirt jumping'/><category term='technical difficulties'/><category term='bike project'/><category term='podcast'/><category term='motorcycle'/><category term='fat cyclist'/><category term='donate'/><category term='naked bike'/><category term='technology'/><category term='world championships'/><category term='city'/><category term='lessons'/><category term='cardboard'/><category term='liar'/><category term='video'/><category term='criminal'/><category term='bui'/><category term='2009'/><category term='eric heiden'/><category term='dumb'/><category term='cutting edge'/><category term='ridiculous enforcement'/><category term='fat tires'/><category term='drug'/><category term='lance'/><category term='role model'/><category term='europe'/><category term='stationary bike'/><category term='cabin motorcycle'/><category term='test'/><category term='gary fisher interbike 2009 cycling bike bikes'/><category term='demo day'/><category term='site'/><category term='bad marketing'/><category term='bay'/><category term='scmtb festival'/><category term='weekend'/><category term='ibis'/><category term='monitor'/><category term='24'/><category term='2008'/><category term='chris caarmichael'/><category term='29er'/><category term='awesome'/><category term='oregon'/><category term='hub'/><category term='charity'/><category term='mammoth'/><category term='sea otter classic'/><category term='anti-bike'/><category term='hydration'/><category term='avoidable death'/><category term='design'/><category term='raffle'/><category term='grocery'/><category term='hrm'/><category term='utility bike'/><category term='heart'/><category term='upgrade'/><category term='two wheel steering'/><category term='aptos'/><category term='track'/><category term='clean up'/><category term='advice'/><category term='replica'/><category term='DVD'/><category term='NuVinci'/><category term='clavicle'/><category term='carbon'/><category term='marketing'/><category term='cancer'/><category term='south'/><category term='circuit race'/><category term='bikes'/><category term='demo'/><category term='news'/><category term='hours'/><category term='crash'/><category term='by the numbers'/><category term='ohv'/><category term='moped'/><category term='recumbent'/><category term='saving'/><category term='art'/><category term='monster bike'/><category term='contraption'/><category term='fitting'/><category term='rate'/><category term='custom'/><category term='usa'/><category term='community'/><category term='bike fest'/><category term='lighting'/><category term='park'/><category term='racing'/><category term='dunnigan'/><category term='descent'/><category term='volunteer'/><category term='route'/><category term='shinobi'/><category term='cool'/><category term='trails'/><category term='cruiser'/><category term='trekking'/><title type='text'>NorCal Bikers</title><subtitle type='html'>NorCal Bikers is dedicated to all things two wheels. Our motto is "Two Wheels Good, Four Wheels Bad", we are bikers and cyclists, both road bikes and mountain bikes and motorcycles too. If we had scooters, we'd ride them too.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='https://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>922</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-8917351446117904425</id><published>2015-01-29T12:15:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2015-09-03T11:30:56.406-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fatbike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fatrike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='two wheel steering'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fat bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fat trike'/><title type='text'>Two Headed Beast Mode Engaged!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;
2. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuYAnjyHXL_dIaxWgRDWHed2WapjAeHd27pZ8jy0hy11Iy88cCav2FhRtgjDDElnZkg6FqX1R4-Xc6mIsIDoFRxdUszEA4JLVk1CZeUEjfudU3jbaQ44VPOVJv1OZWRLnV5_k/s1600/Monster+Trike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuYAnjyHXL_dIaxWgRDWHed2WapjAeHd27pZ8jy0hy11Iy88cCav2FhRtgjDDElnZkg6FqX1R4-Xc6mIsIDoFRxdUszEA4JLVk1CZeUEjfudU3jbaQ44VPOVJv1OZWRLnV5_k/s400/Monster+Trike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
3. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/this-monster-truck-trike-will-stop-you-from-sinking-on-1551228541#null">This Monster Truck Trike Will Stop You From Sinking on Snow and Sand</a><br />
4. <br />
5. I suppose this was an inevitable end result of the twin front wheel scooters and motorcycles. Not sure how much use this actually has in a bike implementation but it is certainly striking.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/8917351446117904425/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=8917351446117904425&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/8917351446117904425'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/8917351446117904425'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2015/01/two-headed-beast-mode-engaged.html' title='Two Headed Beast Mode Engaged!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuYAnjyHXL_dIaxWgRDWHed2WapjAeHd27pZ8jy0hy11Iy88cCav2FhRtgjDDElnZkg6FqX1R4-Xc6mIsIDoFRxdUszEA4JLVk1CZeUEjfudU3jbaQ44VPOVJv1OZWRLnV5_k/s72-c/Monster+Trike.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-3649055484777882663</id><published>2015-01-29T12:14:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2015-01-29T12:14:09.940-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='event'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='santa cruz'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='community'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike night'/><title type='text'>Santa Cruz Light Up the Night Bike Ride is Tomorrow (1/30/15)</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.downtownsantacruz.com/event/light-up-the-night-bike-ride/"&gt;Light up the Night Bike Ride&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
6. <br />
7. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
8. <a href="http://www.downtownsantacruz.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Light-up-the-Night-Bike-Ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.downtownsantacruz.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Light-up-the-Night-Bike-Ride.jpg" height="640" width="414" /></a></div>
9. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
10. <br /></div>
11. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
12. My housemate and I will be out enjoying the Santa Cruz bicycling community!</div>
13. &lt;br /&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/3649055484777882663/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=3649055484777882663&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3649055484777882663'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3649055484777882663'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2015/01/santa-cruz-light-up-night-bike-ride-is.html' title='Santa Cruz Light Up the Night Bike Ride is Tomorrow (1/30/15)'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-7070941755237986772</id><published>2014-12-18T15:14:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2014-12-18T15:14:28.592-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Super Sweet Electric Norco BigFoot Build</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://ypedal.com/bigfoot/Norco-bigfoot32.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://ypedal.com/bigfoot/Norco-bigfoot32.JPG" height="239" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Check this out,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://ypedal.com/bigfoot/bigfoot.htm"&gt;Electric Norco Bigfoot&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
14. <br />
15. The guy makes his own front wheel to house the electric motor by bolting together two rims to fit the gigantic tire!<br />
16. <br />
17. Also, came across this effective cycling awareness and re-humanizing campaign via People for Bikes called <a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/pages/travel-with-care">Travel with Care</a>.<br />
18. <br />
19. The ads feature people in their regular clothes next to their bikes and some of the labels they carry.<br />
20. <br />
21. <a href="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/-/images/TravelWithCare_Rebecca_Web450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/-/images/TravelWithCare_Rebecca_Web450.jpg" height="400" width="262" /></a>Here's one of their posters. Kind of hard to generate a whole ton of anti-cycling hate for a firefighter standing next to her high end mountain bike. Cyclists are people first. I am still having trouble understanding how drivers stop seeing cyclists as people so blithely.<br />
22. <br />
23. On an unrelated note, my new housemate has a crazy trike with two wheels up front and one in back. He has several build outs for the cargo area up front including a really comfy theatre chair!<br />
24. <br />
25. It is scary as hell to try and corner at anything about crawling speed but it is super fun to ride around down on the Boardwalk.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/7070941755237986772/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=7070941755237986772&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7070941755237986772'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7070941755237986772'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2014/12/super-sweet-electric-norco-bigfoot-build.html' title='Super Sweet Electric Norco BigFoot Build'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-9064355044824610348</id><published>2014-10-22T14:17:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2014-10-22T14:17:02.563-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fatbike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='trekking'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='trek'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='adventure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='camping'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bikeraft'/><title type='text'>Dusty Trails, Fatbike Camping Adventure!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.sidetracked.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Fatbiking-Packraft-Hardangervidda-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://www.sidetracked.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Fatbiking-Packraft-Hardangervidda-05.jpg" height="264" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Whoa, been over a year since anything's gotten posted here. Oddly enough, I've done quite a bit of mountain biking this last year.&lt;br /&gt;
26. <br />
27. In the interest of kicking off the dust, here's an excellent Fatbike and Bikerafting adventure write up.<br />
28. <br />
29. <a href="http://www.sidetracked.com/fatbike-packraft-norway/">Barely Legal Bikerafting</a><br />
30. <br />
31. Not only does fatbiking look like a total hoot, fatbike camping sounds like even more fun!<br />
32. <br />
33. There is a rather good chance that my next bike will be a fatbike.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/9064355044824610348/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=9064355044824610348&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/9064355044824610348'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/9064355044824610348'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2014/10/dusty-trails-fatbike-camping-adventure.html' title='Dusty Trails, Fatbike Camping Adventure!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-3313023886013413562</id><published>2013-07-17T10:42:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2013-07-17T10:42:57.680-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike life'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mtb'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='29er'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mountain bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='shinobi'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='norco'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='big wheels'/><title type='text'>Welcoming the Norco Shinobi</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdSLyMJM3gk/UeQamgekMUI/AAAAAAAAMsY/x1mbToTDb4s/s1600/55306FB3-AC7C-4C24-9AE6-2A738EC82AFF.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdSLyMJM3gk/UeQamgekMUI/AAAAAAAAMsY/x1mbToTDb4s/s320/55306FB3-AC7C-4C24-9AE6-2A738EC82AFF.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Got in my first extended ride on the new Norco Shinobi in Nisene Marks State Park.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Overall I had a fantastic ride and was both faster and more comfortable across the entire ride. Whatever speed I lost on the climbs (not as much as I thought) was more than made up for on the descents.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;I have no major complaints about the bike. It climbs well, really well considering the big wheels and active rear suspension. It does take a bit more muscle to power up and over obstacles at slower speeds. But things that would stop me on 26 inch wheels were no longer stopping me. And that's both better for flow and just plain more fun.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;The slight loss of low speed maneuverability was also more than overcome by the increased traction and rollability of the big wheels. And the suspension made bombing down from my top out (about a half mile from the '89 Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter) fun and fast.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;It isn't perfect, obviously. It is a bit hefty but not badly so at all. And it'll be fairly easy to shed some of the most egregious of that extra bulk in going tubeless. Rotational mass is like some freaky extra dimensional thing, losing it returns more gains than the simple grams lost. And the brakes, while not as craptastic as the Avid Elixir 1's aren't a whole ton better. Upgrading them will be nice!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Also, the Conti X-Kings aren't really up to the kind of riding I generally do. I spun them out several times climbing roots, once while still seated. Looking at replacement treads now, Hans Dampfs, Ardents, and open to other options (going to be hard dropping $90 on some Hans Dampfs). Update: Looks like On One's Smorgasbord and Chunky Monkey have won out, excellent price and great reviews equal buy!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Bars, damn these big bikes like their wide bars! Not used to it, don't think I'm going to get used to them. Yes, they're fairly nice on long, high speed descents but they kind of suck for tight, through the trees singletrack and I'd much prefer to NOT hook a bar through trees. I believe I'll be taking an inch off each side before too long and seeing how that feels. Might end up taking two full inches off each side. And yes, I will be putting on stubby climbing horns. I need more than one position to put my hands. And I like being able to grab on and launch up hills. I've run Nashbar shorties for years and have little complaint about them but I'm going to go with the newer ergo ends that extend below the bar as well as forward (I think Cane Creek makes the most well known version of these).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Shifters: I still shift the wrong way as often as not. Trigger shifters are just so damned unintuitive to me. I don't like them very much and will look to replace them but they aren't the tops on my list of stuff to add/replace.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;I think part of my issue comes from the 2x10 drivetrain. It lacks a true granny and I find myself hunting for the proper gear quite a bit more than I'm used to. I'm sure that'll improve as I get more time on it but, for now, shifting isn't as smooth as I'd like it and I have to switch front rings often to compensate for the cassette's lack of applicable range.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Some concerns to note: Moderate chain slap during root-y descents, brakes go south after a few miles of hard(ish) use, front brake chatter makes the front end feel a bit skittish when combined with the X-King treads, sometimes still feel a little cramped in the cockpit and I have no more leeway to slide my saddle back, might consider a slightly longer stem.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;The upgrade list looks something like this:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Tires - new tires on order, went with On One's Smorgasbord and Chunky Monkey.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Dropper post&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Stan's Tubeless conversion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
34. &lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Saddle - need input here&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Pedals with straps - mock all you want, I'm still gonna ride with them.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Bar ends&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Gripshifts&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Brakes - XTs&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Stem&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Overall, I have to say that I love my new bike. It is responsive, fast, a tractor when I need it and comfortable as all get out. I'm still tweaking the fit for maximum comfort at maximum pedaling efficiency but we're getting close. My and my Shinobi are going to enjoy many fun miles together!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;br style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;Grade: A- (B if none of the aforementioned upgrades come to pass)&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/3313023886013413562/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=3313023886013413562&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3313023886013413562'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3313023886013413562'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2013/07/welcoming-norco-shinobi.html' title='Welcoming the Norco Shinobi'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdSLyMJM3gk/UeQamgekMUI/AAAAAAAAMsY/x1mbToTDb4s/s72-c/55306FB3-AC7C-4C24-9AE6-2A738EC82AFF.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-5941356031898038907</id><published>2013-04-19T14:39:00.004-07:00</published><updated>2013-04-19T14:39:41.993-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='beach'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='weekend'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='paddleboard'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sup'/><title type='text'>Beach Cruising Done Right!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;
35. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTjkh_ep_pU/UXGp-7HqRhI/AAAAAAAAIXE/EOw1dKz3fqo/s1600/HotSunnyBunsonBikes.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="531" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTjkh_ep_pU/UXGp-7HqRhI/AAAAAAAAIXE/EOw1dKz3fqo/s640/HotSunnyBunsonBikes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
36. Have a great weekend, I'm hoping to fill my weekend with trails and stand up paddleboarding. I'm sure there will be some chores in there as well but with epic weather on tap, it is my civic duty as a Californian to get out there and enjoy it as much as I can.<br />
37. <br />
38. As much for my snow-bound brethren as for my own exercise-fed soul.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/5941356031898038907/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=5941356031898038907&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5941356031898038907'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5941356031898038907'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2013/04/beach-cruising-done-right.html' title='Beach Cruising Done Right!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTjkh_ep_pU/UXGp-7HqRhI/AAAAAAAAIXE/EOw1dKz3fqo/s72-c/HotSunnyBunsonBikes.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-4364887282272060718</id><published>2013-04-09T11:52:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2013-04-09T11:52:06.495-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike fest'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mountain biking'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike festival'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='california'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='aptos'/><title type='text'>2013 Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is Nearly Here!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1SYDYIwXKpSPOoIMqiXALB0Qyssoab-RdMID0NhZjhUaXdSwa_U9129lZyZ-xcKwWTgxxJ6TlSqyYfw9GXKTZbf8wACvn2YdFTnJ6o8zjZMBCIQqC7__osnBInRkrONov60J/s1600/IMG_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1SYDYIwXKpSPOoIMqiXALB0Qyssoab-RdMID0NhZjhUaXdSwa_U9129lZyZ-xcKwWTgxxJ6TlSqyYfw9GXKTZbf8wACvn2YdFTnJ6o8zjZMBCIQqC7__osnBInRkrONov60J/s320/IMG_0752.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;It is almost that time again!
39. <br />
40. <br />
41. Just about time for the <a href="http://www.santacruzmountainbikefestival.com/">Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival</a> in Aptos, California this weekend, April 13th and 14th! The festival is free to attend!<br />
42. <br />
43. This is an awesome event for the whole family to enjoy. There will be short track races, pump track races, dirt jumping (the best jumpers on the planet!), demo rides, food trucks and delicious BEER! Oh and raffles of some pretty awesome bike schwag!<br />
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45. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
46. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfMQqhKfuVT9Yz3YL_Sw6sRnGPHgg9hz6ejeX_SVXZYqr1DaarU2Fgg-82p6UxI61COB8mHfX5U1FmVXY3sU9WQpTFPMiqM3j9JDO1UgZHXSp2_D4ruPrZWcZDqCUVx3-6CDs/s1600/IMG_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfMQqhKfuVT9Yz3YL_Sw6sRnGPHgg9hz6ejeX_SVXZYqr1DaarU2Fgg-82p6UxI61COB8mHfX5U1FmVXY3sU9WQpTFPMiqM3j9JDO1UgZHXSp2_D4ruPrZWcZDqCUVx3-6CDs/s320/IMG_0278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
47. My kids are stoked up for Sunday's 11:30 am <a href="http://www.santacruzmountainbikefestival.com/events/kids-fun-lap/">Kid's Fun Lap/Race</a>. They did it last year and it was a blast to have all those kids out there pedaling and grinning and parents enjoying it and everything. Truly a great time!
48. <br />
49. <br />
50. I'll be taking photos again for the club, not quite sure what my assignments will be this time around but I don't really care, there's so much bike-y awesomeness everywhere that you really cannot go wrong!<br />
51. <br />
52. It is going to be an awesome bike focused weekend!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/4364887282272060718/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=4364887282272060718&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4364887282272060718'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4364887282272060718'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-santa-cruz-mountain-bike-festival.html' title='2013 Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is Nearly Here!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1SYDYIwXKpSPOoIMqiXALB0Qyssoab-RdMID0NhZjhUaXdSwa_U9129lZyZ-xcKwWTgxxJ6TlSqyYfw9GXKTZbf8wACvn2YdFTnJ6o8zjZMBCIQqC7__osnBInRkrONov60J/s72-c/IMG_0752.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-852179101742817001</id><published>2013-03-14T14:29:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2013-03-14T14:29:15.322-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='trail closure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='discrimination'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='legislation'/><title type='text'>Dusting Off for a Petition to Stop Discriminating Against Mountain Bikers!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-forest-service-stop-discriminating-against-mountain-bikers-2#supporters"&gt;Petitioning The U.S. Senate  U.S. Forest Service: Stop Discriminating Against Mountain Bikers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
53. <br />
54. <br />
55. <blockquote>
56.  Recent proposed or actual closures in Montana, California and Colorado point to a disturbing trend in Forest Service management policies indicating a discriminatory bias towards mountain biking, but that may encompass other user groups in the future. (Link: <a href="http://www.bikemag.com/news/trail-access-for-southern-california-mountain-bikers-under-threat/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #5d9fb7; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">trail-access-for-southern-california-mountain-bikers-under-threat</a>) <a href="http://bicycling.com/blogs/mbword/2010/04/13/judge-restricts-bikes-on-some-montana-trails/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #5d9fb7; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(Montana Closure)</a><br />The most common reason  put forth by the Forest Service regarding mountain biking restrictions involves environmental degradation. But the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) has referenced numerous scientific studies that assert that mountain bikes create similar environmental impacts as hikers, and less impact than equestrians. (Link: <a href="http://www.imba.com/resources/research/trail-science/environmental-impacts-mountain-biking-science-review-and-best-practices" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #5d9fb7; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Environmental Impacts of Mountain Biking: Science Review and Best Practices</a>) </blockquote>
57. <br />
58. I went and signed the petition and want to do what I can to try and get the petition spread as widely as possible. Trail closures do not prevent mountain bikers from riding, they merely prevent mountain bikers from riding legally.<br />
59. <br />
60. And I'm sick and tired of cyclists in general being discriminated against. We're tax paying people too, we deserve to engage in our chosen pastimes without fear of persecution from car bumper or trail closed sign.<br />
61. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/852179101742817001/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=852179101742817001&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/852179101742817001'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/852179101742817001'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2013/03/dusting-off-for-petition-to-stop.html' title='Dusting Off for a Petition to Stop Discriminating Against Mountain Bikers!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-3704695033086623317</id><published>2012-03-05T14:06:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-03-05T14:06:18.372-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='news'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='triathlon'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='products'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='scmtb festival'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='apps'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='links'/><title type='text'>Two Wheel Round Up</title><content type='html'>&lt;table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
62. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://chicksandbikes.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-post_3921.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_M6hEoFMnAErS7-wBLNmDbZcey-W0S58FIyEy08dA7Ls7EGkMIOK06gXuPrZ_L3NeDj0J7C4XYBGe1fN7sj77odOD1-dnDfSdAi4DQfxyqVA3x07FgT2Dv_72nVdm1t769Dm/s320/pbpic2885323.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
63. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via Chicks & Bikes</td></tr>
64. </tbody></table>
65. Been a little while since I've done a round up post. I wish I were better at saving interesting bicycle news stuff to share. Most of it is being shared in real-time on Google+ these and you are welcome to find me there,<br />
66. <br />
67. First up, a new MIPS (Multi-directional impact protection system) <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/mips-helmet-technology/21656/">helmet design</a> aims to direct impact force around your head instead of through it.<br />
68. <br />
69. <a href="http://www.cyclelicio.us/">Cyclelicious</a> has a <a href="https://secure.flickr.com/photos/bike/sets/72157629142493934/with/6954047649/">great set of photos</a> from this weekend's North American Handmade Bike Show in Sacramento. The bling is really impressive and there's plenty to gawk at and wish for! Rock Lobster also has a <a href="http://rocklobstershop.blogspot.com/2012/02/handmade-bike-show-preview.html">preview of the builds</a> he is taken/took.<br />
70. <br />
71. Mark your calendars! The <a href="http://www.santacruzmountainbikefestival.com/">Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival</a> is coming up soon! April 14-15 in Aptos, California. It is gonna be epic!<br />
72. <br />
73. Part of the preparations for the festival include shutting down the pump track which my family has gotten quite accustomed to riding on a many times a week basis. The pump track will be renovated for the festival which has left us wondering where to get our pump on. We haven't been yet but the <a href="http://manzanita%20park%20bmx/">Manzanita Park BMX track in Prunedale</a> is gonna get a visit soon!<br />
74. <br />
75. <a name='more'></a>I am, officially, training for the <a href="http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2012-course_descriptions_mountain_bike.htm">Avia Wildflower Mountain Bike Triathlon</a> in May. It is a 1/4 mile swim, 9.7 mile bike ride and a 2 mile run. Not a massively tough triathlon but it'll be fun and it'll be a good time with the family! But I know what to expect, have a great tri wetsuit and will train properly to put in a substantially improved time over my first time out.<br />
76. <br />
77. Dynamo lights on bikes are a great idea in concept, a wheel touches your revolving wheel to steal a little kinetic energy to power a light to make you easier to see or easier for you to see. But that wheel rubbing against your tire slows you down just a little bit, maybe not enough to be bothersome but enough for someone like me that wants as much forward movement as possible from my rotational movement. Now there's a new kind of dynamo called the <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/magnic-light-contactless-dynamo/21494/">Magnic light</a> that powers a light without actually touching the wheel. It uses something called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy_current">eddy currents</a> to power a light without stealing power from the rotating wheel. It may not be perfect but it's a step in perfect's direction. Isn't science just totally bitchin'? Yeah, I think so too!<br />
78. <br />
79. I've long been a reader of the Rock Lobster frame building blog. And this might be one of the oddest posts yet. Paul's very own <a href="http://rocklobstershop.blogspot.com/2012/02/wtf.html">Stella-matic</a>. I'd have called it the WTFmobile but I didn't make it.<br />
80. <br />
81. What apps do you use to track your rides? I'm always on the lookout for something better than the two that I use on a regular basis, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fitness-rewards-by-plus-3/id448848473?mt=8">Plus3 </a>and <a href="http://app.strava.com/mobile">Strava</a>. I like Plus3 because my mileage is magically converted into donations to the IMBA through the generosity of Subaru. And I use Strava because I like the idea of competing against other cyclists on the same rides even if the app seems mostly geared towards roadies. But if you ride with something else and you really like it, let me know, I'd love to check it out!<br />
82. <br />
83. That's about it for this go-round. Happy shredding!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/3704695033086623317/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=3704695033086623317&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3704695033086623317'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/3704695033086623317'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2012/03/two-wheel-round-up.html' title='Two Wheel Round Up'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_M6hEoFMnAErS7-wBLNmDbZcey-W0S58FIyEy08dA7Ls7EGkMIOK06gXuPrZ_L3NeDj0J7C4XYBGe1fN7sj77odOD1-dnDfSdAi4DQfxyqVA3x07FgT2Dv_72nVdm1t769Dm/s72-c/pbpic2885323.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-4061616472213984142</id><published>2012-02-29T09:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-29T09:53:04.977-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='light'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='record holder'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='carbon fiber'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='weight'/><title type='text'>The Lightest Bike in the World</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://antranik.org/worlds-lightest-road-bike-at-2-7kg/"&gt;The 2.7 kg/6 lb bike.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
84. <br />
85. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
86. <a href="http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1035_Worlds_Lightest_Bike_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1035_Worlds_Lightest_Bike_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
87. This bike is made of nearly nothing but is far, far more than the sum of its nothingness. And it costs one hell of a lot more than nothing, that's for sure, the builder estimates it to cost $45,000 to build.<br />
88. <br />
89. The link has much more detail on how they shaved the weight down to this truly unbelievable weight. It is made of unobtainable carbon fiber and every single gram on it is necessary.<br />
90. <br />
91. I would almost certainly taco this bike in short order because I tend to be pretty hard on my bikes and they either survive or fail. But it is saying something that the state of the art is now able to weigh 6 pounds. That's less than a gallon of milk (which can weigh between 8.5 and 8.8 pounds depending on fat content).<br />
92. <br />
93. Now if they could build a mountain bike at sub-10 pounds that could be bashed off rocks, roots and trees!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/4061616472213984142/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=4061616472213984142&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4061616472213984142'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4061616472213984142'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2012/02/lightest-bike-in-world.html' title='The Lightest Bike in the World'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-1310586381518577856</id><published>2012-02-15T22:06:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-15T22:06:08.273-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='insane'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mountain biking'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='urban downhill'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='race'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='downhill'/><title type='text'>You Think You're a Good Mountain Biker? Watch This!</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
94. <h1 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
95. The 2012 Santos Urban Downhill Race Video</h1>
96. <div>
97. The descent of the Holy Stairs in the Brazilian port town of Santos. These guys are NUTS! <a href="http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Descent-of-the-Holy-Stairs-2012-Santos-Urban-Downhill-Race.html">via</a></div>
98. <div>
99. <br /></div>
100. <br />
101. <object height="281" width="500"><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true' />
102. <param name='AllowScriptAccess' value='always' />
103. <param name='movie' value='http://www.pinkbike.com/v/241827' />
104. &lt;embed src='http://www.pinkbike.com/v/241827' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='500' height='281' allowFullScreen='true' AllowScriptAccess='always' /&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/1310586381518577856/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=1310586381518577856&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/1310586381518577856'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/1310586381518577856'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2012/02/you-think-youre-good-mountain-biker.html' title='You Think You&apos;re a Good Mountain Biker? Watch This!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-1765757633181334733</id><published>2012-02-13T11:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2012-02-13T11:22:13.498-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='obstacle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mtb'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='challenge'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mountain biking'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='overcome'/><title type='text'>Little Victories Add Up</title><content type='html'>&lt;table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
105. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vUNtEr3hEfa6A4zgj9zYGAJlSovZHzXCfQS5mTEqxWeT4WVK3DNApypWg6HejTSbWicjR2S9lLLJinp4lx_gvCU0iQk8JAAUpNXGH5uMLZkbLhjE-9I0TTsYPJ8p4GF8G0dk/s1600/IMG_9868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vUNtEr3hEfa6A4zgj9zYGAJlSovZHzXCfQS5mTEqxWeT4WVK3DNApypWg6HejTSbWicjR2S9lLLJinp4lx_gvCU0iQk8JAAUpNXGH5uMLZkbLhjE-9I0TTsYPJ8p4GF8G0dk/s320/IMG_9868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
106. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not me but it is my pic. These guys fly!</td></tr>
107. </tbody></table>
108. One of the best things that I love about bicycling and mountain biking in particular is that it is an intensely personal exploration. That there are obstacles put in your way and you have to figure out how to get around them. Sometimes we crash and sometimes we get off and walk and sometimes we just say Fuck it and charge it only to find that the obstacle is less than you thought it was.<br />
109. <br />
110. The mind is a tricky thing, if you have confidence and charge a jump then you are far more likely to land it than if you approach it timidly and just try to roll through it. And I've got the scars to prove it.<br />
111. <br />
112. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />
113. I make no bones about the fact that I'm not a jumper. I ride cross country and actually relish a good hard technical climb (so long as there's nobody in front of me who makes me stop because they couldn't make it). But that's not to say that I don't want to learn better jumping skills because, let's face it, flying is pretty damned cool even if it's for a moment.<br />
114. <br />
115. One of my regular trails I ride is what I call the backside of lower Nisene Marks State Park. It involves leaving Nisene Marks and riding down a road to jump back on to the trail. The backside is some very swooping and sometimes very technical singletrack with dropoffs, jumps, big jumps and roots and rocks. It is, in other words, challenging and rewarding and awesome.<br />
116. <br />
117. In my own case yesterday, there are a couple of spots on the trail where my brain has told my body that I need to dial it back or risk a good crash. But yesterday I told my brain to shut the hell up and let my body go. The first time through, I rolled through a jump that had previously stymied me. It wasn't pretty but I did it and it felt awesome to have overcome it. On my second loop, I hit it faster and landed it much better! And next time, I'm gonna hit that sucker with some good speed!<br />
118. <br />
119. It helps that there are how-to videos for everything, including how to better manage your jump position (elbows out, weight back). It also helps to be trailing someone who can do it and emulate them.<br />
120. <br />
121. And, in the end, it is these little victories that make mountain biking so rewarding to me, in addition to the mental health, physical health and massive stress reduction!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/1765757633181334733/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=1765757633181334733&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/1765757633181334733'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/1765757633181334733'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2012/02/little-victories-add-up.html' title='Little Victories Add Up'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vUNtEr3hEfa6A4zgj9zYGAJlSovZHzXCfQS5mTEqxWeT4WVK3DNApypWg6HejTSbWicjR2S9lLLJinp4lx_gvCU0iQk8JAAUpNXGH5uMLZkbLhjE-9I0TTsYPJ8p4GF8G0dk/s72-c/IMG_9868.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-5393081231058959189</id><published>2012-01-09T14:28:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2012-01-09T14:28:09.852-08:00</updated><title type='text'>This is Bicycling!</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyhuh/6664324671/" title="Giant Sully"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6664324671_48f9f7230b.jpg" alt="Giant Sully by fenriq" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;span style="margin: 0;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyhuh/6664324671/"&gt;Giant Sully&lt;/a&gt;, a photo by &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyhuh/"&gt;fenriq&lt;/a&gt; on Flickr.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do you remember that feeling when you first swung your leg over a bike and pedaled off on it?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The look on my son's face here is that same look, the expression of pure happiness in just the simple act of pedaling a bicycle around a dirt course.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In becoming a parent I am able to view and review the world through my kid's eyes. They are astonished by the world around them. The world is non-stop magical awesomeness to them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And that feeling of freedom and self-empowerment when you pedal a bike all on your own is one of the purest and most wonderful sensations there is.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I love riding bikes with my kids because they make me feel like a kid again too.&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/5393081231058959189/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=5393081231058959189&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5393081231058959189'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5393081231058959189'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-is-bicycling.html' title='This is Bicycling!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-258998238658758938</id><published>2011-12-13T07:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-12-13T07:20:16.403-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike build 2011'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='twfk'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='picture'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='turning wheels for kids'/><title type='text'>Bike Build 2011 aka Turning Wheels for Kids</title><content type='html'>&lt;table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;
122. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDT4hJzuLJE8QByTY_YF6G_u4KJQe8he0_goqJIMOWL87KIV6PVjRO0mZkvnwVPsJDU_6TeaSPwjo0wNymVCELIiEWoOrgGB11PGMtndKYsvETZxtAmkd1I9MWKB2Ocltz94Lu/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDT4hJzuLJE8QByTY_YF6G_u4KJQe8he0_goqJIMOWL87KIV6PVjRO0mZkvnwVPsJDU_6TeaSPwjo0wNymVCELIiEWoOrgGB11PGMtndKYsvETZxtAmkd1I9MWKB2Ocltz94Lu/s320/IMG_1574.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
123. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sea of bike boxes awaits.</td></tr>
124. </tbody></table>
125. This past Saturday was the Bike Build 2011 aka <a href="http://turningwheelsforkids.org/">Turning Wheels for Kids</a> in San Jose. The basic idea goes something like this, get a large number of donated bikes, get a large number of motivated bike mechanics, put them together and have at it. This was my second year doing it as I rather enjoyed it last year!<br />
126. <br />
127. 2700 bikes in 4 hours. I built 4 myself (I think I built 5 last year). Would have gotten more done but that stupid front derailleur was seriously killing me. Spent nearly 45 minutes on it alone. Had to remind myself that the kid this was going to wasn't likely going to be able to adjust the thing on his or her own.<br />
128. <br />
129. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
130. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wFYO7FuQMIPbBabxCFFopciSMs1pDB7-FaRR0GXo1nYxeIs8csuaj57byJIzLexzRz3mbsfNGJxLPocOyh7rJe0PjhUG24dCi73K5vX3Fxenk_2LXY1X3_MYErtKvfiF1KBZ/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wFYO7FuQMIPbBabxCFFopciSMs1pDB7-FaRR0GXo1nYxeIs8csuaj57byJIzLexzRz3mbsfNGJxLPocOyh7rJe0PjhUG24dCi73K5vX3Fxenk_2LXY1X3_MYErtKvfiF1KBZ/s400/IMG_1575.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
131. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooooh, right tilt.</td></tr>
132. </tbody></table>
133. Anyway, building the most bikes wasn't the point. Building bikes so that they were the safest possible introduction to bicycling was really the main point. A good thing to remember when your "building" blood starts flowing.<br />
134. <br />
135. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
136. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6wpnzLJJOvdBxN-g6JgDakG1C2n2HDLFeuTkkoPp2L4jTG8fHwWxyIaI3JOpecC3AVj1tzu6UBEkA-T2ruQBKQ6hNN-p1CgvmEnxp_QY7epVnH89uDIfsaBxFN5iNcNQzVGA/s1600/IMG_1576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6wpnzLJJOvdBxN-g6JgDakG1C2n2HDLFeuTkkoPp2L4jTG8fHwWxyIaI3JOpecC3AVj1tzu6UBEkA-T2ruQBKQ6hNN-p1CgvmEnxp_QY7epVnH89uDIfsaBxFN5iNcNQzVGA/s400/IMG_1576.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
137. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooooh, slight left tilt.</td></tr>
138. </tbody></table>
139. Here's a bunch of pics in sequence that might help give an idea of what it was like. I wish there was a sweet video of me riding an oversized trike around the whole place but that would be too easy and, apparently, I've done something to irritate my auto-focus.<br />
140. <br />
141. Also, big shout out kudos to whoever got the Andy's BBQ for lunch. The pizza was fine last year and all but the BBQ this year really was bitchin'! The only downside is that all the bikes were done being built by the time we finished eating and got back inside.<br />
142. <br />
143. Some dedicated and very fast build teams. I think the Team Specialized team had something like 18 or 20 of the Raleigh mountain bikes (the ones with the wonkedity front derailleurs) all arranged out in front. It was definitely a competition for them and they ripped it up.<br />
144. <br />
145. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
146. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbb0SJmqAE-zX-yH9ckiPMkH-4bBO9TQ0s65t0BjD0EdVqAOG4XqwpfKOo3JFblgTh4MRwM82XivNbH3jSCE1z4hm5j_9kwHkC2PoV5lwaVT1loRzlZ-wnzs8_ls3wp3TpwMq7/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbb0SJmqAE-zX-yH9ckiPMkH-4bBO9TQ0s65t0BjD0EdVqAOG4XqwpfKOo3JFblgTh4MRwM82XivNbH3jSCE1z4hm5j_9kwHkC2PoV5lwaVT1loRzlZ-wnzs8_ls3wp3TpwMq7/s400/IMG_1577.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
147. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Further on down the stack of bikes.</td></tr>
148. </tbody></table>
149. I didn't get as much of a chance to tour the floor this time. Just one quick buzz towards the end, the build went much more quickly this time around it seemed.<br />
150. <br />
151. And there were quite a bit fewer over-inflated inner tube explosions. But enough to make it fun!<br />
152.  Better, or at least more, pictures down below.<br />
153. <br />
154. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />
155. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
156. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PxWi2f-WZlL7l8h8ZD5TPWx_V84kurCHJBuoTTzPs7Dy6ExkdHXrcl6w4e2FGq8iKiLb6C0QSa0Js-E1J6ZX-v7rmPyOD_Xv-s5YKMNz8fGHtwbWT3TpZ-cjsGb01Lolbh76/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PxWi2f-WZlL7l8h8ZD5TPWx_V84kurCHJBuoTTzPs7Dy6ExkdHXrcl6w4e2FGq8iKiLb6C0QSa0Js-E1J6ZX-v7rmPyOD_Xv-s5YKMNz8fGHtwbWT3TpZ-cjsGb01Lolbh76/s400/IMG_1578.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
157. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elf, Santa, Bike Angel! Sweet!</td></tr>
158. </tbody></table>
159. <br />
160. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
161. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzgZ60bNhyphenhyphenmFmI24842rMSwARJsnR97yK3exi_oUVqesjtQRHVvaWn-3gSH87vUPBAW2uYov-zPL4y-cztGM9gDl5ddH4iXe0-4NZVxEQLVIYeriv4bn39m_O9AWSaMR6T5wu/s1600/IMG_1579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzgZ60bNhyphenhyphenmFmI24842rMSwARJsnR97yK3exi_oUVqesjtQRHVvaWn-3gSH87vUPBAW2uYov-zPL4y-cztGM9gDl5ddH4iXe0-4NZVxEQLVIYeriv4bn39m_O9AWSaMR6T5wu/s400/IMG_1579.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
162. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyco-somethings. Hard to remember, apparently easy to ride.</td></tr>
163. </tbody></table>
164. <br />
165. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
166. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha9oOqUrrZU3rWOA-zy42NwfBE6JhKewpyv5ivZZe9xTYRjRjh-dZBHT34EmhZGeiDlTU7xCr7Py4gb7FDLx8GnbRXLWRofMiKbBG5YXbVHlcESeVNDfNJ540-J60uvUYMRiX/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgha9oOqUrrZU3rWOA-zy42NwfBE6JhKewpyv5ivZZe9xTYRjRjh-dZBHT34EmhZGeiDlTU7xCr7Py4gb7FDLx8GnbRXLWRofMiKbBG5YXbVHlcESeVNDfNJ540-J60uvUYMRiX/s400/IMG_1580.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
167. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wanted to try it, did not get a chance. </td></tr>
168. </tbody></table>
169. <br />
170. <br />
171. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
172. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLl9xH_zTjgAbPsI1Mssoh1OeGCX82Hj2Rno6OUpoCHsiARkkNzZOfAOUysMbz84a3eyGB_8c7CJG2x84kytszLwvLvWDj6BadxLDeh8x_GJMq7oFdmiQyyP7sVBvfMZyXhL_l/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLl9xH_zTjgAbPsI1Mssoh1OeGCX82Hj2Rno6OUpoCHsiARkkNzZOfAOUysMbz84a3eyGB_8c7CJG2x84kytszLwvLvWDj6BadxLDeh8x_GJMq7oFdmiQyyP7sVBvfMZyXhL_l/s400/IMG_1581.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
173. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final inspection and sorting area.</td></tr>
174. </tbody></table>
175. <br />
176. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
177. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzhtK1nbWqoQ1Dbfc9_8py-ivcCUqOJhbS9mqvlNXyZ0or5UB81x78gAePX-3Y33rwQzV2_dDjEwL6ZCjpYfBdRWSp8gcazTjMbcZPFUpNBKZR84wpXz6ceTqwRSJBEQKhjo8/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzhtK1nbWqoQ1Dbfc9_8py-ivcCUqOJhbS9mqvlNXyZ0or5UB81x78gAePX-3Y33rwQzV2_dDjEwL6ZCjpYfBdRWSp8gcazTjMbcZPFUpNBKZR84wpXz6ceTqwRSJBEQKhjo8/s400/IMG_1582.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
178. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eager bikes await some pumped kids to whale on them!</td></tr>
179. </tbody></table>
180. <br />
181. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
182. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm8FyFL03gWYzrN0AP0VfxCeq_rZjzamAtuunrKyISBs2P4oD6B1lYvE2LtOncE4tWdyRZacLj73-7Qi7psSEZbAdgMavXpMW8zBNvzPkVDJA2vUFU4_PQY58QiLqCKEdC_jg/s1600/IMG_1583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm8FyFL03gWYzrN0AP0VfxCeq_rZjzamAtuunrKyISBs2P4oD6B1lYvE2LtOncE4tWdyRZacLj73-7Qi7psSEZbAdgMavXpMW8zBNvzPkVDJA2vUFU4_PQY58QiLqCKEdC_jg/s400/IMG_1583.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
183. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the pink bikes got all flashy excited too.</td></tr>
184. </tbody></table>
185. <br />
186. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
187. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisp74m3hk6XRkL9pHGKPfyIqOldUJ1HGp-hBBu4gvTHhgGQEdfkDov4unvUm7XWgzREn_UCTE0CrY67VxHsOc-2_L_3fWT6v8z4vvbZ0w2i7gsnegOcwhkGn-hXgspjyktOPa8/s1600/IMG_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisp74m3hk6XRkL9pHGKPfyIqOldUJ1HGp-hBBu4gvTHhgGQEdfkDov4unvUm7XWgzREn_UCTE0CrY67VxHsOc-2_L_3fWT6v8z4vvbZ0w2i7gsnegOcwhkGn-hXgspjyktOPa8/s400/IMG_1584.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
188. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These guys did team handstands.</td></tr>
189. </tbody></table>
190. <br />
191. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
192. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo-lOX70nhM7yy6jqRufYv-_q9GjOdqB9h13aRZJl4VItPIhTWwhYUrgzikyXNZlspmvscc3mgq2XPyIg9Y7W1LLgEZDkZ2z3cReXkPO63o1mztnZApv9ZnIf0C383ZyKeXls/s1600/IMG_1585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo-lOX70nhM7yy6jqRufYv-_q9GjOdqB9h13aRZJl4VItPIhTWwhYUrgzikyXNZlspmvscc3mgq2XPyIg9Y7W1LLgEZDkZ2z3cReXkPO63o1mztnZApv9ZnIf0C383ZyKeXls/s400/IMG_1585.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
193. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These ladies curtsied.</td></tr>
194. </tbody></table>
195. <br />
196. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
197. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tnWLsvTUmuBp7V85AK7ty-chrkGhfpPMuhcKSGl5MlUrZNxKLCse-MedOBMmEEaCVu6ej90WB1RprGvZNLld0Qmm-8YgWCHppavAKMHS5bJV6gKZeR5p_GzQc56tw3AScGxV/s1600/IMG_1586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tnWLsvTUmuBp7V85AK7ty-chrkGhfpPMuhcKSGl5MlUrZNxKLCse-MedOBMmEEaCVu6ej90WB1RprGvZNLld0Qmm-8YgWCHppavAKMHS5bJV6gKZeR5p_GzQc56tw3AScGxV/s400/IMG_1586.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
198. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These toughies charged me!</td></tr>
199. </tbody></table>
200. <br />
201. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
202. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75wkwl0LJeEU5fa59OI2tPjaktNL60w8Q6cM-bFzQ6YKzZvUM6UfDB6cYPATz2_DMaesMNSPT7ab8QQU0uCSePirG2vRB85kwnnY_27B2gbWSP9IqxZdsXseIKJ6dqZhN1xCN/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75wkwl0LJeEU5fa59OI2tPjaktNL60w8Q6cM-bFzQ6YKzZvUM6UfDB6cYPATz2_DMaesMNSPT7ab8QQU0uCSePirG2vRB85kwnnY_27B2gbWSP9IqxZdsXseIKJ6dqZhN1xCN/s400/IMG_1588.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
203. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sea of health, hope, fun and happiness. (Needs helmets)</td></tr>
204. </tbody></table>
205. <br />
206. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
207. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaknJ7h2ladLxlqGmmLzbKaS1gWrmnDuACWtryUtZFoA8uP-aWUc-AwFx4DhmIMKm3KFR1V7DvAKEk1inwOT9y84SnKFGbWW6QFJ8RXZHA_Uak0xOXD3b9USksEkenriYIBfGU/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaknJ7h2ladLxlqGmmLzbKaS1gWrmnDuACWtryUtZFoA8uP-aWUc-AwFx4DhmIMKm3KFR1V7DvAKEk1inwOT9y84SnKFGbWW6QFJ8RXZHA_Uak0xOXD3b9USksEkenriYIBfGU/s400/IMG_1590.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
208. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These green fellas wanted their bottom brackets rubbed.</td></tr>
209. </tbody></table>
210. <br />
211. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
212. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdKJeyGP09KxctqyifWzdIM_zx6OZ5tPdzzNMcVpTXjEbWBpy-oX2yK2ceheUyAj5OR5PTtRj7Mn3qQO6GfLzCg03lFMLBk4Tgutn6EXwrhY2sAX54ZGN4eFIZBiNk3BW5kpY/s1600/IMG_1591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdKJeyGP09KxctqyifWzdIM_zx6OZ5tPdzzNMcVpTXjEbWBpy-oX2yK2ceheUyAj5OR5PTtRj7Mn3qQO6GfLzCg03lFMLBk4Tgutn6EXwrhY2sAX54ZGN4eFIZBiNk3BW5kpY/s400/IMG_1591.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
213. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things get a little loose after graduation.</td></tr>
214. </tbody></table>
215. <br />
216. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
217. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHjxp-PAd_kKhWX9m_YDlnqXGvUAcj9fmd_mUdxBgpXRDb9fSNWurG4mxDMoTDwP7vPRn-ZmbWPkGPJfhfXmKvy_F-zubrQZywScm5ghiPv4amW3csmH6fe-H-LdyLUVWEgzx/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHjxp-PAd_kKhWX9m_YDlnqXGvUAcj9fmd_mUdxBgpXRDb9fSNWurG4mxDMoTDwP7vPRn-ZmbWPkGPJfhfXmKvy_F-zubrQZywScm5ghiPv4amW3csmH6fe-H-LdyLUVWEgzx/s640/IMG_1592.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
218. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many can you count on/in the dumpster?</td></tr>
219. </tbody></table>
220. <br />
221. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
222. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv82gqH7OTHyZXNbIPC9Jlh7XfSDmnUTwJUk-yTmQVYqIdL3ADQ-xoEJRpS7NLw0BYPvLxoNB7jSO6KtRYnovwZhqc3vdhQ66bAoOLfbwMP5pVhzCsWc7FYRxFOcSdIovv3IZ/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiv82gqH7OTHyZXNbIPC9Jlh7XfSDmnUTwJUk-yTmQVYqIdL3ADQ-xoEJRpS7NLw0BYPvLxoNB7jSO6KtRYnovwZhqc3vdhQ66bAoOLfbwMP5pVhzCsWc7FYRxFOcSdIovv3IZ/s400/IMG_1593.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
223. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Debris. Detritus. Splattzlegraffle. Whatever you call it.</td></tr>
224. </tbody></table>
225. <br />
226. <br />
227. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
228. </div>
229. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
230. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxOLpg2GO6_zc-chf_3HWYEPA-RAt1b9umGchsgXGyxCV3JiXdy5oYgTrOGov7aQjA8-WMbPeSKLR_lET6NcIm1IecW4oBwMNPk5hqNKMssnjYrQQLiNogbVTTBzgHCxQYvMc/s1600/IMG_1594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxOLpg2GO6_zc-chf_3HWYEPA-RAt1b9umGchsgXGyxCV3JiXdy5oYgTrOGov7aQjA8-WMbPeSKLR_lET6NcIm1IecW4oBwMNPk5hqNKMssnjYrQQLiNogbVTTBzgHCxQYvMc/s320/IMG_1594.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
231. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feets of cardboards</td></tr>
232. &lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/258998238658758938/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=258998238658758938&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/258998238658758938'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/258998238658758938'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/12/bike-build-2011-aka-turning-wheels-for.html' title='Bike Build 2011 aka Turning Wheels for Kids'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDT4hJzuLJE8QByTY_YF6G_u4KJQe8he0_goqJIMOWL87KIV6PVjRO0mZkvnwVPsJDU_6TeaSPwjo0wNymVCELIiEWoOrgGB11PGMtndKYsvETZxtAmkd1I9MWKB2Ocltz94Lu/s72-c/IMG_1574.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-7187193345624372568</id><published>2011-11-29T08:50:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-11-29T09:02:56.850-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='legislation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='petition'/><title type='text'>Mandatory Sidepaths Relegate Bike's to Sidekick Status, Sign the Petition</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;
233. <a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/images/ibike_ivote.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bikeleague.org/images/ibike_ivote.GIF" /></a></div>
234. The S. 1813 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act requires cyclists on Federal lands to use a path or trail, instead of
235. roads, if the speed limit is over 30 MPH and a trail exists within 100
236. yards, regardless of its condition or utility of the path. What does that mean? It means bikes are being pushed into the margins and off the roads.<br />
237. <br />
238. Bikes have every right and reason to use the roads we have in place, more so than the cars really.<br />
239. <br />
240. Please go and sign the &amp;lt;a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/petition/"&amp;gt;League of American Bicyclists Petition&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; even if you aren't a cyclist, you almost certainly have friends or family that does ride a bike and wants to be treated like everyone else on the road.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/7187193345624372568/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=7187193345624372568&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7187193345624372568'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7187193345624372568'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/11/mandatory-sidepaths-relegate-bikes-to.html' title='Mandatory Sidepaths Relegate Bike&apos;s to Sidekick Status, Sign the Petition'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-2462531859904236915</id><published>2011-10-24T09:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-10-24T12:13:17.157-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Nisene Marks'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='therapy'/><title type='text'>TiltShift Mojo</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
241. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
242. <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyhuh/6276824716/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="My Mini Mojo by fenriq, on Flickr"><img alt="My Mini Mojo" height="300" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6229/6276824716_94ae1991e4_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
243. <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tilt shift miniature Ibis Mojo (yes, old school steel with the Hand Job).</td></tr>
244. </tbody></table>
245. Taken a few minutes after dropping in at Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, California. <i>It is not the amount of miles in the ride but the amount of ride in the miles</i> that is the important part.<br />
246. <br />
247. I do enjoy going on multi-hour epics, don't get me wrong. There's almost nothing better than starting the roll on of a four hour nothing but riding ride. Well, the nothing but riding part might not be wholly accurate, there are photo stops, hydration breaks, smoke breaks and bathroom breaks.<br />
248. <br />
249. But the point is that there's something calming and special about setting off for a long ride, be it road or mountain. The adventure is just starting and it will unfold (hmmm, accidentally typed funfold first, new word, cha-ching!) just in front of your front wheel. It sometimes takes longer but, eventually, the cares of the day are left behind, the worries, the hassles, the arguments, the seething resentments and that nasty pile of dishes you should have done before leaving. Don't worry, they'll be there when you return.<br />
250. <a name='more'></a>But the promise and premise of the long bike ride is the ability to leave those problems behind you. One cannot, or at least I cannot, think about the last argument with my wife while also trying to pick a line to climb up or descend down through a technical section. It just does not work. And I learned that well on the one tough, technical climb early on in the Nisene ride. I had not gotten into the riding zone yet and, on a climb I can usually clean (that is, climb without stopping or putting a foot down) forced me to stop six or seven times.<br />
251. <br />
252. Sure, some of that might have been the Vicodin fog I've been forced to reside in since last week when I had a fractured and dying tooth extracted. I've gone a few hours between pain killers and the bone ache in my jaw is manageable but its also constant and draining. The vicodin takes the edge off that ache and lets me think about and do other things.<br />
253. <br />
254. Anyway, it sometimes takes a few extra miles to ditch the problems one calls "Life" by the side of the trail. But it does happen and you'll find yourself thinking down the trail ahead, taking in the natural splendor all around, hearing the rustle of leaves, the far, far off braying of the wild donkeys in the park, the rays of the sun glinting off dust in the air and making momentary light shows for you and you alone.<br />
255. <br />
256. These days I usually plan on two loops of the track I've been running in Nisene. The combined mileage is somewhere between 10 and 12 miles with a good bunch of climbing and some very technical descents. But I had places to get to yesterday so I stopped after one loop but it was enough to break out of my brain trap this last week had gotten me in.<br />
257. <br />
258. One other new aspect about my ride yesterday was that I headed to my gym which is close to the trail so I could shower up. I cleaned up, sat in the sauna for a few, washed off, sat in the hot tub for a few and then showered up. But what I'm doing while I shower is to have one shower head with regular hot water on my upper body and the shower head next to me set to the coldest water possible and that water is directed at my legs. What I'd really like is a cold plunge tank to climb into to push the lactic acid out of my muscles more effectively but I'm finding doing the cold water shower rinse has really helped me recover more quickly. <br />
259. <br />
260. <div style="text-align: center;">
261. <b><span style="font-size: large;"><u><i>It is not the amount of miles in the ride </i></u></span></b></div>
262. <div style="text-align: center;">
263. &lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: large;"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;i&gt;but the amount of ride in the miles.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/2462531859904236915/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=2462531859904236915&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2462531859904236915'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2462531859904236915'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/10/tiltshift-mojo.html' title='TiltShift Mojo'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-5901827957928332810</id><published>2011-10-22T22:01:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-10-22T22:01:25.026-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='WTF'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fat bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='custom'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='monster bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fat tires'/><title type='text'>Because They Could! Super Monster (36x8!) Fat Tire Bike!</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://undergroundvelo.com/?attachment_id=3597" rel="attachment wp-att-3597" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3597" height="320" src="http://undergroundvelo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/36x8-vintage-fatbike.jpg" title="36x8 vintage fatbike" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://undergroundvelo.com/?p=3595"&gt;UndergroundVelo  36x8 Vintage Fat Bike, WTF!?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
264. <br />
265. Saw this monster posted on G+ earlier today and have not been able to close the tab since. I keep coming back to gawk at this monster of monster fat tired bikes. Those tires are 36 inches high and 8 inches across, my current rather beefy tires on my mountain bike are a mere 26 inches high and 2.25 inches across.<br />
266. <br />
267. I want to try it out and see just how hard it is to get rolling and keep rolling, how hard it is to climb even a moderate hill and what it would feel like while descending. I have no doubt it would roll well over packed sand but it might be too freakishly heavy for snow or loose sand. Heck, with some outriggers it might even float because of those big honking tires!<br />
268. <br />
269. Some thoughts: It looks like it is set up for a nearly 1:1 ratio, maybe a little biased towards the rear sprocket but it looks close. It does not appear to have brakes. What is up with the spooge spot next to the front wheel?<br />
270. <br />
271. But really, its just a freaking insane bike and sometimes insane is just plain fucking awesome! <br />
272. <br />
273. There are a couple more pics on the link but not much more info. I expect there will be more info forthcoming as more and more bike folks get a gander and demand to know more!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/5901827957928332810/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=5901827957928332810&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5901827957928332810'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5901827957928332810'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/10/because-they-could-super-monster-36x8.html' title='Because They Could! Super Monster (36x8!) Fat Tire Bike!'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-2893908297641300570</id><published>2011-09-20T15:08:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-09-20T15:22:14.259-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike trip'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mbyod'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ride report'/><title type='text'>Bike Stuff and a Ride Report</title><content type='html'>First the links and news:&lt;br /&gt;
274. <a href="http://www.mbyod.org/">Monterey Bay Youth Outdoor Day </a>is this Saturday from 10-4 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. The event is free! Free parking and free admission. The list of stuff they will have on hand to try out is impressive and it should be a great event. Roll out for it!<br />
275. <br />
276. <a href="http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_18933725?source=rss">Bike Tech to School</a> - "<span id="site"><span id="article">Scotts Valley High School is the
277. latest in a string of area high schools to offer a course geared toward
278. fostering students' interest in bicycles -- and teaching them lifelong
279. skills along the way." Sounds good to me, wish this kind of curriculum was available way back when I was in school! More info at <a href="http://www.projectbiketrip.org/">Project Bike Trip</a>.</span></span><br />
280. <br />
281. <a name='more'></a><br />
282. <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/">Share the Damn Road</a><br />
283. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
284. <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product/ShareTheDamnRoadOrElse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product/ShareTheDamnRoadOrElse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
285.  - need a shirt that expresses your real feelings about riding a bike on the road? This site has you covered, you can go with the <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/cycling-jerseys/share-damn-road-or-else-ver-30">Share the Road, Or Else</a> on the right there or maybe go with something less aggressive like this <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/cycling-jerseys/evolution-cycling-jersey">Evolution cycling jersey</a>. They aren't cheap at $50 and up but they are pretty cool and fully functional cycling jerseys and that's gotta count for something. Hey, don't ask me, I'm an offroad cyclist!<br />
286. <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product/Evo_2Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="114" src="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product/Evo_2Up.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
287. Share the Damn Road also has a <a href="http://www.sharethedamnroad.com/cycling-jerseys/print">useful and free print out</a> that you can give to the <strike>dipshit</strike> who nearly just killed you. Very handy and probably better in the long run than seeing how far you can put your fist through their face. Probably.<br />
288. <br />
289. Triathlon News:<br />
290. Give <a href="http://nickdiaz.net/sample-page/">this guy</a> enough room in the transition area or he's likely to abandon the race and tear your arm off to beat you with.<br />
291. <br />
292. And now its time for another rousing round of What's Wrong With This Picture!!!<br />
293. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
294. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72lR8t4Vx3W-vI-E_mQGh7nWa7n7EBS6SqaSN8degP4MXXxIY9RHmO6TtE3hKA2fYe6Wf9Lp1GLDLvrD1YiRDqVYsqWD0otAA3LCCPQdI-YCqO58zqjFvEA3RziOgBkhc7iPn/s1600/RippedCycleChick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72lR8t4Vx3W-vI-E_mQGh7nWa7n7EBS6SqaSN8degP4MXXxIY9RHmO6TtE3hKA2fYe6Wf9Lp1GLDLvrD1YiRDqVYsqWD0otAA3LCCPQdI-YCqO58zqjFvEA3RziOgBkhc7iPn/s400/RippedCycleChick.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
295. There is plenty that's right with this picture but can you figure out what's wrong with it? Look carefully, look at the full size image. Mmmmmm. I know, its hard work but someone's gotta do it.<br />
296. <br />
297. And lastly, @<a href="http://www.cyclelicio.us/">Cyclelicious </a>would like to remind everyone:<br />
298. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
299. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jkRclYEDTCPmFuMvDYYVxsaQOMj1Qasw0jTRmkKBlFYLmGWwrbrDnXOIPcQ899K0Krhqx95PEufCvlRqTnOKBspJ99Kv7Iz5c8ggubZpERYIGTrsXP6QHy1c-eqSSbMdCe2r/s1600/PedalnotPeddle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jkRclYEDTCPmFuMvDYYVxsaQOMj1Qasw0jTRmkKBlFYLmGWwrbrDnXOIPcQ899K0Krhqx95PEufCvlRqTnOKBspJ99Kv7Iz5c8ggubZpERYIGTrsXP6QHy1c-eqSSbMdCe2r/s400/PedalnotPeddle.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
300. Got it? Good!<br />
301. <br />
302. <br />
303. And now its time for the ride report:<br />
304. Where: Nisene Marks State Park, Aptos, California<br />
305. When: Sunday 9/18/11 11:30 am<br />
306. Who: Me and my old hardtail Ibis Mojo<br />
307. <br />
308. Despite my efforts I am still having trouble establishing a regular
309. Friday afternoon ride. I'll get it in for a week or two and then
310. something will come up and I'll have to skip the next week. I did get a
311. good longer ride in on Sunday which was nice. Standard drop in down
312. Aptos Rancho Rd. blast down the first section, cross the creek and then
313. head into the forest proper.<br />
314. <br />
315. One of the things I really enjoy
316. about mountain biking is that there are little victories all through out
317. the ride. One section that previously stymied me and forced me to step
318. off and walk through, I rolled through this time. Another section got a
319. little closer to getting figured out.<br />
320. <br />
321. When Cardiac was blocked off
322. by construction it didn't take too long for local cyclists to start to
323. carve in a workaround. Climb the stupid steep water tower road up, duck
324. in to the right of the fence, portage your bike through a good section
325. of steep trail and, eventually, wind up a few hundred feet from where
326. the old swing was on top of Cardiac but is now some rich dude's kitchen
327. window view out over the bay.<br />
328. <br />
329. Anyway, a couple of months ago, I
330. was just starting up the stupid steep hill to the water tanks when a guy
331. in a white van flagged me down. I'd just barely gotten to the other
332. side of the big triangular gate blocking the road.<br />
333. <br />
334. <br />
335. We got to talking and he eventually told me about a non-illegal
336. trail entrance I could use down the road past his house (which turned
337. out to be a freaking palatial Spanish mansion, seriously awesome and
338. reminds me of movie set drug lord estate but without the machine guns
339. and German Shepherds). I thanked him for the permission and set off to
340. find the new trailhead.<br />
341. <br />
342.  Now, I won't pretend that this
343. situation is ideal, it isn't. A good chunk of really excellent
344. singletrack has become more or less off-limits since the new
345. construction started. But the workaround works and I rolled back into
346. the woods after a quick buzz down the gravel road. The backside of Nisene Marks is not well traveled and less so these days with the blockage at the top. But the trail is worth the effort to get to. It has full berms, jumps, descending singletrack, off camber turns and some really tremendous views out over the valley. It was such fun that I decided to do it twice. Not having that steep ass climb and portage through to the trails helped alot too.<br />
347. <br />
348. The second run was faster and just as fun with the exception of a semi close call with a guy riding up the trail. What I can never understand is when bikers get back to the bridge in Nisene and then they duff it out on the road seemingly unaware that there's a ripping fun trail just off the road in many places. I bomb the trail and usually beat them out anyway. I did know that I had little to no chance of making the scrambly and steep climb out to the trailhead. But that's okay, sometimes its good to burn your legs up.<br />
349. <br />
350. All in all, I'd give the Sunday ride a four out of five stars. There was a little too much foot traffic for my tastes and a bit too many "trail apples" as they are called (but it really just means horse shit on the trail). But the temp was perfect, hot in the sun and just slightly cool in the trees. The trail conditions were excellent too. All part of why I love having Nisene Marks so close by that I get to call it my riding ground!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/2893908297641300570/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=2893908297641300570&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2893908297641300570'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2893908297641300570'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/09/bike-stuff-and-ride-report.html' title='Bike Stuff and a Ride Report'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72lR8t4Vx3W-vI-E_mQGh7nWa7n7EBS6SqaSN8degP4MXXxIY9RHmO6TtE3hKA2fYe6Wf9Lp1GLDLvrD1YiRDqVYsqWD0otAA3LCCPQdI-YCqO58zqjFvEA3RziOgBkhc7iPn/s72-c/RippedCycleChick.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-4094855939354766694</id><published>2011-08-20T22:20:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-08-20T22:25:52.422-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='light'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='design'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bicycle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pedals'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='safety'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='lighting'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='links'/><title type='text'>Bike Links Round Up Redux</title><content type='html'>I need to do this more often than I do because there are always awesome things happening in the bicycling world.
351.  
352. Here are some that I've come across recently. Painstakingly reconstructed after Blogger got drunk and had its awful, mean spirited way with my formatting.<br />
353. <br />
354. <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/tioga-zeroaxle-mtzero-axleless-pedal/19467/picture/139479/" id="hero_link" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">                     <img alt="Tioga's ZEROaxle MT-ZERO is one of the thinnest mountain bike pedals available, as it has ..." border="0" height="179" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/zeroaxle-3.jpg" title="Tioga's ZEROaxle MT-ZERO is one of the thinnest mountain bike pedals available, as it has ..." width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.gizmag.com/tioga-zeroaxle-mtzero-axleless-pedal/19467/">Tioga releases super thin axleless pedals</a>. I'm not a clip-in guy, I've tried it, hated it and went back to my Power Straps. I like these pedals though it looks like they'd snap under a decent impact even if I'm pretty sure they won't (otherwise Tioga will be replacing lots of them for free!).<br />
355. <br />
356.  <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/paul-duplex-brake-lever/19515/">Duplex lever lets disabled cyclists activate both brakes with one hand.</a> I am all for anything that helps as many people as possible get on two or three wheels and power themselves. Self-propulsion is self-empowering.<br />
357. <br />
358. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
359. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_pXlhtDRxoZ5p-AXcYXW9GchaZPwXHnSKGjUg_WI6_QRSfJrsMPMBwRD6b78Ax2zmINzeufCkODX5V1LGYB1FU2eSEzn5PPOix0uMh5s2pM2I7miQ-NNbQ3TsKNcolYbX_Y7/s1600/tumblr_laamykWkQk1qd699mo1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_pXlhtDRxoZ5p-AXcYXW9GchaZPwXHnSKGjUg_WI6_QRSfJrsMPMBwRD6b78Ax2zmINzeufCkODX5V1LGYB1FU2eSEzn5PPOix0uMh5s2pM2I7miQ-NNbQ3TsKNcolYbX_Y7/s320/tumblr_laamykWkQk1qd699mo1_500.png" width="320" /></a></div>
360. I have a test for you.<br />
361. <br />
362. Okay. I know you've already looked at this pic but can you tell me what's wrong with it? <br />
363. <br />
364. Yes, I can clearly see what's right with it.<br />
365. <br />
366. And no, its not because she's not wearing a helmet or shoes.<br />
367. <br />
368. She's dressed perfectly!<br />
369. <br />
370. The <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/brompton-dock-folding-bicycle-rental/19323/">Brompton Dock pilot project</a> aims to make it easy for a commuter to rent a folding bike from a locker at a transit site, ride it to where they want to go, keep it for as long as they need and then return it when they're done and get billed for their time used. Seems pretty straightforward. It'll remain to be seen if the system can fly or not though.<br />
371. <br />
372. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
373. <a href="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/revolights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/revolights.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
374. <a href="http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-08/light-bike-wheels-help-cyclists-see-road-and-help-motorists-see-bikes">Revolights</a> aim to make you more visible and also make you look a bit like a light cycle from Tron. Not much but a bit.<br />
375. <br />
376. I'm sure everyone reading this always wears a helmet when they ride but, if not, then here's a powerful personal example of why helmets are a very good thing (hat tip to Martha Stewart), <a href="http://maplewood.patch.com/blog_posts/heads-up-for-helmuts#">Heads Up for Helmets</a> even if they don't spell helmet correctly the first time (check the URL).<br />
377. <br />
378. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
379. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgxbovwuMGE2RqT_U_cmF1spv2aDdfnGHHMM3AWxXbLKSQOM66gaotIVTMYx3p2O1Bm9pDgB7z-jujRzLVZJkJ7kXjEeVgaKZjecATaJMQ0os4oEMTdrFnoUxdgoIFH_Dxt1F/s1600/BudnitzNo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgxbovwuMGE2RqT_U_cmF1spv2aDdfnGHHMM3AWxXbLKSQOM66gaotIVTMYx3p2O1Bm9pDgB7z-jujRzLVZJkJ7kXjEeVgaKZjecATaJMQ0os4oEMTdrFnoUxdgoIFH_Dxt1F/s320/BudnitzNo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
380. &lt;a href="http://www.budnitzbicycles.com/"&gt;Paul Budnitz&lt;/a&gt; makes some pretty beautiful, clean, light and fast titanium town bikes. The one on the left there is the No2, the faster and more aggressive of the two bikes he's produced thus far. The bikes have great lines and are almost certainly fun and fast to ride. The only downside I can see is the price tag of $5500 for one. If I'm dropping $5k on a bike then its gonna be an Ibis Mojo, no question!</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/4094855939354766694/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=4094855939354766694&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4094855939354766694'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4094855939354766694'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/08/bike-links-round-up-redux.html' title='Bike Links Round Up Redux'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_pXlhtDRxoZ5p-AXcYXW9GchaZPwXHnSKGjUg_WI6_QRSfJrsMPMBwRD6b78Ax2zmINzeufCkODX5V1LGYB1FU2eSEzn5PPOix0uMh5s2pM2I7miQ-NNbQ3TsKNcolYbX_Y7/s72-c/tumblr_laamykWkQk1qd699mo1_500.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-4672492986928389716</id><published>2011-07-21T08:19:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-21T08:19:20.678-07:00</updated><title type='text'>The Only "Wood" Frame I'd Consider</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/GizmagEmergingTechnologyMagazine/%7E3/lyNLxwXRhcI/"&gt;Painter gives bicycle frames the woodgrain look&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/woodgrainbikes-2.jpg" alt="New Zealand's Rob Pollock hand-paints clients' bicycle frames with a faux woodgrain finish" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Whether it’s the &lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/audi-duo-wodden-bicycles/18293/"&gt;Renovo/Audi duo lineup&lt;/a&gt;, the just-announced &lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/wooden-lagomorph-bike/19241/"&gt;Lagamorph&lt;/a&gt;, or one of the various &lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/calfee-design-bamboo-bikes/14378/"&gt;bamboo creations&lt;/a&gt;, wooden-framed bikes (or in the case of bamboo, “wooden”-framed) are becoming more and more popular. While this is partly because of the ride characteristics and eco-friendliness of sustainably-harvested wood, let’s be honest – it’s mostly because they look nice. Unfortunately, they also tend to be pricey, with a single complete bike costing several thousand dollars. Well, if it’s just the aesthetic of wood that you want, now you have an alternative ... New Zealand’s Rob Pollock will give your frame a hand-painted woodgrain finish, for just US$1,500...&lt;br /&gt;Continue Reading &lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/woodgrain-painted-bicycle-frames/19281/"&gt;Painter gives bicycle frames the woodgrain look&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;While I like the look of wood and bamboo bikes, I'm not at all convinced they can last especially long. I've got a chromoly steel hard tail mountain bike that's at least ten years old and has had a ton of miles put on it over its life. Its my daily rider mountain bike. I don't worry about the frame one bit because its hard steel. If my bike were bamboo or wood then I would not have the confidence to drop off ledges and bomb down hills at speed, I'd be too worried about the frame disintegrating under me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So yeah, a painted frame to look like wood when its really steel would be about as close as I'm coming to a wood bike for now.</content><link rel='related' href='http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GizmagEmergingTechnologyMagazine/~3/lyNLxwXRhcI/' title='The Only &quot;Wood&quot; Frame I&apos;d Consider'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/4672492986928389716/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=4672492986928389716&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4672492986928389716'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/4672492986928389716'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/07/only-wood-frame-id-consider.html' title='The Only &quot;Wood&quot; Frame I&apos;d Consider'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-8348024237606658154</id><published>2011-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-15T10:02:47.880-07:00</updated><title type='text'>RoadID</title><content type='html'>If you are not already wearing one, take the time now to &lt;a href="http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=2248"&gt;get one&lt;/a&gt;.  I just ordered the new wrist id slim for myself and my kids too!  You can get the replacement bands in different colors and switch them out as often as you like.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href = "http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=2248"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://www.roadid.com/affiliates/showban.asp?referrer=2248&amp;img=logo_1.gif"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/8348024237606658154/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=8348024237606658154&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/8348024237606658154'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/8348024237606658154'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/07/roadid.html' title='RoadID'/><author><name>Jay</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='21' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxhcS58_4z6XD23lbByX0wJMJRKLfb8b9qBUtWbBI_t0OqMs83Ns4ucIJyv1TNsaxx88nyFjFtQNiJKYvDnBjslhen22roFN2VgaZv9ihV17kKhPZDolxjqL85mqT7A/s220/Jay_PrairieCity.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-7563222530774449049</id><published>2011-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-14T07:48:45.693-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bike lane'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='police'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='statement'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='crash'/><title type='text'>Bike Lanes, a Love Story</title><content type='html'>&lt;iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/25037336?byline=0&amp;amp;portrait=0" width="400"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
381. <a href="http://vimeo.com/25037336">bike lanes</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3007372">Casey Neistat</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
382. <br />
383. Ticketed for not riding in the bike lane, Casey Neistat takes the good natured officer's words to heart and won't bike outside the lane again, no matter what is in his way. I just wish he'd put on a helmet as some of those getoffs look painful.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/7563222530774449049/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=7563222530774449049&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7563222530774449049'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/7563222530774449049'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/07/bike-lanes-love-story.html' title='Bike Lanes, a Love Story'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-5042051102853195353</id><published>2011-07-10T22:54:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-07-10T22:54:28.686-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Old School Tall/Converta Bike</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxoT0YKw7AI-rOIBkCUT7EpbD7oKm6lEqqQVUkm9Nrv2jC5r0TpYpmTs0c5aWujjsjrDCqHPVAfhLLjs0SJfSH9UlVDOHIh3WDrzEPkgY-dYy4474jChHL1Y_Ju7vhawJCSDL/s1600/tumblr_lgbzudI3rJ1qarvi2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxoT0YKw7AI-rOIBkCUT7EpbD7oKm6lEqqQVUkm9Nrv2jC5r0TpYpmTs0c5aWujjsjrDCqHPVAfhLLjs0SJfSH9UlVDOHIh3WDrzEPkgY-dYy4474jChHL1Y_Ju7vhawJCSDL/s400/tumblr_lgbzudI3rJ1qarvi2.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 400px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://chicksandbikes.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_683.html"&gt;via Chicks and Bikes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
384. You could look at this photo for a few minutes and keep seeing interesting details. Like that it appears the bike's frame is really a bed headboard. Or maybe that there's no way to tell what kind of seat she has. Or how she stopped. Or why she's wearing high heels and a dress. And where is she riding this bike, it kind of reminds me of the Rose Bowl for some reason.<br />
385. <br />
386. There are so many questions to ask and so few answers to be had.<br />
387. <br />
388. But that's okay. The reality is that it is the asking of the questions that leads to the answers being found. In all things.<br />
389. <br />
390. Keep asking questions. Keep wondering what's around the next corner. Keep yourself open to the myriad unfolding possibilities in every single instant of every single second.<br />
391. <br />
392. Oh and if you are going to go riding a tall bike like this, maybe think about some protection for your head. Falling from that high would hurt an awful lot.&amp;nbsp; </content><link rel='related' href='http://chicksandbikes.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_683.html' title='Old School Tall/Converta Bike'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/5042051102853195353/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=5042051102853195353&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5042051102853195353'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/5042051102853195353'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/07/old-school-tallconverta-bike.html' title='Old School Tall/Converta Bike'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxoT0YKw7AI-rOIBkCUT7EpbD7oKm6lEqqQVUkm9Nrv2jC5r0TpYpmTs0c5aWujjsjrDCqHPVAfhLLjs0SJfSH9UlVDOHIh3WDrzEPkgY-dYy4474jChHL1Y_Ju7vhawJCSDL/s72-c/tumblr_lgbzudI3rJ1qarvi2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-2780716234472389997</id><published>2011-04-20T09:18:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-04-20T09:18:32.977-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hydration'/><title type='text'>Bike Mounted Hydro System?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBwmzbuJbprNG6Fd8-Bmy0tayGyxJpxnBFcUYNBo8VS3zW8mNGaMSpvh8QyAaJouJ17KLZRAF8LZGbLilLxf-vIknw-kNWT-ePTyRkWb74W07yIZ6J9zxdOgJIOLFipjl9OQt/s1600/veleau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBwmzbuJbprNG6Fd8-Bmy0tayGyxJpxnBFcUYNBo8VS3zW8mNGaMSpvh8QyAaJouJ17KLZRAF8LZGbLilLxf-vIknw-kNWT-ePTyRkWb74W07yIZ6J9zxdOgJIOLFipjl9OQt/s320/veleau.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The&lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/veleau-bicycle-mounted-hydration-system/18435/"&gt; VelEau hydration system mounts on the bike instead of the rider&lt;/a&gt; but I'm not sure I'd want to have that weight, though it is only 42 ounces, sloshing back and forth under me. I'm not bothered in the least by having my Camelbak on my back.&lt;br /&gt;
393. <br />
394. I occasionally forgo the backpack and just use a pair of water bottles in the cages and haven't had any issues in getting a drink when I needed to.<br />
395. <br />
396. The article seems to indicate that perhaps this invention is for racing as that is when its hardest to reach down and grab a water bottle at speed. However, this unit requires going one handed to get the mouthpiece from the handlebars to one's mouth (though they do get bonus points for the mouthpiece being on a retracting cable).<br />
397. <br />
398. I guess I'm just not seeing the real value. Maybe for those people that really are bothered by hydro packs but it should also be noted that 42 ounces is less than half the hydration I can carry in my pack.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/2780716234472389997/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=2780716234472389997&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2780716234472389997'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2780716234472389997'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/04/bike-mounted-hydro-system.html' title='Bike Mounted Hydro System?'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBwmzbuJbprNG6Fd8-Bmy0tayGyxJpxnBFcUYNBo8VS3zW8mNGaMSpvh8QyAaJouJ17KLZRAF8LZGbLilLxf-vIknw-kNWT-ePTyRkWb74W07yIZ6J9zxdOgJIOLFipjl9OQt/s72-c/veleau.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3674599.post-2404059333064456667</id><published>2011-04-14T10:01:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-04-14T10:01:49.495-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='design'/><title type='text'>Trading Diamonds for Hoops</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQlK29ExXXcejXYgnG-tDAS8EdDWYav7E0okChHlKZz3_ryvIF2aHsg0juLoB8mz7vp-pvM9R-p-lxZwTVCYeyCsfQwNFz23dA10f69AHdLT4nj8yml-rvE3gfZqRog7T2CX_/s1600/roundtail-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQlK29ExXXcejXYgnG-tDAS8EdDWYav7E0okChHlKZz3_ryvIF2aHsg0juLoB8mz7vp-pvM9R-p-lxZwTVCYeyCsfQwNFz23dA10f69AHdLT4nj8yml-rvE3gfZqRog7T2CX_/s320/roundtail-4.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.gizmag.com/roundtail-bike-replaces-rear-triangle-with-rings/18388/"&gt;Radical-looking RoundTail bike claims radically smoother ride&lt;/a&gt; because the traditional rear triangle of the bike's frame is replaced with two round hoops that are purported to help soak up bumps and provide a gentler ride.&lt;br /&gt;
399. <br />
400. I'm always interested in bicycle designs and this one seems like a rather interesting solution to a bumpy problem. I don't think this would work in a mountain bike set up as it seems like the rough surface would induce more of a pogo-ing effect.<br />
401. <br />
402. But I could definitely see this bike on the road in skinny bike form as pictured here or, as one commenter suggests, as a cruiser. It could also be set up as a commuter/town bike too and those rear hoops could easily double as pannier mounts to go touring.<br />
403. <br />
404. I love clever and this is a pretty clever solution. Even if it will take a while to get used to the hoop-y style frame.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/feeds/2404059333064456667/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3674599&amp;postID=2404059333064456667&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2404059333064456667'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3674599/posts/default/2404059333064456667'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://norcalbikers.blogspot.com/2011/04/trading-diamonds-for-hoops.html' title='Trading Diamonds for Hoops'/><author><name>Fen</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/02175572083582286145</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='21' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxud43LN47Ga4PfruJAuJLIBKlxHQsGHx_LGR9I6TrR2MCfk7FinrVhpbM4t5vjDJniZW0_f0LJGHf_vjH_CzMstTEEX8Or0sfCr6__dc_j5V8IlCpBidk0SuNqxQYg/s220/RainbowTubeWave.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQlK29ExXXcejXYgnG-tDAS8EdDWYav7E0okChHlKZz3_ryvIF2aHsg0juLoB8mz7vp-pvM9R-p-lxZwTVCYeyCsfQwNFz23dA10f69AHdLT4nj8yml-rvE3gfZqRog7T2CX_/s72-c/roundtail-4.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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