Sabbatical

Greetings Bikeist afficionados!  As threatened, I am am hereby re-emerging post autumnal equinox.  So, where have I been all summer?  Well, besides biking my butt off, I have been doing what I'm told us creative types are supposed to do each summer -- nothing.  As a full-fledged member of the writing community, I have exercised my right to take several months off from entertaining my hordes of loyal followers.  This, supposedly, serves two purposes:

 (1) It makes you, my faithful denizens, even hungrier to consume the bike-centric nourishment I provide you with on a weekly basis; and 

(2) It recharges my creative energies and juices, enabling me to spew forth bike wisdom as never before imagined or witnessed on the interwebs --

Truthfully, though, what this has really been about is Mr. Google's failure to recognize the fabulosity of this blog by raining down dollars on yours truly.  Seriously, people!  I've given you the never-ending bikeography, bike-stabbings galore, and the single greatest thing that has ever happened right here on this very blog!  What more is it gonna take?  Do I need to just start making stuff up?  This blog doesn't just write itself (most of the time) -- we need to start working some notion of remuneration into this equation.  

I guess I could start issuing this blog on a subscription basis in hopes, a la the New York Times, that I could monetize exclusivity.  Somehow, though, I'm not confident that I can turn much of a profit that way, even if all twelve of my loyal readers were to subscribe.  There must be a better way.  I've read about guest-blogging, back-linking, etc., as ways to perpetuate a blog, but it all sounds like so much work -- and I get enough of that at, umm, well, work.  I enjoy writing/blogging because it doesn't feel like work.  As a bonafide creative type with no notion of how to turn thoughts into dollars, I need a cold-blooded, single-minded, money-hungry agent/manager to handle the business side of this venture, so I can keep my focus upon continuing to pump out brilliant product.  

So, are you a one-dimensional, avaricious, uncreative, tech-savvy sloth interested in parlaying the output of a creative genius into untold profits?  If so, do I ever have a position for you! Apply simply by commenting to this very post.  If not, you surely must know an asshole who is qualified to take on this lofty position.  Forward a link to my blog to anybody you think may have the lack of scruples required to turn a brilliant, anonymous, blogger who has been toiling in obscurity into a money-making machine.  I am ready to be sold like laundry detergent, feminine hygiene, or erectile dysfunction products.  Like espresso drinks pre-1990, I have something completely addictive that people develop an insatiable craving for after a single serving. The Bikeist is the crack cocaine of biking blogs -- just get it out on the street and stand back as it tears apart the fabric of the "cycling" community.  That has to be worth something, right?

Anyway, untold riches or not, I'm back.  I have all kinds of bike adventures and gripes to share with you after an incredible summer in the saddle.  Let's just see what happens if we can manage to inject the profit motive into my creative process in some way. I just don't think I have it in me to be one of those artists whose prolific output is discovered post-humously and converted into millions. I want instant gratification, adulation, and remuneration!  Is that asking too much?  I think not . . . 

Bikeist In Residence

The Bikeist is on Summer Sabbatical.  Why?  Because he is told that this is what creative types are supposed to do.  Rest-assured, he will be back, post-equinox, with a full array of new material --

Bikeist vs. The Oregon Coast

Waiting for my connecting flight to Portland where my buddy, Bob, will be picking me up and transporting me to Astoria, OR, where I will begin biking (the entire) Oregon coast tomorrow morning.  Adrenaline is already flowing.  Plan is to do it solo in five days (about 75 miles a day).  Haven't decided yet whether I will blog along the way, but that's part of the beauty of these journeys.  Logistics planning aside, I really try to let the journey just happen.  How the week goes will depend on an incalculable variety of variables dependent upon who I meet, what/when I eat, the weather, my stamina, attractive nuisances and other distractions along the way, etc. --

One of my favorite authors, Cormac McCarthy, likes to write about men heading off alone into the unknown on horseback with few provisions beyond their own wits.  The closest I'll ever get to that is wandering off every so often with my bike (and a charged smart-phone).   I know - not the stuff of novels -- but plenty exciting for me.

If you happen to be along the Oregon coast this week, be sure to wave -- I'll be the guy on the bike!

Ride Bike, Get Stabbed, Rinse, Repeat . . .

It was a little over a year ago, on this very blog, that I revealed the alarming epidemic of bike-related stabbings in San Diego.  The evidence I laid out establishing the nearly 100% chance of getting stabbed at some point whilst biking in and around America's Classiest City was so compelling that The San Diego Reader chose to feature my findings as a public service to our oblivious populous:  "Quick Sell Your Bike . . ."

After the hysteria died down, I moved on to less sensational topics, such as chainsaw wielding maniacs threatening bike riders, and hadn't given much thought to the whole bike-stabbing thing until last week.  The headline that popped into my Twitter feed was:  "Man stabbed at 7-Eleven in North Park."  The wise ass in me (or, perhaps, more accurately, the wise ass that I am) instantly wondered what the chances were that a bike was involved.  I've resisted the temptation to click on stabbing stories for a whole year (taking it one day at a time, people), so there's no way that the first random one I click on could possibly be bike-related, right?  Wrong.  The compulsively curious part of my nature couldn't resist such click-bait, and was rewarded with this KUSI story - "Man Stabbed at 7-Eleven" - which described how a man was stabbed in a North Park 7 Eleven parking lot (I warned you people about mixing bikes with low-end fast food, but did you listen?!) and then "rode his bicycle to a friends house at Arizona St and Wightman St where he was given a wheelchair to sit in."  Same old story people - have bike, get stabbed, ride to home of friend who keeps a wheelchair around for just these sorts of situations.

Awesome!  This week's post could, practically, write itself with such juicy, sweeps-worthy material (it IS May, isn't it?).  Before actually sitting down to let this post write itself, though, I had to make sure I did my due diligence by having my crack research team scour the news wires for any other recent bike-related stabbings.  And wouldn't you know it -- we had not one, but two bike-related stabbings in the last week.  The more recent, one, though, added a twist to the usual bike-stabbing scenario.  As reported by the UT - "Man Stabbed In North Park . . ." - this time, it was the bike rider who was the aggressor:  "A man was stabbed at a bus stop at 30th Street and El Cajon Boulevard in North Park Monday night by an acquaintance who rode up to him on a bicycle, San Diego police said."  

Now, that's more like it!  It's about time we, innocent, law-abiding bikeists turned the table on our tormentors and gained the upper hand --  it's stab or be stabbed people!  No longer will we bikeists be defenseless lambs -- think twice before randomly stabbing us you ne'er do wells out there.  That unseemly bulge in my lycra?  It may just mean that I'm happy to see you, but it may mean that I'm packing 10 inches of deadly, razor-sharpened steel. So, you've got to ask yourself one question, punk.  "Do I feel lucky?"  Well, do ya, punk?

The Bikeist Gets All Existential And Stuff . . .

 To Blog or not to Blog, that is a question (not, necessarily, THE question).  If a Blogger uploads a post in the forest and never gets a single hit does the blog-post exist?  If I never submit another post again, ever, am I still a Blogger?

These are the sorts of questions that run through a Bikeist's mind when he's gone almost an entire month without a single post.  How long does one have to go before they can no longer consider themselves to be a Blogger?  Even when I'm not posting, I still feel like I'm the Bikeist.  Probably a lot like how Batman feels when he has to lay low for awhile -- right Batman?

I guess part of the beauty of blogging is that from the very first time you hit the "publish" button, you are, eternally, a Blogger.  Eons from now, a researcher from an advanced civilization could be surfing whatever form of interwebs they have in the 221st century and randomly enter "bike," "stab," and "San Diego," and suddenly be blinded with the brilliance that is The San Diego Bikeist!  Imagine that!

So, as usual, the call of duty (for reals people - not the video game) has kept me from my weekly blathering about all things biking and San Diego.  Although, thankfully, on shore duty in the good old U.S. of A., the rhythm of my work life has been much like that when I was at war -- long periods of repetitive routine punctuated by shorter periods of chaotic intensity.  Unfortunately for me (and, especially, my rabid, loyal fan-base), my latest "intense period" has gone on for a good two months with one "crisis" leading into another.  Not complaining (I love my job), and not going to elaborate (this blog is about biking, not keeping the world safe for God-loving, flag-waving, quinoa-eating bikeists everywhere), just want to let you know that when I am absent it is for good reason.  You understand, don't you Batman?

The beauty of my lifestyle is that, even when I'm too busy to blog, I still bike every single day.  Even when you're working constantly, you still have to get to and from work -- which, for a bike-commuter means two, guaranteed, rides a day.  It's what keeps me sane and alive (despite the driveists out there trying to kill me).  My best recent week of riding actually came at the height of "crisis" #2 - last week.  While trying to manage the evolving issue at work via smartphone, I had to attend a conference in Mission Valley.  Love these sorts of challenges, as they test my logistical acumen and dedication to always bike commuting.  I had to coordinate ahead of time with a buddy who was staying at the conference hotel, so I could shower in his room and then had to catch the 0540 ferry from Coronado each morning, so I could bike through Little Italy (with a quick pit-stop for a croissant and double-espresso with my buddy Erroll at Influx), lower Mission Hills, Middletown, and Old Town before catching the San Diego River bike-path to Mission Valley and the conference.  Needless to say, I was the only attendee who biked there every (any) day - and - probably the only one as pumped and ready to go as I was each morning.  So fun to be back on the ferry and to change the commuting routine up.  Although I usually get a good 16 - 20 in after work every day, the 1.6 miles to my office each morning aren't enough to even break a sweat.  Perhaps I need to start attending more conferences!

Last week also exposed the one weakness of my lifestyle -- I'm kind of in a bind when I'm away from HQ and am needed back at the office urgently.  Last week's "crisis" presented just such a situation, as something came up that needed to be handled in person.  Luckily, I was able to get a ride from a willing volunteer, so the day, once again, was saved.  Plus, there's always Uber or (as a last resort) a cab when there are no colleagues available to save you from your Bikeist lifestyle choice, so I'm not about to abandon it.

Back to the one-week Mission Valley commute -- I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The incredible weather last week was a big contributor, but I was also pleasantly surprised with how dead India Street was at 6 am -- less busy than when I normally traverse it on Saturday mornings!  The San Diego River Trail is in great shape, and the destitutes I encountered along the way, even the ones trying to complete a drug deal, seemed to be completely harmless.  There are so many of you out there who refuse to bike commute because you are intimidated at the prospect of biking in an urban environment.  But, if you pick your route and times properly, you can almost have the roads to yourself!  

So, loyal readers, not to worry -- I have not abandoned you.  Never fear - even when you have to suffer through an unfortunate gap in posts - be assured that I am still off pedaling somewhere simultaneously conjuring new blog posts for your amusement.  

I bike, therefore I am!

The Second Best Thing That Has Ever Happened In The History of Humankind

Hello?  Anybody out there? Fan base?  You still with me?

I know,  I know -- it's been too long, but it's hard to blog when you're fighting a life and death battle with malaria.  Well, at least, I assume it would be hard since I've never, actually, contracted malaria.  But, you did feel somewhat guilty there for a split-second didn't you loyal readers?  

The truth of the matter is that my day job (keeping the free world safe for bike-loving patriots everywhere) has been more of a day, night, and weekend job for the past few weeks as we've been doing a sprawling, massive investigation that I can't talk about.  So, just take my word for it:  I've been really, really busy.  But, I've been thinking about you guys the whole time.  And, I know you've all been thinking and worrying about me and my not-malaria.

Nice thing about being a one car family is that, even when I'm super busy, I can't use that business as an excuse to not get on the bike.  No choice -- bike or nothing.  Of course, it's not like I wouldn't pick a bike over just about any other form of transportation anytime and anywhere.  Except, of course, for trans-oceanic trips -- bike isn't too useful for those.  So, it was on my bike that I experienced an incredible surge of joy as I headed out to work on Sunday morning and was greeted by this!

That's right people!  My very own "sharrow" right at the foot of my driveway.  The mark of the Bikeist tagged, eternally, directly in front of Bikeist World-Wide Headquarters!

 Now, any of you familiar with my, now, classic, posts "Duh" and  "The Single Best Thing That Has Ever Happened In The History of Humankind" have already lived through the trials and tribulations of my 1.6 mile (one way) bike commute down the very road I live on.  As described in those posts, the road is way too narrow for cars and bikes to ride together in the same lane.  Most drivers get that, but the occasional knucklehead gets offended by my presence on the road he'd like to have to himself and buzzes me or offers choice words about my supposed obligation to get to the curb.

Well, after one too many of these incidents, I got with the base XO and engineer and proposed that they paint sharrows on my street, to help educate knuckleheads and non-knuckleheads alike that it is ok for bikes to "take the lane" on such a narrow street.    After I explained to them exactly what a sharrow was, they took to the idea instantly and now we have them along the entire course of the street that leads from my driveway to my office.  Thanks, guys -- you rock!

So, do these markings possess mystical properties that will make me immune from the harm posed by multi-ton vehicles sharing the road with me.  Umm . . . no.  Every bikeist has to stay ever-aware that they, and they alone, are singularly responsible for their own safety.  We can't rely on street markings, lanes, three-foot laws, or the good intentions of driveists (especially) to protect us.  We need to keep our heads on a swivel, track what's moving around and in front of us, check our sixes, obey stop signs, use hand-signals, and do our best to move with the flow of traffic, staying out of blind spots and never overtaking a car to its right as we're approaching an intersection.

So, what good are they then?  First of all, they're better than nothing.  Second of all, as driveists get used to them, and heed them, they should, indeed, make the street safer for all users.  But, most of all, they increase awareness that bikes are equal users of the road and just as entitled to be on it as cars.  Let's face it - despite all of my close calls, I have been a skilled enough and aware enough rider to avoid ever getting hit (knock on wood).  I probably don't need the sharrows to keep on avoiding getting hit.  But, what the sharrows should definitely save me from is being an asshole.  Without them, I have to be demonstrative about my right to take the lane and have to defend it verbally  without visible proof at hand.  Now, I can happily pedal down the middle of the road (at 18 - 23 mph in a 25, so I'm not holding up anybody too badly) and simply point to the lovely sharrows anytime anybody gets impatient or rude with me.

Biking, for me is about joy.  I don't want every ride to have the potential for ugly confrontations.  Plus, I actually, genuinely enjoy people and want to get along with them.  I just don't know what primal urge exactly (especially for dudes with Georgia plates) makes certain people see red at the very sight of a bike, but I'm hopeful that my beautiful new sharrows will provide the reinforcing symbol of legal sanction that they need in order to start understanding that riders magically defying the laws of God and physics by propelling themselves forward on two wheels are not deserving of instant execution for blasphemy, or whatever.  Believe it or not, I actually think the sharrows are working already.  It could just be my imagination, but it seems like drivers have been calmly changing lanes to pass me, and holding off on doing so when on-coming traffic approaching.  It's the shame of legal sanction! I know it!  The sign of the Bikeist is a constant reminder to evil-doers everywhere that violating the three-foot-law doesn't pay!

Ride safe out there people and ride, proudly, over every sharrow you see.

You're welcome.

"Being A Force Of Nature"

Remember when I devoted an entire post to whining about being stranded without the means to repair a flat? -- "We Ain't Got No Stinkin' Patches"  Of course you do!

 Well, I somehow doubt that the amazing dude featured in this video would be able to muster much empathy for me:



Can you imagine?  The energy he expended in this video constitutes more exercise than the typical American gets in an entire week.  Some might refer to him as "inspiring," but he is more than that to me.  He is a modern day "Superman."  Not, at all, disabled -- a better version of all of us who take our functioning, unimpeded limbs for granted.  So appropriate that the Priest at the Amphib Base Chapel quoted the following from George Bernard Shaw this Sunday:

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

Thanks to loyal Bikeist fan, Shelby from Solana Beach, for bringing this video to the Bikeist's attention!

Chocolate Mishap

Due to an unforeseen, but entirely preventable, mishap whilst attempting to make home-made macadamia nut dark chocolate last night, The Bikeist has been forced to take a one week hiatus.  He will return some time after he manages to finally clean up the God-forsaken mess that resulted when he allowed the entire tray of molten glop to spill all over the inside of the freezer -- instantly hardening onto everything it touched.

Yeesh .  .  .

Ride Hard My Friends . . .

You know you are hard on bikes when the guys at your local shop always greet you with a wry "what is it this time" type of smile when you appear at the mechanics' entrance.  When you ride every day, and at every opportunity, your bike is going to amass a bit more wear and tear than bikes that are pulled out of the garage more intermittently.  In my case, though, the issues always seem to be more dramatic than mere wear and tear.  Last year, alone, I went through more than a dozen spokes and cracked my frame -- all without even crashing.  After rebuilding my back wheel twice, Holland's finally just gave me a new set of Mavic wheels (which have held up nicely, thank you very much).

I have previously written about my bike's mysterious creaking issue -- originally diagnosed as a saddle problem, but, when a new saddle didn't make the creak go away, a hairline fracture in the frame was found right next to the seatpost (and, thanks to Specialized for replacing the frame for free!)  Despite all the frustration in diagnosing the creak and waiting for a new frame, I was actually pretty happy that the ordeal led me to the new saddle - a Selle Anatomica X:

These leather saddles are actually made by a San Diego company and are so, so comfortable.  I've been riding mine for six months now with ZERO soreness.  The large gap in the center creates a nice hammock-like effect that works like magic.   Plus, it looks SO cool!

Tension is maintained (preventing sag) by tightening the tension-bolt under the nose of the saddle.  Speaking of that bolt, it was the latest subject of amazement for the guys at Holland's, because, simply through road-riding, I managed to crack the steel bracket that surrounds the bolt:

Look at that!  You'd think I was Danny Macaskill dropping off the top of my house onto a boulder garden on my road bike, but this is simply what our lovely San Diego roads can do to sheer metal.  Brian at Holland's said he's never seen anything like it.  The good news was that the housing was replaceable, and Anatomica honored the one year manufacturer's warranty and sent the new part for free (which was easy to install myself).

Waiting for the part gave me and the All-Purpose Do-Anything Urban Assault Bike some quality time together, which is always fun, but it was nice to get back on my road bike again once it arrived and I got the saddle back together again.

Hopefully, this was just a freak occurrence, but I sincerely hope that this bracket makes it longer than six months -- you'll be the first to hear if it doesn't (well, perhaps the first after the folks at Selle Anatomica) --

EAT BACON, DON'T JOG!

So, I bought this book for family and friends this Christmas, and sent a select few a slab of premium bacon along with their present:

I bought the book for myself right before Christmas simply based upon enjoying Grant Petersen's first book, "Just Ride":

Have to admit that, while I didn't agree with every single thing Grant said in "Just Ride," it was definitely one of the primary sources of motivation for me to do this blog.  His overall premise that bikes and the world of biking should be fun and not, solely, the realm of pretentious wanna-be racers, really resonated with me.

His original book included a few fitness and dietary tips, but the real focus was bikes and biking.  In his more recent effort, he addresses how, after struggling with weight his entire adult life (who hasn't?) despite  hundreds of thousands of miles on bikes, he finally got permanently lean and strong by revamping his diet and approach to exercise.  I read a lot about fitness, diet, exercise, etc., so I wouldn't say that this book was completely revelatory to me.  However, he did an excellent job of succinctly capturing the fruits of science and research that has been emerging in the worlds of diet and exercise in the last few years.  Reviewing them in a fun, easily digestable format reminded me that I had all the information I needed to gain total control over my fitness, but just needed to implement that info -- as Grant had.

Non-revelation #1:  Avoiding ingestion of carbohydrates results in weight loss.  Duh -- Atkins figured this out back in the 70's.  I have dabbled with low-carb at times, losing weight easily whenever I did, but always worried about the health effects of ingesting so much fat.  Hard to totally embrace a high protein/fat diet without hearing the echoes of "experts" touting low-fat diets in your head.  Well, many opf those e"experts"have been issuing apologies of late since studies that have emerged in the last several years have revealed that the fat that clogs the arteries of typical Americans doesn't come from ingested fat - it comes from stored fat.  And what causes us to store fat at greater rates than any other food-stuffs?  Sugar and carbohydrates.  Minimize these in your diet and your body has no choice but to burn up ingested fat as a fuel source.  Pretty simple.  Again, this wasn't completely new to me, but taking a tour through the science with Grant, and reading about how he implemented it himself (including great recipes) sort of gave me permission to go low-carb for good.  And it was SO easy.  Once you do it for a short while, you realize that bread, tortilla, potatoes, rice, pasta, and corn-stuff are all incredibly bland and tasteless.  Any flavor they have, comes from the real food that they serve as a delivery device for.  So, why not just eat that real food and toss the empty, sugar-laden calories?  Best example:  my favorite breakfast burrito in San Diego is the Californian at Cafe 1134 on Coronado:  apple smoked bacon, eggs, avocado, and one of the best salsas on the planet.  Well, it also comes as an omelette!  Scrap the tortilla, and you still have an incredibly delicious breakfast.  Same goes for ditching the bun and going "protein style" at In-n-Out -- just as delicious!

Non-revelation #2:  Short, high-intensity workouts are superior to long low-intensity workouts (e.g. jogging).  Now, this was truly not news to me, because I have already been preaching the value of burpees and other quick, off-the-bike high intensity exercises on this very blog.

The value, for me, of exploring this concept via Grant's book was that he provides lots of ideas for various ways to get these quick, high-intensity work-outs done.  Burpees are great and all that, but so is variety.  The exercises that most intrigued me were kettle-bell swings and presses and a really fun workout he touts that involves taking a medcine ball out to a big field, throwing it as far as you can, running to it, picking it up and repeating for four minutes.  A true caveman-style workout -- just tossing your big rock around a field.  Right up my alley!

So, how does this play into biking?  Well, that's where Petersen connects with his first book.  Don't ride to get lean, fit, fast, etc.  Ride for fun.  Eat right and do 5 - 15 minutes of high intensity strength conditioning a day, and ride whatever way makes you happy.  If climbing mountains or doing centuries makes you happy (as they certainly do for me), then great -- but don't make biking a chore.  Biking should just be gravy on top of the minimum effort it takes to truly get lean and strong.

Down 25 pounds already, and lost weight straight through the holidays, while eating plenty of bacon, eggs, steak, shrimp, cheese, nuts, and other delicious foods I love.  Never hungry . . .

Don't believe me?  Well, read the book!

Once Upon a Time . . .

Once upon a time, there was a not-so-long-suffering wife who liked to ride bikes with her wonderful, Bikeist husband . . .

Fans of the Bikeist's neverending Bikeography are already well aware of the tortured relationship between my long-sufferering-wife and bikes.  In our early days, she used to ride with me all the time.  We took our bikes on our honeymoon to Nantucket, Cape Cod and Vermont, on vacations to Acadia and Block Island and used to do lots of weekend jaunts.  As my wanderlust got stronger and stronger, though, and the jaunts evolved into what she termed "death-marches" she suddenly, and decidedly, retired from biking.  Luckily, she never laid down an "it's me or the bikes" ultimatum, so I was able to continue to chase my obsession -- alone.

Nothing wrong with alone, though -- I'm surrounded by people all day, every day, and am the only male in a house full of women and budding women, so the bike is a great place for me to gather my thoughts and enjoy a little forced solitude.  However, I have missed the jaunts.

I've occasionally tried to lure my long-suffering-wife back onto bikes for short trips over the years, but she has always had an excuse at the ready, the main one being that her one-speed beach cruiser was too clunky and heavy.  Then, out of the blue this Fall, she suggested that she might be more willing to ride if she had a lighter bike with multiple speeds.  She only had to suggest once, because at that moment I determined to get her the perfect bike for Christmas.

But, what bike to get?  It had to be easy to ride, comfortable, have a reasonable range of speeds, and, maybe most importantly, be pretty.  Couldn't be a road bike or mountain bike -- she'd reject either immediately.  She also very quickly fell out of love with the dull, hybrid-style bikes she had ridden in the past.  What we needed was a town bike, something European looking, a bike that begs to be pedaled.  This led me immediately to the classic "mixte" style - a dropped cross-bar bike, that isn't quite a "ladies" bike.  my first thought was to go with one from Public, the company that provides bikes to Kimpton Hotels:

But, at well over $1,000, this beauty was a bit pricey given the risk of my long-suffering-wife not re-embracing the joys of riding.

Next was this version from Linus, that my friend Francine rides on our Thursday night "Circumnavigation" rides:

Great bike, which I was all set to get, until I visited Holland's and saw that Electra had entered the European-style bike game with their "Loft" seven speed.  The price was great, and with some accessorization, I was able to make it a thing of true beauty:

Took this shot right before hiding it in my friends', Gary and Terry's garage until Christmas -- always so exciting to know Christmas will involve a new bike for someone!

I retrieved it from said garage late on Christmas Eve after everyone, including long-suffering, was dead asleep, and then placed it prominently in front of our beautiful, real (of course) tree.  

You should have seen her eyes light up when she saw it -- love at first sight!  She couldn't wait to take it for a spin, which we did in the afternoon, just around the neighborhood.  It fit her like it was custom made for her -- perfection.

We were busy with visiting relatives most of the rest of December, but, once they were gone, she joined me on a cafe ride to Cafe 1134 for breakfast this weekend -- just a little over 2 miles each way, with great coffee and breakfast in the middle.  We were jaunting again!

I remember, way back, before her sudden retirement, that she joked that she would only agree to ride with me on islands, since I could only bike a finite distance.  I guess that makes Coronado (minus the Strand) just about perfect then!  As long as I keep things within the confines of the island, I think we may have an infinite number of rides together ahead of us --

And they biked happily ever after --

Happy New Bike Year!

The Bikeist will be back with full force next week, after a restful, and ride-filled Christmas and New Year's.  May you all have your best years in the saddle yet!