Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Sacramento Small Wheel Society rides again

Peter, along with fellow members from the Sacramento Small Wheel Society including yours truly, host a Moulton enthusiast from the UK and his two associates for a quick Sunday small wheel ride. With some exceptions, the principle mode of transportation was three Moultons from Peter's collection and three Bike Fridays from members of the Small Wheel Society. With great camaraderie and enthusiasm for the small wheel, we rode from downtown to breakfast at Bella Bru using the American River Parkway, one of the true gems of the Sacramento region. For the complete story, click on the picture below to link to Geno's blog.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Amgen Tour of California: Race Day at the State Capitol

It's race day at the State Capitol and the skies are threatening rain. Given that we've had a very wet winter, I'm not surprised! At the last minute, I decided to head downtown to see what I could see, rain or not. Perhaps it's the weather, but there appeared to be less attendees than previous years. Due to the late hour of my departure, I did not have to wait long before the peloton arrived to complete three laps around downtown and the State Capitol. I managed to get some pictures before Britain's Ben Swift of Team Sky Procycling won the shorten stage riding a Pinarello. Cervelo, where are you! It appears the bad weather in the mountains forced Amgen TOC officials to start Stage 2 from Nevada City rather than Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe. Click on the link below to view all the pictures in PICASA.
From Amgen TOC: Race Day

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tour of the Inland Passage

Another fun time had by all. Between the comings and goings of various people joining the bike tour in part at different places and those doing the entire tour, there was a total of 10 participants. The bike tour went for 10 days covering 457 miles with 12,362 feet of elevation gain all thanks to the organizational skills of Geno. With a rest day at the Pinnacles National Monument, the tour went south from Sacramento to San Luis Obispo by way of an inland route along the central valley and through the coastal ranges until we dropped down to the coast at Cayucos just north of Morro Bay. Our overnight places were Rio Vista, Tracy, Santa Nella, Mercy Hot Springs, Pinnacles National Monument, Fort Hunter Liggett, King City, and Paso Robles concluding in San Luis Obispo at Harvey's home. Thanks for putting us up Harvey. Also, thanks to Bob, we were able to return home via his truck and trailer. Logistically, everything worked like clockwork thanks to Geno's good planning. As for the tour, it was another great trip and in particular, it was wonderful to be able to do this with so many friends. For people who like cycling and traveling, bike touring is the perfect combination. You get to ride all day enjoying the changing landscape day after day and eat all you like. What's not to like about that! Yes, there's traffic, it can't be avoided. But there are miles and miles of quiet scenic roads, even in a populous state like California, if you choose your way carefully. For the complete story of our tour, go to Geno's blog and here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3. Click on the link below to view my pictures from the tour.
From Tour of the Inland Passage