Comments for On your wheel

Comment on Explain yourself: Favorite Roads by Roland Bevan

Roland Bevan — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:49:33 +0000

I like Lopes, but I like it better headed south; searching for that first glimpse of the Mothball Fleet in the bay. Also for the Davis and Winters brevets, hitting that stretch means you’re getting close to the end, so it’s like smelling the barn. That’s the same way I feel about the climb to Nicasio. Besides the fact that I like water and the views around the reservoir are always changing, the (minor) climb is never that challenging, and often has a tailwind; then the countdown to crossing the Golden Gate Bridge starts in earnest.
I almost put the Goat Rock – Bodega Bay stretch on my list, but decided that car traffic in summer makes that section much less fun to me. Other times of year it’s a highlight. I like Mountain House road but I haven’t ridden it enough times to really decide where it ranks on my list yet. But then again what’s high on my list somewhat depends on the time of year; like an overplayed song I can get tired of doing the same roads and will miss roads I haven’t ridden on in a while, even if the last time I rode them I swore to never ride them again…

Comment on Explain yourself: Favorite Roads by Greg Merritt

Greg Merritt — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:20:09 +0000

Thanks! Interesting.
I don’t care for Lopes. Just coming from or going to Vallejo (yuck) to the south, and some depressing suburban homes, annoying overpass, and too-narrow country roads at the other end. Often wind on Lopes, and, yes, the highway.
So funny, I dislike the grade/climb along the reservoir. I would prefer it to be steeper, frankly. I do love the rocks that emerge from the hillsides in that area — totally stunning! But it always takes longer than I think it should to get from PRS to Nicasio.

Comment on How not to taper for a double by wekick

wekick — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:10:36 +0000

Wonderful. That is my idea of the perfect place to ride.

Comment on Prelude to the Devil Mountain Double by lsmcphate

lsmcphate — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:01:04 +0000

Nah, I would have been cranky at the top of that climb climbing into the bright sunlight without sunglasses on any day. I couldn’t see and I was slightly afraid of falling at such a low speed on my new bike, which is not particularly stable at low speed. I wasn’t really sure it was you until I got to the top, though it did sound like you. I couldn’t see well enough. However, I often tend towards cranky even under the best of circumstances.

Comment on Prelude to the Devil Mountain Double by rob hawks

rob hawks — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:51:23 +0000

Ah, this may explain your somewhat icy response to me when I greeted you at the top of Diablo at the first rest stop. Or it might not.

Comment on Six Smushed Skunks by lsmcphate

lsmcphate — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:47:01 +0000

I didn’t know about that practice. Your brother died so young, that requiring proof might be understandable in other cultures, too.

I am rather fond of funerary arts, a rather broad category that covers a large array of eras, continents and cultures. Later funerary arts were actual likeness of the people, but most earlier ones were more stylized.

Comment on Six Smushed Skunks by James Chithalen

James Chithalen — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:58:02 +0000

As for viewing pics of dead bodies – when my brother died, my died went up to the casket and took several photos. It disturbed me, I have to say. But he told me he HAD to send the pics to our family in India. In their culture (well, part of my culture by extension?), there is no belief that the person has passed until the body is SEEN. Does that make them bad people? For taking pictures of dead people and sharing them?

Comment on Trophies by Six Smushed Skunks | On your wheel

Six Smushed Skunks | On your wheel — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:37:33 +0000

[...] I do a couple of rides a year that go through Rio Vista and one of the reason I like Rio Vista is to be able to go into Foster’s Bighorn and see the taxidermy. Is finding the stuffed animal interesting wrong? Is it like child pornography? The viewing if child pornography is considered wrong because the production of the pornography involved the harming of a child. You cannot legally kill all those animals in Foster’s Bighorn anymore and the hunting had been done for sport and entertainment. Foster’s Bighorn post. [...]

Comment on Postcard from King City by Colleen Freiman

Colleen Freiman — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:52:13 +0000

Sounds like a wonderful ride (except for the scary quake!)- my favorite parts of CA, for sure. BTW, Black Books is very, very funny – the characters are a little weird in that special British comedy way.

Comment on Postcard from King City by lsmcphate

lsmcphate — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:33:43 +0000

Yes, that is the route that we did. We rode from Monterey middle school, down Highway One, and through big sur. We turned onto Nacimiento road, climbed that 7 mile beautiful climb. and then rode down and out Jolon road to King City, stopping at Fort Ligget on the way. We returned Carmel Valley the second day. It is a wonderful trip and incredibly beautiful.