Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Today I went along with Gene and Sandy for their ride to Santa Monica. They do this ride when the regular Saturday club ride is a route they don’t like. This is a pretty substantial ride from Pasadena, and it’s been many years since I’ve ridden my bike by the ocean, so I thought it would be a treat.

I met Gene at Victory Park and we rode out to meet Sandy by the Colorado Bridge. Then we all headed west on Colorado, down the hill into Eagle Rock. That was where we saw the “LA TRAMP” license plate. We have no idea what it means, but it was amusing.

Heading down Eagle Rock Blvd, I picked up the day’s first abandoned couch. Then we headed down Fletcher and over the river and into Silver Lake.

Coming down the hill in Silver Lake, I went slowly, since I wanted to find the Materials and Applications office/gallery. We’d missed it a few months ago when we were trying to see the “Bubbles” exhibit in their courtyard. The current courtyard exhibit is an igloo made of bamboo and industrial felt.

We took 1st St across Koreatown. That was where I saw the second abandoned couch. Then we rode through Hancock Park and Larchmont Village, which was very pleasant.

After Larchmont, we had to get past the big L.A. Country Club, which meant riding on 3rd St, which is generally No Fun. But it’s the one of the only streets that goes through there. So we took it all the way to Beverly Hills. Then we rode across Beverly Hills to Century City and got on Santa Monica Blvd. This used to be an absolutely wretched street to ride on, but they’ve fixed it up with new pavement and a bike lane. So it was all right. We rode that all the way past the 405 freeway.

Just before turning off Santa Monica Blvd, we saw a giant shoe in the road. It was the Quality Shoes car. Then we headed north to get to San Vicente, which we rode all the way to the ocean.

After looking briefly at the ocean, we headed back up Montana Ave to get to the City Bakery, where we stopped for a snack. When we were getting ready to leave, I asked Gene to take my picture, since I’m never in the pictures from my bike rides. I was pointing up to the sky to show how the light was perfect, and he took the picture.

The way back was up and over the Sepulveda Pass and down into the Valley. There is a tunnel at the top where we had to push a button to turn on the flashing ‘Bikes in the Tunnel’ light. This is presumably so the cars will be at least aware of our presence. I don’t know if it actually works, but we made it through the tunnel in one piece, so it can’t be all bad.

After a nice bracing downhill run, we turned off on Valley Vista. That was where we saw the house with the little reindeer sculptures in front. If you want to see them, the sign with the address is in the photo.

Most of the ride across the Valley was on Moorpark, where we saw two more abandoned couches: 1 2

We rode past Forest Lawn and the burned hillside from the big brushfire a few weeks ago. Then we rode through part of Griffith Park and got on the L.A. River bike path to go down to Fletcher for the ride back up into Eagle Rock.

In Eagle Rock, we were amused by the manhole cover at Eagle Rock and York. It said: “CITY OF L.A.” and “MADE IN MEXICO”, which in many ways sums up the Los Angeles experience. This is not a bad thing. It’s just part of the culture here.

Finally, we made it back to Pasadena. It was a very pleasant ride.

73 miles.
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Route map

Today was a Very Blustery Day. The wind was blowing hard from the northeast all day. It made for an interesting lunchtime ride. It was blowing hard enough that it knocked me off balance several times while I was trackstanding at red lights, so it was actually quite remarkable that I was able to do the entire ride without ever putting my foot down.

Vikki wasn’t in the office today and Piglet was nowhere to be found, so I went riding alone this time. I headed out east on San Pasqual, and then took California into Temple City Blvd. The wind was at my back most of the way, so I was able to cruise at 20-22mph the whole way with very little effort. This was nice, but I knew that it meant that coming back was going to be somewhat harder.

On Camino Real on Arcadia, I saw an abandoned couch, which I collected for the Abandoned Couches Blog.

I came back by way of Highland Oaks up to Grand View. Then Grand View and Sierra Madre Blvd back to Pasadena. This time I managed to not run over any nails on the way back, so I made it back to the office with both tires still fully inflated.

It was a nice ride for such a blusterous day.

In other trivia, I rode my old bike today, since this week marks 30 years that I’ve had it. The first race I rode it in was the National Capitol Open on The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on April 17, 1977. That race was extremely fast, since there were no corners. The only thing I remember about it was on one lap where I was on the inside trying to move up. Suddenly, a big pothole appeared in front of me. There was nowhere to go, so I bunny-hopped it. And then I heard a loud BAM as the guy behind me rode into it. Bummer for him.

18 miles at lunch, 27 for the day.
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It was Free Ice Cream Cone day at Ben and Jerry’s. The line was pretty long, but it went fast. And the ice cream was good.

Route map

Today’s ride was Gene’s “Noodling 1” ride. We’ve done this ride before, and it never ceases to please.

We started out from the park and headed east to Sierra Madre, and then south to Huntington Drive. Then we took Huntington down into El Sereno, where the noodling began in earnest.

We rode up Mercury Ave, which was a nice short hill. The next hill was on Roberta, and it had a nice steep pitch at the end. Then we went left on Montecito for the trip down. Along the way, we saw some of the famous L.A. houses on stilts. I noticed that one of them had bars on the window. That window had to be at least 20 feet off the ground, and the ground underneath was a steep slope. Just how tough is that neighborhood if that window needs bars?

At the bottom, we got on the bike path down in the arroyo. We had to portage the bikes over a small barrier to get on, but it was a pleasant ride. We had a little rain last night, so there was actually some water flowing down there.

The park at Ave 60 was where we got off the bike path. Then we took Monterey Road up another nice hill before turning left on Via Marisol for yet another good climb. Following Via Marisol, we came back down the hill to Ave 60 again. There, we went right and took that up into South Pasadena.

Ave 60 turns into Hill Dr, and that is the one that has the very steep pitch at the end. The last bit is close to 20%, and at that point I said ‘uncle’ and shifted. That doesn’t happen often.

At the top of the hill, we rode down the other side and then back up the same hill on yet another street, all the way up to the water tower at the top. Then down, coming out on Monterey Road yet again.

Monterey Road took us back into South Pasadena, where we stopped at Kaldi’s for a snack and rest. This time, they had both Twinkies and Ding Dongs on the counter. I had a bran muffin.

After the stop, we continued east through South Pasadena and San Marino, getting on Duarte Road and riding out to Arcadia. Then we turned north, passing the old San Gabriel Mission dam and back into Pasadena.

At this point, we had only gone about 34 miles, so a couple of us rode out to Arcadia again, just to pad it out a bit.

It was a good day for riding.

44 miles.
cycling

Lucinda’s class has been doing a unit on dinosaurs lately, so we decided to take her to see the new “Dinosaurs Alive!” IMAX movie at the California Science Center. They are also having an exhibit of “Star Wars” props and costumes there, so we figured it could be a very fun day in a geeky way.

We went down there and got our tickets for the movie. Then we headed in to the museum. There was a long line for the “Star Wars” exhibit, so we went away for a little while. When we came back, there was no line, so we went right in. They had a lot of the original models and costumes from the first movie, which was fun to see. I particularly enjoyed looking at the Millennium Falcon model. There was a lot of detail on it that wasn’t apparent when it was moving in the movie.

After “Star Wars”, we went over to the aerospace gallery. We saw a model of the 1976 Viking Mars lander, and I thought of the story about it that is told around the Seismo Lab. Apparently, one of the guys who retired recently built the seismometer that went to Mars on the Viking lander. But before it went out, the Caltech property people slapped an inventory tag on it. The next year, they came back to do an inventory and they asked about it. He told them it was on Mars. For some reason, they didn’t believe him. But they didn’t take him up on his offer to go there and see it.

We headed over to the IMAX theater to see the dinosaurs. The movie was pretty well-done. The CG-animated dinosaurs were pretty realistic, and there were lots of gratuitous 3-D effects.

Overall, it was a fun time, and I got some more pictures for Lucinda’s photo album, too.

Route map

Today’s lunchtime bike ride went out to Arcadia and back. Vikki is racing this weekend, so she wanted to do a relatively flat ride today. And ‘flat’ it was. I got a flat on the way back.

We headed out straight east on San Pasqual and California to get on Temple City Blvd. Then we took Camino Real out to 5th St in Arcadia and turned north. We took 5th to Santa Clara and then cut over to 1st and went up Highland Oaks to Grand View.

Coming back, we took Grand View through Sierra Madre. We got a look at the progress of the topiary rocking horse there. Then we got on Sierra Madre Blvd and rode back into Pasadena.

To get back to the office, we took the ‘scenic route’. When we were passing under the 210 freeway on Sierra Bonita, I heard a funny noise, and then my back tire started clicking. So I stopped and saw that I had a big nail stuck in the tire. The nail was hitting the frame as the wheel went around, and that was the source of the clicking.

I sat down to fix the tire, while Vikki took the obligatory picture for the Flat Tire Gallery.

After that, we finished the ride back to the office. Aside from the flat, it was a perfect day for riding.

18 miles at lunch, 26 for the day.
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Today I went to a screening of “Quantum Hoops” here on campus at Caltech. This was easily the most entertaining sports documentary I’ve ever seen. It tells the history of the athletics at Caltech, and the Caltech basketball team’s effort to break a 20-year losing streak. And, above all, it’s great fun.

The film describes Caltech as exhibiting the ‘purest form of amateur athletics’. The players are recruited out of the regular student body. There are no athletic scholarships, and no special preference for admission. One funny part of the movie talked about the basketball coach’s experience trying to recruit players. He visits basketball players who are also smart. He encourages them to apply to Caltech. And then they don’t get in.

And like all sports documentaries, there’s a climactic ‘big game’ that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The director was there, and he said that the movie should be released later this year. Go see it. It’s good.

Route map

“Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to read is true. Only the names haven’t been changed to protect the innocent.”

Today’s ride was through Griffith Park to Chinatown. It was a gray, damp, and drizzly day. It looked a lot like classic L.A. film noir.

Saturday, April 7. I rode to the Pasadena Elks Lodge. I was supposed to meet the others there for the trip to Chinatown. I figured there had to be dame involved. Probably one wearing spandex and carbon-fiber shoes.

We headed out across Eagle Rock and into Glendale. Then we went down Sonora to Griffith Park. There, we took a right and passed Travel Town before heading up the hill.

Coming out of Griffith Park, we took Riverside Drive down to Stadium Way. As Frank said, “you can’t miss it.” And it was obvious. So we took a right and headed up into Elysian Park.

At the gate to Dodger Stadium, we took a left and rode past the Police Academy. Then down the hill into Chinatown.

Turning the corner, I got my first look at the City. Los Angeles, California. Millions of ordinary law-abiding people live here. Sometimes, the bike ride route goes through here. That’s where I come in.

The plan was to stop at Philippe’s, but there was a long line there, so we decided to go up the street to the Wonder Bakery in Chinatown.

I talked to the lady at the bakery. She didn’t know nothin’ about our case, but she sold me a very nice barbecued pork bun.

After the stop at the bakery, we passed some sort of police activity on Ord St. There were more police cars there than I’d ever seen in one place before, and even a helicopter overhead.

That kinda thing happens all the time in L.A. And it’s probably not a good idea to be riding past it on a bike. But at least we were wearing helmets.

Leaving Chinatown, we headed out of downtown. In Lincoln Heights, I spotted three abandoned couches for the Abandoned Couches Blog. Count ’em: 1 2 3

Next, we went up Collis to the South Pasadena border. There, we turned and headed up a steep hill.

The road suddenly pitched up hard. Then, behind me, I head a telltale click. Gene had shifted to his low gear. I knew I was in trouble. But when it comes to riding up hills, I don’t even know the word “shift”.

Coming down off the hill, we headed up Grand Ave, back into Pasadena, and back to the Elks Lodge, where it had all started. It was a pretty fun ride, even if it was kind of cold and wet.

44 miles.
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This week marks 30 years since the beginning of the 1977 bike racing season. This was my last year racing as a Junior, and I’d set a goal for the year of making Category 2. In those days, if you raced in Juniors, when you turned 18 you went into Category 3. But if you could place in enough Junior races, you could graduate directly into Category 2. Since Categories 1 and 2 generally race together, it meant that if you were a 2, you got to race with the Big Dogs. So I decided that that was what I wanted to do.

I’ve written before about my greatest ride ever, when I got in the breakaway in a big race in 1978. This is the beginning of how I got to race in Category 2.

The first race of the season was the Challenge Cup Road Race at Rockland Lake State Park in New York. It was a four-mile loop with some moderate rolling hills. I figured that I had a pretty good chance of getting into a breakaway there. Since I wasn’t a very good sprinter, I thought that this was my best chance to place in the top 10.

The race was six laps, for 24 miles. Right from the start, I stayed near the front and tried to start a breakaway. Sadly, the other guys who tried it with me weren’t strong enough, and we always got caught by the pack. But I kept at it.

Finally, on the last lap, I was hanging around at the front when I saw one kid take off like a bullet. His name was Frank Kaler, and I found out later that he was known for riding time trials and pursuit, and he was very good at going very fast for 2-3 miles at a time. He was hoping to solo to the finish. I immediately got on his wheel. The way he was going, I thought that we had a pretty good chance of making it to the finish.

We went about a mile before I took a look back. We had a good lead on the pack. I said something like, “Hey, I can pull. Let’s work together and make it to the finish.” He just looked back at me with a wild look in his eye, put his head down and went faster. So I just stayed on his wheel.

About 300 yards from the finish, he started to slow down. I put my head down and poured it on. I went around him and drove straight for the finish. I was sure he was going to tail me and come around at the last second. I just couldn’t even begin to believe that I could actually win the race. Even as I went across the finish line I was still expecting Frank or someone else to catch me and come around. In the picture, it’s apparent that I was in no danger of getting caught, but at the time I was afraid to look back and jinx it.

After I crossed the line, I sat up and looked around, dumbfounded. I’d won the race. Nobody there was more shocked by this than I was. It was a complete surprise, but it was also great fun. I always thought that soloing across the finish line was the absolute best way to win a bike race, and now I’d actually done it. It was the best feeling.

In my racing years, I only won three races. This was the first one, and in many ways, it was the best.

Route map

Today was my first lunchtime bike ride of the new year. I went with Vikki and Eric from the Seismo Lab, and we did the Lida Loop.

We rode through Old Town and down past the Rose Bowl. Then, up Lida into Glendale and down Chevy Chase into La Cañada. Then back into Pasadena, passing by JPL and back across on Mendocino St. Finally, we had the nice two-mile downhill back to the office.

It was a perfect day for riding.

18 miles at lunch, 26 for the day.
cycling