Calaveras Road Panorama - 4/2012
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Bike Items for Sale - Here's a photo journal of bike parts that I'm trying to clear out of my workshop.
Shipping is $10 or (actual shipping charges + (optional) insurance charges + delivery confirmation fee), whichever is greater. I will try to find cheapest shipping option (e.g. USPS for US Domestic delivery) or will ship according to your carrier of preference.
Some of the parts are new, some are used. If you think my item pricing is off or you're buying multiple items, please make me an offer.
I am selling everything "as is". But, if you buy an item that is dead on arrival, damaged in shipment, or you believe you got a raw deal, please contact me as soon as possible so we can work out a solution. Given the time involved in selling these items I am not making a profit on this and am more interested in seeing components and parts I no longer use but that have remaining useful life to find a home with other bicycle enthusiasts, where they will be used instead of collecting dust in my workshop.
Contact me at the following . It will help if you include the links to photos of the items that interest you. All prices are in US Dollars.
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Winter Solstice Double Century, December 16, 2000 - A Bikeaholics ride from Los Altos, California south to Pinnacles National Monument and back.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 86 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 6200 feet |
Ron Eats Hot Dog, August 5, 2000 - I don't recall where we rode this day, and I'm guessing the date based on distance and mileage around this time, but it must have been a tough ride for Ron to eat a hot dog. At the time he was training for Furnace Creek 508.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 197 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 2700 feet |
Seattle to Portland, July 8, 2000 - Ron Bobb and I started from the Edmund Meany Hotel in north Seattle and rode down to the University of Washington, the start of the ride. At exactly 5a we began our long ride south to Portland, OR, passing around Lake Washington, then south through Kent, Spanaway, to Chehalis for lunch.
Somewhere before lunch Ron got ahead of me (or more likely, I started to slow down to a sustainable pace). Ron was riding strongly this year; he would ride the Furnace Creek 508 in October.
At lunch I spoke with Joe Kochanowski while I ate some pasta. Joe was going on about how no one could stay on his tail for more than a few miles at a time. He was riding one of his custom open-top streamliners. After lunch the course thinned out considerably as most of the riders were planning to ride over the course of two days.
At about the 200k point just south of Vader, WA, David and Kay caught up with me on the course. It was a welcome relief when I stopped to rest in the van, change my wet jersey into something dry, and get a bite to eat. For the rest of the course we leap-frogged each other southward to the Lewis & Clark Bridge and then on down to Portland.
At the end I was completely exhausted. Not as spent as I was in Death Valley earlier in the year--I had eaten and hydrated properly, but I was physically and mentally exhausted, although the photos don't show it.
That evening we checked into our hotel, got cleaned up, and went out to dinner at Marrakesh. It was a good meal, and it was acceptable, indeed, expected, that I should shovel in the food with my fingers, but then anything edible put in front of me at that point tasted good.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 101 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 3600 feet |
Zach's Monthly Recumbent Ride, July 1, 2000 - Ron Bobb and I rode BART to Union City, then took BART to Fruitvale where we rode into Alameda to join Zach Kaplan on his monthly recumbent ride around the city. After Zach's ride Ron and I headed up into the Oakland Hills to Redwood Road, then rode south through Castro Valley, and then up over Palomares Road back into Fremont and returned to Palo Alto across the Dumbarton Bridge.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 123.3 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 8800 feet |
| Total Time: | 11:37:48 |
| Riding Time: | 8:00:10 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 15.4 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 50.8 mph |
Sequoia Century, June 4, 2000 - This was a Sunday I wish I could have been in two places at once. The HPVA (Human Powered Vehicle Association) were having HPV races at the Hellyer Park Velodrome, and the Western Wheelers were holding their Sequoia Century. Since I hadn’t ridden the Sequoia since 1992, the weather was promising to be cool and comfortable, and since I had worked on the ride this year and could ride for free, I opted to ride the Sequoia Century in spite of the fact that a couple recumbent-riding friends had opted to do the races that day. Unfortunately, this meant that due to the dynamics of riding a recumbent, I would probably be riding alone most of the day.
At 0550 I left home for the 2-mile ride to the VA Hospital and the start of the event. After checking in and visiting the little blue box I started the official ride at 0620.
I decided to improvise on the official 200k course, which itself was a compromise made necessary so that no additional rest stops would be needed over that for the 100-mile course. The Bikeaholics rest stop at Saratoga Gap wasn’t on the 200k course, but I wanted to stop there on the way back before they closed down. This meant that I could not dawdle at rest stops on the coast. But, in order to keep the distance of the ride close to 200k I would have to add some distance. I settled on a somewhat longer but flatter route before lunch that took CA-84 clear out to CA-1 and omitted the Bonny Doon detour. The ride north along Summit and Skyline over Castle Rock would make up most of the climbing lost by missing Bonny Doon Rd. Even so, I would still be a mile and about 850 feet of climbing short at the end.
The climb up Page Mill Road went slowly. I was passed by about fifteen cyclists, though I managed to pass a couple of slower climbers. I decided not to try to keep up but to keep my heart rate low since it was early in the ride. The steepest parts of the climb were in a cool damp fog that lifted, or rather, that I rose above just before the Montebello parking lot. Above the fog, the temperature was quite warm. At Skyline Blvd. I turned north and continued to CA-84 and at the same time descended back into the cool damp fog. At Skylonda I stopped briefly to refill water bottles and to speak with the volunteers at what appeared to be a rest stop for a bike ride. The rest stop was for the Tour de Cure ride out of Woodside.
The descent down CA-84 into La Honda went quickly—I managed to catch the green light at the one-way control. I rode past Pescadero Road, the turnoff point for the official 200k route, and continued out to the coast, not stopping until I reached CA-1. The San Gregorio Beach parking lot had been turned into what appeared to be a three-ring circus in preparation for the SF-LA AIDS ride. A couple volunteers at the stop beckoned me in, but I continued, leaving them with furrowed brows.
The ride south on the coast was invigorating, the fog ceiling high enough that the ocean was clearly visible. Traffic was moderate, though it was punctuated more frequently than one might have expected at this relatively early hour by large semi trucks and tour buses that appeared to be associated with the AIDS ride.
My route did not rejoin the official 200k and 100-mile routes until I passed Gazos Creek Rd. I waved at the traffic monitor as I passed by. I was feeling like taking a quick stop just as I reached the Rossi Road turnoff a short distance south of Gazos Creek Road.
The Costanoa resort is a new development, something I’m surprised had been allowed to be built (sometime in the last five years) given the sensitive nature of the coastline. Nevertheless the development seems to have been planned in reasonably good taste unlike much of the late construction on the other side of the mountains. The rest stop was situated in a parking lot about 0.4 miles up a short climb from CA-1 between a general store, which I did not visit, and the rest rooms across the access road, which I did visit and that offered hot water from its taps. Yes, warm water on the hands did feel good after riding in the chilly morning air.
I learned with some satisfaction that I was the sixteenth cyclist to arrive at the stop that morning. Before I left the stop 15 minutes later, at least another fifteen cyclists had come in. Several people asked questions about my bike, whether it was harder on the hills (yes) and more aerodynamic (yes). “How much does it weigh?”, someone asked impertinently. “Forty-five pounds, give or take a few, when fully equipped for a day ride.”, I answered honestly.
This particular recumbent I ride, an Easy Racers Gold Rush with fairing and wraparound sock (yellow), is a nearly ideal vehicle for riding down CA-1. On a road with long flat sections or rolling hills and no extended climbs, I cover quite a bit more ground than I would on my upright bike for the same level of effort. With the slight tailwind present that morning I could maintain speeds between 25 and 28 mph on the level sections without my heart rate rising above 80% of maximum. Generally I find I can ride at 24 mph on the recumbent for the same level of effort that would acheive 20mph on my upright bike. At higher speeds the difference is greater; at slower speeds the difference is less. The hardest kind of ride on a recumbent is one with many steep climbs and descents that must be ridden with liberal use of the brakes, where kinetic energy gained descending cannot be converted back into potential energy on the next uphill.
After passing the sandy cliffs marking the northern reach of the Santa Cruz County coastline and climbing the short hill past the Big Creek Lumber mill I turned left onto Swanton Rd., part of the official 200k route. I had ridden Swanton Rd. a couple of times before, but I had never climbed it to its summit from north to south.
The climb went reasonably quickly. As I descended into the Scott Creek drainage I thought what a beautiful road this was and that I should be sure to take it again should I find myself otherwise passing on the much busier coast highway. Swanton Road rejoins CA-1 about 1 mile north of Davenport. From here I stayed on CA-1 all the way into Santa Cruz passing several cyclists who themselves were managing a respectable pace in the low to mid 20 mph range.
Once in Santa Cruz I managed to squeeze past most of the motor traffic backed up along Mission Street. Unfortunately there is no easy way to get from the west side to the east side of Santa Cruz by bicycle without riding on Mission Street and Water Street. At Market Street I turned left and continued on Branciforte Drive to the lunch stop at De La Veaga Park. A rough count of the number of cyclists already enjoying their lunches left me with the impression that I was somewhat further down the ordered list of arrivals than I was at the Costanoa Resort, no doubt due to my pleasant though time-consuming detour on Swanton Road.
Lunch consisted of a hearty spread of sandwich fixings, fruit, cookies, and two salads. The potato salad looked good, but before I dipped my spoon into the mix I learned that it contained bacon. However, I did find curious the omission of any vegetables from the sandwich menu other than iceberg lettuce, which was self-served “Hugh Murphy style”. The tone of the lunch stop may have been French due to the nearby boom-box punching out passionate French ballads.
Lunch with the early arrivals could be fairly characterized as an unsociable affair marked occasionally by grunts and murmurings to one’s riding companions. Perhaps the cool overcast weather created a subdued atmosphere that frowned on conversation.
Fifty minutes later found me back on the bike heading up Branciforte Drive. As the climb up Granite Creek Road steepened, I stopped to shed my long sleeve top. I was suddenly passed by several more cyclists. I managed to rejoin most of this group in Scotts Valley before they again pulled ahead on the climb up Glenwood Road.
I felt slow climbing Mountain Charlie Road. The stairstep climbs that on previous occasions felt fairly easy seemed painfully slow today. Even at 3 mph in my lowest gear my heart rate was approaching the 80% mark. Maybe I was still digesting lunch. At the top of the climb I came upon another cyclist who asked me which way to go. I directed him to continue straight on Mountain Charlie. “Don’t go the way I’m going.”, I said as I turned left onto Riva Ridge Road. leaving him with a puzzled look on his face.
Riva Ridge cuts over to Hutchinson Road, which in turn joins Summit Road, but not before climbing a short but very steep and nasty hill that sent me over my 80% heart rate in my lowest gear.
Once on Summit Road I headed northwest toward Saratoga Gap. Summit and Skyline are 1.5-lane wide roads with little traffic. Riding northwest is mostly a climb, but there are several short downhill sections that allow one to rest and recover. I seemed to regain my speed as I rode. By the time Skyline became a two-lane road at Black Road I was feeling much better. The ride up past Las Cumbres and Castle Rock seemed to go quickly, and the descent to Saratoga Gap was quicker yet.
I arrived with more fanfare than I had expected at Saratoga Gap at about 1430 near the tail end of the 100k lunch arrivals. Lunch food was still available, so I double-dipped and had a second lunch at this, the Bikeaholics lunch stop, set to a decidedly Hawaiian theme complete with ladies in grass skirts, men in loud Hawaiian shirts, Mai Tai cocktails, and a boom box belting out pop tunes and the decidedly un-Hawaiian John Williams’ Star Wars soundtrack.
I lollygagged at Saratoga Gap until nearly 1600 when the rest stop provisions had been packed into the truck. I thought about which way to return to the start: Skyline to Page Mill or on the 100k course down CA-9. After learning that Foothill Expressway was still torn up, I decided to return down Page Mill Road. Rest stop volunteers Elaine Astrue, Tom Lawrence, Sarah Beaver, and John Serafin, who had ridden their bikes to the rest stop, decided to go the same direction, so we all rode together.
The ride north on Skyline Blvd. is mostly downhill, but I rode slower than usual to allow the others to catch up. I descended the same way down Page Mill and through Los Altos Hills as I had ascended earlier in the day: Page Mill, Altamont, Black Mountain, Natoma, Elena, Purissima, and Arastradero.
After checking in, grazing at the food table, and speaking with several folks at the finish area, I headed home. Even though I didn’t experience quite as much climbing as I would have on the official 200k route, I still had a good time. Many thanks are due to all of the volunteers who made this Sequoia Century an enjoyable experience for me.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 97.4 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 5280 feet |
| Total Time: | 8:22:52 |
| Riding Time: | 6:22:37 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 15.3 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 52.0 mph |
Strawberry Fields Forever, May 21, 2000 - I thought it might be cooler in Soquel than it was in Palo Alto on Sunday, so as all the weather forecasts were predicting unseasonably warm weather late last week, I decided to ride the Strawberry Fields century.
I had planned to pick up a car-less cyclist in Mountain View for the drive down to Soquel, but when I called to announce that I was on my way, she told me she had decided not to do the ride due to feeling ill. On my way over CA-17, I decided to take a short cut to the ride start that probably didn’t save me any time, but was an interesting diversion nonetheless since I hadn’t ridden one of the roads before due to its dead-ending on CA-17: Vine Hill Rd.
Riding the socked Gold Rush, I was on the road by 0723. The first few miles of the ride went quickly. On the long climb up the creek I was passed by several fast cyclists, but I also managed to pass a few slower ones. With fresh legs the climb was not so bad nor did it seem as tedious and long as I remember it to be with 70 or 80 miles in my legs.
Highland Way is paved the whole way, although there are slide areas in several spots, including one very large slide, the top of which must be several hundred feet up the hillside.
The descent down Eureka Canyon begins tentatively on very rough and dirty paved road. I took the corners carefully, too carefully for one upright biker who passed me on this section pedaling as if his legs might come unhinged. As the road opened up I was able to release my brakes more often. Though there was neither mud nor water on the road, I slowed for the section where Ron Bobb had told me he had crashed just downhill from the sharp hairpin. Lower down the road straightened out and I started passing other cyclists, including the guy who passed me on the upper section.
After stopping at the Russian-themed rest stop in Corralitos I pressed on down Corralitos Road and then south on Freedom Blvd., past the old Easy Racers chicken coop shop behind Hansen’s Feed. The route skirted north of the Watsonville Airport through a small subdivision and then onto Larkin Valley and Mir Monte Roads before heading south on San Andreas Road.
The Italian rest stop, just off Beach Road near the Pajaro River, was surrounded by strawberry fields giving off a sweet odor in the unseasonably warm air.
The route continued through strawberry fields in the Pajaro River valley and then onto Elkhorn Road alongside the Elkhorn Slough. At Castroville Blvd. the route headed inland and became hotter. The road also began to climb. As the wind was blowing in my direction I began to get hot. Just as I started to overheat at the top of the climb, the road descended quickly to the center of Prunedale.
After a few more short, mean hills, I arrived at Royal Oaks Park for lunch. I checked my thermometer; it read 102. Even though the rest stops were closely-spaced, about 15-20 miles apart, I was going through 50-70 oz of water in between. While it was hot inside the sock, I felt hotter outside the sock when I was in the sun. I think the light-colored cloth of the sock helps reflect some of the direct radiation. Several people commented that I must be hot in the thing. I answered that I’m actually cooler unless I get no air movement inside, which happens even in 60-degree weather if I’m climbing a hill at the speed of the wind.
Following lunch the route took a mostly downhill road back to the Pajaro River valley and eventually found its way to Gizdich Ranch where it seemed just as hot in the shade as it was in the sun. I stopped to sample a fruit tart and to stand for a minute under a spray mister that had been set up for the occasion.
The route continued northward across CA-152 and up a short section of Mount Madonna Road and Hazel Dell Road. Just as I was starting up the main climb on Hazel Dell, my rear derailer cable broke. (The cable broke with little warning about 1/2” from the shifter end of the cable, probably the apex of the bend it makes inside the shifter handle.) Fortunately I have a reverse-spring rear shifter or I would have been walking most of the remaining hills. So I alternated between grinding in a 51/34 and spinning madly in a 20x34 on the uphills and coasting gently on the downhills. I could spin comfortably up to about 14 mph in a 63/34 on the level sections, but for the most part I coasted as much as possible. I was surprised that I still managed to pass most cyclists on the road in spite of my handicap.
The route returned down Browns Valley Road into Corralitos to revisit the Russian rest stop. This time I lollygagged longer and sampled the crepes that were still being prepared. I spoke at some length with Ken Holloway who having ridden the Davis Double the day before was riding a very leisurely paced 100k with some slower cyclist friends.
The route back to Soquel was the most direct scenic way along Hames, Day, Valencia, and Soquel Drive. I arrived about 1545. The temperature in Soquel had already cooled to the low-80’s F, but I still felt drained and slightly light-headed from the heat. So, I rested a bit and sipped soft drinks before eating the tasty pasta and salad dinner that had been prepared.
I hadn’t done this Century ride before, but the support was very good. Especially welcome because of the heat were the frequent and well-stocked rest stops. I only saw a few clearly marked SAG vehicles on the course, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t enough as I didn’t have a need for one. Overall it was a fun ride. What would normally have been a relatively easy century was made more difficult by the early-season heat. On the whole I had a good time and would do the ride again if it fits into my calendar in future years.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 126 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 10400 feet |
Taste of the Devil, April 15, 2000 - I joined Ron Bobb and Zach Kaplan for the first half of the Devil Mountain Double, but opted to ride the shorter version, Taste of the Devil. The first half of the ride started in San Ramon and climbed Mt. Diablo, descended through Walnut Creek, Clayton, Morgan Territory, and over Altamont Pass and back up Patterson Pass to Livermore. The double century continued up the backside of Mt. Hamilton, then Sierra, Felter, and Calaveras Roads before joining the Taste of the Devil route through Niles Canyon and over Palomares, Crow Canyon and Norris Canyon Roads.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 128 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 4800 feet |
Tierra Bella Century: 200k, April 8, 2000 - Zach Kaplan, Ron Bobb, and I rode the Tierra Bella Century, 200k course.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 130 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 7000 feet |
Death Valley Double Century, February 19, 2000 - Ron Bobb, Zach Kaplan, and I shared a room at Stovepipe Wells Motel for a couple of nights during which we rode the Death Valley Double Century. Although the weather couldn't have been better for this event, I did not manage my Calorie intake well and had to quit from exhaustion, dizzyness and possibly Atrial Fibrillation, although I was not aware I suffered from it at the time, at Ashford Mills on the return to Furnace Creek.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 53 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 3400 feet |
Cherry Pie Criterium, February 6, 2000 - Zach Kaplan, Ron Bobb, and I carpooled up to Napa to participate in the Cherry Pie Criterium. Recumbents raced first (8:30a), and afterward the three of us and Bruce deBell (who lives in Napa) rode up Atlas Mountain Road and back down afterward.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 91 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 6200 feet |
Quien Sabe and Lone Tree Roads, January 27, 2000 - Ron Bobb and I met in San Juan Bautista and rode a number of dead-end roads in the Hollister area including Santa Anita Valley Road, Quien Sabe Road, and Lone Tree Road. We wanted to know where these roads all went.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 96 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 7100 feet |
Mt. Hamilton, January 22, 2000 - Zach Kaplan, Ron Bobb and I rode up Mt. Hamilton and returned through Livermore.
| Bike Ridden: | Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 113 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 6100 feet |
New Years Ride up Mt. Diablo, January 1, 2000 - Ron Bobb and I left Palo Alto early, rode across the Dumbarton Bridge, took BART to Walnut Creek and joined the New Year's Day ride up Mt. Diablo with the Grizzly Peak Cyclists. After spending some time at the summit we rode down the south side, through Livermore, and back to Palo Alto through Niles Canyon and the Dumbarton Bridge. Zach left the ride at Union City BART.
The only photo from the occasion was taken in the visitor center at the summit.
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