Bike Blog and Photos

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.

Entire Blog - Display the entire Blog for all years. This is a large file!

2013

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F3
Distance:	75.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3340 feet
Total Time:	5:04:29
Riding Time:	4:35:09
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.5 mph
Max. Speed:	47.1 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	822 wh
Wh/mi:	10.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	32.2
Peak Current:	42.9 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.3
Motor energy to rear wheel:	576 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	416 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	416 wh
Total energy delivered:	992 wh

Sierra Road and Coyote Hills, December 25, 2013 - It had been a while since I had ridden east to Sierra or Calaveras Roads. I wanted to get home earlier than usual due to family obligations, so I settled on a counter-clockwise loop that had me riding up Sierra Road and out the Alameda Creek Trail to Coyote Hills where I hadn't ridden in many years, then home across the Dumbarton Bridge and along the bay trails. A long ride but with not too much climbing. I'd be able to use a little motor power on the flat parts without risking running short of battery energy.

As I climbed Sierra Road I could see the low inversion layer that was trapping the dirty air over San Jose and the south bay. Everything is brown and dry in the hills as they wait for seasonal rains that have yet to materialize.

Calaveras Reservoir was low but not as low as I expected. Work on the new Dam seemed to be grinding along slowly—scheduled to finish in 2017—, but all was quiet today. I saw few motorists and cyclists on the road's twists and turns.

Niles Canyon is a dramatic cleft in the east bay hills that allows Alameda Creek to flow out into San Francisco Bay. CA84 is the only road through, and in places where the shoulder disappears I am forced into the main traffic lane. Motorists were mostly polite, although a few impatient souls who might have been trying to avoid crossing the center rumble strip could have left me another foot of clearance when they passed.

At the mouth of the Canyon I turned left onto Old Canyon Road, then right onto Alameda Creek Trail. The Creek Trail is a pleasant if indirect route between Niles Canyon and Dumbarton Bridge. While there is neither motor traffic nor intersections with city streets—the trail dives under the bridges crossing the Creek—, the trail is popular with other cyclists, walkers, children learning to ride a bike, dog-walkers, and other motley travelers. I passed them carefully, although more than a few were surprised by my bike.

Usually when I take the Creek Trail I return to city streets at Ardenwood Blvd. but today I continued all the way to Coyote Hills where I continued on the Bayview Trail around the bay side of the hills.

At Meadowlark Trail I thought I might try to climb to the summit of South Red Hill, but I found the road blocked by high fence and gate short of the summit. I then returned to the unpaved Apay Way and continued south to Don Edwards, exiting the trail at Marshlands Road whereupon I continued across the Dumbarton Bridge.

On the west side of the Dumbarton Bridge I zig-zagged through East Palo Alto to the Bay Trail and then rode south through Palo Alto and Mountain View. Everyone seemed to be out on the trails at Shoreline Park.

At Stevens Creek I headed south on Stevens Creek Trail, exiting at Middlefield Road so that I could avoid the tricky hairpin turns at the Central Expressway bridge on a crowded trail.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	67.4 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5380 feet
Total Time:	6:39:40
Riding Time:	3:31:47
Avg. Speed (moving):	19.1 mph
Max. Speed:	41.8 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1170 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1063 wh
Wh/mi:	15.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	44.9
Peak Current:	44.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	11.3
Motor energy to rear wheel:	2678 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	417 wh
Total energy delivered:	3095 wh
Link to:	Strava (prelude)
Link to:	Strava (Mount Hamilton hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (postlude)
Link to:	LKHC: Mount Hamilton Results

LKHC: Mount Hamilton, November 28, 2013 - With the forecast for wet weather on Thanksgiving Day I had planned not to ride this event. I did not expect to best my time from last year as I would be using the same power limits on the bike (1000 watts from the battery, 750 watts at the rear wheel from the motor, or about 1000 watts at the rear wheel, motor+me), and I assessed my physical conditioning as being suboptimal as I had been hiking more this past season. Even if I matched last year's time my score would be a discard in the overall accounting (although given the thin team Low-Key turnout this year, it would probably help the team score). But, as the weather forecast became progressively drier as the day approached, I decided to give it another go.

I was wary of wet weather because the Mount Hamilton climb has a lower average grade, allowing for faster speeds. With a hard upper motor power limit on the bike, the main objective is to maintain that power limit as much as possible. Assuming I ride as hard as I can sustain for an hour or a bit less, the road conditions are the only remaining constraint.

In past years other cyclists climbing the road have slowed me down, so a few years ago I installed a horn on the bike. Not a rude horn to be heard through a closed car window, but a "beep-beep" moped-style horn. This year I did not have to reduce speed when I passed groups of cyclists on the road.

Other road conditions include debris of which there was surprisingly little for this time of year. Clean roads can probably be attributed to the lack of rainfall we've had so far this season.

The lay of the road itself is the last challenge. At 51-52 minutes the climb is almost as technically-challenging as the descent and requires similar skills. I needed to get through the corners losing as little speed as possible. This meant using the entire lane at times and "straightening" the corners as much as I could. There are a few sharp corners that I could not take at speed, but I was able to get through most of them without slowing. Good pavement most of the way helped, too.

This is my third year taking photos on the prow of the mountain, the last curve before the parking lot at the Observatory. From this location I enjoy a good view down the road of approaching cyclists, and I am given several opportunities to get a good photo as the light is usually good here, unlike the extreme back-lit conditions at the finish line itself. I could do without the faded cross-hatched paint scheme on the retaining wall that forms the backdrop of most of my shots, and the occasional waft of sewer gas from the nearby sanitary sewer was slightly unpleasant.

Altogether I took 1178 shots and ended up using about 12.5% of them, using shutter speeds of 1/125 - 1/200 second on most of them. When photographing cyclists in motion, I find that 1/160 - 1/200 of a second works well. It gives enough background blur while allowing for a sharply-focused subject most of the time. Although slower shutter speeds can make for a more dramatic shot if one gets a cooperative subject and maintains a steady camera arm, usually one gets too much motion blur due to tracking error or from motion that is not in the primary direction of the cyclists' travel, e.g. bouncing, pedaling, swaying, etc. I did experience some upper back fatigue after about an hour taking these photos, and I believe this made my tracking a little less steady on some of the later shots.

I captured a shot of everyone listed in the results except for the last three ladies. A few riders came in the middle of bunches, and I had a harder time capturing good images of them.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	27.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3680 feet
Total Time:	4:02:25
Riding Time:	2:07:15
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.1 mph
Max. Speed:	55.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	403 wh
Wh/mi:	14.5
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	14.4
Peak Current:	46.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.2
Motor energy to rear wheel:	282 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	206 wh
Total energy delivered:	486 wh
Link to:	Strava (prelude)
Link to:	Strava (Lomas Cantadas hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (Vollmer Peak and interlude)
Link to:	Strava (Marin hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (postlude)
Link to:	LKHC: Lomas Cantadas Results
Link to:	LKHC: Marin Results

LKHC: Lomas Cantadas and Marin, November 16, 2013 - After I arrived in Orinda I checked-in with the volunteer staff at the park near Orinda Village and then proceeded to start a warm-up ride before the hill climb. Usually I ride for about an hour before a hill climb, but today I had only about a half-hour to spare.

I rode up Miner and Lombardy all the way to Dalewood, Sundown, and Happy Valley Road. By the time I got to the top of Sundown Lane under human power only I was sweating profusely. After waiting a few minutes to cool down I turned around and rode back down the hill to Camino Pablo then a short distance to the bottom of El Toyonal.

When I checked in I had obtained permission to time myself and start about 10 minutes early so that I could recover and get set up to photograph finishers at the top. As the start area began to get congested I waited for a decent gap in traffic, then took off up the hill.

The climb went about as well as I expected it to go. The brief technical descent on El Toyonal about half-way up didn't do anything to help my score since I can't ride that part any faster than someone on an un-assisted bike. I would have preferred taking Alta Vista.

At the top of the climb I continued out to the stopsign at Grizzly Peak Blvd. just to be sure I completed the entire road. I wasn't sure where the finish line was as the volunteer staff had not yet arrived.

I rode back to the top of the climb next to a narrow turnout and parked the bike. This would be a good spot to photograph finishers, and it had a nice view to the southeast. Just as I had settled on a spot to stand or sit, Cara and Sandra arrived. They pulled into the turnout and began unloading the car.

Cara bore the bad news that the top was further back down the hill "just past the trees". Since there were several trees by the road I walked my bike back down the road following the ladies until we got to the proper spot near the change of asphalt color.

They quickly got out their stopwatches and I snapped the Stopwatch Photo. Just after we did that, the first riders appeared around the bend down the road. The show was about to begin.

Lomas Cantadas is the shortest climb of the series this year. Short climbs make for bunched or nearly bunched finishes, and that makes catching everyone's number and photographing each finisher difficult.

If I've got two or three riders in close succession, I'll track the lead rider until he's even with me, then I'll aim quickly at the following rider. The problem is that it's difficult to track accurately the second rider after "back-aiming". I don't have as much time to "lock on" and snap the shutter before they're out of view. So, this set more often features riders' less flattering sides.

Quality varies more than in past weeks for a couple of reasons:

I forgot to reset exposure compensation for darker background, so the photos were slightly overexposed (about 2/3-stop) out of the camera. Post-processing helped, but blown-out highlights can't be recovered as the information is just not there. Light-colored bikes and jerseys suffered. That's why I prefer to err by underexposing slightly. I did not discover this error until near the end of the set.
I unintentionally lengthened the shutter on some of the early shots. This error cuts both ways by enhancing the effect of speed since the background more more blurred, but it also makes more difficult to get consistently good shots. The effect worked surprisingly well on a few, not so well on others.

The best photo for each rider is shown in the album.

After everyone finished I rode up to the refreshment area and ate one of Sandra's tasty ginger brownies. Then, I rode up to Vollmer Peak to catch a glimpse of the hazy view before riding down Grizzly Peak Blvd. where I ran into Dan, the Two Pauls, and others having just finished their climb up Marin.

I rode down Marin to the Circle, stopped at an island to pull off my long sleeves, then circled 'round and started the climb. I managed to get through the intersections without more than a perfunctory pause at the stopsigns.

Marin up to Euclid is steep. Above Euclid it's painful, even with assistance. I was working at my maximum, even if the duration of my effort was shorter than for unassisted cyclists.

When I arrived at the top only the Two Pauls were still there. While we chatted Jeff Shute and two runners not doing the Low-Key event arrived after finishing their climb.

After saying our goodbyes I rode back up Grizzly Peak Blvd. to South Park Drive, then descended to Wildcat Canyon Road.

Although South Park Drive is closed to autos this time of year, a descending cyclist still needs to watch for pedestrians, wildlife, and debris on the road, especially the latter. Pine needles and some branches large enough to foul a wheel lay in the downhill lane.

When I lived in Berkeley I frequently finished my rides by descending South Park Drive, then cruising down Wildcat Canyon and Spruce back to my apartment. This reminded me of those days, and I wonder now how I managed never to crash on this descent. Maybe the road was in better shape then. I noticed at the bottom of the straight steep run where maximum speed is achieved that the road is dipped and cracked. It would be easy for a tucked cyclist to lose control here. The consequences would be severe.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	25.4 miles
Cumulative climbing:	2260 feet
Total Time:	3:12:38
Riding Time:	1:31:20
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.7 mph
Max. Speed:	54.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	256 wh
Wh/mi:	10.1
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	10.7
Peak Current:	45.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.7
Motor energy to rear wheel:	179 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	189 wh
Total energy delivered:	368 wh
Link to:	Strava (warm-up ride)
Link to:	Strava (hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (warm-down ride)
Link to:	Low-Key Hill Climb Results

LKHC: Patterson Pass East, November 9, 2013 - Frank Paysen and I carpooled from the south bay and parked some distance from the start of this climb so that we'd get a good warm-up and save a bit of energy in the process. We parked in front of the motorcycle park near Altamont Pass Road and Greenville Road at the far northeast corner of Livermore.

We had hardly ridden a mile when my GPS stopped tracking. While I stopped to reset the device, Frank had ridden on ahead out of earshot. I told him earlier not to wait for me unless he wanted to, that I'd be riding to the start of the climb under human power, and I'd be pokey going up the easy climbs to Altamont Pass. So I didn't mind that he had disappeared up the road.

As I continued over the pass (the true Altamont Pass, btw) and passed the Summit Garage, I noticed that the wind was in my face. This is a typical clear and dry weather winter condition when high pressure sits over the interior of the state. I pressed on down the eastern side of the pass, pedaling more than I expected.

At Midway Road I turned right and began the rolling climb up to the transmission lines that mark the summit of this short road joining Altamont Pass Road and Patterson Pass Road. Along the way I began to see other Low-Key climbers out for a warm-up ride. After a swift descent to the power distribution/aggregation center at Patterson Pass Road I arrived at the registration area for the climb at exactly 0930, when I had planned to arrive. I was on schedule.

I took a few photos at the start area, including the stopwatch photo and ran into Gino Cetani who just happened to be riding in the area after not visiting the area for many years.

The break between warm-up and climb was just enough for me to recover from the earlier effort. Rich Brown started me off ahead of the rest of the groups just before 1000. I had wanted to arrive at the top with time to recover and get set up for taking photos.

The only tricky spot was the first 90-degree turn. By the time I reached it I was going over 30 mph. I slowed slightly because it looked off-camber and the asphalt rippled as if other motorists had taken the turn fast enough to warp the road when it was hot.

After that I realized quickly that I should have started in my big ring (60t). I wasn't able to get full power and was spinning out in the middle ring (48t). It might have made 10 seconds difference in the end, so I didn't worry too much about it. If I shifted now I might throw the chain and lose more than 10 seconds. The downside of going 30 mph on the flat stuff is that when the road pitched upward I felt like I was crawling, even if I was still going 20 mph.

It had been about 10 years since I had ridden up the east side of Patterson Pass. I had recalled the long gradual climb for the first mile, the false summit, the short rollers, and then the last wall to the Pass. What I hadn't remembered was that there were two false summits. When I got to the top of the first one I knew I wasn't at the last false summit and that I needed to have some reserve for the final push. When that push came I gave it about 98%. After I finished I could hardly speak for a minute.

Patterson Pass ought to be a good spot for photographing cyclists on the climb. The top of the pass is sharp, the view down the road good, and the background views of the windmill-studded hills expansive. I couldn't complain too much about the lighting today, although a bit more diffusion wouldn't have hurt. With the incipient drought at hand not even a stitch of greenery was to be seen, the only color being the cyclists' bikes and jerseys.

I staked out a spot at the finishing line on the eastbound side of the road. From here I could get cyclists just before they crossed the line with the dramatic windmill backdrop. The light would be mostly behind me and slightly to the right. I remained standing so that I could get this view. I used less exposure compensation because the background this week was well-lit; the camera's light meter averaging algorithm wouldn't be fooled as easily.

As the first few finishers came through I discovered a few problems:

I forgot to put the camera into "continuous shoot" mode—"Why does the shutter only click once when I hold it down?"
I forgot to put the camera into "tracking focus" mode resulting in out-of-focus images as the riders drew nearer between the moment focus locked and the moment the image was recorded.
Riders were taking the inside line at the pass, on the opposite side of the road I expected them to be.

The first two issues I quickly corrected the moment I had a gap in the sequence of finishers. Although I can understand wanting to hit the line as quickly as possible once it comes into view, I hadn't anticipated that riders would be willing to take the risk on the blind curve at the top. Unfortunately, there was no bright yellow centerline on Patterson Pass Road to keep riders in the photo zone as they crossed the finish. Each week has a few surprises and a learning curve.

After the last finishers arrived, Frank and I proceeded down the west side of the pass. The descent off the west side was fast and relatively straight. We turned right on Flynn Road and climbed back up to the crest before crossing the bridge over I-580 and descending to Altamont Pass Road and then to the van parked across from the now noisy motorcycle park.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	42.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3640 feet
Total Time:	5:38:50
Riding Time:	2:48:31
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.2 mph
Max. Speed:	43.0 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	424 wh
Wh/mi:	9.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	18.1
Peak Current:	46.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.2
Motor energy to rear wheel:	297 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	371 wh
Total energy delivered:	668 wh
Link to:	Strava (warm-up ride)
Link to:	Strava (hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (cool-down ride)
Link to:	Low-Key Hill Climb Results

LKHC: Black Road and Castle Rock Summit, November 2, 2013 - I left home just as the sun was rising through the mists. The temperature was a chilly 46F compared to the nighttime lows of 70-72F I had recently enjoyed on Kaua'i.

I started riding at a pace that would get me warm, about 200-250 watts at the crank. About 20 minutes into the ride I dialed back the effort to about 150 watts at cruising, enough to keep me warm but not enough to wear me out. This was good for about 12-14 mph southbound on Lawrence Expressway that rises gradually to the south where eighty-plus pounds of bike and batteries can be felt even on slight up-grades.

I was able to avoid using the motor until I got to the steep dirt part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail. While I did not use the motor on the paved section on the dam itself I did use it a again on the dirt trail fronting CA17 between Alma Bridge Road and Bear Creek Road to help with control when making the sharp turn onto the spur that leads to Bear Creek Road.

When I got to the starting area for the time trial up Black Road and Skyline Blvd. I had pulled about one amp-hour from the battery.

I arrived at the bottom of Black Road for Team Brown Zone's time trial with about forty minutes to spare, enough time to recover without cooling down too much. My start time was at 1000, the first on the course. I had requested this time so that I could rest a bit before setting up for taking photos of finishers at the summit.

The climb itself went smoothly. While I had forgotten to pin the midpoint of my bodysock before the start, I managed to ping it while on the go before I reached the faster segment along Skyline Blvd. so that I'd have a bit better streamlining with less flapping of the fabric along its lower free edge when moving at higher speed.

On the climb I consumed 15.5 amp-hours of battery, about 3.5 more than I expected, although my finishing time was a bit better than I expected.

As the battery drains, the voltage sags, and in order to maintain the watt limit (1000) the controller draws more current from the battery. I had first started using these batteries in 2008, and they are now almost six years old. They still have most of their capacity but are starting to show their age by sagging a bit earlier during discharge than they did when they were new.

With the exception of Bohlman Road, all Low-Key finishes this year are away from the sun, which means that to photograph finishers so that their faces are visible, one must aim the camera into or at best across the sun. Today I chose a spot on the southwest side of the road so that the sun would be shining from the side. I picked a spot sufficiently away from the fog line to avoid being mowed down by a motorist drifting from the lane. The disadvantage of this position is that I wouldn't have a view in the background, and traffic on the road could get in the way at times.

A few things I noticed about this set of action shots that I should keep in mind for future events:

Due to the darker background I should have reduced exposure by a full stop instead of 2/3-stop to keep the (usually) lighter subject's highlights from being blown out, especially subjects wearing white or chartreuse jerseys.
I could have gotten away with a slightly longer shutter (e.g. 1/150 sec.) early in the set, but as I fatigued (and in this case as riders finished at a faster speed) and my tracking became less accurate, a shorter shutter (e.g. 1/400 sec.) would have been better.
Subjects, er, cyclists tended to look away from the sun and hence away from the camera as they approached the photo zone. Not sure there is anything I can reasonably to about this.
The background was sometimes challenging. The best background would be plain or have a regular pattern so that one's attention is not distracted. But, this wasn't possible with all the finish line activity going on.

After the time trial ended I continued home via CA9, Redwood Gulch, and Stevens Canyon.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	35.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3750 feet
Total Time:	4:59:19
Riding Time:	2:53:44
Avg. Speed (moving):	12.3 mph
Max. Speed:	31.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	394 wh
Wh/mi:	11.0
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	16.4
Peak Current:	44.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.0
Motor energy to rear wheel:	276 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	356 wh
Total energy delivered:	632 wh
Link to:	Strava (warm-up ride)
Link to:	Strava (hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (cool-down ride)
Link to:	Low-Key Hill Climb Results

LKHC: Bohlman Road, October 19, 2013 - Again I rode from home to the start of this week's climb up Bohlman, Norton, Kittridge, Quickert, On Orbit, and Bohlman, and I arrived fully warmed up (but not worn out), the ride from home taking me about 50 minutes without using the motor.

We all bunched up at Sixth and Oak streets in front of the Cemetary entrance for a few minutes until James rolled up in his car. After only the slightest delay, he started and honked the horn, marking the start of the clock.

It takes me about 10 seconds from a dead stop to get the power delivery, speed, and grade matched so that I'm getting maximum power to the rear wheel.

During this acceleration time Luca Schwarzbauer sprinted ahead of the group and pulled even with me for a moment. If he could maintain that pace I might have trouble arriving at the top with enough time to take his finish line photo. For whatever reason he arrived neither at the finish nor at the time split at the top of On Orbit Lane, and none of us ever saw him again.

For me the climb went without incident. I did my best to maintain about 1000 watts (from the battery) at a cadence that allowed me to put out my maximum power for the duration. I exercised some caution at the corners with gravel, in particular, the sharp right bend about 0.6mi from the finish where I could still see some gravel in the lane. I did not expect to finish 18% faster than I did in 2009.

Finish line photos presented a new challenge. My best view of the riders and their faces was from a greater distance than for the last two weeks. They would also be riding faster. Should I zoom the lens or keep it fully wide so that I could get photos of riders at the line where the effect of speed would be greatest?

In the end I compromised and zoomed the lens partially, then cropped the photo if needed. If the shot was sharp, a cropped shot would still look good at roughly one-half resolution. I tended to favor shots where the rider's face was visible without too much cropping but would use a side photo if necessary. The background of a photo from the side was somewhat distracting (but occasionally interesting) with the telephone pole and volunteers rather than a distant view or plain background. A few lucky riders got more than one good shot.

But this created another problem. I had been using 1/200 or 1/250 second exposure at full wide angle. With the lens zoomed I'd need to use a faster shutter to compensate for my error tracking the motion of the cyclist and still get a high percentage of sharp photos. But how much faster should the shutter be? Too fast and the effect of speed is minimized resulting in a bland photo, but too slow and my yield of photos with a sharp subject would decline significantly.

Since I was feeling more confident in my ability to track the rider's motion this week I decided to use the same shutter speeds as last week, around 1/250 second. This worked reasonably well most of the time, but I did get more out-of-focus shots, sometimes due to my tracking error, but more this week due to what was clearly the camera's tracking focus error, the camera focusing at the wrong distance.

In a few cases none of a rider's photos was presentable. If you can't find your photo in the album, and you really want to see whatever I took of you, please email me privately.

After the hill climb was finished I rode down the dirt road toward Montevina Road. On the way I decided that I'd rather explore Aquino Trail than to go down Montevina and deal with the stress of descending CA17 or the crowded Los Gatos Creek Trail and its hazards.

I wanted to explore Serenity Trail and Loma Vista Trail (in that order), neither of which I had ridden or hiked, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough juice left in my battery to do that and get home without running short.

I first rode down Serenity Trail to Lexington Overlook, which is really just a parking area at the base of a transmission tower. I could see across the Los Gatos Creek Canyon to the tower near Priest Rock Trail where Frank Paysen and I had rested on our hike in September. But, overall the view is better from further up on Aquino Trail.

After riding back up Serenity Trail I decided I still had enough margin to backtrack uphill to Loma Vista Trail and to explore its extent before heading down for good.

Loma Vista Trail does not appear to be traveled much. I saw no tire or foot tracks. It descends somewhat steeply to a gate that appears to have been erected for the purpose of preventing the passage of man or beast rather than merely to mark an administrative boundary. I turned around and climbed back up to Aquino Trail, then headed downhill for good, taking Sheldon Road and a few other residential streets in Los Gatos down to CA9, after which I headed home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	35.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	2880 feet
Total Time:	4:42:09
Riding Time:	2:33:47
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.8 mph
Max. Speed:	35.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	330 wh
Wh/mi:	9.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	13.8
Peak Current:	45.2 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.9
Motor energy to rear wheel:	231 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	329 wh
Total energy delivered:	560 wh
Link to:	Strava (warm-up ride)
Link to:	Strava (hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (cool-down ride)
Link to:	Low-Key Hill Climb Results

LKHC: Montevina Road, October 12, 2013 - As I left home under a damp fog, I wondered if it had been the right decision to ride to the start of this ride from home. The distance would be over 15 miles (18, as it turned out), with a fair amount of climbing, although most of it gradual. Perhaps it would be too long a warm-up.

It took me a half-hour of riding before I broke a sweat. At that point I was comfortably warm, but I was tired. My legs could still feel the ride I did two days prior, and I was feeling a bit drowsy.

For the first half-hour I maintained about 220-250 watts, but after I warmed up I resolved to keep power under 200 watts, preferably closer to 150. There was no need to rush; I had plenty of time.

At Lark and Winchester I met up briefly with a couple of other hill climb riders (Todd S. and ?) on their way to the start, but we split up when I turned right on University, and they took the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

In order to conserve battery energy I refrained from using the motor until I got to the steep part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail near the dam. Here and again on the dirt path between CA17 and Lexington Reservoir I used the motor, mainly to aid in control and traction. By the time I arrived at the check-in at Black and Montevina Roads I had used 1.3 Ah altogether, or about 32 watt-hours.

As on last week's climb up Montebello I ran the assist in "torque" mode, where motor power is added in proportion to pedaling effort. It turns out that in practice this isn't much different than just pegging the throttle. In both cases the 1000 watt maximum power constraint is binding. On a hill climb power -> speed, so the objective is to keep power at high as possible no matter the control mode.

Where this isn't practical is at the hairpin corners. On the first two I slowed and checked for descending traffic. On the next two hairpins I tried to maintain speed but had the amazing luck of running into descending traffic in the corner, traffic that I saw just before committing myself to a line that I had hoped would allow me use of the full road.

For me the main challenge on this climb was to get through the obstacle course at the gate without losing too much time. I was familiar with the high log barrier and the steepness of the terrain on either side of the gate. After some thought I decided I'd lose the least time by staying in the bike and walking over the barrier with the bike between my legs. My legs are just long enough that I could do this and still have the bike's wheels clear the logs. Getting out of the bike and carrying it cyclocross-style would entail additional delay, unpinning then re-pinning the sock and requiring twice the width to pass through the barrier.

When I arrived at the gate I was a bit winded as the climb steepens considerably just prior to the gate. I paused and took a couple of breaths before I got up and proceeded over the barrier. Once I got to the other side I was able to get started again without downshifting to a lower gear. Whew! No embarrassing stumbles or pratfalls, and no banging my shins on the logs!

It's on loose dirt where having a motor proves to be somewhat advantageous. The motor can apply "constant" torque rather than the uneven torque of human pedaling. So, using motor power I can get more power into forward motion and none into skidding or spinning my wheel.

The climb up the dirt road went easily, except for the left turn at the Aquinas Trail junction where I had to veer into the weeds at the left turn due to lack of traction in the deep dust on the trail.

After the climb I descended next week's hill climb route and discovered that Bohlman and On Orbit have both received a fresh coating of tar and gravel. The road is clean enough in most places to bolster one's confidence to descend quickly. But, there are a few spots hiding loose gravel. I briefly lost front wheel traction at one spot in a corner near the top. Riders will need to be warned next week.

Most of the photos in the set were taken at the finish line. I tried to capture each of the finishers, but I did miss a few.

I used a CPL-UV (circular polarizer + ultraviolet) filter for the finish line photos to reduce glare. The main downside to using a filter is that at certain angles to the sun, the reflection of the lens off the inside of the filter can be seen. Fortunately, this reflection does not occur over the subject and is only visible in some of the photos. Still, it's one of those flaws that I find irritating once I notice it.

This week I experimented with a slightly longer shutter speed (1/200th second) in some of the "pan and shoot" photos. As I get better at this I'll work my way down to longer shutter speeds so that the directional background blur is more pronounced, enhancing the speed effect. But, the priority is always to make sure that the subject is in focus. And that's easier to achieve with a short shutter speed.

Focus mode was set to "continuous" and "center", except that the presence of faces (if discovered) override. This mode seems to work well when the subject is in motion and focal distances change quickly. Aside from cropping and minor tweaks here and there, these photos are all JPEGs straight out of the camera.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	31.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3080 feet
Total Time:	4:47:58
Riding Time:	2:07:21
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.9 mph
Max. Speed:	37.4 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	425 wh
Battery energy consumed:	343 wh
Wh/mi:	10.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	14.2
Peak Current:	44.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.1
Motor energy to rear wheel:	240 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	273 wh
Total energy delivered:	513 wh
Link to:	Strava (warm-up ride)
Link to:	Strava (hill climb)
Link to:	Strava (cool-down ride)
Link to:	Low-Key Hill Climb Results

LKHC: Montebello Road, October 5, 2013 - As I rode from home to Stevens Canyon Road under my own power I couldn't help but notice how heavy all 80+ lbs of my bike felt. And that was with a reduced battery complement, about half my usual capacity. I didn't want to carry too much extra battery up the hill, but I also didn't want to consume any of its capacity getting to the start. Although it was a bit of a grunt on the few short uphill pitches, the human-power only warm-up felt just about the right overall.

The bike is mostly unchanged from last year. Same motor, controller, and batteries, batteries that are now over 5 years old but still running strongly if with slightly reduced capacity. What is new is a Thun torque-reading bottom bracket that in combination with a CycleAnalyst (version 3) computer allows me to run in "torque assist" mode and to read human power and energy directly rather than by inference when I used a PowerTap rear hub or Strava's calculated energy figures.

Torque assist mode adds motor power in proportion to my pedaling effort (based on power) and also frees me from having to manage a throttle. It improves the rideability and convenience. But, over a long ride I do notice that overall efficiency is reduced from manual throttle control since motor power is applied at times when it does little good, such as when I soft-pedal on downhills.

Last year I usually pegged the throttle and kept the bike geared so that motor power was bumping up against the 1000 watt limit, which produces about 1 hp at the rear wheel in addition to my pedaling effort. This year I tried to do much the same thing, although I was about half a minute slower overall. This is about what I expected, perhaps slightly better than I expected.

In straight throttle mode motor power complements pedaling effort. If pedaling slacks off, the bike slows slightly, but applied motor power increases as the load on the motor increases. In torque-assist mode motor power amplifies pedaling effort. Slacking off pedaling effort causes the motor power to be reduced, resulting in a significant drop in total applied power. So, a rider wishing to ride as fast as possible has incentive to pedal as hard as possible and not to slack off.

As the climb got underway I could see a rider on a red bike with straight handlebars pulling ahead of the bunch. Uh, oh, it must be another e-biker! At first I thought that it might be an Optibike, but when the rider arrived at the top I could see that it was a Specialized Turbo. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance at the finish to speak with Rich Karlgaard about his bike or to examine it closely. I hope he shows up on another Low-Key Hill Climb this year.

My goal was not to beat last year's time but to make it to the top without any mechanical mishaps with a sufficient time margin to set up for taking finish line photos. To that end I think I got at least one photo of everyone, although I thank the other photographers for getting shots of the riders I missed.

After the climb I rode over the summit of Black Mountain and down to Page Mill Road where I ran into Alison Chaiken and friends who just happened to be stopped in front of the gate on their way down Page Mill Road. After chit-chatting for a few minutes I continued down Page Mill and Moody and headed home where I had a pile of house chores that needed doing.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	50.1 miles
Cumulative climbing:	4710 feet
Total Time:	3:32:34
Riding Time:	3:01:36
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.5 mph
Max. Speed:	46.4 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	655 wh
Wh/mi:	13.0
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	25.7
Peak Current:	40.9 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.8
Motor energy to rear wheel:	458 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	325 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	784 wh

Stevens Canyon, September 20, 2013 - This afternoon I felt recovered enough from a week of hiking in the mountains to venture out for a short ride in the local hills. With a weak weather front moving through the area, the air had a charged feel, and the clouds looked interesting, although not interesting enough to photograph.

I headed away from home on one of my usual routes, then headed up into the hills through Los Altos Hills and Page Mill Road. On my way up Page Mill Road I could see precipitation falling on my planned route north on Skyline in the Skylonda and Kings Mountain area. Not wanting to ride on slick roads during and after a first rain of the season, I turned left at Skyline Blvd. and rode south to CA9.

At CA9 I ate a snack, then descended to Pierce Road. I took Pierce/Mt. Eden and a couple other minor roads to get to Stevens Canyon Road. I rode up Stevens Canyon until the road turned into a trail, then returned down the canyon and continued home.

I spent some time taking photos in the canyon. Standing pools of water in Stevens Creek offered interesting reflections, and I noticed that the big leaf maples were turning and dropping their leaves early this year. But, I did not linger very long at each stop as I was promptly attacked by mosquitos at each stop alongside the creek.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	29.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3760 feet
Total Time:	3:36:57
Riding Time:	2:18:12
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.0 mph
Max. Speed:	49.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	488 wh
Wh/mi:	16.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	19.0
Peak Current:	42.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.7
Motor energy to rear wheel:	342 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	153 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	495 wh

Reds Meadow, September 12, 2013 - If I bring my bike to the mountains, at least one day is a riding day. Today I wanted to give my legs a rest from hiking, and Frank wanted to give his bike a try. I suggested we ride over to Reds Meadow and back. If we got back and felt it wasn't enough there were ways to extend the ride.

We left the condo late morning and climbed past the ski resort and on to Minaret Vista where we stopped to enjoy the view before pressing on down to Reds Meadow.

The descent is scenic and somewhat technical in places. Light traffic makes the experience more enjoyable, but light traffic is not zero traffic. Occasionally a car would pop out around a corner, requiring us to leave some room for uphill traffic.

The descent from Agnew Meadows to Reds Meadow is less consistently downhill. An occasional upgrade or level stretch is encountered. At Reds Meadow the final push is uphill, then down slightly into the resort where we stopped in front of the store for a break.

While Frank rewatered himself and fussed with his GPS device, I went into the store to inquire about trail conditions in the Iceberg Lake and Cecile Lake area where we had planned to hike sometime in the next couple days. In particular, I inquired whether we'd need to carry microspikes to cross safely the semi-permanent snowfield above Iceberg Lake.

Our return trip up the hill went without incident. We stopped a couple times for photos.

Descending back into town is fun. The road is broad and smooth, and the traffic light in mid-September. I reached almost 50mph at one point.

On the final climb up Forest Trail I snapped a photo of the house with the spiral roof. Since we were staying at the Mammoth Ski and Racquet Club, the final stretch is the steep climb up Mammoth Slopes Road into the complex.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	56.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	4980 feet
Total Time:	3:46:35
Riding Time:	3:30:16/td>
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.2 mph
Max. Speed:	45.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	762 wh
Wh/mi:	13.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.8
Peak Current:	41.4 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.6
Motor energy to rear wheel:	534 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	303 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	837 wh

La Honda, September 8, 2013 - I rode from home to La Honda via Old La Honda Road and CA84. I returned via Alpine and Page Mill Roads. Weather was warm to hot, although I felt comfortable most of the time.

Aside from getting some exercise and enjoying a few hours riding on country roads, I was testing further some features of the PAS system I had installed on this bike. In particular I was playing around with the start/stop threshold cadence above which power would be applied, and below which it would shut off. I discovered that this threshold also operates as the threshold for the display of RPM on the dashboard. After trying 20, 30, and 40 RPM, I decided that 30RPM was a good compromise between being high enough to reduce the number of "surging" events, where the motor would apply power unbidden, and the lowest conceivable RPM that I might find myself pedaling where I want the motor active.

Part of the problem is that the Thun BB sensor gives a sometimes jumpy RPM reading, and if the Thun registers an RPM below the stop threshold, then motor power is cut momentarily. When soft-pedaling really slowly, e.g. below 30 RPM, the Thun might register an occasional spike to 45 RPM, causing an unwanted surge of applied power. Looks like 30 RPM is the best I can do.

I also tested an alternate motor that on the bench I had tested as not quite as efficient overall as my usual motor on this bike. The "M2" motor efficiency is around 76% instead of M1's 80%, about 5% worse overall. 13.4 wh/mi is the highest I've seen on this bike over terrain with similar climbing density and average speed. I'll keep M2 as a spare motor, but I swapped M1 back in after I got home.

It's interesting that these motors that look otherwise identical: same steel bobbin, same gauge windings and winding pattern, can have such different efficiencies. Perhaps they represent two extremes of manufacturing tolerance. My M4 motor that I run on my Pursuit is of the same design, and its efficiency is somewhere in between the efficiency of these two. See this page for more information, and click through to the curves for M1, M2, and M4 motors.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	83.6 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6270 feet
Total Time:	5:54:05
Riding Time:	4:49:39
Avg. Speed (moving):	17.3 mph
Max. Speed:	46.8 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	949 wh
Wh/mi:	11.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	37.4
Peak Current:	44.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.5
Motor energy to rear wheel:	664 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	574 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	1238 wh

Half Moon Bay, September 1, 2013 - I rode from home out to El Monte Road, then climbed El Monte, Moody, and Page Mill Roads to Skyline Blvd, where I spoke briefly with a Dutch cyclist heading to Pescadero who asked if I was Dutch, no doubt on account of my riding the Pursuit today with its hard shell fairing.

After consulting recently online with other users of the CycleAnalyst Version 3 I made a few parameter changes to see if I could improve the performance of the Pedal Assist (PAS) modes. Unfortunately, I found most of the changes made performance worse. At best some of the changes had no effect. So, I continued my ride using whatever mode seemed most suitable for the terrain and my mood.

The thought of surprising Frank and Stella on their ride occurred to me, so I checked their current location. They on Stevens Canyon Road, about an hour from Saratoga Gap, and I didn't want to wait around that long. So with that information and the further thought that they probably didn't want me swooping in on their ride, I continued on Alpine Road, descending over the new tar patches carefully.

At CA84 I turned left and rode out to San Gregorio into a stiff headwind. CA84 was busy with traffic, although it was not good beach weather. I had seen from the top of Alpine that low fog hung at the coast, although it was sunny a mile inland.

I turned right on Stage Road and climbed up to Skyline, then descended again to Tunitas Creek Road where I turned right. From here I rode the inland route to Half Moon Bay: Tunitas Creek Road, Lobitos Road, Verde Road, Purisima Road, and Higgins-Purisima Road.

When I got to CA1 I turned right on the main highway, skipping the ride down Main "Lollypop Lane" Street with its stopsigns every block or two.

At CA92 I turned right and after taking a short nature break just past the Hilltop Mobile Home Park at the edge of town, I rode quickly with traffic up CA92 as far as the bridge over Pilarcitos Creek where the highway splits into two lanes of travel up the grade.

I continued quickly, but slower than traffic at this point. One horsepower plus one human power is good for about 19 mph on the uphill. I crossed the summit without stopping and continued down the east side.

Halfway down to Crystal Springs Reservoir traffic came to a crawl. I managed to slip past most of it by lane-splitting, carefully. Sometimes on the left, other times on the right I passed, depending on where I could find a wider patch of road.

Once on Canada Road I relaxed a little bit and enjoyed the lenticular clouds that we don't often see in the Bay Area, although I always get a little tense when I pass the spot where the Devil's Gust of Wind pushed me into the gravel last year, resulting in a broken fibula during the resulting crash.

Two Highway Patrol cruisers were parked next to the stopsign at Jefferson and Canada. Usually the sheriff patrols this stopsign.

I continued through Woodside, then climbed over Sand Hill on my way to Junipero Serra Blvd. and one of my usual routes home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	72.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7020 feet
Total Time:	4:57:10
Riding Time:	4:26:24
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.2 mph
Max. Speed:	47.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	915.7 wh
Wh/mi:	12.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	36.1
Peak Current:	44.0 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.9
Motor energy to rear wheel:	641 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	497 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	1138 wh

Ben Lomond and Zayante, August 30, 2013 - Although I only took one photo on my ride today, it was at the most beautiful spot along Upper Zayante Road where the single lane climbs through a dark forest beneath a long, moss-covered sandstone cliff. The rest of the time I kept moving and concentrated on enjoying my ride.

Today I wanted to test the "AutoPAS" function on the Gold Rush. This is a throttle-free mode that adds motor power when crank rotation is detected. The amount of power added, adjusted by a dial on my handlebar (the Aux Pot), can be set between zero and 1000 watts (input). I tested the same function on the Pursuit on my previous ride.

For the first couple of miles I pedaled without adding any motor power. I feel this is a good way to warm up and lets me know how hard (or easy) it is to pedal my bike without any help. No matter where I ride from home the terrain is flat to slightly inclined. Heading south on Sunnyvale Ave. and continuing on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road is slightly uphill, enough to notice on a 100 lb bike.

South of Fremont Avenue I dialed in about 140 watts of pedal assist, about 100 watts at the rear wheel. This was enough to keep me cruising at 20mph between lights, a speed that resulted in a nice breeze on this warm day.

As I approached Saratoga I dialed up the assist to about 200 watts as the inclines got steeper. As I started up CA9 from Saratoga I left the assist level at 200 watts until I got past the bridge at Sanborn Road, then I dialed up the assist to just under 500 watts, and that got me moving at a reasonable pace up the hill.

After crossing Skyline I began the long cruise down to Boulder Creek. As usual on weekdays during the middle of the day, CA9 south of Skyline is pretty quiet, and only a few cars passed me, most of them within a mile of Boulder Creek.

The tight road south of Boulder Creek to Ben Lomond was more crowded, but traffic was not impatient or rude as it can sometimes be on a weekend.

When I got to Ben Lomond I turned left on Glen Arbor and rode through a residential neighborhood as far as Quail Hollow Road. I turned left and began the climb up to its summit.

Just before I reached the top of the hill I noticed that the motor was running a bit roughly. A quick check of throttle mode showed smooth motor operation. So, I thought it might be the power limiting algorithm which is almost always in effect when running in AutoPAS mode. I stopped and reduced the power limit gain. But, upon resuming my climb I observed no change in behavior. The motor was still running slightly roughly.

I returned to throttle-only mode, and the roughness was still present. I felt the motor. It was warm, a little warmer than I would have expected given that I hadn't been running it too hard recently. But, the ambient temperature was about 90F, so maybe this was normal.

I felt the controller. The controller was warm to hot, warmer than it should have been putting out less than 500 watts, even at partial throttle where these controllers lose some efficiency. The roughness felt like the roughness I noticed on older versions of these controllers when run at moderate power and low to half throttle. It sounded and felt like the hardware current limit of the controller was being hit, as the motor exhibited a rapid RPM variance, as if I were wiggling the throttle about the set point.

Moreover, the problem seemed to be heat-related. When I stopped by the road for a few minutes and let the motor and controller cool off, the roughness was gone upon resuming, only to return later as the hardware got warm.

A few years ago I experienced a similar heat-related behavior change that was due to a cracked circuit board trace that made contact when the motor temperature was above a certain point.

I'm suspicious of the Hall sensors in the particular motor I am using. This was the first such motor I had modified and installed my own Hall sensors, a set of non-latching Allegro 3044s. (I now use Honeywell SS41's.) It's possible that vibration from use has created small breaks in the insulation of the Hall sensor leads, leading to intermittent shorts. Or perhaps a connection somewhere has broken yet still makes contact at certain temperatures. I will have to do some bench testing to track this one down.

With the prospect of hardware failure on my mind I decided to return home via the shortest route. I continued up Zayante and noticed that the roughness was no longer present even though the motor and controller were both quite warm from the climb.

At Bear Creek Road I decided to try to get to CA9 and descend into Saratoga rather than descend the treacherous eastern side of Bear Creek Road to CA17. My battery capacity was a bit lower than I would have liked, but I made it over Castle Rock Summit with about 3Ah left in the tank. The rest of the trip home was mostly downhill.

I had planned to descend Redwood Gulch Road, but when I got to the turn-off I had a clear road in front of me and a head of steam that I was reluctant to burn away into my brake pads, so I continued down CA9.

It turns out I got home with about 0.15 Ah left in the batteries, about as close to running out as I've ever come, aside from the few times I actually did run out.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	74.6 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6100 feet
Total Time:	4:51:30
Riding Time:	4:12:20
Avg. Speed (moving):	17.5 mph
Max. Speed:	48.8 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	839.4 wh
Wh/mi:	11.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	32.5
Peak Current:	44.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.1
Motor energy to rear wheel:	588 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	507 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	1095 wh

San Gregorio, August 25, 2013 - I brought my camera along, but I took no photos. I just felt like riding today. Plus I was testing my newly-reassembled Pursuit that had been lying in pieces on my workbench for the last month while the frame that had cracked at the bottom bracket was being repaired and modified.

Being tested today was the Pedal Assist (PAS) mode that I had just enabled on this bike. On the Gold Rush I had added a Thun torque-measuring bottom bracket and had tested the torque-assist option, "TorqPAS", but on the Pursuit I could not use the Thun because I need an extra long bottom bracket spindle on the right side so that the drivetrain clears the battery boxes. I did have space to add a PAS magnet wheel and sensor, and adding this hardware gave me the convenience of throttle-free operation.

The PAS option ("AutoPAS") adds X watts of motor input power when the cranks are turning. (X is between 0 and 1000 watts input, or up to about 1hp output, adjustable by a dial on my dashboard.) I thought this might be too coarse and abrupt to have power suddenly added when I pedal, and indeed, at times I did turn down the amount of assist so that I could, for example, pedal lightly when approaching a traffic light or when descending a hill. There is no point in wasting motor power in these situations.

I also tried a clever hack called "AutoTorqPAS" that adds the same range of motor power when pedaling with the additional feature of scaling the added power with cadence. I found the effect interesting as it tended to add more power as I pedaled faster, situations where I might want additional power. Unfortunately, I didn't find it as useful as I had hoped because the application of power is delayed too much. It took at least two full crank revolutions for power to be applied, whereas with AutoPAS, power was applied after one or less crank revolution. Also, the scaling of power with RPM exhibited highly-damped behavior and was delayed by several seconds, making this feature unhelpful for "panic pedaling" situations where I want immediate power, such as when increasing power when pulling out of a sweeping corner—my ability to use counter-steer is limited in these situations. For that the throttle needs to be used. (The throttle overrides AutoPAS power.) Perhaps this mode needs a user-adjustable gain parameter.

On both bikes using the PAS has some advantages: (1) throttle-free application of power, one less control for me to manage while riding, and (2) with the torque sensor the ability to adjust assist power through pedaling effort. Riding in TorqPAS mode makes for a good workout since motor power scales with pedaling effort. There is a strong incentive to keep up the pace and not to slack off, since going fast is usually fun.

But, I also like to ride in a mode where applied motor power complements pedaling effort instead of amplifying it. This allows me, for example, to stop pedaling briefly when I shoot a photo so that body movement is reduced. It also means that I can do a fixed amount of work over varying terrain, using more human power on flatter terrain, and more motor power on steeper inclines.

Lastly, I think throttle-only operation makes for slightly more efficient use of battery energy. In any of the PAS modes motor power is used when I could easily do without it on flat or downhill terrain where I'm pedaling lightly. Again I can dial back the amount of assist to avoid this needless use of motor power, but doing so is slightly inconvenient since I'd need to adjust this frequently as the terrain changes.

Overall I like the AutoPAS mode the best. Response to pedaling and to cessation of pedaling was quick. With the dashboard potentiometer I can adjust the amount of motor power that is added, and as a backup I can still use the throttle when needed. I might prefer the TorqPAS or AutoTorqPAS mode better if I could adjust it to be more responsive to pedaling state and cadence.

Oh, aside from stopping a few times on Old La Honda Road to adjust CycleAnalyst parameters and to re-align my motor mount after the chain got thrown, the ride went smoothly. Weather was cool to warm. The coast was clear except within a mile of the ocean where fog was thick and drizzly. I saw a large number of other cyclists on the road but no one that I recognized, which is a bit unusual.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	79.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6480 feet
Total Time:	6:23:32
Riding Time:	5:03:09
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.7 mph
Max. Speed:	42.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	849.9 wh
Wh/mi:	10.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	33.1
Peak Current:	44.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.5
Motor energy to rear wheel:	595 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	554 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	wh
Total energy delivered:	1149 wh

Pescadero, August 17, 2013 - I left home mid-morning under cloudy skies and headed out to El Monte Road and Moody Road that I climbed up to Page Mill Road and then to Skyline Blvd. On the way up I saw Jim Kern descending quickly near Moody Road as I almost got in his way while making the left turn onto Page Mill Road.

At Skyline Blvd. I continued straight on Alpine Road and then descended. The county had resurfaced patches of the downhill lane with a fine asphalt with high tar content. I did not have confidence in its ability to grip my tires on the corners, so I descended carefully, choosing occasionally to stop and take pictures of the interesting tropical clouds that were passing over the area. The lower half of the descent had not been worked on, so I continued with more confidence.

At Pescadero Road I turned left and climbed over Haskins Hill. Several large groups of cyclists were riding the other direction. The last few miles into Pescadero was into a stiff headwind.

Pescadero was bustling with activity. Drivers were parking outside of town along Pescadero Road as parking was scarce in town. I made my way to Archangeli Market where, much to my surprise, the deli had no queue. I ate lunch in the quiet picnic area at the rear of the store where another cyclist and I discussed our routes for the day: we were riding almost the same route in the opposite direction.

Stage Road north of Pescadero becomes rough and dusty following some resurfacing that the county is doing. I hope this is only the prep layer and not the finished product. It's hardly better than a graded dirt road.

I had planned to return up Tunitas Creek Road, but I wasn't feeling as energetic today as I was on Wednesday, so I turned right on CA84 and took the "easy" way back over the mountains. It had been a while since I had ridden CA84 all the way from San Gregorio to Woodside. I usually take Old La Honda Road when I go this way.

Once I got down into Woodside I took one of my usual routes through Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills, and headed home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	80.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8020 feet
Total Time:	5:19:48
Riding Time:	5:01:56
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.4 mph
Max. Speed:	48.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	924.6 wh
Wh/mi:	11.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	36.4
Peak Current:	41.7 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.0
Motor energy to rear wheel:	647 wh
Human energy to rear wheel:	556 wh
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1388 kJ (386 wh)
Total energy delivered:	1203 wh

Ben Lomond, August 14, 2013 - I left home late morning with the vague idea that I'd ride a loop over to Boulder Creek and back. I'd be continuing to test and fine-tune the pedal-assist system (PAS) for good behavior, but this time I'd be riding at various speeds, generally faster than most non-assisted cyclists.

For the first several miles out to Monte Vista and up Stevens Canyon I set the assist factor to about 1.5 : 1, motor power applied at 1.5 times human power. This gave enough assist to be noticeable but still required me to work hard myself.

Normally the first 5-10 miles of a ride from home I pedal under human power only, then start using the throttle when I hit the steep stuff. With the PAS, the motor would amplify my own pedaling at all times. Of course, I could turn this off by dialing down the assist factor, but I thought it might be interesting to see if my energy use was different using PAS for the entire ride instead of no assist for the first several miles, then throttle as usual on the hills.

When I hit the bottom of Redwood Gulch I dropped into the granny ring and slowly ground my way up the steep grade. I was not used to climbing at 4.5 mph. At this speed the flies all wanted to gather on my face.

I continued up CA9 to Saratoga Gap. I could really feel my legs working. With the PAS there is no slacking off and letting the motor make up the difference. Less pedaling means less motor, and that means I slow down a lot. More pedaling means more motor, and I speed up a lot, too. So to keep the fun quotient high, there is an incentive to pedal, and to pedal hard.

I crossed Skyline Blvd. and continued down toward Boulder Creek. When I tried to shift into my big ring I noticed that my front derailleur was misadjusted and couldn't shift the chain onto the big ring. I stopped and adjusted the limit screw, loosing in it slightly (and tightening the limit screw on the small ring). I had forgotten to adjust the limits when I shifted the bottom bracket to the right by 2mm.

On the way down CA9 I had the road to myself all the way to a one-way control below Waterman Gap where Caltrans were doing some sort of repair at the sharp hairpin bend near the bottom of the descent.

After clearing the construction zone I pressed on down to Boulder Creek, enjoying my assisted workout as I rolled down the quiet highway.

At Boulder Creek I noticed I had consumed about 13.5Ah (out of 36) and decided I had enough to return up Zayante Road instead of Bear Creek Road.

I continued down into Ben Lomond, turning left onto Glen Arbor Road and left again on Quail Hollow Road. I turned left yet again on Zayante Road and continued through the small residential community along the creek.

At the last minute I veered right across a metal bridge and climbed up Fern Ridge Road that continued as Lower Hutchinson Road, winding its way up through a cool redwood forest before breaking into a sunnier area of oaks with occasional clumps of redwoods. I passed a number of residences on the narrow one lane road. A couple cars passed me in the opposite direction, and shortly after I started up Upper Hutchinson Road one car overtook me.

Upper Hutchinson climbs steeply up to a stop sign at Riva Ridge. Along the way I enjoyed a dramatic view of the canyon between Hutchinson and Mountain Charlie Road to the east.

At Summit Road I turned left and continued on Bear Creek and Skyline Blvd. as far as Page Mill Road, descending the latter to Moody Road and then Moody to El Monte, and the usual roads home.

I knew I was cutting it close on battery capacity. I actually used a bit more than I thought I had available before the battery shut down a little less than 2 miles from home. My legs were done for the day, but they managed to get me home without complaining too much.

Overall it was a good ride, excellent weather—shorts and short sleeves all the way, and I enjoyed riding with the PAS. What a workout!

My only complaint with the system is that the motor kicks in only after I pedal about half a revolution, and it continues for another second or two after I stop pedaling. This makes shifting gears tricky as I'm accustomed to easing up on pedaling effort when I shift, but with the PAS the motor continues during this period. I need to wait a little longer before shifting to avoid shifting under load. Over the next few rides, I'll see if I can shorten this delay and lag without adding other side effects to the system behavior.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	58.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	1970 feet
Total Time:	6:03:44
Riding Time:	4:16:00
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.8 mph
Max. Speed:	43.1 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	527.5 wh
Wh/mi:	8.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	20.2
Peak Current:	40.4 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.7
Motor energy to rear wheel (est.):	1329 kJ (369 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1281 kJ (356 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1388 kJ (386 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2610 kJ (725 wh)

San Juan and Salinas, August 6, 2013 - I met Ron Bobb at the Easy Racers factory in Watsonville, and we rode a loop around the central Monterey Bay area. Unfortunately, I discovered a dead camera battery at the start of the ride, so I was unable to take photos.

Today's ride was my first test of the torque-assist feature of the new CycleAnalyst V3 (Prelim6) and the torque-measuring Thun X-Cell RT bottom bracket. I spent some time tuning the system with my bike on a trainer, but there's nothing like an on-road test to work out the remaining kinks. My installation includes a "auxiliary potentiometer" that allows me to continuously vary the degree of assist, from zero to 8x (according to the CA setup screen).

We started off by looping around the north and east of Watsonville, then headed out to Aromas on CA129, Murphy Crossing, and San Juan Road. After climbing Carr Ave. we descended Anzar Road to the Earthbound Farms plant and then into San Juan Bautista for a snack break at Vertigo Cafe on 4th Street.

Following our break we rode up over San Juan Grade into northern Salinas. Weather was moderate and breezy, but traffic was heavier than I would have expected on a weekday afternoon on the old, bumpy road that crosses the northwest shoulder of the Gabilan Range. We stopped for several minutes at the top to enjoy the view of Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley. Mt. Toro on the other side of the valley was obscured by a layer of fog that had blown in off the water of Monterey Bay.

We descended into Salinas and continued north on Boronda and San Jon Roads through the rolling fields of artichokes and other leafy green vegetables. At CA183 we turned north, enjoying a strong, sweet whiff of strawberries as trucks passed carrying a harvest to market. I noticed a nearby fruit stand was asking $1 for 7 avocados. We continued through Castroville onto CA1, exiting at Salinas Road to take the official bike route through Watsonville and to the end of the ride.

The torque-assist mode on my Gold Rush with a mid-drive works reasonably well when I ride with others. It's easy to match their speed by simply varying my pedaling effort. I started off with torque averaging set to "8" but I found "16" smoothed out the applied motor power and resulted in less surging if my pedal strokes were lumpy. I also discovered that at least for my installation that uses a 24-volt supply, the assist factor level was off by a factor of two: the 8x max assist level looked more like a 4x max assist level. E.g. Human watts input of 100 resulted in motor watts input of 400, roughly.

I still get some delay when I start from a stop, and for getting going quickly, blipping the throttle works best. But, once I'm moving torque-assist mode works well. Once in a while when coasting to a stop, the motor surges briefly. This doesn't occur every time I coast to a stop, only about 10% of the time, but it is annoying and slightly alarming when it happens. I will try to tweak the gain parameters on the CA to see if I can get rid of all surging when coasting.

One other problem is that the torque sensor in the Thun is not as precise an instrument as the torque sensor in my old PowerTap hub. It needs to be zeroed at least once at the start of every ride, and possibly several times throughout the ride. It also reads +- 1-2 Nm when the cranks are sitting still, depending on the orientation of the cranks. This could be 10-15 watts either side of zero, reducing measurement accuracy to about 10% or more. The PowerTap was claimed accurate to within 1.5%.

This was neither a difficult nor particularly long ride, and traffic was heavier than ideal. But, the weather was nice, and it was good to see and ride with Ron Bobb again. It had been over a year since our last ride together.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	99.5 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5630 feet
Total Time:	7:39:20
Riding Time:	5:55:32
Avg. Speed (moving):	17.0 mph
Max. Speed:	47.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1375 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1032.4 wh
Wh/mi:	10.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	40.5
Peak Current:	43.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.0
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2602 kJ (723)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1388 kJ (386 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3990 kJ (1108 wh)

Casserly and Corralitos, July 28, 2013 - With the forecast of cool weather I decided to ride south through San Jose and down by "the reservoirs" on McKean, Uvas, and Watsonville Roads. I had first thought of riding into Santa Cruz, but when plans to meet up with others didn't work out, I returned up Eureka Canyon Road, Highland Way, and Summit Road, descending into town through Los Gatos.

My ride south on McKean and Uvas Roads was into an unexpected headwind, so I kept my cruising speed below 20 mph when under power. Temperatures were in the 70s F.

Along the reservoirs I met up with Mark, product director at Specialized, who had apparently been trying to catch my tail for a few miles. He rides a Specialized Turbo (e-assist model) when he's not out on his road bike, as he was today, riding at a recovery pace from a harder ride yesterday. He suggested I bring my bike by the Specialized HQ sometime when I'm in the area.

The ride up CA152 into Mt. Madonna County Park is as beautiful as ever. But, traffic on CA152 came in dense platoons of impatient motorists. At one spot a minivan driver directly behind me exercised the appropriate amount of caution, waiting until he could see no oncoming traffic around the next bend, and eliciting impatient honks from some of the drivers behind. When I could see 10-15 cars behind him, I pulled off onto one of many turnouts. Seems that even having to wait 30-60 seconds is asking too much patience of many drivers.

The western descent of CA152 is mostly through a cleared hillside. The road is rough in places, and since it was also a bit breezy I did not descend quickly. Even so, only two cars overtook me before I got to Carlton, where I turned right.

I continued through the fields of Watsonville, then stopped at the Casserly Store for lunch. I had first thought to stop in Corralitos, but I was hungry now, and I hadn't stopped at the Casserly Store in many years.

John, the proprietor, has operated the store for 15 years. I bought a sandwich, drink, ripe banana, and a few cookies. After lunch I gave him a tour of my bike and he showed me his vegetable garden behind the store.

After lunch I rode up Mt. Madonna Road to Hazel Dell, then over the hill to Browns Valley. Hazel Dell Road was as quiet and beautiful as ever, as was Browns Valley.

I stopped in Corralitos only long enough to snap a photo of the town "square" (actually a small triangle), then continued up Eureka Canyon Road where I discovered that one of my mid-drive freewheels was making some ominous grinding noises under load, suggesting that it was nearing the end of its life.

Near the top of Eureka Canyon Road I made a brief appearance on TV.

I descended Highland Way carefully. The speckled shade of the trees did a good job masking potholes in the road, and I find as I get older I have a harder time seeing road hazards in such conditions. As I passed the trailhead for the Soquel Demonstration Forest, a group of mountain bikers were getting ready to head out on a late afternoon ride.

After I passed the junction with Soquel-San Jose Road, traffic became heavy and nearly continuous. Unfortunately, half of this heavy traffic turned right on Old Santa Cruz Highway instead of heading to CA17. This made for a busy descent, but I was able to maintain the speed of traffic all the way down and didn't have any rude drivers tailgating me.

When I got to Alma Fire Station I could see why traffic on Old Santa Cruz Highway was heavier than normal: CA17 was bumper-to-bumper. When traffic on CA17 is thus, it makes descending through The Chute into Los Gatos less stressful, and it makes easier taking the left exit onto Santa Cruz Ave. Downtown Los Gatos was crawling with traffic and tourists, too. Everyone was out enjoying the nice weather.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	69.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5100 feet
Total Time:	3:58:19
Riding Time:	3:44:03
Avg. Speed (moving):	18.6 mph
Max. Speed:	52.0 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	801 wh
Wh/mi:	11.5
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	31.2
Peak Current:	42.7 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.2
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2017 kJ (560 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1590 kJ (442 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3607 kJ (1002 wh)

Skyline Blvd., July 25, 2013 - I headed out from home mid-afternoon intending to ride up Kings Mountain Road, then head north to Skyline Blvd. to CA92 before returning home on Canada Road, The Loop, and other usual roads. When I got to Los Altos I decided to head up Burke, Robleda, Elena, Taafe, and Altamont. At that point I decided to climb Page Mill Road to Skyline, then head north from there.

At the high point on Page Mill Road I passed a guy sitting in a ditch by the road looking a bit wasted. I asked if he was OK, and he said, "Yes," but then quickly asked if I had any water. Fortunately, I did. Having been caught short enough times to conclude that it was better to carry the extra weight than to run short on a hot day, I now carry too much water on my rides. I pulled up to him and handed him my spare bottle that I usually use to rinse my bike after I heed the call of nature or as a spare should I run out of water in my bladder. The water in it was good as I had filled it from my RO system at home.

He was heading down the hill, so I mentioned he could find water at the Foothills Park entrance. I forgot to mention the drinking fountain a short distance past the Montebello whoop-de-doo the right side of the road. Perhaps he found it.

I continued to Skyline and then north without pausing.

Somewhere on the descent to CA84 I hit 52mph which must a record for me as I can't recall ever getting over 50. Preferring to let gravity do all the work, I don't pedal the fast straight descents on Skyline. The conditions must have been just right.

With the clear warm conditions I was expecting little or no wind on the northern descent to CA92. Unfortunately, there were gusty breezes, and more than once these had me fighting with the bike to keep it tracking through the corners. I don't like leaning the bike over hard in gusty wind as it's easier for the wind to lift the bike if it hits just right and with enough force. And, if it lifts the front end, even for a moment, I go down. The most hazardous are gusty quartering headwinds. With the new tight-fitting lycra cockpit sock, the bike builds up speed faster on the downhills, and I was on the brakes most of the way.

When I get down to the traffic light at Skyline Blvd. and CA92 I usually breathe a sigh of relief. Today was no different. The hard part was over. From there it was just a relaxing spin home on familiar roads.

By the time I got to Alpine Road and I-280 traffic was heavy heading toward the freeway where the southbound lanes were bumper-to-bumper. On Junipero Serra Road traffic was so heavy that it was backed up from Campus Drive to Page Mill Road.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	76.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5690 feet
Total Time:	7:11:11
Riding Time:	4:43:57
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.7 mph
Max. Speed:	58.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	858 wh
Wh/mi:	11.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	33.5
Peak Current:	43.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.9
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2194 kJ (609 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1775 kJ (493 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3969 kJ (1103 wh)

San Gregorio, July 21, 2013 - I headed out from home mid-morning intending to ride a loop to San Gregorio via Old La Honda Road and CA84, and then return over Tunitas Creek Road and Kings Mountain Road. And, surprisingly, that is exactly what I did. Usually I change the route on a whim once I get going, but this time I stuck to my original plan.

While I was stopped at the faces in the rock on the west side of Old La Honda I noticed (via Life360.com) that Stella and Frank were heading over Arastradero Road. I wondered if it might be possible to intercept them, but I didn't want to go back down the hill to do that. Maybe on the return trip.

This is the first time I've ridden my Pursuit since I replaced the cockpit sock with new, tight-fitting lycra. Aside from stiffening up the steering a bit, this is the closest thing I can get to a hard shell. A new, tight sock makes a big difference in aerodynamic efficiency. I noticed this as my speed settled in the low-40s (mph) while I descended Sand Hill Road toward Whiskey Hill Road, and later on CA84 below west Old La Honda Road, and at the coast on CA1 near Tunitas Creek where I came close to 60mph.

Aside from my stop at the rock faces I kept moving while I was on the coast side of Skyline Blvd. The air was comfortable as long as I was exercising but would have been a tad chilly for sitting around.

I stopped a few times along Tunitas Creek Road, mostly to experiment with camera exposures on some difficult lighting situations (1, and 2), but I ended up stopping for over an hour at the top of Tunitas Creek Road.

My original idea was to get some practice taking panning shots of traffic as it passed by on Skyline Blvd., testing out different shutter speeds to see what looked best. It looks like a higher shutter speed rendered the subject more reliably sharp, but a low shutter speed looked better if I could muster my best skills to track the moving subject accurately.

But, before I could do that several other cyclists approached me to ask about my bike. And then Brian Cox came by, and we had a long chat about where we'd been riding lately and lamenting the fact that Jobst Brandt suffering from memory loss, now only seems to recognize people who figured into his memory of more than 25 years ago.

Just before I was to set off down Kings Mountain Road, "Bob", with whom I had talked shortly after I arrived at Skyline, came back up Tunitas Creek Road. He had ridden all the way down to Lobitos Creek Road and back up the hill again, standing all the way after his seat bolt broke, separating his saddle from its seat post.

It looks like the bolt had for a while been cracked most of the way through, given the corrosion visible on the break surface. All but a thin edge had been broken, probably before he left home. He said the seat "just broke off" while he was riding along, adding that his legs were tired from standing all the way up Tunitas Creek Road.

I photographed his broken bolt, and then headed down the hill and headed home. Before I got home I passed a woman riding a bakfiets with a child in the carrier. I know that a number of these have been sold in the south bay area, but this was the first time I had seen one on the road.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	83.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7860 feet
Total Time:	7:41:07
Riding Time:	6:02:37
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.7 mph
Max. Speed:	44.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	908 wh
Wh/mi:	10.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	36.0
Peak Current:	65.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.7
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2354 kJ (654 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2450 kJ (681 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4804 kJ (1334 wh)

Santa Cruz via Laurel, July 14, 2013 - I rode from home to Santa Cruz, taking a route through Los Gatos and up Old Santa Cruz Highway.

Instead of turning left on Summit Road and heading directly down Soquel-San Jose Road, I continued straight on Old Santa Cruz Highway and detoured down Schulties Road that ends at the small community of Laurel.

Schulties starts off with good pavement that gets rougher and more deteriorated as one descends. In places the asphalt is completely gone, leaving dirt and gravel. But, as one approaches Laurel, the pavement becomes more consistent again. It's easy to tell what parts of the road receive the most traffic.

From Laurel I climbed up to Soquel-San Jose Road on Redwood Lodge Road.

My route through Santa Cruz took Soquel Drive and then back roads, including a short section against a one-way directive, through a neighborhood north of CA1 between Dominican Hospital and De Laveaga Road.

My return route took me north on Glen Canyon Road, Bean Creek Road, and Mountain Charlie Road.

Instead of heading down Mountain Charlie and Old Santa Cruz Highway, returning as I had come earlier in the day, I had enough energy to ride over Castle Rock Summit and down CA9 and Redwood Gulch.

Overall it was a good ride on some of my favorite roads in the mountains.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	61.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7530 feet
Total Time:	5:17:42
Riding Time:	4:27:28
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.5 mph
Max. Speed:	43.8 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	893 wh
Wh/mi:	14.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	35.5
Peak Current:	67.4 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.4
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2315 kJ (643 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1589 kJ (441 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3904 kJ (1084 wh)

Lake Ranch, July 10, 2013 - I left home after lunch for an afternoon ride. It had been two weeks since I had gotten out on the bike to exercise meaningfully.

I headed south toward Stevens Canyon with the vague idea that I'd climb to Skyline Blvd. and head north, making up the route as I went.

Only having lived in the Bay Area for many years could someone get so spoiled that riding the roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains becomes tedious. Yet, such were my thoughts of riding the "same old, same old".

And so, after I had climbed and descended Mt. Eden Road and climbed and descended Pierce Road, I considered climbing Bohlman Road without any embellishments. As I climbed Bohlman Road I remembered one road I had not explored: McGill. Better yet, I had learned that there was a way through to Lake Ranch Reservoir from McGill (and from there to Black Road, Sanborn Road, or Montevina Road). My enthusiasm rallied at the prospect of exploring something new.

When I got to McGill I descended it until I reached a driveway. I pressed down a short distance before passing a rough trail heading left at an acute angle. Was this a through trail? I'd soon find out.

As the neighborhood dogs had picked up my scent or sound and started barking and baying I continued down this rough trail, hoping I wouldn't have to climb it after finding the way blocked further down. At times the trail closed in on both sides, and occasionally on three sides. Soon I emerged at the base of a PG&E transmission tower where a broader dirt road continued.

I knew I was near Lake Ranch Reservoir, so I turned right and headed that way. I explored both ends of the reservoir, satisfied I had seen everything interesting to see, before I turned around and rode back along the rough PG&E road past several transmission towers, before I came out on Sherrys Way leading to Montevina Road.

The PG&E road was often rough, overgrown, and sometimes rocky. My bike made it through without incident, although my progress was slow, not least because I stopped to take photos.

Once I got to Montevina Road I rode down to Black Road, then up again to Skyline Blvd. before heading north over Castle Rock Summit on "same old, same old" Skyline Blvd. and down to Page Mill Road and Moody Road, after which I continued home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	64.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5200 feet
Total Time:	5:23:58
Riding Time:	3:56:04
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.4 mph
Max. Speed:	45.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	710 wh
Wh/mi:	10.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	27.9
Peak Current:	59.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.2
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1839 kJ (511 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1610 kJ (447 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3449 kJ (958 wh)

Skyline Blvd., June 25, 2013 - Frank asked me to follow him on Latitude while he was out riding and asked if I wanted to join him, but I couldn't get away from my desk for a couple of hours. But, when I did head out for my ride I decided to try to intercept him along the way.

I could see that he was climbing Bohlman Road. If he came down Montevina he would almost surely return by the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

I got to the top of the Lenihan Dam when Frank's icon showed he was near the bottom of Montevina Road. I decided to wait for a few minutes while I watched two fishermen cast lines into the reservoir under an interesting sky of puffy white clouds.

When I checked Frank's progress I could see he was taking the long way around the reservoir past Aldercroft Heights. I decided I had time to wait the extra 15-20 minutes, so I slowly rode up Alma Bridge Road to a spot where I could see him approach on the other side of a finger of the reservoir.

Before long Frank came into view. He stopped and chatted for a few minutes before we went our separate ways: he down the trail, and I out to CA17 where I had planned to ride the wrong way on the shoulder to the Bear Creek Road overpass but discovered that the adjacent trail was now dry and mud-free and made for an easy, less stressful passage.

When I got to the bridge I decided to climb Bear Creek Road instead of Black Road. Normally I would not go this way on a bike as Bear Creek Road is steep and narrow, and most local traffic between Boulder Creek and San Jose uses this road. But, it was mid-day on a weekday. The morning commute had finished, and the evening commute had not yet started. Traffic was light.

When I got to Summit Road I continued a short distance to Skyline Blvd. and turned right. I continued up Skyline Blvd., stopping in several spots to photograph the unusually clear view due to the atypical tropical weather we were having, warm and humid without a hint of fog or smog.

I was still experimenting with exposure bracketing +-4.0EV and using a circular polarizing (CPL) filter on the camera lens. I found that the photos I took in the shade or under trees looked better when bracketed, but the distant landscape photos looked better un-bracketed, the bracketed photos looking too flat and artificial with uninteresting foreground features highlighted too much. Nevertheless, when I had something interesting in the foreground, I decided that the bracketed shots looked better.

In almost all cases I preferred the use of the polarizing filter, although the preference was slight. Where the CPL filter gave the greatest improvement was in preserving the warmer color balance of distant telephoto images that otherwise take on a distinctly bluish tint.

I descended from Skyline Blvd. on CA84 toward Woodside, a descent route that is popular with cyclists who climb Old La Honda Road but that I tend to avoid due to heavy, impatient traffic.

In the 1970s and 1980s most cyclists could out-descend motorists, but newer cars grip the curves much better than the old boats of those days, and drivers typically descend as fast or faster than cyclists, even fast descenders. Since speeds are close between cars and bicyclists, passing is more difficult, leading to impatient drivers (since the Natural Hierarchy declares that motorists are never to be delayed behind bicyclists).

From Woodside I rode home through Menlo Park, Stanford, and Los Altos on one of my usual routes.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	69.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6370 feet
Total Time:	5:29:09
Riding Time:	4:58:54
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.1 mph
Max. Speed:	44.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	747 wh
Wh/mi:	10.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.4
Peak Current:	68.2 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1937 kJ (538 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2122 kJ (589 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4059 kJ (1128 wh)

Old Haul Road, June 22, 2013 - I shot a few forest scenes along the Old Haul Road while experimenting with different degrees of exposure bracketing when taking forest shots. HDR=N, where "HDR" = "High Dynamic Range", and N is the number of f-stops on either side of mean exposure that is merged into the end result. Which N do you like best?

Sequoia Worker's Picnic, June 9, 2013 - Here are a few photos I took at the Sequoia Worker's Picnic at Rengstorff Park in Mountain View.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	108.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	10510 feet
Total Time:	9:27:24
Riding Time:	7:15:16
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.0 mph
Max. Speed:	48.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1375 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1310 wh
Wh/mi:	12.0
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	52.5
Peak Current:	32.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	20.1
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3207 kJ (891 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	3376 kJ (938 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	6583 kJ (1829 wh)

Sequoia Worker's Ride, 100-mile, June 8, 2013 - This morning I got up as the sun was starting to lighten the eastern sky and headed out the door shortly after 0700 to meet the group riding the 100-mile route on the supported Sequoia Worker's Ride, conducted on behalf of those who volunteered to work at the Sequoia Century the week before.

Just as I turned left onto Foothill Expressway from Homestead Road, I ran into part of the group (Paul Melville, Steve Chapel, and a few others) who had left behind the main group. We climbed up to Skyline Blvd., but at the summit I continued down the other side after a brief pause by the side of the road.

Although I did not know it at the time, the others had detoured to the parking area where a refreshment table had been set up by the support crew.

I cruised down CA9. Traffic was light—I encountered no one going my direction, and only a few cars going uphill. The air temperature transitioned from warm and stifling to slightly damp and cool just before I reached the stop sign at Waterman Gap. I briefly considered riding down China Grade and up CA9, but I decided to stick to the official route as that would increase my likelihood of having company on the ride.

For the last week I had been using a smaller motor on my bike. On rides with shorter climbs this substitution had worked well, but on the longer climbs to Skyline, especially the steep climb up Redwood Gulch, I noticed the motor getting hot, almost too hot to touch. My larger motors would have gotten only slightly warm on the same climb.

Excess heat generation is undesireable as it suggests reduced efficiency: energy being converted into heat, not forward motion. Excess heat can also result in motor failure. I sprayed a bit of water on the motor, but it did not cool down much as I climbed CA9 from Redwood Gulch to Skyline.

It was with this in mind that I considered descending China Grade instead of climbing it. But, I thought, the climb up China Grade is shorter than Redwood Gulch plus CA9, so I figured I'd be OK. I was. But, the motor did get hot again.

Steve Prothero and the rest of the 100-milers were regrouping at Park Street and CA9, and I joined them there. We rode up West Park Avenue, connecting with CA236 on Ridge Drive instead of the usual Oak Avenue. We continued up CA236 and then onto China Grade Road.

Aside from testing a smaller motor on my bike I was also getting practice using my new camera. To that end I tried different camera settings and strategies for taking photos of other cyclists. Lighting was difficult as we rode mostly in shade with sprinkles of full sun.

On my second passing of Saratoga Gap I missed the rest stop and continued north on Skyline Blvd., wondering why I didn't see any others from our group on the road.

At Alpine Road I turned left and continued down into La Honda, arriving at the spot reserved for lunch at about 1230 where I met Paul Wendt who was helping support the lunch stop.

After a leisurely lunch and visiting with Randall Braun I pressed on to the coast on CA84. Auto traffic was heavier than usual, probably due to beach-bound traffic on this warm day.

On the climb up Stage Road I stopped to photograph San Gregorio Valley twice, with and without a polarizing and UV filter. Can you tell which photo was taken through the filters, and which one looks better, 1 or 2?

On my ride up Tunitas Creek Road I ran into and rode with the Prothero's group up to Skyline, where I took a group photo and had some fun with the watercolor effect.

While ascending Tunitas Creek Road the air remained cool and slightly damp. This changed quickly to hot and dry as I descended Kings Mountain Road. But, Woodside was not as hot as I expected. Already a slightly cool breeze was blowing in a few places. As I rode down Sand Hill Road I could feel that the short heat wave had broken.

I pressed on home, taking the official route into Foothill College, then heading directly home via Cuesta and Evelyn, arriving with not much battery energy remaining.

Overall it was a good ride. I find I enjoy riding in hot weather more than when I was younger. No stopping to put on or remove clothes, and taking a long lunch break doesn't stiffen the muscles the way it would on a cold day. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a motor to help keep my speed and apparent wind up on the climbs.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	124.6 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8550 feet
Total Time:	9:51:21
Riding Time:	8:25:27
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.8 mph
Max. Speed:	45.0 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1375 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1242 wh
Wh/mi:	9.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	48.8
Peak Current:	25.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.4
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3130 kJ (869 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	3120 kJ (867 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	6250 kJ (1736 wh)

Mount Hamilton Loop Counter-Clockwise, May 26, 2013 - I was hoping to get an early start for this ride, but other tasks that needed doing and a sky that looked dark and wet in the direction of The Mountain persuaded me to take my time getting ready. It wasn't until just after 1000 that I left home and began my ride.

I rode across north San Jose on my usual route. On this trip I decided to ride up through Alum Rock Park alongside Penitencia Creek past several old railroad bridge abutments, erected about 100 years ago when the park was a major tourist destination, and climbed out of the park on the closed-to-autos Alum Rock Road before continuing my climb up closed-to-autos Crothers Road and then to Mount Hamilton Road.

The rains earlier in the morning had left an aroma in the air similar to that of wet straw. It had also left the air unusually clean for this time of year. Along the way I had sharp views of downtown San Jose and the Santa Cruz Mountains beyond. Even the tall buildings in downtown San Francisco were etched on the horizon.

On my climb I saw few cyclists ascending, but I did see a number descending in the opposite direction. Then I passed a "2km to go" sign for Mt. Hamilton Classic road race that had started earlier in the morning. That also explained the empty bottles I saw tossed by the road just east of the Isabel Creek bridge.

Not only did I see few cyclists climbing the mountain, I saw few motorists as well. I'm not complaining. It was nice to have the road mostly to myself on such a beautiful day.

When I got to the summit I stopped to take a few panoramas since the air was clear. The clouds also made the sky more interesting than usual.

On my way east on San Antonio Valley Road I discovered an open gate leading to the US Forest Service lookout tower on Copernicus Peak, so I rode through and up the steep road. I had not gone up this road since sometime in the late 1980s, the last time I found the gate open. Back then the tower was staffed during fire season, and when my cycling companion and I hiked up to the base of the tower, the person in the tower must have heard our voices and called over the railing to invite us up to enjoy the view. I wish now that I could find the negatives of the photos I took on that visit.

The road only goes about half way to the tower itself that is perched on the rather pointy summit of Copernicus Peak. A steep footpath leads from the small parking area adjacent to some storage sheds up to the lookout tower. I did not climb to the tower on this visit.

Before I descended to Isabel Creek I decreased my rear disk brake pad clearance so that I wouldn't bottom out my levers before I reached the bottom. Turns out this was a good idea. When I stopped to check the adjustment at the bottom, I could easily bottom out my rear brake lever and had to adjust the pads another couple of clicks. These disk brakes (Avid BB7) aren't quite up to the job on my bike.

I passed the Arnold Ranch and up Arroyo Bayo to the top of China Grade before plunging down into Upper San Antonio Valley and then north into San Antonio Valley where wildflowers were few and far-between.

When I arrived at The Junction for lunch the place was nearly empty. The table next to the window where I usually sit so I can keep an eye on my bike was occupied by a family, a couple was at one end of the counter, and a motorcyclist, who was talking the ear off the owner about RO water treatment systems, was sitting at the other end.

After I ordered a couple of cyclists riding tandem arrived, having ridden from Sunnyvale and were riding the same loop I was in the clockwise direction. They had left home at 0830 and by their own admission were riding slowly, not planning to arrive home until sometime after dark.

We parted company, and I continued my ride north on Mines Road, climbing past Ruthie's Trash and Treasures to the first summit where the landowner had cleared his land of all vegetation other than a few large manzanitas. That must have been hard work!

From a short distance below the top of the second climb, Eylar Summit (2900ft), I could see the less imposing east sides of Mt. Day and Black Mountain perched on an inaccessible ridge mid-way between Mines Road and San Jose.

The descent north from Eylar Summit down Arroyo Mocho took me swiftly through some high meadows, then through a twisty narrow canyon, across the county line into Alameda County, and then through some broader meadows alternating with twisty narrow bits before leveling off into a stiff headwind north of Fourteenmile House (that is closer to Mile 13 as painted on the road).

I think I prefer to do this loop clockwise due to the tailwinds pushing me up Arroyo Mocho. The winds are stronger late in the day, so today I got the full dose. I avoided using my motor on most of this section, but a more consistent grade would allow gravity to work against the wind without requiring me to waste energy braking on the steep down-pitches.

I rode through Livermore without stopping, continued onto Railroad Ave. and Stanley Blvd. and then rode through Pleasanton without pause. When I got to Sunol I turned left and let the tailwind push me up under the I-680 overpass and then south on Calaveras Road.

The day was getting old as I started the climb up to Calaveras Reservoir. The shallow light angle made for a bright warm glow on the hills opposite while keeping my route in shadow the entire time. This time I got a good view of the imposing west sides of Black Mountain and Mt. Day

When I got to the descent into Milpitas the sun was preparing to set over San Francisco Bay. I descended quickly then continued home on my usual route, using the motor to cruise in the high-20s (mph) between traffic lights. I arrived home shortly before 2000.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	53.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	1920 feet
Total Time:	10:57:15
Riding Time:	3:13:46
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.7 mph
Max. Speed:	43.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	508 wh
Wh/mi:	9.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	19.9
Peak Current:	64.7 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.6
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1317 kJ (366 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1192 kJ (331 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2509 kJ (810 wh)

Maker Faire, May 19, 2013 - I got a late start, leaving home after 1100. Earlier in the morning I had called the Whole Foods Markets in the area and found the San Mateo store had "plenty of adult tickets" available at $28. (Price at the door was $35.)

So, I headed north on the foothills route that took me up Canada Road to the Ralston Avenue bike path where I saw Will von Kaenel and a few other cyclists riding in the other direction. Maybe they were returning from San Francisco to see the start of the last stage of the Tour of California.

I climbed up the bike path then descended Polhemus to De Anza where staying on city streets I climbed and descended more than I thought I ought to have before I found myself on Hillsdale Avenue near El Camino Real, sitting in the midst of thick traffic waiting for a series of closely-spaced traffic lights whose signals were not synchronized.

I continued to Saratoga Drive where I turned left and found the Whole Foods Market that had been built with its front facing a courtyard parking lot surrounded by other commercial establishments. Every parking space appeared to be occupied, but that didn't prevent drivers from cruising the lot looking for a spot.

The place had a claustrophobic feel. Everyone seemed to be driving around in "mini" SUVs that looked like personal tanks. One guy walking by asked me if my covering was for aerodynamics. I told him it was, thinking that might start an educated conversation. He replied that it looked like a condom. I said nothing, but I felt like replying, "Does it occur to you that I might have heard that before?"

I found a place near a window to park my bike before going inside and learning that Whole Foods had sold the last "adult" ticket. I was peeved, especially since I asked that morning if I could buy one then. Turns out they had only 250 tickets, and they sold out within a half hour.

I got back on the bike and rode back to Saratoga Drive, following signs for Bike Valet parking. I almost gave up on the idea of going in as I don't much care for thrusting myself into a large horde of people pressed together on a hot day and paying for the experience. And, my mood had already darkened after the Whole Foods detour. But, since I had taken the trouble to come this far I might as well queue up and pay my $35 to see what all the fuss was about.

The Maker Faire allows exhibitors to show off their skills making things and to meet other like-minded folks, part Burning Man with fire-belching metalwork and kinetic sculpture parade, various artwork and whimsy, electronics and software, and among these an occasional practical exhibit.

I didn't see much that interested me near the entrance, so I made my way gradually around the lot to the bikes area where I found some folks who contribute regularly to the electric vehicle Endless-Sphere forum.

I ended up chatting with Patrick (methods) who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains and as a hobby and side-business tests, designs and sells ebike and emotorcycle hardware. I also chatted at some length with Justin (justin_le) Lemire-Elmore, maker of the ubiquitous Cycle Analyst ebike computer and other neat ebike gadgets and accessories that he sells through his shop, Grin Technologies, in Vancouver, B.C. Luke (liveforphysics) was showing off two of his builds that represent extremes of ebiking (1, 2).

Edward (lyen) Lyen, maker of customized ebike motor controllers and other ebike accessories, happened by while I was there, and after taking a bunch of group photos, the two of us proceeded to explore the rest of the Faire before returning to the ebike area.

After giving Justin a tour of my bike that was parked outside the Faire in the Bike Valet area and after saying goodbye to Edward and Justin, I rode home on a more direct route, but not before trying unsuccessfully to exit the old Bay Meadows development without using the crowded Saratoga Drive.

Once I got away from the heavy traffic on its way to US-101, I found my way over to Old County Road where I had the road to myself most of the time and could cruise at about 30 mph alongside the railroad tracks south through Belmont and San Carlos. I ran into trouble in Redwood City where I missed the bike route sign directing me off Old County Road before I got to Whipple Avenue. I ended up making an illegal U-turn to avoid being dumped onto El Camino Real. Again, in downtown Redwood City, roadwork almost blocked my progress at the Redwood City Caltrain station.

My ride south on Middlefield Road went smoothly. I've noticed that Sunday evenings are quiet times on most streets and roads. Drivers seem less stressed, too.

I stopped at my folks house in Palo Alto for dinner, then afterward continued my trip south on Middlefield Road all the way into Sunnyvale, arriving home just before 2200.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	54.4 miles
Cumulative climbing:	4800 feet
Total Time:	6:11:58
Riding Time:	3:30:43
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.5 mph
Max. Speed:	43.1 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	673 wh
Wh/mi:	12.5
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	26.6
Peak Current:	58.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.3
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1744 kJ (484 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1172 kJ (326 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2916 kJ (810 wh)

Tour of California Stage 7: Mt. Diablo, May 18, 2013 - Today's race spectating had me doing something I try to avoid when spectating a stage of the Tour of California: driving my van most of the distance from home. Of course, I brought my bike, too.

What I forgot to bring were my biking shoes, an error that would not have occurred had I ridden from home (which I considered doing as I had done that last year). I decided I needed help this year as I'm not in quite as good shape as I was last year, my batteries don't have as much capacity a year later, and I didn't want to have a 15-hour day of riding plus spectating.

After I realized I didn't have my SPD shoes I briefly considered driving home to get them and then returning, but the thought of an extra two hours of driving did not appeal. Besides that I had a motor on the bike. I estimated I could almost motor all of what I planned to do without pedaling a stroke and still have enough battery capacity. No, I decided to ride and spectate in my tennies. If it became too difficult or painful, I would stop and watch the race go by from where I was. I would consider this a learning experience.

I headed east on Camino Tassajara along with other cyclists, then up Highland Way to the base of Morgan Territory Road. My original plan was to climb to the KOM on Morgan Territory, but under the circumstances I decided to climb only as far as the steepest bit about halfway up.

It turns out this was a good place to watch the race. The riders would be climbing slowest here, and they could be seen for some time after passing as they and their support vehicles snaked their way up the mountain above. We could also watch Antler Guy chase the racers up the hill.

After the broom wagon went by we all descended back to Highland Way and then rode back into Danville.

Along the way I picked up a few others who followed my tail. At one point we overtook a small group of women riders. One of the guys behind me yelled out, "Hey, get the f*** out of the way!", when it was clear the ladies weren't interested in letting us pass.

I was a bit embarrassed by my erstwhile riding companion's rude interjection, but how could I explain while riding along at 25-30 mph? On the downhill past Collier Canyon Road we had enough space on the road to get by across the line, but the ladies were having none of it. Without a word they passed us back after the road leveled off and didn't look back.

It was too nice a day to turn this into a grudge match, and I didn't really want to get mixed up in a fast paceline with strangers. We all had plenty of time to get to the slopes of Diablo before the race arrived, so I let a gap open. The guys behind me thanked me for the pull, came around, and drafted the ladies and others who had glommed on by this point.

Riding in tennis shoes on SPD pedals wasn't so bad with the help of a motor. I could feel the ball of my foot getting hot, but I still had some miles left in my feet, so I decided to press on up Diablo and see how far I got.

On the way up Blackhawk Road I came across Franz Kelsch and his wife who thanked me for suggesting Diablo Vista Park as a staging location. Later I ran into Dan Connelly who was riding down just as I was starting up.

As I started up South Gate Road and passed groups of spectators waiting alongside, I got the usual cheers-turned-to-jeers greeting. Bearing in mind the unwanted attention I had received the day before at the San Jose time trial, I climbed slightly faster than most of the other cylists climbing up the road but not so much faster that I would be a danger to others or to appear too obviously to be on a motorized bike.

I apparently climbed slowly enough that Dan Connelly caught up to me near the South Gate entrance station. We rode together for the next couple of miles where we saw Carl Nielson on duty beside the road near Buckeye Camp. Shortly afterward Dan stopped to talk with someone, and I continued up past The Junction and onto Summit Road.

Crowds by the road increased in density as I climbed. I saw Chris Phipps waiting with his teammates by the road, and elsewhere I heard my name called out a few times (to which I waved), but I couldn't identify who was calling out. A short distance below Devil's Elbow the road had been closed to all but those on foot. Bike Valet parking was available, but I decided to head back down the mountain until I found an uncrowded spot to park the bike where I could see down the mountain and watch the race go by. My feet were hurting by this time, and I needed to get off the pedals.

Dan Connelly came along shortly afterward and stopped. Then a short time later James Porter and Ron Brunner came along and decided to set up camp.

While we waited expectantly for the race to arrive, we watched folks towing kids in trailers, on a long-bike, on a triplet, and we saw Big Hair Guy, and Chicken Guy, who looked hot in his costume.

We were all a bit disappointed that Diablo wasn't a deciding climb for the race as had been envisioned. Perhaps the grade wasn't steep enough to create the gaps needed for an attack to upset the GC, or maybe Tejay van Garderen (current leader) was just too far ahead for an attack to be effective. The pack was strung out, but the leader on the mountain at our viewspot was only 10 or 20 seconds ahead of the chase group.

Before the broom wagon went by a number of spectators and racers who had finished began descending. I felt sorry for the last guy as he was many minutes behind the "autobus" and might be eliminated on time, and he appeared to have crashed earlier.

I descended after the broom wagon passed. Descending the mountain with riders of varying ability was hazardous. I tried to go with the flow, but the flow was invariably too fast for some, and too slow for others. Some descenders passed in the opposite lane while others rode their brakes as if they had never descended a mountain road.

When I got to the bottom of South Gate Road an ambulance was starting up, sirens blaring. With that many cyclists on the mountain one or two are bound to have a spill.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	69.1 miles
Cumulative climbing:	2650 feet
Total Time:	6:04:55
Riding Time:	3:49:52
Avg. Speed (moving):	18.0 mph
Max. Speed:	49.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	870 wh
Wh/mi:	13.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	34.4
Peak Current:	42.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.7
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2256 kJ (627 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1002 kJ (278 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3258 kJ (905 wh)

Tour of California Stage 6: San Jose Time Trial, May 17, 2013 - I left home late morning and rode south through downtown San Jose, the first time I had ridden this way mid-day on a weekday. I thought I'd run into impatient traffic, but it turns out traffic was no worse than on a weekend. More pedestrians were out, and there were too many red lights (as usual), but the trip went as smoothly as on a weekend.

Soon I was cruising south on Monterey Highway. I turned left at Metcalf Road, passed the road closure signs and began climbing the grade to the top.

I had thought of camping out near the bottom of the climb, but I arrived early enough to ride the road first, always fun to do when it's closed to autos.

It's also fun to be cheered by spectators who have nothing better to do than watch the guy on the funny bike go by. But, as I passed the cheers turned to jeers after they heard tell-tale noises from my bike.

As I climbed I could see that there would not have been enough space beside the road for me to park the bike, and as I didn't want to get "trapped" on the road for the duration of the event, I pressed on to the top, pausing briefly to see if there was any better viewing from the finishing area. There wasn't.

After running into Tim Clark who looked a bit more flushed than usual I asked a volunteer if I could get down the road, and he said that it had already been closed at the bottom. So, I pressed on down the east side of Metcalf and continued down San Felipe Road, making the loop on Farnsworth, Silver Creek Parkway, Hellyer, and Silicon Valley Parkway back to Monterey Highway where I hooked up with a small group of cyclists who were heading back to the starting area. We'd miss seeing the first starters, but that would be no great loss.

As we turned left onto Monterey Highway a red Tour of California van squealed around to the right of us and turned left from the right lane. Its driver who bore a striking resemblance to Bob Roll smiled sheepishly and waved at us out the window as he executed his maneuver.

When we got to the overpass at Bailey Road we turned left and crossed over to the finishing area, staying the in the right-most lane with the official vehicles returning to the start.

More than once I was yelled at by different traffic nazis to get out of the way of non-existent cars, ride on the right side of the road (after I had moved to the left of a row of cones to get out of the way), to cross the coned-off intersection at Bailey and Santa Teresa in the crosswalk (even if riding), and that I couldn't be on the road amongst everyone else walking or riding nearby. I guess the size and visibility of my bike has its downside.

Not finding any suitable place to watch the race near the start house, I returned back along Bailey and found a good spot at the base of the overpass where the shoulder widens and where no one else had set up camp. It was here that I could park perpendicular to the direction of travel (and into the gusty wind) and watch the race go by.

After the race leader went by I returned to the starting area to watch him cross the finish line on the Jumbo-tron, then headed up Bailey Road to McKean and rode quickly home as I had other obligations that evening.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	61.3 miles
Cumulative climbing:	140 feet
Total Time:	6:00:13
Riding Time:	4:32:30
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.5 mph
Max. Speed:	26.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	416 wh
Wh/mi:	6.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	16.1
Peak Current:	62.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.6
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1078 kJ (300 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	943 kJ (262 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2021 kJ (561 wh)

Guadalupe River and Bay Trail, May 14, 2013 - Frank Paysen and I rode from downtown San Jose north on the Guadalupe River Trail to the Bay Trail. We then rode the Bay Trail clockwise around the bay, riding as far as Ravenswood Open Space in East Palo Alto before retracing our path. I returned home via the San Tomas Aquinas Creek Trail.

I started from the southernmost end of the current trail beneath CA87 and I280 at a nondescript wall. Both of us then rode north through downtown, passing along the flood plain of the River that was now flowing low enough to be crossed on foot without getting wet feet.

The trail crossed the river three times on surface streets, and I found this somewhat irritating as it interrupted the pace we were maintaining on the trail, making travel less efficient. The Lower Guadalupe River Trail north of US-101 ran uninterrupted until it reached Gold Street in Alviso.

We turned left on Gold Street then right on Gold Street Connector before picking up the Bay Trail. Frank had explored the trails earlier and knew which trails to take when there was a choice. A wrong choice could send us around a levee network in the bay, adding several miles to the trip and leave us right back where we started.

Stella Hackell and I found a trail behind Moffett Field in 1999 that at that time offered clear passage (open gates), although today the official route is shorter and crosses closer to the northern end of Moffet Field's runways.

Shortly after we crossed into Sunnyvale we turned right and headed north where the trail turned to dirt. The Bay Trail would be on dirt most of the rest of the way north to East Palo Alto, becoming paved again only through Shoreline Park in Mountain View.

Riding as far north as we could without resorting to city streets left us on a slightly overgrown trail that ended at an observation deck at the edge of the bay near the western side of the burned Dumbarton railroad trestle. We turned around and on our way back explored the trail out to Cooley Landing.

Our ride south was much windier than our ride north. As we passed the airport we watched a Cessna take off, appearing to rise vertically from the end of the runway, so strong was the headwind. Although the wind as blowing from the northwest, our path sometimes took us across its direction. A couple of times I was worried my traction on the dirt and gravel trail would be insufficient to keep me heading in the right direction if a stronger gust blew.

As I had intended to get moderate exercise, I found myself using the motor most of the time at a low power level, usually about 100-150 watts (in), or 70-110 watts to the wheel. I contributed some power, but mostly my goal was to spin to keep the legs working without pushing hard. This also made it easier to keep up with Frank who seemed to be out to get a hard workout. A few times he disappeared some distance ahead, especially if I stopped to water the plants or to photograph wildlife.

My trip south on the San Tomas Aquinas Creek Trail was interrupted near Tasman Drive where construction of the new 49ers stadium had closed a section of the trail. Once I regained the trail my trip south proceeded smoothly, although I noticed that many people wearing employee badges were out walking abreast.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	99.1 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7690 feet
Total Time:	7:45:20
Riding Time:	6:32:23
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.1 mph
Max. Speed:	41.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	904 wh
Wh/mi:	9.1
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	35.5
Peak Current:	46.2 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.9
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2343 kJ (651 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2851 kJ (792 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5194 kJ (1443 wh)

Devil's Slide, May 7, 2013 - I left from home late morning with the vague idea to visit the new tunnels constructed to route CA1 away from Devil's Slide. To get there I decided to ride north on Alameda de las Pulgas as far as I could, partly because I haven't ridden all the way north on Alameda in many years and because I wanted to avoid the unnecessary climbing in connection with getting past the closed bridge over Crystal Springs Dam.

I noticed that as I rode north the houses along Alameda were more often wood siding than stucco. Not sure why this struck me, but it seems that stucco siding is more popular in the south bay than on the Peninsula.

My memory of this route is poor, indeed, as in the end I'm not sure if I save myself any effort as north of San Carlos Alameda de las Pulgas either climbs or descends, with few level parts.

At Crystal Springs Road I turned left and wound my way up through Hillsborough on Hayne Road. Once I got to Skyline Blvd. I took the usual route north alongside I-280 and occasionally upon I-280 until I reached Sharp Park Road.

I stopped halfway down Sharp Park Road to take in the view of Pacifica that today was clear of fog.

I headed south on CA1, pausing in Pacifica's southernmost neighborhood to explore the Point San Pedro area. The old road out to Shelter Cove, a misnomer given how vulnerable this area is to storm damage, was closed and impassable to all but those willing to hazard a scramble along the edge of the sea. Current access to the cottages at Shelter Cove is down a precarious stairway from the top of the ridge. From this point I enjoyed a nice sweeping view north and back toward Pacifica State Beach.

After my short detour I headed south on CA1, climbing the hill out of San Pedro Valley. When I got to the spot where the new highway diverges from the old, I could see that it would not be possible to explore the old highway alignment due to ongoing construction. Perhaps on a weekend one can get through, but today the place was crawling with workmen.

My original idea had been to pass southbound through the tunnel, then return northbound, then head south again along the old alignment. That would have to wait for another day.

The southbound tunnel is built at a slight downgrade—I'd guess around 2-3%, so I coasted through and continued south, stopping a couple of times to enjoy the scenery (1, 2) and to watch a small pod of California gray whales (1, 2) slowly make their way north past Gray Whale Cove State Beach.

I hadn't really decided how to get home, but I felt energetic enough to take a route more scenic than the quick climb over CA92 and south on Canada Road. I pressed south on CA1, leaving the coast at Stage Road where a wisp of fog was touching the coast.

I headed up CA84 toward La Honda, but at Pescadero Road I turned right and continued up Alpine Road and down Page Mill Road, making a short detour up Rhus Ridge Road and through the development at the old Vidovich Quarry before descending Magdalena Road that was brief but enjoyable—I cannot recall having descended before, and then making my way home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	104.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8750 feet
Total Time:	9:20:13
Riding Time:	6:26:12
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.3 mph
Max. Speed:	58.6 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1105 wh
Wh/mi:	10.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	43.0
Peak Current:	43.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.3
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2863 kJ (795 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2813 kJ (781 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5676 kJ (1577 wh)

Santa Cruz, April 28, 2013 - I rode from home to Santa Cruz to hang out with Laura and Michael and the dogs while they were relaxing at Laura's house in Santa Cruz.

While I have often ridden to the coast and arrived in Santa Cruz via CA1, today I took a slightly less indirect route that had me climbing CA9 then heading south on Skyline Blvd., Bear Creek Rd., and Summit Road, then descending Soquel-San Jose Road.

When I got into town I stopped at D'Anna's Deli for a take-out sandwich to eat at Laura's. I had also brought a compact 7 Amp charger so that I could top off my charge while I was stopped.

By the time I had arrived at Laura's I had used about 16 Amp-hours, and since I was only planning to be at Laura's for two hours at most, I would not be able to top off the battery, but I'd get about 90%. If I were to plan a shorter stop or to use more battery energy I would do better to bring my 15 Amp charger, even though it is bulkier and heavier than my 7 Amp charger.

Although Michael was sure he had seen an outlet near the water heater closet in front of the house, I found none. In fact, there were no outlets visible outside her house at all. Fortunately, there was an outlet inside the house not far from the front door, and my cord was just long enough to reach between it and my bike parked outside.

Since I had a nearly full battery for the return trip I decided to head out to Corralitos via Trout Gulch, Valencia, Day, and Hames Roads, and then take the remote route up Eureka Canyon Road and Highland Way.

Sunset came early to the forest at the bottoms of the canyons, casting deep shadows across my path. Although the temperatures were cool, they were never so cold that I felt like stopping to put on another layer.

I toyed with the idea of continuing on Summit and Skyline as far as Page Mill, but as I drew closer to CA17 where traffic thickened I decided my ride would be long enough if I returned home on the direct path. If I kept moving I ought to be able to get home just before darkness closed in. To make up for my slightly "shortened" route, I took Melody Lane and then the route around the east side of Lexington Reservoir on Alma Bridge Road.

I had planned to take the Los Gatos Creek Trail from the top of Lenihan Dam but when I glanced over to CA17 I could see traffic moving slowly down through The Chute. So, I took CA17 into Los Gatos, crossing lanes of slow-moving traffic to reach the Santa Cruz Avenue exit.

I arrived home at about 2000 and felt I had ridden far enough for the day.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
Distance:	71.8 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6100 feet
Total Time:	4:18:41
Riding Time:	3:55:13
Avg. Speed (moving):	18.3 mph
Max. Speed:	49.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	831.7 wh
Wh/mi:	11.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	32.6
Peak Current:	44.9 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.1
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2156 kJ (599 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1603 kJ (445 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3759 kJ (1044 wh)
Link to:	Strava

Classic Coast Loop, April 22, 2013 - I quickly rode a classic loop to the coast and back, climbing over Old La Honda Road and CA84 to San Gregorio, and returning on Stage Road, Tunitas Creek Road, and Kings Mountain Road. Weather was warm on the east side, comfortably cool on the coast side.

I saw few cyclists out on a Monday afternoon, but I did run into a young rattlesnake that was stretched across the right-side tire track on Old La Honda Road just downhill from The Faces in the rock. I stopped to move it off the road.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	55.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	4600 feet
Total Time:	3:50:03
Riding Time:	3:29:14
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.9 mph
Max. Speed:	46.2 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	697 wh
Wh/mi:	12.5
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	27.8
Peak Current:	63.2 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.8
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1807 kJ (502 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1302 kJ (362 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3109 kJ (864 wh)

Skyline Boulevard Loop, April 17, 2013 - Today I took the afternoon off to enjoy the outdoors again. My route was generally a loop up Page Mill, south on Skyline, and down Bear Creek Road and CA17 into Los Gatos. A few twists included a slightly different route than usual through Los Altos and Los Altos Hills (with a short exploration of La Loma). On the inbound leg I stopped by my optometrist's office to collect my new eyeglasses.

I hadn't been down Bear Creek Road in a while, and I had forgotten what a crappy descent this is. The road is steep and heavily-traveled by the locals, especially those traveling from or to Boulder Creek and the upper San Lorenzo Valley. Most drivers took care to stay on their side of the yellow line, but a few drove atop the line. Uphill traffic was heavy. I would not be leaning over the line on the curves today! The road is poorly banked and coated with a fine layer of tire rubber from motorists drifting around the corners. Near the top several rough patches of asphalt still clung to the road. The only good thing about the descent is that it is over with quickly.

Descending The Chute (CA17) into Los Gatos was an armful today as the wind was fierce, mostly from the front. I took the lane early to avoid getting blown off the road as my speed down the hill from the dam increased. Traffic on CA17 northbound at 1630 was light, but not light enough for me to slide over to the Main Street exit.

Weather was in the low-70s F in the valley, cooling ten degrees on Skyline. I saw more cyclists than I expected on Page Mill Road and Skyline Blvd., including what was likely the Hills 'R' Us ride returning north on Skyline when I was heading south. Once I got south of Saratoga Gap I saw no other cyclists until I got back down into the valley.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	55.1 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5030 feet
Total Time:	3:30:31
Riding Time:	3:14:29
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.9 mph
Max. Speed:	46.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	643 wh
Wh/mi:	11.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	25.4
Peak Current:	66.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.4
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1665 kJ (463 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1330 kJ (369 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2995 kJ (832 wh)
Link to:	Strava

La Honda, April 10, 2013 - What a day for a bike ride! Today was the first day of the year I wore shorts and short sleeves for the entire ride. Temps were in the mid-80s F when I left home, peaked at about 90F as I rode past Sharon Heights, and dipped to the mid-70s F in La Honda.

I saw a few cyclists out enjoying the afternoon, but not as many as I expected. Motor traffic was heavy until I got past I-280. I had Old La Honda Road to myself, and on my descent down CA84 into La Honda I saw no motor vehicles going my direction

I continued up Pescadero Road and Alpine Road without pausing. Again I had the road to myself. When I got to the top of Page Mill Road I saw more cyclists out enjoying a late afternoon/early evening ride up to Skyline. I continued down to Arastradero Road, then took the back roads through Los Altos Hills followed by one of my usual routes home. Overall it was a good ride with the best weather yet this year.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	63.5 miles
Cumulative climbing:	9930 feet
Total Time:	6:37:53
Riding Time:	5:09:18
Avg. Speed (moving):	12.3 mph
Max. Speed:	46.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1300 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1247 wh
Wh/mi:	19.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	50.1
Peak Current:	58.9 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.7
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3232 kJ (898 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1749 kJ (486 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4981 kJ (1707 wh)

Nifty Ten Fifty, April 7, 2013 - I left home at 0640, leaving plenty of time to arrive in El Cerrito, find parking, and set up the bike in an unhurried fashion. Somewhere near Marina Ave. in San Leandro, northbound traffic on I-880 came to a complete stop for about 20 minutes. I turned off the engine until I could see the trucks some distance ahead begin to move.

People in their cars got out and tried to get a look at why traffic was stopped. Then, just as mysteriously traffic began to move again. Further up the highway I saw no debris on the road, no officials conducting investigations, and no firemen mopping up accident scenes.

Was it one of those impromptu "side shows" taking place on the freeway we have been hearing about recently? 0700 on a Sunday seemed an unlikely time. I looked for tell-tale donuts in the lanes but saw none. Hmm.

I finally arrived at Cerrito Vista Park with about 20 minutes to spare, not enough time for me to put my bike together. The "B" group I had intended to ride with, or rather to follow most of the way was gathering. I stopped to listen to Paul McKenzie's pre-ride announcement then went back to my assembly task after the group left.

As it happens I rode alone most of the day, behind the "B" group initially, then with them only between the 3rd and 4th climbs, the traverse to the base of El Toyonal.

The first climb up Moeser Lane went quickly. I rode the early climbs faster than I had intended as I was trying to catch up to the "B" group and also because I had made a couple of false turns on the early part of the route through El Cerrito and Kensington, stopping at one point to ask a dog-walker at Kensington Park the best way to get to Highland Blvd., and had to backtrack to stay on route.

The biggest challenge of the day was staying on route. Even though I had ridden most of these roads in the mid-1990s when I was at UCB, I couldn't remember all the names of the streets nor how exactly they were connected. An instruction to turn right onto Upton Lane (a public stairway) left me wondering why there was no mention of any trials segments on the course. Also, the landmarks looked different in places, especially in areas burned in the 1991 fire.

My bike made it up Marin Ave. in the middle ring, just. I was hitting my maximum power draw at the 45A current limit (24.1 volts) on the steepest pitches while I was pedaling as hard as I could. It was fortunate that the Marin climb was early in the ride when my battery and legs were fresh.

The "B" group was waiting at the top of the climb. I followed them up Grizzly Peak Blvd. then down Shasta and Wildcat Canyon Roads. Somehow I got ahead of them when I took the official route that veered off of El Toyonal onto Loma Vista and later onto Alta Vista.

After saying, "Hi.", to Bill Dunn who was waiting at the top of Lomas Cantadas, I decided to ride on as I was cooling off enough that I'd want to put on more clothing for the descent if I waited longer and then have to peel down again before the next climb.

I pressed on down Grizzly Peak Blvd., suspecting that I was riding on the same asphalt I rode in the early 1990s, now patched and broken from years of deferred maintenance. I descended carefully. The descent from Grizzly Peak Blvd. down to Euclid on Senior, Avenida, Parnassus, Buena Vista, et al was as I recall, although the road surface was even harsher. Some streets appeared to be returning to dirt. I was most disappointed with Buena Vista that was smooth as glass in 1995, now all cracked and sagging.

A short tour of the central UCB campus later found me climbing past Memorial Stadium and up Strawberry Canyon. Again I saw Bill Dunn and further up the road, Alison Chaiken, who was just starting the steep part of Centennial Drive near the Botanical Gardens.

The loop through Tilden Park went quickly, although the road was crowded with dense auto traffic. At the top of Canon Drive, I turned left and returned up Wildcat Canyon Road, stopping briefly at the Island Picnic area for a snack and a chat with Bill Dunn and Alison Chaiken. Just before I stopped the "B" group passed going the other way, and just after I stopped the "A" group arrived, then decided to keep moving and pedal 'round the Canon Drive loop first.

I didn't want to wait for the "B" group to catch up now, so I pressed on to South Park Drive and climbed back into the fog. The Oakland-bound descent of Grizzly Peak Blvd. in the fog left my glasses covered with beads of water. The road was also rough, although I recall it had always been bumpy with frost-heave like joints even 20 years ago.

I continued onto Skyline Blvd., stopping to admire a wild turkey tom in full display standing by the side of the road, and cruised leisurely down to the four-way intersection with Pinehurst and Shephard Canyon Roads. I turned right and dropped down Shephard Canyon, allowing myself to coast un-braked once I hit the bottom of the canyon where the road straightens out, allowing high speed with a bigger margin of safety provided no one pops out of a driveway or a side-street.

The first stop sign at the bottom of the descent is at Snake Road, although one wouldn't know that without foreknowledge as the street sign is missing. I turned right and climbed Snake Road's even grade back to Skyline Blvd.

At the second junction with Elverton Drive I turned left, then right onto Thornwood that descends the side of a canyon away from any residences. I doubted I had ridden Thornwood before or I would have recalled this detail.

At Sobrante Road I turned right and continued down Thornhill Drive to Mountain Blvd. where I turned right again. This part of the route was familiar as part of my old "after school" route. I recalled that I often rode this with my old friend, Bruce King, who used to join me when he could leave work early.

My old route went left on Fernwood and continued on Duncan rather than to climb the short pitch on Mountain to get to Broadway Terrace. It was the latter on which I would turn right and begin a long climb back to Skyline Blvd.

The route sheet had more waypoints than necessary on this section as the road was well-signed all the way. But, better to have too many waypoints than not enough.

At Skyline Blvd. I turned left and began a long gradual descent to Tunnel Road, then down Tunnel Road to Hiller that rose in frightful aspect from its intersection with Tunnel Road.

Hiller was not quite as steep as it looked, and not as long as Centennial or Marin. What followed was a circuitous route through the Hiller Highlands, an area that burned almost completely in 1991. Only a few houses looked older than 20 years. The newer houses had a sturdy if industrial look about them. Stucco exterior and tile roofs were the norm, and windows and garage doors were framed with metal. Front doors were the only things made of wood.

My last ride was through a denuded neighborhood. Twenty years later new houses had been built and landscaping had grown thickly and high enough to soften their edges. I descended Drury, Amito, Gravatt, and Alvarado back to Tunnel Road a couple blocks up from The Claremont (hotel).

At the start we were advised to regroup at the Peet's on Domingo. I rode around the block and ran into Carl Nielson who had apparently become separated from his group before the last climb. Not satisfied to have missed a climb, he rode back up Tunnel Road to complete the Hiller Highlands loop on his own while I rode over to the Peet's to take a break. I figured I'd wait to see if a group formed for the final climb of the day.

Not too much later the Elite group rolled by. Most of them chose to press on without a break. Then the "A" group arrived and stopped.

After Peet's we started up Claremont Ave. then continued up Grizzly Peak Blvd. now mostly in the clear sun of the afternoon. A breeze had kicked up. The path around the gate marking the road to the summit of Vollmer Peak had been conveniently paved but could not quite be ridden at speed. The road itself was in decent shape with the usual eucalyptus duff on one corner and a short stretch of mud in another spot that contributed to most of the dirt collected on my bike from the entire ride.

The final push to the summit is probably the single steepest section of pavement of the day.

I waited at the summit for others to show, and they arrived one by one, and on their faces expressions of pain and relief. We took group photos (1, and 2), and then I took a few more on the way down from the summit where a sweeping view to the east can be enjoyed.

I returned to El Cerrito by way of South Park Drive—couldn't resist what had been in my more reckless days the fastest descent in the Bay Area at about twice the posted speed limit. Unfortunately, traffic on the road today precluded any possibility of reliving that memory, and it is probably just as well.

After I returned to the start, packed up the bike, and changed clothes, I met Paul McKenzie and Bill Dunn at Paul's house whereafter we met Gaston Macmillan and enjoyed well-deserved pizza dinner in Berkeley at Lanesplitter Pizza, who hold a liberal bike parking policy of allowing customers to bring their bikes through the restaurant to park in the rear garden area away from the street.

Thanks to Paul McKenzie and his able assistants (Bill Dunn and Gaston Macmillan) for putting on a good show today.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	122.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8730 feet
Total Time:	9:28:33
Riding Time:	8:01:50
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.1 mph
Max. Speed:	47.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1375 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1225 wh
Wh/mi:	10.0
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	48.4
Peak Current:	45.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.9
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3174 kJ (882 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2972 kJ (826 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	6146 kJ (1707 wh)

Mount Hamilton Clockwise, March 24, 2013 - I left home shortly after 0900 and headed east on Central Expressway and across north San Jose. I rode without using the motor, pushing all 113 lbs of bike and extra batteries over the overpasses, under the underpasses, and up the gradual incline of the land as far as Piedmont and Calaveras Roads.

At Calaveras Road I decided to give my legs a rest, relatively speaking, and dialed up the assist level to get me up the hill. Up to this point I hadn't seen any other cyclists out on the roads, but I ran into a number of them while climbing Calaveras Road. A large group were gathered in the shade at the top of the climb.

I continued on, zig-zagging my way into and out of furrows in the hillside as I gradually made my way northward.

Somewhere near the dam holding back Calaveras Reservoir I was overtaken by Alexander Komlik who was out to explore Geary Road in Sunol Regional Park. Wind and proximity made conversation difficult, but at first I thought he was planning to climb Welch Creek Road.

As I was riding at a moderate pace, wishing neither to squander my battery in the early stages of a long ride nor to lose control of my overweighted bike on the sharp twists of the road, I told Alexander not to let me hold him up, and he rode on ahead, although I caught up to him again as he was slowing to turn right onto Geary Road.

I continued north on Calaveras Road and then turned left to get onto I-680 northbound that took me to CA84 toward to Livermore. When I ride the Mount Hamilton Loop clockwise, I prefer to climb over Pigeon Pass on CA84 than to ride through Pleasanton on either Stanley or Vineyard. Only one short section of road eastbound is missing a generous shoulder.

In Livermore I took Holmes to Concannon and then got onto the parallel bike path that took me along South Livermore Ave. to Tesla Road. At Mines Road I turned right and started the long ride south.

Again without using the motor I rode as far as the bridge over Arroyo Mocho at the base of the first climb. It's interesting how I experience more enjoyment when I apply moderate effort plus motor power on a steep climb at 8-9 mph compared to the tedium of plodding up a gradual incline exerting the same or what feels like more effort under my power alone at 11-12 mph. I really need to get some higher-capacity batteries for these long rides so that the assist system carries its own weight more often.

I saw a few cyclists riding the other direction, but not until I was nearly upon Eylar Summit at the head of Arroyo Mocho did I pass cyclists traveling in my direction.

I stopped at The Junction Cafe and tried out their new-on-the-menu Vegan (Boca) Burger, a pleasant alternative to a cheese sandwich for those of us who eschew greasy meat fare while exercising.

After fielding the usual questions from others about my bike, I departed The Junction, heading south.

For the entire trip between The Junction and the summit of Mt. Hamilton I saw no other cyclists. In fact, I saw little traffic altogether. Just a few cars went by in each direction, no more than 10 or 15 altogether for the entire two hours. My only company were the ground squirrels that in spite of light rainfall this year yielding a thin crop of new foliage, appeared to have reproduced in sufficient numbers to keep a healthy population of raptors and other predators fat and happy.

Riding this loop clockwise one hits the main climb late in the day. Leaving the hardest climb for last can be hard on the legs unless one uses an assist, but that climb is often in the shade of the mountain. Such was the case today, and from the shady road I was often able to steal a view through the trees of the land far below bathed in late-afternoon sunset hues.

When I arrived at the top of the climb beneath Copernicus Peak I continued along the ridge and detoured to the summit of Mt. Hamilton to enjoy the hazy view for a few minutes while I ate a snack.

The trip down the west side of Mt. Hamilton went about as expected. The upper part of the descent was bumpy, with gravel frequently in the corners. Fortunately, traffic was light. I had no one overtake me from the rear all the way to Alum Rock Ave., which made for a less stressful descent.

Some parts of the road have received new pavement: nearly the entire length of the lower descent and the lower half of the upper descent. The middle descent is still rough, relatively speaking, having received a recent "tar and gravel" job.

At Alum Rock Road I saw that a sidewalk had been constructed on the north side next to the golf course.

I continued down the road to McKee, then took the usual roads back through east and north San Jose, and eventually home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	114.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8970 feet
Total Time:	9:53:42
Riding Time:	7:08:04
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.9 mph
Max. Speed:	44.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1375 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1145 wh
Wh/mi:	9.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	45.0
Peak Current:	44.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.9
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2967 kJ (824 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	3078 kJ (855 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	6045 kJ (1679 wh)

Santa Cruz, March 17, 2013 - Today my plan was to ride to Santa Cruz by way of a big loop. This meant invariably arriving in Santa Cruz on CA1 and getting to CA1 by one of several different routes.

Because I'm still riding with a rim brake on the rear of my hard-fairing bike, and I wanted to take that bike, I rode over Old La Honda, then down CA84 where I can coast without using the brake too much.

Since I hadn't taken Pescadero Road west since my last ride to Santa Cruz I decided to hazard the descent of the west side of Haskins Hill. Temperatures were cool, and I was able to get to the bottom without overheating the rim.

I detoured on Wurr Road, riding it east to west, and then continued west on Pescadero Road, passing the re-opened Loma Mar Store, under new ownership. I made a mental note to stop in there sometime soon, perhaps after riding a loop including South Butano Road or Gazos Creek Road through Big Basin. The place looks as if it has seen a minor facelift with clean new window trim. Someone (the owner, perhaps) was out on the road blowing off the redwood duff.

I passed the flagpole in Pescadero, but I didn't detour or stop in town. I continued west and turned left on Bean Hollow Road and climbed up past the landfill, under the Monterey pines, and down again to CA1 near Bean Hollow Beach.

From there I took CA1 south, cruising in the low-20 mph range. A stiff tailwind was blowing, but I was more in the mood to enjoy the scenery and not to ride too fast, unless gravity was doing all of the work. Riding fast requires more mental effort to pay attention to small details lest they become big problems. Because the wind wasn't always blowing from 6 o'clock, I had to stay alert to occasional gusts that pushed me around a bit.

As I neared Swanton Road I decided I'd detour off the main highway as I hadn't been that way recently, not since 2007 had I ridden north to south.

Just as I was about to get back on CA1 I got a call from Laura who complained that my Latitude location hadn't changed in 40 minutes. I told her that I probably didn't have good network connectivity and that I would arrive at the Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz at about 1330.

As our conversation ended I turned left onto CA1 and continued without delay, setting the power throttle to 600 watts (in), and cruising around 28 mph, although speed varied over the rolling hills.

I got into town earlier than I expected and arrived at Saturn Cafe a couple of minutes early, finding a spot in the ample bicycle parking area near the exit door, and under a watchful security camera. I could see that Laura was on her way but would be a few minutes late.

Back in the early 1990s I often stopped for lunch at Saturn Cafe after riding to Santa Cruz when the cafe was located on Mission Street. I remember eating a hearty lunch then relaxing on the old sagging easy chairs at the back of the restaurant, enjoying the darkened interior.

The new cafe in downtown Santa Cruz (at Laurel and Pacific) was much lighter due to the lighter paint scheme and the floor to ceiling windows. Aside from the greater light, the decor was similar: planets still hung from the ceiling, and tables were old jewelry display cases filled with ticket stubs and other memorabilia. The place still had a funky feel.

The menu had changed, although the food was still vegetarian with optional vegan dishes available. Laura and Michael had the California Burger, while I had the Peanut Royale that was just a bit too much food for me. Michael and I both had milkshakes—I had the almost-vegan version. (Chocolate chips weren't vegan.) I don't often find myself unable to finish a dish after I've been riding, but today for some reason I wasn't as hungry as usual.

After a couple of hours of relaxation and good conversation we left our seats. I walked with Laura and Michael out to their car where the dogs were let out to relieve themselves, but not before giving me a full greeting.

We said our goodbyes, and I proceeded up Branciforte and Granite Creek Roads, continuing up Glenwood and Mountain Charlie Roads.

I had sort of hoped to find my water bottle that I had dropped somewhere on Mountain Charlie Road a few weeks ago, but I suspect it had long since been collected by someone else.

Mountain Charlie Road needs a new surface. Broken patches, potholes, gravel, and dirt are encountered frequently. Even so, the climb is my favorite climb from Santa Cruz due to the low traffic and interesting topography. The road follows a route atop a ridge descending from the main ridge, offering views alternately of the west and east sides and occasionally passing directly atop the ridge.

I continued down the north side of Summit Road on the usual Mountain Charlie Road and Old Santa Cruz Highway. Instead of going all the way to Bear Creek Road and down CA17 I veered right onto Aldercroft Heights Road and took the back way around the reservoir on Alma Bridge Road and descended the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

On the point of safety, I think it's a wash. The creek trail is steep and loose in places. Pedestrians and other traffic are potential hazards, and even with the slower pace overall on the trail, a mishap seems more likely to occur. On CA17 the whole experience passes quickly. A mishap is unlikely, but should one occur, the outcome would invariably be grave.

From Los Gatos I took one of my usual routes home, arriving just after 1800.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	94.2 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8180 feet
Total Time:	7:50:43
Riding Time:	6:14:26
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.1 mph
Max. Speed:	48.0 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1000 wh
Battery energy consumed:	934.1 wh
Wh/mi:	9.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	36.7
Peak Current:	46.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.6
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2421 kJ (673 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2921 kJ (811 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5342 kJ (1484 wh)

Pescadero, March 10, 2013 - I tried to get up early on the first day of Daylight Savings Time, where the night before we had all set our clocks ahead an hour, giving us an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day (and an hour less at the beginning of the day). I only managed to get on the road after 1000, but it felt like 0900.

On my way up Page Mill Road I saw Cheryl Prothero descending. A couple of minutes later I was not too surprised to see Steve Prothero descending. They must have managed to get themselves up early and were the only two bike people I recognized on the road today with my new "eagle eyes" lens prescription.

Further up Page Mill Road I stopped to photograph a group of scruffy looking deer sniffing near someone's garbage cans.

My intention today was to get to Pescadero for lunch, then return by a different route. Significant constraints were that I did not want to descend a road that would have me dragging a brake most of the way, heating the rim and blowing off my tire, or as has been occurring lately, heating the tire bead enough that the tire slides around the rim, tearing off the valve stem. That ruled out descending Alpine Road, CA9, Page Mill Road, and Kings Mountain Road.

So, my route would take me north on Skyline to Old La Honda (west), then down CA84 to San Gregorio. I would then take Stage Road to Pescadero.

After eating an enormous sandwich that I purchased at the Archangeli deli—only buy a full sandwich on a "Dutch Crunch Roll" if you want a big meal or can split with someone—I climbed up Pescadero Road, detouring on Wurr Road as I hadn't been that way in a while.

Half way down the shady side of Haskins Hill I got stuck behind traffic, and I worried that I might heat my rims too much. Fortunately, I made it to the bottom without incident.

I climbed Alpine Road, stopped briefly to photograph the view of Peters Creek Canyon and again to note the license plate number of a vanity pickup truck driven by a careless, impatient youth that passed me too closely. I saw only one other cyclist the entire way. A guy was climbing quickly, and we leap-frogged each other a couple of times after I stopped.

At Skyline I headed north again, this time stopping at the Russian Ridge Overlook where the light of late afternoon made for a better photograph of distant sights than the light of mid-day on my earlier pass of the same spot.

At Old La Honda I veered off Skyline and descended to the northeast. You might think that Old La Honda would be a "forbidden" road, based on my rule above. I think I have less problem with rim heating descending Old La Honda because I tend to use my front brake more as there are places where I slow down to a crawl—a few very blind corners where the road is barely wide enough for a truck, for example.

I then continued through Portola Valley and then coasted down Alpine Road as I usually do, without pedaling, all the way to the stopsign at I-280. I then took usual roads home.

It was a beautiful day for a ride with perfect weather, and not too windy.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	74.5 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7700 feet
Total Time:	6:31:00
Riding Time:	5:28:28
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.1 mph
Max. Speed:	43.8 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	857.5 wh
Wh/mi:	11.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	34.1
Peak Current:	62.8 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.5
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2223 kJ (618 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2342 kJ (651 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4565 kJ (1268 wh)

Little Basin and Bloom Grade, March 4, 2013 - While preparing for today's ride I debated with myself whether I should take an extra battery for an additional 210wh capacity or avoid carrying the extra weight. I went over in my mind where I was planning to go.

There was the possibility I'd have to backtrack while I explored Bloom Grade. I also didn't feel particularly energetic today. If I rode with my usual 900wh I'd be cutting it close by the time I got home, but it should be OK if I didn't have to backtrack up a climb. In the end I decided to carry the extra battery, but as it turns out I didn't need it.

Normally I try not to use the motor at all for the first 10% of the ride. This is usually not difficult as the first 10% gets me across the flat suburbs before the roads head up into the hills. Today since I was carrying an extra battery I decided to use the motor to get me started from stop signs and lights, then cruise under my own power. This was easier on my knees.

I left home under foggy skies. As I rode south through Cupertino the sun emerged from behind the clouds. By the time I got to Saratoga I had used a couple of Amps-hour, not too much.

On the climb up CA9 to Saratoga Gap I dialed in about 350-500 watts, a moderate amount of assist.

Traffic on CA9 was light. I almost had the road to myself, so seldom did a car pass going in my direction.

At one of the large 180-deg. curves a flatbed truck carried a minivan that appeared to have rolled onto its side. The metal and framing were all wrinkled and bent out of shape and the windows blown out. The vehicle would almost surely be a total loss.

About a mile further up the road I could see the tell-tale sign of a car having been pulled over the edge of the embankment. The disturbance in the earth looked fresh.

When I got to Saratoga Gap I paused briefly to put on my long sleeves for the descent. Another cyclist dressed in a Garmin-Cervélo kit was climbing from Boulder Creek and said, "Hey Bill!", as he passed. I said, "Hi.", but I didn't recognize the rider. I thought it might be Adrien Costa, whom I had seen a couple weeks earlier out this way, but he didn't look like Adrien. I need to get a new eyeglass prescription.

I continued south on CA9 down to Waterman Gap. While I saw a few cars climbing the other way, I encountered no one going in my direction. The absence of traffic made for a stress-free descent. I coasted all the way down, even over the short bump before the final plunge to Waterman Gap.

At CA236 I continued straight toward Big Basin. This section is beautiful, but I always find myself zoning out and day-dreaming along here. The curves on the road all look similar, and there are few notable landmarks. Before long I reached the high point and began to descend into Big Basin.

I didn't go far before I encounted an older guy riding an overloaded bike in the same direction. I slowed and pulled alongside to say, "Hello." He asked me if this was the way to Redwood City. I told him Redwood City was back the way he had come and then gave him directions. He said some woman told him to go this way to get to Redwood City.

"Only if you don't mind lots of climbing and dirt roads," I replied.

He asked me if I would sell him a "health bar", but I gave him a Clif bar from my stash. He would need it for the climb from Waterman Gap to Saratoga Gap.

After we parted ways I felt slightly guilty that I didn't give him two bars.

I descended into Big Basin by taking the North Escape Road down alongside Opal Creek. The Escape Road was as I remembered, covered with redwood duff. I saw no one until I got to the park HQ, and then only a few cars were parked nearby. The store was closed.

I pressed on toward Boulder Creek on CA236 and climbed up out of Big Basin.

At Little Basin Road I turned right and continued along the route I had taken three weeks earlier. This time I continued past the entrance to Little Basin and descended an un-trodden dirt road.

I had last come this far in 1992 when I climbed up to Eagle Rock. Today I continued past the turnoff for Eagle Rock. According to the map Little Basin Road continues alongside Scott Creek for some distance and appears to serve a few residences in the canyon. There was no sign that any resident used this road regularly to access their property. The map also shows a connection to the top of Empire Grade Road near the Lockheed Facility. Unfortunately, the map shows no connection to the coast. My plan was to go as far as I reasonably could, then return the same way.

Little Basin Road continued for a short distance before fording a stream. Not far beyond I reached a substantial gate that appeared to be relatively new, surprising in light of the road appearing to be little used. There was no easy way past the gate, although if I had been determined I could have squeezed past the left post after removing my packs. But, I didn't have time or inclination for that today.

I turned around and headed back up Little Basin Road.

When I got to the top of Bloom Grade I turned right and began descending past the barricades. I wondered why Santa Cruz County barricades had been placed there.

Whenever I explore a new road from its summit, there is always the risk that I'll have to return by climbing back out. It was this risk that led me to carry the extra battery today. A couple of times I thought I'd need to return up Bloom Grade, but I did manage to find a route through to the bottom.

The upper part of the road is well-maintained, at least as far as number 505. From there the road becomes a rough, rutted, sometimes steep trail overgrown by Scotch Broom. I continued down.

Surprisingly I saw no bicycle tire tracks, mountain bike or otherwise. But, I did occasionally see a wide knobby tread pattern that looked like it might have been made by a dirt bike or ATV. Probably dirt bike as I only saw one such track.

Lower down the road widened and became plausibly drive-able. After I passed a couple of driveways the road became well-graded dirt, and not much lower the road became paved. I made a wrong turn down Pond View Drive and had to backtrack, Fortunately, there weren't too many wrong turns I could make. But today the odds weren't with me as I managed to explore a couple cul-de-sacs.

I paused in front of the house at the uppermost end of the subdivision surrounding the Boulder Creek Country Club. A guy coming out of the house asked me if I had come down Bloom Grade. At first I though I was going to get a lecture about riding through a "private neighborhood". But, he then told me the guy who lives up the hill (505) hassles people who try to travel up and down Bloom Grade. We talked for a few minutes more. He had lived there "since 1968" and had enjoyed taking the old roads in the area. But, it was clear he was not fond of his neighbor up the hill.

After one more wrong turn—not all roads leading down went through—I finally found my way out of the maze of streets to CA236 in front of the country club. From here I cruised down into Boulder Creek.

My plan was to take Bear Creek Road, then CA17 into Los Gatos, just as I would if I were driving. As I passed the turnoff for Bear Creek Road I decided that since I had ridden up that way three weeks ago, today I'd take CA9, then Redwood Gulch and Stevens Canyon Road.

Just before I reached Sempervirens Overlook I passed again the guy on the overloaded bike. I stopped briefly—there was no safe turnout—to chat and to give him another "health bar" from my stash. He seemed happy to get it.

My trip down CA9 and Redwood Gulch went without incident, and I arrived home just after 1800.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	63.6 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3430 feet
Total Time:	4:43:58
Riding Time:	3:40:35
Avg. Speed (moving):	17.3 mph
Max. Speed:	45.4 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	656.6 wh
Wh/mi:	10.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	25.6
Peak Current:	48 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.7
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1702 kJ (473 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1229 kJ (341 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2931 kJ (814 wh)

Redwood City via CA92, February 28, 2013 - My mid-week ride this week took me back along many of the same roads from last week.

I rode from home to Woodside, heading for Kings Mountain Road. After passing Robert's Market I decided at the last minute to turn right on Albion then to Manuella rather than take CA84 to Kings Mountain Road. Then again at Greer Road I turned right and took the back way through Huddart Park.

This latter detour I had planned ahead of time as I wanted to take a bumpy road to see if it would cause my headlight to flicker.

On my last Santa Cruz ride I had discovered that the power connection on my headlight was being intermittently broken, causing the light to return to the "on" state in maximum brightness mode, the default state. Since then I had swapped the headlight with the same model on my other bike to see if the problem was in my wiring or in the headlamp itself. Since I experienced no power loss from road vibration with this lamp, I'm thinking now that there is a loose connection in my other lamp, perhaps a cold solder joint.

Fortunately, the gate for the service road at the bottom of Huddart Park was open, so I didn't have to stop and lift the bike over the large stone next to the gate. I rode up through the park, then turned right on Kings Mountain Road and pressed on up the hill at a pace brisk enough to generate four "Uh oh..." notifications on Strava. (If this occurs on a popular segment I now convert the ride to a Workout. But I don't like doing this because I usually have to go through and manually create all the interesting segments myself, and that is a lot of extra work.)

At Skyline Blvd. I turned right and continued over the top of Kings Mountain before heading down to CA92. The gusty breeze that I felt at home before starting my ride seemed to have settled down to an occasional movement of air, making the descent easier than I expected. But, this descent is always a bit stressful for me when I ride my hard-sided fairing bike as the wind crossing the ridge, especially at the pass where CA92 runs, can be strong.

At the bottom of the descent I continued across the division between Upper and Lower Crystal Springs, up the hill on the other side and then onto Canada Road.

Between the Water Temple and Edgewood Road I passed a guy on a Titanium Bacchetta Aero just as he was passing a guy on a time-trial bike. Would have made for a good photo. Later while I was stopped along the road near Jefferson the guy on the Bacchetta stopped to chat—a couple minutes later the guy on the time trial bike roared by. Then just as I was getting ready to resume riding, Dick Robinson came by, and we chatted for a bit.

Last week I had descended into Redwood City on CA84 (Woodside Road). Today I took Jefferson Ave. all the way down to Middlefield Road. I much preferred this route to Woodside Road, the latter having more traffic and being much less relaxing.

After I dropped off the e-bike parts at Chris Rothe's shop on Bay Road, I continued home on the same route I had taken last week. The sun set on me a little earlier today, but to make up for that the air was warmer and softer.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	117.0 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7910 feet
Total Time:	9:13:03
Riding Time:	6:57:41
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.8 mph
Max. Speed:	47.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1300 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1187 wh
Wh/mi:	10.1
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	47.0
Peak Current:	45 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.7
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3076 kJ (854 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2901 kJ (806 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5977 kJ (1660 wh)

Santa Cruz via Pescadero, February 24, 2013 - I tried to leave early, but I just couldn't get myself to move fast enough to get out the door by 0900 as I had intended. The plan was to ride from home to Santa Cruz and meet my sister, Laura, for lunch at Dharma's at 1p. She had an appointment that would end at 1p and another that would start at 2p, so the window was going to be tight.

For some reason I thought I could get myself to Santa Cruz in 4 hours by way of the "long route", heading to the San Mateo County coast and then south on CA1. Turns out this takes about five hours at quasi-biking pace. I might be able to do it in 4 hours (about 70 miles with 5000 feet of climbing) if I use a much heavier thumb on the throttle.

At 1130 I found myself in front of Pescadero High School and decided that I wasn't going to get to Santa Cruz (the east side) by 1300, so I sent her an email to that effect.

The first 9 miles of riding was under human power only. I had the bike loaded with batteries for the long trip, so it was heavy and slow. This put me in a "slow" mood. I didn't feel like pedaling hard. And, with the clear crisp weather with a light breeze from the west, I decided to enjoy the ride rather than give myself a case of get-there-itis. The journey was to be the goal.

The climb over Old La Honda and Pescadero Roads went smoothly. Traffic was light, including bicycle traffic. Usually I see more cyclists out on a Sunday, but today I only saw a few small groups and individuals.

On the climb up Old La Honda Road I set the cruise control to a constant power of 400 watts assist. This is power drawn from the battery. About 72% of that gets to the rear wheel. Added to what I can contribute, about 160 watts, and the assembly had about 450 watts getting to the road, good for about 9-10 mph on this climb, which is good for a time around 22-23 minutes.

Near the bottom I was passed by a cyclist. Another cyclist latched on for a while. I found it interesting that as the road steepened the other cyclist caught up to me more easily, but as it leveled off, he dropped back.

This makes sense, if you think about it. My bike is being driven with constant power, but it weighs more than a single cyclist. It's also more aerodynamic, although at speeds under 15mph, aerodynamics don't play a large roll. So, when the grade increased, my speed relative to the other cyclist was slower. I am assuming, of course, that the other cyclist is also riding with constant power.

But when he did manage to ride on my tail I could hear him breathing heavily and knew that he was over his threshold and would most likely not be able to maintain the pace for the entire climb. And, he did eventually drop back. Meanwhile, about 1/3 mile from the top I saw the first cyclist descending the other direction.

I continued down Old La Honda to the west and then down CA84 to Pescadero Road. As I climbed over Haskins Hill and down the other side into the Pescadero Creek watershed I was pleasantly surprised not to see any other traffic going in my direction for many miles. I had the road to myself.

Down through the dark, cold redwood groves of Loma Mar I went and then out into the coastal plain where small farms and ranchettes had been built over the years.

I decided to stay inland as long as possible on this trip, so I turned south on Cloverdale Road and didn't reach CA1, the coast highway, until Gazos Creek Road.

My ride south seemed to go slower than usual. There was wind, but I had a hard time identifying its direction. Often it felt like a crosswind blowing off the ocean, but occasionally it felt like a quartering headwind. The grass by the side of the road told an equally-confusing tale. Sometimes it would indicate a stiff tailwind, other times, a stiff headwind.

I continued south without stopping until I got a few miles outside of Santa Cruz to take a photo.

Since I wasn't going to meet Laura for lunch I stopped at the Subway sandwich shop on the west side of town to take a lunch break.

After lunch I rode to Laura's. When I arrived she was in the driveway speaking with a neighbor. Where were the dogs? I was expecting a smothering greeting, but the dogs were nowhere to be seen. She had left them in Menlo Park this weekend as her day was busy.

We visited for an hour before she went to take a low-tide walk on the beach, and I started my trip home.

The time was 1540 and I knew it would take me about 3 hours to make the trip home via Bean Creek Road and Mountain Charlie Road, my favorite route when returning home from Santa Cruz.

Near the bottom of Bean Creek Road I was briefly chased by an overweight dog whose will to chase was greater than its ability.

Then, somewhere on Mountain Charlie Road I lost a water bottle. I recall hearing something slap to the ground, looked back, but saw nothing, so I didn't investigate.

Unfortunately, Mountain Charlie Road is falling apart. Much like Eureka Canyon Road from last weekend, it seems that the county is relaxing its maintenance schedule for its rural roads. Potholes, gravel, minor washouts and collapses are all managed with minimal intervention. I can probably blame the rough road for my lost water bottle.

I can also blame the rough road for discovering that my headlight (Cycle Lumenator) power connection is intermittent, again. The headlight defaults to maximum brightness upon power-up, and when the power connection is intermittent, it comes back on at maximum brightness, even if I had been running at minimum brightness before the brief power loss. This was slightly annoying as I thought I had solved this problem last year.

At Summit Road I continued down Mountain Charlie Road to Old Santa Cruz Highway, and then down to CA17 that I took through The Chute to CA9 in Los Gatos. As I rode through Los Gatos and Saratoga, the twilight deepened, and as I rode north into Cupertino the sky went to full "off" dark.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	76.3 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5270 feet
Total Time:	6:51:10
Riding Time:	4:48:25
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.8 mph
Max. Speed:	43.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	950 wh
Battery energy consumed:	741.8 wh
Wh/mi:	9.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.1
Peak Current:	37.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.8
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1923 kJ (534 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1834 kJ (509 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3757 kJ (1044 wh)

Redwood City via San Gregorio, February 21, 2013 - My mid-week ride too me out to San Gregorio via Old La Honda and CA84 and back over Tunitas Creek Road and Kings Mountain Road. Temps were comfortable in short sleeves while I was in sunny areas, but the shady spots in the hills were chilly. Wind was blowing strongly from the northwest at the coast and in exposed areas elsewhere. I rode without stopping except as necessary.

When I got into Woodside I continued down CA84 into Redwood City. The most direct north-south route through town, Woodside Road is not a pleasant biking road. To keep up with traffic I was heavy on the throttle.

At Bay Road I turned right and stopped for about an hour to visit with Chris Rothe, fellow e-biker and machinist. He gave me a tour of his shop where his main business is precision machining and fabrication. One line of business is the fabrication of heart catheters used in the treatment for atrial fibrillation. He showed me one catheter that is designed to house a miniature camera that allows its operator an interior view of the heart.

Chris's side business, Kranked Kustoms, is building custom installations of the E-go kit onto high-end mountain bikes. He showed me some of his bikes and the work he has been doing. It turns out the E-go kit uses the same basic motor and gearbox from Headline Motor that Cyclone uses, although E-go puts their own heatsink on the motor and uses a Kelly controller.

After visiting with Chris I continued down Bay Road, then Marsh Road before finding the Bay Trail in East Palo Alto and riding home along the bay as the sun set.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	70.5 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6210 feet
Total Time:	4:54:22
Riding Time:	4:44:04
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.8mph
Max. Speed:	53.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	748.1 wh
Wh/mi:	10.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.6
Peak Current:	70.3 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.9
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1939 kJ (539 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	2130 kJ (592 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4069 kJ (1130 wh)

Ess to Santa Cruz, February 16, 2013 - After setting up a family dinner at Dharma's in Capitola and Dad agreeing to drive my van from home to Santa Cruz, I set out for a one-way ride to Santa Cruz.

Since I didn't have to save energy for the return trip, I chose a somewhat indirect route that had me heading through Los Altos Hills to Page Mill Road, then south on Skyline, Summit, and Highland Way before dropping into Corralitos before heading into Capitola and eastern Santa Cruz near Pleasure Point. The route ended up resembling a large ess (S), hence the title.

On my way up Page Mill Road I was passed by many cars filled with passengers. And, as I passed the parking areas for the open space preserves I could see that they lots were mostly full.

Later as I passed Castle Rock State Park I could see that its small lot was full and the roadside parking was so crowded that small traffic jams developed on Skyline Blvd. as people waited for others to vacate their parking spaces, much as motorists do on a crowded city street. Fortunately, once I got past the park traffic thinned considerably.

I pressed on down Skyline to Bear Creek Rd. then onto Summit Rd. As I neared CA17 traffic got thicker and remained so as I continued east on Summit Rd. Once I got past the Summit Store, traffic began to thin, but things only really quieted down after I got onto Highland Way and began the zig-zaging route high above Soquel Creek.

Highland Way has always been a rough road, lying as it does upon unstable ground over the San Andreas Fault. Minor slides have consumed half the road in a few places, but Highland Way was not in worse shape than usual for this time of year.

The same could not be said for Eureka Canyon Rd. The upper part has always been rough, but ten years ago the middle and lower parts used to be smooth and fast. Now they are almost as rough as the upper part. The road has settled and cracked in many places. It's not the presence of patches, but that the road has seen too much heavy traffic since its last refurbishing. I suspect much of this traffic passed in connection with the Summit Fire several years ago. To compound the problem, the county has less budget these days to maintain rural roads.

About a mile above Rider Road a mud-spattered car driven by a local dissatisfied with my pace passed on a curve, wheels spinning and sliding, almost losing control before roaring off ahead.

At Corralitos I turned right on Hames Road and continued into Santa Cruz on Day Valley, Valencia, and Soquel Drive, getting caught up briefly in traffic going through the touristy part of Capitola before arriving at Laura's place and being given a Full Greeting by her dogs, Kumba and Jack.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	90.3 miles
Cumulative climbing:	8500 feet
Total Time:	6:36:41
Riding Time:	5:55:03
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.2 mph
Max. Speed:	46.1 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1000 wh
Battery energy consumed:	937.1 wh
Wh/mi:	10.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	37.0
Peak Current:	45.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.7
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2429 kJ (675 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	2760 kJ (767 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5189 kJ (1441 wh)

Big and Little Basins, February 13, 2013 - I left home around mid-day and headed out for a ride. I had a vague notion that I would ride to Big Basin and back as I hadn't been there in a while, but I hadn't worked out the exact route. Weather was cool to warm, clear, and calm.

I headed south on Hollenbeck and Stelling, rejoining Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road at Prospect, avoiding the traffic through the center of Cupertino.

I started up CA9 under human only power for the first mile or so, but I decided quickly that I had conserved enough of the battery. I dialed in about 300 watts of assist. That is 300 watts into the controller, which corresponds to a little over 200 watts of mechanical power to the road, in addition to my own human contribution.

I climbed at about 8.5-9 mph, a pace slow enough to be relaxing yet fast enough that I felt I was making reasonable progress.

As I was passing Redwood Gulch Road I caught a glimpse in my mirror of another cyclist some distance behind. I didn't recognize him at that distance, but I figured he must have been riding hard and/or been a strong cyclist. I don't often get overtaken on climbs.

At first I held my pace, but as the other cyclist drew closer I increased my speed. I didn't want to be too easily overtaken. At 400 watts (in) the other cyclist seemed to be closing, though more slowly and with greater effort. I could see him stand and throw the bike around more and straighten the curves in the road. At 500 watts (in) he fell back.

So I settled on about 400 watts (in) which seemed to keep the gap constant, but as I passed the 1-mile mark I reduced power slightly and let him catch me before the top as I was curious who it was.

After he latched onto my tail I recognized him: Adrien Costa. He told me I made a good target. He was planning to head north and then do a bunch more riding and climbing.

After we parted ways I continued across Skyline Blvd. and descended CA9 to Waterman Gap, then pressed on up CA236 and then down into Big Basin itself. I stopped a few times to try to capture in photos the scale of the redwood trees growing near the highway.

On my way out of Big Basin I thought I'd explore Little Basin. Little Basin Road joins CA236 at the pass between Big Basin and Boulder Creek. The road is paved, but it's narrow and rough in spots.

Little Basin used to be a Hewlett-Packard picnic and camping area, but recently the land and facilities have been annexed to Big Basin State Park. I took a few photos of the meadow and the announcement board, then returned to Little Basin Road.

I was going to continue at least as far as Eagle Rock Road, but Little Basin Road past Little Basin turns quickly to dirt, and I wasn't riding my dirt-friendly bike. The last time I had ridden it was in 1992, so today's visit seemed more like an exploration.

I returned to CA236, but not without stopping to examine the top of Bloom Grade Road. The county had placed barricades at the top of this dirt road, suggesting that the way might be blocked. According to the map Bloom Grade Road connects with West Hilton Road that runs into CA236 at the Boulder Creek Country Club. I will have to explore this road some day.

Once I got back onto CA236 I coasted quickly down into Boulder Creek. Without stopping (except at the CA236/CA9 intersection) I continued up Bear Creek Road. Traffic was heavy in the other direction, but in my direction traffic was light to non-existent.

At Skyline Blvd. I turned left and continued up over Castle Rock summit and then pressed on to Page Mill Road. Traffic was light on Skyline Blvd. in my direction of travel but moderate in the opposite direction.

Again traffic was moderate going up Page Mill Road, but very light descending. Only when I got down to Arastradero Road did I find myself in the midst of heavy traffic.

The rest of my ride home was uneventful, although I tried, with mixed success, to pick routes that minimized traffic to try to maintain the feel of the rest of the ride. Overall it was a good ride.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	101.6 miles
Cumulative climbing:	5220 feet
Total Time:	4:27:35
Riding Time:	4:19:27
Avg. Speed (moving):	23.5mph
Max. Speed:	43.5 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1340 wh
Battery energy consumed:	1301.2 wh
Wh/mi:	12.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	52.5
Peak Current:	54.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.7
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	3420 kJ (950 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1755 kJ (488 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	5175 kJ (1438 wh)

Low-Key Mega-Monster Enduro, February 9, 2013 - After eating an early breakfast I left home at 0530 I was on the road for about 15 minutes before my gas warning light came on. I know from experience that I have a tad less than three gallons in the tank when that light comes on, which is about sixty miles of range, even though that pessimistic forecast would only come to fruition under the harshest driving conditions: uphill, headwind, heavy load, and cold weather. The drive was flat, but the temperature was cold. But, if the engine were not running efficiently, I'd be running on fumes by the time I arrived in Hollister where I had planned to stop for gas at the Hollister Safeway, where gas was cheapest in the area.

When I got into Gilroy I decided to pay seven cents per gallon more to avoid the risk of running out, becoming stranded for some time and being unable to help out at the start and possibly miss riding the event altogether.

In the end I arrived a few minutes past 0700 at Paicines, where Kevin and Cathy had been waiting. No one else had arrived yet. Even the sun was hiding behind the hills to the east. The store was closed, so we set up registration at the picnic table in front of the store.

Somehow we got everyone checked in reasonably quickly over the next two hours. In spite of the flurry of activity at check-in my bare fingers went numb and dry, making it hard to leaf through the papers. Kevin seemed to be doing alright wearing gloves, but I find gloved fingers make for difficult paperwork. Too bad the front of the store did not face east, the better to meet the warmth of the rising sun.

After the registration queue disappeared and was unlikely to reappear I readied my bike for the ride, taking time to eat an energy bar as it had been several hours since I had forced down breakfast.

At about 0950 I was heading south on CA25.

In past years I rode my Power Pursuit with semi-hard side panels. This year I rode my Power Gold Rush with wraparound lycra sock. The Gold Rush is easier to transport and its road manners nicer, but it is less aerodynamic than the Pursuit.

Last year Zach Kaplan rode my Power Gold Rush and finished in just under 4 hours despite running out of battery power about 9 miles from the finish. My goal was to finish in under 4 hours and not to run the battery flat.

Zach and I have about the same power output, but he has a 35-40 lb (17kg) weight advantage. To help overcome that difference I wore my aero helmet, and I replaced my rear tire with a Ritchey Tom Slick that has lower rolling resistance than the Kenda Kwest that was on the bike when Zach rode it.

Another factor working against me was battery age. I was running the same battery Zach had on the bike when he ran it flat, but a year of aging had occurred since then. Capacity will have been reduced about 2% simply due to the passage of time. Additional discharge/charge cycles will have decreased its capacity further.

Fortunately, I had recently tested the battery capacity, so I had a pretty good idea how much I had available, unlike Zach who did not have the benefit of a working odometer and who was working under the assumption of greater battery energy than was available.

It was with this new capacity figure that I constructed a "cheat sheet" that gave the moving average discharge rate in watt-hours per mile at various points along the course. If I checked that the wh/mi was at the calculated figure, I should, in theory, be using energy as efficiently as possible. In theory.

On the southbound run I noticed that I was running below target, even though my average speed was high enough to give me a sub 4-hour finish time. This did not seem quite right to me, as I knew that a sub 4-hour finish would be a real push for me.

What my cheat sheet does not consider are headwinds. I also discovered that the factor that accounts for climbing on the course was off a bit.

While weight is significant on a moderately hilly course such as the MegaMonster, aerodynamics are more so, especially as my cruising speed increases. I was giving too much weight to weight in my adjustment factor and not enough to aerodynamics.

So, that had me using more energy on the generally more uphill southbound run with the idea that I'd need less to get back "down" the hill. Energy use should have been less on the southbound leg to account for headwinds and human fatigue. By the time I got to the turnaround I had used more than half the battery, and I knew from experience that the return leg is always harder.

So while these thoughts were running through my head I attempted to photograph everyone I passed on the course. Many photographs did not work out, usually due to the typical problems: camera motion, poor exposure, out-of-focus, and poor framing leading to too many photos of my helmet, or riders chopped in two or decapitated. I can't remember the last time I had so many images left on the virtual cutting room floor. Only the images with adequate technical quality or some other unique or redeeming feature made it into the album.

At one point my phone rang. It was Edward Lyen who left a voicemail reporting that his battery had caught fire, forcing him to shorten his ride and return from Bitterwater School. Out of the 2000 watt-hours he started with he had just enough to return to the start. I did not pick up the call as it is difficult for me to talk and ride—the speakerphone picks up too much noise, and I was now on the clock.

As I started my northbound trip I realized I needed to have a lighter finger on the throttle lever, and I'd need to check frequently my wh/mi figure. If I was over the target I would need to cut back power.

Fortunately, the wind was not too strong in Peachtree Valley, and as I started to climb up Bitterwater Valley I actually had a tailwind. Still, I felt as if I was losing time that I would not have had to lose had I motored more conservatively on the southbound leg.

When I arrived at Bitterwater School, Lane and the kids were there to greet me. I pulled off the road across from the school and was about to relieve myself in the weeds by the road as usual, when I was suddenly aware that the kids were all looking at me on my "cool" bike. So I thought better of doing something "un-cool" and continued on to a more isolated spot.

The last quarter of the ride went smoothly if slower than I had hoped. When I got down to the straight part of Airline Highway I reconsidered that I might have padded my factors of safety and underestimated my battery capacity slightly given the degree to which battery voltage was sagging under load, so I allowed myself to open the throttle a bit more and have some fun on the last few miles. But, my time was already past 4 hours. A sub 4-hour goal on the Power Gold Rush would have to wait until next year.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	88.3 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7160 feet
Total Time:	5:57:22
Riding Time:	5:27:03
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.2mph
Max. Speed:	49.7 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	980 wh
Battery energy consumed:	919 wh
Wh/mi:	10.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	36.4
Peak Current:	49.5 Amps
Min. Voltage:	21.5
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2381 kJ (661 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	2303 kJ (640 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4684 kJ (1301 wh)

Superbowl Ride to Half Moon Bay, February 3, 2013 - I got started on my weekend ride later than I had intended. For some reason it took me a while to get out of the house. There was always one more thing that needed to be finished before I could feel good about leaving for the rest of the day.

I headed south toward Stevens Canyon. I had a vague idea in my head that I wanted to climb Redwood Gulch Road and descend Alpine Road to La Honda. From there I hadn't quite figured out what to do.

But as I rode I considered that the Superbowl (American football) game held this afternoon into the evening would draw most to their couches, and, more importantly, off the roads, at least until the end of the game.

Anyone standing within earshot of a television or radio in the last week would have been subjected to a torrent of publicity and advertising in connection with this game. When it was announced last Saturday that the local team was "on its way" to New Orleans, I thought, "Good, the game is tomorrow, and then it'll be over."

But, no. The game was a week from tomorrow.

So, all last week we all had to endure ceaseless "news" about and news conferences by players and coaches of both teams. The cynic in me suspects that this is all by design, to build up excitement and anticipation, the better to encourage us to purchase a new flat screen television or souvenir items.

On the latter point I actually did buy last week a souvenir bleacher seat cushion emblazoned with the local team's logo that I cut to fit the shape of my slightly saggy recumbent seat, and I am pleased to report that on its maiden voyage today that cushion left my butt feeling as fresh as can be expected after sitting on my working glutes for upwards of six hours.

Well, I wasn't going to let such a portentous occasion go to waste. My plan was to enjoy my favorite biking roads free of the usual weekend traffic. Since the game continued into the evening, I would be riding the last couple of hours in the dark. That was OK, as I have a good headlight and tail light.

In any case I wanted to be home by 2000 as that was when the game was scheduled to end. I didn't want to be out while drunk revelers were making their way home.

Drivers and other cyclists I encountered seemed in a special hurry early in the ride, before the game started. At Stevens Canyon Road and Redwood Gulch Road I passed a group of cyclists who were packing up their car after their ride. One of them called out my name. I waved back, but I didn't recognize who it was in the gloom. "It's two-forty-five!", he yelled after me as I pressed up Redwood Gulch.

At CA9 I made a sweeping U-turn and continued up to Saratoga Gap, where I veered right onto Skyline Blvd and continued north, stopping and getting off the bike briefly when I thought I felt a cyclical vibration coming from the front-end of the bike.

Such a feeling is often caused by a bulging tire getting ready to burst, but when I spun the front wheel I observed nothing ominous. Sometimes a vibration like that can be waves or "moguls" in the asphalt caused by heavy traffic. I notice this when descending CA9 into Saratoga and in my van on US-101 northbound through Sunnyvale and Mountain View near Rengstorff.

I continued onto Alpine Road, turned left, climbed a short distance to its summit, and descended. I saw a few cyclists ascending.

When I got to CA84 I decided I'd head to the coast and then ride north. Since I had climbed Tunitas Creek Road recently, I planned to ride into Half Moon Bay and then return over CA92 in lighter-than-usual traffic.

That plan worked well. In San Gregorio I climbed Stage Road to CA1, then rode north on CA1 all the way to CA92. A slight wind was blowing out of the northwest, but the air was relatively calm, calm enough to allow smoke and other haze to hang over the canyons to the east.

Even with light traffic, the lower part of the climb out of Half Moon Bay is best ridden at maximum speed as there is no shoulder most of the way. It didn't take me long to reach the summit and to descend the east side to Canada Road.

As I rode south on Canada Road I saw a few cyclists riding south and a couple riding north. All but one had flashing white headlamps that I found slightly annoying. A solid white headlamp is just as visible on an otherwise empty road.

By the time I got to Woodside it was almost "full off" dark. I took the long way through Portola Valley, then Los Altos Hills. My goal was to climb to the top of Mora Hill and to enjoy the view of the city lights.

At the end of Mora Drive I turned off my tail light and put my headlight on "low". Had a moon been in the sky or had I time to acquire night vision I could have done without any light. Some degree of stealth was required as the preserve is closed after sunset, and I didn't want to attract attention.

After enjoying the view and getting slightly cold while sitting atop the hill I turned around and descended Mora Drive instead of taking my usual route through Rancho San Antonio to St. Joseph Ave. That route runs right through the heart of Rancho San Antonio and its maintenance yard and is most likely to be crawling with park rangers finishing up for the evening.

As I got home at 1945 I could hear some of my rowdier neighbors setting off firecrackers. The game was over.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	71.4 miles
Cumulative climbing:	7370 feet
Total Time:	5:52:58
Riding Time:	5:15:38
Avg. Speed (moving):	13.5mph
Max. Speed:	47.0 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	48
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	787.48 wh
Wh/mi:	11.0
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	15.8
Peak Current:	36.1 Amps
Min. Voltage:	43.1
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1985 kJ (551 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	2364 kJ (657 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4348 kJ (1208 wh)

San Gregorio via Black Mountain, January 30, 2013 - With the promise of warm, dry weather and clear skies I decided to take the afternoon off and go riding.

I started by heading down Foothill Blvd. and Stevens Canyon Road that might better be called "Gravel Truck Highway" on weekdays as most of the traffic are gravel trucks going to and from the quarries in the area.

After I turned right on Montebello Road that was all left behind as I climbed higher. I rode slowly on the climb so that I could take my eyes off the road and enjoy the scenery but also because I was still running at 48 volts, and I was suspicious that my system was not as efficient overall at 48 volts as it is at 24 volts.

On this point I am nearly certain. My motor system tests that I conducted some time ago showed that running a higher system voltage with a lower throttle setting was less efficient than running a lower system voltage with a higher throttle setting. Motor controller losses are greater at lower throttle setting. So, designing for highest efficiency would have one running at or near full-throttle most of the time. And, my legs are telling me after the ride that I worked hard today.

I continued past the gate and on up the broken pavement past the relay station on the southern peak. The last mile before reaching the summit of Black Mountain rolls along the ridge top and includes one last steep push to the summit of Black Mountain.

I stopped to enjoy the view (and to check my email) before continuing down Montebello Road on the north side of the mountain.

After passing the road from the backpacker's camp I veered left onto the Bella Vista Trail, deciding at the last moment that I hadn't ridden that way in a while and that the trail looked to be in excellent condition. I was not disappointed.

The trail twists and turns around the folds of the hill at a gentle grade, running most of the time just off the ridge top. A sweeping view lies to the left. A few whoop-de-doos and a couple of tight but well-banked corners later I found myself deposited on the Canyon Trail a few tenths of a mile from Page Mill Road.

At Page Mill I turned left and climbed up to Skyline Blvd. and then onto Alpine Road that I rode all the way down into La Honda. At CA84 I turned left and rode out to San Gregorio where smoke from a brush burn had filled the air. As I worried about whether I had enough battery to complete my loop I refrained from using the motor on the few up-grades as I cruised out toward the coast, and this had me working harder than usual.

On my way up Stage Road I passed the only other cyclist I saw west of Skyline Blvd. The fellow was riding what appeared to be an old Vision R40 or one of its derivatives. He told me that he rode rain or shine, and his mud-spattered bike looked like it had seen all weather.

At CA1 I descended to Tunitas Creek then turned right and climbed toward Skyline Blvd.

At the last moment I decided to turn right on Star Hill Road just as two cars were descending. Good thing I looked before winding up for the 180-degree turn that I can just accomplish without stopping if the entire road is clear.

At the top of Star Hill I turned left on Swett and climbed past Kings Mountain Elementary School to Skyline Blvd. I turned left and descended to Kings Mountain Road and down to the bottom without pausing.

After passing through Woodside I returned home on usual roads, joining rush-hour traffic that contrasted with the light- or no- traffic roads on the coast side.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	88.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	2660 feet
Total Time:	4:56:27
Riding Time:	4:36:03
Avg. Speed (moving):	19.2mph
Max. Speed:	41.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1000 wh
Battery energy consumed:	748.7 wh
Wh/mi:	8.4
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.7
Peak Current:	43.7 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.9
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1940 kJ (539 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1655 kJ (460 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	3596 kJ (999 wh)

Gilroy and The Reservoirs, January 27, 2013 - I left home for an afternoon ride south to Gilroy. I hadn't been this way in a while, and I figured today would be a good day with the clear air and countryside green from the rains.

I rode south through San Jose, dealing with traffic lights that always seemed to turn red just as I began to think I could get through them at the last moment. After I passed out of the subdivisions at the southern reach of San Jose I turned on the motor for the first time, drawing about 130 watts and cruising in the mid-20's (mph) on the slight incline, but with a slight tailwind.

On the long segment between Metcalf and Bailey Roads I put together in my mind a route that would form an interesting loop of roads. I thought of continuing on Monterey Highway into Morgan Hill as it's a nice, uninterrupted cruise south of Bailey Road, but my desire to cover roads I hadn't ridden recently encouraged me to exit Monterey Highway at Bailey and shift over to Santa Teresa.

I saw the greatest numbers of other cyclists on Oak Glen Road: a few near Chesbro Reservoir, a couple of parties stopped by the road to fix a flat, and one group of six or seven near Edmundson going the other way.

Instead of climbing over the hill on Sycamore Road I turned left and descended past Machado School into the southern end of Morgan Hill at Sunnyside Ave. I turned right, crossed Watsonville Road, and continued south with the wind on Santa Teresa Blvd. until I reached CA152.

What had been a quiet ride south with the wind became a noisy, blustery affair once I turned toward home and into the wind. I chose to ride north past the reservoirs and in the hills to avoid being fully-exposed, but there was no escape.

My cruising speed dropped, and my power usage increased to around 400 watts. I could have used more power and ridden faster, but the trip would have been noisier and the gusts would have pushed me around more. 22mph struck the right balance between exciting and relaxing.

On my entire ride north from CA152 until Calero Reservoir I saw no other cyclists. Then I saw a few riding south and just before I reached Harry Road I encountered a couple riding in my direction.

As I got closer to develped areas traffic increased and seemed to take on an impatient attitude. Autos passed with a little less room than I would have liked, and when they couldn't pass they tailgated me.

When I was riding through Los Gatos I saw Pat Parseghian standing beside the road near Kennedy and Englewood. I actually called out to her by name, unusual for me because I most often am out of earshot by the time my brain has done the see -> parse -> speak processing. After zipping across CA17 on CA9 I rode home via Quito and Lawrence Expressway, the latter into a noisy headwind.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	38.7 miles
Cumulative climbing:	2200 feet
Total Time:	2:38:21
Riding Time:	2:17:37
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.8mph
Max. Speed:	41.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	48
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	420.4 wh
Wh/mi:	10.8
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	8.3
Peak Current:	32.7 Amps
Min. Voltage:	47.4
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1060 kJ (294 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	739 kJ (205 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	1799 kJ (500 wh)

The Loop, January 25, 2013 - When the sun came out this afternoon I couldn't let the day end without getting out for some exercise in the soft humid air following a couple of days of rain and drizzle. I didn't have much time so I set my goal on just riding The Loop and then returning home via a more interesting route.

My ride out to Woodside went past the gas line replacement project on Junipero Serra Blvd. where the asphalt over the finished construction couldn't have been bumpier. I hope the road crews go over the surface again and smooth it out before they redraw the bike lane lines. The current asphalt is so bumpy that it's dangerous and uncomfortable to try to ride faster than 10 mph.

I rode The Loop counter-clockwise, having a hard time motivating myself to push hard—humid air does that to me. I turned toward home on Arastradero Road, then climbed Page Mill Road to Via Ventana and took a variety of back roads through Los Altos Hills, ending atop Mora Hill where I stopped to enjoy the sweeping view and to snap a photo before I descended through Rancho San Antonio and headed for home.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit
Distance:	74.3 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6250 feet
Total Time:	5:10:05
Riding Time:	4:25:58
Avg. Speed (moving):	16.6 mph
Max. Speed:	47.3 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	1000 wh
Battery energy consumed:	836 wh
Wh/mi:	11.3
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	33.7
Peak Current:	55.0 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.7
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2107 kJ (585 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1906 kJ (529 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4013 kJ (1115 wh)

Skyline Blvd., January 21, 2013 - I took no photos on this ride, finding nothing worth taking the trouble to photograph. Scenery was pleasant, but the air was still hazy, smoggy, and stagnant, muting colors.

Aside from enjoying a nice winter day out of doors I rode for the first time with Version 3 of the Cycle Analyst. My objective was to adjust the gain parameters, power limits, and other parameters as I saw fit based on riding the bike.

I used about 50% more energy than usual climbing Page Mill Road as I was testing behavior of the throttle limits I had set (50 Amps and 1000 watts). That meant I was hitting and occasionally exceeding 1000 watts into the motor to see how the feedback circuit worked to limit me to that power. Would the circuit oscillate annoyingly or would it overshoot too much? Setting the gain factor appropriately would minimize both unpleasant side effects.

When I arrived at the top of Page Mill Road I briefly considered heading to San Gregorio but in the end I decided to stick to my original plan and head north on Skyline Blvd. to CA92.

This first road test of the CAV3 (beta21) revealed a few bugs. Somewhere around the middle of the ride I observed that I had regenerated about 2.1 Amp-hours. Since I have a geared mid-drive, this would be impossible. I can regenerate maybe 100 mAh if I walk the bike backwards quickly, but any more than that is tedious to do. Besides I would have remembered "running" the bike backwards, and on this ride I happen to know that I never got out of the bike.

Later during my ride I started to notice other strange behavior from the Cycle Analyst. One was an instantaneous power reading that fluctuated too much between 200 and 650 watts given a constant throttle and little change in terrain. I stopped and adjusted the sampling rate from "5" to "6"—I'm not sure what these numbers scale to—and that seemed to keep the power figure from jumping around too much, but in hindsight I wonder if this was necessary as the power reading had only just before started to fluctuate.

Then toward the end of the ride I noticed that the Ah displayed was 0.67Ah. The last time I had glanced at the figure it was about 31.3 Ah. I suspect that the stored Ah had been reset or overwritten to zero somewhere around 32 Ah. Oddly, the watt-hours displayed was reasonable, but the wh/mi figure was too low, as if its calculation did not depend on the stored watt-hours and distance that were both showing reasonable figures. The instantaneous battery health display was showing reasonable figures, as was the battery SOC (State Of Charge) indicator on the first screen.

Finally, at the end of my ride the Ah displayed on the first and second screen showed "1.04", but in the trip regen statistics screen, it showed "3.4" forward Ah. I suspect something is randomly overwriting the wrong parts of memory—maybe when Ah rolls past "32", or perhaps a susceptibility to EMI. Tomorrow I will try testing on the bench using a dummy load to see if I can find a pattern to the errors.

Other than that the ride went smoothly and without incident. Weather was cool to warm, traffic not too heavy, and I suffered no other mechanical issues or problems with the bike.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	76.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6100 feet
Total Time:	6:33:47
Riding Time:	5:16:04
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.6 mph
Max. Speed:	44.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	48
Battery energy capacity:	864 wh
Battery energy consumed:	789.2 wh
Wh/mi:	10.2
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	15.77
Peak Current:	31.0 Amps
Min. Voltage:	44.2
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	2004 kJ (557 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	2189 kJ (608 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4193 kJ (1165 wh)

Pulgas Water Temple LDT Ride, January 19, 2013 - I rode from home to Gunn High School in Palo Alto where riders were gathering for the LDT ride to the Pulgas Water Temple. I planned to ride the "E" ride, but I was open to improvising.

Lisa Antonino and a few of the old Bikeaholics were also there, planning to go as far as the top of Kings Mountain Road before veering off on an alternate route that had yet to be determined.

I started off between the "E" group and the "D" group, riding slowly at a sociable pace that didn't seem to put me near other cyclists, except Tom Lawrence who drew alongside occasionally.

I've found that if I try to ride with a group of several or more cyclists, the pace does not make efficient use of my pedal or motor power.

I tend to maintain a more constant speed over varying terrain whereas most road cyclists ride fast on the level parts and slow significantly on the uphills. If that were all, I could manage. But, I find that groups tend to accelerate unpredictably in a way that has me using the throttle or the brake too often. Efficient riding minimizes use of the brakes!

So, I spent most of my time riding off the back or the front of the group, whichever group I was nominally riding with at the time.

Today I was also road testing a motor controller modification. Specifically, I had added solder to the controller's shunt, reducing its resistance to 0.834 mOhms from the roughly 1.2 mOhms I was using on Tuesday.

Last Tuesday I had noticed the motor running roughly at low throttle, moderately high loads and figured that peak currents were hitting some controller limit. By lowering the shunt resistance the controller allowed itself to draw more current, the result being a smoother-running motor. In fact, now I find the performance acceptable at all reasonable throttle settings when supplied at 48 volts nominal. This means that when a decision needs to be made I can consider replacement batteries of 24, 36 or 48 volts (nominal) and not worry about performance or rideability. Still, if I tried hard enough I could get the motor to run roughly. But this was only at an impractical cadence of about 20 RPM.

0.834 mOhms also happens to be just high enough that I can calibrate the Cycle Analyst to operate in the "low" range for low-powered vehicles where wattage is expressed in "watts" not "kilowatts". And, it is approximately one-third the resistance of the stock shunt, so when I reprogram the current limits I can enter a number into the programming interface equal to one-third the actual desired limit.

Although I had decided to follow the "E" group I improvised by riding the northern loop through San Mateo counter-clockwise, climbing Tartan Trail instead of descending it as the rest of the riders did. I wanted to climb Tartan Trail as this would be a good test of the controller at high load and low throttle setting.

But, for the rest of the ride I shadowed the group as we climbed up Polhemus, then Hallmark/Crestview and the tour through the Emerald Hills, where I decided to go off the front as I wanted to ride a bit faster than I had earlier.

At Jefferson and Canada Road I ran into Mark Holdum and Eric ? on his trike, and I gave both of them a mini-tour of my motor drive. While we were talking, the "E" group came and went. In fact, I didn't see the group again as I was too far behind them at this point. I figured most of them were heading home.

I rode through Woodside and Portola Valley as I had done in the morning, although I coasted down Alpine Road, then turned right and headed south all the way to Homestead Road. Somewhere near Foothill and Page Mill I ran into Bryn Dole, and he managed to find a usable wind shadow behind my oversized head/helmet all the way to Magdalena Road—we got lucky with the traffic lights.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	44.1 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3750 feet
Total Time:	3:19:32
Riding Time:	3:02:36
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.5 mph
Max. Speed:	42.9 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	48
Battery energy capacity:	864 wh
Battery energy consumed:	437.6 wh
Wh/mi:	9.9
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	8.73
Peak Current:	36.6 Amps
Min. Voltage:	26.5
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1103 kJ (306 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1324 kJ (368 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2427 kJ (674 wh)

Page Mill Loop, January 16, 2013 - I rode from home up into Los Altos Hills, making my way eventually to Page Mill Road by way of Moody Road. I climbed up to Skyline where I noticed that the temperature was much warmer in the sun than in the shade. I had a harder time getting a good breath of air, probably from all the smog in the air hanging over the Bay Area.

When I got to Skyline I turned right and continued up to the Russian Ridge Overlook where I had an excellent view of the heavy brown smog hanging over the Bay Area. I had not seen it look so dirty since the late 1980s when many smoke-belchers were still on the road.

I continued north on Skyline Blvd. and descended Old La Honda Road where I found myself behind a train of three other cars all the way down to Portola Road. At the bottom I turned left and rode over Sand Hill, then took one of my usual ways home.

I rode with four batteries wired to give me roughly 48 volts and 18 Amps-Hour. I was testing my motor controller (Infineon, Lyen-MK2, 12FET) and motor (BMC "600-watt" scooter style) to see how well it worked using a 48-volt nominal supply.

The system was rideable, and the efficiency was decent, although I suspect it was not quite as efficient as my running the system at 24 volts nominal where it's not as easy to draw peak power from the system.

I noticed that the motor ran slightly roughly at low RPM under load. I had noticed this on the bench, although I did not think the roughness would be too noticeable on the road. Nothing like a road test to work out the last few bugs. Looks like I still need to add some material to the controller's shunt to reduce its resistance and to increase the peak allowable current that the controller draws.

I also noticed that the cruise control behaved much more like a constant-speed cruise control at 48 volts than at 24 volts nominal. As the terrain inclined, my speed remained fairly constant, but motor power increased significantly, sometimes increasing from 250 watts to 900 watts as the road tilted up. This allowed me to dial in a fixed cadence and maintain it with little variation over rolling terrain. The downside, though, was that I tended to use more energy when I let the motor keep speed constant as the grade increased. Although the motor can draw 900 watts (and put out about 70% of that), my body is only comfortable maintaining about 150-200 watts out. So, when the motor works hard, most of the bike's power is coming from the motor.

Another negative was that upon initiating throttle, the bike tended to surge. This probably puts more stress on the drivetrain, the one-way roller clutch, in particular. Surging can probably be eliminated by running the throttle through the latest CycleAnalyst that allows one to soften the "ramp" of a throttle increase, so I'm not too worried about this, yet.

Overall, this was a successful test. The bike was at least rideable at 48 volts, something I could not say before I reduced the controller's shunt resistance by 40% from stock. I'll try reducing the controller's shunt resistance further, then test the system again. I hope I can get smooth operation even at low throttle setting and high load without breaking something or releasing "magic smoke" from the controller. We'll see.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	60.9 miles
Cumulative climbing:	3120 feet
Total Time:	5:11:09
Riding Time:	4:12:53
Avg. Speed (moving):	14.4 mph
Max. Speed:	47.4 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	403.3 wh
Wh/mi:	6.6
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	15.7
Peak Current:	55 Amps
Min. Voltage:	23.3
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1045 kJ (290 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	1730 kJ (481 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	2775 kJ (771 wh)

Shoreline LDT E-Ride, January 5, 2013 - I rode under heavy skies from home to Gunn High School in Palo Alto, where the Western Wheelers' first Long Distance Training ride of the season was assembling. Rain was forecast to arrive mid-afternoon, but I was hoping that it would hold off until after I got home. Fortunately, it did.

Several routes through the local hills were offered. I chose the longest route of just over 50 miles that climbed through Los Altos Hills before heading north to Emerald Hills above Redwood City, then returning past Gunn and over to Shoreline Park for lunch.

The "E" group was larger than I had expected, considering I saw no other names on the sign-in sheet when I signed it. I followed behind the group at a discreet distance as long as possible until the sharp downhill on Altamont Road at Natoma gave me an irresistable sling-shot past the group on the subsequent rise.

At Altamont and Page Mill Cheryl Prothero decided to lead all who would follow up Page Mill Road "before the rain came". I and "Francie" stuck to the official route.

We descended Page Mill Road to Arastradero Road, then to Alpine Road, where we turned right and headed downhill.

Just past the stopsign at I-280 we were overtaken by a large peloton that turned right on Junipero Serra Blvd. Someone yelled, "Hi, Bill!" from the group, but I couldn't tell who it was. We continued on Santa Cruz Avenue then turned left onto Sand Hill Road.

Just past I-280 and Sand Hill Road we met up with James Porter, who just happened to be waiting for the "E" group on the LDT ride. We told him that Cheryl had led a mutiny at Page Mill Road, leaving us the only remaining riders on the official "E" route.

The three of us continued over Sand Hill, then right on Whiskey Hill Road into Woodside, and then north on Canada Road to Edgewood Road.

At Edgewood we turned right and climbed over the hill at I-280, then plunged down into Redwood City where I saw my fastest speed of the day. At Cordilleras we turned right and rode through Emerald Hills.

James volunteered the idea of riding up to the Cross at the top of the hill, something that was not on the official route. We all agreed to make this small addition to the ride, even though it would put us further behind the other groups at lunch.

On our way back to Gunn Francie turned off in Menlo Park to head home, and James turned right on Page Mill Road to "do some more climbing". I pressed on to Shoreline Park, arriving just as the other groups were leaving. As I had enough food with me I ate a couple bars and turned around to join the "C" group who were heading back down the Stevens Creek Multi-Use Path.

I hadn't ridden the path from Shoreline Park all the way to its current southern terminus at Sleeper Ave. in Mountain View since the bridge had been built over Moffet Blvd. In fact, I don't think I had ever ridden over that bridge before. I like it.

It's too bad the bridge over Central Expressway had not been constructed with straight approaches like the Moffet bridge. The sharp turns are difficult for me to do on a long wheelbase bike. I can just make the turn without stopping if I use the entire width of the path.

I left the ride at Sleeper Ave. and took the bridge over CA85 to Heatherstone and zig-zagged my way home on city streets.

I notice that my battery energy use was less (on a per-mile basis) than usual. I attribute that to my riding with others, which meant mostly that I didn't climb the hills too fast.

I don't often ride with others these days, and it was fun and good practice to adapt my pacing to that of other cyclists.

GPS track:	GPX
Bike Ridden:	Power Gold Rush
Distance:	85.5 miles
Cumulative climbing:	6240 feet
Total Time:	6:05:05
Riding Time:	5:34:52
Avg. Speed (moving):	15.3 mph
Max. Speed:	45.4 mph
Nominal System Voltage:	24
Battery energy capacity:	900 wh
Battery energy consumed:	745.8 wh
Wh/mi:	8.7
Battery Amps-Hour Used:	29.6
Peak Current:	57 Amps
Min. Voltage:	22.5
Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	1287 watts
Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap):	250 watts
Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap):	3619 kJ (1005 wh)
Motor energy to rear wheel (estimated):	1933 kJ (537 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (calculated):	2087 kJ (580 wh)
Human energy to rear wheel (est.):	1533 kJ (426 wh)
Total energy delivered (est.):	4020 kJ (1117 wh)

Santa Cruz, January 1, 2013 - I left home at about the same time as I had two days before on my ride north on Skyline Blvd. Today I planned to ride to Santa Cruz and back on one of the shorter routes from home to that fair city. My plan was to meet my sister, Laura, for lunch at Dharma's sometime around 1400, although I had not received confirmation that she was available.

My route to Los Gatos was different than on Sunday's ride. Today I took San Tomas Expressway to Winchester, then onto the Los Gatos Creek Trail where everyone was out walking.

I know that when I ride the trail I should not be in a hurry. But, I saw other cylists who seemed to be in a rush, most of them going the other way. If I'm in a rush to get somewhere quickly I take the major streets. It's no wonder there are trail conflicts.

When the trail turned to dirt at Forbes Mill I noticed that the muddy spots had hardened and weren't as sticky as they had been on Sunday.

I continued alongside the creek, up the steep, loose section, then onto the face of Lenihan Dam. As I had done on Sunday I turned right on Alma Bridge Road and rode to CA17. But, this time instead of taking the horribly muddy trail between the highway and the reservoir, I rode the wrong way down the shoulder of the northbound side of CA17. There was plenty of space except for one short section where the right-most lane consumes all of the tarmac and a few poorly-located drainage grates must be negotiated.

When I arrived at Bear Creek Road I felt that this had been a piece of cake compared to the trail. Even so, I'll probably take the trail during the dry season.

From the overpass I continued up Old Santa Cruz Highway past Alma Fire Station and Lexington School. I have descended this way many times, but this is the first time I can recall having ridden in the southbound direction on this section.

My ride up Old Santa Cruz Highway was at a moderate pace and I caught myself day-dreaming and feeling a bit drowsy at times. I wondered if I should stick to my plan to go to Santa Cruz or to scale back my plans.

At Summit Road I turned left. As I passed the Summit Store I briefly considered stopping for lunch there as I was just starting to feel hungry.

Laura had called earlier and would not be available for lunch. I would be feasting solo on my $20 GroupOn at Dharma's, probably buying an extra few wrapped baked goods to carry home afterward as it wouldn't do to stuff myself and then ride another 40 miles after eating.

I ate an energy bar and pressed on.

The ride down Soquel-San Jose Road went swiftly as usual, although I slowed a bit more at the curves so as not to lean the bike too much. The road was damp, and I could not be sure I would not suddenly come upon a patch of mud or other slick spot, and there were a few.

Once I got out of the forest the weather was balmy with temperatures around 60F. I continued straight into Soquel and then to Dharma's that I discovered was closed for the holiday. It was a good thing that I carried enough energy bars today.

I was slightly relieved that Dharma's was closed as I would now be able to share my GroupOn with someone else on another occasion and not be encouraged to dine like a gourmand to get my money's worth.

I resolved to make a quick stop at a Subway or Togo's as I rode into Santa Cruz. Surely I'd find one open.

But, as I rode down Capitola, 17th, then Soquel Drive I found neither.

My return route was to have been Branciforte, Glen Canyon, then Bean Creek, Glenwood, and Mountain Charlie Road. I knew there was a Togo's on Ocean Street, but then I'd have to back-track to get to Branciforte.

When I arrived at the Ocean Street Togo's I found it closed.

A new plan popped into my head. I could continue up Ocean Street, then turn left on Graham Hill Road and ride into Felton. Surely I'd find something by then. I could then return up Zayante and down Bear Creek Road to the overpass I had visited earlier in the day.

I climbed up Graham Hill Road then descended swiftly and somewhat frighteningly into Felton. The road is marked "ICY" more than once, and the asphalt despite having been scored to improve traction appeared likely to make good on that threat. I took no chances today, although the air temperature was about 20 degrees F too warm for ice, the road here is always damp and shady in the winter.

As I rode through Felton I saw no sandwich shop. I could go out of my way to the deli at the New Leaf Market, but I decided I didn't want to ride out of my way, and I was now thinking that stopping and eating would mean riding in the dark at the end of the ride. Arriving home before dark or at least getting out of the mountains by dark and before the air got really cold was starting to appeal to me. At this point I decided to keep moving and to subsist on energy bars for the rest of the day. I'd prepare a real meal once I got home.

Another advantage of not stopping was that I now had enough time to take CA9 all the way back into Saratoga and avoid overlapping with my outbound route. If all went well I should get home at just about 1700.

I turned right onto CA9 and proceeded through Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, and Boulder Creek. I stopped briefly in a patch of warm sun in front of Rainbows End to take a short break as I had been riding continuously since I left home. I didn't get off the bike, but I ate another energy bar, and I gave my phone time to connect to the nearby WiFi signal and download my email—I pay extra for 3G connectivity.

North of Boulder Creek traffic thinned out considerably. The broad and smooth highway was actually enjoyable to ride upon, yet I saw no other cyclists until I encountered one bearded cycle tourist laden with multiple packs riding in the other direction. Aside from a few cyclists I saw in Santa Cruz, this was the first cyclist I had seen since I had left the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

I pressed up to Waterman Gap and then continued the final long segment to Saratoga Gap that always seems to take longer than it ought.

Half-way up the final climb I stopped to chat with a group of cycle tourists who were resting and enjoying a snack in a small patch of sunshine. They had ridden from San Francisco down the coast and had been camping in Big Basin where it must have been as cold as a freezer during the night. They said they had been warm enough with a fire. They were heading back over the hill to catch Caltrain at Sunnyvale. I mentioned that's where I was headed since I live less than a mile from the Caltrain station, and that they were on the correct route.

After wishing them a safe ride over the hill I continued up to Saratoga Gap where I stopped to don another layer of clothing.

The descent of CA9 into Saratoga was cold and damp, like the descent of Soquel-San Jose Road had been.

Half-way down the hill a closely-spaced platoon of sports cars being driven fast suddenly appeared on my tail. I will note that the speed limit here is 30 mph, and I was already going 40.

When the leader of the platoon felt he had just enough space he roared and squealed past, and the others followed immediately as if they could not bear to be separated front bumper from rear by more than 20 feet, even though the followers were passing on a blind corner as the group had progressed further down the road to a poor passing spot. It is a good thing no one else was going the other way at that moment. When I see people driving like that on open roads I think that the price of fuel is not yet too dear.

The rest of my ride home passed without incident. I got lucky at most of the traffic lights on Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road. Traffic was light, although heavier than I expected it to be on a holiday evening. I arrived home just before 1700.

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2026	2007 Southern CA25, December 2007 Low-Key Hill Climb: Mt. Hamilton, November 2007 Low-Key Hill Climb: Sierra Road, November 2007 McGee Creek and Rock Creek Roads, September 8, 2007 Swanton Pacific Railroad, August 2007 Mt. Hamilton Sunrise, July 29, 2007 Pescadero and Purisima, July 2007 Contra Costa, July 2007 A Ride with Stella and Frank, June 2007 Rodney Smith Incident, June 2007 Sequoia Century, June 2007 Tioga Road, May 12, 2007 Left Coast Velomobile Gathering, March 2007 Zach does Livermore on his Sunset, March 2007 Tour of California: Stage 3, February 2007	1988
2025	2006 East Dunne Ave., Morgan Hill, October 2006 John Peckham Memorial Ride, September 2006 Kings Creek, September 2006 Return to Freedom, September 2006 Hollister, August 2006 Old Stage Road, August 2006 Shoreline Park, August 2006 Montevina, August 2006 Aptos Creek Fire Road, July 2006 Fort Ord, July 2006 Chalk Mountain, July 2006 Montara Mountain, July 2006 Lyresa's Hills Candid Group Photo, July 2006 Olmo Trail, July 2006 San Benito, Clear Creek, and Idria, May 27, 2006 Tour of the Unknown Coast, May 13, 2006 Mission-Allison-Monument Traverse, May 2006 Mount Hamilton Loop Clockwise, April 29, 2006 Panoche and Mercey Hot Springs, April 2006 Pescadero, April 2006 Calaveras LDT, February 2006 Tour of California: Stage 3, February 2006 Tour of California: Stage 2, February 2006 Tour of California: Prologue, February 2006 Morgan Hill LDT, February 2006 Winter Ride Around the Reservoirs, January 2006	1987
2024	2005 Winter Solstice Century, December 2005 Loma Prieta, November 24, 2005 Johansen and Gazos Creek Roads, November 2005 Gazos Creek and Old Haul Roads, November 2005 Phyllis Olrich's Impromptu Ride to Pescadero, October 2005 Michelle Mazzei Memorial Ride, October 2005 Star Hill - Bear Gulch, October 2005 Watsonville, October 2005 East Bay Convolutions, October 2005 Reds Meadow, September 14, 2005 High Sierra Fall Century, September 10, 2005 San Francisco Grand Prix bike race, September 2005 Santa Cruz Surfer Statue, August 2005 South Butano, Old Haul, and Alpine east, August 6, 2005 One Third of the Bay in a Day, July 23, 2005 Pescadero, July 2005 Santa Cruz via Hecker Pass, July 2005 Stevens Canyon, July 2005 Big Basin, July 2005 San Bruno Mountain, June 2005 Half Moon Bay, June 2005 Sequoia Worker's Ride (200k w/variations), June 2005 First Half of Mr. Bill's, June 2005 Mt. Diablo LDT, May 2005 Empire Grade, May 2005 Mt. Tamalpais LDT, May 2005 Mt. Hamilton Challenge, April 2005 Half Moon Bay, April 2005 Rancho San Antonio, April 2005 Tailwinds to Santa Cruz, April 9, 2005 San Francisco Peninsula, April 2005 Hollister and San Juan Bautista LDT, March 2005 Marin Headlands & Tiburon LDT, March 2005 Pacific Grove, March 2005 Calaveras to Pleasanton LDT, February 2005 Morgan Hill LDT, February 2005 Point Reyes, January 2005	1986
2023 Lee Vining to Columbia, October 19, 2023 Columbia to Lee Vining, October 18, 2023 South Lake Tahoe to Angels Camp, August 9, 2023 Angels Camp to South Lake Tahoe, August 8, 2023 Mount Hamilton Big Loop North CW, April 23, 2023	2004 Panoche and Idria, December 18, 2004 Black Mountain, December 4, 2004 Coast Ride, November 28, 2004 Hull Lotta Hills, November 6, 2004 Tour of Southwest Marin, October 30, 2004 Watsonville to San Juan Buatista and back, October 16, 2004 Backroads of San Benito County, October 2, 2004 High Sierra Fall Century, September 18, 2004 Mount Hamilton by Moonlight, August 29, 2004 Marin Century, August 7, 2004 Ride to Santa Cruz, July 18, 2004 HPV Fun Day at Hellyer Park Velodrome, May 16, 2004 Montara Mountain, May 1, 2004	1985
2022 Mammoth Grand Tour, June 29, 2022	2003 High Sierra Fall Century, September 13, 2003 Bountiful Ridge, June 25, 2003 Mount Hamilton Challenge, April 26, 2003 Cherry Pie Criterium, February 2003 Winter Solstice Century, January 2003	1984
2021	2002 Ride with Zach and Dan, December 28, 2002 High Sierra Fall Centuiry, September 14, 2002 Bill Models Gold Rush with Full Fairing, 2002 Pierce Point Road, July 2002 First Tailbox, July 2002 Return to Freedom, June 29, 2002	1983
2020 South Lake Tahoe to Angels Camp, October 21, 2020 Lake Tahoe Circuit CCW, October 20, 2020 Angels Camp to South Lake Tahoe, October 19, 2020 Coleville to Columbia, August 14, 2020 Columbia to Coleville, August 13, 2020	2001 Winter Solstice Century, December 15, 2001 Knoxville Double Metric Century, September 29, 2001 San Francisco Grand Prix, September 9, 2001 South Butano Fire Road, August 25, 2001 Marin Century, August 5, 2001 San Gregorio, July 8, 2001 Loma Prieta Avenue, July 6, 2001 Bolinas Ridge, July 1, 2001 Return to Freedom, June 23, 2001 David rides a RANS Vivo, June 16, 2001 Sequoia Century, June 3, 2001 HPV Day at Hellyer Velodrome, May 20, 2001 Borel Hill, January 14, 2001	1982
2019 Lee Vining to Tuolumne, October 23, 2019 Tuolumne to Lee Vining, October 22, 2019 Lee Vining to Columbia, July 16, 2019 Columbia to Lee Vining, July 15, 2019	2000 Winter Solstice Double Century, December 16, 2000 Ron Eats Hot Dog, August 5, 2000 Seattle to Portland, July 8, 2000 Zach's Monthly Recumbent Ride, July 1, 2000 Sequoia Century, June 4, 2000 Strawberry Fields Forever, May 21, 2000 Taste of the Devil, April 15, 2000 Tierra Bella Century: 200k, April 8, 2000 Death Valley Double Century, February 19, 2000 Cherry Pie Criterium, February 6, 2000 Quien Sabe and Lone Tree Roads, January 27, 2000 Mt. Hamilton, January 22, 2000 New Years Ride up Mt. Diablo, January 1, 2000	1981
2018 Lee Vining to Tuolumne, October 13, 2018 Tuolumne to Lee Vining, October 12, 2018	1999 Easy Racers Factory, December 30, 1999 Fremont Peak, December 30, 1999 Visiting Karl Abbe of Zzip Designs, December 28, 1999 Winter Solstice Double Century, December 18, 1999 Seaside, December 11, 1999 Zach's Recumbent Ride in Alameda, December 4, 1999 Carmel Valley Road, November 26, 1999 Recumbents to Santa Cruz, October 10, 1999 Eating Hot Dogs at Saratoga Gap, September 4, 1999 San Gregorio Beach, August 22, 1999 Barbara Kester, August 21, 1999 Zach's Recumbent Ride, August 7, 1999 Stella's Restored Schwinn American Cruiser, July 1999 Sequoia Century SAG HQ, June 6, 1999 Mount Hamilton Challenge, April 24, 1999 Central Valley Recumbent Rally, April 17, 1999 Zach's Monthly Recumbent Ride, January 2, 1999	1980
2017 Mount Umunhum, September 21, 2017 Long Valley Tour, September 12, 2017 Lee Vining to Columbia, July 20, 2017 Markleeville to Lee Vining, July 19, 2017 Columbia to Markleeville, July 18, 2017 Terrible Two, June 17, 2017 Around the Bay with Tam and Diablo, May 28, 2017 Central Coast Double, May 13, 2017 Devil Mountain Double, April 29, 2017	1998 Winter Solstice Century, December 19, 1998 LKHC: Bohlman Road, November 21, 1998 LKHC: Mount Hamilton, November 14, 1998 LKHC: Soda Springs Road, October 17, 1998 High Sierra Fall Century, September 12, 1998 Group ride down South Butano Fire Trail, June, 1998 Southern Santa Cruz Mountains, June, 1998 Paicines, June, 1998 Bill Rides a BikeE to Half Moon Bay, May, 1998 Bill Rides Stella's Bicycle, May, 1998 CA84 and La Honda Open Space Preserve, February 15, 1998 How many Western Wheelers does it take to fix a flat?, February 28, 1998	1979
2016 Low-Key Hill Climbs 2016 Knoxville Double (abridged), September 24, 2016 Mammoth Tour, September 15, 2016 Markleeville to Columbia, August 4, 2016 Columbia to Markleeville, August 3, 2016 Around the Bay, May 15, 2016 Mount Hamilton Big Loop South CCW, May 8, 2016 Mount Hamilton Big Loop North CCW, May 1, 2016 Low-Key MegaMonster Enduro, February 6, 2016	1997 Foxy Fall Century, October 18, 1997 Grizzly Century, October 4, 1997 El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve, June 14, 1997 Mt. Hamilton, May, 1997 Sawyer Camp Trail, May, 1997 Primavera Century, April, 1997 Chabot Regional Park, March, 1997 Las Cumbres, February, 22, 1997 Bear Gulch west, February, 1997	1978
2015 Low-Key Hill Climbs 2015 Davenport, July 11, 2015 Jobst Brandt Memorial Celebration, June 20, 2015 Sequoia Century Workers Ride, June 6, 2015 Mount Hamilton CCW, May 24, 2015 Coastal Loop, May 17, 2015 Mount Hamilton Big Loop South CW, May 10, 2015 Jobst Brandt, R.I.P., January 14, 1935 - May 5, 2015 Nine Counties Ride Around the Bay, May 3, 2015 Mount Hamilton Big Loop CW, April 26, 2015 Patterson Pass, April 4, 2015 The Reservoirs and Uvas Park, March 22, 2015 Lake Del Valle and Mendenhall Road, March 14, 2015 Mount Hamilton CCW, February 21, 2015 Low-Key MegaMonster Enduro, February 7, 2015 Nine Continents Direct-Drive Hub Motor, February 4, 2015 Santa Cruz January 28, 2015 Devil's Slide, January 25, 2015 Gilroy and Corralitos, January 20, 2015 Capitola, January 3, 2015 Pescadero, January 1, 2015	1996 Jeff Steinwedel Memorial Ride, December 15, 1996 Loma Prieta, December 1996 Mt. Hamilton, November, 1996 Mt. Umunhum Road, November, 16, 1996 Low-Key Hill Climb: Bohlman-On Orbit-Bohlman, November 9, 1996 Low-Key Hill Climb: CA84 west Old La Honda, November 2, 1996 Ride with Derek, October 12, 1996 Low-Key Hill Climb: Montebello, October, 1996 Hekaton Classic, September, 1996 Ocean Beach, August, 1996 Pleasanton Ridge, August 10, 1996 Montara State Beach, July, 1996 Bill's Hills, July, 1996 Drawbridge, July, 1996 Mosquito Flat and June Lake Loop, July 3, 1996 Highland Way, June 1996 Sequoia Preview, June 1996 Low-Key Nightmare, June 1996 San Bruno Mountain, March 9, 1996 Livermore Hills, March 2, 1996 Sacramento Northern Railroad Right-of-Way, February, 1996 Santa Clara County Dead End Road, January 14, 1996 Santiago Canyon, January 11, 1996 Marin Headlands, January 7, 1996 New Years on Mt. Diablo, January 1, 1996	1977
2014 Winter Solstice, December 21, 2014 Tailwinds from Santa Cruz, December 14, 2014 Clouds and Rain, December 1, 2014 Pizza Century, November 9, 2014 Low-Key Hill Climbs 2014 Tioga Pass and Minaret Vista, September 17, 2014 June Lake Loop and Minaret Summit, September 16, 2014 Bicycle Traffic School, August 28, 2014 Effortless Rides, August 2014 Panoche Inn, July 2, 2014 Sequoia Century Worker's Ride and Picnic, June 7, 2014 Monitor Pass, Ebbetts Pass, and Pacific Grade Summit, May 26, 2014 Sonora Pass, May 25, 2014 Davis Double Century, May 17, 2014 Tour of California Stage 3, May 13, 2014 Around the Bay, May 3, 2014 Pescadero, April 29, 2014 Patterson, April 20, 2014 Devil's Slide, April 16, 2014 Aromas, April 13, 2014 South Butano and Old Haul Roads, April 9, 2014 Nifty Ten Fifty, April 6, 2014 Coyote Hills with BARC, March 30, 2014 Mount Hamilton Loop Clockwise, March 23, 2014 Visiting Luke At Zero, March 20, 2014 Big Basin, March 11, 2014 Bay and Creek Trails and Calaveras Road, March 8, 2014 MegaMonster Enduro, February 8, 2014 Winter Solstice '110', January 18, 2014 NTS Works 2x4 e-Cargo Bike, January 15, 2014 Seaside, January 15, 2014 Black Mountain, January 8, 2014 Henry Coe State Park, January 5, 2014 Mount Hamilton on New Years Day, January 1, 2014	1995 Marin County, December 28, 1995 Northern Contra Costa County, December 23, 1995 Contra Costa County, December 19, 1995 Mt. Diablo, December 9, 1995 Mt. Tamalpais, October 14, 1995 Contra Costa County, October 7, 1995 Pine Mountain, September 30, 1995 Marin County, September 24, 1995 Southern Marin, September 16, 1995 Vallejo to San Francisco, September 10, 1995 Alameda, September 2, 1995 Tour of Napa Valley, August 20, 1995 The Delta, August 12, 1995 Sandy Point Junction, August 5, 1995 Berkeley Criterium, July, 23, 1995 Mr. Bill's Reprise, July 16, 1995 San Pedro Mountain Road, July 3, 1995 Santa Cruz, July 1, 1995 Tioga Pass, June 14, 1995 Upper Rock Creek Canyon, June 12, 1995 Ride Around the Bear, June 10, 1995 Sequoia Century Support, June 4, 1995 Around Santa Ana Mountains, May 28, 1995 Laguna Hills, May 26, 1995 Mt. Tamalpais, May 21, 1995 Grizzly Peak Century, May 7, 1995 Mt. Hamilton Sunrise Ride, February 19, 1995 Franklin Canyon Road, February 18, 1995 Grizzly Peak Summit, February 12, 1995 Mt. Diablo, February 5, 1995 Sunset from Grizzly Peak, January 28, 1995	1976
2013 Sierra Road and Coyote Hills, December 25, 2013 LKHC: Mount Hamilton, November 28, 2013 LKHC: Lomas Cantadas and Marin, November 16, 2013 LKHC: Patterson Pass East, November 9, 2013 LKHC: Black Road and Castle Rock Summit, November 2, 2013 LKHC: Bohlman Road, October 19, 2013 LKHC: Montevina Road, October 12, 2013 LKHC: Montebello Road, October 5, 2013 Stevens Canyon, September 20, 2013 La Honda, September 8, 2013 Half Moon Bay, September 1, 2013 Ben Lomond and Zayante, August 30, 2013 San Gregorio, August 25, 2013 Pescadero, August 17, 2013 Ben Lomond, August 14, 2013 San Juan and Salinas, August 6, 2013 Casserly and Corralitos, July 28, 2013 Skyline Blvd., July 25, 2013 San Gregorio, July 21, 2013 Santa Cruz via Laurel, July 14, 2013 Lake Ranch, July 10, 2013 Skyline Blvd., June 25, 2013 Old Haul Road, June 22, 2013 Sequoia Worker's Picnic, June 9, 2013 Sequoia Worker's Ride, 100-mile, June 8, 2013 Mount Hamilton Loop Counter-Clockwise, May 26, 2013 Maker Faire, May 19, 2013 Tour of California Stage 7: Mt. Diablo, May 18, 2013 Tour of California Stage 6: San Jose Time Trial, May 17, 2013 Guadalupe River and Bay Trail, May 14, 2013 Devil's Slide, May 7, 2013 Santa Cruz, April 28, 2013 Classic Coast Loop, April 22, 2013 Skyline Boulevard Loop, April 17, 2013 La Honda, April 10, 2013 Nifty Ten Fifty, April 7, 2013 Mount Hamilton Clockwise, March 24, 2013 Santa Cruz, March 17, 2013 Pescadero, March 10, 2013 Little Basin and Bloom Grade, March 4, 2013 Redwood City via CA92, February 28, 2013 Santa Cruz via Pescadero, February 24, 2013 Redwood City via San Gregorio, February 21, 2013 Ess to Santa Cruz, February 16, 2013 Big and Little Basins, February 13, 2013 Low-Key Mega-Monster Enduro, February 9, 2013 Superbowl Ride to Half Moon Bay, February 3, 2013 San Gregorio via Black Mountain, January 30, 2013 Gilroy and The Reservoirs, January 27, 2013 The Loop, January 25, 2013 Skyline Blvd., January 21, 2013 Pulgas Water Temple LDT Ride, January 19, 2013 Page Mill Loop, January 16, 2013 Shoreline LDT E-Ride, January 5, 2013 Santa Cruz, January 1, 2013	1994 Oakland Hills, October 16, 1994 Point Reyes, October 9, 1994 CA85 Before Opening, September 25, 1994 Marin Headlands and Bolinas, September 18, 1994 Mt. Diablo and Morgan Territory, September 11, 1994 Loma Prieta, August 13, 1994 El Sereno, July 30, 1994 Santa Cruz Zig-Zag, July 24, 1994 Borel Hill, July 17, 1994 Daggett, Luther, and Carson Passes, July 9, 1994 Ebbetts Pass, July 8, 1994 Mt. Rose Highway, July 7, 1994 July 4th Ride to the Grimm's, July 4, 1994 Mt. Hamilton, July 2, 1994 Santa Cruz with Stella June 16, 1994 Santa Cruz Mountains Coastal Loop, June 12, 1994 Sequoia Century Support, June 5, 1994 Mt. Hamilton, May 21, 1994 Mr. Bill's Nightmare Preview, May 8, 1994 Mt. Hamilton and Mt. Diablo in a Day, April 30, 1994 Primavera Century, April 17, 1994 Santa Cruz, April 10, 1994 Santiago Peak (Old Saddleback), April 3, 1994 Mount Hamilton Clockwise, March 26, 1994 Marin County, February 5, 1994 Mount Diablo Sunrise, January 30, 1994 Half Sequoia 200k, January 15, 1994 Martin Luther King Weekend Rides, January 1994 Brunch in Blackhawk, January 8, 1994 Fremont Older Open Space and Black Mountain, January 1, 1994	1975
2012 Skyline Blvd. and Thompson Road, December 30, 2012 Half Moon Bay, December 24, 2012 Pescadero, December 19, 2012 Misty San Mateo, December 16, 2012 Foggy San Mateo, December 11, 2012 Winter Solstice Century, December 8, 2012 Pescadero Dirty Roads, December 3, 2012 LKHC: Mount Hamilton, November 22, 2012 Connelly's Climbs, November 14, 2012 LKHC: Soda Springs Road, November 10, 2012 LKHC: CA84 and West Alpine Road, November 3, 2012 LKHC: Morgan Territory, October 20, 2012 LKHC: Quimby, October 13, 2012 LKHC: Montebello, October 6, 2012 Minaret Road and Horseshoe Lake, September 19, 2012 Classic Coast Loop, August 8, 2012 Corralitos via Summit South and Buzzard Lagoon, August 1, 2012 Half Moon Bay, July 22, 2012 Dinner with Jobst and Friends, July 20, 2012 Big Figure Eight, July 15, 2012 Stevens Canyon, Grizzly Flat, and Los Trancos Woods, July 12, 2012 Coastal Century Cruise, July 8, 2012 Old Haul, Gazos Creek, and Johansen Roads, July 1, 2012 Pescadero Loop and Allen Road, June 27, 2012 La Honda, June 21, 2012 South Butano, Old Haul, Borel Hill, east Alpine, June 16, 2012 Palo Alto Visit, June 10, 2012 Sequoia Century 200k Route, June 9, 2012 Sequoia Century SAG, June 3, 2012 San Gregorio, June 2, 2012 Mount Umunhum and the Reservoirs, May 28, 2012 Mount Tamalpais, May 19, 2012 Tour of California, Stage Two, May 14, 2012 Mount Diablo from Home, May 12, 2012 Mount Hamilton Loop Clockwise, May 6, 2012 Santa Cruz Big Loop with Zach, April 29, 2012 Lunch Party at Jobst's, April 21, 2012 Redwood Gulch and Skyline, April 18, 2012 Mount Hamilton Counter-Clockwise, April 15, 2012 Big Loop to Santa Cruz, April 7, 2012 Old La Honda and Kings, April 4, 2012 Skyline Loop, March 26, 2012 Ride with Frank, March 21, 2012 The Extended Loop, March 19, 2012 Grand Loop to Pescadero and Back, March 12, 2012 La Honda, March 9, 2012 Santa Cruz, March 4, 2012 Low-Key MegaMonster Enduro, February 11, 2012 Aborted Ride to San Francisco, January 7, 2012 Santa Cruz Loop, January 1, 2012	1993 Henry Cowell Redwoods, December 26, 1993 Mt. Hamilton Sunrise, December 5, 1993 Kings Mountain Road, November 26, 1993 Night Ride, November 20, 1993 John Nicholas Trail and Long Ridge, November, 1993 Chalk Mountain, November 7, 1993 South Butano Fire Trail, October, 1993 Bolinas Ridge, October 9, 1993 Furnace Creek 508, October, 1993 Carson Pass, September, 1993 Newport Bay, September, 1993 Amtrak Century, September 18, 1993 Ride to Santa Cruz, September 12, 1993 Night Ride, September, 1993 Hekaton Classic, September, 1993 Forest of Nisene Marks, August, 1993 Around the Santa Cruz Mountains, August 21, 1993 Ride with Willie Stewart, August, 1993 Sonora Pass East, August 4, 1993 White Mountain Peak, August 3, 1993 June Lake and Conway Summit, August 1, 1993 Last Chance Road, July, 1993 Backroads to the Coast, July, 1993 Ward Road, July 15, 1993 Kings Mountain Store, July, 1993 Ride with Joel Cain, July, 1993 Santa Cruz, July 3, 1993 Comstock Silver Century, June, 1993 Monitor Pass East, June, 1993 Uncle Bill's Double Century, June 19, 1993 Sequoia Workers Ride, June, 1993 Mt. Tamalpais, June 5, 1993 Three Sierra Passes, May, 1993 Ride Around Lake Tahoe, May, 1993 Uncle Bill's Very Difficult Ride, May 22, 1993 Mt. Hamilton Loop Counter-Clockwise, May 15, 1993 Kings Mountain Store, May, 1993 Grizzly Peak Century, May, 1993 Primavera Century, April, 1993 Orange County, April 11, 1993 Irvine to San Diego, April 9, 1993 Gazos Creek Road, April, 1993 Stevens Canyon & Soda Springs Road, April 9, 1993 Morgan Territory and Mt. Diablo, March 21, 1993 Solvang Century, March 6, 1993 La Honda, February 28, 1993 Blackhawk, February 27, 1993 Gilroy, February 21, 1993 Morgan Territory, February 6, 1993 Half Moon Bay, January 31, 1993 Two Bay Loops, January 16, 1993 Rainy Day on Skyline, January 10, 1993 Montevina and Bohlman, January 3, 1993	1974
2011 Winter Solstice Century, December 17, 2011 Black Mountain, December 14, 2011 Half Moon Bay, December 10, 2011 Salinas, December 6, 2011 San Gregorio and Pescadero, December 3, 2011 Zach Rides to Pescadero, November 27, 2011 LKHC: Mount Hamilton, November 24, 2011 LKHC: Kings Mountain Road, November 19, 2011 LKHC: Highway 9, November 12, 2011 Wooden Valley, November 5, 2011 LKHC: Mix Canyon Road (and Blue Ridge Road and Gates Canyon Road), November 5, 2011 LKHC: Palomares Road (and there and back), October 29, 2011 Ben Lomond, October 26, 2011 LKHC: Bohlman-Norton-Kittridge-Quickert-On Orbit-Bohlman (and the scenic way home), October 22, 2011 LKHC: Page Mill Road (and the scenic way home), October 15, 2011 LKHC: Sierra Road (plus there and back), October 8, 2011 Mammoth Area Ride, September 22, 2011 Mammoth Tour and San Joaquin Ridge, September 19, 2011 Sun Valley - Elkhorn, August 21, 2010 Trail Creek Road, August 21, 2010 Warm Springs Road, August 21, 2010 Galena Summit, August 19, 2010 Hills 'R' Us Goes to Big Basin, August 3, 2011 Hills 'R' Us Goes to Pescadero, July 20, 2011 Field Day, June 25, 2011 Mt. Madonna, June 19, 2011 Sequoia Worker's Events, June, 2011 Short Loop to Skyline, June 2, 2011 Tour of California, Stage 4, May 18, 2011 Half Moon Bay Trails, May 7, 2011 Mt. Hamilton Twice, April 30, 2011 Coyote Creek Trail, April 24, 2011 Mt. Hamilton Loop, April 16, 2011 Santa Cruz, April 10, 2011 Mt. Hamilton Clockwise, April 3, 2011 Pescadero, March 30, 2011 Pillar Point, March 17, 2011 Big Basin, March 12, 2011 Pacelining to San Gregorio, March 9, 2011 To Bonny Doon and Back, March 4, 2011 Soda Springs Road and Weaver Road, February 28, 2011 Snow and Sand, February 20, 2011 Low-Key MegaMonster Enduro, February 12, 2011 Sunday Ride, February 6, 2011 WW LDT Ride: Seascape, February 5, 2011 GPC Ride: Suisun City, January 29, 2011 Santa Cruz, January 22, 2011 GPC Second Saturday Ride, January 8, 2011	1992 Chalk Mountain, December 27, 1992 Mission Peak, December 26, 1992 Windy Hill with Laura, December 25, 1992 Quimby, Kincaid, and Mt. Hamilton, December 20, 1992 Swanton Loop, December 13, 1992 Swanton Loop, December 5, 1992 Berkeley Hills, November 21, 1992 Go Directly To Jail, November 14, 1992 Twin Peaks and San Bruno Mountain, October 31, 1992 Mt. Tamalpais, October 18, 1992 East Bay Ride, October 11, 1992 Old Haul Road, October 4, 1992 Sonora Pass west, September 21, 1992 Ebbetts Pass, September 20, 1992 Monitor Pass, September 19, 1992 Hekaton Classic, September 6, 1992 Mt. Madonna and Uvas Road, September 5, 1992 Eureka Canyon Road, August 30, 1992 Jamison Creek Road, August 23, 1992 San Francisco, August 15, 1992 Banana Classic, August 9, 1992 Alba Road, August 2, 1992 Dumbarton Bridge, Calaveras Road, and Felter Road, August 1, 1992 Bohlman Road, July 30, 1992 Tioga Road, July 25, 1992 Minaret Vista, July 23, 1992 Mt. Diablo, July 12, 1992 Comstock Silver Century, June 28, 1992 Santa Cruz, June 20, 1992 Del Puerto Canyon, June 15, 1992 Sequoia Century, June 7, 1992 Bonny Doon to Palo Alto, May 30, 1992 Three Sierra Passes, May 23, 1992 Mt. Hamilton Loop Clockwise, May 16, 1992 East Bay and BART, April 19, 1992 First Ride to Santa Cruz, May 9, 1992 Mt. Hamilton Challenge, April 25, 1992 Purissima Creek Trail, April 17, 1992 South Butano Fire Trail, April 4, 1992 Eagle Rock Road, March 8, 1992 Gazos Creek Road, February 22, 1992	1973
2010 Zach Rides the Hybrid Gold Rush, December 4, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: Mount Hamilton, November 25, 2010 Native Sons, Star Hill, and Bear Gulch (west) Roads, November 17, 2010 Gazos Creek Road, November 13, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: Bonny Doon/Pine Flat, November 13, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: Welch Creek Road, November 6, 2010 Old Haul Road, October 16, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: Portola State Park, October 16, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: OLH, October 9, 2010 Low-Key Hillclimb: Montebello, October 2, 2010 Mammoth Lakes Full Tour, September 15, 2010 Aptos, August, 2010 Davenport, July, 2010 Pomponio Creek Road, July, 2010 Mt. Umunhum Road, July, 2010 Ridgecrest Road, June, 2010 HPV Races at Hellyer Velodrome, June, 2010 OHPV E-Power Challenge, May 31, 2010 OHPV HPC Road Race, May 30, 2010 OHPV HPC Obstacle Race, May 30, 2010 Left-Coast Velomobile Gathering, May 30, 2010 Tour of California, Stage 4, May, 2010 Tour of California, Stage 3, May, 2010 Kings Ridge Loop, May, 2010 Mt. Hamilton Loop Clockwise, May, 2010 Mt. Hamilton Challenge, April, 2010 Panoche, April, 2010 Northern Marin County, April, 2010 Northern Contra Costa County, April, 2010 The Geysers, March 27, 2010 MegaMonster Enduro, February 13, 2010 Winter Solstice Century, January, 2010 Devil's Slide, January, 2010	1991	1972
2009 Countryview Drive, December, 2009 Low-Key Hillclimbs, October/November, 2009 Pizza Century, November 22, 2009 Morgan Territory Road, November 14, 2009 Big Sur - Indians Tour, October 31, 2009 Muir Beach to San Francisco, October 24, 2009 Zach and Michi's wedding ride to Muir Woods, October 24, 2009 San Francisco to Muir Beach, October 24, 2009 June Lake Loop, September 13, 2009 Santa Cruz, July 2009 Return to Freedom, July 2009 Oakland/Berkeley Hills, July 2009 HPV races at Hellyer Velodrome, May 2009 OHPV E-Power Challenge, May 25, 2009 King Ridge, May 9, 2009 Mt. Hamilton Challenge, April 2009 Quien Sabe Valley, April 19, 2009 East Bay Hills, April 2009 Morgan Hill, April 2009 Swift Street Bike Festival, January 2009 Fremont Peak, January 2009 East Bay, January 2009 Mount Diablo, January 2009	1990	1971
2008 San Bruno Mountain, December 20, 2008 Winter Solstice Century, December 13, 2008 Pizza Century, December 7, 2008 Low-Key Hill Climb: Mt. Hamilton, November 27, 2008 The Bike Hut, October 26, 2008 Unveiling of the Monument for Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough, October 18, 2008 South Livermore Bike path, September 20, 2008 Pigeon Pass, September 20, 2008 Highland Way, Eureka Canyon Road, and Mt. Madonna Road, September 13, 2008 Reds Meadow, September 6, 2008 Horseshoe Lake, September 5, 2008 Adobe Trail, August 30, 2008 Bonny Doon, August 13, 2008 Sierra Azul, August 2, 2008 Majors, July 30, 2008 Aquinas Trail, July 20, 2008 East Bay Tour, July 12, 2008 HPV races at Hellyer Park Velodrome, May 31, 2008 Tour of California Stage 3, February 20, 2008 Tour of California Prologue, February 17, 2008 San Benito Enduro, February 9, 2008	1989	1970