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!

2023

• GPS track:	GPX
  Bike Ridden:	Power Pursuit F2
  Distance:	178.6 miles
  Cumulative climbing:	9755 feet
  Total Time:	13:39:22
  Riding Time:	10:11:26
  Avg. Speed (moving):	17.5 mph
  Max. Speed:	30.6 mph
  Nominal System Voltage:	48
  Battery energy available:	2700 wh
  Battery energy consumed:	2729 wh
  Net battery energy consumed:	2155 wh
  Wh/mi:	12.1
  Battery Amps-Hour Used:	53.3
  Regen Amps-Hour Recovered:	11.2
  Peak Forward Current:	23.0 Amps
  Peak Regen Current:	-29.0 Amps
  Peak Motor Temperature:	92 C
  Average Motor Temperature:	37 C

  Mount Hamilton Big Loop North CW, April 23, 2023 - Zach Kaplan and I had planned to do this ride together two weeks prior. I set up a route that would have us both starting and finishing at our respective homes, which would avoid one of us having to travel the night before (or after) the ride.

  I created a route that had me passing through Hayward where Zach and I would meet up. My route would head north into Menlo Park before crossing the Dumbarton Bridge, then taking direct roads into Hayward. At the end of the day, I would pass through downtown San Jose while Zach would head north through Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, a corner of Oakland, and then into Alameda. It would be a long day for both of us.

  Highlights: Beautiful weather, favorable winds (most of the day), beautiful green/colorful scenery, malfunctioning tracking app, two angry beasts, and one cranky headlamp that refused to shine where directed.

  Our first snafu occurred when my life360 app appeared not to provide Zach with my current location so he could more effectively time his meet-up. As I was getting ready to cross the Dumbarton I received a phone call from him. I stopped and took his call, then after he informed me of the problem I spent some time rebooting my phone and attempting to get the app working to no avail.

  As I had been trying to convince Zach to use a tracking app for these occasions, this was not an auspicious demonstration of its utility. Later after I had wifi access during our lunch stop, I was able to re-install the app and get it working properly, but by then we had already decided to abandon the idea of using it again on this ride. Further investigation revealed that my 4G network connection was broken during the first half of my ride--I received no email nor map updates as I progressed along my route--and that problem I can lay at the feet of my carrier. So, the life360 app for whatever its detractors might say was probably not to blame for this snafu.

  The first part of my ride enjoyed quiet roads under partially-overcast skies. As I rode through Palo Alto and Menlo Park the sun made an appearance, but as I headed east through Newark, the overcast returned. Closer to the hills along Mission Boulevard the overcast became so heavy that a fine drizzle fell and coated my glasses. I found myself frequently reaching for my handkerchief so that I could wipe my glasses and see properly.

  Zach and I had discussed meeting near Foothill Boulevard and C Street in Hayward, but when I arrived there I did not see him. He had downloaded the route, so I did not wait and continued on. I looked for a good spot to pull over to check my text messages in case he sent me an update about his location, and as I was about to do that I saw him turning onto B Street one block ahead of me.

  After I caught up to him, we exchanged pleasantries then continued over Dubin Grade where the drizzle came down more thickly on Dublin Canyon Road, then down into Pleasanton where the drizzle quickly reverted to overcast then to sunshine. We took the most direct route through north Pleasanton and Livermore and onto Patterson Pass Road, finding ourselves in the midst of riders on the Primavera Century on the lower half of the climb to the pass.

  A steady cold wind was blowing east over Patterson Pass, so we did not stop for long to enjoy the view. When we got to I-580 at the bottom we stopped briefly at the Mobile station rest rooms while I tried in vain to get a working 4G connection (and hence a working life360 app).

  As we continued through Tracy I altered our route on the fly to avoid an unpleasant segment of Valpico Road and instead detoured to West Linne Road that I had taken along the southern edge of Tracy on most of my other trips through the area.

  We quickly cruised east to Ahern Road and then onto CA33 where we began our cruise south into Patterson, a trip that took us just under an hour, including a brief stop for Zach to swap batteries, while cruising near the maximum legal e-bike speed of 45 kph.

  We stopped for lunch at Blue's Cafe. The place still has a funky charm, friendly service, and working WiFi that I recall from my last visit at least five years ago, but the food is not a good value compared to the chains like Togo's or Subway. I like to patronize the "mom and pop" eateries when I can, but if food were my primary criterion I'd look elsewhere.

  After lunch we started west toward Del Puerto Canyon Road on Sperry Avenue, hitting almost all of the red lights just as they started the red cycle. Once we got past I-5 traffic thinned out nicely. Zach missed the turn onto Del Puerto Canyon Road itself and continued pedaling enthusiastically up toward Diablo Grande. I've thought of making this detour myself just to discover what is at the end of this road, but Google Maps shows a gated residential community and golf course. The road itself looks decent enough, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble of exploring it. It does not later connect to Del Puerto Canyon further up-canyon, so it would be an out-and-back trip.

  The short-lived cherry orchard at the bottom of Del Puerto Canyon is looking even more dead than it was last year in spite of all the rain. Most of the trees could never survive without irrigation, and those that do, cling to life in the gullies and washes, only to maintain limited greenery and no fruit.

  We started with a headwind, but as the canyon closed around the winds died down, and we were able to sustain a decent pace (32 kph) on the gradual climb up through the lower canyon.

  As we started into the upper canyon I came upon a rattlesnake stretched out across the uphill lane of the road. I stopped to try to shoo it off to the side. Traffic was very light, yet the chance of the snake being run over at the pace it was moving was high.

  After I turned around, two cars sped up the hill, but miraculously the snake was still intact. It had moved to the center of the lane, the autos' tires missing it. I tried to use my extended mini-pump as a poker, but that wasn't long enough for me when Mr. Snake coiled himself and started rattling angrily at me. I looked nearby for a longer stick and found the perfect snake-wrangling tool that kept my hands beyond the creature's striking distance. The stick had a small crook at its end that was perfect for scooping a snake off the road quickly and without risk. I snapped a photo of Mr. Snake on stick before tossing him (and later the stick) down the embankment.

  We continued past Frank Raines Park before stopping at Adobe Springs to top off our water supplies. Del Puerto Creek was flowing swiftly over the ford, but the water did not appear to be too high to ride through. Zach didn't want to risk his bike slipping and sending him + bike into the water, so he walked across getting his feet wet. I took a chance and rode through but did not find the ford slippery. Had I fallen into the water I would have been quite unhappy.

  Del Puerto Canyon Road climbs gradually through it's short upper canyon before starting its final steep climb to the summit. This last mile is particularly steep at the bottom. At the top Zach's second battery was nearly depleted, but he continued onto the descent toward the junction so he'd get some regeneration. The descent is short, and with the few short uphills before the junction again his battery was depleted.

  After I told him that heading south there is mostly descending and only a few short rolling uphills, he again continued and managed to regenerate before running flat as we got to the low point in San Antonio Valley, where the road crosses San Antonio Creek.

  We stopped near a gate to a nearby ranch while Zach set to work on swapping his battery. As he started working we encountered our second angry beast. A man's angry voice from inside the ranch at whose gate we had stopped yelled in our direction. We couldn't make out all the words, but the tone was unfriendly, and we gathered that the speaker didn't want us stopped there--"You can't park there!", we managed to hear. We agreed that we were stopped beside the road within the Caltrans/county easement, and that there was nothing illegal about our presence.

  I looked in the direction of the speaker who had momentarily turned his attention to throwing an object for his dog to catch. A minute later his hospitality decreased a few notches with, "Banana Boat, get the f___ out of there!", followed a minute after that, "I'll give you five minutes!" We ignored him, not wanting to egg him on or to rile him further.

  We were stopped just off the asphalt next to the road as one might anywhere along this road for whatever reason. We were not blocking access to his gate, and there was no traffic through it. We were not even touching his fence or gate. In short we were doing nothing illegal. Perhaps he was irritated that our conversation interrupted his solitude for a few minutes.

  The harangue was at once both comedic in its unreasonableness yet unsettling. I have visited this area for many years, perhaps as many as the man had been alive--he looked to be in his 30's--and have ridden my "Banana Boat" bike on most of my visits in the last 20 of those years. I have heard tales of crazy "mountain people" and "survivalists" living in the hills, but expected most of the tales were exaggerations and embellishments added for the re-telling. I have also met some of the people who live in the area on occasions when I stopped for a meal at The Junction Cafe when it was open, finding them decent people. This was the first occasion I had experienced of outright intentional hostility.

  I'll admit the passive-aggressive in me wanted to learn what legal consequences the speaker had in mind should we find ourselves waylaid beyond his deadline. It was the possibility of illegal consequences that concerned me.

  For better or worse we missed the opportunity to call the angry man's bluff. Zach finished his battery swap with a couple of minutes to spare by my count. We were running late at this point so we saw little to be gained by lingering. As we continued south through San Antonio and Upper San Antonio Valley I confess I checked my mirror more often than usual for the next ten miles in case the angry man might have troubled himself to trouble us further. I had made a mental note of the color and age of the pickup truck I saw parked in front of his house. We had few escape options if worse came to worst.

  We stopped briefly again in Upper San Antonio Valley Road to admire the carpet of mostly buttercups covering the meadow. I've noticed that in recent years wildflower displays are mostly yellow while 20 years ago the colors were more varied.

  On the final climb to the summit of Mount Hamilton Zach's motor system rolled back power as the motor was starting to overheat. We considered stopping to let it cool, but in my experience unless the stable speed is too slow to maintain balance, it is faster overall to continue at whatever pace the motor system allows than to stop to let it cool before continuing at a faster pace only to have the motor overheat again, forcing a second stop.

  We finally arrived at the top of the climb at 1800, but we found the gate across the road to observatory had been closed for the day. cutting off access to the rest rooms. We stopped for a few minutes while I donned my longs top and bottom, then we proceeded to descend into San Jose.

  The road down was busier than I would have expected at this late hour. Although we weren't poking on the descent, we were riding slow enough to gain from regeneration. Several cars overtook us. Down at Grandview Restaurant, the place looked packed with cars spilling out onto the side of the road. Then below that several groups of kids in cars were parked to enjoy the sunset. I also saw lots of empties and hoped they'd continue to enjoy the sunset by the road until we could reach the bottom of the hill.

  Zach and I parted ways at Berryessa Road and Morrill Avenue with Zach heading north on Morrill while I continued into downtown San Jose, then onto Guadalupe River Trail to return home on the same route I use when returning from The Studio.

  Near the north end of SJC I stopped on the empty road (here closed to motor traffic) to adjust my Edelux II headlamp that had annoyingly come out of adjustment several times already today. Since the beam of this lamp is shaped it is critical that its aim be held in proper height for the light to be usable. I was unable to get any adjustment to stay put in the presence of road vibration and will be reworking my mounting to find a more stable attachment for the lamp.

  I got onto Central Expressway and zipped the remaining miles home, arriving after 2030 in full darkness, the first time I've ridden a significant distance in the dark in several years. My eyes haven't improved their night vision during the intervening years, and tonight was a reminder of why I prefer to get home by dark these days. But, I got home in one piece.

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