The Peddler's Tale
Oct. 25th, 2003 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreAfter a two-day break from riding (for the very good reason that I did not want to be that far away from indoor plumbing in that time, check?) I got out on the road today. I wanted to get my ride in before noon, because the scheduled high was 96.
Both sides of Almaden Expressway past our house are being re-paved, so I rode on the so-called sidewalk down to Almaden Lake Park. Inside the main portion of the park, I still had to walk the bike to the beginning of the Los Alamitos/Calero Creek Trail. The total trail is 3.6 miles, but on a hot day I was not feeling that ambitious. Instead, I rode about a mile (it's a gentle climb most of the way) up the trail, stopped when my thighs started informing me that a break was wanted now, and then came back down. A little farther every day, as it is a lovely ride.
The trial was fairly open, with small groups of hikers and several other cyclists on the road. The other riders were a help, as they gave me someone to pace off while maintaining my pedal rate to around 60 a minute. I am getting better at shifting, and not panicking when the derailer complains. Most of the groups of people were doing a decent job of being aware of the bikes, but there was one group spread across the entire width the trail. The lady I was pacing at that point called out that there were two bikes passing on their left, but the moment she passed they spread out again! At least the brakes work!
When I get a little more comfortable with the process, I'll take the camera along.
I should get a shot of me on the bike for a user pic.
Both sides of Almaden Expressway past our house are being re-paved, so I rode on the so-called sidewalk down to Almaden Lake Park. Inside the main portion of the park, I still had to walk the bike to the beginning of the Los Alamitos/Calero Creek Trail. The total trail is 3.6 miles, but on a hot day I was not feeling that ambitious. Instead, I rode about a mile (it's a gentle climb most of the way) up the trail, stopped when my thighs started informing me that a break was wanted now, and then came back down. A little farther every day, as it is a lovely ride.
The trial was fairly open, with small groups of hikers and several other cyclists on the road. The other riders were a help, as they gave me someone to pace off while maintaining my pedal rate to around 60 a minute. I am getting better at shifting, and not panicking when the derailer complains. Most of the groups of people were doing a decent job of being aware of the bikes, but there was one group spread across the entire width the trail. The lady I was pacing at that point called out that there were two bikes passing on their left, but the moment she passed they spread out again! At least the brakes work!
When I get a little more comfortable with the process, I'll take the camera along.
I should get a shot of me on the bike for a user pic.
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Date: 25 Oct 2003 21:11 (UTC)One funny thing is the mention of the side path that comes out at San Vicente Road. San Vicente is also the name of a street in LA. Well, two streets, actually, both weirdly diagonal, separated by about four miles minimum. Nobody knows why they have the same name, and everyone gets confused by them -- between there being two and their shifting diagonal paths, getting lost on or puzzled by SV is an LA rite of passage.
So, when I read that, my first reaction was "Oh dear God, it goes there too?"