Our World Cyclist Friend ...

Thomas, cycling down the west coast from Alaska to California, came to visit us for a couple days. We rode on the Dry Creek Trail. Dara on the left with his Townie. Thomas standing on top of the sign. His Surly Cross Check on the right.

Thomas, Dara, Vern Riding Around Town

We (Dara and I) took Thomas riding around town. Rode from our place, across the historical Lion Bridge (built in 1916), through downtown, then onto the Dry Creek Trail. We rode to the end and back (nine miles), then rode past the Library, McHenry Mansion (took some pictures), McHenry Museum, then over to A & W Rootbeer. It was already dark by then. We order three large rootbeers. Thomas had never drank rootbeer! We took our time enjoying the rootbeer, took some more pictures, then rode back to our place.

World Cyclist Comes to Visit ....

This afternoon, we had a special guest, Thomas, from England. We met through Warm Showers He had been riding his bicycle from Canada to California. Thomas rode the BART to Pleasonton, then rode his Surly Cross Check to Modesto, about 55 miles, in only four hours! Had a nice visit, sharing stories ..... I am really interested in hearing more about Thomas' adventures with the Mongols, where he stayed for six weeks .....

Riding to Emergency ...

Last night Dara and I rode to the Emergency at Memorial Hospital to get x-rays of Dara's arm. Temperature must have been around 100 degrees when we left home about 4:30. We had to wait at least three hours before they finally did the x-ray. Somebody has mistakenly marked that the x-rays had already been taken, when in fact, no x-rays were done!

We spent about four hours at the Emergency, before we rode home again, from about 9:30 until 10:15. Ride home was pleasant, as the temperature had cooled to about 75 degrees.

Total ride for yesterday = 16 miles

Dara Took a Spill on the Townie ...

I rode into town, then took the bus with my old Switchback to work. After work, I rode over to pick up Dara at his friend's house. We rode from there into town. While riding through the park, Dara slipped on the Townie, and crashed. He hurt his hand pretty good, but was able to ride all the way home. When we got home Dara was complaining about his hand hurting really bad.

Total ride for today = 16 miles

Dry Creek Trail - Lots of Squirrels!

Rode the Dry Creek Trail with Benny. There were so many squirrels out! Benny almost ran over one, and in order to avoid hitting the poor thing, Ben crashed his bike!

Benny rode the entire trail, 4.5 miles each way. I pooped out about half way, or less. Needed to find a shady spot to sit down and rest. All the best shady rest areas were already taken, so I had to ride back towards the start of the trail. Finally found a bench to sit on and rest.

Benny pointed out to me a bunch of squirrels playing around in the trees. They were jumping around from one branch to another! I've never seen anything like that before ...

I took lots of pictures of the squirrels. Was able to get pretty close to some of them. Some squirrels were standing perfectly still ike a statue. Others were dragging their bellies on the ground. One was so occupied with finding nuts, that they didn't seem to be too worried about my presence.

Talked with some friendly people when we got back to the trail start. One lady had a cockateel in a cage that didn't make a sound! Her two boys were having a blast riding their skateboard down a short hill (both boys on the same board!).

Guy On a Titanium Bike

Went for a ride on the Dry Creek Trail with someone from a new club I just joined. We met at Star Bucks, and just as we were about to ride out, we met a guy on a titanium bike, Gary. Chatted for about 20 minutes, then headed out for the trail ....

We rode the trail to the end and back, which is nine miles. When I got back to Star Bucks, I saw the guy with the titanium bike still at Star Bucks. I rode over and we chatted for about two hours! I'm glad I met Gary. He told me his life story in a nutshell -- how he used to play hocky, ride in bicycle races, and lots more ....

Total ride for the day = 17.2 miles.

Lightspeed Titanium Bicycle

Here is the Lightspeed titanium bicycle I got to see yesterday:

Lightspeed Titanium Bicycle ...

Another shot of the beautiful Lightspeed titanium bicycle:

Biggest Grocery Haul ....

Today was my biggest grocery haul yet .... $195 and about 80 pounds in just food items ... !!! I maxed out my handlebar bag to see just how much it will hold. I also wanted to know first hand just how the bike would handle with the front panniers loaded and the handlebar bag packed full .... I packed 14 pounds of food in the handlebar bag. Steering was wobbly, unstable, and actually scary ... !!! I won't load the handlebar bag with that much weight again!