To Davis, Too much to Drink and a hurt back

Oh man, what a ride we had on Saturday. We did critical mass on Friday night and rode around for an hour or so. At the end we decided to meet at Peets Coffee at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I rolled up first and got some caffine in me, Danny followed and then our friend AJ. We left around 9:00 a.m. and averaged about 19 mph for the 20 mile ride. We got into Davis and headed to Crepeville for some breakfast.........Danny's back started giving him problems so we decided to walk a couple of miles to a store to get tigerbalm (and yes the label assured us there was no tiger parts in it). Now, smelling like an old man we walked back to town to have a beer. By this time Danny was in noticible pain, we encouraged him to drink a large (quart) of beer. AJ and I did the same just to encourage him..hehe..........Danny was at a point of not being able to function so we whipped out AJ's iPhone and found the nearest, and most available massuese to see if something could be done. While Danny was being worked on. AJ and I proceeded to a local pub to pass time. After quite a few Anchor Steams AJ and I were obviously drunk........probably not amusing to Danny........They told Danny he had a torn muscle in his back and that he should even attempt to make the ride home. Danny called his wife and we left him at a local Coffee shop and began our drunken fixed gear ride home..........For some reason AJ and I thought it might be funny to screw around and try tricks on our bikes, which after less than a mile, two crashes (1 each), we realized was pretty stupid...............We sobered up fairly quickly though, and made it home just fine. Moral of the story is...........hell, I don't know, other than to not drink and ride, don't ride with a hurt back, and be careful always!

-DUG

WEAK SAUCE

(Above is the route of the Aids Lifecycle)

I am surprised by the amount of negative feedback I am getting for doing the Aids Lifecycle 2009. "Why are you doing that?" "Are you crazy?" "You're dumb to do it on a fixed gear" It's not all negative feedback but a lot more than I thought I would get!

Being human, It's hard not to focus on negative feedback. I actually started to doubt my abilities to do this ride on a fixed gear. All the hills and wind is starting to become an impossible challenge in my mind. Just this past Saturday I almost didn't make the 50 mile training ride. It was irresponsible to not eat before the ride. I totally ran out of steam by 20 miles into the ride. After eating at the half way point, I felt much better, but still found myself dragging my feet and wishing I was laying down in my warm bed. I have made the ride many times before and felt great in the process. I just can't help but think that some of the negative banter I have received may have given me second thoughts while I have been training.

Boo Hoo... Sorry for this whine session... Hahahaha. It will pass, it always does! :)

-Danny

First Officially Sanctioned Aids Lifecycle Training Ride

Ok, yes, I took this image off of the web, it's not us from the ride. We met 3 folks from Sacramento who are either doing the ride this year or have done it in the past. It was quite cold at Natomas Oaks Park at 9:00am and the car full of gangster looking folks was odd, but we were pumped to do a good ride. Because it's an "official" ride we had a trained trainer with us who was required to read rules, show us hand signals, etc..........Formalities I know, but it didn't bother us. So we hit the road at about 9:30 on what was to be a 30 mile ride. After about 2 miles Danny and I realized that we wanted to go farther and faster than what was going to be the norm and so we said our good byes and shot ahead. We did our normal ride into old Fair Oaks and nestled into our favorite cafe. Funny how you can build up quite the appetite as we both had 2 orders of a breakfast sandwich special, 1 sticky bun and a large coffee.......We took it easy on the ride back and stopped off at a friends house for some lumpia and pumpkin cookies, then rode back into town. Was a fun ride, Danny learned that he should eat something before we leave or he'll run out of energy and hate life for the last couple of miles. I look forward to the next ride...........and maybe I'll get some bike related gifts from Santa??

Doug

Nature Rides rule

One of my favorite things when I'm out on a ride is the surroundings, whether it's on a trail, in traffic, or just in front of your house you are hyperaware of your surroundings. Sometimes it appears, people just leave their bike leaned against a tree and walk away because it's so beautiful. I can't wait for the Aids Lifecycle ride! 565 miles of nature, beaches, cities, towns, etc... is going to be a blast. Danny and I have a training ride this Saturday, I look forward to meeting some folks who are doing the ride that live in the Sacramento area.......Keep riding!

Doug

Fog Rides and wet cold clothes

Friday's ride to work was 12 miles of pure fog and a balmy 39 degrees........It was interesting to say the least. When your light only shines 5-10 feet ahead of you and there's fog on top of that, you don't see the bumps and piles of leaves until you are right on them.....it was actually fun, my bike is quite responsive despite the longer wheel base that French frames have (apparently roads in france are quite bumpy so French frames tend to be softer rides). There's a storm coming, I have a test for work, and my home life is hecticly turned around so I don't see a ride this weekend happening............I'm going to try and find time though........

Here's an article on French frames........http://sheldonbrown.com/kunich.html

doug

Why does there have to be a "scene"

I have always wondered why there is such a need for a "scene" to exist in any genre, sport, or other various form of "different from the norm" activity. Invariably it only leads to elitism from folks who want to be one of the first. And what are they claiming to be first at?? Something that they end up slamming because it sold out...........so really what you end up with is someone who wants to say they were to first to fix the gears on their bike and now it's lame because so many people are doing it..........that doesn't make sense, is someone riding a fixed gear bike any different today because they bought it pre-assembled from a bike shop having less fun than someone who borrowed his friends welding torch to cease a cog to a wheel? It happens in music, skateboarding, snowboarding, and just about anything else that someone considers hip............I started riding fixed geared bikes only 6 months ago and I am having as much fun as anyone else no matter what time.........So I guess what I'm saying is I was one of the first to have fun riding, but it'll sell out soon and I'll think everyone having fun is so yesterday and lame............

---DOUG---

Not much today, quick 10 miles after work

Took the trail after work. I went by the capital as they were tearing down the stages from yesterday's tree lighting........I heard it was quite boring from my friend Angie. She get bored easy though, so ???? Anyway, cold along the river but a nice ride non the less. I promise I'll post something more interesting tomorrow........Have a good one everybody!

Oh and I hemp twine and shellac'd my seat post............fun stuff!

2 guys, 2 blogs, 2 cold son of a b@#%es

I know, silly of me to post my hipster pack to show you how I carry my stuff, but I rode with backpacks for 5 years and can tell you that messenger bags are waaaaay more comfortable......So I pack all my stuff in this Timbuk2 bag and love how much it fits.

So on to the title of my blog............I'm hoping we don't confuse folks since we are each posting a blog every day, hopefully we'll remember to sign it, but today Danny didn't (shame on you my friend, hehe) so we'll try and update daily and if folks are reading, come back, check in, comment, tell us to f-off, whatever!! .......

My ride this morning was cooooollllddddddd, like Danny I don't have warm weather clothing and therefore froze my family jewels off. I only rode a couple of miles so it wasn't terrible, but I'm hoping Santa brings me a scarf and some more long underwear, oh, and socks............I grew up in Colorado and have never really felt too cold, but as I get older I'm finding that my feet get colder (I am 6'7" and my feet are a long ways away from things so maybe that's the problem?). Other than the cold, I don't have much to add about riding..........I look forward to each time I hop on my bike and can't wait to get in a long ride in a week or so...........

Rawk!
Doug

Frost Bitten Commuter

This Summer I committed to commute to work for as long as forever. With the rise of gas prices, pollution and needing exercise while being close to nature, it made total sense to me. Even on the hottest day of Summer here in Sacramento I was not about to drive!

I live on the corner of 25th and C st. in midtown Sacto, just 5 blocks from the midtown entrance of one of the best bike trails in California. My commute to work takes me about 3o minutes and is about 98% on the bike trail all the way to the front doors to the Java City Coffee Roasting Facility. This picture of my bike and my trusty skateboarding helmet was taking inside the roasting facility a few months ago. I couldn't help but take some pictures of my two favorite worlds together; Coffee and cycling. I get tons of crap for wearing that pink Protec helmet, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Back to my commitment to commuting to work on my bike every day... Today was one of the COLDEST days I have ever experienced on my commute. Must have been in the low 30's!!! I am not equipped to ride in such cold weather. The rain I am ready for, but not freezing weather! You can bet that I will be doing some thrift store shopping for some warm clothes! A ski mask would be perf! As long as it fits under my Bad Ass Protec helmet, I'm set!

-dannygoot

Weekends Over, Monday begins!

Doug here, finally getting to posting......

The weekend although fun, did not turn out the way I thought it would.............don't you love that? I actually do, it's nice for life to throw curve balls so we don't just keep swinging and we actually watch the ball. I spent the last few days of last week looking forward to a long ride on Saturday (we were going to do a 60 mile ride). My wife Gillian expressed interest in doing the first 10 miles or so with us. So we woke up and got ready.........we walked out the door and realized it was friggen cold.......in fact we got about 3 blocks before it was time to turn around and get my wife's sun glasses (to many tears from cold wind) and another layer for her...........ughh, now we're late..............oh well, no real hurry anyways.............So we meet Danny at Pete's coffee have a cup (I already had two at home) and took off for the trail..............It was pea soup out there........fog, drizzle, cold (ok, it is California so it was 41 degrees, not sub zero, but cold nontheless) and it started to become evident that my wife wouldn't make the first 10 miles........we rode her off the trail and decided to make a pit stop at Danny's house..................I went to the bathroom and when I came out this is where the curve ball came........Danny says, I'm hungry, let's get breakfast...........so off we went to Cafe Bernardo's for some good grub and another cup of coffee. And after a bathroom break again (come on, lots of coffee) I come out to Danny saying, hey, let's just ride over to Tupelo coffee shop and work on our Aids Lifecycle page and start a blog too! ...........ok, so I see that my 60 mile ride has become a 10 mile ride, but with a good purpose............so curve ball is pitched, doug swings, and out of the park it goes!! Saturday was a blast!! We got most of our site done, set up this blog, and my Wife and I were able to buy the kids main christmas presents to boot..............Oh and that night my band played at the Fox and Goose and had a blast.............Sunday was uneventful like Sunday's usually are, so I'll not go into details there.

Sundays

Sundays are the hardest days for me to ride. I usually take this day to catch up on all the stuff I need to get done for the previous week or get ready for the next.
I did find some time to paint my lugs a bit. I started a few weeks ago with a nice gold paint I picked up from a local hobby store. Cheap and high quality paints made by Testors. I also bought some black paint because I thought it would be a good idea to outline my lugs to help them stand out even more. That was not such a good idea, I found out half way through my project. It actually cheapened the look I was going for instead of making it stand out. DAMMMMMIT! How am I going to fix it?
I couldn't figure out a way, so I decided to hang it back up on the celing in next to my fireplace and Christmas stockings. Maybe It will be fixed when I wake up in the morning? HAHAHAHA!
Anyway, I am going to take some pictures of my lugs once I can bring myself to.

-danny

NUMBER ONE

AH HA! Here is t he very first blog for our ride to help fight aids! Here are the two weapons that we will be taking to the front line with us.

DANNY'S - 1968 Raleigh Super Course custom fixed conversion but you can call her FRECKLES! This bike is one of my biggest scores, besides finding my wife Jenney! I bought this bike in August '08 for my birthday from a friend for $80. The only changes I made to this ride was the wheels. Everything else is fully original! I am riding this *fixed gear conversion* with a 52 tooth chainring and a 18 tooth cog. She is a nice Rootbeer Brown with custom painted Gold **lugs**. I commute to work everyday on my Raleigh for a total of 16 miles a day. My homeskillet Dug and I try to ride every about 50-60 miles every weekend, rain or shine!

DUG'S - 1971 Peugeot U-08 is my conversion....25" or 64.5cm frame. Cheap(er) Alex 450 rims, Sugino Cranks, Brooks Seat, Riser stem, Soma Urban Pursuit Bars, and Shimano 600 Aero pedals are not original. I ride every day to work, and sometimes I ride along side my daughter to school just to add a few miles to the day.......I end up with about 10-12 miles a day. I ride with Danny on the weekends to get closer to the 100 miles a week that I want.........It's a blast!





*A fixed-gear bicycle or fixed wheel bicycle, is a bicycle without the ability to coast. The sprocket is screwed directly on to the hub and there is no freewheel mechanism.*

**Lugged steel frame construction is a method of building bicycle frames using steel tubing and sockets called lugs. For most of the history of the bicycle, steel has been the material of choice for high-quality bicycle frames (though its dominance has waned in the last two decades). Likewise lugged construction has been the preferred means of assembling a steel frame, and retains this status among builders of high-quality steel frames.**