Winter Riding--CA Style

[Peter B]

Didn't want to hijack Spidey's winter post so I'll start my own.

There's been a high parked off shore for the last couple of months and we've been experiencing a very mild winter as a result. That's all about to change tomorrow but not before some pals and I squeezed in a 3-day spin from SF to Santa Barbara. This is a classic CA coast ride. Except we didn't coast.

Good times!

[Jaq]

Beautiful. Congrats.

I want to do Tioga Pass, since it's the first time in a gazillion years that it's been open in January.

[akelman]

This thread is all about making me hate myself for getting rid of the Argonaut, isn't it? Well, mission accomplished, Peter. I am mired in self-loathing.

[MRB]

Nice weather and nice shots (photos) of the bike (Steve Potts and a Fixie) and the scenic coast.

Am I right in reading that you rode from San Fran (area) to Santa Barbara in 3 day? No car? Is that possible w/out hitting the freeway? (Hwy 101 (?))

thx

[PSC]

That's awesome. What gear ratio are you using for a ride like that?

[akelman]

Am I right in reading that you rode from San Fran (area) to Santa Barbara in 3 day? No car? Is that possible w/out hitting the freeway? (Hwy 101 (?))

HWY 1 pretty much the whole way, I'm guessing. For the most part, it's not too terribly crowded on that stretch. That said, I'm not sure if the wind was with them, as it's been behaving oddly for the last few days.

[Peter B]

MRB:

GG Bridge to SB (lower State St). Short stint on 'freeway' sections of Hwy 1 in Seaside, SLO, Lompoc, then ~26 mi on 101 into SB w/ a great tailwind! There are other ways.

PSC:

48-17.

Ari:

Say it isn't so! Wish you'd given it a bit longer to settle before deciding to flip the A.

[akelman]

Ari:

Say it isn't so! Wish you'd given it a bit longer to settle before deciding to flip the A.

Three longish rides + three days of knee pain immediately following those rides + one visit to my friend the orthopedist ("You should really talk to me before you do something stupid like buying a single-speed bike.") = one sale of a beautiful bike to a really good guy. I'll miss the aesthetics and the ride, but I won't miss the pain. That said, if you had told me about your coastal club, I might have reconsidered. It's not like I haven't had my knee scoped before.

[charliedid]

nice

[don compton]

In Lodi, Ca, we are experiencing a dry spell. The riding is great, even in the foothills. We have had a month of just fabulous riding. I am going to ride out of Ione,Ca, tomorrow and it will be the last day. Thursday, the storms will row in for about a week. Oh well, even in California, we have our bad days. By the way, we really need the rain.
Don C.

[metalheart]

Steve Potts makes incredible bikes ...

[martinez]

awesome, and beautiful pics. what was your actual mileage?

[Jack Brunk]

Great pics Peter. It's been a epic winter(lack of) in Socal. I hope norcal gets a lot of rain this week so we can have water down here later this coming year. Thanks again Norcal.

[Louis]

Wow - looks like you guys were freezing. What was it, 68* ? :p

[akelman]

Great pics Peter. It's been a epic winter(lack of) in Socal. I hope norcal gets a lot of rain this week so we can have water down here later this coming year. Thanks again Norcal.

How about this, Jack: you can have all the water you need* this coming summer, but you have to send me the frame of my choice. Sound fair? Not to put any pressure on you, but I'd hate to turn off this tap.

* Rates to be determined by your local utility. Please ride the fine print.

[akelman]

And you, Louis, do you not see that the one guy was wearing arm warmers and a vest? I'm willing to bet it wasn't warmer than 58-62 most of the time. These are hard men we're talking about.

[Jack Brunk]

How about this, Jack: you can have all the water you need* this coming summer, but you have to send me the frame of my choice. Sound fair? Not to put any pressure on you, but I'd hate to turn off this tap.

* Rates to be determined by your local utility. Please ride the fine print.
Ari,

We don't use much water except my damn lab swims hours every day regardless of the weather and we lose some water through our drains. He uses more water than my wife and I combined. You can access any frame in my garage whenever your down our way.

[Louis]

I'm willing to bet it wasn't warmer than 58-62 most of the time.

Brrrrrr. Might as well stay home and ride the rollers in that sort of weather.

[jgspin]

Thanks for the pics. For a ride like that, what clothing did you wear/bring? I didn't see anyone with a backpack. Did you sleep in hotels and washed your clothes? I noticed also 4 bottles on one of the bikes. How far apart are the refueling stops? Did you ride only during the day? I didn't see any headlights.

[Peter B]

awesome, and beautiful pics. what was your actual mileage?

It's about 375mi and 19,000' of climbing. Lows were low 40's and highs near 60. Base + jersey + vest + arm/knee/toe warmers was perfect. Didn't shed much.

I had 4 bottles (2 water, 1 liquid food, 1 more powder) so I could roll the whole way if need be. Turns out we stopped once or twice each day.

A pal's GF drove our stuff and we stayed in hotels this time--plush!

[Louis]

Were the bikes ss or fixed?

[Peter B]

Were the bikes ss or fixed?

Fixed.

[PSC]

19k ft. of climbing in 375 miles with a 48/17 gearing is awesome.

[Louis]

Fixed.

I now understand the "except we didn't coast" comment. When I first read it I thought you meant that you hammered the whole ride. (which you might have still done).

Very impressive, with all that climbing.

[akelman]

Fixed.

Insane. On that route, just insane.

[akelman]

I mean that in a good way, of course. Much respect, Peter.

[Steve in SLO]

Great pics, Peter.
I am glad we couldn't hook up...I'd have felt like a slacker rockin' the 20 speed.

[Louis]

I am glad we couldn't hook up...I'd have felt like a slacker rockin' the 20 speed.

No problem there. All you'd have to do is put it in the 53 x 12, and power up the hills. That way they would feel like the slackers

[beeatnik]

Great pics.

Rode 40 miles tonight in the high 40s. All afternoon, the local newscasts warned about the cold spell ahead. Haha. It has been a mild winter, but there were a few nights in the low 30s. As Jack mentioned, what's been missing is rain.

Anyhoo, time to start thinking about doing my next century fixed.

[thinpin]

Great photos of a beautiful trip. All these wonderful posts from velotel and manx and now this one... well.... they are bringing out the inner Fred in me! Keep it up. :beer:

[maxn]

excellent photos, and impressive ride. It makes me a little home sick for CA

[velotel]

excellent photos, and impressive ride. It makes me a little home sick for CA
the weather or the place?

[maxn]

both. But only a little :)

Just rode up Celemenciere by route des Clemencieres (from St. Martin le Vinoux) which I won't do again anytime soon: a million friggin cars, and every paysan on the route de clemencieres was burning his trash in the front yard.

[velotel]

both. But only a little
Okay, the little I can accept. I always loved visiting my parents in Marin County. My grandfather was a farmer in southern Ca, all citrus, all in houses now, of course. It was always easy to see why people dreamed of living there. Too many realized their dreams for this pilgrim. I rode the coast road back around 1970, when my hair was way long and I sported a full beard. Beautiful road. That said, not even on the same planet with the roads here.
Just rode up Celemenciere by route des Clemencieres (from St. Martin le Vinoux) which I won't do again anytime soon: a million friggin cars, and every paysan on the route de clemencieres was burning his trash in the front yard.
Supposed to be illegal now, for a long time actually, the burning, not riding up the col. Hey, it's spring, those guys all like to get out and burn the weeds, bunch of fire hounds. No burning up here, still too much snow on the ground.

[spiderman]

great post--now that's winter riding!

[Jaq]

Here's a shot from the road near Cambria in August... about XX number of years ago...

[Steve in SLO]

Lookin' like the late 70s-early 80s with those Dolphin shorts and nail in cleats.

[Louis]

Lookin' like the late 70s-early 80s with those Dolphin shorts and nail in cleats.

And the Bell mushroom helmet.

[majl]

Didn't want to hijack Spidey's winter post so I'll start my own.

There's been a high parked off shore for the last couple of months and we've been experiencing a very mild winter as a result. That's all about to change tomorrow but not before some pals and I squeezed in a 3-day spin from SF to Santa Barbara. This is a classic CA coast ride. Except we didn't coast.

Good times!


Outstanding pics! Thanks for sharing. I especially love this one. Riding off into the sunset - one gear - way cool. Jersey even matches the hubs!

[commfire]

Lookin' like the late 70s-early 80s with those Dolphin shorts

Disturbing angle

[john903]

Those pictures sure help as I rode my trainer today looking outside at 2' feet of snow on the ground. So what is the orange bike your friend is riding, and I love the simplicity of the Steve Potts just beautiful. I like your idea of two extra water bottles and using one just to carry Hammer Perpetum or what ever you use. Have a great winter. :)

[Peter B]

Those pictures sure help as I rode my trainer today looking outside at 2' feet of snow on the ground. So what is the orange bike your friend is riding, and I love the simplicity of the Steve Potts just beautiful. I like your idea of two extra water bottles and using one just to carry Hammer Perpetum or what ever you use. Have a great winter. :)

John,

Andrea rides a sweet Della Santa.

And Mojo rides a one-of-a-kind IF.