Single Speed Stella

It's happening, it's really happening oh joy of joys! We still have the occasional fence hopper - but only very occasional...our sleep has been largely undisturbed thanks to the lovely, lovely new fence!

Now, turning attention back to the Bay Area, and bikes, and the like...

So, when I started bike commuting, I used to work in Sunnyvale and take the trail to work. Now my commute is closer, but I still take the trail for fun rides and errands and what not. What I was always impressed with was the number of Google employees scooting around on their little bikes or jogging to work...

Microsoft, on the other hand, always struck me as a "Look at my car, look at me on the Microsoft shuttle - I can't be bothered!!" I think I was proven right this morning by a story in the Mercury news about this dood;

" All Richard Roeder wanted was to park his sports utility vehicle and cut his gasoline bill. He wanted to declare an end to 45-minute, three-mile, traffic-jammed commutes.

Instead, he says, he's been harassed and treated like a criminal.

Eight months ago, imagining a smooth transition to a new life of zero emission, he bought a Segway PT, the little battery-powered scooter, and began riding to his job at Microsoft in Mountain View on the Stevens Creek Trail."

First - A segway? Second - Three miles? Who drives three miles? Why not bike or walk and get some exercise? Third - A segway on a RECREATIONAL trail?

I'm sorry, sir, but you've lost my vote...

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Stuff like this s just plain scary, can't we all just share the road, please?

Emergency room doctor arrested for allegedly cutting in front of bike riders, causing crash

Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/08/2008 09:35:18 PM PDT

"LOS ANGELES - An emergency room doctor was arrested after he allegedly swerved in front of two bicyclists during an argument over rights to the road and caused them to crash into his car, police said.

Christopher Thompson, 58, was arrested Friday for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon - the car - and booked into jail, Officer Ana Aguirre, a police spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

Thompson allegedly argued with the bikers who were crossing his path on a narrow road and pulled in front of them, slamming on the brakes, she said.

The bicyclists were taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.

Thompson posted $30,000 bail and is due in court Aug. 1, Aguirre said.

The district attorney's office is deciding whether to file charges.

Thompson, who is an emergency room doctor, could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. Telephone calls placed to numbers listed for a Christopher Thompson in the neighborhood were not answered or rang busy.

Ron Peterson, one of the bikers, told KFI-AM he and another man were riding their bicycles when the driver sped past them and yelled something.

"It had to be road rage," Peterson alleged. "He barely missed me."

Peter Swarth, who said he was Thompson's attorney, said his client did not mean to hurt anyone.

"We deny there was any road rage incident," Swarth said. "It was a very unfortunate accident."

Swarth could not provide further details about the circumstances

leading to the crash."

He may not be able to provide details leading up to the crash...but I bet I know. As an emergency room doctor, he sees many, many disturbing things. But nothing could prepare him for the day he came home and his wife said, "look honey! I got a tattoo!"

He's had it out for the cyclists ever since...

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In this part of California, there are now hundreds of wildfires in various places which means there is now an ever-present blanket of smoke across the Bay Area.

We went riding last night, and the sun is a creepy orange behind the haze of smoke, and it's just...a little bit strange.

This whole week i've been wiped out...falling asleep early, waking up late, getting the afternoon nap feelings...welcome to summer indeed!

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Saturday dawned hot...and continued with the hotness and the sweatiness all day! Though we live on the peninsula, we decided it would be a good idea to rack up Stella and Beretta and head to our old stomping grounds in Berkeley....

Madness can ensue when you spend six hours meandering the back streets and well known streets alike...the highlights, were as such...,

• an anitiwar protest happening on one street, and on the adjacent street, the Vietnam vets motorcycle club along with the Nomads and who knows who else, all hanging out by their motorcycles drinking coffee and chatting. Police were there en force
• We were the victims of a drive-by - three doods in a hoopty Cadillac drove by whilst we cruised down University...and the passenger leaned out and squirted us with a squirt gun...
• I lowballed a vendor guy for a Nishiki frame and he got all pissed, but in hindsight, it was a good thing I did because I didn't buy the frame and so don't have a crappy, rusty frame to have to build up...


• We got bitched at by some lady "SIDEWALK!!! side-WALK!! WALK!!!! NOT BIKE!!!"


• While waiting to cross the street, a random dood took our picture. And then tried to act nonchalant, like he hadn't.

We had some rad food at Naan 'N Curry, as per my usual, I had the Chicken Vindaloo. We hopped over to Raleigh's for some pints, where I noticed there were Gnomes watching us...an auspicious sign....

We headed over to FTW to speak to Jason right-quick, next Sunday is still go...sleevage madness will be had...meandering through the backwoods I saw this gem, which is like an awesome houseboat, but on land....

We headed back down and got some delicious frozen lemonade, a satisfying end to a lovely summer day....

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When I used to work from home, about once or twice a week I would swear that I heard some lady yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs (at somebody). I dismissed it as being in my imagination, but I saw her yesterday!! Or at least, I saw some lady just tearing into some guy who was sitting in his car, right there near the *gasp* 7-11 parking lot. The sad, very,very, very sad thing was that there was a little girl in the car who was getting upset, and I don't know what the situation was, obvs, but people please, there's no need for all the drama! I don't think i've ever really lit into anyone for anything, really, even with good cause...

So - in any case, on a good note. On Sunday I was in a grumpy mood...my whole day was kinda in a funk, for no good reason, BUT, it never stops a good ride....

Nate decided that we should venture into what's called the Rose Garden district of San Jose, as well as into the adjacent not so rosy district, and it was a beautiful ride despite my churlishness...

While riding we saw that cars will revert to their intended forms when faced with neglect and rising gas prices...

So, as the story goes, no matter what kind of a nasty, horrible, no good mood you wake up in...go outside!

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There was a huge fire in the Santa Cruz mountains, and when I woke up on Friday I could smell it all the way down in Mountain View...the smoke and haze made it's way down the peninsula...I love the smell of campfires, but NOT forest fires...

Having had family that lost everything in the Oakland Hills fire, my condolences to those in the Santa Cruz hills who were affected...

ANYHOW...yeah, to make up for a bummer pic, here's one I unearthed from Nate's B-day party, delicious snacks -

Who doesn't feel instantly cheered by delicious snacks?

This morning was supposed to be a riding morning, but my husband is, ironically, on his way to Zeitgeist right now and i'm off to spend some quality time with my cousin, whose husband just bought her a new bike, so i'm going to try to convince her that she loves the bike and will love riding the bike (she's not convinced....)

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This is Stella and this is Stella's story...well, parts of it are, anyway...
Stella is a bike, A single-speed cyclecross bike that is my preferred form of transportation and really, just a great bike. Part of the reason that Stella is now going to exist on her own little slice of the internet is twofold - first: to share that riding a bike is good times, and second: um...to let people know that riding a bike is good times. And cheaper than driving a car. And more fun than sitting in traffic.

Here's Stella;

Here's some background about her; Stella lives in Mt. View, Ca. and is a trusty commute bike. The reason she's such a great bike is that she's not complicated...one speed, two brakes, a seat, and two wheels. A year ago, I got fed up with driving everywhere, with paying for gas (way before it hit $4 a gallon) and I was tired all the time. So I decided to start riding to work. Now, background on me...I'm a 30-ish female, married, not all that athletic, a little bit lazy, who works in an office-ish environment. Not a jock, not a hippie, not a revolutionary...just fed up with driving and feeling sluggish and irritable.

So, I started riding the six miles to work...from Mountain View to Sunnyvale. The first week sucked ass...hard. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt, I hated sweating, there are A LOT of people who ARE jocks that ride their bike to work in their spandex and scoff at the plebes in jeans...

The second week was better, but still sucked...my legs still hurt, but I was sweating a little less...I got heckled by a couple motorists, but whatever...

The third week was even better, I started to notice the trees and the squirrels, and I was a little bit faster...and I had more energy. Really, a lot more....

After my first month of riding to work everyday, I felt really good. My skin was clear, I was always in a good mood, and my legs starting looking...better. I got up in the morning and really looked forward to getting out and riding my bike...it began a whole new perspective.

There's a lot more to be told, but this is Stella's first time getting introduced, she likes to start off slow...I talk to a lot of 20-ish and 30-ish ladies who are afraid to ride a bike, or have a dozen excuses as to why they can'tride a bike anywhere for transportation, and I believe that as California feels more of this recession, and higher gas prices, food prices, entertainment costs...you name it, i'll hear a lot more about how they can't afford not to ride more often...

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