I'm On The Board of Napa Valley Bicycle Coalition! Here's what we do...

When they said they wanted to make the board bigger I didn't take it personally. 

I had the honor of being voted on to the board of the Napa Valley Bicycle Coalition last night. It is a group of really smart people that do a lot of cool things all over the Napa Valley to help advance the world of bicycle riding.

I am really impressed with the variety of topics they are involved with. At the government level NVBC works with city and county and state officials to have input on transportation and infrastructure planning. Proposed changes to a road? They will monitor it and give input. Issues at an intersection looking for ways to make things safer for bicycle riders and pedestrians? We give ideas to make it better for all including drivers.

Mountain biking access issues? We try to make sure everybody does the right thing and people are allowed to ride where and when they are supposed to ride.

Safety classes for kids? Yes we do that. Safety classes for adults? Yes we do that. A safer way for visitors to the Napa Valley to ride a bicycle while here? (a very growing trend) Yes we do that.

Helping plan a safe route to school for kids? (and teachers) Yes we do that.






Work with other bicycle coalitions and local and national groups to stay up to date on what works for their community and stay up to date on new ideas? Yes we do that.

Bicycle parking at Napa Valley events? Yes we do that.

Participate in and help organize events like Bike To Work Day? Yes we do that.

Promote bicycle riding for health? Yes we do that.

Work with the awesome new Vine Trail bicycle path in the Napa Valley? Yes we do that.

Work with local clubs and shops and special events in the Napa Valley like the Ride To Defeat ALS and the Tour de Cure Napa? Yes we do that.

Have fun riding our bicycles? Of course we do that!

The board is all volunteer and we raise money in various ways for what we do at events like the Bike Fest and with donations


I am really happy to join and hope I can help out to make things better, safer, and more popular. The mostly flat Napa Valley is a great place to use bicycle transportation for any reason. The infrastructure is being upgraded to meet these usage needs and the Napa Valley Bicycle Coalition will be part of all of it.

Have an issue we should know about? Let me know!

rick@bigrick.com

Chabot Mountain Bike Loop With The Dog!

Wow I've got to give it up for my dog.



Today was cold and windy, perfect for a long day on the trails. We hit the Lake Chabot Bike Loop about noon and I thought I'd see how far she wanted to go. From our start to just about 2 miles there is a bench that is a good place to take a break. It is after a long climb, has nice views, and gives me the chance to see how the dog is feeling. Tongue draggin? I'll make it a short day. If she just takes a quick drink of water and recovers quick, hey off we go for a longer loop.

We got there pretty quick, the trails were great, and she looked good after a quick water break, so off we went. We rolled up some smaller climbs and down a few small sections to the paved road at Merciel Road.

We took a longer break there and talked to a few people out for the day. It was an awesome day. If I turned back it would be an up and back 8 mile ride. But if I went down the hill I would be committed to going all the way around the lake. That's just over 11 miles. I've only done that a few times, but my dog has never been that far in one day. It would turn into a 3 hour ride.

The day was beautiful, nice and clear and dry and cold. Perfect for doing a long day. After a 10 minute break I decided to go for it and down the hill we went.

Here's the elevation graph of the ride. The "Let's Go" decision came at the top, as you can see it is a pretty steep drop from the top down to the lake.



That's about a 500 foot drop.

At the lake you run onto lots of people walking round, fishermen, baby strollers, joggers, other dogs. But you gotta have your dog on a leash. Cassie does really well on the leash as I ride along on my bike. We go about 5 to 8 miles per hour and she stays just off to the left rear of the bike.

We got to the Lake Chabot Marina and took another break. She was pretty tired and took to the comfort of the shade under a picnic table. I gave her a few shots of water in her foldable water dish. She was pretty happy to have a few shots of H2O. I watched her breathing to wait for it to come down, then waited some more, then she and I were ready to do the second half.

We had more of fairly flat lake trails to do before a few brutal climbs to get back to the truck. Once again she was on the leash chuggin' right along with me. After the dam at the south west end of the lake I unclipped her leash and the rolling climbs started again. We got to Bass Cove and laid down in the grass. We could have both stayed and taken a nap in the warming sun.

I had a Shot Blok snack and got ready to finish up.

A little more water for both of us and we had about 2 miles of mostly climbing to go. 2 tough miles. We stopped a few times, but mostly kept going. All day the trails were in perfect shape. No dust, no mud. It couldn't have been better.

And we made it. 11+ miles at just under 3 hours. The dog sure is beat, and, well, me too.

Here's the GPS route link @ MotionBased. http://tinyurl.com/march-mtb-dog

Chabot Mountain Bike Loop With The Dog!

Wow I've got to give it up for my dog.



Today was cold and windy, perfect for a long day on the trails. We hit the Lake Chabot Bike Loop about noon and I thought I'd see how far she wanted to go. From our start to just about 2 miles there is a bench that is a good place to take a break. It is after a long climb, has nice views, and gives me the chance to see how the dog is feeling. Tongue draggin? I'll make it a short day. If she just takes a quick drink of water and recovers quick, hey off we go for a longer loop.

We got there pretty quick, the trails were great, and she looked good after a quick water break, so off we went. We rolled up some smaller climbs and down a few small sections to the paved road at Merciel Road.

We took a longer break there and talked to a few people out for the day. It was an awesome day. If I turned back it would be an up and back 8 mile ride. But if I went down the hill I would be committed to going all the way around the lake. That's just over 11 miles. I've only done that a few times, but my dog has never been that far in one day. It would turn into a 3 hour ride.

The day was beautiful, nice and clear and dry and cold. Perfect for doing a long day. After a 10 minute break I decided to go for it and down the hill we went.

Here's the elevation graph of the ride. The "Let's Go" decision came at the top, as you can see it is a pretty steep drop from the top down to the lake.



That's about a 500 foot drop.

At the lake you run onto lots of people walking round, fishermen, baby strollers, joggers, other dogs. But you gotta have your dog on a leash. Cassie does really well on the leash as I ride along on my bike. We go about 5 to 8 miles per hour and she stays just off to the left rear of the bike.

We got to the Lake Chabot Marina and took another break. She was pretty tired and took to the comfort of the shade under a picnic table. I gave her a few shots of water in her foldable water dish. She was pretty happy to have a few shots of H2O. I watched her breathing to wait for it to come down, then waited some more, then she and I were ready to do the second half.

We had more of fairly flat lake trails to do before a few brutal climbs to get back to the truck. Once again she was on the leash chuggin' right along with me. After the dam at the south west end of the lake I unclipped her leash and the rolling climbs started again. We got to Bass Cove and laid down in the grass. We could have both stayed and taken a nap in the warming sun.

I had a Shot Blok snack and got ready to finish up.

A little more water for both of us and we had about 2 miles of mostly climbing to go. 2 tough miles. We stopped a few times, but mostly kept going. All day the trails were in perfect shape. No dust, no mud. It couldn't have been better.

And we made it. 11+ miles at just under 3 hours. The dog sure is beat, and, well, me too.

Here's the GPS route link @ MotionBased. http://tinyurl.com/march-mtb-dog

New (to me) Zinn 29er Mountain Bike: so far so good

Well after 10 years (almost to the day!) I finally got a new mountain bike. I tried for those 10 years to beat the crap out of my 1998 GT LTS 3000 and other than the usual drivetrain and tires it survived a 300lb + trail rider. It was quite a bike!

I've been looking at lots of bikes in the last year or 2, including a Zinn 29er all mountain Gigabike. Everything priced at about 5K out the door done deal. I could buy for less, but I was looking at overbuilt bikes and components for my size. Being fat sux! (I'm working on it!)

The Zinn bike was a front runner. I liked how solid they seemed, and that they are used to bigger folks riding bikes, and that the frames use the bottom bracket area as the main pivot point, with a grease fitting on the bike to easily keep it all happy "down under."

Zinn is headed by Lennard Zinn. He really did write THE books on both mountain bike and road bike maintenance. He has a tech Q&A column on VeloNews and builds custom bikes for anybody that wants one.

So a few weeks ago they called me and said they were selling off their lightly used always maintained, all mountain Gigabike demo.

It was priced nice, a deal I couldn't refuse.

It doesn't have the latest stuff hanging off the various ends, the SRAM grip shift is a little different, but after about 15 miles of riding I'm pretty used to it. It is kind of nice being able to shift more than 3 gears at once!

The shock is a Manitou SPV 3 way air, the fork is a WB Fluid 29er. I pumped them both up with a fair amount of air to stiffen them up, and man it feels nice.

I spent most of my time on the LTS sitting deep into the shock travel, and I'm fairly sure the old elastomer forks were riding along pretty deep into the stroke too.

It is a tall bike for sure, stepover height is umm... let's say I hope I don't need much at any given time...! and it has 200 Zinn crank arms. Longer cranks are one of his things. So paired up with being a 29er it is pretty different. I can't say too much about it yet, just climbing around Chabot it is fine, but I hope to push it a little more. I thought maybe the 29er would be harder to pedal uphills, but no issues there at all. I think with the longer cranks it is easier, but not sure.

Anyway should you see a big guy on a big bike with a little black low rider dog (1/2 basset 1/2 lab) on the trails feel free to say hi.

Here's photos from Chabot @ Bort Meadow earlier today with crap iPhone camera.

Woot Woot!

PS: those disc brakes are something. I bet one day they really catch on!

:)

The Best thing about living in East Oakland

Ok so in my zipcode there are the drug dealers, the drive-bys, the carjackings, the restaurant holdups, sketchy and overpriced gas stations, nowhere really good to go eat, and few pizza delivery places.

But.

Just at the top of the hill at the end of Skyline is Chabot park. I love this place. So many beautiful hikes, bike rides, vistas, and places to chill.



Like under a redwood tree in Bort Meadow after a mountain bike ride with my 4 wheel drive buddy.

Mountain bike ride in Biggity O Redwood Loop

total time 2:07
moving time 1:37
distance 9.24
moving speed 5.7 avg 38.3 max (me on Redwood)
elevation gain +1787/-1791

What a great way to spend a morning.

My buddy Pete and I hooked up in Redwood Park in the Oakland Hills. It is the largest 2nd growth Redwood Forest in the world. So someone says. Like Pete and I were saying, dating back to when?

It is like "restoring the wetlands." Back to what date? The 1950's? The 1850's? The 0050's?!

Anyway there are heck-a redwood trees and it is freakin' beautiful.

We hiked up to the East Ridge, rode up to Skyline, and hucked it down the awesome West Ridge. A tough ride up gets a big reward on the long downhill.

I actually too a wrong turn and ended up on the pavement of Redwood road.

"Twas nice.

The gps of the ride is here. (Hey we ain't going for a world record time)



Open the "Player" link on the far right after you click.

Here's a shot of the Chabot Observatory taken at the top of the ride.

Fall MTB ride and Fire Control in the Oakland Hills (it's Goats!)

These four legged creatures were doing their thing today on the trails where I do lots of mountain biking. It is at the southern end of Skyline in Chabot park.



That is at the far south end of the Oakland hills, the opposite end of where the big fire was.



They spend a few days there munching away, and leave behind their calling card(s) but really do a good job cutting down on the dry fuel in the hills. Once somebody shot some :( , since they spend the night in the hills they are kind of at risk, but there are people and dogs that watch over them all the time.

Crazy ass Oakland.

But still BIG THANKS to Goats R Us from this Oakland resident!

(yes really Goats R Us, check the link!)

Today the dog and I rode about 5 miles in the hills, the iPod was rockin another pretty weird mix, The Samurai Champloo soundtrack, and "I'm Your Biggest Fan" by Dallas Wayne.

Works for me!

Winter MTB Ride at Chabot

Hey I've written about Anthony Chabot Regional Park before. I like the mountain bike riding, hiking, fishing, and just hanging out there. The trails in the summer can get hot and dusty. A week after a good rain in the winter is a good time to load up the mountain bike and ride. So Wednesday with blue skies and temps nearing the 70's I hooked up with a buddy and brought my dog for a Mountain bike ride. Here's the report.

Want to ride a good loop? A little outta shape? Want to bring your dog? Read on.

2 kinda outta shape 40 something guys on an old GT LTS 3000 (me) and a Jamis Dakar (buddy).
1 dog that is a half breed black lab and basset hound (heart of a lab, speed of a basset)

A 6 mile loop at Anthony Chabot Park. Whee!

We started at the Redwood Road Bort Meadow parking lot.



The casual ride down Brandon to the Stone Bridge was dry and always fun. At the end you ride under some impressive redwoods. That's always cool.



The dog got a water break from her backpack, and we continued on the Chabot Bike Loop left at the stone bridge and up Brandon. It wasn't muddy, and seemed about perfect. It had been a while since I had done this climb and I could tell. Most of the time the dog and I do the loop on Grass Valley back to the parking lot. But the 3 of us carried on. A couple of guys passed us, and we kept riding until short Deer Canyon trail. It got pretty muddy there and we turned left and hiked it up the hill. Squish squish. Close to the top we rode a little and got to Red Tail turned left and crossed at Marciel Road. So now we were at the top. We rode some of the all too short singletrack on Red Tail down to the Marciel Gate staging area of Redwood. Time for the dog to get another water break.





Ok now it is fun fun mostly downhill. We exit the parking lot and pick up Red Tail again. A little more single(+1/2)track and purrfect trail conditions.



Rock and Roll with some mild uphills and more downhill to Grass Valley (still a little muddy in spots, Brandon doesn't get nearly as muddy if you want to aviod it) and back to the Bort Meadow parking lot.

We were all pretty tired, but had fun. I got a bad case of chain suck in my small chainring, it is really wasted. So time for some new parts, then we'll all hit it again.

It is a fun loop, about 6 miles. It wears me out pretty good, most people, probably not so much. Good for taking the dog, (bring water for them) mine has good trail manners, and I carry a leash with me all the time. Weekdays it is pretty empty.

PDF maps
North section

South section