Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Today’s ride was one of those ‘noodling around not really going anywhere in particular’ rides. But it was a very nice day, so it was a fun time.

We started out from Victory Park and headed west. We rode out to near the Rose Bowl and then went north a bit to Oak Grove, near JPL. We took a left on Berkshire and rode up to Chevy Chase and Descanso. At the top of the hill, we turned left and headed down Hospital Hill.

At the bottom of the hill, we took a little detour to get around the Montrose street market. Then we took Honolulu for a bit before turning down the hill and then taking a detour on some streets that went up and down the hills there in Glendale. Some of the hills were quite steep. I almost said ‘uncle’ and shifted, but I was able to avoid the temptation.

We went up and down a couple of pretty big and steep hills before coming out on Cañada Blvd by the park in Glendale. Then we turned right and headed downhill a bit to Mountain Ave. We turned right there and headed across Glendale.

We took Kenneth for a bit and then went left on Sonora to get down to Glenoaks. Our snack stop was at Paradise Bakery. They have the best chocolate eclairs there. So I got two and snapped a picture of them. They were that good.

After the stop, we headed back across Glendale on Glenoaks. We took it all the way to where it went up and over a short but steep hill to get to Chevy Chase. Then we took a left and rode up the long climb back up to La Cañada. At the top, we took a right and ended up on Inverness for a bit before going left and coming out at the bottom on Highland. That took us into Linda Vista to pass by the Rose Bowl again.

At that point, the route was to go back to the park by way of Orange Grove, but Tommy, Doug, and I decided to do a little more. We took a right and rode up the hill above the Rose Bowl and then down San Rafael, passing by the Old Seismology Lab there. Then we rode down into the arroyo and into South Pasadena. Then we took Monterey Road across and through San Marino, and then got on Huntington. We took that all the way out to 1st Ave in Arcadia, and then up Highland Oaks to Sierra Madre Blvd. Then we took Sierra Madre back home. Like I said, it was a nice day, so it was fun ride.

51 miles.
cycling

This past week marked 24 years since I graduated from college. So in honor of that, I went up in the attic and visited my diploma. Well, actually, I had to go up in the attic to check the rat trap, but while I was there I saw my diploma. I had tried hanging it on the wall for a while back in the ’80s, but I just didn’t like looking at it. You see, I didn’t care much for the school I went to. In fact, I pretty much hated it. And when I graduated, I swore a solemn vow to do everything I could to forget about it. I have kept my diploma largely because every job I’ve ever had has wanted to see it on the first day. So I can’t throw it away. At least not until I retire.

This is a cautionary tale because it relates to parenting, and that’s something that is on our minds a lot. A few years ago, we took a parenting class. The teacher talked to us about how to get your kid to do what you want. It’s easy when they are small. When a kid is 3, “because I said so” can actually be a valid reason. But she also said that if you are still saying that when the kid is 16, you’ve failed. This relates to my college experience because “because I said so” is how I chose where to go, which is to say that I didn’t so much choose as have it chosen for me. Which is funny, since my mother always told me that choosing where to go to college was one of the most important decisions I would ever make. I guess I just didn’t understand the subtext, which was “therefore we’re going to make it for you so you don’t get it wrong.” And so this is what I think about whenever we have to make a decision for our child. It’s always tempting to think, “you’ll thank me for this when you’re older”, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. And now that I’m on the other side, I want to always remember that and try not to run roughshod over my kid’s feelings and wishes. Even when she’s only seven years old.

Cathy saw an item in the paper this week about the Fiesta of the Spanish Horse. It was at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. I’ve been by there hundreds of times on my bike, but I’d never been inside. So we decided that this might be something interesting.

We don’t really know anything about horses, but it was interesting to see them close-up and see the riding demonstrations. Apparently, a big part of their training is teaching them the distinctive gait. It looks a bit funny at first, but we got used to it. And in the show, they did it a lot, along with other moves that made the horses look like they were dancing. So overall, it was an interesting thing.

Route map and photo locations

Today’s ride was a sightseeing trip to Hollywood and Silver Lake. Part of the route was the regular Foothill Cycle Saturday ride, but then Gene and I took a side trip to do some sightseeing.

We started out at Victory Park and rode over to the Pasadena Elks Club Lodge, where we met the rest of the club group. Then we headed west on Colorado through Eagle Rock. That was where I saw the gym advertising kickboxing for kids. For some reason, I found this to be a funny mental image, so I stopped for a picture.

We rode into Glendale on Wilson, and then took Jackson up to Glenoaks. Then we took Glenoaks all the way across Glendale. A left on Sonora brought us down to Riverside in Burbank, just across from the Bette Davis Picnic Area. Then we crossed the river and the freeway and took a right on Zoo Drive.

We rode past Travel Town and up the hill in Griffith Park. A right turn at the closed gate brought us onto the road up the back side of Mt. Hollywood. This is a nice long climb, and it’s especially pleasant because the road is closed to cars. So it’s just a nice place to ride.

When we got to the intersection by the tunnel, Gene and I went right, down into Fern Dell. We rode down all the way to Los Feliz Blvd, and then went right to get to Franklin Ave. Then we took Bronson down to the cemetery.

Hollywood Forever is home to many stars, and today we were there to visit with Don Adams, who is perhaps best-known as Agent 86 of Control in “Get Smart”. His grave is currently not marked with a stone, but I was able to locate it with some help from the people on the Get Smart mailing list. I gather that his family is still considering trying to have him buried in Arlington National Cemetery, due to his service in World War II. But in the meantime, he is in Hollywood Forever. Also, while we were there, we walked down by the pond to see the cenotaph for Jayne Mansfield.

Leaving the cemetery, we rode back across Hollywood and into Silver Lake. We took a right on Sunset and headed south, passing by Lovecraft Biofuels, which is a shop that does bio-diesel car conversions. Then we took a left on Benton Way and rode up some hills to come out on Silver Lake Blvd right by the reservoir and the dog park.

At Glendale Blvd, we went left, and then right on Fletcher and right again on Riverside. We took Riverside all the way to Figueroa, with a quick side trip down Oros St to see a house I’d seen the real estate listing for last week. This one is even smaller than the one we saw last week, and the one from the week before. This one is 299 square feet. The flyer says that the lot is 1300 square feet, which means that the lot is smaller than my house alone. It was impressively small.

Oh, yeah. Just for everyone who’s not in California, the asking price for the shoebox-sized house was $199,000.

Leaving the tiny house, we rode up Figueroa St to Ave 60, and then over to Monterey Rd and into South Pasadena. We rode all the way across San Marino and then went north on Sierra Madre Blvd, and then we were home.

It was a nice ride.

46 miles.
cycling

I just finished reading two books about oil and why we’re about to start running out of it. And actually, neither of these books is of the alarmist bent that says that civilization will collapse when we pass the peak of world oil production. But they make the case that things are going to be difficult, and that day is most likely upon us now.

Twilight in the Desert is Matthew Simmons‘ magnum opus about Saudi Arabia and its super-giant oil fields. They are apparently the largest ever found, and even now they provide some huge percentage of the world’s supply. And the end is drawing near for them. Most oil fields are most productive for 20-30 years, and then they start to taper off. The big Saudi fields have been going for fifty years, and they are showing signs that they are past their prime. And more troubling is that in most cases, when the natural pressure of the field is depleted, they can inject water into it to get the oil flowing again. But the Saudis have been doing this since the 1960s, so they are already doing secondary recovery on their fields. So when they do start to decline, there is less that can be done to try and squeeze out more oil. There is an article available on the web that contains a short version of the information in this book.

Beyond Oil is Kenneth Deffeyes’ companion to his book from 2001, Hubbert’s Peak. In the first book, he told us why the peak of the oil age is imminent, and in this one he refines his prediction to say that the worldwide peak of oil production would be in December, 2005. The rest of the book examines what can be done about that in terms of alternate sources of energy. He’s fairly optimistic in that there are things we can make from coal that will take the place of oil for most applications. But environmentalists will probably shit when they see how dirty that’s going to be.

So no, civilization is probably not going to collapse or even grind to a halt. But it’s going to get dirtier and more expensive. As for me, I just got a new tire for my bicycle, so I’m set for commuting for another five years.

It was May 2, 1976, and it was the day of my first big race. I was 16, and had no idea what I was in for that day. We all had our old-style leather-hairnet ‘helmets’ on, and I didn’t even know to zip up my jersey collar. When the race started, it was all just a blur. We went faster than I’d ever imagined was possible. But I stayed with the pack, and even tried to break away a couple of times. I didn’t know that first-year riders usually get dropped, so I didn’t get dropped. It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t know that you’re not supposed to be able to do it. It was great fun.

Today’s ride was the Mt Washington loop, passing the Self-Realization Fellowship. I’ve done the route map before, so if you want to see the map, just look at the time we did it last year.

It was a dreary day at the start, but we all thought it would get nice later. We started out going up Hill St to Woodbury Road, and then out to La Cañada. On the way up the first real hill, we heard a strange beeping. It turned out it was James’ heart rate monitor. He’d had an accident last fall, and was only recently able to start riding again. Today was only his second time back on the bike. So apparently the hills were getting to him.

We rode up past Descanso Gardens, and then down Hospital Hill into Montrose. Then we went left and took Verdugo Road all the way down to Eagle Rock Blvd in Glassell Park.

The road made a little loop down near the Los Angeles River, and then we took a left on Figueroa to start back north. We went just a short way to the turnoff for Mt. Washington. Then we were going up another hill. It was nice this time, since the road was recently repaved. The last time we were there the surface was utterly wretched, but this time was nice. On the way up, James turned off the alarm on his heart rate monitor so we wouldn’t have to listen to the beeping. Near the top, I snapped a picture of him that pretty much summed up the hill-climbing experience.

At the top we took a moment to regroup and catch our breath by the gates of the Self-Realization Fellowship. Then we went north on San Rafael Ave along the top of the hill, and then down the other side.

When we got to the bottom, we saw The House. I’d seen it linked on L.A. Curbed last week. It’s a tiny little run-down boarded-up shack. Only $449,000. It did have a pretty big yard, though, so maybe it’s not all that bad. But it still seems like a lot of money for a house that’s listed as “uninhabitable”.

Leaving the house behind, we passed a church with a small crowd of protesters in front. Apparently the church had made a deal with a cell-phone company to put antennas on top of the tower and these people were unhappy about it. They were saying something about it lowering property values. After seeing the shack down the street, I didn’t think that would necessarily be a bad thing…

At Ave 50, Gene took a wrong turn. Which was funny, since he’s the ride leader, and we were following his route slip. But James took off to catch him while the rest of us continued on the proper way. They caught up with us a little while later. James was red-faced, panting and sweating, but they’d caught us.

We stopped for a snack at the little coffee shop in South Pasadena. The one that has a sign advertising “Pastries Fresh Daily” next to a jar of Twinkies on the counter. Yum. While we were there, we also met Packard the dog. He’s a 17-year-old Husky mix, but very friendly.

The last part of the ride was across San Marino and back home. But when we got on Duarte Road, Newton and James took off and missed a turn. I went after them, but I lost them when I got caught at the light at Rosemead. By the time I got a green, they were long gone. I think they might be in Arizona by now. Or at least at Newton’s house in West Covina. So I just kept on riding on Duarte Road until I got out to Monrovia. Then I went north a bit on Myrtle Ave, passing “The Wizard of Bras”, and then headed home by way of Sierra Madre.

It was a nice ride.

50 miles.
cycling

Today we had a little adventure in Los Angeles. The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising downtown had an exhibit of costumes from movies last year. This is the same place where we saw the “Star Wars” costumes last fall. We’d only seen some of this year’s movies, but it was still fun to see them close up. We saw costumes from “Harry Potter”, “King Kong”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, and such. We also saw the figures that were used for filming “The Corpse Bride”, as well as the Vogons from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. It was a nice little adventure.

After that, we walked across the park to the Museum of Neon Art and saw the current exhibit there. MONA is still easily our favorite art museum of all.

The last part of our adventure was to go to West Hollywood for lunch at the French Market Place. This was Lucinda’s first time there, and she liked it. And we found out that, despite it being a big gay hangout, they have a children’s menu and crayons there. They also have koi pond inside the restaurant, and Lucinda liked watching the fish. So overall, it was a fun afternoon.

Today’s installment of the Foothill Cycle Sunday Moderate Ride was roundabout tour of Pasadena and close-by cities.

We started out from Victory Park with some nice sunshine. Right at the start I tried a quick bit of Myspace-style self-portraiture. That’s taking a picture with the camera held at arm’s-length. I take pictures on almost all the rides, but it’s rare that I actually get in any of them. So this was my attempt to make up for this. But to really get a good bike-riding picture, I need a longer arm.

We headed east to Sierra Madre Villa, and then south to Huntington Drive. From there we went west a bit and then south into Temple City. We took Broadway west back into San Gabriel, and then Mission north to San Marino.

A left on Monterey Road took us across San Marino, and then we got on El Molino and rode all the way north into Pasadena and Mountain Ave. Then we took a left to go to Lincoln and then a right onto Forest. It was there that Rick started complaining about his pedal, so we stopped to see what was wrong. It turned out that one of the screws in his cleat had fallen out, and the second was nearly out. He managed to get the one screw back in, but he had to bail and head for home at that point.

At Washington we went left and rode down past the north end of the Rose Bowl, and then up the hill on the other side to Linda Vista. We went right there and then left on Inverness to start riding up the nice hill there. We rode up for a bit to get to the place where the road was washed out. We had to squeeze in between a fencepost and a cliff to get past the barrier, and then we rode past the washout.

After that, we rode up some more on St Katherine to get to Wendover and the top of the hill. There was a nice view from up there. Then we went down San Augustine to Figueroa and Chevy Chase. A quick left on Inverness again, and we were riding along the top of the hill. Then a right on Hempstead took us back down to Chevy Chase. We went left there and rode up to Foothill Blvd in La Cañada.

We took a right on Foothill down to Oakwood, where we stopped at a little coffee shop. It was our first time stopping there, and likely the last. The people working there got everything wrong on our orders.

After the stop, we rode up Oakwood for a bit and then took a right on Knight Way. Then another right on Crown Ave to get back down to Foothill. Then we turned left and dropped down the hill to Oak Grove by JPL. A right on Oak Grove brought us back into Pasadena and Woodbury Rd.

We went left on Casitas and went up the hill to Ventura, where we took a right. At Lincoln we went left again to get up the hill to Loma Alta, right at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. We took Loma Alta all the way up to the top of Lake Ave. Along the way I stopped for a picture of something not-quite-identifiable. It was a squashed bag with what looked like a large bird’s foot sticking out of it. Yick.

At Lake we went right, down the hill. Then a left on Mt. Curve and Maiden Ln to get to Rubio Canyon Rd. Another left took us around the mouth of Rubio Canyon and Loma Alta again. Then we went left on Pinecrest to the base of the Mt. Wilson Toll Road, which was closed by a large landslide over a year ago. The landslide was still there, and it doesn’t appear that there has been any work done on trying to clear it. You can see this in this picture taken just over a year ago. About the only thing different is that there is more vegetation growing on it now.

From there, we got on Altadena Drive and rode down the hill back to the park. At that point we had gone 35 miles, so I took Sierra Madre Blvd east to Sunnyslope to add a little bit more. I went up the hill to Grand View and then east some more to Baldwin. Then down the hill to Sierra Madre and back home.

41 miles.
cycling

Route map and photo locations

Since this coming week is the 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, I decided it was time to do a bike ride with an earthquake theme. The route was to visit a number of locations connected with the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake. As it turned out, none of my regular riding group could make it today, so this was a solo effort. The day was overcast and cool, with some intermittent light sprinkles, but overall it wasn’t a bad day for riding.

I started out heading across Pasadena to La Cañada and then up Foothill Blvd. I took Foothill all the way up to Sylmar. It was a pretty long ride, but it was all right. Once I got past Tujunga, it looked, felt, and smelled like I was out in the country. That’s always kind of a weird feeling when one is within the Los Angeles city limits.

When I got up to Sylmar, it started to look more urban, but in a barrio kind of way. That was where I saw the “Live Poultry” shop. Then I got up to where all the freeways meet at the north end of the San Fernando Valley. I stopped there to take a picture of the Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades. This is where William Mulholland gave his famous “There it is – take it” speech back in 1913.

Then I rode up a little hill to get into the little valley where the big I-5/CA-14 freeway interchange is. The ramps here fell down in both 1971 and 1994, and the photo of the fallen overpass is one of the iconic images from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

I got a nice view of the overpasses from down below. Then I got on San Fernando Road and started back south. That was where I saw the car with the big German Shepherd sticking out of the sun roof. Then I turned right on Balboa and headed down into the Valley. I took a left of Woodley so I could come down next to the Los Angeles Reservoir. The dam here was damaged in the 1971 quake, and a large portion of the San Fernando Valley had to be evacuated for a time because of the danger that the dam would collapse. Sadly, it was not possible to actually see the dam from the road. The USGS has a fact sheet that tells the story of the dam.

At Rinaldi St I took a left. I went a short distance and then stopped at Eden Memorial Park. I’d planned on visiting Groucho Marx’s grave there, but when I saw the Star of David on the fence I knew that they would be closed on Saturday.

Continuing on, I took Maclay St back up into San Fernando. I took a right on Glenoaks Blvd., which is a big and busy street, but it has a bike lane, so it’s not all bad. I took that all the way back down to Sun Valley, passing the big landfill and recycling center (stinkeroo!) and KAOS Auto Parts. Then I turned left on Tuxford to get to La Tuna Canyon Road.

The four miles uphill in La Tuna Canyon is always fun. On the way up, I passed the Dog Resort, and also another mailbox painted with hot-rod flames. Then when I got to the top, the sun came out. I got out my sunglasses and continued down the other side into La Crescenta.

A quick trip up Hospital Hill, and then it was downhill all the way home. It was a nice ride.

61miles.
cycling