Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Rode to Griffith Park with the Covina club today. The ride started in Arcadia and went through Eagle Rock and Glendale to get to the park. Sadly, they didn’t go as fast as I would have liked. On the way back, they stopped at Foxy’s restaurant in Glendale. I skipped the stop and headed home, since it was already 10:30 by then, and I wanted to be home by noon. The route back was pretty much straight down Colorado Blvd all the way back to Pasadena. 44 miles.

Rode with Foothill today. The Toluca Lake ride with a stop at Priscilla’s for a snack. Gene pushed the pace for part of the ride, and we were going pretty fast for a time. 41 miles.

25 miles ride today. Did the Duarte-and-back loop, along with a side trip and stop at Macaroni Grill in Monrovia to buy some gift cards for Wayne and Nicole for watching our house when we go on vacation.

Today’s ride was 36 miles of mostly-flat. We went east to Monrovia and then south to Temple City. Then west to San Gabriel and San Marino. Stopped at Il Fornaio in Old Town for a snack and then finished with the climb from past the Rose Bowl up to Altadena Drive. 36 miles.

We rode to Larchmont Village today. The route went down the arroyo and through Highland Park and Silver Lake. The stop was at Sam’s Bagels on Larchmont. On the way back, we rode over the Shakespeare Bridge and came back through Highland Park and South Pasadena. 41 miles total.

Did a short ride today. 24 miles loop to Duarte and back. Came back up Highland Oaks/Grandview through Sierra Madre.

Went riding again today. 41 miles to San Dimas and back. Stopped for a snack at Coffee Klatch. The new bike did well.

Took the new bike for a shakedown ride this afternoon. 25 miles to Duarte and back. Got a flat on the way back. The rim tape was slightly off-center, so two spoke holes were uncovered. Patched the hole and recentered the rim tape. The new Zefal pump was good. Got a good 80psi out of it pretty easily.

After I got home, I put the clipless pedals on the bike. Now that I’ve ridden it a bit, I’m ready to try them out.

Went riding again today. 39 miles. During the ride, I heard a new creak in my bike. So I had a look at it this evening, and I found a fatigue crack in the down tube. So, after 27 years, it’s the end of the line for my old Cuevas frame.

Had a Bad Car Day today. We were going out to dinner at Cafe Bizou when the car just coughed and died at Walnut and Raymond in Old Town. It was stone dead. Called AAA and they sent out a tow truck. The driver brought out the portable jump-start thingy just to try. He poked the battery and noticed that the hot terminal was loose. Then the car lights came back on. I tried it, and it started right up. We came home and I tightened the terminal down.