"Tiene usted una tarjeta de llamada por New Zealand?"

That was me this afternoon stopping in a couple of Hispanic food stores, looking for one of those pre-paid calling cards. With Adria in New Zealand, and me not in charge of my phone plan (my BlackBerry account is controlled through work), a pre-paid calling card is my only option for speaking with her.

Tip: If you need to call New Zealand, don't stop into a Hispanic food store - all of their calling cards are good for Central and South America - not New Zealand.

7-11 had one for New Zealand, as well as a pint of Ben 'n Jerry's Strawberry Shortcake, so I grabbed one of each.

I was hustling home, excited to talk to Adria, and had a middle-aged woman in a Lincoln Navigator roll down her passenger window and holler "You jam!" when she caught up with me at a stop sign (I was on my fixed gear bike, and yeah, I do jam on that. When it's time for a paint job, I'm going to have it powder-coated all white with script "Fast as F*ck" on the top-tube.); also saw my friend Nick and his little daughter on East Cliff, just coming off the beach from tide-pooling in the reefs at low tide. I walked with them up the street, trying to coordinate with Nick our next surf session while answering a bajillion questions from his daughter. :)

Made it inside, kicked off my shoes, pee'd, put the ice cream in the freezer, read the instructions for the calling card, booted up my computer to get the number of the cell phone Adria rented in NZ, and called. I got the universal three-tone-ring and operator's voice saying this is not a working number. Dang it!

So now I'm sitting at the computer, typing this.

Adria...are you there?! Is that you?

I miss that girl.

f-you, winter!

I woke up this morning, ignorant about the time change.

Looked at the calendar - 13 days until the vernal equinox.

Looked out the window and saw yellow flowers blooming.

Spent the first few hours of the day reading and journaling at the coffee shop and practicing yoga. Thought it was going to be overcast and yucky all day. It was not. It turned out to be a beautiful day, just like a summer day in Santa Cruz. Cloudy and foggy until early afternoon, then, like someone took a squeegie to the sky, the clouds and fog were gone, and it was a flawless blue, sunny sky. About 70 degrees.

I had big plans to climb Nisene fire road up to Demonstration Forest on my SS, so I went to the garage to dust off the mountain bike (it's been raining a lot lately, so I haven't been riding trails lately). Got distracted by friends and neighbors passing by and ended up blowing off the ride. Totally worth it.

This is Steve and Heidi (they are Zak's parents), and Tim (holding Zak's leash).

This is my other friend named Tim. Here he is on his new SS townie, taking a break from Ironman training.

On my beach walk, I turned the corner around this outcropping of reef (this spot is normally underwater) and saw this couple. He is rubbbing his pregnant wife's back as they watch their kid run around on the beach. That made me happy.

The forecast is calling for seven days of sun and 70 degree weather.

So, yeah...f-you, winter. I'm glad you're on your way out.

the worst tip ever

I dusted off my fixed gear bike yesterday - the sun was shining and the roads were dry, finally - and took a 15-mile spin around the neighborhood. I accidentally stopped for a beer downtown, and as I was getting back on my bike, an older guy was loading his panniers with two family-sized packs of toilet paper from Trader Joe's.

We started talking when he commented on my bike. His name is Gary and he has been commuting on bikes for nearly twenty years. He told me that he recently had to switch to a recumbent bike because the stress on his wrists has made it impossible to ride long distances anymore on a traditional bike frame.

When I asked him if he had any tips for a young guy like myself he said, "Yeah. Die young."

The worst tip ever.

And a violation of my third law of bike commuting (http://clayton-ryon.blogspot.com/2009/02/four-laws-of-bike-commuting.html).

you forgot the seat

Seen in downtown Santa Cruz today, near the bus station...

See also http://clayton-ryon.blogspot.com/2008/12/why-i-dont-have-quick-release.html

the best bus ride ever

Possibly the best bus ride ever on Friday afternoon.

It did start off badly when I arrived and all the bike slots were taken...

...so I had to wait half an hour for the next bus.

A few stops into the ride, a man, he could have been as young as me or in his 50's - hard to tell, got on. The nametag on his blue workcoat said "Dalton" in cursive script. Definitely a blue collar worker, but very tucked and pressed. Heavy khaki work shirt under the monogrammed blue jacket. The shirt was tucked neatly into black Dickie work pants, and he had black, lace-up work boots on. He sat on the same bench as me, with an empty seat between us. He had good posture and he wore black sunglasses. Had this been a movie, Denzel Washington could have played this guy. A lady got on shortly afterwards. If Dalton was Denzel, this lady was straight from "Flashdance." Feathered hair. Half-finger, knitted mittens. She was in her late fifties, maybe younger 'cause she looked like a smoker, and she sat directly across from Dalton. She was carrying a large, brown, fake leather purse with lots of buckles and what looked like a broom handle that looked like it had been broken off about 3/4 of the way down. The tip was very sharp looking. As the bus crawled up Highway 17, the setting sun illuminated the entire cab of the bus, basically blinding all of us. Dalton, without saying a word, took off his sunglasses, and handed them across the aisle to Flashdance. She took them, without saying a word, and put them on. Then they started talking. Good job, Dalton...if you're into Flashdance.

A blind lady got on with her caretaker and reminded me to appreciate what I have, and that we only go around once. Make the most of it.

Another lady, with a spendy looking handbag and black wool overcoat who wouldn't lean back into the seat, asked me "Is that your bike out there?" When I said "yes" she said "What kind of shifters does it have?" as she squinted, like she was trying to see through the glare and figure it out. I said "None. It's a single speed." I think that confused her. When I got off the bus I followed one of my rules of bus-riding: to always say goodbye to people you talk to. So I acknowledged her before I got off in Felton.

I climbed the four hilly sections to Adria's house. That's a big deal because she lives way uphill and last week when I was feeling strong, I made it up all the hills on my single-speed with two full panniers. So that set the new standard and I didn't want to blow it today. About halfway up I was doing track-stands at the top of each stroke, my throat was fully constricted, and my forearms were on fire. But I made it.

When I got to the mountain house, Greta took me for a walk to the cemetery down the road. I noticed that these two graves look very different:

Greta ran around the open space the entire time.

Ray LaHood doesn't get it

This week I've been researching trends in the transportation industry for an upcoming contract negotiation, and I ran across an interesting statistic (esp. interesting and inspiring from a bicycle commuter's perspective): the U.S. is in the middle of a trend that we have never seen: total vehicle miles driven is declining! Something like 2% since December.

Then I ran across this letter from Ray LaHood, the United States' newly appointed Transportation Secretary.

115 billion miles not driven since December! That's a lot of miles not driven. That's 4.6 million trips around the globe (in only three months). That's a lot of greenhouse gases not released into the atmosphere. That's a lot of money not given to foreign, oil-producing countries.

Then, I was talking with Adria during her morning commute and she mentioned that she has noticed less congestion on the roads lately when going through Silicon Valley, likely due to recent layoffs.

Now, I'm not a total idiot. I get it that it's the economy. And I am sympathetic to those who have lost their jobs (a few of these people are my friends). But for the U.S. Transportation Seceretary to suggest that we take our stimulus payment (part of Obama's recovery plan - is this for real, by the way?) and:

dump it into our gas tank
so we can sit in our cars
probably alone
to get across town
or to another town
to go to the mall
and ride the escalators
and walk around under fake lighting
and buy stuff we probably don't need
and sit in traffic on the way home
probably alone

just doesn't make sense to me.

So here's my suggestion for how to spend your stimulus payment: buy a bike from your local bike shop. Challenge yourself to replace a couple of car-dependent trips per week with your bike. Explore your neighborhood. Drive halfway to work and bike the rest. Be a "hunter/gatherer" on your bike - ride your bike to the grocery store (or farmer's market!) and bring your dinner home on your bike. It will satisfy the caveman in you, and it's close to the the best feeling ever.

And if you do end up going to the mall...at least carpool.

Guess who's going to New Zealand for three weeks?

Me!
Adria and I are going to play bikes on the south island.
She leaves this Saturday, I meet up with her on the 24th.


Here's the pack list she put together. (She's on her game):
*****************************************************************************************
New Zealand Cycling Trip 2009 Pack List
(If only one person is bringing a particular item for the whole group, their name is noted next to the item in parentheses.)

Gear
• Cycling helmet • Camel Back • Handlebar bag• Panniers • Dry Bag (for sleeping bag/pad)• Water Bottle(s)
On-the-bike Clothing
• Bright Orange Cycling Vests (Adria has 2)• Road ID band• Touring shoes • Cycling gloves • Cycling shorts (2 pair) • Socks — wool or synthetic (2 pair) • Short-sleeved shirts – Breathable/quick-drying (2 pair) **you could wear off bike too • Light, long-sleeved shirt for layering and sun protection (could work for off bike, too) • Rain gear, jacket and pants Long underwear, top and bottom (wool or thinsulate)
Off-the-Bike Clothing
• Comfortable shorts (1)• Swim trunks (also could be worn as pair of shorts) • Comfortable pants (1) (zip-off legs or quick-dry, non-wrinkle pants) NO jeans
• Underwear (2 pair) • T-shirt (1 or 2) • Flip-flops • Running Shoes (light weight hikers)• Wool or fleece hat • fleece or down jacket (mid-weight layer) **Windstopper Fleece is best! • Gloves — wool or fleece (lightweight) **I brought my black/yellow cotton ones• Sun Hat
Miscellaneous
• Passport (and a photocopy of passport and birth cert) • Toiletries (w/ extra contacts) • Towel (lightweight to enhance quick drying, like the PackTowl) • Leatherman (pliers and other tools are handy) (Adria) • Lightweight lock and cable (Adria) • Journal/reading book• Maps / guidebook (Adria)• Basic first-aid kit with emergency numbers (Adria) • Bandannas (2) • Sunglasses w/ case (sunglasses leash optional) • Headlamp • Sewing kit (Adria)• Laundry Detergent (Adria) • Sunblock • Bungie cords (2) • Camera and batteries / battery charger • Stuff sacks • Zip lock bags• Electricity converter (Dad) Bike Computer • GPS (Clay)• Farkle Game (Clay) Deck of Cards (Adria) •
Tools and Spare Parts
• Tire levers/patch kit (Adria) • Spare tube • Mini-pump (Dad) • Spoke wrench (optional) • Spare spokes sized for your bike’s wheels (optional) • Good Multi-tool for chain, allen wrenches, and screwdrivers (Dad) • Extra nuts, bolts, and wire (particularly for racks) optional • Bailing wire / Assorted plastic zip ties (Adria) • Small chain lube and rag (Adria) • Bicycle light, Front/Rear (Headlamp works for front) • Rearview mirror (optional) • Duct tape (invaluable – you can wrap some around a broken pencil to save weight)
Camping
Sleeping bag (Compression stuff sack helps to reduce bulk) Sleeping pad Tent (Lightweight, with rainfly and vestibules.) (Adria) Ground cloth (Adria) Swiss Army Knife (Adria) Personal eating utensils-fork, spoon, coffee mug, bowl (Adria) *I have enough for two! J Stove (A small backpacking stove with fuel) (Adria) *purchase fuel over there Cooking equipment and lighter (Adria)