Ines Brunn postering and Missing the Birds 3-31-09

Went on a 17  mile late afternoon/early evening ride today to get a few more posters circulated for the Ines event this Saturday. Having headed south, it is always refreshing for me to move along the  Mountain View (MTV) streets where the novelty of HiWheel cycling has not worn off. And yet there again, I have to ask myself if  it was ever appreciated as much in Palo Alto. 

The girls shrieking and the kids calling out to me as I go by are coupled with innumerable  "Nice bike"  and "Thank You" compliments from people my own age and older in many different locations in Mountain View. Or is it just that MTV has a younger, less conservative population?  Intellectual sophistication, where people more educated tend to have had a broader range of life experience and exposure to a wider array of possibilities,  is likely  not a factor. While  MTV does not have Stanford, it  is the home of Google and great number of high tech firms that employ quite a few members of the local citizenry. 

To further illustrate the kind of reception I get in Mountain View, as I was looking for a bike shop I had remembered seeing on Castro Street, I asked a kid in his late teens if knew where there was a bike shop. He exclaimed, "Why would you need one? That is such an awesome bike!"

If you want to get a better feel for what the roads were like that I traveled on, scroll down. I copied the ride notes that I load with the maps  that I plot for each of the rides I do (I exhort you to load your own routes. You don't need fancy hardware or special skills. It  is easy to figure out and there is even an instructional video there that U can use to learn how to create your own  maps. The way it looks now, I will be loading my entire San Francisco to Boston route on to the maps you can access below and at bikeroute.com). So, in future blogs, when I cite the Route, you can always get more detail about my ride at our maps.

You can even see, at my maps, where I am jumping curbs and where many of the local bike path secrets can be found. You won't see me discussing many of my impressions there though. You will have to come here to learn how riding through spring makes me feel. And indeed, it is a delight to see all the white  blossoms that sometimes sprinkle the road and sidewalks. This as their smell often treats my nose brain to a feeling of wonder.

Can't hear the birds though. If they are there, their sound is drowned out by the roar of distant freeways and trains, airports and just people  making things and on the move. The soothing nature of bird song will have to wait until I can ride early AMs on weekends and again during the week once my ride begins in May!!

      THX 4 all of U!!   

ROUTE

Start 0ft
1 1.93mi Go off curb with Eagle here giving me straight shot to Latham. Closest curb cut was another 150 feet away forcing a back track to Latham (the DMV is located at the opposite corner and it is where truck licensing appears to be done now)
2 4.46mi Was Looking for bike shop that I had once seem on this street lined on both sides with businesses
3 5.99mi Because U never know on a bike, I thought there might be a bike path along 85 here
4 6.43mi Enter El Camino Real. Horrible at 5 PM when I rode it. No bike lane. Even rode some side walk. Thought I had seen a bike shop on this stretch when I rode it a few weeks ago on an early and quiet Sunday AM
5 7.76mi Relief!! Begin Bernardo, a true joy to ride with wide bike lanes, few stops and slow cars!!
6 9.27mi Before Fremont St becomes pleasant and tree canopied, one has to deal with this ugly intersection for a couple of blocks
7 10.89mi Leave two Ines Flyers with Scott at Bicycle Outfitter
8 14.81mi Whole Foods pit stop
9 15.23mi U turn c.o some kind of police action ahead with lots of squad cars

Note: This ride is not about me but it is a celebration of all the people who have helped me get back to wholeness physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. This as I stand on the shoulders of giants to enjoy the privilege of riding this bike, the only Eagle in active use in all of the Western Hemisphere ...