Down By the River

1715.4; 33.1.

This ride's getting familiar. 8 miles of West County Trail to Forestville, down to River Road and then Wohler > Eastside > Trenton/Healdsburg > Laguna > Guerneville (I guess all that's about 12 miles) and the 13 miles of bike path boomeranging through Santa Rosa.

Bit of a chill and a pretty strong headwind today, and it felt like the tires could use a little air (but not quite enough for me to actually stop and pump air into them), but all you can do is keep on pedaling. Still, weary now.

Forestville-Laguna Rd-Santa Rosa loop.

1631.1; 33.0

Just tracking miles on this bike now, since it's pretty much the only one I ride anymore unless it rains. New goals for the 2009 "biking season": keep riding; get to 2000, maybe a bigger round number; do one or more "centuries."

Last two rides, I've gone for bigger miles off the "end" of the West County Trail in Forestville, continuing down to the river (and make no mistake--that's a drop from what seems more or less a plateau, about 200 feet in about two miles.

Took Laguna Rd. back up and out this time, and it's much easier than Vine Hill Rd., doable for me without stopping or even going down to the smallest ring in front. Also, three 30mph+ downhills on this part. Unseasonably warm weather again today, allegedly 86 F right now (about 1pm). Glad I got out early.

Recorded Works That Changed My World

The meme:

"Think of 15 albums (CDs, if you're under 40), concerts, or other musical events that had such a profound effect on you that they changed your life; dug themselves into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wazoo, literally socked you in the gut is what I mean. Now, imagine you're one of those pompous, pretentious 'rawk' writers. Are you with me? When you finish, tag others (including moi). Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it..."

Now maybe if you're a dilettante, you have just 15 of these. For me, 15 isn't nearly enough. Having thought a bit about this, I'm just gonna try going chronological.

• Mary Poppins soundtrack. Hey, don't laugh! It's the first album I bought, and with it came the realization that one could have one's own personal music in the house--and that music could evoke a remembered experience and thus activate emotion, etc. etc. Honorable mention: My friend's dad's Tom Lehrer album: That Was The Year That Was. Unlike Poppins, I still love this one!



• Everything the Beatles released. I don't remember much about their arrival in the US (I remember hearing "The Beatles are Coming," and picturing a row of insect beetles marching into the country), but I remember the tremendous anticipation of each new album, and the joy of bringing it home and putting it on the record player and being immersed in their world. Everyone talked about it the next day at school. Eventually, everyone from your parents to first-graders listened to them. The Beatles were universal like no entertainers had been before or will be again, probably. Honorable mention: the Rolling Stones, for a while there.



• Movies: Hard Day's Night, Help!, Head, The Song Remains the Same, The Kids Are Alright, Baby Snakes, Urgh! A Music War, This is Spinal Tap...



• The Monkees. Yeah, they were a prefabricated rip-off of Hard Day's Night-era Beatles, but I was only about 10, and they were also in our living room once a week, and so here were guys I "knew" producing music. This is where I first entertained ambitions of being a musician and living that zany life. The Beat! The Chords! The Girls! Honorable mentions: The Raiders, the Turtles, and a hundred other 60s AM-friendly pop groups.



• The Guess Who: American Woman. First "real" rock album. I stared at the cover while listening endlessly, thinking about which guy played what instrument, what the songs meant.



• Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends. My parents' music (and my mom was named "Mrs. Robinson"), but I came to love it. So profoundly witty and introspective. Honorable mention: Harry Nilsson: Harry.



• The Who: Tommy. An album that made a coherent and cohesive statement, with a high-minded concept, and that French Horn! I did a book report on it at school--teacher didn't figure out that it was a musical album, and thought it was a very strange book.



• Elton John: Elton John. Before the big glasses and platforms and superstardom, before he was gay, there was this unassuming little album that played constantly on the basement stereo.



• Alice Cooper: Love it to Death, Killer, School's Out. I liked some music for entirely non-musical reasons, and am amazed to find later how good these albums actually were musically. Also the first concert I attended alone, during the "Killer" tour. How can you not like a band that hangs their lead singer at every show? :-)



• Grand Funk Railroad: Closer to Home, Survival. Okay, guilty pleasure. I find much of it nearly unlistenable now, but back in the day I listened to it on eternal-replay. Their cover of "Gimme Shelter" is pretty good.



• Firesign Theatre: Four or five classic albums. If rap is music, then this is certainly music. The Firesign Theatre, in simplest terms, was four guys doing comedy. However, this is how comedy would sound if the Beatles did comedy: multilayered, full of multifarious references all over the intellectual map, and slyly funny, with its own set of catch-phrases and one-liners, but much more, and it bore repeated listening. I *still* hear new stuff sometimes.



• Jimi Hendrix: War Heroes. This is the one where I first saw clearly what Jimi did. Electric Ladyland was his best mainstream release, but this is still the best Hendrix album you never heard (most of the songs have been released on Hendrix family reissues now, but it still bears listening as delivered). Ask nicely and I might make you a copy.



• Led Zeppelin II. Monstrous. I'd choose this one to introduce the Zep to an alien or hermit emerging from a cave. Honorable mention: Deep Purple: Machine Head.



• Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow. Don't take the brown, but if you can find some of the purple, "tell me how do you feel...?"



• Various: Woodstock. I was too young for the concert, but the album and movie were cultural touchstones.



• Johnny Winter And: Live. Serious blues chops. Played along with this album over and over and OVER, and never did catch up.



• Allman Brothers Band: Beginnings. Another album I attempted to play along with. Honorable mention: Eric Clapton/Cream/Derek and the Dominos. Guitar-playing 101 through 199.



• The Who: Live at Leeds. Whenever you need to turn it up to top volume, here's your album.



• Dylan: Greatest Hits 1 and 2. I came to Dylan late, but spent a good deal of time with these three LPs (vol. 2 was a two-LP set), and of course took to writing imitative poetry which I certainly hope has all been destroyed.



• Grateful Dead: American Beauty, Terrapin Station. These albums have pretty much everything there is to like about the Dead and little of what there is to dislike. Initiated a short but enjoyable Deadhead period in my life.



• Neil Young: After the Gold Rush, Harvest. Everyone had these albums. There was an era before Nirvana when everyone wore jeans and flannel shirts. For better or worse, following on James Taylor's heels, this was the blueprint and model of the 70s sensitive male, and I studied it probably more (a LOT more) than I should've. Honorable mentions: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young: So Far (First/only Greatest Hits package released after only two albums?); Cat Stevens: "Tea For the Tillerman."



• Spirit: Spirit and Clear. These were repackaged as a double LP when I found them. Beautiful combination of psychedelia, folk, rock, and jazz, with a liberal dash of humor.



• Frank Zappa: Apostrophe'. Get past the Yellow Snow for amazing guitar work and excellent writing. This is repackaged on a single CD with "Overnite Sensation," which is not a bad thing.



• Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied. The first six or seven albums are capital-G Great, though I do think of the first, "Can't Buy a Thrill" as something of a warm-up, and the sixth and seventh, Aja and Gaucho, as somewhat more mundane and jazz-derivative (when the rest of the world discovered them, BTW). These albums came with my first serious girlfriend, and brought new levels of cynicism AND musicality to my world. Did you know there are time signatures other than 4/4? Chords other than major, minor, and seventh?



• The Who: Sell Out. You could buy it just for the cover, but after that it might just get lodged in your top ten of all time.



• Sarah Vaughan: No Count Sarah. I rate Sarah above Ella and Billie, maybe just for this album (and to a lesser extent, "Swingin' Easy"). Check out "Doodlin'" for starters. Thanks for this one too, Mom!



• The Kinks: The Kinks Kronikles. A two-record set that introduced me to a quaint little village (and sold me 10 or 12 additional albums).



• Aretha Franklin. With Aretha or any of the Motown artists, you don't really usually talk in terms of "albums," but in terms of hits, and in some cases, of entire bodies of work. Aretha deserves much more than "Respect."



• Chet Atkins and Les Paul: Chester & Lester (repackaged on CD with "Guitar Monsters"). Every guitarist should own this and study it.



• Compilations: Nuggets and Nuggets II. If you liked anything about the music of the 60s, you need both of these.

(****Had enough yet? Okay, let's move on. ****)

• David Bowie: Heroes, Low, Lodger. The Berlin trilogy. Bowie here merged art and rock in a way that made you feel smart for listening to it.



• John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band. This was something entirely different--pure, raw, emotion. So personal, it was hard to listen to at first.



• Talking Heads: Fear of Music. Scary brilliant.



• Compilation: Warner/Electra Loss Leaders: Troublemakers. This introduced me to the Sex Pistols, Jonathan Richman, latter-day Marianne Faithfull, Gang of Four, Devo, and to some extent, to Punk Rock and New Wave as a genre (And a general huzzah to Warner for all of the "Loss Leaders").



• Compilation: Life in the European Theatre. Introduced me to another swath of punk/new wave acts, including the Clash, the Jam, XTC, the Undertones, the (English) Beat, the Specials...



• Compilation: The Last Stiff Compilation. The Stiff label produced some of the best music of the late 70s. Here we find the Damned, Madness, the Cure, John Otway, Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, Motorhead... (Honorable mention: Stiff Records Box Set: some of that glory reproduced on CD.)



• The Jam: Setting Sons, the Gift. Lumped in with punk, they were really a logical progression from the Who. Very musical and articulate, with a solid conscience and you can dance to it--I'll give it a 10, Dick!



• The Clash: London Calling, Give 'Em Enough Rope. I actually drove an intransigent roommate out of the house with the latter.



• Nick Lowe: Jesus of Cool, Labour of Lust. Like the man said, "Pure Pop for Now People."



• The Pretenders: The Pretenders, and everything since. Chrissie seemed to me the first woman who really rocked. She always has great backing too.



• Psychedelic Furs: Psychedelic Furs. I loved this. It hasn't aged that well...but better than Grand Funk.



• XTC: Drums and Wires, Black Sea, English Settlement, Skylarking, Oranges and Lemons; and Dukes of Stratosphear: 25 O'Clock and Psonic Psunspot. D&W was the intro, but each of these albums went a little further, from raw, minimalistic punk to lush psychedelia.



• Kate Bush: The Dreaming (and all others). Complex, virtuosic, beautiful.



• Van Halen: Van Halen. Okay, yeah. Eddie was really the first person to do anything new with a guitar since Hendrix. The bombast of DLR made it fun, which is why Sammy didn't work nearly as well.



• King Crimson: Discipline. Adrian Belew also took the guitar to new places, on the wave of intricate, mesmerizing Frippertronics, Tony Levin on The Stick, and Bill Bruford pounding skins. I saw them doing most of this album live at the time and it did change my life.



• U2: War. Nothing of theirs since has really grabbed me like this one...



• Butthole Surfers: In general. No particular album, just various tracks across the years. But really: revelatory.



• They Might Be Giants: Lincoln, Flood, Apollo 18. Nerdy geek-rock!



• The Austin Lounge Lizards. A National Treasure. Why haven't you heard them?!? I suggest you start with "Employee of the Month."



• Posies: Failure, Dear 23, Frosting on the Beater. My mom's one-time tenants made some wonderful music.



• Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes and the "Crucify" EP. And she was something to see and hear in concert, just her and the piano.



• Nirvana: Nevermind. A breath of fresh air. Honorable mention: Pearl Jam: Ten.



• Richard Thompson: Rumor and Sigh. But you really have to see him live to appreciate that he's playing ALL THREE guitar parts.



• Compilation: The Money or the Gun. 22 versions of Stairway to Heaven by Australian bands. One of my most prized possessions!



• Compilation: Ferrington Guitars. A coffee-table book of beautiful custom-made guitars with accompanying CD on which you can hear some of them. Beatiful, warm, production; amazing guitar-playing.



• Breeders: Last Splash. Women rock again!



• Tempest: Serrated Edge. Somewhere near that tiny sub-genre "Celtodelic," Tempest played Bay Area clubs in the 90s, and actually helped me get in at one place when I forgot my ID (tho I haven't looked under 21 since I was 14). I loved learning these on guitar, and added bonus, singing the "Gilligan's Island" theme to "House Carpenter."



• Compilation: If I Were a Carpenter. Just for Sonic Youth's brilliant, transforming cover of "Superstar."



• Liz Phair: Whip-Smart, Whitechocolatespaceegg. I know, "Guyville," but these two just affected me more.



• Alison Krauss: Now that I've Found You, Live (w/Union Station). If angels sing (and are female), they sound like this. But they probably wouldn't have that dobro.



• Compilation: Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits. Introduced me to some groups (Wax, "Happy Happy Joy Joy") and delivered necessary songs from others (Violent Femmes, "Eep Opp Ork"; Ramones, "Spiderman"; Butthole Surfers, "Underdog"...).



• Compilation: Sing Hollies in Reverse. Rare tribute that is mostly as good as the originals, and that sent me back to them for another listen.



• Compilation: Alright, This Time, Just the Girls. The Sympathy for the Record Industry label collected some absolutely wonderful stuff here. It sold me on Candypants, the Stool Pigeons, Matson Jones, and others. Honorable mention: the preceding comp, "Their Sympathetic Majesties Request."



• Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Revival, Hell Among the Yearlings, Time the Revelator, Soul Journey. Touches the heart in a funny way.



• Stool Pigeons: Rule Hermania and Gerry Cross the Mersey. An unfinished trilogy of British Invasion tributes. Much-better-than-the-original covers of Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers.



• Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication. I liked the Chili Peppers before, but LOVED this album; they seemed to me to show some maturity here and create something more worthwhile and lasting. And my band covered the title song.



• Compilation: Short Music for Short People. 101 songs on one CD! Maybe more artists should limit their output to ~30-second bursts.



• White Stripes: White Blood Cells. A breath of fresh air, again (see Nirvana)! Brought rock back to the garage, and me back to my guitar.



• Steve Earle: Jerusalem. The most coherent response to 9/11 I've found.



• Green Day: American Idiot. The most coherent response to George W. Bush I've found.



• Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Absolutely lovely. Stirring. I am running out of adjectives.

As soon as I publish, I'll think of ten things I forgot.

Food Critic

I was walking in Petaluma the other night and, passing Velasco's, saw a Mexican family just leaving, waiting to cross Washington Street.

It used to be common lore that the restaurant where all the trucks were parked was a "good" restaurant. I wondered if it held true that the Mexican restaurant where Mexicans eat is a "good" Mexican restaurant.

Just as the WALK sign came on, the youngest child vomited onto the sidewalk.

Burned Out or Burnt?

I've been burned out on a job. Five years of tech support did it to me--twice. Burnout is now a pretty well recognized effect of extended continuous thankless stress in any kind of work (r play, for that matter), especially if you find that it really wasn't your life's ambition to do this thing.

"Burnout" is also a shorthand phrase increasingly used by managers to identify a reason for less than enthusiastic performance by employees. However, I've been here too, even with a type of work I genuinely like doing, and I suggest that it's just lain old "burn," something quite different.

Excluding contract jobs, I've worked in what I consider major jobs at a bank, four software companies (one of them twice), and a web commerce company. The bank laid me off after seven years; the first software company more or less tricked me into resigning after three years; the second software company laid me off once after five years and disappointed me in the second, three-year, stint; the third software company strung me along for a year in a job I hated; the fourth software company laid me off--on my birthday--after a year and a half; and the web commerce concern laid me off after two and half years.

After this string, one might be forgiven for being a bit cynical when a company expects "loyalty," and for keeping an eye on the door and the job market, even in the face of continuing optimism on the part of company leadership. In fact, one might even be considered an intelligent being, practicing the most basic of self-preservation techniques. After being a team player on more than a few teams, and being kicked off of those teams with no warning, one might be less than enthused about jumping in with both feet. The employer might call this "burnout," but it isn't, necessarily. It's just the effect of the repeated burn.

Easier to Stay On Than to Get On

1455.9; 1105.6; 21.7

Sickness, travel, and thanksgiving all conspired to keep me off the bike in November--only 4 rides all month, and those the shortest possible. My blood sugar hit 200 two days this week and I knew it was time to get back on. MAN it's hard, when used to breezing through 25, 30, 40 mile rides, to go back to 16 and 20 mile rides, huffing and puffing. Well, 17 yesterday and 20 today, and I hope to keep it up tomorrow and Friday and see my sugar back under 130.

Slug Weather

1400.9; 1050.6; 16.6

There's a kind of weather we have, I guess people call it Winter, but I think of northern Cali "Winter" as full-on rain (even though it's usually somewhat warmer when it rains). This weather, like today's, is chilly, overcast, brisk--like Fall almost anywhere else.

I haven't been getting out on the bike much, and really need to. My blood sugar is still not terrible--nothing over 200--but the average is steadily climbing the longer I go without this exercise. So, I made myself get out today; even these relatively short rides help. Maybe I can get back on a roll here...

Making the Grade

1384.3; 1034.0; 16.5

Mitch Mitchell died about a week after we saw him at the Experience Hendrix show. Sigh.

12 days since the last ride, and that one was 7 days after the previous one. Well, I've been traveling, and then sick. This slacking has been reflected quite apparently in the blood sugar.

But riding was surprisingly easy--at least the relatively gentle slopes of the trail to Forestville and back--and indeed the Occidental grade on the return, which sometimes seems like it takes forever, was pretty much a breeze. Need to keep it up while the weather's good.

Experience Hendrix 11/3/2008

Nob Hill Masonic Center
San Francisco, CA (8:00 - ~11:30 pm)
http://www.experiencehendrixtour.com/

Mitch Mitchell & Billy Cox of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, plus Doyle Bramhall II, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, David Hidalgo, Eric Johnson, Robby Krieger, Jonny Lang, Chris Layton, Mato Nanji, Cesar Rosas, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Hubert Sumlin.

A phalanx of guitar players tried to conjure Jimi Hendrix in San Francisco last night. They almost succeeded--at least they showed that a little bit of Jimi is in every electric guitarist.

The Nob Hill Masonic Center is a pretty plush venue. There is a five-level parking garage directly beneath the auditorium, so we drove right in (paying $15 extra), and took an elevator up to the hall in the same building. There are about 25 rows of cushioned seats in a semicircle around the stage on the ground floor, and some more on a balcony. We were in row "S", right of the stage, with a clear view of most of the proceedings.

Eric Gales: Purple Haze, Foxy Lady

Gales opened with the two best-known of Hendrix compositions, tearing through them with plenty of flash, speed, and authenticity--and reminders to the audience to applaud via stopping and holding his hands up to his ears after almost every solo. But he's a good player and in the unenviable position of opening, so we'll forgive that minor annoyance.

Robbie Krieger, Mato Nanji: Manic Depression

The legendary Doors guitarist played rather quietly through this one, one of only a couple of Gibson guitar players in the bunch (the tour is sponsored by Gibson--a brand Jimi rarely played). Mato Nanji was also an understated but solid soloist--actually not an unwelcome break from the loud screeching trebles we'd hear most of the night.

Doyle Bramhall II: Angel, Remember

Bramhall played slide, and never seemed to catch his stride on these two numbers. I could imagine him perhaps doing them quite impressively on other nights, but just didn't see it tonight, and I was starting to wonder if this whole show was going to be a wash.

Jonny Lang: Rock Me Baby

Blues guitar wunderkind Lang finally brought a little bit of fire to the proceedings.

David Hidalgo, Krieger, Bramhall: ?Blues number

The Los Lobos guitarist joined the other two understated players for a 12-bar blues I couldn't identify. I like Los Lobos, but when I think "Hendrix-influenced guitar music," that's not really where I tend to go...

Eric Johnson: Love or Confusion

Okay, now we start to get somewhere. Johnson is one of a handful of modern guitar wizards in the Hendrix tradition, a la Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and the like. A likeable, unassuming guy, he produces cascades of notes in a nice round tone--sometimes too quiet for the high-powered backing, but again rather a nice reprieve from the piercing top-of-the-neck screaming of some others.

+ Gales: May This Be Love, Bold As Love, Are You Experienced

Gales returned to join Johnson for an inspired rendition of May This Be Love (aka "Waterfall"), and stuck around through a few more, having mostly the good sense to not try to upstage Johnson.

Brad Whitford, Jonny Lang: Fire, The Wind Cries Mary, Spanish Castle Magic

OK now here we go. Whitford of Aerosmith and Lang, returning, gave an (insert incendiary adjective here: "scorching"?) rendition of Fire, Lang delivering one of the best vocal performances of the night. When two guitarists attempt to solo at the same time, it's a very tricky proposition unless they can agree to stay each in their own tonal neighborhoods. The urge to go high and trebly is often overwhelming when you want to cut through the sonic sludge, and that works for one guitar but not two. Both of these guys are excellent, impressive players, but playing simultaneously, they cancel each other out.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Noah Hunt on vocals): Come On, I Don't Live Today, Voodoo Child, Slight Return

Shepherd is another hot guitarist, and he did fantastic versions of these songs, especially the segued-together Voodoo Child/Chile. I had to look up Noah Hunt on the web, but he is a great singer who performs with Shepherd regularly.

Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, + Nanji?: Can You See Me, Little Wing, Them Changes

Now we had another Los Lobos guitarist, and I don't know, these guys just didn't grab me that much, but they did creditable versions of the songs.

Hubert Sumlin: Shoulda Quit You

Sumlin is one of Jimi's stated influences. At 77 years of age (Hendrix would be 65 now), he was spry and chipper, of course not a dazzling guitar-god, but that's not what he was there for. It was nice to have him included, and he came out again for several songs and the other players always deferred to him.

Buddy Guy, Ric Hall, others: Best Damn Fool, Hoochie Coochie Man, ... Red House

Buddy Guy is another Hendrix influence, and I guess the headliner here. He's a great bluesman, and he plays the audience well, getting laughs with some clever lines and his delivery. He's also a killer guitarist, and he could riff with the best of them. Ric Hall, uncredited, plays rhythm for Guy mostly, but did get a chance to step out and play a couple of solos and show off his ZZ Top-style twirling guitar...

I felt the show devolved in here somewhere, and it stopped being about Jimi and started being about Buddy--not at all a bad person for "it" to be "about," but not what we came for. At one point, Guy held the same feedbacking note for upwards of a minute, and that was it for me.

All in all, this review might belie the fact that it was a very good show with a lot of high points, and in fact a little of that Hendrix spirit throughout... In case it wasn't obvious, there is a little of Jimi on EVERY ROCK GUITARIST, since he first appeared on world stages in 1966/1967. Listening to "American Woman" from the Guess Who's live album on the way home, I could not help thinking THAT was a tribute to Jimi as well.

What we saw here was that there was so much to Jimi, any other guitarist can possess even some small fraction of it and use it as his (no women players here, were there!) entire act. I picture this tour going from city to city, and each player having standout nights and slow ones, overall a different, powerful show every night.

Sebastopaluma

1351.2; 1000.9(!); 40.5

Yes, passed the 1000-mile mark on the odometer while coming back into Sebastopol after a rather tiring 40-mile round trip to Petaluma and back. Of course, having mentioned that I haven't had a flat in several weeks, and having wondered why I've had three flats in the rear and none in front, I got a flat on the front tire. It was actually sorta good, because it made for a rest break near the halfway point of the ride home, and also helped confirm that I *can* fix a flat out in the field. Also, three different people stopped and offered help, which was really nice.

Anyway, yeah, 1000 miles since Aug. 15 on this bike!

Hop Kiln

1310.7; 960.4; 31.5

Hop Kiln is as far as I got today, heading out Westside Road to the 15-mile mark, then turning around.

Here's a feeling I *really* don't like: going down a steep hill that ends in a "T" with cross traffic, and squeezing the rear brake lever as far as it goes, and still going 9, 10, 11 mph. That was Covey Rd. today. Covey is parallel to Mirabel Rd. between Forestville and River Rd. Mirabel has quite a lot of traffic and no shoulders, so seeing Covey on the map I decided to try it. Major, MAJOR hill. But I was able to ease on the front brake so that the combined brakes slowed me enough to feel safe. So I continued on, as noted, across River to Westside Rd., deciding to follow Westside till I got tired or got 15 miles (for a 30-mile round trip). It's a narrow, winding, up-and-down road with several wineries, but not too bad for biking. The only places I really feel vulnerable are on long right-curving uphills, where I'm going slow (and thus am exposed longer) and drivers won't see me till they're almost on me. There were only a couple of those places.

It occurred to me that I could look at my brake cables and see if I could adjust them before I hit another long downhill where I needed to stop, so I took a break at the Hop Kiln winery and took a look. First thing I saw was that the threaded piece near the lever had room for tightening. Next thing, I tightened the wrong nut on the rear--the one for the derailleur. Next, I tried to pull the cable through a little bit to tighten for the rear brake. Ultimately, I succeeded, I think, in getting the brake to pull a little more, and also got the derailleur thing adjusted back. I think there's room for improvement still, but it got me home safely. Then, there was the climb back UP Covey Rd...

Again, lovely autumn day; lots of colorful fallen leaves in the paths and the roads. (Seems like maybe the star thistles are done for the year, too--I haven't had a flat in several weeks, knock rubber.)

As you work up to bigger mileage, the same old paths and roads finally start to get boring, and you have to go farther afield. And you have to venture into unknown (or semi-unknown) places. I find a lot of road riding to be extremely unpleasant, but at least some parts are nice--cf Westside Road through all the vineyards.

I think maybe I shouldn't've started tracking miles per riding day--it makes me want to do more miles each ride, and NOT do a simple short ride that will reduce that average (currently 21.8 miles over 60 days); my average per calendar day is 12.4 over 106 calendar days, so a "short" 16-mile ride is still valid if I ride more or less every day.

I'm riding to Petaluma again tomorrow, weather permitting. That might take me over 1000 on this bike. Will have to bring a camera...

Shiloh

1279.2; 928.9; 31.9

Wasn't sure where I was going when I left this morning--in fact, not sure where the hell I'm going still--but ended up going out to Forestville and then across River Rd., intending to get to 15 miles then turn around, but then not wanting to go back up the Mirabel Rd. hill, so continued on across River Rd. to Eastside to Mark West Sta, and on out past the aiport to Shiloh before returning on Old Redwood Hwy and Fulton Rd.

Really trying to shake this feeling of impending doom (as if it wasn't already occurring, what with the state of the state, country, and world...); trying to put some positive thought-power behind it, we WILL WILL WILL ride this out, but there's precious little security at the moment. Well, we're good through December I guess. I will continue to try to harness energy in a good direction (I heard that this works; it's a secret; only a few million people know about it).

About ten miles out, I stopped to take a drink from my hydration pack and realized it was empty. It holds 70 oz., so I don't always top it off for every ride, and today I didn't really expect to go as far as I did. Shades of a similar ride 6 or 7 years ago, also out by the airport, where I ended up getting hot water from a farm. This time, I got to a quikee mart and bought a large bottle of water and poured it in, and that served. REMEMBER TO HYDRATE, FOLKS! It's more important than you think.

Llano - Todd et al

1247.3; 897.0; 27.0

Wanted to get a few more miles, and want to try to improve my "personal best" for the week, but fell short of 30 and by the time I got home I didn't really mind--over 25 is enough for today, including as it did another road I probably won't do again--Llano Rd from 12 to Todd, and Todd over to 116--though not as bad as that stretch of Occidental.

DMV

1220.3; 870.0; 18.2

Afraid this ride has brought my average down. Maybe I'll ride in the afternoon too.

The DMV is approximately 9 miles away, and no, they do not have a bike rack. I guess I might need my car anyway--not sure if I just need to be present, or take a written or driving test, to renew my license this time. I do know they want money.

I really try to stay cheerful and not get annoyed with people on the path, but c'mon, you're walking two abreast with a dog, leaving 1/8 of a 12-foot-wide path with the dog not entirely reeled in, and I really don't want to hit your dog. I ring my bell from 50 ft, 30 ft, 20 ft, and you make it clear that you've seen me, and move two inches over... that's a little aggravating. I guess other cyclists have left a bad impression--maybe--but y'know? Two wrongs? And... you'd REALLY rather have someone (or an innocent pet) get hurt than just show a little courtesy? Tough world!

Banking On It

1202.1; 851.8; 25.9

Moved money to credit union, where it will await tax time. Ugh, I guess Obama won't be able to help yet then. Lots of surface-street riding in Santa Rosa, where it seems there are always bike lanes where they're not needed and seldom bike lanes where they are needed. Certain drivers make a point of passing as close as they think they can get. I try to avoid streets like that, but hate to go on the sidewalks, which, in California are mainly repositories for stuff they couldn't put in the street: telephone poles and their wire supports, manhole covers, garbage out for collection (from five days ago); also the concrete squares that comprise the sidewalk are frequently pushed up in various directions by tree roots and seismic activity...

In a similar vein, Note to Self: NEVER ride Occidental Road east of Sanford again.

Have been thinking about this quote and finally looked it up: "I will make a bargain with the Republicans. If they will stop telling lies about Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them."-Adlai Stevenson. It's hard to believe the Republican party still exists, if they were using the same tricks that long ago (this probably would've been 1952 or 56, when he ran for president against Eisenhower--my grandma remembered him as "ol' Snake Eyes"--a name, I think, of her own invention. I don't think her voting criteria changed much over the years; it was mostly based on who she did or didn't like the looks of). Grandma is one of McCain's lost voters--if she had survived another year, she certainly would've voted for him.

Think I'll go see "W" today...

Petaluma & Back

1176.2; 825.9; 38.8

Wow, I grossly overestimated this ride. I gave myself 2-1/2 hours to get to Petaluma, and only took 1:15. I thought it would be close to 50 miles total, but actually was less than 40--my second-longest ride since returning to my biking ways. There are a couple of no-shoulder spots where there's a certain amount of danger, but it's mostly a pretty easy ride in the morning when the temperature and wind aren't too high. I did NOT expect the heat, coming back, but still managed a 1:15 ride.

I was starting to worry about higher readings on my blood sugar (thinking I'd need to go back to full doses of Actos), but that's dropped significantly (78 and 97 the last two days, after 130 130 124, 141), and my average this month is back under 120.

Talking to my friend, I find that I'm not the only one who senses in McCain a reluctance, almost sheepishness, about putting forth the lies his "handlers" have given him... In the local paper today (actually a Washington Post story), there's talk that the repubs might pull back on McCain campaign funding, thinking it better to spend the money on congressional campaigns, where McCain might almost be a lost cause. I am overjoyed at this prospect. In every debate and elsewhere, I have seen in Obama a man with an amazing memory and excellent command of data: a problem solver. He might bore some people with analysis, but he doesn't deliver the empty "I know how to..." lines, and he really did, I feel, minimize the dirtiness of the campaign, even while McCain and PitDog resorted to mudslinging of the worst kind.

President Obama! YES!

Absence

1137.4; 787.1; 31.2

No on 8. The (paper) Chronicle today shows people praying with mouths contorted and arms raised, presumably for God to take his vengeance on the butt-slammers (the ones He presumably created). How is it that people still believe in earthly representatives of a vengeful creator? The idea of a creator is not unreasonable, but the idea that someone like Falwell, or any of that ilk, has a direct line to a creator and is hear to communicate--and enforce--His wishes? That's just stupid. OK, let's play it through. Imagine that a majority of people vote yes. Do you really think all those gay people are going to go away? Leave 'em alone--if you don't like gay marriage, don't gay-marry. If you can't bear to vote No, just skip the question.

Yes on Obama. He's not perfect, but he's good. And the alternative is truly, truly frightening if you have even a tattered shred of intelligence. Just by the examples of the kind of people who are coming out of the woodwork for the repubs lately, you should recognize that you don't want to be on that side. OK, watch the last debate tonight, listen between the lines when they speak, and imagine which would really be "the cool hand on the helm" (an absurd phrase grammatically, like much of what McCain has been fed for regurgitation BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIRECTED BUSH FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, DUH!).

My friend and ex-co-worker Garrie, I learned, died (**died!**) in August. He'd had meningitis about two years ago and was pretty ill from then on, I guess, but still, he was only three years older than me, and it was a surprise to get an email response from "him" (his sister-in-law) saying he had passed away. It's funny (not ha-ha funny) that I'm reading "Seth Speaks" right now, and am in the middle of chapters about death. One of the things he says--and this was said to my unhearing ears a lot at alternative school in my teens--is "you're as dead now as you'll ever be." I think I never really parsed or understood this phrase before, and it gives an unfortunate negative cast, but reading it in context, it is actually a very positive concept. I'm really enjoying the book, and finding it affirms a lot that I felt/intuited/believed all along. Interesting: the idea of entities repeatedly reincarnating in an illusive physical time and space was making me wonder why there are so many more people now than in the past--and a visitor to a session, in the book, asks that question in conversation whereupon Seth "appears" and addresses the question... I'm remembering more dreams lately--fragmentary, but much more than usual.

Anyway, my warmest regards to you, Garrie, wherever you are now.

Warming Up

1106.2; 755.9; 27.5

The first number is total miles since 7/13; second is miles on odometer on the main bike; third number is miles today.

Think I need to do something to warm up before riding, or maybe this morning was just extra cold. At any rate, I never really got going, and the whole ride was slower than usual--although I still rode as far as I wanted to.

If the weather holds, I'll ride to Petaluma on Friday, after a longish ride tomorrow and a day off Thursday.

There's a River Down There

728.4; 21.9

Don't let that mileage fool you--this was a killer! On top of the usual bike-path loop out to Forestville, continued on Mirabel Rd. down to Trenton Rd., which is parallel to and in view of the Russian River. Then back up Laguna to Vine Hill to Green Valley Rd.

Laguna/Vine Hill climbs almost 300 feet in one mile. It's a beautiful ride other than that--not a single car passed as I struggled up the hill, and there's only one slightly scary part where the road curves right while climbing steeply enough to have me crawling in low gears. No wonder the runoff is in such a hurry to get down there!

But I do get the "Green Valley drop" as a little reward, back down to the path.

This brings (keeps?) my daily average for October over 12 and average per riding day over 20. And, I hope, brings my blood sugar down from today's and yesterday's consecutive 130s.

Petaluma Hill

706.5; 25.5

Petaluma Hill Rd. seems mostly flat when you drive it. Like with many things, it's a different story on a bicycle. And the headwind! Be that as it may, I was able to cover the 12.7 mile trip out in 53 minutes--the trip back might have been a bit slower, especially that first part, which seemed to take all my strength to just pedal forward on a seemingly very slight incline. Anyway, bravo: 700 miles on the Marin Novato bike, a bike of which I approve greatly.