So you want to get your feet wet (or dirty) on Mixed Terrain riding. There is a buch of crazy people who do these rides and they all come back raving about how much fun they have riding them so at least part of the hype must be true. Yes, it is true, and losts of fun. We are not crazy mountain bikers nor snobby roadies, just cyclist who enjoy good company and a good day on the bike.

From the perspective of a guy who has never owned a road bike this is what I recommend people when they ask about how to prepare and approach for these rides.

There are two critical aspects, your bike/

These are proposed dates for Mixed Terrain rides (paved/off road in one ride) that Start In San Francisco. The idea is to build up skills and endurance leading to a run of La Ruta Loca Randonnee, a 200k Mixed Terrain epic ride scheduled for July 19th (2008).

The cu

A week or so ago JimG had emailed me to ask me if I wanted to get a new Pencam camera, sure why not. I have been using the Pencams for about three years to shoot photos during bike rides. In fact probably 99% of the photos on this website were shoot with one.

I picked up the Pencam X camera and next morning went on a ride on a sunny day. Shoot a bunch of photos during that ride. Came home plug the USB cable that came with the camera into the old Powerbook and bam! iPhoto opens and recognizes the camera, no software installation needed. This is a first for a pencam, they always required third party software (macam) to work on Macs...

Sheldon, a good friend that I never meet.

Just read the sad news. "..Sheldon Brown died of a massive heart attack last night..."

Although I never meet him in person I was always impressed by his tinkering, knowledge AND willingness to share with others. I exchanged emails with him about silly things like ebook readers, obscure bike parts and advice (his) on bicycle parts.

We all are destined to leave but...

I'll miss you Sheldon Encyclopedia Brown.

Carlos

I have had two bad weeks in a row. Work stuff and other things were occupying space in my head where fun stuff should be. The freaking cold summer we were having in Northern California complete with foggy mornings and not very warm afternoons weren't helping either.

When I am visiting one of these unavoidable downs I usually go on a long solo off road ride on my MTB to neutralize the effects off mental bugs. The goal was to do the first full run of the 200kms mixed terrain route, La Ruta Loca, I've been mapping this summer. The route has many miles of off-road terrain with some good climbs that would keep my eyes concentrated on the trail rather than the head on my troubles.