Stuck at your computer?

Posted by PeterD Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:47:00 GMT

For those looking to waste some time when stuck in front of your computer, here are a pair of good time wasters.

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No Plans

Posted by Charles Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:44:00 GMT

Guided by dubious forecasts and a lack of faith in the ability of any tool at my fingertips to be able to predict the weather, combined with friends that are either out of town or unusually tied to their desks, I approach this Monday with no ride plan. One thing that keeps me sane and reasonably healthy while working the schedule I do, on the diet of food and drink that I do, is my Monday ride. I have had the support, encouragement, companionship, and abuse of a semi regular cast of characters over these last three years to get out on this day of the week for what I hope is a calorie deficit social event, and to not have that on this day is unusual, and significant, but not unheard of.

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Commute Challenge - Oct 27-31

Posted by PeterD Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:02:00 GMT

Commute.org, the folks who bring us Bike to Work Day, have another challenge going. This time they are trying to get people who live, work, or travel through San Mateo to take transit at least once during the week of October 27. And those who commit to doing this can enter a raffle for a bunch of free goodies, including iPods, hotel stays, etc.

More details here, or click the icon to the right.

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Female Friday! Sept. 12th 5:45pm

Posted by Patty Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:36:00 GMT

Back by popular demand! Last month we had about 45 women descend en mass upon the shop for some great riding, gabbing, and consuming of food and drink!

We will be doing it again this Friday, Sept 12th, with rides launching around 5:45pm. Ladies only!

After sunset we will return for food, prepped for our pleasure by guys who will give up an evening just for the fun of feeding a whole flock o’ female mountain bikers!

Tell your girlfriends!

Check comments below for details on the menu and other fun stuff.

Pictures from last month are up here on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51326343@N00/sets/72157607077317100/detail/

Posted in Passion, People | 6 comments

How do you play?

Posted by PeterD Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:29:00 GMT

Clif Bar has a contest going right now. Write up a short story of how you play differently. Here is from their official rules:
“Was there a moment or decision that changed your life? Were you put to the test or did you have to choose between two paths? Tell us all about it, inspire us.

Prices include a weekend riding with the Clif Bar folks in Napa, year supply of Clif Bars, and $1000 gift certificate to your favorite sports retailer…

Enter at http://www.clifbar.com/howdoyouplay/

Posted in Passion | Tags bar, clif, contest | no comments

Ride Day 1, The Nelson Town Trails

Posted by Charles Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:50:00 GMT

One the scale of people you know that really like to drive, Sean would rise to the top. He really, really likes to drive, and he’s excellent at it. He and I did a very fast road trip two years ago, a mad dash to central Oregon and back in four days, with three epic rides sandwiched in between. When he called a couple weeks ago to tell me Nelson was only 19 hours away by car, I knew what he was thinking, and what he was capable of. We put together a couple of roof racks and outfitted his Prius to carry our two bikes as well as the three bikes that belonged to Patrick, Rob, and Jim, who we were to meet in downtown Nelson on Thursday.

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Female Friday Fandango - month 2

Posted by PeterD Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:20:00 GMT

Had another women-only ride and party last week. About 25 women came for the ride (and a few more for the festivities only). All cooking, drink-making, etc. was performed by men (especially, master chef Jay).

Posted in Passion, People | Tags fandango, friday | 10 comments

Mountains, Milestones

Posted by Patty Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:46:00 GMT

Tomorrow John leaves for a little hike up in Alaska. Our resident mountaineer got an opportunity recently to join up with a group and attempt the summit of Denali again; this time he hopes to make the peak. Word is that good weather up there is very unpredictable and luck plays a huge role in whether climbers can find a safe window of opportunity for reaching the top.

Photo of Denali, viewed from the north, from wikipedia

For those of you who were able to attend John’s presentation on summiting Mt Everest, you’ll know that his chances of bagging this peak are pretty good. We are going to keep our fingers crossed that his trip will be successful and that he will stay safe on the climb.

Varius websites have a lot of information on Denali, so if you’re looking for some good web surfing about something other than the election, I recommend sinking some time into the subject over a cup of coffee. Tidbits I’ve learned include that the base of Denali is only 2,000 feet in elevation, with the peak at 20,320, giving the mountain over 18,000 feet of vertical rise, about 6,000 feet more than Mt. Everest. Our Bay Area peaks, which range in height from 2,417 (Sierra Morena) 3,849 (Mt. Diablo) to 4,360 (Mt. Hamilton), wouldn’t even reach the snowline in the picture above.

Boy genius Sterling will be returning to full-time wrenching for the summer, and we are psyched. He’s a lot of fun to have around, and we are trying our best to resist making him the butt of all shop jokes. We’re hoping our customers will help keep his mind occupied with tough questions about materials, leverage, pressure and other ME subjects so he goes back to school in the fall smarter than he left.

You’ve probably met Daniel by now; he’s the charming guy up in front behind all the Chris King components. Turns out we’re not the only ones who find him charming. He’s smitten his sweetie Sarah sufficiently to set a date, and he will be out later this month on a short honeymoon following a modest little knot tying ceremony. We think they are a great couple and know they will have a wonderful future together.

The little brown dog with the fetch fetish no longer has an excuse for acting like a puppy. Amazingly, this month she’ll have managed to achieve four full trips around the sun without getting tired yet. Whew. We’re exhausted though.

Posted in Passion | 1 comment

Tonight I Straggle

Posted by Charles Wed, 28 May 2008 20:07:00 GMT

We have a bunch of rides on Wednesdays that leave Passion, and each of these has its own theme. Last week we had a Fat Bottomed Girl Ride, a Drinking Ride, a Big Bike Ride, and the Frisky Ride. This week will be similar, but different. I will have at least as much trouble tonight as usual, getting my butt out the door on time, so I will lead a Straggler’s Ride at 6:45. Anyone else that has trouble making the earlier rides is welcome to join me. This ride will certainly leave after the other rides tonight, and may even leave on time, but call if you’re running late and I will procras… uh, make arrangements. Our route has yet to be determined, but I’ll get around to it.

The weekly rides are outlined in the weekly email, which you can subscribe to here… list

The weekly email from yesterday has been posted here: newsletter

And all the rides start here: Passion

Charles

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Santa Cruz Hell Ride 5

Posted by PeterD Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:25:00 GMT

Santa Cruz is at it again. Here’s your chance to ride with some pros and have a chance to win a new Santa Cruz Nomad. Enter at http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/hellridefive/

Of course, to win, you must be able to ride hard and long. Basically take one of our shop weekends in Downieville, skip on using the shuttles, and compress it all into 1 day. Not for the faint of heart…

Posted in Passion | 1 comment