Bay Area Bike Theft Victims Band Together

This one from a story by KPIX Channel 5 -


http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8386459

One slightly "optimistic" bike owner (at least as far as a rack which "can't be moved"), and there's no way that a 12 year old Bianchi CDI (which sold for under a grand when new) is worth "several thousand dollars" - honestly, $300 would be about right for one. 

I wish they had given a bit more detail about the bike theft reporting websites.  So, here's that info:







bikesheapherd.org
http://www.bikeshepherd.org/stolen-bike-recovery.html

google groups Bay Area Stolen Bikes
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/stolen-bicycles-bay-area

flickr pool - "Bikes at Bay Area Flea Markets"
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bicyclesatbayareafleamarkets/

east bay bicycle coalition's theft page
http://www.ebbc.org/theft_prevention

plattyjo's good blog post with more info
http://www.plattyjo.com/2012/12/cracking-down-on-cycling-crime-the-san-francisco-police-departments-bicycle-theft-workshop/

FOCC Update - China Camp State Park

There had been quiet and quick construction around the arteries of China Camp State Park of late.  Weird little solar-powered boxes and new signs.  All of which burst to life a week or two ago, jostling anyone who entered the trails for some spare change. 

 

By the time these had appeared, I was already in possession of my FOCC (Friends of China Camp) Annual Pass - available here - of course, the first few times I hit the trails, the pass was sitting safely on my desk at home... thank goodness I had a smartphone image of it on hand.

Paying for these trails brings up a host of thoughts, of course.  But, with the recent California budget crunches, one of the options which was being considered involved closing State Parks.  Which pretty much sucks. And is probably reasonably unenforceable for a lot of geographical reasons.  I mean, if you have no one on the payroll to patrol the park, how are you going to keep people out?  Fencing is not cheap, and would probably cost more than the operating budget of most parks.  

What happened at China Camp State Park has been reasonably well documented - here's an early article from 2012 in the Marin IJ - http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_19931946 -  and the newest edition of marinbike.org's Pedal Press has a decent overview article starting on page 10 (pdf download).

But it comes down to a pretty simple test - the trails are open, accessible and funded. 

Yay, FOCC!

Two Brooks Blogs With a Rivendell Twist

Ha - I seem to be on a Rivendell-referencing jag of late, but hey - when you are retuning and laying in a base, it's best to go with the proven...

Anyway -
For your Friday amusement, a couple of links to the Brooks Saddles (& Stuff) Blog -

Grant Petersen – “Short Rides Beat Long Rides”



Photo - courtesy of  Reno Rambler




blog.brooksengland.com/wps/grant-petersen-short-beats-long/

"The most underrated ride in all of cycling is the shortie, the opposite-of-epic neighbourhood ride that beats walking but doesn’t make you sweat or hurt. The kind of ride kids and non-cyclists do out of need; the kind of ride you gave up when you got serious and came under the influence of racing."

(original and complete article)


And I was much chagrined to see that I had missed this event in its entirety.  But, other things were happening through December which had my attention.  But, I did enjoy this vicarious evening at Huckleberry in S.F.

Dashing Bicycle Show, San Francisco

Grant Petersen holds forth before the gathered throng at Huckleberry Bicycles

Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycles was on hand to fill in the blanks at Huckleberry Bicycles
The Brooks Dashing Bicycle Show kicked off this past December in San Francisco, California with an evening party at host shop Huckleberry Bicycles, bringing together a group of stylish, functional and unique brands from all over the world to showcase the finest in urban and transportation cycling.
Photo by Matthew Reamer, courtesy of Momentum Mag.

(original and complete article)

Jay Bird Films: Rivendell People

Nice film from Jay-now-of-Arizona-who-used-to-be-Jay-At-Rivendell.  Jay Bird Films presents "Rivendell People".  Nice use of about 30 minutes of your time.  GP called it a "Rivideo"...

Rivendell People from Jay Bird Films on Vimeo.

RBW Pubic Bone Height Measurement How-to Video

Another in the low key and totally cool series of Rivendell instructional videos.



Wonderful music, stylin' graphics... The only sad thing (well, other than lacking a professional voice actor) was that the famous RBWHQ&L stump did not get a starring (or even a walk-on) role... Ahh well!

Enjoy!

Grant Petersen and "Just Ride" Talk - This Sunday

For those of you who missed it, Grant Petersen (of Rivendell Bicycle Works) recently published a book called "Just Ride: "  He's been on a bit of a whirlwind book tour through several states, but has returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and will be speaking at the Warming Hut on Chrissy Field (near the Golden Gate Bridge) this Sunday, June 10.


It should be an enjoyable opportunity to meet and hang with one of the folks in the bicycle biz who has an astute sense of design, history and need. 

For more information - 
http://www.parksconservancy.org/events/retail/meet-the-author-grant.html


To Buy the Book -

http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/bo17.htm

Publisher info - 
http://www.workman.com/blog/tag/grant-petersen/

San Francisco Randonneurs June Populaire - This Weekend!

Wow! Where did the time go?  This Saturday, June 2nd is the (hopefully rain-free) running of the San Francisco Randonneurs' Summer Populaire.

Owing to rain, the March 31st Populaire had a small, but very enthusiastic group of riders. To share the enthusiasm under potentially better weather, the SF Randonneurs added another Populaire on  June 2nd.

Please consider joining SFR for the Populaire on Saturday, June 2nd. If you haven't ridden with us in a while, this is the perfect opportunity to rejoin us. If you are looking for a ride to keep your momentum going between longer rides, this ride is perfect and will still leave you most of the afternoon for other events. Come on out and join us, and bring a friend or two.




Newcomers to brevets and randonneuring more than welcome as well!  You'll seldom find a nicer group of folks with whom to while away the time.  It's a great way to learn about brevet cards and controlles and route finding/following.

Registration can be done here: http://sfrandonneurs.org/registration.htm#

or here: http://sfrandonneurs.org/assets/downloads/brevetentry.pdf

Large Stolen Bicycle Cache Recovered

If you know anyone if the SF Bay Area who lost a bicycle, you might point them over to the SFPD's Ingleside Station site - Over 115 stolen bikes were recently recovered. Photos of bikes have been posted.

See here for details:
(images of bicycles have been compiled)

http://www.inglesidepolicestation.com/#!__bike-recovery

from Captain Daniel Mahoney, Ingleside Police Department:

"First of all--hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Please be advised that as a result of more excellent investigative work on the part of Sergeant Josh Kumli, we have recovered over 115 bicycles from a residence in the Bayview and two storage lockers in Oakland.

I have all the recovered bicycles posted on the ingleside website and if anyone can find/identify their bike, I would like to return it to them. If you can advise your community groups, that would be great. "

 

So - check out the images and spread the word!

Giro di Pacifica Signups Now Open

Here's a ride that may not be on your radar - the Giro di Pacifica.

Giro di Pacifica - main page

On Saturday, July 28 you can enjoy gorgeous scenery, excellent support and a wide variety of routes - perfect for families riding their first even or seasoned cyclists seeking an all day challenge.  As more of a North-Bay-centric rider, a lot of these roads are new to me, and the ride raises money (and awareness) for Parca - celebrating its 60th year.

Here's the kicker - register online before May 28th and receive $10 off the fees.  So, what are you waiting for?

Meditations on Motorism

In the middle of retiring the old computer upon which all of the Cyclofiend.com submissions and content resided.  Which means while I wrangle the data and tame the new digital device, I need to rely upon others for content.  The quality of this article makes it easy - especially while Bike to Work Day is hopefully still on everyone's mind.

http://www.themorningnews.org/article/how-to-not-kill-a-cyclist

The article is not quite as inflammatory as the headline would suggest. And please, I know that there are a ton of very oblivious cyclists out there.  But, the stakes are high.  Those of us who use a bicycle for daily transportation don't have the luxury of replacement body panels and a respray, should we get tapped.  Clearly, there are responsibilities for all parties, and may everyone live to a ripe old age.