David Bradley

The Arcata cycling community lost its greatest champion today, the astonishing David Bradley. We all knew this day would come for some time. David had been fighting--no, outrunning--Cancer for more years than I care to remember. He'd go to Houston, Tx. for a chemotherapy treatment and focus not on the treatment but on the ride that would follow the treatment. And as planned, David would rise from the recovery bed a few days after a treatment that can take you to death's door--and ride 200 miles in one day. This sort of thing happened all the time!

David joined my cycling group The Latte Warriors a few years ago and reached out to all of us. If you needed to plan a ride or buy a new bike David had a plan or bike for you. He would organize group rides, repairs and meetings. I expressed interest in a new recumbent. For starters, David sent me into recumbent shops in both LA and Portland. Both owners lit up at the mention of his name. Then when I got close to a decision David offered to drive me round trip to Portland, a total of 18 hours behind the wheel. Why? Because he had a large bike rack on his van and I needed a new bike and it would be fun to ride with his friends in Portland. It was tough turning him down but I did feel obligated to point out that he was still working full time.

To paraphrase the old blues song:

"I don't know where David Bradley was at but the train don't stop there anymore."

Here's David back in 2010 on one of his beloved Bachetta racing recumbents. He formed Team Raven Lunatics and raced all over North America with bikes like this. But it didn't stop there; when David loved something his first impulse was to share. Now our group has multiple Bachettas, all arranged with David's help and advice. Rising from his deathbed just last week (!) he found a rare used Bachetta that was a perfect fit for another one of The Latte Warriors. Neither buyer nor seller had met David but he made a call and the bike was shipped before the buyer paid for it! I'm hoping that Bachetta will name a bike The Bradley after this sweet guy who had so much heart.

Tomorrow morning I'll join a memorial ride with David's wife Mary and son Phillip. We'll head out across the Arcata bottoms and then turn north into the morning fog.

“Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me"        Emily Dickenson

The Steripen Adventurer – Handheld UV Water Purifier with a Solar Charging Case

If you anticipate a bike ride where water quality may be compromised you have a choice: add evil-tasting chemical tablets to your water or pack a Steripen. How do I know this? I asked Reese Huges, co-editor of Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: Oregon and Washington: Adventure, History, and Legend on the Long - Distance Trail to take the Steipen into the high Sierras, a test that would go far beyond what most bike tourists might require. Little did I know how much he would come to depend on it.

I used the Steripen and the Solar Charging Case as the sole means of purifying water for myself and two thirsty companions on a recent 17-day backpacking trip in the High Sierra. We rotated two batteries always keeping one in the solar charger, had access to relatively clean water (as opposed to turbid or highly contaminated H2O), and boiled untreated water for dinner and hot drinks. We’ve have been off the trail for a week and none of us has shown any sign of harboring giardia lamblia or other parasite.

Throughout the trip the steripen performed well. There is something wonderful about enjoying cool High Sierra water without the taste of chlorine or iodine or the inconvenience of a pump. We were especially concerned about battery life and meticulously monitored battery performance. The Steripen manual indicated that when using rechargeable CR123 batteries, about 30 liters should be able to be treated. We were able to treat 35, 36, and 34 liters between charges.

There are a couple of caveats to the solar charging system that should be noted. First, the manual indicates that 2-5 days are required to recharge the battery. With no way to determine the extent to which the recharge is complete, we always kept the charger exposed. It is hard to know how the system would perform in conditions with less solar exposure than the sunny Sierra. Second, use of a steripen does necessitate that you bring a wide mouth bottle. We would treat water in the wide mouth bottle and then transfer the water to our array of Camelbaks and Platypus containers. Most wide mouth bottles have attached tops that invariably get wet when filling the bottle and we often mused about just how that moisture gets sterilized. And, lastly, in a world where every ounce matters, the hard plastic case does add some weight although it does provide excellent protection for the steripen and, in total, weighs no more than the pump we have usually carried.


A final thought. I have also traveled extensively in the developing world and could see considerable application of the Steripen and the Solar Charging Case in those situations where access to safe drinking water is uncertain.

The Steripen Adventurer Opti (above) performed like a champ!  We were very pleased.

Rees Hughes
Co-Editor, Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California: Adventure, History and Legend on the Long Distance Trail

Purchase

So, friends, if you're heading across central Brazil or, say, downtown Garberville, on a bike tour you might want to pack a Steripen.

And whether you're planning a bike tour, hike or just a stroll over to the couch do take one of Rees' books along. These are true stories from the real wild west. Fasten your seat belt...

Another Roadside Attraction

The Worldguy wants to warn the world about the dangers of diabetes by walking to San Francisco with a giant globe and a dog. Bike buddy Noreen and I ran into him on Old Arcata Road where his globe had drifted out into the oncoming traffic lane. Both the globe and the dog were leashed.

Puget Sound Tour, Redux

Tumwater Falls, detail

A one foot waterfall, 
it too makes music 
and at night is cool.
Issa

Riding all day and blogging in the evening didn't work on this tour. Washington was going through a rare heat wave and everything took longer than expected. I can't tell you exactly what 85f in the shade works out to in direct sun, but when you're climbing a two mile hill you get a pretty good idea.

Bike touring took over my life in Washington. I had little room for blogging, let alone music or books. Steve and I rode 220 miles, a rough crescent south through the Puget Sound Islands and on to Elma Washington. There we turned east and finally north to Tumwater at the south end of the sound.

Puget Sound is a gorgeous water world surrounded by saw-toothed mountains. I don't know of any place on earth that's remotely like it. The bike facilities are quite good. We didn't run into any rain but you certainly can't plan on that happening again. People who live near the town of Shelton, Wa, for example, must batten down to ten FEET of rain a year.

I was born here and I plan to return for more cycling.

Route 105 near Shelton, Washington

The road ahead

And to the right...The Hood Canal and The Olympic Mountains

Above

Larye (The Unix Curmudgeon) Our Warm Showers host in Shelton. We were tired of climbing hills in the heat so Larye mapped out a shaded river valley road with little traffic that took us all the way to Tumwater. In fact, Larye's suggested route from Bremerton to Shelton managed to avoid hilly downtown Bremerton and another killer hill along the way. Instead, we rode along the beautiful Hood Canal with a clear view of the Olympic range all the way. 

Leave it to a programmer to find a better route! 

Our hostess, Judy Parkhurst and one of her amazing tapestries

Location:Shelton Washington http://blogs.info-engineering-svc.com/larye/

Whidbey Island

Steve had been stationed on Whidbey Island during his Airforce years. If there is a more beautiful place to ride a bike, I haven't seen it.

Bow Washington and south Day 1

High noon, near Bow. Sky with blue mountains.

Puget Sound.

My riding buddy, Steve Fox on his beloved Easy Racer.

During breakfast in Bow Steve called Pat and Don, old riding friends. A half hour later they joined us for our first twenty miles. Everyone in our little group was over 70--and looking good! You don't see fatties on bikes. Health tip: if you want to lose weight, skip the diets--they don't work anyway. Eat whatever the hell you want and get yourself a bike!

Deception Pass. The "rapids" are caused by the Pacific Ocean rushing into Puget Sound. We stopped at a roadside view spot several hundred feet above the water. Even there you could feel it. The sense of immense power here is tangible.

It's been a long and beautiful day. Rest time. more soon.

Location: Oak Harbor, Washington

Campus, University of Washington

R&R in Seattle. Tomorrow Steve Fox and I will enter the Pacific Coast bike trail near Anacortes, Washington.

Paulsbo, Wa. below, A Norwegian themed town (Paul's place)

Kate Nunes, our Warm Showers hostess in Paulsbo. She and her husband had cycled across the USA on a triplet with their 5 year old daughter!

Oyster Bay in Bremerton. We left Paulsbo very early and managed to reach this spot before the fog burned off. Fog is definitely the cyclists friend.We spent a restful day here.

Location: Seattle

Beachcomber Bayside

This review is for out-of-towners. If you live in Humboldt County and you ride a bike you've already discovered the two delightful Beachcomber coffee shop/cafes and maybe you're a regular, like me. If not, you now have another excuse to visit Humboldt County, California on your next bike tour. The two Beachcombers, 20 miles apart in Trinidad and Bayside, make tempting stops as you head down the coast. Heading UP the coast? It's going to be You vs. the Northern Pacific Trade Winds every single day all the way to Alaska.

Shouldn't you should pull into the nearest Beachcomber--both are very bike-friendly with multiple racks and parking options--and reconsider? Order lunch ("Beloved Bean Bowl"), an aromatic light blend coffee, (not burnt blend) and treat yourself to a freshly baked pastry. Then spread out your maps. To the the south is (was?) San Francisco. Have you really had enough of San Francisco? Do you really expect to find a better city to the north or in any other direction? Heading south the wind would be at your back, for a change.

There isn't a better Beachcomber; both have freshly made goodies every day served by a delightful all-female staff who totally get what a coffee house is all about: a place to hang, veg, study, eat, meet, surf and schmooze. In a word, this place has Gemütlichkeit. It's not a place to rush through with a paper cup of luke warm instant Folgers. Nevertheless, the "no paper cups" policy initially provoked a brief chorus of whining from locals. It's amazing what folks won't give up to save the earth.

Anyway, you're going to love this place. And since it's a block from my house, you might see my Rans Stratus parked outside. There's plenty of space for you too on one of the nearby bike racks.

Location: Old Arcata Rd,Arcata,United States

2012 Kinetic Sculpture Race, Arcata Plaza

Arcata Bike to Work Day

A Plaza gives a town focus and brings people together. On "Bike to Work Day" a bunch of intrepid commuters showed up at the Arcata Plaza for a ride around town.

Suddenly a leader emerged and we were off!

We rode out to the Arcata Bottoms and then back to the Plaza. Proving? That Arcata richly deserves its newly won "Silver" status as a bike-friendly community.

Back in town Brio French Bakery was serving hot coffee and delicious goodies.

We parked our bikes outside.






Outside on the plaza we met two future cyclists. Their father is from Arcata, their mother is from Mongolia.




Further down the Plaza we met this Arcata cyclist. Need a poem? Just ask.

If you do plan a Plaza try to fit in some palm trees and a statue of president McKinley.

Supercar

BOLTBUS: Portland to Seattle WITH YOUR BIKE for $1!

Can you believe THIS?

Chico Wildflower 2012

The Stratus XP was too big for the fork rack I built so I took off the front wheel and simply put the bike down on a rubber mat. Double click a photo for a slide show. 

Traveling east from Arcata on Rte 299 I drove along the Trinity River. That's the Trinity Alps in the background. 

Spring on the Trinity. 

A few of the 4,000 riders. 

In addition to cloth maps we had well marked turns throughout the ride. I was green. 

Some riders were color coordinated. 

A few riders were pet coordinated. 

We headed out of town through walnut orchards. 

Some riders pedaled as fast as possible all day long. 

100 years ago California had a great train system. Chico still has a train. I do wish it ran over to the coast. Train travel is definitely the civilized way to go. I can see myself getting on in Eureka (the way people did 100 years ago), putting my feet up, opening a New Yorker and a half a day later getting off in Larkspur on San Francisco Bay. I'd take a folding bike. 

Nobody leaves the Wildflower hungry. 

I followed the Trinity for much of the ride home. Wouldn't you? 

Why Cycle

A tip of the helmet to D. Nelson for this dreamy video from Holland. This is what your town--and your life--could look like if cycling was a social priority.

Chico Wildflower Ride

I'll be one of 4,000 cyclists heading over to Chico, CA. in the morning for the Wildflower Ride. I'm taking the Rans Stratus without the fairing. Chico is in California's central valley where it can get hot even in April.

News and photos soon...

Kids bike program wiped out

Over the weekend some humanoid(s) stole all 8 of the bikes shown in this video. The Alice Birney students had worked to restore these used bikes all semester and completed a bike safety course. They were set to ride in Eureka's Rhodedndron Parade, the Tour of the Unknown Coast, and Bike to School Day. Their reward for finishing the bike education course: they would get to keep the bikes. Now they have nothing.

If you have a geared 20" or 24" used bike sitting around please consider donating it to The Alice Birney students. Their bike education teacher, Melanie Williams, would be your contact: mwilliams@bikesthere.com

The bikes haven't turned up and may never be recovered. I'm not going to let it end there. These kids worked hard for their bikes and they deserve to ride them to school. Happily, other people feel the way I do and the Humboldt community has pitched in to help out. The kids have already received a few used bikes, a great lesson in the power of community organizing.

 I sent a check. If you'd like to join me in putting these kids back in the saddle it's:

THE ALICE BIRNEY BIKE FUND

℅ Adventure's Edge

125 5th St.

Eureka, CA. 95501

These kids deserve bikes. As for the thief (thieves?), he, she or it has earned a place in the Social Biking Blog Hall of Shame and a chance at some felony jail time. 

Spring in Humboldt

It's hard to stay off the bike at this time of the year. I took these two photos on a recent ride. 

Arcata Bottoms. Snow on peaks to the east.

Camel Rock, a favorite surfing beach.