SF Cyclotouring: 05/2011

2011 San Francisco Randonneurs Populaires!

Mark your calendars! In 2011, SFR will host two populaire rides: June 25th, and Oct. 1st. The San Francisco Randonneurs is a club that hosts rides known as brevets. Normally, our rides begin at distances of 200km and go up from there.

The Populaire, at 114km (71 miles), is designed to be an entry into randonneuring at a distance that appeals to a wider audience. Our populaire route begins at the Golden Gate Bridge and uses a shortened version of our traditional first 200km brevet of the year. Basically, we ride out to Point Reyes Station, via Olema, and return via Nicasio to a picnic gathering at ride's end back in San Francisco. If you are interested in trying brevet riding, the Populaire is a great introduction!

Register at http://sfrandonneurs.org/registration.htm.

The ride, like all our other brevets, is open to all riders, meaning you do not need to be a member of the San Francisco Randonneurs, nor do you need to be a member of our parent, national organization, RUSA. Many riders do later join one or both.

If you have questions, feel free to send them to populaire@sfrandonneurs.org or rba@sfrandonneurs.org

See you there!

CA State Parks to Close

Anderson Marsh SHP
Annadel SP
Antelope Valley Indian Museum
Austin Creek SRA
Bale Grist Mill SHP
Benbow Lake SRA
Benicia Capitol SHP
Benicia SRA
Bidwell Mansion SHP
Bothe-Napa Valley SP
Brannan Island SRA
California Mining & Mineral Museum
Candlestick Point SRA
Castle Crags SP
Castle Rock SP
China Camp SP
Colusa-Sacramento River SRA
Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP
Fort Humboldt SHP
Fort Tejon SHP
Garrapata SP
George J. Hatfield SRA
Governor's Mansion SHP
Gray Whale Cove SB
Greenwood SB
Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP
Hendy Woods SP
Henry W. Coe SP
Jack London SHP
Jug Handle SNR
Leland Stanford Mansion SHP
Limekiln SP
Los Encinos SHP
Malakoff Diggins SHP
Manchester SP
McConnell SRA
McGrath SB
Mono Lake Tufa SNR
Morro Strand SB
Moss Landing SB
Olompali SHP
Palomar Mountain SP
Petaluma Adobe SHP
Picacho SRA
Pio Pico SHP
Plumas-Eureka SP
Point Cabrillo Light Station
Portola Redwoods SP
Providence Mountains SRA
Railtown 1897 SHP
Russian Gulch SP
Saddleback Butte SP
Salton Sea SRA
Samuel P. Taylor SP
San Pasqual Battlefield SHP
Santa Cruz Mission SHP
Santa Susana Pass SHP
Shasta SHP
South Yuba River SP
Standish-Hickey SRA
Sugarloaf Ridge SP
Tomales Bay SP
Tule Elk SNR
Turlock Lake SRA
Twin Lakes SB
Weaverville Joss House SHP
Westport-Union Landing SB
William B. Ide Adobe SHP
Woodson Bridge SRA
Zmudowski SB

from http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/712/files/2011ParkClosures_attachments20110513.pdf

China Camp, Annadel, and Samuel P. Taylor are all places I bicycle through regularly. I'm not sure what this means regarding bike access -- will the parks literally be closed and fenced off? Or will they simply stop being maintained, and left to grow wild?

Fixed, Fixed!

Fixed, Fixed!, a photo by jimgskoop on Flickr.

Back in action, so far so good!

Dropout Repair

2011.05.08 -- Dropout Replacement, a set on Flickr.

Yesterday I brazed in a new dropout to replace the cracked original in my Nishiki commuter. T'was my first time doing this, and I l learned a bunch in the process. The result ain't too pretty, but it turned out OK -- I just had to file the dropout slot a bit to get the rear wheel to line up. I also respaced the rear of this frame to 130mm to prevent this fracture from happening again any time soon. Due to the heavy dimpling for wheel and chainring clearance, the right chainstay was REALLY easy to bend, and I overdid it drastically on the first attempt. But I revised my technique and got things spot-on. Fun times!