Eine Fahrt Entlang der 6 Donauradweg

Dick, a good friend with whom I worked in Haz Mat at the County of San Diego Environmental Health Department and I have kept in touch since he switched jobs years ago. He retires this week from the City of San Diego. It has been over two years since our cycle trip along the Danube. I have put off writing up the trip long enough; so, as it’s a blustery fall day I have resolved to get it done. Another reason I finally got started was a promise I made to dear 98-year-old friend that I visited in Canada this summer. She made me promise to write this story since she really enjoyed my STR story a few years...

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Trip Report: Riding Big Sur

by Bill Heidler On Sept. 27-30 I rode from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo via the Big Sur coast. You can get to Santa Cruz via a tedious drive from North County, or by flying to San Jose and taking the Highway 17 bus down to the coast. My first day ride was 50 fairly easy miles to Monterey, I camped in the Veteran’s Park up the hill from town. The spectacular scenery started the following day. I rode the 17-Mile Drive past Pebble Beach and other golf courses, then a late breakfast in Carmel, then on south. I had a strong tailwind and the hills that day weren’t that difficult. The third day was much more challenging; starting from Pfeiffer Big...

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Did you do any interesting rides recently?

I was lucky enough to be able to fly to Paris and took the occasion to try out their “Vélib” service, a bike rental scheme   It’s early morning and I am planning to try out the Velib today but first a French breakfast (café au lait, croissant, pastries, yoghurt, juice) at the nearby railway station. This however is no ordinary café: Le Trein Bleu is one of the famous restaurants of Paris, first opened in 1900. Its gold leaf walls and ceilings are decorated with paintings by popular artists of the time. Originally, it was where the beau monde dined before taking the night train to the French Riviera. It’s worth bearing in mind for Sunday nights when most restaurants...

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The WAGBRAI

A while ago a group of of my Minnesota friends who had been riding the RAGBRAI (the popular week long ride across Iowa) thought that it might be more fun to just do their own week of riding around Wisconsin. Thus was born the WAGBRAI (Wisconsin's A Gas, Bike Ride Around It), an informal annual midwest ride that I've been lucky to be a part of for six years now. I thought I would write up how we do this style of riding in case it inspires someone in our club to start something similar. Wisconsin is great for cycling - rolling hills, farms, lakes, forests and miles of roads with little traffic. And it's pretty easy to find some...

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July News

July 3 marked our return to NCCC’s social events with a “July 4th” ride and lunch celebration.   Several members were appropriately clad in red white and blue outfits. In total sixty five members and guests signed up for the event held in the open air at the Agua Hedionda Discovery Center.   Following rides somewhat shorter than usual, members enjoyed sandwiches, chips cookies and ice cream.  Strange fact: long time former member, Jeff Gross, now back with the club got to meet Dana’s husband Jeff who was assisting with the set up. Yes, that’s Jeff Gross too on the right. So it was: “Jeff Gross meet Jeff Gross”. We are pleased to report that the encounter was amicable.   Thanks to the set up...

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Missing Parts

Have you ever arrived at the start of the ride to discover than you are missing something? The drinks bottles are lost, the shoes in the other vehicle, the glove which disappeared, helmet left on the kitchen counter.  It happens to all of us although probably not many left home, as I did once, without the bike; happily I did notice something was missing after driving a short distance towards the start.  All these mishaps could have halted your participation in the club ride. But more inconvenient and potentially much more dangerous is what you have not noticed is missing or is not properly fixed. This is a cautionary tale about what fell off my the bike and by good...

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NCCC Rider Survey

NCCC Rider Survey Spring 2018: Conclusions and Action points About 50% of members responded, 97 out of about 200. Average membership was 7.3 years and the median 5 years. CRUISERS: very satisfied or satisfied 95%. Strong points: welcoming to new riders, well organized, friendly and good cooperation. Suggestions to improve: (actions in italics) More ride leaders (done; 4 new qualified) Shorter rides on Wednesday: we will ask Cruisers for clarification. Obviously those who ride are happy with distance,usually 24‐28 miles. Define Cruiser ride length and stick to it; should always be “no drop” (Done. “No Drop” definition is posted on theCruiser web page). Distance remark is unclear – rides are always posted in advance and do vary from about 36 to 45miles on Saturdays with very...

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Burt’s 2018 Iceland, Canada, Maine Tour

Iceland had been on my bucket list for a long time. After my reading and planning up front, it was still chock full of surprises. One mistake was hauling camping equipment, an extra 15 pounds that I used for one night, not out of necessity, but because it was a mild night. Rooms, although not in abundance, were available, even in remote areas. The weather was as expected, and I experienced some outrageous winds. The scenery exceeded my expectations as did the farm animals. If you do not want to read this extensive blog, my one recommendation is to at least view the photos of Iceland. I had a convenient direct flight from Iceland to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where my...

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