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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I wanted to do a bicycle tour in Europe and go through areas that I hadn’t been before. I looked at Norwegian Air’s schedule and picked a convenient place to fly into (Madrid, Spain) and to fly out of (Helsinki, Finland), and roughly measured the land distance along a probable route to be semi-confident that I could do it within a 3 month window. This was a no camping trip. Besides the flights in and out, my only other reservation pre-trip was my first few nights in Madrid. Talk about a wing and a prayer! This was a huge success. I ended up bicycling through 13 countries; Spain, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Slovakia Republic, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia,...

Several months away from cycling and several more trying to catch up with the group as it disappeared up the next hill encouraged me to investigate the world of e-bikes; not the types that are fully motorized with a throttle (Class 2), nor high powered mountain or boulevard cruiser type electric bikes, but a simple road bike with a battery and motor. Not that I’m trying to conceal my e-assist; in fact, I’m revealing all here. My basic requirement was for a regular road bike of reasonably light weight and a standard gear set, such as 50/34 chain rings and 11-30 cassette. I would like to ride it as an unassisted bike as often as possible and secondly, but also...

I went from “0-60” in just a few months! No, not in a car. On a bike. Not an ordinary bike, but a Kona Sutra gravel/touring bike. How did this come about? I’ve been an avid “supported” bike tourist for over thirty years and when I heard about a trip some buddies were taking across Mexico, self-contained, it aroused my curiosity. I was too late to prepare for that trip, but the next trip was similar to the upcoming "Big Island" (Hawaii) self-contained ride, a nine-day bicycle tour. I spent the next few months researching bicycles and the various accessories one needs to accomplish such a tour. In the end, nearly everything worked out great. Weight-wise, my bike was...