GALFROMDOWNUNDER UPOVER

It was terrific to be able to actually use the loaner folder for John Chamberlain yesterday, on a quick spin out to Rodeo Beach. I put out a casual word, and John Trevithick popped up. I knew I recognized his name - he'd sent along this article about the "Trevithick train" for the BF website. I never forget an email address! My host Paul Skilbeck claims this loop - around 10 miles each way - they perfect wake up call and post work spin. Easy in, easy out, and there's always Sports Basement to blow some non-discretionary dollars in on the way back. Which is what we did! Rodeo Beach is way over to the left of the above picture. My swansong was, of course, a "healthy" junk food blowout at WholePaycheck. The last remaining slices of pizza at 9pm, the kale salad we all want the recipe for, Barbara's Cheese Puffs (resembling Twisties from downunder), and the kind of wicked little gateau the world doesn't need but stimulates the economy and spi...

Folders not forgotten: Robert van der Plas of Cyclepublishing.com shows off his latest book: Bicycle Technology, which, unlike many bicycle books, has a decent section on folding bikes. Spot the Friday!  Another people-packed day in San Francisco. Working backwards,  I had dinner with Robert van der Plas of cyclepublishing.com , a small but earnest  publisher of informational and educational bicycle titles. I was impressed to see one of his two new books, "Bicycle Technology", include a certain small, strange little bike that I ride ... The other book, about the black cyclist Major Taylor, brought back memories of one of my first events at Bike Friday way back in 2002: presenting to the Kids of B.I.K.E. group for which Major Taylor is the father figure: http://www.galfromdownunder.com/kidsofbike/kidsofbikestory.html Dan Kaljian, Paul Skilbeck and I had dinner with Robert in his neck of the woods "9th and Irving", south of Golden Gate Park. I could not ...

It's been 2 years since I last loitered with intent on this coast, so I'm taking a few extra days to catch up with people. Brrr I wish I'd brought long pants and not merely capris!  First, I attended a wedding between Bike Friday customer Grant and fellow yoga teacher Karyn, who I introduced to each other via Facebook. As you can see, so far, so good: The pro photographer Chris Schmauch of GoodEyePhotography.com made even the oldies scrub up pretty nice: Coincidentally, my birthday fell on the day before the wedding. A fatal loiter into the Los Gatos Banana Republic led to this 50% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE coupon. Oh dear, Santa Cruz will have to wait til tomorrow... We did eventually get to Santa Cruz. To the horror of my pal David I had successfully negotiated a hitch with a friendly surfie looking couple, who turned their hippie van around and rearranged bikes so we could get in. But he'd already rented a car for $40. So we sped down using carbon power to Ca...

Is my face red ... SPINNING instructor Anthony Musemici says you don't need a long and winding road to get a pretty decent hill, interval, sprint, and endurance training  on a bike. ... now add a bit of yoga to the mix and what do you get? SpinYoga! A perfectly Peaceful Warrior pose at the free  Chelsea Piers "Yoga On the Pier" classes, Aug 2010. I just completed a 9 hour Spinning Instructor Orientation at New York Sports Clubs. Now, what is a seasoned cyclist like the Galfromdownunder doing riding a bike that doesn't go anywhere? As one participant confessed in the pre-course stairwell speeches ('cos you get fitter riding the stairs than the elevator): "I was a bit cynical about it all until I tried it." Ah yes, one winter in NYC where biking through a bunch of snow isn't appealing, and I discovered, thanks to a two-month intro membership at the Equinox gym down the road and some guest passes from the stunning Chelsea Piers across the r...

" Ratting on the fat cat over the road on 21st and 10th Ave, Chelsea, Manhattan. Have you seen this large inflatable rat around town? I always thought it was a giant advertising balloon for a vermin extermination company doing their mouse-mulching in the building immediately behind. Clever! But no - it's actually the protest mascot of construction industry unions. "Come in! Take photos!" said a picketer in a hardhat plastered with a  "UNION" sticker when I stopped by with that typical "what's up with that?" expression on my face. He pointed across the road to a wooden skeleton of a building alive and crawling with the sound of hammers and hi altitude girder-walkers. "The owner is employing non-union workers at minimum wage, like five bucks, no benefits." I looked around at the apparently unionized throng languishing behind the barricade, all dressed up, iphoning, and nowhere to jackhammer. "A union member gets p...