Ray Hosler's Blog, page 15

Mt. Hamilton Road repair underway

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Mt. Hamilton Road is closed for repairs about 1.5 miles up from the Grandview Restaurant.

California state highway 130, otherwise known as Mt. Hamilton Road, is closed for repair about 1.5 miles up from the Grandview Restaurant. Estimated completion is six weeks from today.

Quimby Road is the only alternate route and believe me, you don’t want to take it.

A culvert got plugged or gave way and so went half of the road on the steep embankment’s eastern slope.

I can’t tell you if road crews work on Sundays or give any insight as to whether or not you can get through as the days go by. Right now though it’s impossible. There’s someone there at all times during construction assigned to keeping people out.

Mt. Hamilton Road is open up to the slide construction area, so you can still enjoy rides on Crothers and Clayton roads.

Mt. Hamilton road reconstruction underway

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Mt. Hamilton Road is closed for repairs about 1.5 miles up from the Grandview Restaurant.

California state highway 130, otherwise known as Mt. Hamilton Road, is closed for repair about 1.5 miles up from the Grandview Restaurant. Estimated completion is six weeks from today.

Quimby Road is the only alternate route and believe me, you don’t want to take it.

A culvert got plugged or gave way and so went half of the road on the steep embankment’s eastern slope.

I can’t tell you if road crews work on Sundays or give any insight as to whether or not you can get through as the days go by. Right now though it’s impossible. There’s someone there at all times during construction assigned to keeping people out.

Mt. Hamilton Road is open up to the slide construction area, so you can still enjoy rides on Crothers and Clayton roads.

Brake hoods stretch with use

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When the brake hood starts to shift to one side it’s time to replace.

Have you ever found your brake hood loose to one side? While riding?

Time for new ones. My Shimano Ultegra 6700 hoods lasted about 36,000 miles, 6 1/3 years. I’m a heavy user of the hoods since I do a lot of climbing and descending.

My only experience with gum hoods was Campagnolo Nuovo Record from the old days. They cracked with age. Shimano doesn’t crack, but when they’re loose they’re just as worthless as cracked Campagnolo.

It’s an easy fix that will set you back about $12. I just cut off the old ones. You’ll need some muscle to get the new ones on. Use some hand sanitizer for lubrication. Liquid soap, Dawn or the like, also works, but the sanitizer evaporates better.

The primary concern is with the rubber lip in the front. The little bumps inside fit into holes in the handle. There are MANY different styles. Some may overlap for use, but I didn’t want to take a chance so I found the exact match.

Spring weather favors Pescadero

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Pescadero from Bean Hollow Road overlooking the flood zone.

I decided to check out Pescadero and the area after the recent flooding downtown. Pescadero Creek wraps around the town, so it’s always at risk during wet winters like this one.

Fortunately the damage was minor even with the downtown flooded. Dozens of families visited the town to enjoy a Spring day with plenty of sunshine and gentle breezes.

Having ridden Bean Hollow Road only once, I tried it again to get a better view of Pescadero below. The road, I believe, is part of the old Coast Highway, and it sure looks like an extension of Stage Road as it climbs quickly to a plateau where I found farmland in abundance.

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Wildflowers on Haskins Hill.

The view did not disappoint. It’s a great place to see Pescadero.

I headed south on Hwy 1 to Gazos Creek Road. As you might expect, the road has plenty of sags and creek erosion of embankments. This is one of my favorite roads. Too bad it’s always at risk from the creek.

Finally, no ride report on Pescadero Road would be complete without mention of the Loma Mar store. It creeps toward completion. I’m wondering if it will be a private residence and a store, or just a residence?

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Loma Mar store creeps toward completion.

Treadmill bike turns heads

Last weekend while riding on Foothill Expressway I had to do a double-take. Some guy was riding a treadmill bike. Now I’ve seen everything.

I’ve run across the elliptical bike on Foothill, a contraption that looks like giant grasshopper legs, but the treadmill bike does it one better for being out there.

Apparently there’s a company in Europe that means to sell them. Another version has been around since at least 2009, so it seems. Good luck with that.

The 2009 version below.

Mamnick’s interview from across the pond

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Mamnick logo, from the Mamnick website.

Recently Thomas Barnett contacted me about an interview, which is live on his website. Having read a lot about Jobst Brandt over the years, he wanted to know more from my perspective.

His company, Mamnick, is located a short ride from one of the most beautiful parts of England, Peak District National Park, Sheffield being the nearest major city. Note that almost all of Mamnick’s bicycle products are made in England, including Reynolds steel frames.

As I mentioned in the interview, I documented rides with Jobst and friends in a personal diary, available now for free on my website.

Another bike shop squeezed out of Silicon Valley

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Calmar Cycles is closing shop to make way for an apartment complex/retail.

Bike shops are the poster child for small business, but like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, they’re falling victim to this region’s high cost of living and, to a lesser extent, online buying.

James Lucas, president and owner of Calmar Bicycles located on El Camino Real in Santa Clara, announced the store’s closure in a press release dated Feb. 24. I stopped by the next day to buy some parts and find out more.

“Our landlord sold the building and it will be torn down for a mixed-use 151-unit apartment/retail complex,” Lucas said. Rather than wait around for an uncertain closing date, Lucas said, “I decided it was time to move on and look for something else. Sales have been flat for a while now.”

Ironically, it is the region’s healthy economy and desirability that caused Lucas to close up shop. “It’s too expensive to have a small business here,” Lucas said. In addition to the high cost of retail leases, housing is the most expensive in the country. Lucas said there’s only one way for a small business to make it here. “You have to own your building. And if you’re not in high-tech, it’s hard to make a life here.”

The online buying trend also hurts bike shops, but in a roundabout way. Lucas explained that while bike sales have not gone to online purchases, accessory sales have taken a hit. “That’s a problem because the healthy margins are in accessories, not bikes.” On top of that, the bike industry has been “eating its young,” by forcing bike shops to pay higher prices for accessories. Many shop owners have resorted to buying accessories online themselves rather than going through dealers.

For someone who has a long career ahead of him and one that might no longer involve bicycles, Lucas laments the loss of Calmar Bicycles. He said it was originally called Santa Clara Bicycles in the 1890s. Over the years the shop was called Rick’s Bikes and Desimone’s, a branch of the San Jose business.

He remains upbeat about his future. “I’m keeping all my options open.”

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Calmar Cycles is selling all its inventory as it closes down.

Cycling in this weather is for crazies

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San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail at Scott Blvd. I went back to cross at street-level.

There’s no question that this winter’s rain tops the list for causing the most destruction to area roads. At least since I’ve lived here, 1977.

Just about all the main roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains have been damaged, some severely. Reservoirs are overflowing. Coyote Creek is a disaster. It’s hard to imagine the toll it’s taking on local residents. The creek is treated like an open sewer, which is why anyone exposed to the floodwater needs to wash down.

I was going stir-crazy, so I headed out despite the threat of rain, which did not disappoint. I checked out Saratoga Creek where it dumps into San Tomas Aquino Creek. It’s obvious Saratoga Creek has a lot more runoff than San Tomas.

I got as far as Scott Boulevard on the trail. It was flooded, but fortunately the road can be crossed at street-level. Old Mountain View-Alviso Road, also flooded.

Hwy 237 underpass, flooded. I watched as a rider decided he had to keep going, so he dismounted and walked his bike along the embankment. I had enough for the day.

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Saratoga Creek at San Tomas Aquino. A lot of water.

Mt. Hamilton Road weathers the storms

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Eucalyptus down on Mt. Hamilton Road, first mile of climb.

As I expected, Mt. Hamilton Road has made it through the recent wet weather with only minor rock falls and a bit of mud here and there.

It’s not worth mentioning the areas with so little rock sliding. I saw road crews out in force today, so they’ll have the debris scraped up by now.

I’m glad I wasn’t riding up the lower climb when a giant eucalyptus fell across the road. It looks like the tree was already dead or dying. I remember it from my many climbs up Mt. Hamilton.

I can do without the eucalyptus. It has enough negative characteristics that I wish it had never been imported from Australia. If you’re curious about the fascinating history of how it came to California, I found a story in the Santa Barbara Independent. Yes, the main promoter of the tree lived in Santa Barbara.

Mt. Hamilton sees a lot less rain than the Santa Cruz Mountains, which have been hammered. The roads may be worse off than the dreadful winter of ’82-’83.

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This creek about a mile up from Smith Creek is usually dry.

Rains dredge up mud and a bike

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Flooding has blocked the Guadalupe River Trail at Hwy 237.

I managed to make it to Alviso this morning following the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail. The underpasses were muddy, but passable.

Saratoga Creek is really gushing, more than San Tomas Aquino.

It was a different story on the Guadalupe River Trail, flooded at the Hwy 237 underpass. No doubt other low-lying underpasses are also flooded.

I found a Marin mountain bike, minus its wheels, propped up on the levee near Gold Street. Stolen and abandoned? It was purchased from The Bike Connection, Palo Alto.

It will be a while before I try riding in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They’re a soggy mess.

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Anybody need a bike? Cost about $650 when new around 2000.