Curmudgeon

This morning (Saturday 11/5) is rather foggy and I maybe not sure my self.

Usually I take a short ride looking for roofing nails placed in the streets (that is another story) here but it is too wet now.

22nd Street

The other day I rode up to Point Fermin and went through the hole in the fence to enter Sunken City.

Nudie Fixie

Sunken is all uphill from my sailboat at the marina and recently I have been riding my pseudo fixie with a 42 x 17 combination which equals 65 gear inches. On the way back I ride down and back up the steep hills that make up the area between Pacific and Gaffey (two main drags in San Pedro). When I first converted the road frame I used one brake but it didn't have the stopping power so I bought a set of Shimano brakes off of eBay.

When I was next to the Sunken City fence I found a nice Prickly Pear with three large bulbs.

I have picked these before but never got stuck. This is my third day of Ouch so maybe that is why I am cranky.

A week ago my son Dylan returned from Costa Rica and I picked him up at the airport. He then drove his car back to Southern Orange County but didn't make it all the way. His car started to rattle and he pulled off the freeway right at Epic Bike. Further inspection revealed his lug nuts were coming out on the driver's front wheel. He has a set of very fancy trick looking wheels and apparently while the car was sitting next to my Nissan in the marina parking lot someone tried to remove the wheel by loosening the lug nuts but didn't finish the theft. It cost Dylan $150.00 to replace the damage hub.

People steal bicycles, laptops, iPhones and various other items. Recently I removed a tool chest from by Nissan for fear of losing it while parked in the marina lot.

At the bottom there is a YouTube video of Dylan riding on the beach during his recent trip. The camera work is all solo nothing there on the beach but himself using a camera on a tripod and a helmet cam. Following that video is the action at a High School in Costa Rica where he performed a show in the gym where he had to enter from the outside where it was raining. Very, very slick.

Last Saturday when Dylan left the marina here my Samsung Galaxy decided to stay in the VW and travel with Dylan. This resulted in having a smart phone vacation until I could brave the 405 freeway and make it to Epic Bikes and get my phone. Epic is really full of bicycles and not expensive designer clothing only rich Freds can afford. See Banker Supply. Or visit another Bike boutique in South Pasadena Cub House.

Speaking of expensive bike stuff I found this Blog this morning: Keep the golf out of cycling

As you can see from the title of this blog, curmudgeon, might be my middle name, it used to be Humbug but I had it legally changed.

Here is my Simonetti parked in our San Pedro's finest ghetto Vons next to a Harley parked on the sidewalk.

Only three locks on bike need some more

The word Boutique is missing from the San Pedro Dictionary. San Pedro has it ups and down which makes for interesting riding all the hills here. There are lots of homeless here and many ride bicycles. Many homeless live out of their shopping carts or back packs. The Vons lot usually has a few pan handlers asking for "change" but I never get hit up if I am wearing my cutoff wanglers.

Sunset spokes

Last month I was researching blog writing and cane across wordpress.com. After clicking on their site I started receiving email with links to Bikinginla. This site has many links to local bicycle rides

Where I live in San Pedro it is probably the farthest south you can go in the City of Los Angeles and most of the LA events are not very close and I refuse to use my fossil fuel vehicle to haul my ass around. Many of these events are free and many are not. It appears to me that having to pay $50.00 for a membership to ride once a month might be excessive based on  my budget. The last time I raced MTB as a USA Cycling rider I had to stop eating for two weeks as I was broke from paying the entry fees and couldn't afford to shop for rice and beans.

Senior discounts are not part of USA Cycling package and most races in Southern California don't have age classes for old farts.

Cost for this crazy fun!

Please see race application for Price Increase Dates and Application Deadlines!

Solo Double: $695.00

Solo Triple: $865.00

Solo Quintuple: $1285.00

Team Double: 2 Pers$770.00/3 Pers $870.

Team Triple: 2 Pers $940.00/3 Pers 

Speaking of the high cost of racing this Ultra Ultra Iron man charges $1285.00 to enter.

What ever happen to the free Sunday ride and racing to the next signal or cross walk with your buds???