Riding in the Backyard

where my pedal hits

I really don't like to load my bike into my Nissan to go bike riding. Because of the fences and property owners trail heads are two or three miles away so if I feel like riding I ride around the house. Usually my German Shepherd will follow along.

down the path

If I do a figure 8 around the house and out to the mailbox and back my Garmin shows a half mile trip.

I stopped recording the Garmin watch data and the Map My Ride junk as just too much clutter. My old lap time around the Rose Bowl course got flushed.

up the path

The house is on a flat plot but when viewed it appears somewhat crooked. There is a fenced garden below the house and riding off the slope is not a problem but riding back up is so I dug a path on the slope. It is off camber which makes it more fun and not wide enough to stop the pedal from striking the bank. The Shepherd goes crazy when ever I try to shovel. He barks and attacks the shovel blade. So to do any digging he must be put back in the house. 

turning the corner

The ride around the garden fence requires some braking and balance and my balance is pretty shitty.

29 inch resting

Some of these pictures were taken by a Nikon and some from the handlebars with a CamPak Xtreme UHD4K. I bought that on Amazon for less that $50.00 and it actually works but using the MP4 requires reformating to load the video onto my Samsung. Reformating, resizing, reediting, retying a world of "re".

Court House Butte as seen from my
 trail

We go hiking (me and the two dogs) and we use the Nissan because the little Yorkie can walk that far without quitting and refusing to continue. The Yorkie is still a violent sort around other dogs but gets along well with my daughter's dog. 

Happy in the driveway

My cell phone is a total piece of shit and the screen is cracked but it is free. Not sure how long that will last as it was free in California and I ain't there.

in the creek

The POS phone only works if you are close to a tower and although I can see a cell tower in the distance my reception is pretty poor unless you wander around outside.

above creek

My son Dylan is on YouTube and has 60,000 subscribers and needs more cause his car just broke. If you believe in charity around Christmas time send him some money.

In the creek bed

How we communicate has changed as I learn things about my son Dylan from what it see on the tube or Gram. He once crashed at the Orange County Fair during a big jump contest and since he was in the hospital and they took his phone I learned about the crash by watching it on YouTube. Since I was on my sailboat in San Pedro I needed to find out what hospital he was in and started calling all the hospitals in OC.

Up hill towards mountain

For the record this has happened more than once (hospitals and crashing).

I keep my phone turned off as it does not work and the incoming call may not be good news.

Horse trail I ride

Lime Bikes are Slime Bikes

I remember when they built the docking bicycle ports near my sailboat. One at Cabrillo Beach, one by the Double Tree Hotel and one next to the homeless rec center at 22nd Street Park. These docking station required a slab being poured and mounting racks with a solar panel charging the batteries to operate the log in.

Notice the missing grip on the bike

Then came along the dock-less version of urban pollution the Slime Bike.

Hard to ride with handlebars this low

I was walking the two dogs one morning when I first encountered
the bikes sitting across the street from a Metro Docking Station. 

There is no shortage of internet stories about how ugly these things can be. At first the slime folks came out in their rented vans an picked up the broken ones but lately they don't seem to give a fuck as now the hot item is the scooters that they rent and the charges are higher.
The scooters require a daily service truck to recharge the internal battery. If you check out the California DMV Code you will see that you must have a valid divers license, wear a helmet and DO NOT OPERATE ON THE SIDEWALK

One of my bike geeks "Neon Fred"was running stairs to get in shape for mountain bike riding on a coaster brake. He found the rear lock off a slime bike laying in the gutter. I took his discovery and with the addition of a tamper proof socket I took it apart (the lock) but before I did that I sent an e-mail to Lime Bikes saying I had their parts if they wanted them back.

They did reply to my e-mail but since reading and writing is not a skill required these days they went to the wrong place so I took the lock apart. Lots of neat gears controlling the locking bar, a speaker, a nice battery plus GPS a couple of other LSI circuits. Not cheap.

At first the cute Chinese Flight Crews that visit the Double Tree started riding them and that was enjoyable. Probably doesn't beat girls in Holland.

Then the homeless started riding them in great numbers. That is a hard figure since you need a smart phone with an downloaded app and a credit card for payment. You can get a cell phone for free if you are on any welfare plans but you also need a credit card? The lock can be forced open by breaking the small plastic gears inside the lock. I see Slime Bikes with dogs in the basket and homeless cruising.

The e-scooters have been banned in various cities up and down the coast of California. same with the dock-less bicycles. YouTube has plenty of dock-less in Asia.
Lots of media jumping up and down about this great cure for transportation.

I see these as another slur a rolling graffiti. Dumped everywhere and anywhere. The ocean is great for rusting and maybe the Pacific will rust this scum.

Trying to Forget What I Saw

My reading list lately has been non-fiction. Lots of books about the ocean. The last ten on my GoodReads list shows three Rachel Carson books. Several Orca or Dolphin books too.

Great Blue Heron landing at nest

I have seen whales from above while flying a Cessna when I had a ticket (pilot licence) . There was a very small airport next to the 5 Freeway in San Juan next to the riverbed. I learned to fly there. (not in the riverbed). I have seen whales from the cliffs here in San Pedro and a few from my sailboat while out sailing. I have encountered large pods of Dolphins several miles out past the Light House. One day maybe four years ago (I forget) I was out walking my dog DeDe and when we came back to the boat and our "Local Preacher Lady" asked me if I had seen the whale. Elizabeth is as sober (sober in San Pedro is rare) as they can get and has a Episcopalian Church in Laguna Beach. I said what whale and she said there was a small whale swimming between the docks here. So the dog and i got out our rowing sabot and started the search and it didn't take long before the whale surfaced right in front of us. His or her snout was covered with barnacles.

Two nestlings Blue Herons

One year we sailed to San Francisco and during the hours before sunrise I could see the whales blowing their exhaust into the air as we went past Point Conception.

Protecting the nest

As a kid in Santa Monica we spend many a day on the pier above and below it fishing. There was a tackle shop on the pier and in the windows there were all these shiny Penn Reels priced far above the nickel a dime menu little kids have.

Osprey at Night

My mother always like to go fishing with my Uncle Carl when we would visit in Arkansas. I didn't fish much there but loved to snorkel in the lakes and around the fishing docks that were loaded with fish waiting for handouts.

Dueling Egrets

While working at Telemetrics in Gardena the guys at work chartered several fishing boats and I went out on three of fishing trips. That is the only time I ever caught any sizable fish.

Trying to get along is not their idea

So recently my reading lead me to three movies that can be seen on YouTube or Amazon. One was
The Whale about Luna an Orca that becomes friends with locals, The other is Blackfish and the disasters at Sea World and the third is The Cove which deals with the killing of Dolphins in Taiji Japan.

On my sailboat there is a Television that gets over the air signals and I watch PBS and the 23.3 Channel here which is a Japanese Channel that shows news and promotes travel to Japan.

The producers are always showing the fine delicate features of the Japanese arts especially the cooking. The wood carving of the Buddhist Temples, the bright colors of weaving and so many other fine items. But they don't show the mercury levels of the whale and dolphins meats that are sold everyday to the Japanese.

So why is it that a Culture has such contradictions?

Puppy's Internal Clock is Broken

Most days someone who has not seen us in a week usually comment on the dog's growth. I am not quite sure when he will reach adulthood but he will not be a year old for another six months and I am guessing as the papers I have on him do not show an actual age.




Ten days ago my son Dylan visited us and we went sailing together. Happy Tails or Trails as Dylan calls the dog went for his first sail on the Ericson. If the pup started to whine we put him down below in the cabin and he was quiet. After a while I put Happy back up in the cockpit. When in the dock Happy wanders around the deck and loves to play hide and seek. Also at the dock he jumps down off the boat but can't jump back on yet. Picking him up is getting to be a chore.

The YouTube video of sailing with son and pup needs a little explanation about the start of our adventure. My normal push off is very simple I disconnect all the dock lines put the tiller to the side and walk down the starboard side and push the boat out pushing the stern south and get on mid way put the tranny in reverse back out and when clear switch to forward an motor down the channel.

Well best plans are sometimes altered. My grill was next to the dock step, The old Schwinn was locked to the dock step and my sabot was sitting on the dock finger end so there wasn't any way for me to push clear and Dylan was in the cockpit on the tiller. After I got on board the wind had already turned us part way around and we were getting ready to play bumper boats. The video doesn't show everything but we didn't hit anything and Dylan was filming while dodging.

One of my pets

Happy is not that happy when he has to wear a life jacket and Dylan said he would jump in a save the dog if he fell overboard. My boarding ladder in a rope version and that would have been quite a chore to get the dog back on the deck without an overhead winch.

After 4 years of drought the rain started and this made walking the pup a wet operation but he didn't seem to care. With the sun shine we have started walking several times a day and we probably put in an easy 5 miles a day. Or night because he has not learned how to tell time.

Last night I was up at 2 AM but it could be 10:30 PM or a 4:30 AM wake up.

A neighbor gave the dog a new toss toy that he destroyed and in my dock box I have a collection of torn or broken toys. There are always plenty of sticks to find while out walking and after the rains there is lots of bamboo in the water and they make great chewables.

He has started to chase birds. There are lots of pigeons on the sidewalks and he loves to send to a flight. There are several Blue Herons that visit and one night Happy started barking at the Heron and he also took flight. There are two feral cats that were hunting mice and rats on the rocks but three bottom cleaner/divers started feeding the two cats in the parking lot where the drivers suit up so Happy likes to chase the two cats when the divers are not there. 

When out walking he loves most everyone, people or dogs, in the dark he will bark at strangers. After our sailing adventure Dylan and I rode bikes and Happy chased up. A day later I tried it by myself and the dog refused to cooperate. 

Dog proofing a sailboat is an ongoing chore. He loves the black wires that go to my solar panel regulator. Several covers after being installed usually last only a day. He has not started counter surfing and only eats from his dish but he likes to pick up his dinner bowl and chew on it.

I have a fold down dinner table that I use for my laptop. Today Happy has been very nice and allowed me to use it without a paw in my lap.

My dear and departed First Mate DeDe was not afraid of pit bulls and was attacked twice when we lived in Lake Forest. In fact DeDe used to boss a large male pit around here on the dock. Happy is five months going on six months and is already larger that most Pits we see. Yesterday we met a lady riding a bicycle with a Pit in tow. The Pit's name was Lucky. Lucky and Happy became instant friends. 

I am not sure about my opinion about people riding bikes with a dog on a leash. In San Pedro there are several marinas that get visits from dog walkers and several have dog/bicycle combinations. More on that later.

Year End New Puppy

Turned on the TV this morning to see the weather forecast. 5 car commercials in a row with reindeer, Christmas trees, ribbons and smiling children. One spooky one with a Lincoln owner following a wood burning train. Ford must have a hell of a filming budget. VW is larger.

All in all, the German automaker paid over $6 billion in advertising. That's truly an astounding number, especially when you put it into perspective. With that kind of money, you could buy approximately 2,300 Bugatti Chirons -- 1,800 more than what has ever been produced. The next biggest spender was General Motors; they spent a measly $5.7 billion. Collectively, more money was spent on advertising by auto manufactures than ever before.

Turned the TV off and tried the internet for news. SF Gate is always interesting , Maybe there is a rush to died before the end of the year.

My former shipmate was a mix of German Shepard and Akita. We found her in a cardboard box in front of a Staters Brothers in Phelan which is the high desert. We always stopped there to pick up supplies when we went motorcycling in the desert.

DeDe at marina in San Pedro

We named her DeDe for desert dog.

She loved to run on the beach.

At low tide there is a sand bar inside the breakwater at Dana Point across from Baby Beach where several dogs would meet to party.

DeDe running with Buddy

Today is Wednesday mid week between Christmas and New Years and the seventh day for my new puppy. The details are vague but my daughter met someone at a wedding reception that ran a dog clinic.

The next thing I see are text messages of puppies dressed for Christmas.

Then a picture of the real trouble maker.

Monster on left

Toy reindeer

Last Thursday I was supposed to meet my daughter at the dog clinic here in San Pedro but in route I stopped to buy gasoline for my Nissan. I seldom drive, it was raining, the wipers were on plus the headlights and defroster after stopping for a few dollars of gas the engine refused to restart because the battery was low. Well my phone was charged so I texted my daughter and she met me next to the gas station where I had pushed my car.

Out like a light

My grandson was holding the puppy who was crying. It was pouring. raining puppies and cats. We rode back to the marina and my sailboat where I got another battery. We left the puppy with Arlo my grandson and we headed back up to switch batteries.

First car trip to park

Christmas day was a planned adventure to take the puppy for a car trip without any carrier. Plans didn't work out as the mutt wanted to drive and refused to ride shotgun.

Since Sunday he has had three rides in the car and has been to two different parks.

His new name is still being debated. I am so used to calling my old dog butthead or Dede Butt I may just stick with that. The puppy came from SNP/LA.

My son came over to the boat to visit the new puppy. He also brought a new dog bed which was really needed because Butt Head had chewed up most of his makeshift bed.




This was recorded and edited my Dylan. He wants to name the pup "Trails"
While the pup took a nap Dylan and I went out paddling on stand-ups. Later down the line the dog will also be included in family paddling but not now.

Dylan has always been a good at sports: motorcycles, bicycles, surfing, and snowboarding. My learning curve isn't ready for snowboarding but I still can ski. Here his Dylan on Christmas day boarding at Bear.

Ups and Downs

Ramping up daily

When you live in a house your sidewalk usually does not move and your driveway may be on a slant but it stays that way day to day.  If you live on a mooring you go up and down with the tides so the changes appear relative. If you live on a dock as I do which floats in place tied to a piling you go up and down but inside the boat everything remains the same.

piling at high tide

So the docks go up with the tide and back down again but the land stays put. The gangway between the docks and the shore slides on a large steel roller as the water rise or lower. The angle of the gangway can change dramatically and at very low tides or swing tides the hike up can be a workout.

In fact I have seen older seniors unable to go up the hill. Using a dock cart with a good load of two deep cycle batteries might required and extra hand to help or a motor. Walking up the ramp at real low tides wearing cycling shoes with cleats could kill you. I use three different styles of cleats, one is for old style platform pedals that have toe clips, one is for newer Shimano Dur-Ace and my Fixie use Time pedals.

6 inches more at it will flood

This week we are having King Tides which are extremes compared to the normal spring tides. The calendar is about to change in about a week making it officially winter. The spring tides occur twice a month and the reference is to the spring action of the tides not the seasons of the year.

Please don't step on me

For some tides and ocean waves can me a baffling mystery. Many moons ago we were driving up the coast from Santa Monica to Lake Cachuma to go water skiing. Little did we know that you couldn't ski there. On the way up I got in to an argument with Carson about the waves. He said the waves were caused by the tides and said "No, it the wind". Carson probably grew up with Dorthy in Kansas where I grew up by the beach.

Old Man's at high tide

The tides makes the wave take different shapes at the sea bottom changes with the depth. If you have every surfed a rocky beach the walk in at low tide can be a real pain.

Cabrillo Beach

Last month when we had a Super Moon my neighbor flatly refused to consider the sun and its tidal influences. An avid fisherman and boat owner denied the sun was involved.

Sea Hare Cabrillo Beach Tidepool

Low tides are hard on the creatures in tide pools that get invaded by shit heads resembling an invasion of Japanese picture takers.

gangway rides on this roller

Since your house or apartment stays put you over the air TV stays the same or if you are a slave to cable or Direct you don't need to worry. But today my sailboat will change in height by 8 feet so at spring tides my Telly reception improves or sucks.

Samsung hidden behind bicycles

The above nonsense is my son Dylan YouTube Channel breaking 5,000 subscribers.

Tandem is from Epic Bike.

All my pictures shown here were taken with my Nikon D80. In the sidebar there is a video of the high water mark at Cabillo Beach YC and that was taken with my Samsung S6

Another late afternoon edition. My son has a new Stranger BMX 20 inch frame out.


 

This Video above was taken Wednesday afternoon at extreme low tide by Point Fermin during my afternoon bicycle ride.