tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55571932012-01-28T23:30:04.897-08:00iCyclistCycling through the meaning of life
with the help of bikes and cameras.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.comBlogger1731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-82755726336767253552012-01-28T22:50:00.000-08:002012-01-28T23:11:24.311-08:00
Why is Winter Cycling Can be Such a Drag in Los Angeles
My late afternoon ride on a typical winter's day –January 27th – along the bike path south of Venice Beach, was a disappointment.
There I was, initially pedaling in bliss along the coast. The mountains above Malibu to the north, and the mountain that is the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the south, formed the wide open jawsDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-42878170720890805292011-12-21T16:23:00.000-08:002011-12-27T14:40:17.811-08:00
Sock it To Me
Whether or not there are greater rewards for giving than receiving, I was happy to spend some time and money shopping with my wife for gifts for family and friends, and giving to people less fortunate than I am. Our big shopping expedition took us to REI, the outdoor store. Among other items, we bought some socks for our daughter. There was a special on socks, so I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-17569143873177062332011-11-28T17:49:00.000-08:002011-11-30T15:12:24.011-08:00An Alternate YosemiteNote: click on any image if you wish to view a larger version.The catch, as proposed by my friend, Chuck Nadeau, was simple: We would conduct a trip to Yosemite, and the people on the trip would set aside the seemingly ubiquitous digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras favored by most advanced photographers. Film, digicam, pinhole, Polaroid, iPhone, medium format cameras, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-87351474385777928452011-11-12T17:40:00.000-08:002011-11-13T21:34:23.801-08:00Above: Autumn Color in IdahoNote: click on a photo to view a larger-sized imageAfter the Fall- Warning - A Post That's Not for the SqueamishIf you don't have a strong stomach, or you are about to have a meal, or you just had a meal, move along, there's nothing to see here.Since early October, I've piled on the miles, not not much on my bike, but in cars and trucks and vans and planes and on my Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-81459262998946922652011-10-11T10:55:00.000-07:002011-10-11T12:00:55.140-07:00Cancer Support is IrreplaceableGuest post by David Hass Cancer treatment often brings to mind images of chemotherapy, surgery, and visits to the doctor. While this connection to the staunchly medical is of course logical, a key component to cancer treatment is support. Cancer survivor networks are a source of endless information and strong connections involving people who have survived cancer, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-49598671975120568552011-10-10T17:50:00.000-07:002011-10-13T12:05:14.091-07:00xFarewell to the "King of Infinite Space"For some people, becoming emotional – code for crying - in front of other people is taboo. Particularly if you're a male. Well, that's how I sometimes feel: I usually don't like to cry in front of other people, men or women. I think it shows a certain weakness. While maybe it doesn't, that's the way i was brought up, and it's ingrained in me.I don't like Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-82005674323457086192011-09-04T23:52:00.001-07:002011-09-05T11:57:49.115-07:00Lone Pine Peak from my CampsiteThe Group ExperienceA few days ago, I received a email from a potential participant about the amount of – or lack of – walking on our upcoming photography trip to Yellowstone. My correspondent noted that we would be spending more time in the van that we would walking trails in America's first national park. She wondered if I knew of any photography trips that were Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-69184618306322802192011-08-22T20:27:00.000-07:002011-08-23T10:55:15.495-07:00
Mount Agassiz in reflection at sunset
Conquering More than a Mountain– In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods –
Note: Click on any image to view a larger-size version.
Some of you know that my wife, Kathy, was diagnosed with lung cancer. That was almost a year ago, and the outcome was grim.
Although Kathy is unlucky to have contracted lung cancer, she is lucky her cancer, which spread rapidly Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-55469416262624240312011-07-14T14:53:00.000-07:002011-07-15T10:48:44.830-07:00Note: click on photos to view larger images.New York, New York, a helluva town.The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down.The people ride in a hole in the groun'.New York, New York, it's a hell of a town.- "On the Town"Here are some of my photographs from my trip to NYC in early July.My wife and I made the trip to visit our older daughter, Rebecca, her new husband, Lee, and Lee's parents, and to Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-72214037109734422242011-06-19T09:52:00.000-07:002011-07-04T06:57:17.783-07:00Three from New YorkFor a while, I bemoaned the lack of a "real" camera, as I otherwise enjoyed sunset from the Brooklyn waterfront. My concern was needless, because I had my camera phone with me, which gave me as much freedom to test my creativity as I wanted.It wasn't a case of making lemonade out of lemons. It was an initial failure to understand that the cup in my hand was already filled with champaign, and I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-75772316081998722712011-05-04T10:08:00.000-07:002011-05-05T11:05:08.761-07:00Celebrating the Demise of a BoogeymanAs we drove back from our bike ride in and around the northern California town of Chico, and my visit with my friend, Ernie, on his ranch, my brother Dan took a phone call from his wife. "Listen to the news," she told him. "Obama is making some kind of announcement in a little while."We listened to the radio and I called up some web pages on my cell phone. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-53020904770805720092011-05-02T17:06:00.001-07:002011-05-03T12:24:03.326-07:00The Cycle of LifeThe city of Chico, and the country surrounding it in Northern California, is my true emotional and geographical lodestone, the true center of my heart's content. I affirm that is so, even though I grew up in Los Angeles, moved back to Los Angeles, and have lived in Los Angeles since leaving Chico somewhere back in the mists of time, about 1972.Chico is my Paradise Lost. That I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-76251138393735635672011-04-26T14:56:00.000-07:002011-05-02T16:57:03.212-07:00On the road againThe Heart of the MatterI'm fine now. Yesterday I rode my bike 30 non-stop miles. Six weeks ago, though, I lay writhing on the ground, hands clutching my chest, in the midst of a serious heart attack. A blood clot was clogging one of my metal stents, which is a tiny tube that holds a once-clogged artery open. The clot was in my left coronary artery, also known as the "widow maker"Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-16840438294886942052011-04-11T18:54:00.000-07:002011-04-11T19:30:40.293-07:00Riding with Lance ArmstrongHaving grown up in Los Angeles, I tend to be unfazed by celebrity sightings. One exception: Paul McCartney, whom I spotted in Franklin Canyon, while I was on a bike ride in the Santa Monica Mountains a few years ago. He's one of my cultural heroes.The other exception is Lance Armstrong, whom I rode with today. A couple of years ago, I also rode with him – and 500 other Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-79383333315962638642011-04-07T19:56:00.000-07:002011-04-10T00:46:34.184-07:00A Ride for LifeMy friend, Jean Ray, has been both a participant and a co-leader on some of my photography and family camping trips. She is raising funds for a good cause: the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma (she lost her dad to the latter). In conjunction with her fund raising, Jean is preparing for a 100-mile bike ride this June, in memory of her father. She's making the ride for the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-58897049745665263172011-03-27T11:22:00.000-07:002011-03-27T13:30:24.031-07:00Photographers at Artists Palette Death ValleyMy annual trip to Death Valley will begin in a few days. Looking over last year's photographs, I realize I never put any of them online. (And if you're on this year's trip with me, avert your face, because I'll probably show them sometime during our trip.) Here are some of my favorites. As usual, click on any image for a larger-sized view.Salt Flats Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-10617159263035804432011-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:002011-03-08T12:36:22.477-08:00Dan Wyman PhotoTo Climb the Steepest Hill - A Journey of Self Discovery It was a day of hard-gained victories, and a day broken dreams. Yes, it was another Fargo Street Hill Climb, which has become one of the more quirky traditions in my laid back city, Los Angeles.The Fargo Street hill, which rises in the decidedly Bohemian district of Echo Park, took the measure of many cyclists. Many cyclists Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-32803607287886510332011-03-05T10:25:00.000-08:002011-03-05T15:45:12.813-08:00Fargo StreetTomorrow, once again, I will test myself for a couple of minutes. The test will take place on the steepest street in Los Angeles. I'll try to ride my bike non-stop to the top of street, to see if I can conquer the mountain, slay the dragon, and hold back time one more time.It's a ritual I've repeated most years since 1978, when my brother Dan, who will also try his will and his Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-3740873464815903202011-01-19T09:07:00.000-08:002011-02-01T23:31:23.109-08:00Doing CrunchesOr: "“The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.” My older daughter was in town recently. She stayed with Kathy and me. On a clear, warm Sunday, I drove Rebecca in my wife's car the few miles over to her sister's apartment. A block from Nora's place, on Spaulding Avenue, I had to squeeze our vehicle between a car Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-71089479119818831332010-12-31T09:23:00.000-08:002011-01-12T23:14:13.647-08:00Above: the summation of my eight days of the Festive 500. After a steep climb into the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains, my efforts – of blood, bone, muscle and mind – were rewarded with a magnificent view of the city of Glendale and the San Gabriel Mountains.Click on any photo (especially the one above) to view a larger-sized image_______________________________________________The Time Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-19017665784626193542010-12-28T21:32:00.000-08:002010-12-30T00:21:39.453-08:00Mural in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles (and a mecca for fixed gear cyclists)Click on any photo for a larger-sized version_______________________________________A Ride to the Heart of Los AngelesAround the world, cyclists are attempting the Festive 500 (tempting the unruly weather gods, too). Many have journeyed out into the countryside found around or not far from their homes.While I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-80547879440699658962010-12-28T08:48:00.000-08:002010-12-28T13:54:54.598-08:00The Pacific Design Center, in West Hollywood, a few miles into my rideFrom Wooded Hills to Woodland Hills(Note: click on any photo for larger-sized image.)Continuing my quest to ride 500kms in eight days, I rode from my home, in flatlands of the Los Angeles Basin, over the Santa Monica Mountains, to Woodland Hills, in the San Fernando Valley, where I met my family (and had a shower) for dinner Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-16813419317522453562010-12-28T00:51:00.000-08:002010-12-28T10:35:48.841-08:00"True Grit"On Sunday morning, I rode for a while with the Velo-La Grange cycling club. A long time ago, I raced with the club a few times. Rarely do I join the group for it's Sunday ride up Nichols Canyon and along Mulholland Drive; when i do, it's always painful pleasure. For this photograph, I carefully used my iPhone, PS Mobile software and The Best Camera software.My Sunday morning ride map Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-22602005983436298882010-12-25T00:33:00.001-08:002010-12-25T17:04:03.781-08:00My ride began with a view west, to the towers of Century City(Click on any photograph to view it in a larger size)Balancing My Life with the Festive 500The new-born morning of Christmas Eve arrived under clear, blue skies. Temperatures quickly began to ascend from the mid-40s into the 60s, and I plunged into the second day of the Festive 500, determined to give myself 65 more kilometers. CrossingDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-9636881449897714772010-12-23T19:30:00.000-08:002011-01-10T23:03:51.854-08:00Departing my home (Lee Gold Photo)Note: Click on any photo for larger-sized imagesThe Festive 500 - Reality Rears it's Ugly HeadThis evening, my body is suggesting that it doesn't like the concept of riding 500 kilometers in eight days. My body, in fact, seems to be objecting to the mere 48 km ride this afternoon.Although the weather prediction for today called for sunlight, the sun itself was Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-91553746945801130592010-12-23T02:58:00.001-08:002010-12-23T10:54:39.831-08:00Photo by Sam ChinFestive 500 - The PrologueThe rain that turned Los Angeles into a reasonable facsimile of Portland or Seattle has stopped.Of course I didn't have my camera with me when the most spectacular rainbow I've ever seen lit up the eastern skies of Los Angeles this afternoon. (Luckily, Sam Chin didn't make my mistake. I'm guessing that rainbow was a signal from the Big Man in the Sky Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-51390462922312329702010-12-19T23:50:00.001-08:002010-12-22T17:56:09.861-08:00The Festive 500_____________________________________________________________With Hanukkah in the bag and Santa soon on the way with his, I should be sitting in front of a fire, with a glass of eggnog and a plate holiday cookies near at hand. Instead, I'm wondering if I can cycle 500 km (310 miles) over eight days, from December 23 through December 30. Ordinarily it's a challenge to pedal my way Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-64233322518604513032010-12-17T14:46:00.000-08:002010-12-18T17:44:24.372-08:00Vineyard across the canyon from the Getty(Click on any photo for full-size image)___________________________________Postcards from The Getty"Art does not reproduce the visible, it makes things visible"- Paul Klee, (from the Getty Center orientation film)It's not just art that is visible at the Getty Center, which, as one of the signature cultural edifices of Los Angeles, melds together both art Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-48025255523704890092010-12-16T23:42:00.000-08:002010-12-17T09:06:24.408-08:00Crossing OverCrossing over a patch of wet concrete at an angle on a bike invites an instant takedown. It happened to me late on Thursday afternoon.Earlier in the day, I had an ultrascan to see if I had a blocked carotid artery or two. The carotids, one on either side of the neck, are tributary rivers of blood that arise from larger arteries. My opthamologist thought a blocked carotid, which wouldDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-37385424023251560522010-12-16T12:52:00.001-08:002010-12-16T13:48:55.776-08:00Sunday Morning - Where are the Cars?An Eye on L.A."It's Not What You Look at That Matters, It's What you See"– Henry David ThoreauOften enough, people have asked me if I enjoy riding my bike in Los Angeles – I do – or if the traffic scares me – it doesn't. Growing up in Los Angeles, where I learned to ride a bike when I was about 7, made sharing the streets with cars and buses and trucks second Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-41210327597894647262010-12-08T15:59:00.000-08:002010-12-08T17:05:03.279-08:00Goodbye, BeauOur little dog, Beau, who is the son I never had, and my best friend, is very ill. We have made our last walk around the block together, and in a little while it will be time to say goodbye. He lies here beside me, as I type these words, and I'm not ashamed to say it's not easy typing with eyes full of tears.The picture above represents a nice part of who Beau has always been. For Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-39660031466117607592010-12-05T19:38:00.000-08:002010-12-07T00:51:05.390-08:00For An Afternoon, I Was A God!A few days ago, my daughter, Nora, reminded me of an incident that occurred a decade ago, when I picked her up at her high school. As I always did, I asked how her day went. As usual, the answer was a teen-ager's sullen, "Nothing happened today."However, after a minute, Nora suddenly asked, "Dad, were you Cuckoo Con?""What?""You were Cuckoo Kan, weren't you? I saw Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-63084425224252434762010-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:002010-11-16T13:54:40.185-08:00This post is an SOS for a good friend, Rosemarie Astwood. She is a good person. And she needs a job. I don't know if she'd approve of me making a plea for her here. Her situation, though, has become desperate - as it is for so many people around the world.She has terrific skills as a writer (technical writing, editing, environmental reports, newsletters, etc). She also has skills with page Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-44745035995668298622010-11-04T01:19:00.000-07:002010-11-06T15:20:06.213-07:00___________________________________________________Like Father, Like DaughterWhat possessed my younger daughter, Nora, to put on a wig and moustache while visiting us on Halloween, I do not know. Perhaps it had something to do with my new haircut. Nor do I know if the wig and moustache were in our home when she arrived, or if Nora brought them with her.I do know she and her older sister, Rebecca,Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-45048811376270619522010-10-29T15:03:00.000-07:002010-11-04T01:15:47.556-07:00 Above: On the UCLA campus, after a high school cross-country meet, in the spring of 1964; I was 16 ______________________________________ You Have Requests? We Fill Them! or "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" Give me down to there hair Shoulder length or longer Here baby, there mama Everywhere daddy daddyHair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hairFlow it, show itLong as God can grow itMy hairDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-75769610433432571482010-10-25T12:50:00.000-07:002010-10-25T18:05:47.324-07:00Clearing Weather, Yosemite Valley (click on the photo for a larger version)On the June Lake Loop Road (click on the photo for a larger version)Meet the New Boss - Same as the Old Boss!After a week in Yosemite and along the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with two groups of talented and impressively friendly and enthusiastic photographers, I returned home to Los Angeles. It was tough to Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-22593844279702107512010-10-11T21:02:00.001-07:002010-10-14T08:19:42.983-07:00Ciclavia!With apologies to John Lennon:Imagine there's no traffic, It's easy if you try.No pavement below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for todayYou may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one Ciclavia. What is that? A Slavic break-away state? A medical condition? No, it's the name of the one-day closure of 7.5Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-14313515836407894482010-10-04T02:06:00.000-07:002010-10-10T00:19:08.532-07:00After the StormThe weather gods have turned Los Angeles into their capricious playground for the past few weeks. This has come after a long period of mild weather, at odds with the notion of what summer is supposed to be here: barbeques fired up on the grass at Griffith Park, the top down on the convertibles cruising after dark along Sunset Blvd., heat waves shimmering off white sand beaches, andDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-65830610070320274202010-09-21T21:43:00.000-07:002010-09-21T22:01:52.204-07:00On the Brink - Big Chico Creek, Chico, CaliforniaThe meaning of a photograph can be obvious to me before I press the shutter release. Here is the meaning I gleaned after, rather than before, I made this photograph: Aren't our own lives like these leaves? Aren't we often, and perhaps always, balanced on the brink of falling into the unknown? Life, whether as complex as that of a human being, or Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-13749132859530353022010-09-21T16:08:00.001-07:002010-09-21T16:17:31.278-07:00New Photo Hosting ServiceSlickpic – it's a new web hosting service that I've beta tested for a few weeks, and it's just gone live. It has a lot of bells and whistles. However, for me its main feature is how stunningly easy it is to post photographs. And the interface to do that is, well, slick! My first album dedicated to my photography, from my recent Pt. Reyes trip in Northern California (from Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-88464820153156501962010-09-14T18:29:00.000-07:002010-09-20T13:31:02.063-07:00The View Up McGee CanyonCrossing the Line"You need to slow down."Those are not the words anyone, at any age, wants to hear from a doctor. They were the words, though, I was hearing from my doctor a few weeks ago. He spoke them at the end of a visit I'd made to uncover why I saw a pink cloud of blood in my urine.We sat, my doctor and I, cloistered in the intimately clinical setting of the little Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-30644392449448667812010-09-11T21:34:00.000-07:002010-09-12T15:02:02.186-07:00Los Angeles Wheelmen 65th Anniversary Century (& Half Century) Ride"The year was 1945. World War II ended and eclipsed every news event of the year, except one: The Los Angeles Wheelmen Bicycle Club was re-invented! Join the Los Angeles Wheelmen to commemorate 65 years of bicycling Los Angeles and Southern California in the club's Anniversary Century and Half-Century Celebration Rides."Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-88740968337842170872010-09-10T08:10:00.001-07:002010-09-11T00:54:19.626-07:00Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-21539317458936958062010-09-01T01:09:00.001-07:002010-09-01T01:17:10.297-07:00Central Coast of CaliforniaStill space available on my photo tour of the Central California coast, from Monterey to Montana de Oro, September 16-19. Info here.William Hartshorn (wghartshorn.com) will be the co-leader. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-48533237977485267042010-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:002010-08-30T16:04:43.689-07:00Above: The beached "Point Reyes," looking a bit like the a California version of the "African Queen," waits in vain for a rising tide, Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.________________________________________Point Reyes and EnvironsAlthough I was off my bike longer than I like to be, the past few days were spent most pleasant with Ken Rockwell and an enthusiastic, and talented group of Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-62201591887498803232010-08-25T09:29:00.001-07:002010-08-25T23:41:42.179-07:00Above: Looking east from the top of Runyon Canyon, with Mt. Hollywood atop the ridge above the Griffith Park Observatory. The San Gabriel Mountains rise in the background. The Perfect RideLast Thursday, as I coasted toward home, I knew I had just enjoyed a classic, solo bike ride. There were busy city streets to navigate, quiet residential avenues, a climb into the higher reaches of the Santa Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-29005881287238986232010-08-19T14:04:00.000-07:002010-08-19T18:52:23.287-07:00Not A Typical Day at the Bull RingOr: A King Kong New York MomentWarning: Graphic content below.I'm opposed to capitol punishment. On the other hand, I think we should get what we deserve. In the video below, a few humans are allowed by fate to experience a little of what a bull probably undergoes in the last few minutes of its life, as it's chased around the bullring and stuck like a pincushion Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-87970974226329509302010-08-18T22:41:00.000-07:002010-08-19T09:49:37.517-07:00An Embarrassing AdmissionMy wife and I are going on a mule pack trip in a few weeks, into the high country of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Kathy has already gone on two mule pack trips this year, and this will be the first I've ever done. Kathy keeps in shape for these trips with weekly hikes to the top of Mount Hollywood each Tuesday night.Perhaps this is an admission I shouldn't make, since I'mDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-9222107831502646462010-08-14T14:51:00.000-07:002011-01-08T14:26:51.350-08:00A Wright Nice Saturday RideGiven that my last post was somewhat about my childhood, it stands to reason that today I rode with the principal of the first elementary school I attended. While Ms. Born, of course, wasn't the principal when I was a student at Overland Avenue Elementary School in the early 1950s (in the 1950s!?!). Ms. Born is the current principal. And I'm guessing the principal at myDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-5247407354976599012010-08-13T02:50:00.000-07:002010-08-19T21:29:47.337-07:00Know Thy BloggerMy mom, dead more than three years, talks to me. Not in dreams, not out loud, but sometimes in words, and sometimes in pictures.Recently, rummaging around the garage, that once and future black hole of suburban culture, I came across a tin box I don't remember having seen before. The box had belonged to my mom, and inside it were some documents about my maternal grandmother, some Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-1336849444855826862010-08-12T22:28:00.000-07:002010-08-12T23:14:27.315-07:00A Short Cycling Film - And A Short Time to View ItRapha, the British company that makes high-end clothes for cyclists, is showing its first of three cycling films. The film, though, is only shown on Friday, August 13th, GMT (check your time zone). Like Rapha, the film – "Throw of the Dice" – by noted director Nick Livesey, is decidedly avant garde. I'm a fan of Rapha, particularly as I managed toDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-15341591759373156002010-08-08T21:25:00.000-07:002010-08-12T23:16:04.048-07:00The Sunday Route - click for full-size.Expecting the UnexpectedSunday, I joined with a group of riders from the Los Angeles Wheelmen. There were three optional "official" club routes (from short to long) from which to choose, and an alternate route someone else suggested. About half the group headed off on the "long" ride. The rest of us chose the slightly shorter alternate route; both rides Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-62477526305679164762010-08-07T14:48:00.001-07:002010-08-07T16:26:43.629-07:00Narrowing the FocusWhile I believe travel is broadening, I don't think it's necessary to leave home to find interesting and meaningful photographic subjects. To back up my assertion, here are a photographs from our front yard.Long ago, when I became serious, both about my photography about spending more time in natural parts of the world, I was sure that obtaining the best images meant being as Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-68822670434601198722010-08-07T11:25:00.000-07:002010-08-07T11:40:46.492-07:00Photography PresentationThis Tuesday night, August 10th, starting about 6:45 p.m., I'll make a presentation at the Santa Clarita Valley Association's meeting. Along with my photographs, I'll cover my approach to photography (and I suppose that could include a little about how I approach my life these days).I'll also bring some of my equipment, from my digital gear to some of my film cameras whichDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-69431319538324341122010-08-06T12:52:00.000-07:002010-08-26T07:05:36.200-07:00Defying GravityWhen I was 10, my family moved to a ridge top in the Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles. Before school started, I made friends with a few kids in the neighborhood. One day, two of my new friends, each about a year older than me, asked me if I wanted to ride with them to a fire station on Mulholland Drive. They warned me, though, that there would be some hills, and that I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-24021995977805469282010-07-31T11:34:00.000-07:002010-07-31T11:46:59.314-07:00Van Collision UpdateAfter getting thwacked by a van yesterday, I woke up this morning (I'm glad I can say that), with my shoulder pain-free, without even a Plavix-related bruise. I still wonder what I could have done differently, and in fact I wonder exactly what I did in those few seconds when danger threatened.I have a vague memory of hitting the brakes, twisting the bike, and skidding into theDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-39152398453513835692010-07-30T20:15:00.000-07:002010-07-30T22:41:13.442-07:00Hit By a VanI'm fine. This early evening, though, a van made a right turn in front of me, and I smacked into the right side-view mirror, which luckily was a break-away version, with my left shoulder. It's the first time I've been hit by a vehicle in more than two decades.I never felt like I was in danger of going under the wheels, and it happened too fast for adrenalin to flow, but as soon as theDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-3338277557372063492010-07-29T22:33:00.000-07:002010-07-31T17:30:08.447-07:00Shop 'til You DropTwo weeks ago, I drove along Highway 99, through the Great Central Valley of California – "America's Breadbasket" – towards the towering Sierra Nevada Mountains. There was plenty of time to think, as well as to enjoy the good companionship of Irene Shibata, who was the co-leader of the trip we were about to conduct for several families on behalf of the Yosemite Conservancy.We Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-55766860318957389412010-07-28T11:08:00.000-07:002010-08-01T16:09:15.867-07:00Leap of Faith – Part 2- He who hesitates is lost!- Look before you leap!We all have made leaps of faith. Last week, a few families put their faith in the itinerary I devised for them for a day in Yosemite National Park. First, on the warm, sunny morning, they agreed to join me on an ascent of Pothole Dome; from the top of the white, granite monolith, green Tuolumne Meadows stretched out before usDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-3919363155158227042010-07-27T00:24:00.001-07:002010-07-28T15:51:50.331-07:00Note: click on photos to view larger versions; cameras: Nikon D60 w/ an 18-200mm lens, and my iPhone.Leaps of Faith"Where's the end of this?" Sam asked. The two of us were pedaling our bikes up the final grade leading toward Tioga Pass, almost 10,000 feet above sea level, in Yosemite National Park. High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, the forest here is thick with tall, gray-barked Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-25522684778798306332010-07-17T07:38:00.000-07:002010-07-17T07:46:22.060-07:00Point Reyes National Seashore - Photography TourPoint Reyes National Seashore and nearby Tomales Bay are some of California's most beautiful visual treasures. Compared to Death Valley, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, this area isn't as well-known, yet the scenery is perhaps more varied as just as interesting. I'll conduct a photography trip to Pt. Reyes at the end of August. For information,Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-64701078015030282222010-07-15T23:00:00.001-07:002010-07-16T00:54:29.106-07:00Off to YosemiteTomorrow I leave for the Yosemite high country, in Tuolumne Meadows, to conduct a camping trip for families, on behalf of the Yosemite Conservancy. It's an event I look forward to every year.Last year, I managed to bring my road bike. My one major ride was up to Tiogas Pass, which is just below 10,000 feet, then a few thousand feet down to Mono Lake, and back to Tuolumne Meadows. IDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-34882074580041110402010-07-13T09:41:00.000-07:002010-07-13T13:31:43.613-07:00Death Ride AftermathOccasionally, while training for the Death Ride, I joked with friends about the possibility of dying during the attempt. While I wasn't sure how much I was going to hurt during the ride, I assumed that if I had to stop pedaling, it would happen because my legs would lose the power to turn the cranks over, even in the lowest gears, or that I'd suffer some serious Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-26448790016770040642010-07-11T19:53:00.000-07:002010-08-03T11:42:04.061-07:00 I Survived the Death Ride"This is the inky-black heart of the ride."It was probably about 11 a.m., on the day of the 30th annual Death Ride. I'd been in the saddle six hours, working my way to the top of the third of five climbs of the day, this one to Ebbetts Pass. I had ridden up behind a rider and we engaged in a friendly conversation for a few minutes. As the road began to steepen, my new Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-22018628070322854762010-07-07T23:25:00.000-07:002010-07-08T00:35:56.847-07:00Death Ride CountdownThere are just three more days until my date with the Death Ride. While I should have relaxed today, a look at my cycling log from nine years ago, before my Climb to Kaiser ride (similar to the Death Ride), showed that I rode 77 miles. Instead of resting today, I rode 55 miles, and climbed a hair under 3,000 feet. The longer I rode, the stronger I felt. Could I have ridden Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-43727552078249158252010-07-06T17:34:00.001-07:002010-07-14T15:32:21.825-07:00Death Ride Training - UpdateWhile I thought I'd ride 30 miles yesterday, I ended up with just 20. However, that included 3,000+ feet of some serious uphill. The ride left me seriously exhausted. I can't remember when I've been as tired at the end of the day. A little before the end of baseball game between the Dodgers and the Marlins, I fell into a deep sleep for a few hours on the couch (just asDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-26778815150252133022010-07-05T12:40:00.000-07:002010-07-14T15:31:58.435-07:00Death Ride Training UpdateThis next Saturday, I'm planning on at least starting the Death Ride - 130 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing. A couple of days ago, on waking, I was in some serious pain, almost over-the-top pain. An early-morning bike ride down 12 miles to the Pacific Ocean and back home didn't help. By 9:30 a.m. my family and I were on the road (with my bike in the trunk) to visit my 95-Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-24945794113711983102010-07-04T10:15:00.000-07:002010-07-05T12:40:21.720-07:00Death Ride CountdownIt's morning of the 4th of July, Independence Day for the U.S. For me, I'm not free of pain this morning; am I a slave to pain, though? I'm stiff with pain. And somewhere deep inside me in an-defined nexus of more pain, a point of pain radiating out from my lower back, moving with impunity up and down my back and right leg. Stretching hurts. Not moving hurts. Relaxing my body Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-44899693993976771522010-07-03T23:37:00.000-07:002010-07-04T08:41:28.360-07:00Death Ride Count DownThe Death Ride, out of remote Markleeville, California, is about six days away. I've not trained hard enough – nor ridden far enough nor high enough – to believe I can finish riding 130 miles and 15,000 feet of elevation gain in one day. I know this because I can look back over my climbing log at the last time I attempted a comparable ride, in 2002, and see what it took to Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-30458008055081022282010-06-24T23:53:00.000-07:002010-07-03T23:37:26.224-07:00Sea Level to See LevelIt was Summer Solstice Day + 1, June 22nd. My wife, on her regular Tuesday hike up into the Santa Monica Mountains with her friends, was going to celebrate the summer solstice with a trip to the top of Mount Lee and the Hollywood Sign, in Griffith Park. I decided to meet her there, on my bike rather than on foot. This is Los Angeles, and I'm training for a hard ride next Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-24639340746621939222010-06-14T11:03:00.000-07:002010-06-14T11:13:04.326-07:00Photography and Self-DiscoveryI'll be speaking and showing some of my photographs tonight at the Sierra Club Camera Committee's monthly meeting, about photography. The presentation will be at 7:30 p.m., at the Felicia Mahood Senior Center, 11338 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. You're invited. Pedal over, hop on a plane, take the train. (Click on the photo for a larger version)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-55263518484594195612010-06-07T16:19:00.000-07:002010-06-07T16:32:32.269-07:00Central Coast TripIn a few weeks I'll be off to the Central Coast, for another photo workshop (and there's space for one more person). This is a longer trip, and we plan to travel into the Central Coast Mountains as well as exploring the coast. Here is some of what we saw on my last trip to this area, a few years ago. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-2921887279397097312010-06-06T11:00:00.000-07:002010-07-14T15:26:14.096-07:00A Near Metric Century in – and above – the San Gabriel ValleyMy friend, Jim Jacobs, hires me once a year to help conduct a camping trip for the Occidental College alumni association. He has also invited me on a couple of bike rides, the latest this past Saturday. We joined some of his friends, meeting on the grounds of the lovely Claremont Colleges, east of downtown Los Angeles about 8 a.m. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-67376553677966378202010-03-31T02:25:00.000-07:002010-05-14T11:53:15.341-07:00If I Can Ride It There...New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down. The people ride in a hole in the groun'. New York, New York, it's a helluva town!! – "New York, New York" (from "On the Town)"Tonight we came here to party. We are going to dance, to sweat....here what happens to you remains to be seen....welcome to the Shrine."– (from "Fela!)The week before lastDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-3011282176341077102010-03-21T21:41:00.000-07:002010-04-05T13:33:46.496-07:00Performance artist Marina Abramovic (on the left) at MOMA on March 28thThe .001 Solution"In every ancient culture there are rituals to mortify the body as a way of understanding that the energy of the soul is indestructible. – MarinaAbramović, performance artistEach year sometime around the middle to late March, cyclists gather en masse at the base of Fargo Street. The street, which rises up intoDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-40493185253357874502010-03-21T20:53:00.000-07:002010-03-21T21:41:46.056-07:00Health Care Reformor Ashes, Ashes, Republicans All Fall DownSo much for gridlock in Washington, D.C. President Obama and the Democrats forged ahead with what they were elected to do: bring change. Like what they have brought or not, change has come. When passage of health care reform seemed to be tottering on the brink of failure (with the election of a Republican in Ted Kennedy's seat in the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-57656656830471458492010-03-15T12:20:00.000-07:002011-01-04T18:29:34.894-08:00The Solvang CenturyWell over two decades ago, a good friend talked my brother and me into riding the Solvang Century bike ride. It took several years of talking, because my brother and I swore off 100 mile rides after our first. We were totally unprepared both mentally and physically for that ride, which we must have made sometime in the late 1970s. I'm glad Greg – the long-time manager of the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-10393862342239250952010-03-08T11:46:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:18:05.673-08:00When 45 Miles = A CenturyTech note: Camera - Panasonic Lumix TZ5Full-size images: click on the photosIn less than a week, I'm going to try to cycle 100 miles in a day, on the annual Solvang Century bike ride. I'm not sure why I'm going to torture myself that way; it's probably because I enjoy the pageantry, with the sight of so many physically fit people all wearing their colorful cycling Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-53280801778225703402010-03-08T09:45:00.000-08:002010-03-08T10:52:34.111-08:00"Let’s Make Evolution Happen on Mars."Occasionally I'll peruse other blogs. Recently, on one of these blogs I found a list of "problems" with "Atheism." I'm at a loss to know whether or not the writer (who is not the author of the blog) is serious, or has tried create a spoof; this is just one of his several comments. Either way, much of this one is a hoot: From Justin: "I have many and I mean Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-6242102487219615252010-02-24T12:03:00.001-08:002010-02-24T12:21:31.427-08:00Yosemite's Fire FallYosemite was and continues to be forged by fire and ice. First came the fire: magma, bubbling up from the interior of the earth, cooled to become granite, and rose to form the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Then came the ice, great rivers of ice – glaciers – flowed down out of the high country, to carve out incomparable Yosemite Valley.At the end of each day, in the latter half of Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-12389838853240676222010-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:002010-02-06T00:59:42.214-08:00The Unintended Consequences of FreedomWhen I was 14, my Uncle Sid, who made a career out of owning hotels in Las Vegas, gave my brother and me a road bike each. These were magnificent gifts. Until then, I'd been confined much of the time to our ridge-top neighborhood in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles. My new bike set me free.Our house sat on a dead-end street, a few miles above UCLA, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-19980249439030932742010-02-02T14:30:00.000-08:002010-02-06T01:01:15.267-08:00Seeing StarsLast Sunday, my throat a little scratchy in the initially cool morning, I headed over to "the corner," traditional meeting place of the Los Angeles Wheelmen, for the Sunday ride. Marty, our ride leader, handed out the route slips; I saw we'd be heading into the Santa Monica Mountains to explore a little-known park, an historic highway, and a well-known landmark. It was another typicalDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-79892747343977301962010-02-01T17:48:00.000-08:002010-02-01T22:08:07.876-08:00The Chico Wildflower CenturyMy last post mentioned my Wildflower Century Jersey. Here's a look at what a 100 mile ride is like. I made the ride last April, and plan to again this year.Note: Full-size images? Click on any of the photographs, above.Camera: Panasonic Lumix TZ5Below: After driving to Chico (about 90 miles north of Sacramento, California) the day before, we prepared the morning of theDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-31976790212967113772010-01-25T23:38:00.000-08:002010-01-26T14:20:25.917-08:00Taking Our TemperatureSunday, January 24, 2010. New York City: cloudy skies, temperatures in the low 30's F. London: 40. Moscow, Russia: 3.Los Angeles, California: after several days of rain, the temperatures would reach into the 60s. And as I began a ride with the Los Angeles Wheelmen, in yet another jersey, I would wonder about the temperature of the reception we would receive - warm or frigid Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-36645865737120257022010-01-13T12:58:00.000-08:002010-01-23T11:43:16.327-08:00The World of Make BelieveA cold has kept me in a horizontal position for a few days. What happened in Haiti put a damper on my blogging. And four days of rain have kept me off my bike, even though I'm in the midst of my epic "20 Jerseys - 20 Rides" tour. It's time to write about the tour again.If you've read my blog, you might know that I enjoy riding up to the Hollywood Sign, that nexus of myth Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-20897677987124911062010-01-11T21:44:00.000-08:002010-01-13T09:41:21.748-08:00The Half CenturyPlus 48 YearsSunday arrived bright and early. I willed myself out of bed. After oatmeal and fruit and coffee, I passed on reading the Sunday paper, and I said goodbye to my wife. Then I rode a few blocks to what I thought would be the start of the usual informal Los Angeles Wheelmen ride.I'm in the middle of wearing 20 jerseys in 20 days, and this was my seventh jersey on my Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-86775865437878420292010-01-09T11:50:00.000-08:002010-01-24T15:08:34.650-08:00To Downtown L.A. and BackI am continuing my campaign of a jersey-a-day rides. Although there was no cycling team when I was a student at that prestigious Northern California institution, Chico State, for Friday I wore the college's team jersey, which I purchased five or six years ago.On my previous day's ride, I pedaled west along Pico Blvd. Yesterday, I cycled from my home in mid-town Los Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-88056300380883449412010-01-08T09:29:00.000-08:002010-01-08T13:48:48.173-08:00West to the SeaFor my day six jersey-fest, I decided to wear my Holstein Century jersey, which I picked up in 2008. The jersey celebrates a yearly ride that explores the decidedly rural back roads of Marin and Sonoma counties, taking cyclists past beautiful Tomales Bay. The jersey also serves as a map of the area. (I plan to return in 2010 to Tomales Bay and environs to conduct a photography tourDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-2202665813783872592010-01-06T20:06:00.000-08:002010-01-07T01:05:47.406-08:00The Republic of AnaerobiaTwenty Days, Twenty Jerseys, ContinuedOn a long ride into the mountains some years ago, I met a man who wore the team jersey from the mythical Republic of Anaerobia, the state motto of which is "Veni, Vedi, Vomiti." What a great jersey for a tough ride!As the website where the jersey can be purchased puts its: "Adherents to the Anaerobian Way are scattered far and wide ..Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-55514367142521770752010-01-05T19:53:00.000-08:002010-01-06T13:51:44.319-08:00The Fourth JerseyI'm in the midst of wearing each of my 20 jerseys on 20 bike rides. I'm trying to assuage the guilt I have both for my jersey gluttony and for allowing some of jerseys to languish in a dark closet. I'm also trying to decide if I can let go of some of these jerseys, even though each of them represents parts of my personal history.Above is my Cannondale jersey, which I purchased Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-53047692515931263512010-01-04T20:15:00.000-08:002010-01-05T14:30:01.865-08:00The Climb to Kaiser JerseyBack in 2001, I didn't want to wear the Climb to Kaiser jersey until I had given all I could to finish the ride, until I had strained against gravity, felt my pulse pound, and the sweat pour off my forehead.And what is the Climb to Kaiser? It's a one day bike ride sponsored by the Fresno Bike Club that begins and ends in the heart and the heat of the Central Valley of Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-80912835371190450962010-01-03T00:24:00.000-08:002010-01-03T18:06:14.016-08:00The Colonel Allensworth JerseyAnother beautiful day in the City of Angeles on Saturday: the thermometer pushing toward 80 by mid-afternoon, a blue sky, and visibility out to forever. While my daughters spent the late morning and early together, my wife and I took Rebecca's boyfriend, Lee, who has been visiting us with our daughter from New York, on a hike to the Hollywood sign. Although we can Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-80554758674054367942010-01-01T20:42:00.000-08:002010-01-07T09:41:09.468-08:00Twenty Jerseys - Twenty DaysA New Year's ResolutionAs 2010 begins I feel blessed, and not just with material possessions. So many people, though, have so little in this world, so little food, such little safety, and just a few possessions. They look forward in this new year to a grim future, if a future at all, and the view is the same far, far down the road for them. (On the other hand, that's Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-56293642759727119382009-12-29T09:58:00.000-08:002009-12-29T23:57:27.292-08:00Forty Minutes into the Death RideYesterday, by late morning, I was on a high. I had completed my second day of training for a sponsored bike ride later this year, known affectionately as the "Death Ride." The event allows some 3,000 cyclists to enjoy both the camaraderie and the torture of riding 130 miles and climbing 15,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California.Having signedDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-27108923531882565182009-12-13T16:30:00.000-08:002009-12-29T18:11:12.160-08:00More Photographs from my Journey to the North CountryDisk machine on the Pieper RanchMy visit to Chico included a drive up into the Feather River Canyon, where the scenery appeared, on this wet day, like a dreamscape.Culvert diverting water under the Pulga RoadPulga CreekThe View across the Feather River CanyonAs usual, click on photos for larger views.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-50037666241595783282009-12-13T14:52:00.000-08:002009-12-13T16:54:36.585-08:00The PiepersA long time ago, I was a student at Chico State University, in Northern California. One of my friends was Ernie Pieper. His home was near the town of Willows, on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, and on occasion I visited him there, where I met his parents, whom I liked. (I also liked Ernie's sister, whom I dated a couple of times.)Both are still around, and in the meantime, Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-45429951319856642652009-12-13T00:56:00.001-08:002009-12-13T09:09:33.543-08:00River of TearsRain fell over the Sacramento River, in northern half of the state, as I made my way home from a quick visit to my college town, Chico, California. As my spiritual lodestone, the place I consider my heart's true home, Chico is my Paradise Lost, my nostalgic past and my occasional present, the place where my inner compass will always point.This visit to Chico was spent with friends Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-76480846248093915462009-11-25T09:40:00.000-08:002009-11-25T10:56:57.715-08:00My Photography ToursThe list of photography ours I'll conduct in 2010 is up here, including trips to Route 66, the San Francisco Bay Area, Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Southwest.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-60859470807094719652009-11-21T09:41:00.000-08:002009-11-23T16:40:30.401-08:00The Sacred CirclePhotographs from my trip to the Indian Country in the southwest in early November – to Acoma Pueblo, Canyon De Chelly, Mesa Verde, and Chaco Canyon – are now up. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557193.post-51551333864015403032009-11-21T09:25:00.000-08:002009-11-23T16:41:24.464-08:00In the Canyon Lands of the SouthwestMy photography galley with images from the second of my recent southwest trips in November – Monument Valley, Arches National Park, cowboys and Indians, ancient ruins, and dreamscapes – is online.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637555419320105824noreply@blogger.com0