Fairfax, the Petalon and Three Wheels

Nothing much really to report on the food scene. I made a very nice polenta, tomato sauce and mozzarella casserole the other night. No big deal, but good and lots of leftovers.

But more on the cycling front.
What cyclist doesn't want to be out there, pretending to be Levi or George... riding like the wind down the middle of a road, leading the Pelaton? Well, me for one. I'm happy stoking the tandem, making good time, but riding politely and safely.

Maybe it's from all of my AIDS Lifecycle training. Jerry and I stop at stop signs and red lights. We signal; we call out "on your left," and if there is a car coming and someone shouts out "Car Back," we get out of the road.

Yesterday we rode out to Fairfax, which involves climbing Camino Alto and riding down Shady Lane, home of 1,000 stop signs. First, while riding over Camino Alto, we were passed my a passel of FKV-- Full Kit Vermin, as we like to call them. A bunch of guys and gals all kitted out, riding like they were in the aforementioned Tour de France. Three across and really not giving a hoot about anything else. They passed us closely without letting us know they were coming. And they rode down the middle of the road. When I heard a car coming I shouted out "Car back," to let them know. Most of the cyclists heeded the call and moved over. One guy, though, figured he needed to take the lane. After all, he was going at least 7mph up the hill. Or maybe 8. Who knows. But he wasn't giving an inch.

Why do I care so much? Because it makes it bad for the rest of us. I was so hoping there was a patrol car on Shady Lane yesterday to catch these cyclists running stop signs. Cars almost seem shocked when Jerry and I stop. But we are a vehicle on the road. And we want to be able to keep riding on the road. And we want more bike lanes. And we want to be treated respectfully.

Sometimes I feel I'm the Andy Rooney of cycling. First it was helmets; now it's road etiquette. What will I complain about next?

But instead of complaining, I want to talk about my new toy. As most of my friends know, I crashed on my single a couple of years back, and I've been really afraid to ride, except the back of the tandem. So last weekend, Jerry and I went and looked at a used TerraTrike-- a tadpole recumbent. It fit me fine and I liked riding it. So Jerry went to the bank to get money and I went home to get a helmet. Fortunately, the guy selling it was less than a mile from home, so I rode it home. It was fun, and it definitely will give my quads a good workout.

I bought a lock and a cyclometer, so look out San Rafael Trader Joe's, here I come!