Thursday, March 23, 2006

Going back to California

After a twenty year absence I'm finally returning to California. I'm moving to the South San Francisco Bay Area next week to work on computer hardware virtualization software. I intend to hit the ground running -- or cycling, rather, riding the bike on my first day of work.

Audrey Lemieux ripping it up at Mardi Lachine Cyclist. Photo by Justin Knotzke.
I've never biked in the Bay Area: Is a fixed gear bicycle around Palo Alto and Menlo Park a reasonable choice, or should I bring a geared freewheeling bicycle with me for my first week of work?

I imagine I'll be very busy over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a collection of bicycle blog entries from elsewhere.

Beijing bicycle barber

Jing Qui is 91 years old. He bikes to make haircutting house calls. Read more. Via.

Will you make the leap?

I don't know, because the website refuses to display any content on my Firefox browser in spite of the presence of Flash. "Will You Make the Leap" is being promoted in a two-page spread in Velonews. (Read the comments at Kool-Aid -- there's great discussion there about this ad campaign). Some smart cookies did a reverse IP lookup and figured out the site is owned by SRAM, prompting speculation that SRAM will release its much anticipated "Force" road group on April 7. See photos of SRAM Force at Velonews.

But he's such a nice guy

I know Tyler Hamilton's a really nice guy, and I'm not going to make any friends by saying this, but I'm pretty much in agreement with Nathan here who runs into Tyler on occasion in Boulder.
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12 comments:

  1. James T.March 23, 2006 at 2:22 PM

    Congrats on the new job Fritz. I hope you have a smooth transition with the move. San Francisco is a great town. It will be interesting to see how the new location affects the content on Cyclelicious (if at all).

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  2. Pete LaVerghettaMarch 23, 2006 at 2:33 PM

    Best of luck in the new job and location. Hope all goes well. Great cycling culture there.

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  3. Donna TocciMarch 23, 2006 at 2:36 PM

    Congrats on the new job!!!! Wooo-hoooo! I wish you all the best in your new adventure.

    Thanks for mention re: the little red frog post over on the Krew's site.

    Personally, I liked Tyler's wife's comment over on Nathan's post. Check it out. Might not change your mind, but nice to see she's in the conversation.

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  4. Tim JacksonMarch 23, 2006 at 3:34 PM

    WOW! Great news friend. That is really awesome. Menlo Park and Palo Alto are two of my favorites places. Cafe Barone (if it still exists) is a fantastic coffee shop in Menlo. You can fix there pretty easily. That area is predominatly flat. Take a flip-flop rear just in case...

    Great news!

    Oh yeah, like Donna said- thanks for mentioning the Leaping Frog post...

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  5. brandonMarch 23, 2006 at 11:41 PM

    I'd agree with Masi Guy. It's quite flat in that area unless you ride up into the surrounding hills near the 280. I've ridden my fixie from SF to the area without any hitches. You should be fine with a fixie unless you plan to hit the hills.

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  6. Biking BisMarch 24, 2006 at 8:44 AM

    Hills and flats. It's the best of both worlds. Looking for cycling routes? I'm sure Chico Gino can help. According to his blog (www.chicogino.blogspot.com), he spends quite a bit of time cycling in Santa Clara.
    Good luck!

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  7. pswansenMarch 24, 2006 at 9:57 AM

    Moving's a pain. Hope it goes well. We'll look for posts from your new digs.

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  8. kwcMarch 24, 2006 at 1:14 PM

    tim: Cafe Borrone is still there and is still my favorite, albeit most expensive, sandwich/coffee shop. Kepler's next door very nearly bit the dust by has risen back up again.

    and yeah, it's flat, but there are some great hills closeby if you point your bike west.

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  9. Tim JacksonMarch 24, 2006 at 2:26 PM

    KXC- is the BBC still threre too? Good beer there...

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  10. kwcMarch 24, 2006 at 2:35 PM

    yup, BBC is still there

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  11. JillMarch 25, 2006 at 4:55 PM

    Congratulations! The Bay area is beautiful.

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  12. Tom Stormcrowe and CrazyladyMarch 25, 2006 at 11:21 PM

    Fritz, enjoy your time in "Baghdad by the Bay"!

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