Shocking Rides

I joined the Green Party of Sacramento last April on Earth Day. Main reason is because I was disappointed with Obama not being outspoken enough about climate change. I have always wanted to make a difference somehow. Yes, I go to the GP meetings and yes, I have already made a prototype site for the group but that was not enough. I really wanted to make a tangible difference. I remember a while back passing by a store that sold electric bikes on Blue Ravine near Folsom Blvd. But the store vanished and a massage parlor opened up in its place. The store was called Shocking Rides. I was curious to know what happened to it and looked it up on the internet. I found the site and it looked like it could really use some tlc. The address of the store had changed to some place in El Dorado Hills which was a few miles up the road.

Right around the same time, I was in the middle of learning ModX Revolution 2.0, yet another CMS that was radically different than the other flavors I was used to using such as Drupal and Wordpress. The main feature of this system was its flexibility which attracted me. So I thought to myself, "why not redo this site in ModX?" The thought intrigued me. I could learn a new CMS and help revive a company that sold a product line that meshed with my values. I could then show the site to the owner and if he liked it, he could pay me or if not, I could just add it to my portfolio.

I was surprised at how easy it was to create a site using ModX. In fact, the template I used was the one in the beginners tutorial. I had the site up with just a few tweaks in less than 3 days. The next step was to meet the owner, Jon Jacobson. My plan was to visit him at his store and surprise him with the new site. I looked up the El Dorado Hills address. This was no short bike ride. It was 12 miles all uphill from Gold River up through Folsom to Blue Ravine and then all the way up Blue Ravine until it turns into Green Valley Road. This was an area that I had only traveled to maybe twice in my life so I was not too familiar with the location or the terrain. I headed out the door at 9 AM since his site said that the store hours was from 10-2 Monday through Thursday. I knew based on the hours that this was probably a business in contraction.

I made it as far as the light rail station on Folsom and Iron Point. As soon as I crossed the street, however, bad luck struck as the front tire suddenly went flat. Not a good place for this to happen since there are no bike stores around and a walk back to Gold River would take over an hour. I just stood there on the corner contemplating my predicament. I didn't want to give up because I had already ridden a decent distance. I thought and thought and suddenly remembered that there is a bike store in Folsom. I had stopped there a while back and now that store was going to be my savior. Fortunately the light rail stopped just a few feet away from the store and I was right in front of a light rail station. I quickly purchased a ticket and a train picked me up and whisked me to downtown Folsom in less than 5 minutes. I arrived just as the store, Bicycles Plus was opening for the day. The clock had just struck 10 and I knew that my adventure had just begun.

After getting the tire fixed, I headed up Riley Street and back over to Blue Ravine. I had a near collision with more than one huge SUV driven by a soccer mom who was yacking on the phone and not paying attention. I used to get pissed off by these encounters but they happen so frequently, that I have resigned myself to expecting it to happen. My goal was to hurry up and get the hell off of the street and onto a bike trail. There is a nice bike trail that runs along Blue Ravine and I picked it up at East Bidwell. Suddenly, the scenery became pleasant and quiet. I was enjoying myself until the trail came to an abrupt end. An old man was there preparing to start a ride and mentioned that it was dirt from that point on. Oh well. I got off and walked the bike back to Blue Ravine. Being the chicken that I am when it comes to cars, I simply rode on the sidewalk and that was nice too until that ended as well. Now I had to get on Blue Ravine and the cars were doing at least 50 MPH. The hill became steeper and I had to pump harder. I made it over a hump and looked down on a valley of houses and strip malls. My destination was way on the other side of the valley. I pedaled through the valley and then had to huff and puff going up another set of hills. Finally, I saw a sign that pointed to a street called Hidden Acres which was the street name of the address I was looking for. I was expecting a unit in an industrial park but the only commercial building was a self-storage company. I wheeled myself over to the front office and walked inside. It was nice and cool and there was a a drinking fountain. I slurped down 4-5 cold cups of water and immediately felt much better. "Can I help you?", the attendant had just put down the phone after complaining with someone about not having a credit card machine. I glanced over at the front door and saw a sign that read, "Locks changed in accordance with court order." I asked the guy if he knew the tenant in C40 and he said he wasn't allowed to reveal any information. I then told him that it was supposed to be a store selling electric bikes. He looked up on his computer and found out that the tenant had vacated a few months ago.

Son of a bitch. All this riding 12 miles and one flat tire just to find out that he was out of business? And not to mention all the time spent creating a site? Was I being foolish? Yes, yes and yes. I gulped down some more water and headed out the door to start my journey back. The ride back was much easier - all downhill so travel time was cut in almost half.

I arrived home around 12:30 - a 3 1/2 hour ride. Determined to pursue this to the end, I called the number and left a message. About 30 minutes later, the phone rang and it was Jon. I introduced myself and explained that I wanted to help him and he could pay what he wanted. There was a lot of silence on the other end, probably due to his surprise at something like this coming out of the blue. I gave him the site address and invited him to call me back with his feedback. He admitted that the site needed a lot of work and agreed to take a look at it. So we will see if he is interested.

Collecting Signatures for Ami Bera

I was involved with the Ami Bera for Congress campaign a couple of years ago when he ran against Dan Lungren. Unfortunately, he lost but he didn't lose by much and since the 3rd congressional district was redrawn, it is now about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. I figured heck, why not help the guy out a second time. Can't hurt and it might be a good experience knocking on doors.

I left the house at around 8:45 AM. The meeting time was 10 AM at 5750 Grant Ave, Carmichael, CA. In other words, Carmichael Park. I really had 2 routes to choose from. Either go up Banister and then east on the north side of the river or follow the bike trail and cross over at William Pond Recreation area. I really didn't want to deal with exhaust pipes so I decided on the southern route. Actually, that route, although more scenic, is longer. And yes, I did have to put up with a few "on your left" call outs from the pro riders but it wasn't altogether that bad. The really unpleasant leg of the trip was having to ride up Fair Oaks Blvd heading east and north to Manzanita. There is practically no room for bicycles and cars zoom by at close to 50 mph.

After huffing and puffing for about an hour, I arrived at the park. A table was setup in the middle of the park behind the library with Ami Bera's name prominently displayed. I was apparently the second to arrive. The first was an older man who probably had Parkinsons because his whole body trembled as he spoke. About 6 others arrived after me and then the orientation started.

Zach was the representative from the campaign headquarters and he was in charge of giving us the orientation and handing out the clipboards with all the signature sheets, list of names and addresses and a couple of google maps. The task was pretty simple. Knock on doors and ask if they would sign a petition to get Ami Bera's name on the June 5th primary ballot.  There was also a list of codes to check off depending on the outcome, i.e. not home, refused, deceased, etc.

Zach handed me a clipboard with about 80 names and addresses clustered in a neighborhood about 5 minutes away. I thanked him, shoved the clipboard into my backpack and hopped on my bike for the quick ride over. I have to admit, this project was well thought out. Two google maps with all the addresses listed in numerical ascending order, a sample script and the petitions themselves.

I have never done this kind of work before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Looking at the names, I could see a definite pattern. This was an older crowd. Average age was probably around 55. Most weren't home or were home but decided to hide from the stranger knocking on their door. No way to know for sure. This was an older, established neighborhood. Many of the houses were at least 40 years old and looked worn out, as did quite a few of the people I met as well. For the most part they were friendly. A few seemed suspicious when I called out their name. Most of those that agreed to sign were more than happy to see Dan Lungren retired. The common refrain I heard was that he has been in there too long and it is time for him to go.

It took me almost 4 hours to go through all the names and when I was done, I was ready to eat a horse. Okay, not quite a horse but my stomach was growling loudly. There are some restaurants on Fair Oaks Blvd but nothing that really caught my eye and I could feel a Mexican urge coming on strong.

I decided to hold on a bit longer and try out Gina's Taqueria on Folsom Blvd in Rancho Cordova. That was at least a 1/2 hour ride but I was determined to eat there since I had passed by there a few times over the past couple of years.

From what I have read about this place, it is a little unique since one of the owners is from Mexico and the other is from El Salvador. The place was pretty empty but I expected that to be the case since I arrived there at around 2:30 PM. A young man about 18 or 19 took my order from the counter. I wanted to order a pupusa because a few Yelpers had given it high recommendations. Unfortunately, they were out. Crap. I looked at the menu again and decided for the next exotic sounding item which was a Salvadorenean  Tamal. I had no idea what that was but the description seemed tasty. I added a chicken torta and a jamaica to the order and figured that should fill me up for at least the next 6 hours, if not more. Total cost was around $11.00 for the whole meal.

I sat down with a Spanish newspaper and waited. The wait was a little long considering I was the only one ordering but I am not one to complain. As my eyes wandered around the room, I saw the friendly waitress I had met earlier carrying a large tub of fresh tortillas to the salsa bar. Oh yes, fresh tortilla chips.

I loaded up a basket with a pile of tortilla chips and scooped out some salsa into a plastic cup. By the time I arrived back at my table, I had completely forgotten about the long wait and was focused on fresh tortillas dipped in salsa.

Finally the waitress brought out the torta followed by the tamal. The torta was humongous. It was stuffed at least 2 inches high with a thick layer of chicken, lettuce, tomato and perhaps a dollop of bean paste somewhere hidden inside. The waitress also left a bowl of what looked like apple sauce but a little darker and a bowl of sliced cabbage. "Was that for the tamal or the torta?", I thought to myself. I looked at the torta. It looked pretty complete the way it was. The tamal, however was a round saucer shaped fried 3d tortilla that looked like it could use something on top. I tested some of the apple sauce. Hmm, this was interesting. It was definitely apple sauce but with a tinge of chili. The cabbage was really sour. It was drenched in vinegar. I spread some of the apple paste on the tamal and dug in. I could see and taste how well the two complemented each other. The cabbage, however, was just too sour to complement anything. A few bites later and the tamal was gone.

The torta and I looked at each other. Could I finish this monster? It was worth a try. I peeled back some foil and opened my mouth as wide as it could go without unhinging my jaw and took a bite. The chicken was grilled well, no fat or grease that I could detect and the lettuce and tomato happily joined in the celebration. Just for kicks I spread a little of the apple sauce on. Not too bad but still not as good as spoonful of salsa before each bite.

I gorged and gorged some more while listening to some banda musica on the tv overhead. When I finished, I could swear I felt at least a few pounds heavier. So all in all, this was a good choice.

Lollicup is Out of Business

I don't usually go out of my way to enjoy a Boba tea but if I happen to be nearby, I have been known to stop in for a drink. Just the act of poking a fat straw through the sealed plastic rim of a freshly made tapioca or milk tea drink is fun.

Yesterday I paid a visit to the Radio Shack across from Target and decided to stop by for a milk tea. But alas, the sign said closed even though it was only around 5:30 PM. I peeked inside and sure enough, the store had been cleaned out. That really pissed me off because there is nothing else like it in Rancho Cordova. I suppose I could have gotten a cold Starbucks mocha from the refrigerated section of Grocery Outlet next door but it isn't the same.

Riding around on a hot day

Next stop was the library to drop off some books and movies that pumpkin was supposed to read and watch.  Riding to the Fair Oaks library is a lot different than going to the Rancho Cordova library. There is Bridge St which is a little steep and of course the chickens. Every time I ride through this area, I am always on the lookout for a wandering group of chickens. Usually I can hear at least one cockle-doodle-do on the north side of the Fair Oaks Bridge.

Speaking of the bridge, it is bikes and pedestrians only and the view of the river and sunset in the evening is enchanting. I stopped briefly to take a picture of the American River below. Isn't that cool? You would never guess that I am in the middle of a large metropolitan area, just minutes from my house.

I started paying Steve Rodriguez, the handyman via Chase's quick pay feature which allows a customer to send a payment via email - kind of like Paypal. Anyways,  because the amount was large, it sent up red flags in Chase's Money Movement Dept. I got a call from Chase asking me to verify some personal info. Well, for some reason, their computer wouldn't take my atm pin so the service representative first asked me if I knew a banker at Chase? What, are you kidding? I avoid going into banks as much as possible. My transactions take place strictly with the atm. The woman insisted that I go into the branch and solve the issue there.
Okay fine. Might as well take care of a few other things as well as long as I am going to be out and about. The weather was hot but that was just too bad. I downed a few large glasses of water and hopped on my bike for the 5 minute ride to the Chase bank on Gold River Express and Sunrise Blvd. I really don't like that branch because the only way to get to it is through a parking lot. Yep, another car-centric strip mall with no bike racks of course. I parked my bike next to the Zinfandel Grille and headed over to the bank.
One thing good about going inside was the temperature was about 30 degrees cooler than outside. Oooh, yea. I plunked my sweaty self down in the waiting area and started looking aimlessly around while I waited. A teenage girl and her younger brother were sitting off to my left. The girl had ear buds on and was texting furiously as her brother watched. Her fingers moved so quickly, I thought they were going to dance right off the phone.
After a short wait, a service representative came over. "Can I help you?" "I sure hope so", I answered. After a lengthy phone call with the bowel movement, oops I meant money movement department, the problem was solved, at least until the next time the flags go up.

After huffing up Bridge Street, I made it to the library. By the time I arrived, I was a sweaty mess. The drinking fountain just inside the entrance was cold and refreshing, though. I gulped down vast quantities of water.

Last stop was Dollar Tree on Madison and Hazel. I happen to like this one because their shelves are almost always full. I locked my bike and went in.  Some kids were running around the store. I guess it was better than running outside in 96 degree heat. I found everything I wanted and then some. As I meandered back to the front holding my green basket, I heard a woman call to one of the kids running around in a thickly accented stern voice. "No Alberto. You deednt leesten to me and now you gonna pay." I looked up and saw a fat Hispanic woman holding an equally fat boy by the shirt. The boy had a terrified look on his face even though he could have been 10 or 11.  With a fat, pudgy hand, the woman smacked the boy on the butt.  Ouch, that must have hurt because the boy screamed in pain.  With the boy crying and sobbing, the fat woman dragged him to the front of the store.  "Nos vamos afuera. Vamonos Alberto..."
I exited the store with a large bottle of purple Gatorade G2 in hand ready to inhale before the harrowing journey down Hazel. Who cares if it wasn't cold. I certainly wasn't complaining.  After downing the sports drink, I unlocked my bike and got ready to hop on. "Excuse me, Mister." I whirled around to see a young boy walking up to me. "Do you know where a bike shop is?" The father was right behind him. "Oh, the only one I know is Bob's Cycles." I answered. The father smiled and said, "You were the only one with a bike." Yes, the only one foolish enough to ride around in this heat.

My little good deed for the day done, it was time to head down the road from hell.  This is the same street where a pebble bounced up and cracked the windshield of our Toyota Corolla only days after we bought it.  Yes, the city is in the process of widening the road through its powers of eminent domain but that wasn't going to help me now. I coasted as slowly and carefully as I could, watching for ditches on the right and speeding cars and trucks only inches away on my left. Last time I checked, the bridge widening project was almost complete and that was going to be my reward.

Finally I got home and splashed gallons of cold water on my face. Journey complete.

Return Comcast Cable Box

Since we can watch lots of stuff directly from the computer, we decided to end the Chinese package with expanded cable. This meant I had to return the cable box to the Comcast store on Truxel across from the Walmart in North Natomas. Total distance is approximately 24 miles. The weather was cooperating. In fact it was slightly nippy. Fall has finally arrived in Sacramento after a brief Indian summer last week. I left at about 10 minutes to 10 in the morning after taking Fluffy for a short walk. I don’t like to stop and the reason is that my muscles start to stiffen up. So I simply slow down for some Gatorade every once in a while which worked out fine. I arrived at the shopping center about 12 noon and before I parked my bike, I checked to see if the Indian fast food place was still there since it tasted so good last time. I was dismayed to find the space empty with a for lease sign. Jeez, that was only about 1.5 months ago that I ate there. Oh well. I locked my bike and opened the door to the Comcast store. It was crowded with a long line of people returning equipment and paying their bills. I had to wait about 1/2 hour but fortunately there was a big screen TV to pass the time. Business completed, it was time to choose a place to eat. I went over to unlock my bike and suddenly heard, "Hey, you in the shades, what time is it?" A well-dressed homeless man had looked up from reading some type of textbook and I told him, "It is 12:23. " He smiled and then said, "Bless you man, bless you." I just nodded. I could have said bless you too, but I am not a blessing you this or that type of person.
Okay back to the issue at hand. Food. Del Taco was out of the question and so was Arby’s. Their sandwiches are loaded with way too much salt. How about that Gordita’s Burrito on Truxel and El Camino? Yes, I remember that place. It was a decent place with good, clean food. I arrived at the corner and looked for the restaurant sign. It was gone but it did say Taqueria Mezcal. Okay, that’s close enough. I parked in front of La Bou next door, walked in and ordered a chicken burrito and a small drink. That burrito tasted so good. What a difference from that crap I ate at El Forastero. It was large and had beans, fresh chicken and I think some rice as well. I have come not to expect lettuce and tomato in burritos. But they did have salsa and it was fresh and appetizing, especially the green salsa. I piled green and red salsa onto my burrito and wolfed it down while dripping salsa and sauce on my plate. I was enjoying myself so much, I forgot about the time. Oh, shit! I had to be back in Gold River by 3 PM to pick up Pumpkin and it was already after 1. Travel time on the bike trail is usually never less than 1.5 hours and that was going downhill. Going back is all uphill. I had to get going. I jumped on my bike and headed back as fast as my sleepy legs would crank those pedals. My legs were sore and the burrito was weighing me down. No wonder sports experts do not recommend eating big meals before working out. I am sure there was a battle going on inside me to see where the blood would go - to my stomach or to my legs. I tried to put the pain and soreness out of my mind and focused on getting a rhythm. I am always amazed at how fast other cyclists ride on that path. I was pumping hard and I was probably averaging 12 mph which was not too shabby considering I had already traveled over 25 miles. But they were passing me by like I was standing still and no one looked like they were exerting much effort either. I didn’t want to look at the time on my cellphone and just pushed as hard as I could. I didn’t want Pumpkin standing outside waiting for me. Finally, I arrived on Roaring Camp Drive just as the school bell rang in the distance. Wow, what timing! I just made it. I parked my bike under a tree where I usually meet her and 2 minutes later saw her dragging her backpack on the sidewalk. That was close!Total adventure time - 5 hours. Distance traveled - 48 miles.

Jury Duty

About every 2 years, I get a jury summons. The last one back in 2008 involved an alleged dui. In that case, I voted to acquit due to lack of evidence. That service took about a week and a half. Resigned to the possibility of another week or more of service, I was prepared for the 50 mile round trip bike ride. Frankly, I really don’t care if I hear "On your left" or have to put up with a caravan of 20 cyclists whizzing by me in lycra shorts and Italian t-shirts. Today was my day. I allocated the entire day to this event since I had no idea if I was going to need to serve or not. The only instructions were to arrive in front of the Superior Court at 11:30 AM and then call an 800 number for further instructions.

The normal travel time from Gold River to downtown Sacramento via bike is usually around 2 hours give or take 10 minutes. I left at around 7:45 AM just to be safe. Weather was good, light wind, cool temperature and the trail was empty of bikes. Notice I said bikes. There are plenty of joggers out at that time. By the time I passed Hagan Park, there were more cyclists crowding the trail. I always wonder how they have time to zip up and down the trails during work hours since they are clearly not dressed for work or carry any changes of clothing, unless of course they keep a change of clothes at work. I would say about 95% of the people I see on the trail are there to exercise whereas I am on the trail to go someplace and happen to be exercising in the process.Anyways, I made it to the railroad trestle near downtown by 10 AM. That gave me plenty of time since the travel time from the trestle to my destination was not more than15 minutes.

I decided to detour to the 99 cent store to stock up on drinks. I had long ago emptied my water bottle and the thought of downing a big bottle of Gatorade excited me. Yes, this is the same 99 cent store mentioned in a previous blog entry. Corner of El Camino Ave and Northgate Blvd in South Natomas. Going there always brings back fond memories of working at LEED and the Farm Bureau on Gateway Oaks Blvd. This 99 cent store is always well stocked and today was no exception. I headed straight for the drink aisle and picked up water, Gatorade, an energy drink and some Arizona tea. Outside, it was time to apply some more sunblock. After getting all slathered up, I hopped on my bike and headed back to the trail. I stopped at the trestle and eagerly sucked down the Gatorade. That tasted really good after riding 2 hours. Finally, I arrived at the courthouse at exactly 11:30 AM. Here was the moment of truth. I dialed the 800 number, followed the prompts and arrived at a robotic voice that said, "Group 531, your group is not needed at this time. Your service is completed."

Oh, okay. So no need to serve. I was basically done for the day. Now I just needed to return home. I had 2 other items on my agenda for that day. One was to exchange my old RT tickets for new ones and the other was to purchase another digital clock for my bedroom since Pumpkin took mine. First stop was the RT office on R street. I was surprised to see a long line of people waiting in line. Maybe it had something to do with being the first of the month. While waiting, I was forced to listen to a fat heifer gush about her grandchild to another woman and a man that would make strange gurgling noises about every 3 minutes. My turn certainly didn’t take very long. "Sorry, sir but none of those tickets are any good anymore." "None?," I asked. "None," she smiled. Oh well. That was about 15 minutes of wasted time.
I was pretty sure there was a Big Lots store somewhere on Folsom Blvd near Power Inn Road. I had a vague idea on how to make it over to Folsom Blvd from downtown. I knew it was somewhere off of Alhambra just east of the Cap City Freeway but as far as getting over there, I didn’t know which streets were the quietest route for bikes. Somehow I ended up heading east on Q street then north on 21st street. These are streets I do not normally bike on so I was not familiar with the traffic nor the terrain. This turned out to be a bad decision. I recognized the Chinese dim sum place I went to a long time ago but nothing else. Turns out that at each intersection there is an extra peninsula of sidewalk to allow walkers to avoid getting hit by cars. Okay, that’s nice. I am always supportive of walk friendly streets. But a sidewalk jutting out into the street is not bike friendly. I momentarily gazed up to look at a restaurant coming up on my right, imagining that I was wolfing down a giant burrito with green salsa and failed to see the curb. Bam! The bike lurched to the side and I fell immediately onto the pavement, eating some asphalt and scraping up my right knee in the process. Oh shit! My immediate thought was not my knee but whether my bike held out okay. This was crucial because there really was no other way home for me. I immediately got up and checked the bike. Seemed okay. "Hey, buddy. You okay?", a guy called out from a large SUV behind dark tinted windows. I waved at him and motioned that indeed, I was fine. Well, the truth was that I wasn’t all that fine. I’ve been in worse accidents but my knee stung pretty badly. I am sitting in the middle of a concrete jungle so there aren’t any bathrooms nearby and my next order of business was to find some way to wash off my knee. By the way, I was wearing shorts which from a certain perspective was actually a good thing since it made it easier to clean the wound. I continued riding, looking for a park, anyplace to wash but not thinking strategically about where I was riding. I was paying attention to the ground which was good but choosing the wrong streets to ride. I turned right on J street and found myself playing cat and mouse with cars. A small sedan passed within inches of my handlebar. One false move and I would have ended up in the ER.
Fortunately, I quickly detoured south on 26th street and was relieved to find myself in front of Sutter’s Fort. Okay, there has to be a bathroom here. There are plenty of fountains, a duck pond and a drinking fountain. Ah ha, a bathroom! I quickly went in and of course there was no soap in it because it is one of those public bathrooms that homeless use. I splashed water on the scrape and winced in pain. Did that help? Probably not.I was 25 miles from home with a scrapped knee. The weather was kind of hot and I was hungry. I finally found Folsom Blvd. This is the beginning of a road that goes all the way to the Folsom bridge about 30+ miles away. Here it is a narrow street. When it finally passes Power Inn Road it becomes a wide 4 lane boulevard. My decision was made, though. I was going to look for Big Lots, quickly grab a clock then find a place to eat nearby. That wasn’t going to pan out because Big Lots no longer existed on Folsom Blvd. Okay, forget about Big Lots, I thought to myself. My stomach was growling and I was going through an empty stretch of road. I continued on and found El Forastero, a taqueria just east of Watt Ave. I could have gone to La Bou which would have probably been a better experience but I still had a burrito floating around in my head. I ordered the California burrito which turned out to be a messy, greasy concoction without any lettuce, tomato or other green vege on it. I loaded it up with salsa to make it at least halfway decent. Still, it was a heavy dish that took a long time to finish, A group of nursing students, probably from one of those vocational colleges nearby came in after me and each one ordered a combination plate filled with beans, rice, nachos, cheese you name it. They were chattering up a storm and somehow chowing down in the process. I had made it halfway through my burrito and was surprised to see them busing their trays. One of them belched as she dropped her tray contents into the trash can. She was kind of attractive but when she belched, that thought was immediately erased and replaced with revulsion.

I wanted out of there and so I speeded up my meal. I got out and hopped on my bike. Only this time, I felt weighted down. That really was a mistake but too late now. I suddenly had a thought: What about buying the clock at Walmart? It was on the way, after all. That was going to be my final stop before going home. I was about 4 miles away. I fell into somewhat of a trance while riding. There was not much traffic so I just day dreamed. About a half hour later I arrived at the Rancho Cordova Walmart. I locked my bike up and sauntered in. An old lady in glasses called out, "Welcome to Walmart." I was a sweaty mess with a red knee that had now crusted over slightly but she must have seen worse because it didn’t phase her. Wow! What a difference. The store had gone through a complete makeover. There was a supermarket with a deli section. I almost didn’t recognize where I was. I had to wander around for a while. Finally, I located the clocks and grabbed an extra large digital one to put on my dresser in my bedroom. I had another thought: Don’t I need some pants? Most of my pants had already become gooby pants and it really was time. I found the jeans area and located a pair of $10 jeans. That was my price. Straight leg, relaxed fit. Even though I knew my size, I thought I should still try it on. I looked around and saw the dressing rooms. I pulled up my cart and took out the pair and said "just one pair" to a pregnant Russian looking woman with a name tag that said "Olga" sitting down in front of the only 2 rooms to change in. She motioned to the room on the right. The door was closed. I asked, "Is this available?" She nodded her head and continued talking with her coworker who was standing next to her. I turned the knob and pushed on the door. The door opened and I stood face to face with the ass of a large, naked woman who was bending over right in front of me. Oh shit! That was the last thing I expected to see and it was a revolting sight but I reacted quickly and shut the door without her knowing. Good thing too. I am sure that the store’s pleasant background music would have been rudely interrupted by a blood curdling scream that would have shaken even the most seasoned shopper and store clerk. "Excuse me, but that room is taken." I was clearly shaken up but Olga didn’t even bat an eyelash. She just rolled her eyes and motioned to the other room. I made it out and hurried home. "What an ordeal," I thought to myself as I flopped down on the couch.

Visit to Comcast in Natomas

This past Thursday I had to get a cable box from Comcast so we can watch Chinese programs when Cindy’s parents come in a couple of weeks. The closest Comcast office is located in North Natomas near the Walmart on Truxel Road. Travel time by car is about 40 minutes. Travel time by bike is about 2 hours. I gave up my car on 8/11/09 so that means bike, walk or crawl. Fortunately the bike trail goes all the way to Truxel . I had originally thought about going up Northgate but Northgate is bumpy and the road is narrow. Truxel is wider and more pleasant to ride on. I slung on my backpack to carry the cable box and gatorade in the bike bottle holder and off I went. Departure time was 10:07 AM, and not too hot. By the time I made it to Cal Expo, I was pretty thirsty and the gatorade was almost gone. Decided to make a pitstop at the 99 cent store on Northgate and El Camino. A couple that looked kind of trashy was arguing in front of the entrance. Now this area is traditionally quite Hispanic. There is a Pupusa place right next to the 99 cent store where I had a torta de pollo a few months back and that was about as greasy as it gets. I practically emptied an entire napkin holder eating it while a 2 year old boy watched me with interest. But that was then and I wasn’t in the mood for greasy. There was something different about the area but I hadn’t put my finger on it yet. I loaded up on some iced tea and an energy drink just in case and went back to my bike where I had tied my backpack up. I usually try and avoid taking my backpack into the store. I had left my sun block in the main pocket and when opened it up, the tube had apparently opened up somehow on the trip over and half a tube of sun block was plastered all over the inside. What a mess! I didn’t have any napkins this time so I figured I would clean it up after picking up the cable box. I looked around as I was unlocking the bike and noticed something there was something different about South Natomas that I hadn’t noticed before. Yes, it is an area that is kind of rough around the edges but there was definitely something going on. I glanced around and saw an Indian family parking their car right in front of me. I also heard some Indian music playing from a stereo not far away. This area that was once solidly Hispanic was becoming East Indian. My hunch was confirmed when I passed by a restaurant that was formerly a Taqueria and had now become a small Fijian market. Well, that’s interesting.

See, this is the type of info that you might miss driving in a car. But I hadn't missed anything. Just goes to show you that neighborhoods, like people are dynamic, living entities that are constantly changing. Okay, enough of the philosophy. Time to get a move on. I was now heading west down El Camino and then right on Truxel. Going over any freeway on a bike can be risky and the Truxel/I-80 interchange is no exception. The safe way is to ride opposite traffic on the sidewalk and then all the cars can see you when they turn. After making it over the freeway I passed Walmart and then continued a short distance on the other side. Destination address was 3890 Truxel Road. I passed by the address without realizing it and just as I was about to cross another small intersection, a woman driving a small Nissan Sentra cut me off as she turned in front of me. No signaling, no slowing down nothing. She missed me by about 1 foot. Fortunately, I saw her quickly enough to take evasive measures. This is why I avoid riding at all on the street. I really don’t care if it is illegal. I stopped off at a McDonalds to take a piss and hopped on my bike to backtrack a short distance. The Comcast store is tucked away in a small shopping mall.

Finally, after about 2 hours of riding, I had arrived at my destination. I went inside and a woman standing next to a terminal asked me if I was adding service or picking up equipment. I answered yes to both questions and she offered to assist. Okay, fine. She started entering some info and asked what I was ordering. I mentioned the Chinese CCTV-4 and Zhong-Tian package and that must have really thrown her for a loop. She went into the back and came out and then motioned me over to another employee on the other side of the store. Okay, fine. I basically went through the entire process from the beginning and once again, when we got to the point where she asked what service I wanted and she started to type something on her workstation and then finally, got up and headed into the back. After a few moments, she came out with someone who I guessed was a supervisor. This woman was the only one who knew what to do and after a few minutes, she said she was going to get my cable box and would return in a minute. I looked over at someone who was in the process of returning a mammoth sized cable box and I asked if my box was going to be that big. She said not to worry and came out with a small sized box, just the right size to fit inside my backpack. My visit to Comcast was over but I was hungry and it was a long, hot ride back to Gold River. I was pleasantly surprised to see a small Indian fast food place. II ordered a 3 item special with nan bread. Mmmm, that was good. The nan bread was fresh and the food had just the right amount of spice to make the experience really enjoyable.

After lunch, it was time to go home. What a ride. Going back is always more unpleasant because my butt was already sore from sitting so long on the way over. In addition, it was about 1:30 PM and the heat was on. I decided to take it slow and steady and made it all the way to Ancil Hoffman park for my first pitstop. It is approximately mile 13.5 from the intersection of Northgate and the bike trail. I was sweating but the wait was worth it. There is a really powerful drinking fountain that spurts water almost 4 feet high. I soaked my whole head in it for a few minutes. Ahh, that was refreshing. After about 3 minutes it was time to continue. I merged onto the bike trail to go over the Ancil Hoffman bridge right behind the arm rider. Who is the arm rider? He is someone who I draw inspiration from every time I see him which is not that frequently. He has a specially made bicycle that allows him to pedal with his arms with his legs in front. That’s right. Just his arms. He is obviously disabled because his legs look thin. But he can power up hills as fast as most of the riders I see on the trail and maintain a steady pace for miles.After another 45 minutes, I finally made it home. I was pretty tired and took a little siesta.

Town Hall Meeting

I decided to go to a town hall meeting hosted by Alyson Huber, Assemblymember of the 10th district. It was held at the Rio Americano High School from 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM. The weather was kind of warm that day but in keeping with my desire to maintain a low carbon footprint, I decided to go there by bike. One way distance is about 9 miles with easy access from the bike trail since the high school overlooks the American River. I was kind of in a hurry so by the time I got there, I was drenched in sweat. I walked into the event at the school library and quite a few heads turned to stare at the spectacle of a man drenched in sweat. After signing in without dripping on the sign-in sheet, I made my way over to a seat about 4 rows back and took in the crowd assembled. A lot of gray hair and bald heads dominated the audience with a few younger people scattered throughout. The meeting started promptly at 5:30 with Assemblymember Huber introducing herself and describing her focus at the state capital. My purpose in attending was to follow up on emails left on her website and messages left on her voice mail asking about the oil severance tax. California is the only oil producing state that does not have a severance tax and a modest 6% tax could pull in close to 900 million dollars a year. After being forced to sit through cranky old conservatives railing about pensions that state workers don’t deserve, I finally got a chance to speak up. My question was whether Ms. Huber thought that the state budget deficit could be solved without looking at any revenue generation and whether she supported the oil severance tax. I was a little disappointed to hear an ambiguous answer from her with her thinking out loud whether gas prices would go up. (The short answer to that question is no, they won’t go up because oil is a world commodity. How come people have so much trouble with this concept?). She did mention that a severance tax is included in the assembly version of the budget but not in the senate version. I appreciated how much time she spent with my question but I don’t get the sense that she is particularly enthusiastic about it. When the meeting ended, there was no time for chit chat since there was another town hall meeting across town she had to go to. I did get a chance to speak to one of her staff members and she told me to call anytime.

Bike is Dying

Yesterday on my way home, I noticed the back tire was riding kind of wobbly and it was making a noise as I rode. I tightened the quick release bolt but it didn’t have any effect. This morning I took it in to Bob’s Bicycles on Fair Oaks and Sunrise with the intention of dropping it off for a quick repair. The repair guy came out, took one look at it and asked me if I had considered buying a retail bike instead of a box store bike. Okay, I could kind of see where this was going. Problem, he said was that repairing the bike which meant possibly a new wheel, repacking bearings, fixing derailleur, etc would most likely exceed the value of the bike. He said with all the riding I do, he suggested getting a good, sturdy hybrid like the Trek 7.2 FX. I took a look at one and it does look like I could definitely ride faster and farther than the $150 cheapo Royce-Union bike I have been tooling around in the past 6 years.So I took home the brochure and checked around the net. Didn’t see anything less expensive than the $420.00 price tag so I am probably going to take the plunge. Maybe now I can keep up with at least some of the fancy, professional bike crowd with their fancy, shmancy t-shirts and designer bike shorts. Ha!

Tour de Sacramento

Yesterday was the first day that the office stayed closed. The weather has been beautiful lately and yesterday was no exception. I decided to take the Mitsubishi in for some long overdue service. The front rotors were warped and had to be replaced along with the brakes. Ouch! Total cost out the door including power steering flush and oil change with new air filter was $463.00. What a setback. That just about equals one weeks pay. Considering how little I drive that car, it almost doesn’t seem worth it. Anyways, I dropped the car off at around 11:30 AM and walked home to eat lunch. Lunch was good, too. Cold noodle with sliced ham and jalapeño and finish with two large helpings of chocolate pudding.  Yea, that was good!

I was now ready to start on my biking adventure through the best and worst of Sacramento. And when I say worst, I refer mostly to the condition of the pavement, not the surrounding neighborhoods.To keep up the energy level, I stuffed the backpack with some trail mix and pedacitos de piña y papaya, both purchased at Dollar Tree the day before. With an open container of water clipped below, I was off! Start time was 12:45 PM. Headed out north on Sunrise and cut in to the bike trail via the small dirt path that I use daily on my commute to work. Accelerated to a pretty good clip and conditions were good, cool breeze and sunny conditions the whole way. Passed Ancil Hoffman park bridge at 1:30 and flew by Sac State bridge at 2 PM. It sure is amusing to see the occasional frustrated rider by the side of the road fixing a flat. Ha! Suckers! Too bad they don’t have the airless tires. And only a couple of obnoxious "on your right" salutations today. Very pleasant. Forging ahead at my steady pace, I rapidly approached Cal Expo with anxious anticipation of the mysterious trestle bridge detour. Where did they move it to? I wondered. As a matter of reference, a 100 year old trestle bridge burned down a couple of months ago in a spectacular blaze, fed by old wood and toxic creosote. The bike path happened to go right under that trestle and in the wake of the fire, the entire path was closed. UP and some planners that were obviously not riders hastily came up with a horrendous detour that took biker riders through some of the most dangerous and busiest streets of Sacramento. Needless to say, bike riders and supporting organizations were up in arms and howled in protest. A new detour was created and I would soon discover where that detour would lead me.Detour turned out to be a dusty, dirt trail that wound around the path and under the trestle that covered my entire bike and my pants in a thin layer of brown dust. A couple of minutes later I arrived at the Northgate exit and now it was time to enter the world of cars. Northgate Blvd is not a bike friendly street by any stretch of the imagination. It was bumpy and I was forced onto the sidewalk just to stay alive! It felt like Mr. Toads wild ride at Disneyland. Finally, after a couple of close calls, I made it over I80 to Fry’s, my first destination. Time of arrival was 3 PM. Not too bad. 2 hours and 15 minutes total biking time with not one single stop or rest from Gold River. I locked up the bike and entered the store. Hope noone was looking but I was dripping sweat from head to toe.After making my purchases, I had exactly 45 minutes to get to pumpkin’s year end performance at her school which is located near Marconi and Fulton. This was not going to be pleasant. I raced back down Northgate and then left on El Camino to Fulton, north on Fulton and then one block to the school. I arrived exactly at 4 PM, just in time to see pumpkin perform.Evening reward for all that bike riding was dinner at the buffet on Howe near Arden Arcade. Mmm good. 2 giant plates of fish, rice and all kinds of stuff left me stuffed and ready for nighty night.

Marijuana Adventure

Okay, I admit it. I toked and smoked it when I was a teenager. And I’m pretty confident that I have lots of company that have done the same. So imagine my surprise when I rode by what looked like a clump of marijuana growing along the side of the road in Fair Oaks. It all started when I had to go back to the Fair Oaks Park district office to get a refund for part of Pumpkin’s summer camp. Okay, no problem. That was a short detour on the way to work. I huffed up Bridge Court, past the wild chickens and roosters crowing and headed right on Temescal. The plants were right there, growing in a ditch. Wow! This looks like the real stuff, I thought and after taking care of business, rode back and stopped to take a closer look. Hmm, sure does look like the real thing. I wasn’t quite sure but I resolved to take a sample the next day.

I told Jess & Brittany about it and Brittany said to watch out cause maybe someone really planted them there and if I removed a plant there is a good chance I might get jumped and have the shit kicked out of me.  I wasn’t about to let some punks stop me so I made up my mind to quickly remove a plant while no one was looking. Next day I rode there and brought a scissors and my camera to take some snapshots.Oh boy! I thought. This was going to be great!. I pulled out the camera, took some pictures and then whipped out the scissors. In less than 10 seconds, an entire plant was stuffed in my backpack and I was on my way back to the trail. Looked around to see if there were any gang bangers coming after me and didn’t see any. All I saw was some idiot riding a bike in a heavy jacket (see other blog).

American River Bike Trail Sitings

Just exited Fair Oaks bridge on south side and came across a man on a small kid’s bike dressed in a full length winter parka with padded hood. Outside temperature was close to 80 degrees at the time. I was already sweating and had only been riding about 20 minutes. 10 minutes later past Rossmoor trail intersection saw 2 beefy looking women hiking in full winter gear. WTF is going on here? I’m practically drenched with sweat and I see people who act like it’s still winter. Hello? Winter, if you could even call it that, ended a couple of months ago and except for a few weeks in January was probably the warmest winter I ever experienced. We spent over $250.00 on winter gear to enjoy in the snow back in December and there was barely enough snow on the ground to get your feet wet, and that was at the 10,000 foot level. Now I see people wandering around the bike trail like it is 30 degrees outside. I tell ya, it never ceases to amaze me the things I see along this trail.

American River Bike Trail Sitings

Today around 10:30 AM I was heading south on bike trail just above Rossmoor entrance, coming around a curve and looked over to my right. An old Russian woman, could have been in her 60’s, wearing a scarf and a dress was standing in the grass about 20 feet from the trail, pulling up her underwear as if she just finished taking a leak and glanced around to see if anyone was looking. Duh! Of course people are going to see you lady. Can’t you at least go behind of tree? I mean, geez Louise! What the hell is going on with these old Russian women? Is life that primitive in the mother Russia? If anyone has a clue, please post a comment.

American River Bike Trail Sitings

Not sure which day this was but I was riding my bike to work. It was kind of cool and rainy so I pretty much had the whole bike trail to myself. I was heading south, just south of Sunrise Blvd, going around the bend into the rain forest after the first small meadow and lo and behold, standing off to the side of trail in the rain was a man in a bright orange poncho puffing on a cigar. Very strange. The next morning another sighting, this time a lot more inspiring. I was just slightly north of Hagan Park, again riding south and coming up fast in the other direction was a man on a modified recumbent bike. As he drew closer, I could see that he was pedaling with his arms and as he whizzed by I couldn’t help but notice that he had no legs. Using sheer arm power, he was flying by at what looked like close to 20 mph. I can’t get up to that speed even if I tried.

Living like a Bachelor

Pumpkin and wifey are in Taiwan. Okay, now what? It was too quiet but there were plenty of things to do, such as paint the pumpkin’s room pink, seal the grout, get high speed internet access up and running, weeding, daily watering, switch to Vonage and keep the place clean. No slobbing or slobbering allowed.

Meals tended to be simple, heat up a can of frijoles and slop on a tortilla with tomato and lettuce and salsa. I got to like raw cabbage in my quest for expedient food. Most meals were in front of TV on a TV table.

Got my bike set up. Ordered a pair of airfree tires from the only place on the web that sells them - airfreetires.com. I just don’t want to be one of those people on the side of the road trying to fix a flat tire. They are heavier but are designed to last forever. Took my bike to City Bicycles on Greenback and Sunrise and had a tuneup which cost me $100. I expected the bike to work and it did but only for a week. I started riding to work via the American River bike trail. It is about a 7 mile scenic ride that follows the river as it winds its way down thru Sacramento. Exit is Hagan Park to Dawes, to Malaga and left on Paseo which hooks into Mather Field. Thought I was riding at a pretty good clip towards the end of the week but still had not managed to pass even one person. Everyone, and I mean everyone was whizzing past me. Young, old, fat, thin, fancy bicycles, not so fancy bicycles, tight bicycle shorts with bright tee shirts with Italian sounding names, serious riders and not so serious riders. Yep, I was the slow poker and I was pushing as hard as I can. Part of the reason is that my bike is a mountain bike style bike and the ones that were passing me were mostly light street bikes but they all looked like they were not exerting any effort to go 20 MPH and I was huffing to get to 12 or 13. Such is life.

You have to understand that airfree tires look different that regular tires. They look flat but they’re not. One rider passing me said, "Hey, your back tire looks flat."  Okay, I know. By the time I wanted to say my tires were special he had already disappeared into the horizon.
After a week, the back 2 spokes broke. I immediately took the bike back to the bike shop and the mechanic said maybe the problem is the tires. I called up the guy who mfrs the tires and he said no way. In any case, City Bicycles fixed it for free and it worked for another week then broke down again. This time I took it to Bob’s Cycles on Fair Oaks. They had the bike for nearly 3 weeks and I just took it home a few days ago. So far so good but I haven’t really put the bike thru its paces yet.