It was cold and windy this morning. Wasn't motivated to go on an epic hilly ride, so I stuck to the flats today. On my way up to the Bay Trail and Point Richmond, I rode through some previously unexplored streets in West Berkeley. Fall and palm trees, November NorCal style.

12 miles through the heart of LA

Vehicle for traversing Los Angeles.

Ballona Creek bicycle path.

Gifted a florescent saddle. Oddly excited.

Sun setting on Ballona Creek.

My final destination: Berlin Currywurst. Mar Vista-->Hollywood beer garden. 12 miles of worth-it.

'Murca. We can do it.

why i ride

Coming down Old Tunnel in the morning fog.

Good MORNING!

Beautiful fall evening in Jack London Square, Oakland, Calif.

The morning fog and Mt. Tamalpais. Oakland, Calif.

My steel horse at Telegraph Beer Garden, Oakland, Calif. SyCip roadster, and Ritchey Classic seatpost, stem, handlebars. Such a joy.

east bay hills never get old

track dreams

The Pringle.

Brooklyn Velodrome.

Hydroelectric power station.  Or something.  Looks fun.

San Jose Velodrome, 1930's.

Hellyer Velodrome, San Jose.  Photo via Ken Conly.

Ummm.....

Views from the saddle

The unveiling of the East Span of the Bay Bridge. My face hurt from smiling as I rode across. Beautiful descent back down with a sprawling view of the glorious East Bay hills. Feeling weird pride in civic infrastructure that I somehow consider a representation of East Bay pride. Apparently this was shared by many.

Random apartment building in North Beach. I like to roll around on my lunch breaks and 'feel' an SF neighborhood I typically sort of write off.

single speed commuter inspiration

Yes.  Cargobikes and surf boards.  Trying to figure out the best non-car way to get to Ocean Beach from Oakland to surf.

Ritchey Classic Curve.  Old school short reach, shallow drops. 

Thomson X2 road stem.  So so pret-ty.

Thomson X2 road stem with Ritchey Classic Curve bars.  This will eventually be my cockpit upgrade on my SyCip.  Photo by John Prolly.  

Giro New Road 5m overshort.  

Giro New Road 3/4 Crew. LOVE this.

Giro New Road waterproof jacket.  I like the cotton twill look, although the sleeves seem like they may potentially be a little baggy.  I'll have to try one on to see if it can hold up off the bike.

Chrome 415 Work Boot.  Weather resistant, durable, and still comfortable on a bicycle, not leather.  Want.

SOMA Hellyer 46t 144 BCD track crank with drilled chain ring. So so pret-ty.  Wish it came in black.

SOMA Tange Prestige lugged straight blade track fork, 1".  Get on my bike!

EANABS

In college if we wanted to throw a party, campus policy was that we were required to provide equally attractive non-alcoholic beverages (EANABS) if we wanted to have booze.  At the time, I didn't really think such a thing existed.  While I still love beer, I am actually more obsessed with the amazing EANABS on the market right now, and these days after a long ride, I'm more likely to reach for one of the following:

Virgil's stevia sweetened root beer (with vegan mac and cheese ohmygawd).  I may need rehab, I kind of can't stop.

Once you go raw, you can't go back.  Harmless Harvest raw coconut water.  Booya.

GT's Cherry Chia Kombucha. Goopy weirdness with the chia seeds combined with cherries is an unbeatable combination.

Guayaki Pure Heart raspberry iced mate.  Lightly sweetened, which I usually don't go for, but this one is pretty subtle.

And when I need to hit the sauce and don't want coffee.  Guru stevia sweetened natural energy drink.  Love it.

The Search for Vegan Saddles

Maybe they will come out with a black version?  Brooks C17.  Cannot wait.

Concor Supercorsa X, vegan microfeel cover and made with recycled materials.

So far, I'm only interested in two of them out there (aside from performance saddles, which are almost exclusively vegan):  The Concor Supercorsa X and the Brooks C17.

"upgraded" by rowdydugan.  Kilo TT stripper, cetma rack, 42mm coaster brake wheelset. Approve.  

Subrosa. Has a nice proportionality. 

I will race this one day.  I will.

Soma Double Cross disc.  My next bike.  Photo by jcaterer.  

Surly Ted trailer.  I am considering building my own, but will it be worth it? 

To a 2013 Full Of Bikes, Beer, and Ear to Ear Grins