Tuesday: Von.Boyaggi.Boyz stop in paradise for a little gelato & cappuccino. The blue in the background on the upper left is Lake Trasimeno, south-east of Cortona. You can see the lake in the map below.   FYI: Lake Trasimeno is the second largest lake in Italy; shallow, muddy, rich in fish, including pike, carp, and tench; 4 meters deep on average.

They did 50 miles around the lake, visited a winery and rolled out to a nearby pizzeria [see map label "A" - La Tufa Pizzeria in Ossaia; in their kits] for dinner and a ride home under the moon-light for a 20k round trip [greedy miles] back to the castelli.

I’m told Il Duce Wehrlisimo is running a tight ship; Duce’s Gestapo Training Camp.  The Italians know Gestapo all too well, but they also like to forget; that’s Italian style.

The Boyaggi Boyz are looking a little lonely; heads bowed like they’re saying a prayer.  There’s an empty chair on the right for the Mexican [the Italians say "Messican"].

News from Cortona Italy: According to Guero, the Von Boyaggi Boys got shelled by the skinny super fit Italians.  Apparently Il Duce Wehrlisimo pre-entered them into something like a regional championship race.  Three laps and the Italianos gas’d it right from the get-go.  Each lap had some good tough climbing.  It was equivalent to a 1-2-3 state championship.  Yeager finished 58th, Uber 72nd.  The peloton included about 150 riders.

Ahhhhh…  back to drinking Italian vino just like the doctor prescribed.

Visit the photo page: Cortona Freddies

California Senate Bill 910 would have required automobiles to pass bicyclists with a margin of collision no less than 3 feet.  Jerry Brown veto’d the bill.

According to the proposed law, if a vehicle could not pass with a 3 foot margin of collision, the motorist must slow to at least 15 mph.  It’s this detail that persuaded Jerry the bill needed further consideration.  Jerry was convinced by the CHP the law would cause rear-end collisions or create a long line of traffic behind cyclists. [ "F" the long lines of traffic.]

Back to battle for the advocates.  Cyclists have a perfectly good law to take to task: California’s vehicle code gives cyclists the right to “take the lane” when bike paths don’t exist.   So be it.

It business as usual: take the lane. We’ll teach patience.  FYI: current vehicle code requires that motorists pass cyclists at a safe distance.  Personally I wasn’t  a fan of the bill; it would have given cyclists the option to be passive.  You can’t be passive out there;  we need to teach cyclists to take control when there’s no bikes lanes.  It’s what we’ve always done; not because we’re elitist, but because we’re concerned for our safety.

Jerry’s Veto letter:

To members of the California State Senate:

The intent of this bill is to improve bicycle safety, a goal I wholeheartedly support.

This bill changes the longstanding law for how motor vehicles should pass a bicycle travelling in the same direction. Current law requires drivers to pass at a safe distance; this Bill would specify that the distance must be at least 3 feet or at a speed not exceeding 15mph.

This bill offers some needed and clear improvements to the law such as specifying a minimum buffer of 3 feet. However, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have raised legitimate concerns about other provisions such as the 15mph requirement. On streets with speed limits of 35 or 40mph, slowing to 15pmph to pass a bicycle could cause rear end collisions. On other roads, a bicycle may travel at or near 15mph creating a long line of cars behind the cyclist.

I encourage the author, proponents, and opponents to send me a bill next year that solves these problems.

I am returning Senate Bill 910 without my signature.

Sincerely,

Edmund G. Brown Jr.

7 flats/28 riders on the Tour d’ FredDiego.  The Mexican had 3.

L’UberFred insisted the flats were patch failures.

In defense of one of the principles of the Zen of Cycling [i.e., tube patching] and based on sound, scientific observation [i.e., the Mexican takes notes], properly patched tubes experience fewer failures than new tube failures [i.e., new tubes that burst upon their initial inflating].

After the ride, back in the lab, all three flatted tubes were rigorously inspected, and it was clearly  evident each flat was due to a new puncture and not a failed patch.

One flat [the tube pictured on the left] was caused by a pot-hole that created a snake-bite* puncture.

The Hobo don’t believe in repairing snake-bites [déz be voodoo punctures].  This tube had a lot of good life left in itself; after all, it only had 4 patches.

There’s a movement gathering and it’s [picking up] momentum.
Yeaaaaaaa . . . there’s an idea. . . gonna get a cargo bike.
Cargo Bikes to Pizza Port Solana Beach.

produced by www.lizcanning.com

Steve Jobs, “Computers are like a bicycle for our minds.”

Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011

Von Boyaggi Freddricos!

Oh Yea! The von-boyaggi boys are leaving tomorrow [Thursday] afternoon for T’Mo’s Gran Fondo in and around Cortona Italy for 9 days.  It’s la grande festa to continue the celebration of Wehrlisimo’s 50th birthday [which actually took place in June].

They’ll be entering a local race on Sunday to set the festivities into serious mode.  I hope they find some beautiful white gravel roads and fine local wine to wash down the dust and lubricate the spirits at the end of each day.  I’ll raise a glass every night to wish you all well and a safe journey.

T’Mo, Uber, Guero, MouseJaw, DrNumNums, Wehrlisimo, Yeager, Cockeroft & Viejo [Gilberto].

Bring home tales of adventure !

B’Animaux!

The AcaVengo Gear Chart: best gear chart I’ve seen.

Use the Advanced Options to limit the chart to the chainrings and cogs on your pony; the chart shows the gear size (number of inches) for each [chainring ¤ cog] combo.  For the uninitiated, gear size is the number of inches you roll forward with every full revolution of the crank.

The extra cool feature is the MPH chart for a range of RPMs [cadence] for each gear selection you click.

If you’re pushing the [53 ¤ 11 ] at a cadence of 100, you’re moving 37.44 mph.  Damn.

Make it a favorite:  www.correal.net/gearcalc.htm

While riding home from Bixby Knolls along the new bicycle corridor on Conant Street [it traverses the north side of the Long Beach Airport] I catch up to another city cyclist at the signal.  He asks “Did you know Mark Bixby?  I have one of those stickers on my guitar case.  I’m good friends with Brett [Mark's brother].  I saw him the day before the accident.”

It was a bitter-sweet moment of emotion.

His name is CPO.  He even knows Evan [Ohhhhh!!! that's another story altogether.  Wherefore art thou Evan?].  CPO is a musician who shared a band with Brett Bixby.  Mark always spoke lovingly about and with the highest of admiration for his brother Brett.

Meeting CPO made it an exceptionally good ride home.

It’s single speed season.

If you’ve got  vertical drop-outs, you’ll have to convert your road bike; you’ll need a single speed chain tensioner like the Paul Comp Melvin pictured on the left [there are dozens on the market - Paul Comp stuff is extra groovy].

One cog and spacer(s) will turn your cassette body into a single  single speed as shown in the inset detail.

You’ll want to use enough spacers [behind & in front of the cog] so the chain lines up perfectly in the same plane as the chain-ring.

You’ll also want an 81″ gear [see gear chart].

A 39 tooth chain ring and a 13 tooth cog gives you an 81 inch gear.

Visit gearcalc.htm for a gear chart that includes inches for a 53 tooth chain ring.