Have you ever met anyone named Cinelli? The name is such a highly successful and recognizable product name, and taken for granted, that we, or at least I, forget that it is also a family name. This past weekend, while walking around the International Village in San Diego's Balboa Park, tasting the different foods, looking at the exhibits and all, a couple young gals approached me, wanting to know if I was a Cinelli. I was wearing the above pictured cap, complete with sweat stain at the time. They were both quite familiar with the brand name, but one of them also had the last name of Cinelli. She had never met anyone else from the famiglia Cinelli, and was simply curious. Unfortunately I had to confess that I was indeed not some long lost Cinelli relation. In case you are thinking that was pretty random and unlikely, let me tell you that there were Italians, or at least Italian speaking people all over the place, in La Jolla especially - I was frequently turning my head as some bit of that romantic language caught in my ear - so if you were ever going to run across someone named Cinelli outside of Italy, that was the place.
I didn't really take many photos of riders in La Jolla (where I stayed for the long weekend), though they were very common, especially off the main drag. I was a bit surprised by the number of beach cruisers, considering how hilly the area is, but they seemed to be getting around just fine. The same can be said of Balboa Park, a major tourist destination after all. Lots of cars, but also plenty of bikes for getting around between all the different attractions. Alas, I did not make it to the velodrome. I could see it on the opposite hill at one point, but considering the day and time, there was nothing going on, so a visit would have been pointless. That in a nutshell, or taco'd wheel, is a summary of my weekend visit to La Jolla / San Diego. Quite the nice place to visit, and I wouldn't mind living there either.
family and friends of your author, overlooking LaJolla Cove
bikes at the international village in Balboa Park
riders at Balboa Park
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