Cinelli, and one final San Diego post...

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

Happy St. Padraig's Day...

St. Padraig's Day 2011 short from Michael Wagner on Vimeo.

Stand out...

Go ahead, be different. Stand out from the crowd.

Me and My Bike...

Not the hip-hop fan, but this short video is cool. Kenyan youth promoting the benefits of bicycles as transportation (and the hip-hop is not obnoxious, in fact, considering the message it really works):

From the Library: UCSB, 1987...

So, I was doing a little cleaning out in the garage the other day. Actually sorting through all the plastic containers full of the books that don't fit in the house, trying to organize them, make things easier to find. Anyway, I came across my La Cumbre, UCSB's yearbook, from the year of graduation. Yes, it was that long ago. University and college campuses have long been bastions of cycle mobility and UCSB, as I have mentioned before, is certainly no exception to the rule. I was flipping through the pages and rediscovered a section of these little vignettes:

As you can see, a number of them involve students and their bikes. They are an interesting reflection on student life, some probably even recount actual incidents. The student / bike connection tends to be pretty strong during those years, especially at a school like UC Santa Barbara. I wonder, for how many of those people from 1987 that connection continued past their university years. I bet that guy in the last photo still rides; he is having way too much fun.

When the temperature increases...

some bikes seek out the cooler corridors. And, yes the trees are in full bloom around here, everywhere you look.

Others would, I think, cease to exist without the brightness. I wonder if this rider parked her orange bike here next to the orange Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) rather than at the rack not ten feet away on purpose.

Cycling Claremont: Le Pain Quotidien...

Le Pain Quotidien is one the establishments that came to life a couple years ago in the Village West expansion area (they have other bakery/restaurants around the world). It's front doors and patio dining area open up to an expansive courtyard with seating, shade trees, fountains, and weekly music, some planned some spontaneous, throughout much of the year. Ask most people to describe Le Pain Quotidien and they might say it is that French restaurant with the long table. Indeed that would be my initial description, but I see from their website that the owner worked as a chef in Brussels, as in Belgium. I guess if you combine those two, that would make it Flemish. What ever it is, it is good, the restaurant and the bakery. The communal table if a great idea, a good way to meet your neighbors, but they also have smaller, private tables as well.  

As I was sitting in the courtyard courting my morning cup of coffee, I was hoping someone would ride by so I could combine bike and restaurant for the post. Just as I was about to give up, a rider did come along trailing a big bunch of balloons. He sat nearby and started to work on his computer and left his bike and balloons to make the photo.

Slow Sunday scenes from the Village...

The humidity around here has certainly spiked today, and after yesteday's long ride, I figured a Slow Sunday was in order. So without further ado, let the photos roll.

This is Ray, or actually the back of Ray's head. For as long as I have lived in Claremont I have seen this gentleman in the Village on the weekends, but have never had the opportunity to speak with him, or find out his story. Well, today I was fortunate enough to share a bench with him, and let me tell you, everyone knows Ray. People walking by would all say "hi, Ray". Some would stop to talk for a while. I found out that Ray Collins, who is still a musician played guitar with Frank Zappa in the Mothers of Invention. If you click on this link it will take you to a nice little interview from last year (2009). Now I can be one of the many who say hello to him on the weekends.

I don't believe she was stopping because of the sign.

I know this family; the father/husband is a photographer, who I don't believe would give this pic a passing grade. Yeesh, I am going to have to switch to manual focus, or maybe take his photography class.

Sunflowers at the farmer's market.

Lots of onions today.

At the center of the farmer's market is the musicians space.

On with the bikes.

That is one red bike.

I don't normally pay much attention to the bicycles motorized relatives, but there were a couple mopeds in the Village today which were too cool to pass up. This guy had a great pair of goggles on an equally great helmet.

This one was just all around cool. The California flag on the back is a nice touch.

There is a time to tandem.

I photog'd that bike on the 4th,

and her's too.

Baseball bell and pint sized basket.

Stylish cycling.

Finally, the window at Espiau's. This is a two team town after all.

And what is that guy pointing at anyway?

Scenes...

of bicycle love by the seashore.

So another weekend has come and gone  - another fine opportunity to ride to the coast. We tend to to that a lot during the warmer months; not surprising really, though we are yet to have any really hot days inland. Anyway, it was a spectacular weekend to set your wheels to the SGRT and follow the river to Seal Beach. Past the sand, past the umbrellas sticking out of the sand, past the people playing in the sand, and past the perpetual surf crashing onto the sand, the horizon was almost complete obscured by red, blue and white sails. Not sure what the occasion was, other than maybe it just happened to be a fine day, but I had never seen so many boats tacking around out in the big blue. At one point they seemed to converge on one of the oil drilling platforms as if in the midst of a wind power protest. On the landside, things did not seem to be quite so crowded - the River's End Cafe had empty tables at lunch, but we opted instead for burritos at el Burrito Jr., and savored them while sitting at the park across the street. This is a great spot for people and bike watching, being right at the end of Main Street and the pier, there is a continual tide of riders coming and going, ebb and flow.

I see sailboats

riding left to right, and

back again, but what happened to the basket?