NewsArticleBody
The torture chamber for little wheels - on a trian from SF to Davis (movie still)
COMPLETE HANDSOMEST MAN IN CUBA USA TOUR CHRONICLES
Movie Clip: Davis by BART and Amtrak (1.1 Mb)
MON Sep 27, 2004: THE HANDSOMEST MAN IN DAVIS, LAND OF THE DOUBLE CENTURY
How surprisingly painless it was to get to Davis with my Bike Friday and TravelTrailer! Certainly less painful than my post-Mt-Tam legs as I got up to go meet the Davis Bike Club folks I'd given my Cuba talk to 2 years prior - without the book to spice it up.
I packed up the trailer and got it down the elevator in O'Farrell Street, wondering if I'd be stopped and asked by a proprietor of mind-altering substances where he could get such a neat U-haul to run his business. (From BikeRev.com I would reply).
Then it was: Elevator to BART concourse, buy $3.55 ticket to Richmond station north, go to the far end of the concourse to get elevator to platform, lose my second water bottle, take BART to Richmond (40 minutes), take elevator to Amtrak platform, buy ticket on train $14.00, noting fancy bike racks and wondering if the price included a surcharge for the bike, and an hour and a bit later arrive in Davis. All flat, all easy, and a doddle to get to the house of Family Tandem owners Don and Margaret Aumann.
This was the only talk on the tour which was not about Cuba. Instead I presented my 200-slide Mexico on a Friday show, using a fancy digital projector I had to get shipped from Bike Friday.
There are several Bike Friday owners in the Club, but the interest in the bike, particularly the new Capreo 9-tooth cog, was intense. I heard tales of 'what a pain' it was to have to deal with the giant bike boxes on a tour some members had recently completed in Europe.
One BF owner mentioned that his bike always gets lifted out of the case by over-zealous TSA officials and something always ends up getting broken. I seem to have escaped this so far by placing a large cardboard sign on top of the packed bike that says WARNING: THIS BICYCLE IN SUITCASE IS DIFFICULT TO RE-PACK WITHOUT BREAKING SOMETHING! I always remove my Specialized Sonoma SPD shoes because of the alarm-triggering cleats.
Incidentally, the bike, trailer and folding rack fit in the new Samsonite F'lite suitcase very easily. Here's a couple of shots of how I am doing it:
Read about the TravelTrailer. Today, it's back to San Francisco, having lunch with multi-Bike Friday owner and pilot Bruce Horn.
I've also been trying to to get some media coverage but without a $4,000 a month publicist who says 'dahling' this is proving a little tough. The election is infinitely more seductive than the Galfromdownunder, impossible though that may seem. Here is a follow up letter I wrote this morning to Derek Bang, journalist at the Davis Enterprise:
Dear Derek,
Last night I addressed around 40 folks in the Davis Bike Club. It was the second time I have spoken to them in 2 years.
Now I know why I do this work.
The majority of folks were well over 50, some in their 60's and 70's.
White-haired with the wrinkled from a life's work - as we'll all be the day after tomorrow.
What differentiates them from the majority of seniors we see hunched over a wheel, leaning on a stick or rocking in a chair, is that they RIDE A BIKE.
Several had just come back from biking three countries in Europe.
Some could be my grandmother - but they walk taller.
The women in particular gathered around me and I knew we were part of a silent ring - we're all going to stay fit and active and adventurous 'til we have to park our bikes at that great big bike rack in the sky. Even if our husbands or future husbands leave us for a younger woman.
Whether it's about me or someone else, I urge you to write a piece about bicycle touring as a key way to get out and active as you get on.
There are many, many more cyclists and could-be cyclists in Davis than the Sacramento thirty-somethings you see doing Davis double centuries.
No other easily accessible sport or activity has these 3 advantages:
- Keeps you fit
- Is fun & social
- Is useful (transport/travel)
Not to mention the environmental benefits of burning carbs rather than fossil fuel.
And, in a country where the the fear of getting old and sick is underpinned, sadly, by the absence of a socialized medical system, bicycling gives people a sense of resilience.
Here's a story I wrote about 'Class of 1940' James Fessendon: 84 Years Young on a Friday
As a journalist, you can help spread the word about possibility - not just probability.
People want to live long, large and laughing - and cycling is the way to do it.
If you'd like to talk to me I'll be here in Davis til around noon, writing up a preamble for my upcoming Peru trip - biking the highest paved road in the world, 16,000 feet.
Lynette Chiang
541-228-1285
www.galfromdownunder.com
+++
THURSDAY Sep 30, 2004: ALAMEDA BOUND
Today I take the BART to Alameda. BF owner Ben Piper has kindly offered to collect me from the BART in Berkeley where we shall hit the sweet rolls in the Cheeseboard once more. He's even letting me use his suitcase trailer for the talk so I don't have to bring mine on the train - though it was darned easy.
Bruce Horn from salubrious Mill Valley drive his Prius all the way to Davis yesteday to collect me and hang out, between his meetings with venture capitalists. He's got this neat Rubbermaid Shed for his 2 Bike Friday singles, 1 Tandem, and 2 suitcases. It's very functional, but unfortunately not real secure. Perhaps it needs razor wire wrapped around it. Please someone invent something less drastic!
Air Glide/Dahon/Litespeed/etc owner John Chamberlain took me for a tour through one of his high and mighty businessmen's clubs where he does big deals on his small wheels. No chicks allowed! I wonder if there is a woman's equivalent, except I burned my shoulderpads as well as the bra several years ago...
This is what it means to be in the BF Community ... this is why people join the fold! I recall that BF owner who said, "When I don't want anyone to talk to me I ride my TREK, otherwise I ride my BF."
I have been popping into local bike shops where possible, leaving brochures and explaining the Bike Friday Dealer Program options: 1) Dealer refers a customer, they get $100 for their generous endorsement and no further work 2) Dealer receives the bike for customer and takes a dealer margin 3) Dealer stocks up to 5 BFs and goes all out.
It's a great deal for dealers, especially 1), yet it takes a special kind of person to tweak (or is that word twig?) to the concept. The idea is you should sell a customer what they need, and if they need a BF, they oughta have one! Of course, we encourage the customer to get ongoing service etc from their local dealer. That's what being in a bike community is all about. Having said that, I am still met with some resistance from some dealers, particularly if I make the mistake of speaking to a young clueless dude as I did in Davis. He'll understand when he's 50 and sees all these BF owners flying past his SUV.
Being a closet anthropologist, I tinkered a bit on what I was told is the SF Bay's #1 cyber community, Craigslist.org. What an amazing community. Ben Pipers friend actually bought her Bike Friday on it. I posted some rants, personals (to check out the other half as well as the other whole), and events (my book talk) under the appropriate categories. Typically, no response from anything but the personal. However, I have to say what a neat bunch of responses they were - cyclists who love biking Mt Tam and Marin. The bicycle is respected here, and the local mass transit is particularly bicycle friendly - all folding bikes allowed at all times. Yippeeee!
More soon. Gotta eat some Kashi and bike to the BART!
Lynette Chiang, lynchiang at yahoo dot com
COMPLETE HANDSOMEST MAN IN CUBA USA TOUR CHRONICLES
For more information, follow this link http://www.galfromdownunder.com/cuba.