That was Saturn

On 23 February I wrote that I headed on my bike down dangerous Market Street to the Ferry Building and had some tacos.  I went out front and there were two people waiting for Butter Lap. They were probably on a date but maybe they were just very good friends. They seemed really serious about what they were doing.  As people arrived I told everyone my Lone Lapper story - when, in late December, I had gone on the ride literally alone. No one else came on that ride.

I guy gave me a beer and as other people started showing up I decided to leave before the serious couple got moving. I rode by myself to Fort Mason, taking Van Ness to avoid construction.  There was no one waiting when I arrived at the spot but as the group arrived I saw some regular riders. It was really cold. I found myself explaining the temperature.

I pointed out a star in the sky and asked if that was Saturn. There were a bunch of people that suggested I check a specific cosmological app. Talking to them I met a video editor and a marketing guy. We had to make room for commuters that kept passing through. The same serious couple started off first and we all followed them. The guys passed me. The marketing guy was really close and at the hill going up to Pacific overlook everyone slow down.

At first I thought everyone would pass me but as we headed towards the top near the Visitor Center only one person came near me. I could hear his music close behind me.

I tried to take a picture of the bridge but it was really hard to pedal and not drop my phone. The new ramp on the far side of the Golden Gate Bridge was a novel deviation from our previous laps. However, I had to let Juergen one of the regulars me because I didn't know the way.  He wanted us to leave him alone so I ended up at Pacific Overlook with the marketing guy. I was sad to be first because I had put so much energy into the climb.

As everyone arrived I thanked the guy that gave me a beer and hung out with new people. One guy was really cold. We all noted that the temperature was indeed low. I was thankful that I was warm from the ride.  The regulars were were fun to hang out with.

The serious couple took off at that point so I followed them. As I descended on my way to Lincoln Park I noted that some of the lights were out. I cursed myself for not having a good light on my bike.  I was at the head of the pack but at 25th the exertion became too much and I let everyone pass me. An experienced rider passed me around Del Mar Boulevard. A moment later another one also passed me.

I slowed down as I was climbing. However, only one other person passed me. I even saw some guy sitting on a bench overlooking of the bridge. He had a tripod and camera but was only just slightly visible in the dim light. I tried to make conversation with him.

At the top I circled and drink my last beer with the regulars.  One of them told me about her planned trip with six or seven people to Half-Moon bay. She told me about the Devil’s Slide versus the Planet of the Apes route. We also discussed poison oak immunity.

The group started to disperse once the serious couple had decided to go. That was when I made the decision to go to mom and dad. I told everyone that I would see them at Benders (I lied) and then went to Geary.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

South to Southside Park

On 12 February I wrote I met my friend at four barrel and on the BART platform I tried texting her riding partner. We boarded the Dublin train and she said she was not on it.  At Lake Merritt I let my friend go ahead to the train station I got tickets. Our historian friend said he would pay me back.

We got the last car on the train and took the downstairs compartment. The web designer got on at Richmond and we hung out till Davis. I got pictures of the yellow bridge at flood stage.  At the station I told my friend I would see her later and rode with the cyclists to Fremont Park for the Sacramento Tweed Ride.  I interacted with Chico people and noted that some in my party had found their friends.  The web designer’s buddy was wearing a diaper outfit.

An organizer had a pump and I used it. I talked to a delivery company owner. He told me about renting cargo bikes. I talked to the photographer and took a photo of the organizers providing directions. We rode away a bit late and headed north to view mirrors. I grabbed a bunch of photos and when we passed the liquor store I bought a bottle of Prosecco. There was a couple and an extra guy that bought stuff with me.

When I left they followed me. I asked people on the street about where the ride had gone and they pointed. The couple and I found the ride at a cul-de-sac. On the way to K St. I knocked a well dressed man off his bike and helped a tandem get ahead.

We headed to R Street and when we got to the freeway we crossed on the old railroad crossing. I talked to a guy about his Extracycle kit. He told me the ins and outs of cargo bikes. He had gone to Eastbay Bike Party.  There was also a guy with a “retro direct bike” – the son of the guy with the tall bike.

We paraded down Capital Mall and took pictures. We saw a group of gun activists. We turned around at the Capital Dome and headed south to Southside Park then. I was first to get there. I saw my friend and sat at a table.  One of my sacramento friends had brought cookies. I drank bubbly. The lady with the tandem I wanted to be loud so we went to the historian's table. I had tea with some Sacramentoans.

I returned to my friend’s table and ate the sandwich she had brought me. Some dapper dressers were eating cheese. We started breaking down the picnic site and the organizers spoke. We got to know the bike firm owner and discussed cargo bikes. The Modestoans clarified  their bike ride and I ate a bunch of chocolates. One of the organizers stayed behind when the riders left for the end of the ride.

We pulled down the picnic table covers and my friend and her talked about costumes a bit. After the organizer left we hung out in the grass on the picnic mat and I was alone for a breath.  That was when my old college buddy came by. We connected and that was great. It was his son’s first bike ride and his other son didn't remember us. When we said bye we only had a short moment before the train came.

We raced to the train station and I got tickets and then we missed the train anyway.  Our companions, returning from the bar at the end of the ride  eventually found us on the train. I started writing and made a trip to the café. When I was done writing we were nearly at Richmond.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Bike Partiers All Over

On 11 February I wrote I began to get ready to go to bike party. I went to 16th and had to transfer at MacArthur. That train had bike partiers all over. There weren't a lot of people at El Cerrito BART because the departure have been moved back an hour. Slowly the people I knew best started trickling in. The guys were drinking whisky and the air was a bit cool.

We left following a flag guy who was obviously new because the disco ball was really far behind. The flag I also had a music box. I noted that he had been pretty quick to split.  I had reviewed the route but after a short while I wasn't paying attention to where we were. I just knew we would be going to Richmond. Once we passed under the freeway I knew that we were on our way.

We crossed a few major streets I remember trying to keep up with the flag. We ended up at a park and I remember one of the guys saying the ride had been too short.  We rode around and ended up in the parking lot away from the mud in the yard. I got to know the recycle bike.

The ride started leaving and people ran off because they needed to do their corners.  I knew in general where we were headed but didn't remember what we were doing - I just let it go.  I got to the front really easily near JFK park and counted about 300 people. I noted that we had gotten a little lost there because everyone wanted to stop but the flag had kept going.

The ride went to Nicholl park on McDonald. I remember entering the park early but because of the internal circular path I ended up passing the rest of the ride.  I noted that there was a mini skate park near the tennis courts. I got to know the green flag leader. I walked around talking to random people.  I met some guy with a long gray beard.

When the ride left,  I got on my bike and knew we were going to 23rd. However, I didn't know exactly where we were going. Reviewing the map showed me that I we had headed up 23rd to market street and that we probably came back on Fred Jackson.  All but the last roads were good. That was after we crossed the railroad tracks.

I made comments to one of the guys about the embodied politics I saw on the ride and at Lucas park I bummed a beer off of someone.  A bunch of people had a dance party then. I organized a three of us to head to BART and two others but still made it to the train station. Two of us said bye to everyone when we got to MacArthur for the transfer. We went to the city and I got off at Civic Center.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Bikes to the Hornet

On 29 January I wrote that my friend and I traveled across the bay.  We got on Bart and went to 12th street. We then caught a bus and went to a coffee shop on Santa Clara St and then walked to my friend’s family’s house.  Where we saw four cargo bikes parked in the yard when we went inside to have lunch.

After a while the discussion turned to bikes. We choose which ones we wanted and then we got the equipment together. We had to go into the attic for some of it. We got some clothing together. I took the noisy bakfiets. My friend took the Feets and her brother took the noisy Nihola. We rode to the ferry terminal and onward to the tower.

We hung out with the fire engine and then we went inside while Jamie watched the noisy bakfiets.  We climbed to the top of the tower and looked at the view of the city. There was a miniature car rally including several Mustangs and a Cobra on the airfield.  I had a beer and I could see my friend outside next to the fire truck.  Everything looked so small.

After that we rode our bikes to the Hornet and then to the beach before heading back to the house to make dinner.  It was a short time later that my friend and I started getting to ready to leave. We hurriedly said goodbye to everyone and walked briskly listening to strange lonely noises and made the bus. At 12th St. BART a train came quick and I tracked the F train in the tube to determine that we would want to get off at Powell.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Excitement About the Swings

On 28 January I wrote that my friend’s family had come to visit and we had some of the poached eggs before heading to the cafe to have coffee and pastries before taking a walk to the park. I got noisy video of the slides and screamed my excitement about the swings. We took naps on the grass and had fun with the people we saw there.

We got ice cream and solidified our plans to go across the bay. I got double scoop and my friend got soft serve.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

The Crowd was There

I rode to the bar and the crowd was there. I talked to a journalist, a poet and got to know the host.  The event organizer, I found out later, was a bookstore manager. An acquaintance showed up while I was eating my sandwich and we talked to the host. They hadn't met up to that point.

Moments later I spied a guy from the city I knew and followed him outside. We agreed to meet some time to talk about the city website. He also said that he had an event coming up in May.

We went inside and I talked to the event host and organizer. The guy from the city and the poet really had a lot of fun talking about city neighborhoods. The host really appreciated it. I met a person that followed me on Twitter. I almost knocked a bike on the ground on the way out.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.