The Horseshoe Courts

On September 16 I wrote that I woke to noise in the kitchen. I had nothing at breakfast really because I wanted to meet an acquaintance. At 9:30 I was nearly at Duboce Café. My acquaintance and his sister came up Duboce when my coffee was ready. That was surprising because they live deep in the Mission.

We rode to Peet’s and discussed things until we got to the Panhandle. She has a daughter who knows all of the people. We took JFK to overlook through the polo fields to Spreckels to see the boat event. Then we went down JFK to the beach. My acquaintances did a lot of catch-up. We ascended to the Polo Fields and the equestrian fields. We took JFK and she met her family at the blue playground.

Her brother and I went to the liquor store to buy beer and then we went to the Horseshoe courts to look at the view.

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 Gatsby Picnic

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I took the bikes and trailer out and got an outfit on. We were headed to the Gatsby Picnic. We headed out as Melissa Davies was headed to BART.

My friend and I headed to Civic Center a bit later than we wanted. The elevator was hard. I opted for the escalator with my own bike. We met our riding companion on the train and sat at separate ends of our train until San Leandro. I took both bikes down while the girls took the elevator.

We wrote to a store nearby and got coffee and got our stuff together before riding through suburbia to the event. This time we took Haas though in the past I’m pretty sure we took Dutten or something else. We then took 108th and foothill before venturing under the freeway. We only got passed by one person. The last block was hard but I made it.

Around when we got our tickets and entered, a bunch of people in our party texted from inside. I saw mom and a bunch of others. Luckily my friend texted around then to say that one of our party was hosting a spread in a good spot. She was from Sacramento and had really great cocktails.

Mom and dad had a wagon. I found a spot for the wheels and then got mom and dad and the others settled. I made sure to make everyone happy. Our riding companion saw a friend. I confirmed that other people from Sacramento were not coming.

We all managed to take quiet walks one at a time. I got everyone a drink before sitting down for a sandwich. My friend and I traded several times. The hostess introduced her boyfriend. I quietly explored the vault for the spring twice. When some of the events for the day happened my friend quietly snuck off to the mansion instead.

I got a cocktail and watched the dancing. My friend insisted I dance with mom. Everyone took at least one additional walk. I got a lot of quiet complements. I took a quiet walk to be alone. When I got back mom and dad left and the others were leaving. Our hostess packed up and we walked out with her (bikes and everything). My friend saw her boss, the vintage clothing expert.

My friend and I quietly headed back to 108th with our companion. The ride was mostly easy but a couple of places we walked across the street. Getting to the platform had gotten easier with me bringing the bikes together.

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.

Through the Transit Center

On August 19 I wrote that when I got to mom and dad’s house my friend made dinner and I set the table. The roast chicken and a salad with biscuits was great and afterwords mom and dad tidied up. I got the room ready downstairs. I wrote in my notebook to.

Later we walked to Taraval but when we were nearly there my friend interacted with the people at the house with the “open” sign. We went and looked at host’s Star Trek bridge set. They had a giant ping-pong table and a pool table.

There was a burlesque at Riptide so we went to the White Cap for a drink and a shot. We walked back and had ice cream with mom.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this, my friend and I were in the kitchen and living room having coffee. She got ready and left at 10. I said bye a bit later and ran to the bus. I had trouble at Judah but managed to get on an N Judah on my way to Sunday Streets in the South of Market Area.

By 12 it was quiet time as I went through the tunnels. I got off at Folsom Street and walked through the Transit Center. I met an acquaintance at the MOMA where we had a coffee and went through Richard Serra’s Sculpture Sequence. Then we went to the Yerba Buena Center and over to Folsom Street.

That seemed to be where Sunday streets was centered. We hung out at Victoria Davies Park for an hour eating snacks and quietly walked to Streat Food. I had beer and some fries. There was a cool bus we quietly explored.

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 Ride was Pretty

On August 4 I wrote that I went straight to work in the morning. I spent the entire afternoon at my desk with my notes. When I went home I got my bike and some beer. I then wrote to Folsom and met all fo the Bike Party people. The ride left for Bernal Heights. I saw a bunch of people that I don’t normally see.

The ride was pretty simple. I was worn out climbing Bernal Hill. I took photos and shared them with my mom. I interacted with some of the regulars about their jobs and pastimes. We rode down Alabama, Mariposa and around to Islas Creek.

There an acquaintance handed out candy. I met a few new people. One of the regulars was riding around with his trike. I left at 11 with one of the guys and we went to the Mission. I was asleep at 12:30.

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 Jedediah Trail

On July 31 I wrote that after I left the laundromat I went looking for School Road which I knew had a direct route to the hotel. I stopped at Target on the way. I bought power bars, snacks and a few other things. The customers were more helpful than the employees. School Road was easy and I decided to stay away from Bidwell so took the Johnny Cash Trail. Some lady said “you’re welcome” to me on the road to the trail and I interpreted that as the lady lived nearby and hated cyclists.

When I got to the hotel quiet time was halfway over. We split the harmony and I took it easy while my friend got a coffee on Sutter. I met her there a little later and we got ice cream. We went to the pool as my sisters were returning from the aquatic center. My younger sister came down but my older sister and her husband were getting ready to go home to Reno - they were leaving late.

After their departure my younger sister and I went to our own rooms with our parties to get ready to meet back at the pizza place. The dinner was good but we only ate two of the three pizzas. However, I grabbed the leftovers on the way to the ice cream shop. I took a bite of someone’s ice cream there and then the cart got pushed noisily to the hotel. We called it quits for the night a short while later.

On Monday, July 30 I had intended on quietly leaving the room without my friend but she had gotten up by 6:30. We were too early for the nearby café so we went to the Sutter Grill again. We ordered a small amount of food and then returned to the room to begin checking out. My sister texted and I noisily locked the bikes up outside before we traded places and I got ready to go.

At this point my younger sister was ready to go. She was heading to Reno for an extra day before having to return to work in SF. when I got downstairs they told me they would be back after a quick trip to the chocolate shop. I was done packing when she returned and they said goodbye.

This was when our idylic ride to Sacramento began. We had checked that our bags were strapped in correctly and then rode under Auburn Road. Then we rode along the River Path. The ride through the Mississippi Bar area was new and different. My friend was really enjoying herself. I remember stopping to catch my breath and saw a kayak float by. The piles of rocks made from hydraulic mining were really striking.

We crossed a little bridge and headed towards another one nearby. We were on our way to the Nimbus dam on Lake Natomas. The freeway was much closer there. I had spent a lot of time looking at the route and had determined that the dam was our first option for getting on the light rail. However, we were very much enjoying the ride. So, we continued onward.

I took a picture of Nimbus in the background and then we passed under the Hazel Bridge and we considered stopping for a swim. I wanted to accommodate her so I started looking. We passed the hatchery and there were a lot of parking lots that I remember seeing. People had a lot of access to drive. I noted that it was the islands/bars in the river that prompted us to imagine going for a swim.

We settled in at a Lower Sunrise for a picnic. There was a Ranger there. He gave us a frisbee. He said that the county was placing rangers at regular intervals along the trail. I got some water from him and quietly washed up. It was really nice. I took a breather. Later we rode through marvelous oaks and passed picnic tables on the sandy riverside. We stopped at Rossmoor Bar to adjust our trailer and at Riverbend to have water, which was a really nice park. We crossed the bridge into William Pond recreation area and my friend was really impressed with the beauty of the place. We could see the various meanders as we rolled along.

When we passed the water treatment plant we begin to see a levy on her right when my friend looked similar to a rail right of way. That was when I felt like we were entering the city. However, we were only in Arden Arcade at that point. The defining features from then until Sac State were the river on the left and the levy on the right. We saw the park rangers in SUVs rolling by.

At this point I was thinking about the train because we were near our second potential LRV escape point. My friend wanted to roll all the way to the station at this point so when we went under and passed guy West Ridge we started rolling like the end of the ride was near.

I started checking my watch when we passed mile markers to determine how long the last 7 miles would take. However I was also trying to find a shorter route. We settled on the Sacramento Northern Bikeway. We had no trouble climbing to the top of the bridge. When we got to the other side I led us to an neighborhood isolated by local rail infrastructure.

I got us into the city street grid by taking us under the tracks on a sidewalk and we stopped to rest at Muir Park. A short while later we rode to G Street and saw some bike camping people on our way into the station. They complicated the train for us because there was only one bike car and it was crowded.

My friend quietly went upstairs and I hung the bikes and broke the trailer down. We had traveled through Davis by the time I had finished. When I finally got to our table we sat talking. The light was slanting in through the window so we quietly treated seats. We also walked around the train to quiet our nerves and I had a couple of beers.

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 Fat Rabbit

On July 29 I wrote that we ended up going to a pub – The Fat Rabbit – where everyone ordered separately. I gathered as many people as possible and started heading over. I ended up there with just a couple of people and everyone else showed up later. The meal was great. I split a slider and a salad. The pub was chaos and there was noise everywhere. I was really happy at how nice everyone was being. We all walked back together. I was worried I was going to have take a nap due to my earlier bike ride.

We went to my little sister’s room and she gave everyone a piece of cake because Where’s Waldo had given her a gift certificate to a bakery. The room was noisy and I was not doing well. We went to our room – my sister and I had adjoining rooms – so it was easy to have my niece wind things down for us. The idea was for most of us to have a night on the town and she would be in charge back at the hotel. One room could be quiet and the other less so.

We went to a local pizzeria and met my brother-in-law’s sister and then headed to the Folsom Hotel then – the place had no rooms just a bar but it also had a stage for music. We all stood out back and got to know each other until it was time for the band. Having wrecked myself with a vigorous bike ride in the heat, I thought that sitting was fine but everyone else wanted to dance. I sat at the bar.

When they were done with the first set everyone returned to the back porch for a drink and I managed to convince my friend to walk back with me. I was very happy to fall asleep.

We woke at 6:30 and I remember there was a loud noise. At 7:30 a few of use quietly walked over to Sutter Grill. The meal was a bit noisy but OK. Later, everyone went to the pool and I went looking for a laundromat. I got a cup of coffee sat down and started writing.

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.

Our Trip to Folsom

On July 28 I wrote that the day before we slowly rose and worked on trying to get out of the apartment. My brain was all over and it was hard to focus. By 815 I was up. My friend had generated a pile. I had taken the bikes out and we consulted our list and the house was done at 10. I took the bags and equipment down and we quietly departed at 10:30 but had to stop twice for the trailer’s back wheel. We only made the ferry to Oakland because the boat was late. Once we boarded I knew we were on time for our trip to Folsom.

We got off the boat and stopped at bicycle coffee. I quietly waited in line and filled our tires. Then we headed off to the station. The train had been waiting for us and after we boarded and we were rolling away I quietly took several action “live“ photos. The ride to Sacramento was very successful and particularly noisy. Not many people spoke to us. When we asked, the conductor gave us too many transfer tickets and I noted that we were delayed at the Carquinez Strait.

At Davis we got ready and at Sacramento station we had an easy time. The trailer came off the train separate. I walked the bikes together. My friend waited for the Goldline, which we missed but we did catch the next one. The ride was OK and they needed to turn the train off a couple of times. The air-conditioners went silent. It was quiet time.

At Folsom we walked to the hotel and got unpacked. After that we made our way to the restaurant. The waitress sold me too many whiskeys. My older brother and sister showed up. We had already eaten but the they hadn’t so went to eat. My friend and I wound the room down and I went to see everyone else a short bit later.

When I headed back to the hotel an hour later, I learned that my niece was going to watch our room. So, my friend and I returned to the restaurant but my brother and sister’s families weren’t there there. However, my brother in-law-ran over and the three of us went to Sutter Bar. My sister showed a bit later. There were four of us because my older brother wasn’t able to come. Later we went to the place across the street.

The next morning there was a meal which arrived at 6:30 but we had already awoken to noise. Later we went for a walk and hung out with my sister until 10. My brother had to walk his poochy and in the meantime my brother-in-law found some extra bikes. While my friend and I walked on the quiet bike path along the American River my brother-in-law and nephew returned with them.

My brothers and I rode to Beals Point Campground then. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law had to go to the hotel to meet his dad. So, my brother and I rode through the back of a local junior high school and some subdivisions to the Granite Bay Horse Staging Area. We had an easy time until the ride back during which we ran out of energy due to the heat.

Everyone was at the pool when we got back. I saw my brother-in-law’s parents for just a moment. My brother went to his room. I cooled off by the pool but was still bonking. I went back to the room while everyone else discussed dinner.

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.

Participate in Sunday Streets

On July 15 I wrote that I got two hours into getting things done at home – I wasn’t thrilled with the outcome but was happy to work on it. I took a couple of breaks to move stuff around but mostly played minesweeper when I got distracted.

When I knew my old classmate was headed into the city I got on my bike and met him at 21st Amendment. I ordered tater tarts and when they got in we discussed the baseball game we would attend on August 11. He also introduced his brother and uncle. I discussed the Seals with them.

I rode home on an interesting path - through Filipinotown to Lafayette and the apartment. The ride through Selma is difficult. I got back to getting stuff done when I heard that another old classmate was nearby. I got on the 14 and had a pupusa before having a beer with him. I was too tired so I went home.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I was lazy when my friend let me know she was going to the Ferry. I tidied and rode Market to find her. I got coffee and we rode back together. When we got to Valencia she quietly admitted a desire to participate in Sunday Streets. We played with basketballs and met a local personality. She went upstairs at that point to be alone for a bit.

I quietly walked around the noisy street in front of the coffee shop for a bit. When she returned I brought her trailer up and then we set out for her acquaintance’s party.

We caught the 6th to 9th and walked to their house. When we got inside I was upstairs alone together for a moment but my friend wet outside. Everyone was headed out there a moment later. The host set up an inflatable. There was fun stuff everywhere. We had barbecue and beer. I got to know a few of their friends.

We went up for cake a bit later and I met the cats. On the way out we learned some old bike party acquaintances lived next-door. A short while later we were on the six getting off at to Buchanan on our way home.

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.

We had cake.

On July 7 that wrote that it was about six when I arrived at the house the night before. My old college classmate was visiting town for a party my friend and I had planned the next day. She had gone to the store and I had taken a nap. When I had wound down the house she and I went downstairs to say hi to play catch up with my old college classmate and his wife.

They had had dinner so when my friend went back upstairs the three of us went up the street for a beer to talk about our careers and other stuff. I told them about our Fairfax vacation and then walked them to where they were staying in the Castro.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I was up at seven. It was actually a surprise when my friend woke me with her noises. I brought the bikes and trailer down and we got ready to go for our family picnic. I had almost finished getting the trailer ready when I switched my shoes. Then I rode to Whole Foods and she went to Dolores Park. I brought her coffee and a couple of the party goers had arrived for the preliminary bike ride.

Four of us rode Sanchez to Market then up the wiggle. Then we went to the Panhandle. I quietly Road in circles and one of the party went to Falletti‘s. We rode to Golden Gate Park then. We passed a family of tourists. They seemed like novices but took a lot of pointers from us at Schrader. We picked up a few revelers at the Conservatory before we rode through the tunnel near the bandshell. More were waiting for us at the playground we had chose and my parents had brought a lot of stuff.

We set up the table in the shade. People started arriving. In addition to the people in ride, there were our closest acquaintances. The guy we had met the last time we had been to the picnic spot – from Bernal Heights was there too. A bunch of my regular cohort of social media relationships were all there - some were a surprize. Flower piano was happening very close by. My old college classmate showed up a bit later.

I went for a walk then with my brother-in-law and his kids. My sister was really helpful. A bit later I ran to the store for beer and then we had cake. I tried to work with my nerves about the event. There were a couple of people that showed up late but by that point so much was going on the day was really great. As the guests pulled away I felt a bit of relief over knowing they were all in good spirits.

I managed to convey to one guest that we wanted to ride back home with her. We regrouped at the De Young and though the ride was slow we quietly got into it. The panhandle was really easy but Grove Street was less so. My friend went home so that I could better help our acquaintance get home.

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.

Ready for the Parade

On July 5 I wrote that when I was done at Blue Dot I went via streets on my bike to Walgreens and then to the house. I ended up doing some work for friend and her sister - our hostess. I then took the Madison cargo bike to Webster street for sand and later to park for groceries. I also went to to hardware stores to get an umbrella stand. When I returned I had an hour before I had to go back to Main Street for a quiet pick up - that turned out to be great.

The hose was back by the time I had returned. My friend’s sister at that point I was making a meal too. We made a made a ton of noise sitting at their little table. A short while later we sat outside to eat and I remember quietly wandering around the garden.

I ended up helping my friend upstairs then but I essentially was in charge of winding down the house. I got some time in by myself and it was great. We hung out in the kitchen until late. She was making cakes and snacks with her sister.

Next morning I woke up first and quietly went downstairs with my hostess. By eight I returned upstairs. My friend got up then. After that we got ready for the parade as a bunch of people showed up. They all left with the different cargo bikes in the shed. I had to help everyone and left last. One of the stragglers was really slow so we were really late to the parade.

There was a guy with a “boat,” a lion tamer, a strong man. There was a pair of bears in tutus. One family had a four person bike and another had dressed her Madison up as an elephant. I had dressed my hostess’ bike as a circus tent.

It was barely noon when we got to the end of the parade and my friend led a few people to the house. I tried to get the bikes organized in the shed.

People slowly trickled in then. There were only a few people not staying at the house initially and we all sat in the back drinking beer with the host. A couple of people had gone to the beach with but we learned that it was windy. Between five and nine a lot of people showed up and I didn’t remember who they all work. Even some friends from SF came.

There was a bounce house next-door and the neighbor had to keep clearing it out because it became dangerous. I quietly went on a walk for about two blocks. There was grilled meat, a buffet cake and the hostess had made ice cream.

Some of the SF people successfully took the ferry back but I found out later that it hadn’t been a great experience. A lot of people started leaving around seven and eight. We started winding down and the fireworks started soon after I had finished.

When we came back inside a couple of people sat with us for a bit but we all got ready for bed.

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 Giants Padres Game

On June 24 I wrote that I woke in the morning of the previous day to the realization that I had had a full nights sleep. I quietly helped while my friend opened the door for my older brother and his wife. We debated morning coffee while we got ready for the Giants v Padres game.

We needed food and equipment. We debated bringing bikes. My brother and sister-in-law were patient. When we got to Valencia we were surprised that we ended up going to our preferred coffee shop. We took it easy there because it was early. My brother tried the pour over coffee.

Walking to 16th I advocated for the bus. However, upon our arrival everyone had a different thing to do. So, we let the bus go and descended into the tube. The ride was easy enough. We walked to the ferry building. We split up and some guy from New York City bought me a coffee. Later I stood quietly near a great Pyrenees named Gus and waited until the four of us walked over to the ballpark.

On the way we stopped at the deli to pick up a sandwich. My brother ran across the street against the light. I remarked to my friend later that riding bikes would have been difficult because he is alway always is so independent.

My father was waiting for us at the park with beer and food. My friend quietly hung out in the playground while the others went off to talk. The most of the rest of our friends and family showed up then.

I hung out in the playground with the loud nephews. My friend and my mother quietly took photos. A number of people mentioned our planned Folsom trip. My friend said she didn’t want to share her sandwich so I ate my brother’s.

She and I walked to the stadium entrance with our equipment and quietly donned our straps. I dropped the equipment off at the valet and walked to our seats – my friend texted a bit before that that the Club Level was really fancy. I found her as the second inning was starting and settled in next to her.

I was really happy we hadn’t gotten worn out before the game. It was quiet time when we sat down and when it had at least halfway ended I walk to the Dugout for some hats but discovered I have forgotten my Ticket. However, my brother and brother-in-law were with me so I got a beer instead.

I returned and got my ticket and went to the lower level to get some hats after my friend got a drink with dad. When I got back I discovered that the hats were a real hit. I did a lot of quiet explaining of the game. I also gladly explain to the game down below. By the seventh everyone was loudly rooting for the team and I had to spend it to the bottom of the club level twice.

A short while later my friend and I decided to quietly explored the stadium by ourselves. The Giants were winning at that time and the ninth and it just a short while later. We said bye to everyone and walked to the valet. Then we found our way onto the train.

Unfortunately there was no air conditioning and the train was packed. It also had a broken door which hampered hour forward movement. At Church I went to Ace hardware while she she was at store.

I couldn’t find her after the hardware store so I went home and did some vacuuming. It turned out my brother and his wife had met her at the store. I did the dishes before she got back and made us dinner. We then wound the house down at 8:30 and my brother decided to call it a night.

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.

Through Fairfax on “Slowmingo”

On June 17 I wrote that I finished writing at Naves and went to the liquor store and 7-Eleven for stuff before riding the short way to the house on the hill POE. The ride was very steep in places but took less time than the long way.

When I got there they were already making dinner which was supposed to have been my job. They ceded the job of cooking to me and I got it done. My friend was winding down and I convinced her to quit for a while. The meal was great. When we were done she and I wound the house down together.

An hour later we were all in the living room together again. I had picked up beer and whiskey so was trying to finish it. There was a pie and I had gotten ice cream. We sat and ate our dessert. I had joked that we had to eat a quarter slice each.

A while later we were getting ready for bed. Two of us slept in the living room. I woke up only once. I was pretty sure there was something in the middle of the night but I didn’t do anything with it.

The next morning I awoke to noise about the house and pancakes. My friend had gotten up first and attended to noise. Our companions had slept an extra hour and my friend had made breakfast. The meal was great and while we got cleaned up I took care of things around the house until we got dressed and went for a walk up the hill.

I wanted to look at Ridge Road and we got pretty far up that way before the noise was too much. We had to turn back. It was mainly on me to assuage the noise so I headed back first. Once there we sat for a short bit but quickly started quiet time.

I was on my walk on for a short bit and a bit later I returned to where we had walked and continued with my bike to wear the road ended. I found a trail inclined to the base of Pam’s Blue Ridge. Then I headed down to Holly and Scenic on the other road. I determined that the pass in there would likely lead to Tamarancho.

I returned to the house and the girls were getting ready to go to town for lunch. We packed the bikes up and got the trailer is out. I had initially wanted to descend on scenic but I was overruled on account that it was one way.

We took Tamalpais down and locked up at the park. Initially that worked out but we wanted to eat so we took what was left of our equipment to a few restaurants and settled in for pizza.

The meal was noisy but good. We had a couple of moments but afterward we went to the Mountain Bike Museum and Fairfax Market where we saw our hostess’ mother again. She had been calling our group “bakfiets.” It was a short moment later at around 530 when we were heading back to the bikes. The last part of the trip was a different difficult task on account of the noise.

We went from the park to the Tamalpais entrance but this time we took Scenic. I had thought it would be less steep but I was wrong. My friend pushed herself to the first landing but it was impossible. At some point we switched and helped each other climb. My friend had also switched with our companions – one of whole had never pulled the trailer before.

When we got to the top we locked up and went down to the rental house. My friend and I got loud in the living room and our companions made roasted veggies in the kitchen. I did some research on the pictures on the walls. I discovered that the neighborhood had been served during the 20s by a funicular.

We wound the house down then. I was still trying to drink all of the beer at that point so as the time ticked away I was falling asleep. My friend noticed that and told us to sit for the pie she had made. She also opened the chocolate wine she had found in in the cupboard. I thought it tasted a little bit like a Bailey’s knock off.

I passed out after our companions went to bed and didn’t recall my friend getting up although I did wake to some strange noises.

In the morning she told me she had been up since 530. I woke up at 7:30 when everyone else had gotten up. This time we had quiche and I thought the meal was exquisite. We had given up on the possibility of having good coffee and had been allowing ourselves to drink the K-cup coffee.

It was cleanup time after that. Initially I was slow to help. I left my friend alone for a bit. When we were all getting ready it was nearly 10 and I estimated 40 minutes to the ferry. My friend checked what it was to get out of the house. Then we dickered over the bags, packing, cleaning and other stuff.

Once we were on the road we took some pictures and I tried to find the old funicular route. However it was too difficult. We did see a site with potential along Sequoia near Manor.

It was quiet time through Fairfax on “Slowmingo” and I got honked at on Center. The ride through San Anselmo was tough because I had turned onto a side street to avoid a car and it end up following us for several blocks. Also I experimented riding through places in Ross which didn’t turn out perfect.

Through Kentfield and Larkspur we searched for a park at which we could picnic and had a hard time. We followed the slough and also took a wrong turn but eventually found Heatherwood Park. The stairs to the east had made the search really difficult. There were interesting structures and I climbed them with my beer. We ate leftovers and had a good time.

We returned to Lucky Drive then. Then we had intended to stop at Pete’s we went to the bike shop instead – they made us coffee! We quietly surveyed the offerings and interviewed a mechanic.

We made the ferry fine. My friend hid herself away in the hold where we hung out for the duration. I had a couple of drinks and when we got off we had a bit of trouble with our trailers.

We all rode up Market Street – there was very little traffic – very quiet. We said bye at Valencia and I carried as much into the apartment as possible. It was quiet time. I left my friend alone and we unpacked. Then I noisily entertained. She went to the burrito place and when she returned we ate before we wound down for the night.

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.

Going to Bike Party

On June 10 I wrote that Friday evening I stopped at Souvla to get my friend a meal and then went to the apartment where she was struggling. She hadn’t heard from the neighbor so decided to stay in. I had had a late lunch so wasn’t super hungry but I did try her salad. I left about seven when she had begun winding the house down.

I rode to Civic Center and boarded the first train that came. I transferred twice because that strategy is better than sitting through delays. At Berkeley I dropped a check and went to Berkeley Civic Center for break party. I saw a bunch of people I knew but just sat looking at Twitter. When it was nearly time I asked a guy for a swig of his bourbon and everyone took off to follow the green flag.

We took Allston around strawberry creek. I learned about the bowling club. We crossed the tracks, lagoons and freeway. Some girl on skates was amazing. She was a very good skater but not versed in how to deal with a group of cyclists.

I took photos of the sunset. I got a great picture of some of the tidal art. We passed IKEA and headed to the foot of the bridge where a bunch of cops and maintenance trucks were we waiting with lights on. We mostly ignored them. The green flag set up and I stood with the guys. The cops got bored and I had a donut and wandered around. The disco ball was set up in a great spot.

I saw the green flag take off and decided to go with it. We took the path back to Powell. At first I was really aggressive in following but I fell back and let everyone passed me. We rode to Powell and then through Emeryville to San Pablo Terrace 27th and I want to watch the dancers at the Embarcadero near Lake Merritt. I wandered around then enjoying the scene but decided to quit after talking to some of the leadership. I rode by myself to Bart but found a couple of the guys on the train.

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.

Our Trip to Fairfax

On 15 June I wrote that the night before I did a bunch of preparation for our trip to Fairfax. We had a mountain of laundry to do. We also had to get the trailer right. I went through my bike tool kit. By the time we were done putting clothes away it was 12 and Charlie was asleep. I was up until one in the morning.

Though my friend had been feeling under the weather she was all right to get up at six. I was up at 7:15 and fought through my fugue to get the bikes locked up out front. By then I had quietly eating a bowl of cereal and some smoothie. I brought our bags down and she brought the trailer down. I quietly locked the door right after making sure the laundry was off.

We went to Valencia and started our journey. I noticed that my friend made all of the lights one by one and we never really needed to worry about our tempo. However, we did have some bus problems.

We met our companions at equator coffee and then went to the Ferry Building after that pretty fast. I thought our tempo was perfect even when we had trouble. After I fill up my clipper we settled in for some pastries. Forty minutes later we were caffeinated and ready to go. The attendants were really nice even know we had trouble. On the boat I tried to rebalance but my bags had to be packed that way. I did quiet on my back to the snack stand until the boat docked and then we rolled off.

I had trouble communicating the route so I opted instead for traveling a short distance before they approved on my suggested route. We passed the canoe place and rode along Luck Dr. My friend was ecstatic about the artist spaces there.

As we rode towards Miller Drive I noticed that Lucky isn’t super fun at the end because of the freeway traffic but it also went straight to the park. We then passed through Larkspur, Corte Madera and Ross pretty quick. We stopped a couple of times to let cars pass. After the seminary we took to get to the San Anselmo my town center.

Initially I tried to get coffee but my friend wanted to picnic at the park so we parked at the café and sat in the park eating. She had made us pan bagne. I noted that the whole thing was easy. I little later went to the fountain to quitely admire the Yoda and Indiana Jones statues.

I got my friend a lemonade and a coffee for myself. Then we connected the trailer and meandered to Fairfax. The ride was easy but in the town I took away around the center and it was hard. We went to the Civic Center Park and figured out the hill to the house we had rented.

We started climbing and it was tough. My friend was equal but wanted to accompany our companions. I dropped the bike and got her before we started unpacking at the rental. Once inside we played with the stuff in the place. I had a beer and we ordered groceries. The deck was so high that it proved hard for me to deal with but my friend quietly let us use it. We tried to figure out the groceries but I made to leave instead.

I met the hostess mother before I headed down to the local bar.

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.

An Amtrak Transfer

In the morning of May 27 I wrote I had woken up too late to catch the earliest train to Sacramento so I took it easy until 750 and rode to Civic Center. Then I took BART to downtown Oakland. I got Blue Bottle and waited at the station.

On the train to Sacramento I stopped writing as I approached Davis. The conductor was nice but the steward wasn’t. I packed up in West Sac and there was a 10 minute delay on the I Street Bridge. I rode my bike through the platform tunnels and argued with a Sacramento Regional Transit driver. I realized later that the person I should’ve asked for a transfer was the lady on the Capitol Corridor not the Sacramento trains.

Well riding I tried to imagine how planning a trip to the foothills would work. I was troubled by the way all of my invitees had agreed to participate in a midsummer get together. I wasn’t able to do much beyond taking the weekend off for the dates to which we had agreed.

At Hazel Station I saw an interesting path. I noted that I only had three hours to enjoy myself in the town of Folsom.

I left the station looking for a bank but it took a very long time. Mostly I got lost. I did learn a bit about the area though. I stopped at a café in the historic district and had a donut when I returned.

I raced to the bike path, which was a bit confusing but I figured it out. The old rail bridge was awesome and the rise to the dam level was interesting. There were lots of hikers and at the campground at the top I finished my beverage at the snack bar by myself and got a map from the custodian. The lake was packed for Memorial Day Weekend.

Once I shored up my different needs I rode the levees to Granite Bay. I spied a few side paths with potential in Granite Bay where there were a lot less people. Along the trails I noticed that the parking was much more expanded – still a lot of barbecues but more boats far off the shore.

I headed to the side roads north of the Bay and figured out how to go to Beeks Bight. The ride was weird because Oak and Dontons Points were options but my maps indicated I didn’t want those routes. The paths were not completely marked on the maps either. However, it didn’t matter because the directions were on the road signs. The end of the road was a big parking lot surrounded by water.

I headed back as fast as possible looking in on each spot. I knew I had a limited amount of time so I tried to see if any of the adjacent neighborhoods connected. I found a spot at the horse assembly that allowed me into an adjacent neighborhood behind a fence.

My phone was dying but I had looked before so I knew it well. Exurban neighborhoods like Granite Bay are disconnected so you have to be vigilant or crafty. Sure enough, though the streets connected all the way to the other end of the neighborhood, I had clearly taken a wrong turn. I noted that the map had said Bronson dead ended but luckily I checked a couple of gates and found a fence to climb.

After that it was easy enough to find the levees near the campsite but I was still nervous about catching the train back. I zoomed down and managed to check the time before going into the 7-Eleven on Auburn Folsom Road. I even took pictures. Of course I barely made the train and though I had been trying to get a ticket, I wasn’t able to get the system to respond properly. I decided to simply get on and sit down.

The lady across from me had a bike and was going to 13th St. She warned me about the fare collector who boarded at Rancho Cordova. I noted around then that the lady sitting across from me had an Amtrak transfer. I told her I should have gotten one myself. I decided at the last second to wing it and simply scratched my expired ticket to obscure the time on it. It worked – twice. I looked at the beer in my coffee cup and felt like an outlaw.

I noted as the trip neared its destination that the train was full of talkative people. I got off at the Amtrak station and made my way to the platform. I discovered then that the train was delayed. I went into the station and they said it would be 2 1/2 hours. I was able to charge my phone then and went to a local corner store.

I met some people while waiting on the platform. One was eating tacos. I was bummed out I couldn’t have gotten my own. I boarded the train at around 830 and started writing.

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.

They Had a Piñata.

On 20 May I wrote that I was productive until 330 at work but at that point I had to give up. I shored up most of my day and caught an express. That was a breath of fresh air. While reviewing this I recollected that I almost got hit by a car on Golden Gate.

At the Sunset house my friend had managed the noise from the day so well that it was clear she was in good spirits. She had gone to target and the zoo. She made a great meal and I had a couple of cocktails. I wound the house down and we watched Transformers the movie from 1986. She took off pretty much right when the movie ended and I was alone for an hour.

That night I slept all right. There was noise and I dealt with it. I got up at 6:45 and and I napped a bit. My sister was going to meet for coffee on Sloat so after my friend showed up we caught an 18.

I had to break our equipment down when we got there. My sister was already there and her daughter was really helpful. I enjoyed the coffee but the crowd was a bit difficult. We were in that one busy spot. My friend had brought those jackets mom had. She had gotten over her concern over mom’s ownership.

We left and met up at 45th and Pacheco because my sister had driven. They had wanted to catch us. It was nearly quiet time. I went ahead and set the house up. My niece and friend spent an hour and a half together and my sister went shopping for shoes during quiet time.

I was alone for an hour and a half after that while my friend went to the park at 43rd. I met them there and my sister was with them. It was a great place. However it was a noisy birthday party that I hated. They had a piñata.

My friend rode my bike home. My sister suggested we have dinner together and I started getting ready to go. She had told us she would be interested in a trip to Auburn if we organized one. However she said that she wanted a watch her amenity.

When my sister left I quietly went home. I made dinner and and everyone complimented me. Also, they cleaned up. Actually it was my sister. I went downstairs to wind down the house and when I returned my friend and I left for the Irish bar around the corner.

My friend was really nice but we only had so much money. There was one point where our conversation was not great but it was important. We walked back after she had a second fernet.

My sister and niece were watching a cheesy special.. I tried not to tease my niece. After they had left. My friend and I watched Samurai Jack.

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.

Our Bike Ride

On May 12 I wrote that when I got home the night before my friend was up getting the picnic ready. I had stuff to do so was asleep at one in the morning. I had trouble sleeping at first but was a relieved when, at 6:30, everything was under control. I got out of bed and got ready for our bike ride. I got panniers out and found a long sleeve shirt and pants. I ate in the kitchen and had coffee.

It took too long to get ready because I didn’t have much of an idea what I was doing. I put the bikes out early but should have brought equipment out too. Eventually we quietly got ready and assembled our things outside. I got the bikes parked and she noisily sat waiting. Fortunately, we were in great spirits. Our companions we’re waiting for us at the corner and we all rode market together.

I rode through the farmers market ahead of everyone and we found our other companions. There were about seven of us then. We all tagged in for the ferry and waited a short bit before boarding. I brought my bike down and noisily asked halfway for help before I brought my bike. Later we all sat at a mid deck table together and I quietly took some photos.

When we got off the boat we ended up on the waterfront at the pier. We rode through the bus stop to Cibo for coffee. I saw an acquaintance who had just dropped her daughter off. We drank coffee discussing my birthday. Then we rode through Sausalito and found our way to my preferred path near Bridgeway. We used sidewalks for a little bit until Mike’s Bikes. We had some problems with noise there but continued. I got way ahead at the Richardson Bay Bridge so hung back. One of the group quietly led us to the picnic spot there.

I had it been having weight problems so when we stopped I took my bags apart and found the fruit had leaked. My friend fixed it then and I took some time to myself. A couple of us then quietly explored the field – the fog was rolling over Mount Tam on account of the wind. Eventually my friend traded with me and I ate a sandwich. I also drank some wine. One person took a nap. My friend had made cake and I ate it with the fruit.

I noted that I didn’t really remember what everyone else did but we had pickle sandwiches and bree and fruit. I had some candies that tasted great. We packed up and rode to Horsehill. One of our number tried to beat the climb so worked to get ahead but she had to walk anyway. A couple of us waited for a bit at the top of the hill.

I took the group through a park to find an easy route to the bike path in Corte Madera. Then I showed the station. No one cared enough for us to stay too long. Later I suggested taking a break and as we were climbing the hill near Bel Air we stopped near a park. It was a good quiet fun spot. I took a short walk by myself to get some air. Everyone was in good spirits but tired.

We got to the ferry half an hour early. I quietly rode around the lot and a little while later we boarded. The stewardess had problems with how the bikes were stored but I managed. Someone bought me a drink and I sat with her. I told them I should go to Sacramento bike party. We took pictures and had fun.

I got the bikes ready and my friend and I rode to the ferry building grounds. We said bye to the some of our companions before riding up Market. When we got to the apartment I brought the bikes up. My friend made us a meal and had me blow out a candle for my birthday.

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.

A Bit of Politics

On 5 May wrote that I stopped by the apartment to catch dinner. My friend had made me soup after her afternoon walk. I did all the steps helping to tidy and then wind the house down before heading to Maiden Lane for SF bike party.

The guys were there and a lady I knew was leading. I gave a flyer to everyone. The Bubble Bike Lady was really terrible about it. We rolled up Grant to Washington and took Kearny to Columbus. Then we took Grant to Washington Square. I gave a flyer to a few people. I met a new guy. We rode Columbus to Stockton and through the tunnel. I got a selfie.

On post I saw a tandem and let the riders know about the ride to Larkspur. However I had no more flyers. The ride went up Geary and I lost those people. I’m pretty sure we ended up on Turk and went to Jefferson Square.

I circled twice and found an acquaintance to hang out with. I gave him and another person a beer and we talked about high school. We also discussed a bit of politics and talked about our careers. I was bummed that I had no more beer but it turned out to be a breath of fresh air.

The ride left up Eddy and we rode up Fillmore and entered the Presidio at The Presidio Gate. I was happy with the lead for her route because it followed my normal route. One of the guys kept trying to cut me off while I was climbing some of the hills.

We got to El Polin and I hung out with a guy I had met a couple of times. I was alone for a bit and then grabbed my bike from him to go see another guy whose friend had margaritas. I had given flyers out to a bunch of people.

I also met some people that offered me vodka, amaretto and orange juice. They needed to get to Civic Center fast. I went with them to Julius Kahn and up Clay.

They all left and I went to Safeway at church. I had to get stuff for Charlie. The security tried to give me problems but I went and got what she wanted. I was in bed at two in the morning.

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.

My grips were bad.

On April 22 I wrote that I visited a coffee shop while waiting to return to the laundromat. When I was done my friend let me know that she had needed help at the apartment. I got the laundry and we walked back to the apartment. When she left on her way to a party, I prepared for a ride to Fairfax but was really behind. When I finally left I knew I had no time to spare.

I sent a direct message to an acquaintance on Twitter saying happy birthday and that I wouldn’t be able to see stop by his birthday party. Then I rode the Wiggle and went to the bridge nonstop. I measured my progress and then crossed the bridge descending into Sausalito. I was bummed I didn’t have a bell. I passed cars and decided at Sausalito to get coffee.

I tweeted to some people I follow, checked my progress and noted that I had no time to spare. I rode to a bike shop to fill my tires and then headed across the marsh and over Horse Hill. On Meadowsweet a guy climbing the hill called me lucky. However, riding fast on that downhill is really dangerous because of the bumps. Also, my grips were bad.

I didn’t really slow down as I traveled through Ross, San Anselmo and Fairfax because of the rush and my body was screaming in pain. Near Olema Road I had to slow down but it made my time and physical pain issues more acute. At Sir Francis Drake Highway I tried to take a secondary route but it turned out it was wrong.

I found the right route through the equestrian neighborhood and climbed to the pipeline trail. I had to walk because the incline was too great. However, the new bridge was worth it. I didn’t realize the far side had climbed so much. The new grade was perfect for everyone - horse and bike.

I rode back nearly the same route except at Bon Air I headed to the ferry. I passed a student driver and a couple of roadies. They were using mountain bikes on Bayside Hill but I passed them.

I made the ferry fine but had no cash so I only ate some corn nuts. One of the cyclists on the boat seemed familiar but she didn’t want my bike near hers for some reason so I didn’t say anything. I asked the constable about the boat.

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.

East Bay Bike Party

On April 14 I wrote that the day before, in the afternoon, I made Ride to Larkspur fliers and tidied before going to the apartment to get some time to myself. I grab the beers and ate leftovers before putting on my tweed jacket and catching a train to West Oakland. I was going to East Bay Bike Party.

I saw a lot of regulars. At first I gave flyers to people who had whiskey that I knew. Some of the people I sort of knew but later I just gave them to everybody. The ride zigged West Oakland and zagged into downtown before skirting Jacqueline and square for Embarcadero.

We ended up at the pure that they go to a lot. The party was nice. It was dominated by Scraper Bike Team – they were leading the ride. I walked around giving flyers to people and saw a lot of good friends. I hung out with one of them until the ride moved.

We headed towards Embarcadero and out towards Fruitvale. We ended up at Chavez Park. I like that one. I had a borrow a beer and hung out with the guy that always shows up late. We discussed urban planning. We went looking for the pianist but he was missing. I saw that the guys were leaving though so we headed to Fruitvale BART.

On the way up to the platform I slipped and the bike hit me in the mouth. I was really troubled. I asked random people for a tissue and while stopping the blood I went and found the guys. They saw I was bloody and did what they could to comfort me.

On the train the blood stopped flowing but my front tooth was chipped – I was really bummed. There was blood on my jacket and I texted my friend-she ho was having trouble sleeping. When I got home I did what I could to stop blood and went to bed at 11:30.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I was worried I would be late to meet one of my cycling companions – we had agreed to go on a ride together. However, I was relieved to find out I was up with an hour to spare. My friend went to the coffee shop and when she returned I headed to BART.

My acquaintance was bummed when he saw my tooth but basically said that the same had happened to him. We boarded the Pittsburgh Bay point train after some discussion and rode it to Rockridge. We talked about stuff to a guy having quiet time on his way to Oakland from SFO.

At Rockridge the two of us made small talk about housing policy over coffee. I insisted we get useless biking items at the shop. Then we rode up to Broadway and onward to Lake Temescal. There we had some water and continued. He noted the place was a bit like Maryland. I pointed out signs of faulting.

We crossed 13 and wandered to Montclair center. Only a couple of motorists were rude. We stopped at the bike shop and climbed onto the Shepherd Canyon Bike Path. We stopped at each information panel. At Gunn I showed him where the old train tunnel was - now retaining wall behind the house at that corner. Then we climbed Saroni to Arrowhead and on to the top.

We hung out for a bit and chatted with some people and took a picture of Mount Diablo. As we weren’t certain about continuing on to Lafayette, we got ready and descended to Montclair again - a ride which could’ve been super crazy but we deliberately went slow.

We said and have some coffee and talked about science fiction. Later we returned to Rockridge and then caught the first train. We rode Valencia to the empanada place and he told me about his job. I had a beer.

When I said bye to him I brought empanadas to my friend. She had been quietly at the apartment all day and wanted to get loud at the park – she left me alone for three hours. I tidied and considered the evening. When she got back I finished tidying and tried to help her wind the house down but she had to go outside so I did it as normal.

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.

Look for Eggs

On 2 April I wrote that the saturday before I had finished writing at nearly 10 after having a meal of pancakes and bacon. My sister came over a little later and we all got ready to go to to the coffee shop. I saw an old high school classmate on the way and my friend saw and old

coworker.

The coffee was great and we made sure the owners knew it before we walked to the west playground and found my brother waiting for us. I enjoyed myself and about 45 minutes later and we headed back to the house. I started quiet time and was alone for an hour. When I got back upstairs my brother was having a lot of problems emailing a large video to his wife.

We spoke about it and I agreed to walk to the park with the my nibblings. He said he would try and get things done at the library. My friend wanted to come with me. We brought red wagon and the walk was fun. The park was better but my friend left halfway through.

When we were finished at the park my brother had returned from the library but had not accomplished much. My friend had made a meal and my nephew ordered pizza. We ate for a while and then my brother took the bus to my sister’s house.

My mom had gone to church. My friend and and I wound the house down and tidied. She had been having a lot of trouble that day. We went to the beer place next to the morning's coffee shop.  My brother texted as she was calling it a night so I walked to a bar and met him. We had a beer and I went to bed.

Sunday morning I was awake at like 830. My brother was about to drive out of state. I enjoyed the morning after he left but at 10:30 I slacked off. By 11 my friend was having quiet time. I was only able to have 45 minutes alone before my sister showed up. We hung out in the living room for going to the yard to look for eggs.

After that we went upstairs and had lunch. My friend returned to the yard around two and by four we had started walking to the south playground. That was fun. My sister and niece said bye and my friend and I and we walked back to the house. A short while later she ran off with her old coworker then.

I did what needed to be done until 630 and then she returned. We wound the house down and later we went to the living room and hung out with mom and dad. We watched an X-Men movie.

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.

We saw Angel Island.

On 25 March I took the bikes down and got ready for our trip and for the next two hours made sure the dishes were done and some laundry run. We packed in the front room and eventually brought the bikes down. We texted our companions. Market was strangely easy.

At the ferry the coffee took too long and our companions were waiting at the gate. We parked downstairs on the boat. It was a different deal for this trip going out. I noted that there were lots of happy noises and views of the bay. I was full of energy and voiced as much. People around the boat introduce themselves to us. We drank our coffee and we played catch-up. My friend had seen them only the day before. We saw Angel Island.

We descended to the bikes and quietly packed before being the first to disembark. We fixed our stuff at the waterfront and headed to the local park near the library. Me and one of our companions quietly ducked out and went to Cibo for coffee. We talked about doing taxes.

I got some fresh air while the others hung out at the park. Later we packed up and rode past the baby model. The tall ship installation had been dismantled. We went to a grocer where I got sparkly wine. It was quiet time as we rode through the marshes. One of our companions had a pretty strong recollection of many parts of the ride – it turned out later they had gone from Sausalito to Tiburon.

When we got to the park on the marsh the ladies did a bunch of circling while I unpacked at the picnic tables. We settled in then for a picnic. There was a bag of goodies I quietly looked through. It had obviously been left in the rain the night before. We ate the cheese and sandwiches we had brought. We also drank the wine I had brought. The park nearby was awesome.

A little later we headed up the old railroad right-of-way near Lomita. Horsehill was work and I was surprised my friend had to walk her bike. Our companions were having trouble but they made it up the hill easy. At the top they waited for each other.

After meadowsweet the ride became a challenge. The ride up to this point had been easy but everyone was awake and working hard so we went really fast. At Tamalpais we turned into the Lakeshore Drive neighborhood. It was about a mile of silent riding through the streets when we crossed the bike path at Miller and entered Larkspur. My friend wanted to know why we didn’t use the bike path.

We crossed the bridge over Corte Madera Creek on Bon Aire. We found a spot with an all right view and rested for a little bit before we headed to the boat. While waiting to board I noted that the ride had been great. Our companions said they had enjoyed themselves. On the boat I got us drinks.

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.

His Cuckoo Clocks

On March 11 I wrote that I woke up after a full night sleep at seven. I thought my friend had gone but I could hear her in the front room. Later I realized it was actually 8 and daylight savings time. I prepared the leftover baked eggs and a carafe of coffee. At 1030 we got our equipment our and walked through Sunday Streets to the coffee shop on 18th and Valencia.

On the way we saw the bike advocates and someone mistook my friend for a well known bike fashion personality. I also said hi to a couple of people I knew that ride bikes. At the café we sat outside and quietly ate our monster pastries before heading to Mission Playground. We watched soccer and cheered on some random mom’s kid. Later, after we returned to the apartment for quiet time, I was sad to be home while Sunday Streets was still going on. However, I fell asleep while playing Minesweeper.

I awoke shortly before my riding partner texted so I told my friend, who had just returned from a run, and walked up Valencia to meet him. I saw a lot of people I knew before we settled in at the South American Bar. We talked about relationships and I was frank with him about his ex. I told the bartender that he was going to have to change the time on all twelve of his cuckoo clocks. We were joined by his roomate and we talked for a bit.

Later I heard my friend was going to Mission Playground again so I said goodbye to the guys and went to meet her. She had an appointment for a haircut so I took over.

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.

St. Patrick’s Dinner

On 4 March I wrote that I walked wandering through the mission stopping at the Uptown before going home. My friend had been alone in the house when I returned. I was doing some stuff and it was a little noisy after quiet time. She went to Union Square for flowers when she returned a few hours later it was a bit loud out. She took a nap for about an hour and then we went to the park to hang out before going to St. Patrick’s dinner.

We arrived in the school’s kitchen downstairs and we were told my father was upstairs. We went up and looked for our table. My mother and the family were all over the auditorium. My friend and I had to work hard to get our table because mom and my niece walked up and wanted to talk. When we were seated got us drinks. The noise seemed to follow me around.

I had to spoken to both the old principal and her husband at this point. I bumped into my father’s lawyer and he told me his son my old grade school classmate had moved in with him because of the Santa Barbara fires. I saw some of the parents of a few other grade school classmates too. I was eating pretzels by the handful. I went to the front and interacted with the one of the kids I grew up. I got a second drink as the bagpipes started. My sister and her friends sat with her husband.

When the meal was ready we all sat down. The ladies in at our table helped to keep the noise down. Some of the ladies from nearby tables laughed and pointed at me because that is what ld ladies do. The night went well and eventually my friend and I packed up and we left the same way we came in: through the kitchen.

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.

Tweed Sacramento

On 25 February I wrote that the night before I got a few texts indicating they were expecting me in Alameda. I was nearly done by then. I grabbed a few things and went to Civic Center. I ended up on a Dublin train so I texted my friend from West Oakland to find out how to get to Alameda. I rode to Webster and took a bus to the island and bought a beer on the way.

There were drinks and food waiting for me. I ate greedily. My friend’s family was watching the last few days of the Olympics. They were not impressed with my comments. Everyone went to bed and the lights all went out one by one. I went to bed around midnight.

There was noise about 10 minutes before my alarm went off. I lay in bed until 630 and did what I could. At 6:40 I was ready to go. My friend was in charge by then. I grabbed my bike and at Webster had only a short wait before I made it to Oakland.

Once there I straightened myself out and headed to Blue Bottle. I pretty quickly figured out that I could have taken Webster. I sat nearly an hour and my phone had very little charge. I had 2 cups and then went to the station.

The train arrived soon enough. I had been texting my friend. When that had passed I shut the phone off and started writing a little after getting on my train. I finished writing as we passed through Davis. The bridge into Sacramento was interesting. I couldn’t follow the service carts through the station gates so I rode through the station passages.

I went up I Street to seventh and zigzagged to Wall Art Center. That was where Tweed Sacramento was meeting. I got coffee and tried to charge my phone. I had a meal a little later. People started showing up then. Some ladies asked me from a car passing by if it was the spot where the event would be meeting and I said I didn’t know.

There were a bunch of interesting outfits and personalities. The hostess was having a meal as I admired her bike. I was astonished at how early I was. When we got ready I visited Old Gold to look at vintage clothing.

We rode in a bit of a circle but headed past 20th and T to around 30th but then we circled through one or two business districts. There was one dead end street near the railroad tracks with islands in it that we passed through. By then I had fallen into conversation with one of my local acquaintances and the one League Cycling Instructor on the ride. While speaking to my acquaintance he asked about my friend’s whereabouts and I grilled the League Cyclist about Folsom Reservoir trails.

I had been doing maneuvers a bunch in here because the ride was slow moving. My conversations with the guys had been on the north side of Capital but we entered the Capital Mall from the south. I passed next to my other local acquaintance and told her that I was going for a walk by myself near the light rail tracks.

When I returned the hostess was just setting her blanket out next to a wonderful fashion designer from New Orleans and my acquaintances. They gave me a hot toddy and samosas. A bearded gentleman gave me some curry. The picnic was a hit. It felt like all the ladies gave me a sandwich. I had to get up to eat the cake and then we all went over the Capitol steps for a photo.

The ride host and I talked for a bit while we were passing the Yellow Ferry Bridge and over to our street on the old railroad bridge. We had to navigate around construction to get to the Shady Lady. I saw one of my local acquaintances and walked up to her while she was engaging the SF Tweed representative. I sat near them and engaged the two ladies across from me that were both wearing all pink to match their pink bikes.

I got a French 75 and the ladies sat discussing fashion and corsets. The designer was telling us about her move to New Orleans. The league cyclist and I looked at rocks along Folsom lake. I told the Sacramento Bike Party representative that I wanted to go to his next event. I spoke to a couple that I had met at SF Tweed while they engaged its representative. They were doing some organizing. The host told me that he was planning on attending the Gatsby Picnic.

Everyone went back to trading stories about fashion. I decided this was a great moment to order my second drink, so sat next to one of my local acquaintances. He introduced me to the bartender. When I finished my drink I said bye and rode away. I managed to catch the 5:40 pm Capital Train within five minutes of its departure.

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.

We Arrived in Sausalito

On 19 February wrote that the morning before I wrote this I sat drinking coffee with my friend while she made a meal. She had offered to make me something but I declined. Instead I got us ready for our Larkspur test ride.

I brought our bikes outside and attached the panniers, which I packed before we quietly loaded up. We did everything expertly. We saw a guy with a trailer at Valencia. We talked to him as we went down Market. It was cold and I kicked myself for forgetting gloves. However, the traffic at that time was really great. The going was slow because of my friend’s back wheel. I had to pump up our tires so I was able to figure out that her equipment had wedged her break shut.

We quickly grabbed coffee and put money on our clipper cards before we loaded – I dragged the bikes down stairs – and then fixed I her break. She was quietly looking out the window at the other end of the boat. I hung out with her for a bit.

When we arrived in Sausalito. Then we got our equipment organized and had quiet time as we rode up Bridgeway. I showed her City Hall and at Molly Stones I got us some drinks before we rode to our picnic spot. I was surprised at the weather – it was forcing us to ride a lot slower.

We arrived at the spot faster than I had anticipated. I propped my bike up, unpacked and put a blanket down. I went for a short walk to view the marsh but could still hear our picnic site. We threw stones into the water after that. They made loud splashes. I got some fresh air and it was really great being out. We had made the trip so many times it was splendid. We ate food, had a drink and generally had a good rest.

We consulted the ferry schedule and determined the next boat was sooner than anticipated. We made a quick decision while riding away to take the shortest route, climbing from Blythedale to Horse Hill in record time.

The ride through Corte Madera was good. I went slow because of the circumstances. We had to check on some noise but it was fine. We went under the freeway and over the creek without incident. The ferry terminal was mostly empty in the boat left a bit late.

On board I broke out the second can of drinks – gin and tonic. We quietly ate and played with the folding seats. My friend asked about cargo bikes on the boat. When we were getting off the boat some nice passenger took our photo.

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 View was Great

On 17 February I wrote that the previous morning my friend and I had coffee. She told me that she would meet me in The Sunset. I tidied the apartment - I had rendered some chicken the night before and it had needed to be addressed. After I cleaned up I tossed the garbage. I walked with a bag full of stuff to work kicking myself for not having brought a backpack.

When I got in I waited for a few things - checking in with people. I got coffee and by 11 I ran to the apartment for lunch. I had wanted to eat one thing in particular but needed to tidy and clean first. I took 45 minutes to to get back. I finished up a few odd jobs for the rest of the day glowing from the run.

I took an express to mom and dad’s house in the Sunset and tried to get the downstairs room organized but ran into problems. I went upstairs and help with the noise twice before mom helped me figure out where some sheets were.

We had a quiet dinner before I wound the room down. Then I convinced my friend to walk to 30th for the view and have a drink. We got a good talk in. She said stuff, I found the appropriate things to say in response and it was good. The view was great we talked about good stuff too.

I told her communication was really important if you want to sing together and get a recording contract.

We returned to the house. The walk was nearly 2 miles. I had a beer before going to bed.

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.

Buy Sparkling Wine, Candy

On 14 February I wrote my friend wished me a happy Valentine’s Day. I took it easy and went ot work on a good note. I rode to work and was had such an easy time I actually felt productive. I had coffee and interacted with coworkers. I had a slice of pizza for lunch and when my work was done I headed off to buy sparkling wine, candy and get some fresh air.

The ladies were all there at the the apartment so I had a cocktail and listened to them discuss tweed. One of the guys showed up and we drink rose cuvée. When everyone left I wound the house down.

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.

Randal Museum

On 11 February I wrote that we were up several times and I got up at 8:30 and we went to get going to meet the group at Duboce Park. I grabbed what I needed and later we walked out of the building with our own bikes. That went well but it was only fitting for a small ride. We went to Verve and then to Duboce.

The bike coalition people were in charge of the ride. He was a bike seller and she did educational programs. We were going to Randal Museum. There was a waiver and then we took a picture. From there we climbed Henry and Roosevelt. I only made it direct because everyone else had to rest.

At the venue we locked up and listened to the band and speakers. It dawned on us that we wouldn’t see the inside of the museum until much later. I tried out the GSD and then our acquaintances rode away with us.

One of our number needed to meet his coworkers so we escorted his wife home. We then went for coffee which turned out to be OK. It was noisy.

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.

Blowing from His Hat

On 9 February I wrote that I was up lane and my friend and I worked through the morning. I rode to work where I wanted to get some writing done so I had a new story to tell starting Monday. By noon I had a handle on a report I was shepherding. I had coffee and reviewed meeting notes. I had to go back-and-forth until 430 I was done.

I went to the apartment where my friend said that she we should go to the chicken sandwich shop. We had a relatively quiet dinner it was great. We saw our neighbor. When we got back we saw him again. Later we settled in. She had to wind down.

After that I went to Civic Center. I rode the train to Oakland and transferred. I saw some of the guys on the way. We ended up at Cerrito Del Norte for Bike Party East Bay. There were cops I saw everywhere. I saw all of the people I normally see. We had great stuff. It was a breath of fresh air.

We headed basically down Regatta with small changes. This that this took us to a interesting park called Booker T Anderson. I left my bike with people I knew. I hung out with my SF friends. There were some other guy too. Some guy had fire blowing from his hat. We rode to Regatta and went to Marina Park. I saw some guys I knew and we had whiskey. I said bye and returned to Cerrito Del Norte.

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 haircut was easy.

On Saturday, 3 February I did the work in the morning and my friend napped but by around nine she was all right so I took a nap and she declared her intent to go to the zoo. She left and I got up after her. Then I left for a haircut after having a small meal, coffee and starting a load of laundry.

The ride easy. I slapped a rearview and 19th. The haircut was easy. I got into a stupid argument on Twitter and as I was rideing home I discovered there was a celebration for 100 years of the twin peaks tunnel. It was at the library. I rode home and they had just returned from the zoo. We had quiet time and I ate too many tacos. My friend had eaten too. We napped for a while.

When we woke up I was slightly jittery from the coffee I had had at Peet’s. We ate leftover spaghetti for dinner. We mostly hung out in the living room after dinner and we also stopped at Guss’ for some things and drinks. When dinner was over I was downstairs for a while winding house down. I had downloaded minesweeper. When I came upstairs it was later but it was still possible for us to go out. Unfortunately I felt sick. I have been sniffling – she had been as well. We killed off the Rick and Morty which was available on video.

Next morning I was up second. An acquaintance was staying at the apartment and though there was a sound system that had been delivered on that Saturday it made more sense for me to stay and help. My friend disappeared and later we went for a walk. I caught up as she was leaving. We sat noisily in the café and then walked to the beach for a while. We made noise but the ocean was so loud. We dug in the sand and killed at the waves. We got along and had some moments. The beach experience with particularly memorable.

At the house I guess I chilled somewhere in the house. The sand was causing problems with my ears. It was everywhere. I wanted to get through it. She got it and then I took over and we had quiet time. Later my we discussed things and determined I couldn’t go to an event with mom so she went when quiet time started. I made a loud noise which dad came running for but it wasn’t as much of a problem as I thought it would be.

Dad was watching with the Super Bowl. I quietly walk to West Sunset and spent an hour there. Later she saw me on her phone so came and found me. That was a breath of fresh air. We returned to the house. It was 530 and a quick step to winding the house down. We broke the news to dad that we would not be having dinner. After we wound the house down we discussed our options and then walk to Brothers Pizza before going to riptide.

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.

Immigrant and Yuba Gaps

On 30 January I wrote that I had shoveled the walk to the cross country path. My friend was excited about it and pushed me into this now. Later I sat in the living room until late. I also sat in the dining area around three in the morning.

I was in the bed for 25 minutes longer when everyone got up. Later I noted that there had been a lot of discussion about our outing for the day. Our hosts had skis and another person was driving so my friend and I grabbed our equipment and walked to the cross country ski place. I was really slow so quietly hung out in the ski shop until the others were done paying.

We had four sleds. Two were carrying kids, one was an equipment shed sled. Our hostess quietly took the last one – it was a double. I wasn’t good on my skis because I am a downhill skier. I was terrible with the supplies sled.

We took what seemed like the right path and our hostess called it Palisade. We descended on some tough hills. We broke a couple of times for a snack. At a crossroad I pointed out to her that we were on a maintenance trail. Everyone had to stop to debate what way to go. I thought it was obvious. I had to take a break by myself to get some fresh air.

When we were in agreement we had to ascend a crazy hill and I had to walk the double to the top.  The others had to practically crawl.  I waited quietly at the top drinking a beer. We rode across all of the main trails then to get back to the correct route. I really had fun. The mild slopes and cross-trails gave me a new perspective.

My friend and I were often at the front and though she had the double at this point she was in good spirits. When everyone caught up to us we were at the spot she had tackled me the night before. From there we went straight to the house. I have a lot of weight on my sled at that point.

We unloaded and I made sure that my first steps in that direction we’re done quietly and then I helped everyone else out. I took some time alone then to allow the house to settle in for the afternoon. When I returned upstairs the ladies had figured out quiet time and I put in the necessary effort.

When we all went back outside we returned our steps. However, one couple had to get a special route. I drank my beer with my friend while we waited for them to catch up. After that our hostess, my friend and I ditched. The ladies wanted to do something crazy so I headed back with the others when they caught up to us. We crossed paths with the host but I took a shortcut and unloaded. Later others unloaded too. We broke our stuff down when and when my friend showed up and she and I walked back – we threw snowballs. The host and hostess skied back.

At the house quiet time had ended. I was faded. The ladies made a yummy meal. I tried to tidy but it was impossible. I texted mom and my family at six. The host got back from the supermarket and we ate pasta. It was great. We wound the house down soon after.  My friend and I we sat on the porch for a while. After that we ate chocolate in the dining room. Later we sat in front of the fire talking until late.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I was up at five and got my friend awake. At 6:30 everything was still quiet. My friend went upstairs at eight and I followed her only a bit later. I made coffee and a meal for myself and then spent some time alone downstairs.

When I returned everyone except my friend and I was getting ready to go skiing. We said bye to them then and when they left we picked up the living room, packed our bags and started the laundry. After that we quietly went on the walk in the snow. Then we loaded the car checked the house and drove to Auburn.

The highway was crazy. Immigrant and Yuba Gaps are always packed and fast. I was happy to get off the highway at Auburn and drive toward Folsom for a while.  Later we drove to Yolo and Solano then. We stopped at Peet’s in Vacaville.

The drive back from Vacaville was unremarkable. I did nearly lose my life a few times but it would only have been to people living their lives dead on the inside. At the bridge the car was getting noisy and there was crazy traffic. We made the apartment at 5:30 when I realized I forgot my hat.

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.