Placer County Big Trees Grove

On July 13, 2023, I wrote that the night before I spent a few hours writing for the night at my Wabena Creek campsite. I went to sleep at 10:30. My pen died and that was upsetting. However, I resolved to ask passersby.

As I hadn’t gone camping by myself in a long time, I ended up combing through my thoughts and memories for quite some time. One memory of my mother really stuck with me that night. My mother and I had planted a sequoia in the yard of her vacation home and it had died recently – after my mother had passed away. It struck me as important so I made a mental note and searched for a picture of her to keep nearby as a reminder of that moment.

I had a hard time getting comfortable as I was going to sleep that night because everything was spooky but by the time I got into my bag I was pretty tired and was asleep by 10:45.

I woke up at midnight and three but mostly got a full night’s sleep. I got up at around 8:30 and noted that the pattern to my packing is to kind of do everything at once. I also noted that I can’t put anything on the bike until I’d eaten and gotten water.

When I was packed, I went for a short distance and reviewed my objective for the day – getting to the intersection of Foresthill and Soda Springs roads. I noted that from where I had been camping at Wabena Creek, I would have to do about three climbs with one light descent. Ultimately the climb was about 1000 feet.

I headed out at 10. I was half way by distance at 11:15. However, I made it to the crest of the Foresthill Divide at one. That spot is essentially the end of Soda Springs Road and the beginning of Foresthill Road but there is no signage or anything else of note for that matter. I passed some guys going to see the petroglyphs on an adjacent road. They gave me a mechanical pencil which wasn’t what I wanted but I thanked them since it was good enough.

At that point my spirits were pretty good but then there were quite a few unforeseen climbs between the crest and Sunflower Hill. I was following the ridge above Duncan Creek (which I couldn’t see) so the road climbed and descended a lot. It was only a drop of about 200 feet and all really. After that I quickly descended to Robinson flat. That was a drop of around 300 feet. On the way, I saw a California fire crew and I spoke to some campers who told me that the water at Robinson was OK.

I got water at Robinson and made myself some canned chili. When I had cleaned up and continued, I noted that Foresthill Road is paved heading south. However, my plan was to go to Placer County Big Trees Grove so I took Robinson Flat Road instead. The climb initially was through stressed, fire scarred forest with a climb of 350 to 500 feet.

From there the dirt road descended sharply. It was long too and I had no cell service the whole way. In fact, I was really concerned I was going the right way. The drop was about 1200 feet over about 5 miles. I could see French Meadows Reservoir and the Desolation Wilderness in the distance when I finally got to Mosquito Ridge Road.

I rode down to Big Trees then. The ride was really quick because Mosquito Ridge is paved. Two work crews passed me near Greekstore doing 60 miles an hour probably. The elevation change was less. Probably around 1000 feet.

When I got to Placer County Big Trees Grove, I was able to walk the trail and take pictures of the two most impressive giant sequoias. There was a grove of mature, but smaller trees. I spoke to a guy from the town of Foresthill who had come over via Robinson Flat. I was concerned because it turned out in Mosquito Ridge Road was closed at Circle Bridge due to the fire recovery activities which meant that my route out – on Mosquito Ridge Road – was also closed.

I contemplated going that way anyway and I was really really frustrated about it. I returned to my bike and set up camp. There were mosquitoes everywhere and noted ironically that that was why they called it Mosquito Ridge. The sun had just gone down while I was writing and I was really dreading not having a tent – probably for the first time in my life.

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.

Soda Springs

On July 12, 2023, I wrote that I had stayed at a ski lodge in the high sierra the night before. I had done some laundry and enjoyed a quiet night before going to bed.

I woke at 8:30 and ate in the lodge’s mess hall. The cook an egg scramble and coffee with breakfast links. I chatted with the manager and packed a bit later. Eventually, I checked out and loaded up my bike.

The staff waved as I descended to the general store in Soda Springs. I had been there before a few times so was surprised that they had moved across the street. I got a couple cans of cold brew coffee, sunglasses and water.

When I was done shopping I rode my bike up to Serene Lakes to snap a picture of the house my sister-in-law rents every winter and send it to her family as a souvenir. Then I went over to Serene Creek outlet. I was really tired at that point from climbing such a big hill but on the other hand I was at 7000 feet.

Once I was rested enough, I descended into the American River on Soda Springs road. Only about three trucks passed me as I was riding. I stopped a few times but mostly to adjust the bike. There were big Cedars everywhere. I stopped at the snow station at Onion Creek.

At this point I noticed a lot of people coming in and going. There was even a pick up parked with a dog sleeping under it. I also noted that it was very obvious that people were living nearby in the census designated place of The Ceders but I had kind of known that beforehand. I was still surprised to discover that the place is populated in the summer by hundreds of people.

I had had an easy enough time riding up to this point and it was only three but I was dreading the climb ahead. I knew it was a traverse to The Cedars. When I got to Cedar Creek, I had to find a Crossing. I also asked the guy for water from his house. I almost forgot my hat.

I rode to the American River then and parked next to a barbecue pit at a makeshift amphitheater. When I got in the water, it was really cold. Then I crossed the river and was surprised to find a tennis court with a dedication to Warren Laurance

I had to fjord a creek then as it had somehow flooded the road – some lady was driving the other way. Then I climbed about 3 miles passing a bunch of locked gates along the way. I ended up passing a road that was marked not maintained.

After that I occasionally rested or walked because I had to climb about 750 feet to a saddle above Wabena creek. I got photos of Point Mariah, Serene Creek, and even Tinker Knob. I had started captioning my photos because I was not in a place with cell service.

I rode into Wabena creek then and found a campsite at the bottom of the valley where the roads meet and the main road continues to the Divide – where I was planning on going the next day. I used my water filter and made a bunch of water. Then I set up my campsite with a sleeping area for the night. I noted that the mosquitoes were horrible. However, the creek was nice.

I had started eating. It was around 830. My pen died.

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 Break on Donner Lake

On July 11, 2023, I wrote that I woke on the second day of my Trans-Sierra adventure at 7:30 at my coworker’s house in Truckee, CA. My host had made me a coffee and when I was done drinking it, I started packing. I barely made it out of the house before he and his wife had their first meetings, but we made our goodbyes just fine.

I rode my bike to the Legacy Trail and continued towards downtown Truckee. The ride was impressive as the trail was well made and direct. I stopped at a nearby bike shop to get a tune up. At first it seemed straightforward but when I returned to the shop we concluded that my barrel adjuster and the derailleur cable needed to be replaced. I speculated Amtrak was likely at fault but it didn’t matter at that point. A call to a shop across town sent me on my way.

The ride through downtown was a bit difficult because of the traffic and my maladjusted cables but when I got to the bike shop they told me that they had the supplies to help me out.

I swallowed my nerves and walked to the hardware store and grocery across the freeway and got supplies for my trip. I found a nice hat, batteries, fruit and snacks. Then I got coffee from Starbucks and walked back.

Back at the bike shop they told me that they had fixed the derailer just fine and even gave me a spare cable for my trip! I refilled my water, had some delicious tacos at the local corner store next door, rode the bike around and decided everything was just fine.

At this point it was a bit late in the day and I was a bit concerned about my climb up Lakeview Canyon to the tunnels and onward to Donner Pass. However, my estimates said I had enough time though I would probably miss dinner at the lodge I was staying at that night.

I took the new bike path up Cold Stream and then passed through Donner Campground before taking a break on Donner Lake to get some water. Then I followed South Shore Road and climbed up Red Mountain Road through the neighborhood. Eventually I found a water utility footpath which I had identified while planning the trip. Following it brought me, after a lot of exertion up 100 feet of hillside, to a dirt road headed into Lakeview Canyon.

The road was not in great condition but it was level. Following it I reveled in forests below Shellenberger Ridge and the great views of Donner Lake before eventually finding Lakewood Canyon Road. I had trouble climbing the hills due to the altitude so I took my time and didn’t rush. I crossed two streams before getting to the old transcontinental rail route. I rushed over to the Donner Tunnel at Eder then. Unfortunately, there were no trains coming out of the active tunnel on the UP main line but I still ended up taking a bunch of pictures and video to commemorate the event.

From there I set off for the abandoned tunnels which constitute the original route of the rail line’s Donner Crossing. For some reason, because this was the second or third time I’d been through them, the tunnels seemed shorter, but it was probably because the last time I did the trip I had gone through twice. I noted too that it was probably just because I had taken in so much the first time. Either way, I took photos and tweeted.

At Donner Pass Road I went to the Old 40 Lodge and had a whisky to celebrate. After that, I rode to my lodge. I noted that the cook had just made me a hamburger! For the rest of the evening after I ate I was lazy and drank some of the beer the lodge has on offer. I also chatted with the cook and another staffer for a while.

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.

Truckee Pyramid Bike Path

On July 10, 2023, I wrote that the day before I managed to sit in the Amtrak café car until the train entered the Truckee Canyon but eventually I had to collect my bag and get in line with the other passengers to get off the train in Reno. I had to run to the back of the train to get my bicycle which is not a lot of fun. Once I had exited the station I took a picture of myself downtown Reno and then rode through blistering heat along the river path. I had to put on sun protection halfway.

At my sister’s house I sat in the living room until I had recovered from the heat. Later I tried to look at the map for my ride over the next few days but was interrupted by dinner. My niece had made chicken tenders. After that, we watched the movie National Treasure. I had recently taken a liking to these kinds of Hallmark movies. I was up with my laundry until late.

I woke at 7:30 and had cereal but was mostly lazy until nine. My sister had gone to work and my nieces said bye after I finished packing. My nephew was asleep.

I rode to Mayberry Park then and spoke with a cyclist on business 80 about the route. We passed each other a few times. I passed a construction site and a few other things. Google didn’t send me through the town of Verdi but along the bypass instead. I stopped at the River Belle store and accidentally went to the Verdi Casino.

I decided to get coffee and fill up on water. A short while later I was able to trace the Truckee Pyramid Bike Path (TPB) through Crystal Park. Once I had left Verdi, the trail began in earnest and it was really hard. The first leg was to the California border. It was on water company property, so there were a lot of irritating grates and other things forcing me to get off of my bike.

There were two canals which the trail (a dirt service road) kept crossing so I had to make multiple unnecessary climbs over it. At the Fleish canal I had to go over the intakes station and a beautiful suspension bridge. There were steps everywhere. The trail was too narrow in some places too.

After crossing the river and tracks, I connected with the ruins of old 40. Then the trail alternated between narrow dirt tracks and potholed roads. I passed the Farad Intake Station and there were annoying stairs there too. Then I crossed Floriston Road.

I rode along a novel and interesting wooden causeway at that spot. Eventually it ended at a 60 foot stairway where I had to take my bags off the bike and exert myself beyond anything I was capable of in that hot weather. At the top an angler assured me that there would be no more stairs.

The rest of the trail all the way to Hirschdale was a climb. I had to take several breaks – one I replaced all of the clothes that I was wearing that had stickers all over them. I followed Hirschdale to Glenshire.

From there I climbed up Glenshire Road to visit my coworker at his house. The climb was fully an eighth of the total for the day. My coworker brought me to see his wife and after I had rested we visited his favorite Mexican place in the town of Truckee.

We discussed work, our homes and home. Later, when we returned to his place. I texted with family and tweeted.

 
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.

Excited about The Trip

On July 9, 2023, I wrote that the night before I had had a hard time packing for my bike trip from Reno to Placer County because my boys’ birthday party was a lot of work.I went to bed pretty late but still woke at six. I brought my bags down with my bike and rode away. I later had to re-pack a bit and felt like I still had forgotten a few things but the issues were minor.

At Civic Center I was dismayed to discover BART had 30 minute headways. it didn’t occur to me that we can schedules were not very good. I did the math and found I still had time to check my bike – however, it was going to be close.

At MacArthur the margin was even closer. Needless to say, I was really frustrated when I found there was a line to check bags at the station. However, I was able to do everything, even get coffee, just fine. I had to buy it from the Station Cafe because Polaris was closed for the holiday. The bike went to baggage and I didn’t use straps on my panniers so I was overburdened.

I got an OK seat and then sat in the observation car with my computer to catch-up on work. I also chatted with a cyclist on his way to Reno. By the time I had arrived at Baxter I was listing out some locations along my prospective route and noting their relative elevations.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t noted any locations in the Truckee RIver Canyon but it did include half of my travels through the Tahoe National Forest. For instance I had noted that the drop from Donner to Soda Springs was not huge but the drop from Soda Springs to The Cedars was 1000 feet. Likewise, the climb from The Cedars to Wabena Creek was around 500. After that there seemed to be a big climb to Red Star Ridge on Foresthill Divide.

I was clearly excited about the trip.

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.

Dad at The Playground

On June 26, 2023, I wrote that I got my boys dressed and rode my electric cargo bike with them on the back through the annual Pride Parade taking pictures of ourselves as the floats went by. However, we quickly headed out to the Embarcadero because we had tickets to the Giants’ game.

We headed to the deli in Bayside Village which my family always visits before the game and miraculously made it before my brother got there with his friends. I got something for each of us and then we headed over to meet Dad at the playground next to the stadium for his 83rd birthday.

My older sister’s family was already there with a few cousins and family friends. I had a drink and we ate sandwiches. A little later my boys played in the playground with their cousins as they arrived.

I let everyone go into the stadium with my boys and waited outside until their mother arrived. We were with my younger sister until her husband had finished parking. Then we stopped at the valet to park the bikes and went inside.

The boys were ecstatic to see their mom. I sat with my older sister and my brother’s friends - near my dad. My nieces appeared in the second inning with their college friends. I had resolved not to drink inside the park because it is so expensive.

I got a chance to coach the boys on the pitch clock and we counted outs, etc. My brother’s buddy and I noted the pitch clock really speeds up the game. The Giants were losing by the sixth inning and there was a lot of tension heading into the ninth.

Austin Slater had four fouls all of which had been 80 mph. One was a line drive into our seats which I tried to catch – I nearly broke my thumb! After it bounced off my hand, it landed in some guy's lap behind me. My niece got a great photo of my boy after the game with the ball. His mother took the ball home in her purse.

After the game 10 of us walked to the bike valet. However, I ended up out on the field somehow with my two boys running the bases. Their mom texted that she had caught a ferry home to the East Bay.

Back at the valet. I got my bike and walked with the party to Willie Mays Plaza, where we all said goodbye to each other. I rode home on the cargo bike.

Later everyone showed up on Valencia, and we all went to have pizza which was great. I walked home with the boys and we quickly wound down. My brother’s friends stayed with us in the Mission and arrived at the apartment after we had all gone to sleep but they had a key.

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.

All The Way to Watt

In the morning of May 29, 2023, I woke my boys after my alarm at our hotel room in Rancho Cordova. We went down and had breakfast in the cafe. The waffles were great and the boys were very enthusiastic about the experience. After we went upstairs and packed, I let the boys go swimming. I checked out and jumped in the pool with them.

We got the bikes out and left for the American River Path. We rode through the neighborhoods to my old classmate‘s house, where we hung out long enough for a soda, and when their toddler went down for a nap we took off for Hagan Park. Then we rode quickly to Riverbend and had a Dr Pepper. Later we rode the levees all the way to Watt. The boys had no real problem riding their bikes on the trail. The path is mostly flat and the wind was manageable.

We had another snack and headed to Howe Boulevard and Sacramento State. By this point the trail was under construction so we only stayed on the levees. I mostly paced the boys until I needed speed. When we got to the local rail mainline near the Capital City Freeway, I noted that we were only about 20 minutes late to see Amtrak train five come down from the Sierra‘s and go into Sacramento. On previous trips we actually got to see the train pass over the river.

We went through the Exposition Center then and one of my boys told me that he wanted to attend the State Fair someday. I noted the old Sacramento Northern Railroad Bridge as we passed over it. Otherwise, the ride through town was unremarkable – aside from it going so smoothly. We finished off the snacks outside the Blue Diamond Factory.

We were perfectly on time for the 455 train but it left nearly 45 minutes late. The train trip from Sacramento to the Bay Area went really smoothly too. I started falling asleep on the train and we got some chips. When we got to the city, we went to Gott’s for dinner and I was pleased at how well the ride home turned out. We even worked together to bring stuff up the steps and watched TV.

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 Smith Trail

On May 28, 2023, I wrote that the night before I finished writing just as the sun went down at our campsite near Folsom Lake. The boys had sort of automatically gone to bed. So, I packed a small bag and went in search of a way to charge the bike, which took some time given the custodian seemed to regard anyone wandering around the campsite as suspicious. However, I put in just enough time to get one of the bike batteries charged up. Then I went to bed.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this, the boys got up and we slowly broke everything down. It took about two hours and we left at 9:30. We went to the town of Folsom for refreshments – a coffee for myself and a shared sandwich – before continuing on The Jedediah Smith Trail with spectacular views of the American River as it leaves the foothills.

I got a video and we really enjoyed ourselves. While we were passing through the mine tailings, I asked the boys to walk it out into a pile of rocks, and we threw some around to see what was inside. At some point my boys complained about the heat and the ups and down. So, we had to go slow. They have a hard time riding their own bikes at times.

Eventually we arrived at Lake Natomas Swim and Sailing Center where we jumped into the lake. The water was still really cold. We got M&Ms from a vending machine and then rode along the Folsom South Canal. The path along the canal was surreal with grassy hills everywhere. It was also really hot and we dried out really quick after our swim. Eventually we found a segment of the Latrobe railway spur and road through office parks on Mercantile, Trade Center, Sun Center and Gold Center until we arrived at our hotel.

The boys swam in the pool for a while and I got the room key and unpacked. Later we rode my cargo bike to visit an old classmate of mine in Rancho Cordoba. We played T-ball in the yard with his kid and wife. She made us dinner. We played with toys and hit wiffle balls over the back fence. A short while later, the boys and I returned through White Rock Park to wind down at our hotel.

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 Levees on The Lake

On May 27, 2023, I wrote that the night before the boys crawled into their tent to go to sleep and I took the time to explore the campground we were staying at – Beal’s Point on Folsom Reservoir. I got ready and went to sleep with out any real problem.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I walk at around six and got up at seven. The boys didn’t want to go get up but I pushed. I gave the boys time to have a snack and drank a can of coffee while they played. Later I got everything hidden in the tent because the boys really wanted to ride north along the lake.

It was only a few minutes later when we headed to the levees on the lake and moved off to explore the neighborhoods nearby. I noted that the boys had made a chessboard out of rocks the night before, on one of the levees where we passed on the way and I let them play with it.

The sun was kind of hot though. We stopped at a nearby supermarket where I got batteries and some fixings for dinner. I got some coffee and donuts. Then we rode up Douglas Bl into the local Lakewood neighborhood. From there we found the secret alley behind fancy homes to the equestrian staging area in the Granite Bay area of the state parks.

The boys played and later we rode to the edge of the Los Lagos neighborhood where I explored some of the trails. After that we rode back to the lake via the park trails. We followed the lake side until we returned to camp and I took a nap.

In the late afternoon we put on sunscreen and rode up to the lake on the cargo bike to go swimming. The boys were not serious about swimming but it turned out OK. The view was great. I took the boys back to the campsite and made ramen with sprouts, pimentos and chicken broth.

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.

Over the Rainbow Bridge

On May 26th, 2023, I wrote that my kids would meet me at the Jack London Square train station for our annual bike trip to Folsom. I grabbed everything and made certain I had things I needed before riding to Civic Center to get a coffee. However, it turned out the train to Merritt Lake was coming so I hopped a ride to Oakland and rode to 12th and onwards to Bicycle Cafe instead.

At the station, I got the bicycles for the boys out of a locker and re-factored all of our bags. Then I got tickets and discovered the train actually left at 9:57 and not 830 – so I was way early. The boys were a bit late because their mom had taken a wrong turn but it no longer mattered because we had to wait an hour and a half anyway. She took the boys to get hot cocoa and surprised me with second cup of coffee when they returned. While we waited we saw the Coast Starlight which had a fancy Pullman attached.

When it was time, we said bye to the moms and boarded our Capital Corridor train with no problem. The boys drew cute pictures and I posted to Twitter until we got to Davis. Then we discussed the trip and we got ready. We got off the Capital Corridor at Sacramento Valley Station.

One of the boy’s bungees got stuck on his wheel on the platform but it was OK. They also helped me load my bulky GSD onto a Sacramento Transit train and on the ride to Folsom the boys wrote in their notebooks. I estimated the time to Folsom for the boys so they could understand how long it would take. I also re-packed

When we got to Folsom we rode to the historic town center to get treats before going over the rainbow bridge. We entered the campground through the back entrance and the boys set up their tent with no trouble. When we were ready, we looked at the lake on my cargo bike without all of our bags and had dinner at a restaurant in Granite Bay. We rode home to brush teeth and wind down at the campsite.

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 Maacama Fault

On May 7, 2023, I wrote that the day before I was up at 8:45 and had the food at the front desk of my motel in Willits California before heading out at 10. I walked up the highway to Walker and on to Shaffer. I was fascinated by the greenish and purplish stones everywhere. This became a theme and I collected a few.

I have been concerned about strangers, but that went away when I got on the NWPRR trackway. It was easy at first but I had come to discover tracks on North slopes are always overgrown. I had to walk through some guy’s yard and then the water treatment plant. I saw a makeshift shooting range. I also had to climb over a ruined culvert – my first experience of many.

This all left me worn out as I got to the 101 undercrossing. I spent about a half an hour there. I noted a road crew on the highway and the abandoned RV. There was momentary rain.

I followed Davis Creek to the historic place called Ridge. I was fascinated with how the creek followers the Maacama Fault. I also noted that the CalFire station in that area created their own special trail to reach the creek. I had a few problems following the track through this section. I noted too that the trackway through Ridge has a loading spur.

I decided to follow the road for about 2 miles. That section was this is just off Ridgewood Drive. The area is operated by some kind of equestrian group. When the road started to disappear, I looked for and found a trail — a bespoke trail with little arrows. A bit later I crossed the track and found another trail, which eventually turned into a directionless cow path. I was able to walk back down to the trackway there.

Later, on the tracks, I discovered a major blowout but had no problem with it. I came off the track a bit later, where a new road appeared. I could see it on my google map. However, here the road went further down slope, and was mostly cattle trails. It also dropped to connect to the highway. So, I followed side paths and crossed some fences to get back to the tracks.

From here the tracks were a bit more rugged because the slope was greater to the south. I also noted that the tracks were at a greater incline here. It was only a short while before I encountered a series of giant blowouts about a half mile apart each which I had to climb over one at a time. The last one I had to climb above and I got my foot stuck and was thrown into a patch of poison oak.

I almost opted to follow powerlines at that point but at Heart Arrow Trail I decided to press on. However, a short while later, I made it to the dirt road which brought me down to Laughlin Road and said goodbye to the tracks. On the way I encountered a bunch of horses who were nice.

I walked to the highway and caught a local cab to my hotel in Ukiah. Later I took the same cab to the brewery where I had dinner. I saw a model train in the bar. After that I went to the Forest Club for the rest of 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.

The Pub Called Diggers

On May fifth, 2023, I wrote that the night before I went to bed at one in the morning after buying an Amtrak ticket home. I woke at 6:45 and seven in the morning and then I got up at 7:30. I quickly grabbed my stuff, made some, sure the door was locked and a couple of lights on. I wore a mask and took the 49 to McAllister. I went to Peet’s where my regular barista gave me a coffee and I saw the regulars.

I went to catch a 101 but it was canceled. So, I took a 150 to San Rafael and transferred to an SMART after enjoying the crisp morning air. I rode the train texting people I know before getting to Petaluma. I met a twitter acquaintance at Petaluma Coffee and Tea. We caught up and then I walked for the Amtrak bus and headed out to Willits. The bus was four minutes late.

I learned that I could have brought my bike. I noted that the trip to Ukiah was OK. I got fig bars and ginger ale at Lucky before returning to the bus. At Willits I caught the local bus to my room where I had a quick phone call with my boys. They were drawing and doing other stuff.

A little while later I walked to the hardware store and then to a Mexican restaurant. Then I went to Shanachie Pub. They were getting ready for music. I thought it was a very cute pub, but it didn’t have what I needed. I walked to the pub called Diggers and I had a beer. The bartender was very interesting. She asked me about policies at the agency I work at so I gave her my card. She also had gone to my university.

I walked back to my room and turned on my computer and settled in 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.

The Ferry Building for Butter

On April 14, 2023, I wrote that on Wednesday the 12th after work, I set up to go to the ferry building for Butter.

Some people showed up with a few others with whom I was well acquainted. They introduced me to a lady they knew – Butter Lap’s New Participant for the day. The ride to Fort Mason saw my acquaintances get a flat. So, I rode with their friend to the first stop where a bunch of new regulars showed up. My acquaintances appeared and I rode with them and their friend for the rest of the ride together.

As we were climbing past the Golden Gate Bridge and I rode over a curb in the parking lot and I should have been thrown from my bike but amazingly did not. I got the New Participant to take a picture of me and told her to send it to me. I rode with her to 25th and she was behind me on the climb.

At Legion of Honor, I hung out with the regulars. Later I rallied my acquaintances and their friend, the New Participant, to ride to Camino Del Mar. We had a lot of fun doing the loop and drop.

I kept calling our group “The Cool Kids” and I noted that I liked hanging out with the new person. At the top of the climb through Golden Gate Park, I went ahead. We nearly caught the fixed gear crew but I noted that they are very fast. We went through Panhandle Park and followed them to Bender’s. It was just the New Participant and I for that leg.

I sat with the regular cyclists since the fixed gear riders always arrive first and take the biggest table. I made certain everyone I knew had a seat but also pillaged everyone’s tater tot’s. I had a few beers and when the East Bay contingent headed out to BART I gave them hugs. Then I played pool with the guys until they kicked us out of the 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.

Riding up The Hill

On April 7, 2023, I wrote that I took BART to Glen Park for Bike Party SF. I saw participants on the train. They had just been to the memorial for a man who had died in the Presidio on Arguello. At the station I saw other regulars and there were new people. I noted that the regular sweep was on his cargo bike. We rode up Chenery to Elk, through the park and on to O’Shaughnessy. A guy I had known on and off was there with his big camara.

I passed everyone and headed up to Portola. I continued as they waited at the gas station. I met a lady while I was waiting for the group. She was riding up the hill with me. We continued to ride up the hill together but I gave her space.

I hung out with acquaintances. I introduced people and that was nice. Someone found a lost phone. The ride descended to Portola and Market and then descended on the viaduct to the bottom.

There was a tandem that was riding with us and they crashed around Sanchez. I saw even more people I knew. I met a mechanic. At Justin Herman I saw EBBP people and connected with people from Butter Lap. I met the woman who had lost her phone. We traced the chain of custody and got it back for her.
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 to Arcata

On April 2, 2023, I wrote that the previous Friday morning I knew my host was going to be lazy so at 10:30 I let him know that I would be going to the local coffee shop and headed out to wander the neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the bus was no help but I ended up at the coffee shop by 11. I called the town’s only mechanic about the bike I had left with him - the bike I had borrowed from my brother for the weekend. He said come by at 1 o’clock.

My host called me around then and we agreed to have bloody marys at the restaurant on the harbor. When we got there, the hostess set us up while we were waiting in line. There was some event where everyone had their kids with them. I had some delicious fish and chips.

From there we went to find the bike at the shop and we agreed to meet at the smaller brewery in town. When the mechanic was finished, I found the bike worked great – new grips and clean shifting. It skipped a little but I didn’t complain. I stopped at Home Depot for a bungee.

My host and I had a beer at the brewery and then we got on the bikes and rode to Old Mill Road. I was a little concerned about having to deal with cars but Old Mill is generally empty. We passed the visitors center and took a hard right to a spot where we saw a raptor scare a bunny right into the spokes of our bikes parked nearby at a picnic table.

We climbed a tree and rode the edge of the lake marshes to a small hill at Tolowa Dunes and shared a beer. Then we rode to the outlet for Lake Earle and found duck skulls. We walked on the dead reeds and mud before riding to the trail head and a shed near the “long trail to the beach.”

We rode back to Old Mill and through rain past Washington to Pacific where we made a stop at the liquor store because he was expecting his girlfriend to visit. When we got to the house, we were only a little wet from the rain. We made coffee and I was alone for a while.

When the girlfriend showed up, we chatted for a bit before going to the only good Thai place in town. I ended up getting too much spice in my curry. We discussed novel ways to pour beer, college and people we knew. When we got back to the house, we had a cocktail and played scrabble.

The next morning I woke up with enough time to ride the bike to the coffee shop in town. The bike worked perfectly. There I met my older brother who had been hosting my twin seven year old boys in Oregon for their spring break. I was planning on taking them back home to the city on the local buses.

I had ordered coffee in time to beat the line. It was “opening day.” My brother appeared a bit later with my boys and put his bike in his car. My host showed up then and the five of us walked to the bus stop and we all said bye. The trip had been nothing but fun.

The ride to Arcata was really nice. In Del Norte Redwoods, I told the boys to look for big trees. They were impressed with the cliffs. After a brief stop in Klamath Glenn, we crossed the Klamath River Bridge which has Golden Bears on either end. I, sadly, only got half a picture of them. As we passed through the center or the Redwood National Park complex we saw none of the elk which typically winter there. The boys were able to remember the name of one of the lagoons. Unfortunately, one of them wanted to quit traveling as we were passing through Trinidad. He called it Boring Town.

When we got to Arcata hotel, we walked around the plaza, bought some pastries, and then walked to Northtown for some hot cocoa. We peeked in on the ceramics lab at Humboldt Polytechnic University - my alma mater - and walked around the library. There was an augmented reality map, and a giant chessboard – I won a game against the boys. We looked at the topographic relief maps. Finally, we climbed to Founder's Hall before walking back to the hotel for a nap.

Later we went to the Italian restaurant on the square for pizza and went to a fun ice cream place that had some fun mini-carnival rides - like a carousel horse. There were a bunch of fun things for the kids.

Back at the hotel I waited for the boys to sleep and then went downstairs for a beer and to view the crowds milling around the old college town’s square. Tt was way more crowded there than I had ever seen – or remembered.

When the three of us got up at 7:30 the boys forced me out of bed and we packed to go. We went to a nice coffee shop I remembered from the old days and then headed out to catch our Amtrak thruway bus to Petaluma. I had the boys sit in the front seat as we headed through Fortuna and I pointed out points of interest until we got to Mendocino. They sat in the front alone most of the ride on the Eel River.

In Willits I had to move to another seat because we picked up a wheelchair and at Ukiah we stopped for a quick lunch break. I took the boys for ice cream again. The highlight of the ride to Petaluma was getting pictures of Frog Woman Rock (aka bitsin maca) not far from Hopland.

The next leg of the trip to SF was on the 101 Golden Gate Transit bus. I noted that there was a washed out path in Olompali. When we got to the Golden Gate bridge I noted that the boys were good at transferring to a Muni 49 bus and the walk to the apartment involved a stop at the corner store and we finished the day with a Ramen dinner, TV and ice cream before 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.

Confluence of The Smith

On March 30 I wrote that I slept until 10 and got on my host‘s bike and rode out to the only worthwhile cafe in Crescent City. The coffee shop experience was the same as the day before. However, the coffee shop abruptly closed and so I went back to the house to be alone for a few hours.

When my host had returned from work, he told me he had a few things to do but we chose to go to Elk Valley in his car then. I bought some Fritos and beer and we went to Smith Redwoods. We got great pictures, and the trees are huge.

He drove us to the confluence of the Smith and then later we went to the brewery. We barely made it with time to eat. We tried a couple of beers before we headed back to the house to play boggle and listen to our favorite music.

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.

Beer and Fritos

On March 29, 2023, I wrote that the previous Monday I arrived by bus in Crescent City from my brother’s house in Oregon. I rode my brother’s extra bike to Dutch Brothers holding an umbrella - there was a giant storm system jost off the coast. My host, an old classmate, met me there and we got in his car and drank coffee on the way to his house. The rain was heavy, but OK. We hung out for about an hour and a half – catching up, looking at stuff.

We went to the brewery, but it was crowded so we went to the Mexican place. We tried everything and played pool. There were a couple of ladies at the restaurant. When we were finished we went to the liquor store. When we got to the house, we had beer until late.

In the morning of the day before I wrote this, I had a coffee with my host. He gave me a key and headed to work. I had a couple of hours, so I was lazy for a bit, but ended up rushing to set up for my meeting which turned out to have been canceled.

The power went out due to the wind from the storm, but I had my tether and battery power. Apparently the downed powerline was in the area of my brother’s house in Oregon. My host told me about the camp stove in his garage so I made coffee and did a couple of other things. The house was very cold and the rain started in earnest. I did some work.

The rain persisted and I took a nap. When the power came back on, I noted that the rain had improved. My host showed up after a while and he suggested we look at the surf on South Beach. We drove through town and I noted that the harbor was cold. It was fun looking at the views. There were pipes draped across the parking lots there. I remembered the dolos and my host showed me where the dolos had been placed along the jetty. We took pictures.

After that we stopped at the store for beer and Fritos. Then we ate the Fritos and rode up a big hill trying to get to Smith Redwoods State Park but it turned out to be gated. I finished the Fritos and my host told me he would take us a more direct way to the park along Elk Valley and Parkway.

First we just explored the way to the Smith River but later we walked around the river in the rain collecting rocks. I had my umbrella out. We visited two river shoals heavy with rocks. Then we drove back to the house.

A short while after that we checked out the brewery but they were very crowded again so we moved along and decided to go to the Mexican restaurant a second time. I noted that that time we had a nice waitress. We played more pool. I even asked if we could play a third game. We both sank the 8 ball a couple times and didn’t finish our last game. We returned to the house, and my host tidied and prepped for work, and we went to bed.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this my host woke at 6:30 but I didn't. He was gone by the time I got out of bed. Apparently I was snoring. He thought it was some recording of a frog. I got up at 9:15. I was late for a meeting. I was back-and-forth doing dishes and tidying or getting dressed. When the call ended, I packed to go. I rode my borrowed bike on local streets.

I went to the one good coffee shop in Crescent City. I had trouble getting a table, but had fun reviewing Twitter. I drank some coffee and I started chatting with a social media acquaintance back home in San Francisco about my brother’s bicycle. I had been on the fence about fixing it. I called around and learned there was no bike shop that seemed to be working. I had seen a bike shop in South Beach in Crescent City but I was skeptical since my host said that it wasn’t a very good spot. I spoke to a lady at the sporting goods shop in Brookings and she said I should go on Facebook. I decided to just look at the bike shop I had found in South Beach.

On the way there I had to ride in a way which avoided the worst of the 101 and ended up chatting with a cyclist who was headed to Patagonia.

A short while later I found the only bike mechanic in the city and he said he would tune my bike for 150 bucks. I gave him $30 and walked to Elk Street. That was where I frantically made change from a 20 and called the local transit agency to identify where the bus stop was.

Later I walked back to the house. A bunch of people had sent me messages via social media and phone trying to confirm the weekend with me.

My host showed up at 4:30 and went surfing. I watched the sunset and then we went out for Thai food. We went to the less popular brewery and then we sat at his house for a couple of hours looking at postcards.

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.

Headed into Smith Redwoods

For several days in March of 2023 I traveled to Oregon and Northern California with my older brother and twin six year old boys.

We had prepared for the trip on the night of Thursday March 23 and I had gone to bed late after packing. The next morning, March 24, I got the boys up at 6:45 and my brother let me know he would meet me at the Ferry Building so we were leaving with plenty of time. The boys and I took the bus on Mission and we met my brother at the coffee shop. The boys were enthusiastic. They had all their stuff in their backpacks.

We boarded the Larkspur Ferry with no problem and I got a photo of the bridge. One of the boys was enthusiastic about the photographs. When we got off the boat we walked to the SMART train. The trip to Petaluma was unremarkable but fun – in fact the train was kind of empty. At Petaluma we went to the plaza, which is next to Starbucks but my brother insisted we go to the playground.

Later we went to the Amtrak Thruway Bus Stop and waited a bit extra because the bus was late. Then we settled in for a long ride. We had selected a spot in the middle of the bus until the boys discovered the front seat. Unfortunately, one of the boys fell asleep there. So, I moved him to a safer spot and sat in the front with the other boy.

We stopped in Ukiah. I went and got us some quesadillas and some smoothies. When we returned, we found that my brother had not purchased anything. My tweets about The Laughlin Range and pictures garnered a lot of interest. Willits and Laytonville were similarly interesting but for the rest of the ride we were nervous about connecting to the Crescent City bus.

I continued to sit in the front with the one boy until the other boy returned and we rode to Fortuna and Eureka that way. When it was clear that we would miss the 20 bus north to Crescent City, I had to make plans for when we arrived in Arcata–my old college town. I booked us a room at the hotel.

When we arrived at the stop and caught a glimpse of the Crescent City bus leaving we checked in. Then we went to the Japanese restaurant downstairs and had a delicious meal. I got us mochi and later my brother did bedtime. That was when I visited the bars on the square outside and relived a little of my youth. I went to bed at 11:30 and the boys were asleep.

The next morning, Saturday March 25, the boys got up early and I got up a bit later. My brother was with the kids for a bit and I met him at a cafe across the street for hot cocoa and a bagel. We headed to the bus station a short while later and caught the bus to Crescent City.

I barely noticed the ride to Crescent City and that made it really nice. The McKinleyville stop and Trinidad passed fast because I was setting the boys up in their seats but by the time we got to Orick, I was trying to get photos. I got Klamath River, Klamath, Glenn, and Del Norte redwoods. While on the road, we discovered that the 20 actually goes to Gasquet but we got off in Crescent City.

At the cultural museum in Crescent city I let the boys go to the playground. I went shopping and got coffee. When I was done, my brother showed up with his neighbor, who was giving us a ride. We packed everything up, got on the 199 and headed into Smith Redwoods. We stopped near the Park Visitor Center, but the rest of the drive was quiet.

The boys were drawing, which I thought was fantastic but fell asleep after that so missed when the snow was falling. When we got to my brother’s little town, we unpacked and I got the boys their warm clothes and then I went to see the neighbors who set me up in their extra room - my brother’s house only had enough to accommodate him and the boys.

The neighbors told the boys that they would find their radio controlled trucks and the boys immediately started making tracks in the dirt for them. My brother made them hotdogs and veggies. We enjoyed a meal. The boys settled in for bedtime, so I went back to the neighbors’ house for a drink and good conversation.

On March 26 I woke at 7:15 and drank the coffee my hosts offered me. I missed pancakes at my brother’s house but was able to make my own pancakes. We made plans and visited Cave Junction. The four of us went to the propane place, hardware store and I got some coffee on my own. Later we stopped at his office, where my brother had stuff to do.

When we returned to his place, he set up his propane and I sat with the neighbor fixing the spare bike. The boys came over and brought me back. The barrel adjuster on the bike was cracked but I made it work. I rode it around and my brother told me the story about losing the chain.

We had dinner then and my brother and I shared some beer. Later I found them playing dominoes. One of my boys was good, but wasn’t happy about losing. My other boy, after a few attempts, actually won one round.

When the boys went to bed, I went back to my room at the neighbor’s. We made some cocktails. One was called a “scofflaw,” and the other was the white creamy type of absinthe.

In the morning of March 27, I slept until 9:30 and texted with my old classmate in Crescent City about traveling to visit him. My hosts had made some coffee. I went to my brother’s house and had pancakes again. They were out collecting stones down by the river. I found them with a wheelbarrow on the trail north of the house. I was really impressed and noted that there are so many different types of rock in the Illinois River.

I got a scratch from sprouting blackberry and I gouged myself on a willow branch. We returned to the house and I made coffee and Cheerios. I did a few things later. My brother had the boys over at the neighbor’s house but later he made them a hotdog lunch.

I packed up and said bye to my host. Then I put the extra bike in my brother’s car and he took the boys and I to Cave Junction where they waved at me from the car until my bus left for Crescent City. I waved goodbye.

I noted my acquaintance in Crescent City had texted.

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.

Meet Us at Ski School

On February 10, 2023, I wrote that the previous Wednesday night I drink ginger lemon tea after the boys had gone to bed. The lodge staff workers played ping-pong for a while.

I kind of deliberately didn’t set an alarm and we woke at 7:30. The boys went next-door and messed around. I got them dressed and the bell rang for breakfast. The chef had made vegan donuts and offered eggs and bacon.

I finished the coffee. I started packing and the boys went to the ping-pong room. Later they sat in the big while I got us packed. After I had located all of the missing mittens and socks we finished up and we said bye to staff.

On the way to the resort, we tried to keep a good pace since we were nearly out of time for their ski lesson. I noticed that the road has a couple of turns but it’s mostly up and down to the gondola.

The boys knew their way well enough. Some of the driveways don’t go anywhere. We made it to the garage and gondola fine and had 10 minutes. When we got off we were out of time and I ran – I left the boys to follow. We ran into a cat in the lodge parking lot. So I had to wait.

I was totally out of breath when we made it and the instructor was nearly ready to call it quits. However, we were able to get an hour with him. I ran and got the boys boards and swapped their boots while he spoke to them. I was ruined.

I dropped the bags and the instructor told me to come back at 12:15. I took the kiddy lift and later took a big lift with a great view of the train tunnel not Donner or Tahoe. I got stuck in a drift but later met the instructor and he told me about the lesson. One of my boys was holding a snowball to remind himself not to be hunched down. The instructor gave me some points on how to help them.

Initially we went up the conveyor but then the boys wanted to go up one of the neighboring lifts. They had trouble dismounting. My helping them go down slope also was a problem so I tried to give them space. One trip up the boys asked to go to the lodge so we stopped to eat. By this point their mother was getting near. I let the boys know and they were enthusiastic.


One of the boys headed back on to the slopes. The other boys was conflicted because his mom was coming but eventually he headed out too. That’s when their mom arrived. I gave her one of our radios and she met them on the kiddy slopes. That was when I tried to get a run in but one of the boys gravitated to me.

Then I ended up riding one of the bigger lifts with both boys. We conferred with their mom and agreed that she would meet us later. When she left I asked the boys to go up the biggest lift and we went against my better judgment. The first run down was great. We met a random lady. Then we one of the runs to the other side of the mountain - which was also great. At one point one of the boys noted that “this is the kindest he has ever been to his brother.”

From the top of the mountain then the boys took what seemed like an easy run but fell a couple of times - the low-grade had made it hard for them. Then we got to a steep incline and one of the boys freaked out. At first I tried to be helpful but eventually I was just angry and he ended up on his own. I wasn’t very nice either.

We mostly just let him lead and things were better than the previous run though there so it was a win. The last time he fell I collected the boards and dropped everything at the ski school. Their mother found me there and brought the boys their shoes.

We had hot cocoa at the lodge. Then I finished up and gave the boys a peptalk. We dropped off the bags and boots at the school and their mother’s borrowed car and I said bye to them.

After that randomly bumped into a friend at the bar in the resort lodge. I showed him pictures of the tunnels near tunnel four. We walked out together. I had texted with a coworker and he came to pick me up then. We spent a lot of time catching up – talking about work. I got photos of the train tracks and the lakes. We had fries at a bar in Truckee and checked out some of the local color. He told me about his new house.

After I said bye to my coworker, I walked to a hotel I had booked for that night and later went to a local restaurant for a sandwich.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke at 9:30 and went to the diner across the street to have French toast. The train home was late so the morning was mostly watching families head out to the slopes. I boarded the Amtrak after a few hours of waiting.

On the train I sat in my seat for a while texting pictures of Donner Lake to people I knew. Then I sat in the café and chatted with tourists until Emigrant Gap. Later I sat downstairs 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.

The Clair Tappaan

On February 8, 2023, I wrote that when my boys and I arrived on our train in Truckee, a cab was waiting for us and drove us to our Chalet on Donner Pass – The Clair Tappaan. We checked in and got to bed pretty easily.

The boys woke at seven naturally. We got dressed and breakfast was immediately ready. The other two people staying at the lodge were there eating with us. I was pining for coffee but the pot was cold – I heated it up with water from the boiler. There were pancakes and bacon. I was chatty. When the food was done it was 830 and we went to the room for a moment but quickly headed to Sugerbowl resort.

The highway was low traffic but we had a hard time. When we got passed the parking lot, we took the gondola to the village. I texted friends and then we went to Judah looking for ski school. No one knew what we needed to do so 45 minutes later a lady at ski school booked us an instructor for 11 the next day. They also gave us rentals and we headed out for a couple rides.

I don’t snowboard so I was not helpful. The boys hated my help so later I took them to the lodge and gave them hot cocoa. When we were done with that we climbed the Jerome Hill express and went on a good run. Then we jumped on another lift tree and one of the boys went to the wrong way.

He was really far ahead of us so I just took the boards and set them up on an easier run. However, I really pissed them both off and they were really upset when we got back to the ski school. I took them to the lodge for sodas and texted some pictures to their mom.

We went to the village a bit later. We took the gondola back and walked to The Clair Tappaan. We wound down for the evening and the lodge served us dinner – pasta for me and corn dogs for the boys. That night, it was just us at the lodge. I did laundry. The boys played chess in the Louis and Clark room.

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 Picture of The Plow

On February 7, 2023, I wrote that I woke to my alarm at six and got the boys dressed, grabbed our bags and hopped a 14 bus to the Amtrak bus. At Second Street I got myself some coffee and pastries for the boys. We got the front seats on the bus.

I took pictures of the ride and I posted to Twitter and mastodon. In Emeryville I had to go across the street to get a second coffee. My boys were displeased they didn’t get a cookies so I got them a snack at the station.

After we boarded our train to Truckee, I broke up the bags and found us good seats. Then I plugged in to my meeting for the workday. I set up all of the documents to review. However, by Davis the seating arrangement got stale so I switched to the snack bar. It was weird on this train because the snack bar had to be canceled so the train had two dining cars.

The boys only fought a little on the way to Roseville. I got the photos of Sacramento – the big yellow bridge. I got a picture of the plow too. I quit my meeting at Auburn because the reception was terrible. The boys rebelled at some point too but I bought them some chips and left them alone.

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 Biggest Tree had Fallen

On January 22, 2023, I wrote that I woke up at dad’s house and got the boys up before drinking coffee and going through laundry. I noted that the boys had made the bed. I folded towels and tidied until 1230 and then we headed out.

The three of us rode our bikes to Gus‘s and then we looked at the ocean. I showed them Montara Mountain from Great Highway at Noriega. We saw some acquaintances and then rode past the windmill and up Martin Luther King to Matson Lake. I noted that the biggest tree had fallen into the lake over the recent storms.

I established that we were meeting the boys’ mom at the Ferry Building so we rode to Conservatory Road where we enjoyed the view, some beverages and sat in the sun. After that we rode down Page Street to the apartment where I grabbed the boys new cameras and put the bikes away.

After that we put together a small bag and took an F to the Ferry Building. We saw a barista from Mercury Cafe on the way. We had a meal at Gott’s when we got off and shared our plans for the month. The boys were very enthusiastic.

 
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.

Larkspur Landing

On December 11, 2022, I wrote that I woke at about eight and took steps to get the boys ready to go and pack. I got a cup of coffee downstairs and saw the proprietor. I checked the bike - it got really wet because the fly flipped up.

I parked out front and went in and grabbed our stuff before taking the boys to the coffee shop for a bagel, a pastry and a bunch of cookies. We returned to the hotel to check out and as it was only drizzling, we had a clear ride to Larkspur. One of my boys started saying hello to people we passed, which was really funny.

We went to Larkspur Landing and looked at books. I sent pictures to my family when the boys asked for books. I took a bunch of photos in the photo booth. We headed to the ferry. I saw and acquaintance on the boat. I gave the boys full backpacks – that helped get us downstairs.

The ride was OK – we ate chips. When we got off we rode quickly up market.

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.

Up to Phoenix Lake

On December 10 I wrote that I woke to my boys watching TV in our room at the San Anselmo Inn. It was raining a lot. The boys urged me to get up and I complied when they stopped watching TV.

We got the umbrellas out and put jackets on to walk to the coffee shop where we sat next to a lady from Novato who said we were very well behaved. I had a bagel with egg and ham – the boys had a couple of croissants.

When we were done we walked to the shops to get new umbrellas and rain boots. We also got a book at the book shop and I picked up an STS from Ludwig’s specialty liquor store.

The rain had ended then so we ran to the inn, changed and hopped on the bike. We rode past the Seminary and up to Phoenix lake. When we got to the top of the dam, I texted pictures to my siblings and the three of us had refreshments. We looked at the old pipes.

We stopped at the Shaver Grade Trail before heading back to San Anselmo. As we approached town it started to rain very heavily. I put the rain fly on and the boys went upstairs and changed. We were in the room for about an hour. I made them hot cocoa and had a little coffee.

Later, around 5:30, we went to Jane’s tacos and had quesadillas. I had a Mezcal flight with my chicken molé. The wait staff gave us crayons and were really nice. We went to the gelato place and then I stopped at Ludwigs on the way back to the Inn.

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 Rode to San Anselmo

On December 9, 2022, I woke up at 7am and the boys had eaten and dressed. We were on time to school. I worked from home that day. I called the inn to confirm our reservation before finishing up work and packing. I got to the school and when the boys got out we were ready to go.

The bike was full to the brim with stuff for our trip to Marin County. We took Pacific to Mason and headed down Clay to the ferry building. Some of the ladies in the line for the boat asked about our trip.

We had an hour on the ferry and got the boys chips. I thought I lost my keys but they were in my sweater pocket which was below my jacket – I was only looking in my jacket pocket. It was a very brief freak out.

We rode to San Anselmo pretty quickly and hung out in our suite until we were unpacked. Then we went to the pizzeria and stopped by the gelato place afterwards. The boys ate very little sadly but they played in the park. We had fun.

Back at the inn the boys watched TV and we read a book about kitty cat architects. They went to sleep and I set up my work computer and had a beer while watching Gundam Mobile Suit 0079.

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 Nutcracker

On December 8, 2022, I wrote that that morning I woke at 7:15 and walked to the coffee shop. Later, I walked to Fillmore and to the school because I would be chaperoning my sons’ class for matinee of the nutcracker. We took the bus with 11 kids and six adults. One of my boys was late so took another bus with his teacher since he’s in another class. I noted there were others chaperoning his class.

The transfer was OK but I noticed none of the kids were holding hands. I mostly stuck to my boy but there were others was nearby. It was a mix of parents I knew with other kids. I discussed Muni with one parent who drives busses for a living. At the ballet my other boy was still late and when she showed up she went to the wrong place.

I gave an umbrella to him and then we all went inside. We sat down at our seats. I noted that the parent with my other boy texted me. The performance was really interesting and many parts were expected. It was set in San Francisco and there was a lot of snow.

When it ended the kids were complaining that it was too long. Everyone clapped at odd times. One of the teachers got us on a five bus quickly and we went home. A couple of people had left early but everyone else left together. I got my bag and texted my coworkers while having coffee across from the school while waiting for them to get out of class.

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 Double Pirate

On December 3, 2022, I wrote that the night before I met an acquaintance at the bike polo courts. We met the bike party regulars and a few others.

The ride went up 18th. My companion was very popular with the crowd. At Sanchez and Market we sailed through because of corking. The music bikes were really loud so we jumped ahead to Page – everyone had to walk but not us! Panhandle was crowded but we were really excited about the recently decorated Christmas tree.

At Entwined we hung out with Bike Party people. A bunch of people from the neighborhood were there. There were also a few people I knew from twitter. Even a safe street advocate walked up as we were leaving.

The ride disappeared because my companion got a flat. However a person I knew from the Wednesday ride saved us! Later he showed us the double pirate at the De Young. We said bye to him there and took Grove to Alamo Square and found the ride at Civic Center where I saw more people I knew– one of whom had just done a bike tour to LA.

The ride took Market to Valencia. I said bye to my companion at Dolores Park where Bike Party was shut down early by a Ranger. I learned then that one of the organizers turns out to live near me.

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 Funny Valentine

On December 1, 2022, I wrote that the night before I went to the restaurant named Punjab. After that I went to the Geary Club. I had met the guy working behind the bar before. I learned that he worked at Kung Fu too. I texted an acquaintance about it.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this, I woke at 9:30 and went to Mercury. A barista I liked was working and I tried being funny. The sign was down because of rain. I let one of the regulars know. I walked home and worked most of the day on the chapter 1 summary. At one point I made a bunch of fruit and veggies.

I worked until six and went back to Mercury to watch a duo play piano and guitar. They did the song My Funny Valentine. I had given a flyer for the show to a couple of regulars. One of them likes to sit outside with her dog. The other will often sit in the sun reading. However, neither were there.

I later headed to the Uptown to see an acquaintance.

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 Tweed Ride

In the morning of November 19, 2022, I wrote that I got up at 8:30 and got my wool suit on for the Tweed Ride. I chose my favorite tie but opted out of the vest because it was damaged. I had decided to ride my vintage Schwin even though the hub cable was loose. I rode to Mercury. I told the guy who goes there on a Public Bike about the Tweed Ride and I noted that the baristas were impressed. When I was finished I stopped at home and then I rode Valencia to 18th.

About 20 people were at Dolores Park. I saw all of the people I had gone to the event with on previous occasions. As time went on I noted that quite a few people from Bike Party were there as well. When the ride started, we rode up 18th. Unfortunately, the group got split up at Sanchez and Market. One of the ride leaders made sure we went slow so everyone caught up. At Waller we caused a hubbub. On Fell the new bagel place had a bunch of people double parking. I just blocked a whole lane. A person I knew honked at me encouragingly as he passed us. I heard him say my name.

In the Panhandle I tried getting photos. My friend was controlling traffic. At Stanyan we split up again but things improved on JFK. I looked for people I knew as the groupd passed the Beer Garden popup in the 14th Avenue meadow. From there we circled Stowe Lake and eventually headed back to Conservatory of Flowers.

I got to know quite a few new people – some of whom were particularly fashionable. There were people with really cool bikes and a bunch of people from outside of SF like Sacramento. I noted too that while most of the crowd were affluent white people the crowd was pretty diverse.

We all lined up to take a photo. I learned later that one of the bike partiers had flashed the camera.

After the picnic we rode to Page Street and down Pierce. We returned to Sanchez and eventually to Shotwell via 17th. We sat at a new place called Buddy on 22nd and Capp for a drink. The experience was pleasant. The ride leader bought me a beer. I flirted with the waitress and shared gossip with my Sacramento acquaintances. When we were done I followed the Sacramentans to Dolores Park before going 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.

A Funny Thing Happened

On November 12, 2022, I wrote that my kids had been invited to a birthday party. They were watching cartoons when I got up and I had a coffee before I got our three bikes ready to ride by 10am. We went to 45th and Lincoln and from the boat playground went up Martin Luther King past the Polo Fields and onwards to the waterfall.

The boys did all right. They rode on the sidewalk at Rosegarden and we crossed Fulton OK. Then we took Balboa to Cinderella bakery. I got coffee, Macarons and a cream puff. Then we rode zigzag to Mountain Lake playground. A funny thing happened – a bus driver I know honked at us from his 44 bus. Later he tweeted at me to say that it was his first time honking at anyone.

When we got to the park my acquaintance texted to say that his son’s birthday party had been moved to Rossi Playground. We rode Lake Street. Some lady was rude but otherwise it was fine getting to the playground.

A bunch of kids from the birthday boy’s school were at the party and my own kids knew a few of them. I was at first bummed that I didn’t have the same rapport with the parents at my own kids’ school but quickly realized that I do – I just have to explore it. I helped with pizza and cake. I saw a couple with a newborn again. There was another parent I had met.

When things wound down Andrew and I took the kids to JFK to celebrate the passing of prop J. I saw all of the usual suspects along with a few public officials including the livable city Director. A guy I know bought me a beer. I spoke to so many people I had helped to organize the project. I also saw a bunch of car free people I had known over the years.

I wasn’t able to speak to everyone but people were showing off their new foldable e-bikes and there were quite a lot of people I knew from twitter.. When we left I tried to say goodbyes but the boys had run off to watch a person I know playing piano on Stow Lake Drive.

The ride to 41st was hard because I was tired. So, I took a nap and the boys watched TV.

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.