A Lot Of Pedaling

The ride stats for the first half of the year:


Yeah, I slacked off and should have had the additional 96 to bring me to an even 4,000. But May was tough - due to travel I only rode 168 miles, which is what I generally get in during a workweek.

Back to the bike...

Dad

Happy Fathers Day
circa 1968, Vietnam

Song From 2010 That I Can't Stop Playing

I dunno why, but I can't seem to get enough of Zebra by Beach House as of late. From their 2010 Teen Dream record - one of last year's best.

Down On The Street - Hamburg Edition

Frugal Frenchies found on the street in Hamburg's St. George area.

First up, a Renault R4 - the first one of these frogs that I have seen in the flesh.
According to the Wikipedia entry, the R4 (or Quattrelle) was Renault's answer to the Citroën 2CV - a basic, efficient front-drive family car.
Exposed hinges? Slider windows? Crude styling? Absent of virtually all creature comforts? All of these "attributes" can be found in the R4. Even the idea of interior door panels may have been too deluxe of a feature for the R4:
Still, it might be fun to bomb around a European city in. Or better yet, on some unimproved French farm roads.
Parked less than a kilometer from the R4, a Citroën 2CV was poking out from a parking spot (next to a neat Euro-market Civic hatch).
Although far from perfect, it was in much nicer shape than the last 2CV that I spotted in the Oceanside harbor parking lot.
I'm guessing by the more-finished grille treatment that this 2CV is probably decades newer than the yellow beast in Oceanside.

Given my choice between the Renault and Citröen, there's no question that I'd take the latter home with me.

South Pasadena Time Warp

Or "Down Off The Street".

While up in South Pasadena dropping off a bike for Brad and Tim at Peloton Magazine, I happened upon a 1949 Cadillac sitting seemingly in the bushes in front of a row of fantastic craftsman-style homes.
Of course, being a die-hard nerd/car-hunter, I had to stop and snap some pix. I should also mention that I have always loved craftsman homes, making it hard for me to keep my eyes on the road in this particular neighborhood. Mix in some vintage iron and I had the iPhone all warmed up to pop out of the car and shoot away.

Image one, "raw" and unprocessed:
With a heavy "June Gloom" marine layer, there was no interesting sky to be seen. A little filtering through the free Instagram app and the resulting image looks like something found in a shoebox in grandma's attic:
Next up, printing it via Postagram. These damn apps are addictive.

Oh, and the bike. I snapped a pic of that before I loaded it on the car for delivery:
For those of you who might care, it's an Electra Amsterdam Classic 3i.

Down On The Street - Hamburg Edition

Going for an early morning pedal around Hamburg's Außenalster last weekend, I was presented with reams of late-model grey/charcoal/black (and the occasional - gasp - dark metallic blue), predominantly German cars parked on residential roads surrounding the lake. But always vigilant and in car hunting mode, I stumbled upon a sweet vintage BMW E9 parked on a Hamburg street.
Like the last E9 I spotted *much* closer to home, I don't know the exact model of this Bavarian machine, but I do know that I like it. Most of it, with the exception of this trunk lid tag:
But as this platform is more of a grand tourer than a sports car, I can forgive the transmission.

Still, if it were mine, it'd be in the garage getting a conversion to a proper three-pedal gearbox. That chrome fender trim would be coming off as well.

Star Of India Sleepover

Celeste's class was fortunate to be able to participate in a sleepover on the San Diego Maritime Museum's Star Of India a few weeks back. This ship, launched in 1863 as the Euterpe, is the second oldest still-sailing ship in the world and is the centerpiece of the Maritime Museum of San Diego's collection.
We've been to the museum and ship twice before (previously covered here and here), but never had the "living history" experience that Celeste's class did. It was definitely tough on the kids. The staff, costumed and acting as if they were 1870s sailors, taught them history of the ship and era and had them working together to handle some difficult tasks such as moving barrels using tackle and blocks, cooking for each other, hoisting one another up in the botswain's chair, going on overnight "watches" on deck (Celeste's was from 1-2:30 AM) and, of course, swabbing the deck.
No comforts were afforded them when sleeping either. Just a sleeping bag on a hard wood floor. Pillows and pajamas were forbidden. As a "safety officer", I was able to roll out a small sleeping pad. Still I slept no more than a couple of hours.
Definitely a tough yet rewarding experience for both the grrrl and myself.

Celeste is in the blue bag


bon voyage