[CR]Silicon Valley ride report (long)

(Example: Framebuilders:Rene Herse)

From: "David Clementson" <dclement@speakeasy.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 00:40:03 -0700
Subject: [CR]Silicon Valley ride report (long)

Felix Chiu asked me as the newest member of the group to write up a short ride report on last Sunday's Silicon Valley CR ride. So here we go. We met in downtown Los Altos, where the weather was cool enough for most of to be wearing long sleeves (we in the Bay Area are wimps about cool weather). Present were Felix with his mint '59 Pinarello, Peter (?) on a newer Pinarello, Terry (?) on a beautiful black Mondia, Bruce Shrader on a recently renovated Raleigh Super somethingorother, Dave Martinez on a Masi Special with very little of its original paint still hanging on, and Greg Davis on a beautiful Bianchi he recently raised from the dead. Besides me on my old '74 Gitane TdF, Peter Johnson was along, riding a completely original Bianchi that looked like he bought new back when we were all just kids. Our 'tour guide', and obviously the most physically able rider of the group, was Jan Johnson, riding a beautiful single-speed her husband Peter built. I hope I got everybody.

As I am new to the List (but not the local bike scene), it was great for me to be allowed to tag along with this group of old friends. Of course, they handed me the obligatory baby picture album (bikes and Alfa Romeos, mostly, but a few kids), and I had the identical experience we've all had under those circumstances: "Oh, she's beautiful! How old is she? Are those Weinmann brakes on her?" You get he idea. This time I was genuinely interested, though, which usually only happens with dog pictures. It was also neat to hook up with folks that have been around the local bike scene as long as I have. There were several "its a small world" moments, including Peter knowing about a specific white Hetchins I fell in love with back when I was in the 10th grade. Peter: if you think that bike might ever become available for sale, could you contact me off-list?

The ride itself was easy, and Jan set a nice relaxed pace that made conversation easy. We headed north along Foothill Expressway, then turned west over Sand Hill road, ending up at the town of Woodside. Greg's slow tire leak caused one stop, but otherwise it was a smooth ride. I was able to talk a little with just about everyone, including Bruce on the long uphill. It seems he builds frames, and as I hope to build some this summer, I had lots of question. From Woodside we coasted down Woodside Road, not bothering to stop at the red lights (tsk tsk), and ended up at The Plantation - a nice lunch spot across the street from the famous Stanford hangout The Dutch Goose (aka. "the Goose" - try their steamed clams with an Anchor Steam beer). The sun came out and we basked in it, eating and talking. Even though I was a stranger to all, I felt completely welcome.

I could go on, but you're likely bored to tears already. I'll close by saying that I'm delighted to be a part of the CR community, and it was great to 'meet the neighbors' that, coincidentally, live nearby.

Dave Clementson
Palo Alto, CA