Saturday, August 29, 2009

Different prespectiives


What, no pictures?
Well I really didn't see anything that I hadn't taken a photo of before.
Since I get home late, I usually miss the Tv news, I can as I care for the cable channels, but in flipping through the 250 odd channels, I stumbled across CCTV-9.
I does give a different perspective, even keeping in mind it is very much a propaganda arm of the Chinese government.
Another different perspective is that I hung with most of the "fad" rider today at the club ride Hey, I'm getting better at the recumbent thing. Now to work on those hills. Hey, you;ve to always have a challenge.
Speaking of that, my church seem to think I can do kitchen duty all by myself. I have other, and have been putting writing a difficult letter,s o maybe I should get to it.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Ghost town

From 8-22-2009

Yes, there is a Ghost town here in Socal.
Mr. Guasti moved here to start a wine company He built an early planned community to support his workers. At the time, it was the largest in the world.
Then came prohibition, which slowed things down. And then WWII, which result in a lot acreage being used to build what is now Ontario International Airport. The fifties resulted in Interstate 10 being built , which took more vines. When I arrived, it was a ghost town, with a just a wine shop run by the Filippis and a used furniture store.
Now it's being redeveloped into a 21-st century planned community.
Initially I hadn't planned on going by here, but since I having problem transporting my recumbent, I wanted to see if I could find a small vehicle that it would fit into. I went by the Chevy dealer, the HHR looked promising. I wanted to go to the Ontario Auto Center nan it was the shortest way.
There's still some Vines (I apologize for the blurry photo. The sign is for the airport)
From 8-22-2009

I took the ped bridge over Archibald, and here;s whats left of Guasti:
From 8-22-2009

From 8-22-2009

San Secondo d'Asti is still in business and it is expected to remain. It's also the only local parish to do a Latin mass
From 8-22-2009

The post office is not in a Historical building:
From 8-22-2009

Then I went window shopping,> I primarily wanted to see if I get in a Honda Fit or Kia Rondo. I did a couple of laps of Auto Center Drive before I figured out they weren't on Auto Center.The Honda may be worth going back when they're open:
From 8-22-2009

The KIA Dealer didn't have a Rondo. They did have a used Mazda 5 (the angle is because in California, the plate stays with the car, not the owner.)
From 8-22-2009

I then did the club rid and got a picture of Brent and his new bike:
From 8-22-2009

and found out that the PET does exist in fontana:
From 8-22-2009

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Follow that water


Sunday, I rode to breakfast:
From 8-17-2009

From 8-17-2009

I bu adieu to Joe and Sue and Dave and Edna, and headed out for a final look at the Columbia and the Pacific:
From 8-17-2009

From 8-17-2009

I decided to try coming back US 26 rather than crossing over into Washington, This proved to be a mistake ,a s it was slower. Since I had a late beakfast, I didn't stop for lunch, but filled up at Grants' Pass, and stopped for the night in Yreka:
From 8-17-2009

I stayed ta the super 8 (really super!) and Had dinner at Casa Ramon across the Street (too much food for too little money!)
I woke up the next morning on got on the road. I stopped to take a picture of Mt Shasta, it glaciers, and Black Butte:
From 8-17-2009

From 8-17-2009

I stopped again near Shasta lake:
From 8-17-2009

and again once I got to the Central Valley:
From 8-17-2009

I was going to go down 99, but changed my mind,. It turns out 5 was pretty busy. I stopped and took a picture of the California aqueduct:
From 8-17-2009

Ans that's where the title of my post comes from. The Aqueduct starts in the bay area and runs all the way down to SoCal. It's where the Cucamonga Valley Water supply district gets 60% of its water from. And since the Sacramento starts at Mt Shasta, I pretty much followed my drinking water rout all the way down > I remember filling a water bottle near Shasta Lake and think I jut getting my water a couple of day earlier.
I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley is 400 miles of this:
From 8-17-2009

But for relief and to continue the water theme:
The Former Tulare lake:
From 8-17-2009

and Kern lake:
From 8-17-2009

lots of orchards. these were pistachios:
From 8-17-2009

Eventually I did get to the Grapevine and La County. still had about 100 miles at this point:
From 8-17-2009

I stopped and had dinner in Santa Clarita. I would have taken my bike to Bent Up, since I was about 5 miles wasy when I came Newhall pass, but they were not open on Mondays.
Got home about 6 to no a/c. Gloom, despair and misery on me...

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all

This day started out promising we were to meet and ride someplace for breakfast. Joe and Sue were going to drive somewhere, so I decided to hang out with Dave and Edna Van Gundy.
Edna had a nice jacket. but she works for Team Estrogen:

The reason why mention that is being the northwest, it started to rain, and I had left my jacket in my tent. Enda had a socked bike:

So borrowed her jacket.
I would up following a group to the wrong restaurant. I realized my mistake, and found the right one:

after breakfast, we went back on the rail trail to the campsite. Lovely view of the bay:

The next event of the day was the photo shoot. They were 125 bike, so it took a while:


From 8-17-2009

some folks were more dressy:
Joe and Marilyn were matchy:
From 8-17-2009

After this, they were several ride on the agenda. Joe was going to do the waterfall ride, and I had signed up for that. But Sue was not feeling good, so he decided to do the Ft Clatsop ride instead. I plunged on, only to be stopped by chain going past my derailleur and into my spokes at Youngs falls:
From 8-17-2009

We did some field repairs and made back to ft Stevens after a stop at the Diary Queen in Astoria. My bike was doing ok (I didn't think I could screw up much more), so went on the bike path to Ft Stevens
Here's a recreation of how looked in the forties:

After I parked, I found the bike rack:

Ft Stevens was one of the places on the coast that was attacked by the Japanese navy in World War II. Part of why it was abandoned is that shore cannon were obsolete when the enemy could sail a submarine under the water past the fort. Here's a bunker that got hit:


Our navy did return fire:

Coming back, I went over a bridge:

This ain't SoCal:

We had a potluck for dinner. I let some one else do the cooking:

And we had speechifying afterward. this is Lonnie, the gentleman who helped me out of my derailleur jam

We then headed back to our campsite to watch the recumbent parade. Folks decorate thier bikes and make a grand loop of all the campsite (supposedly the largest in Oregon) after dark:

And to think, some told that they thought the parade was hokey. Ok it is Hokey, but in a good way, like hee haw

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

On to Astoria

After spending four hour getting my car fix, I was soon on the road to Astoria.
I decided to drive up the i-5 to Longview, WA. The drive up was uneventful. after longview, I crossed back over the Columbia and took US 30 to Astoria, it took longer, because it was mostly a two lane road.

once I got there, I decided to head up to the Astoria Column:




150 steps later:

There was also an Indian burial canoe:

Then I went to the Columbia river Maritime Museum:

The highlight was an old Coast Guard lighthouse ship:

Next to it was the USCGS Shark:

Coming back to my car, I saw the Astoria Trolley:

I then headed across the bay to Ft Calstop, where Lewis: and Clark wintered:



I had to check on Mr Drouillard:

and Here's Mr lewis:

I then headed over to the park and set up camp. Joe was testing a front wheel drive Raptobike

I decided to check out the wreck of the Peter Iredale before the Marshmallow roast: