Monthly Archives: September 2010

Reaching the end of the world

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride
The End of the World

It had to happen sometime. 30 years of the Tuesday/Thursday-morning ride, stopped by nothing, not rain, not snow, not even small landslides… we always got through. But not today. We, that would be a total of just four of us this morning (myself, Eric, George & Chris) knew it was coming, but we rode up Kings anyway. About half a mile or so, until reaching the end of the world. Well, OK, the end of solid pavement actually; you can see in the photo where the centerline abruptly ends, and for all intents and purposes, that’s where the road ended for us. The idea of 3+ miles or riding in gravel just didn’t appeal to us. Well, most of us anyway; Chris just kept on riding. We assume he made it, but as far as we were concerned, this was like a twilight zone episode where the world ended just up around the bend.

So the remaining three of us retraced our route back down, with George heading off to do intervals (ouch) while Eric and I headed off to Old LaHonda, down the other side (into the fog & cold; as you can see on my bike computers, it was 46 degrees over there!) to 84, then reverse course back up west-side Old LaHonda and down 84 into Woodside. I wasn’t very good company for Eric, who usually gets to ride with people who can actually carry on a conversation while climbing.

Why three computers? I’m into that whole digital-cockpit thing. Two are direct-wired to my brain, and one of them control my secret hidden motor (that one doesn’t seem to work). More seriously, the Garmin 705 in the middle does everything I need, but I sell a lot of the other two units (a Trek Alpine DW on the left, and a Bontrager Node 1 on the right) and it helps me to keep familiar with them so I can explain better how they work to customers.

Shadows and Fog on west-side Old LaHonda

It was quite pretty heading down west-side Old LaHonda into the fog though, as you can see in the photo. In the end it was about two miles shorter than normal; I’ll have to figure out a way to kick in a bit more miles & climbing for Thursday’s ride. Maybe we’ll head up & over Old LaHonda, back up to Skyline, and then do one of the dead-end roads we haven’t done for a while.

Starbucks knows what they’re doing

Shop news
Take Comfort in Rituals

We could learn a lot from Starbucks. They’re right up front about what they are, what they’ve established and the relationship they intend to continue with you. Ritual. So much part of your daily routine that you don’t feel guilty about spending $5 for a sugared-up cup of coffee & milk, because it’s not that you’re spending money there, it’s become what you do.

The word ritual carries interesting connotations… something you do without thinking. Something that maybe, sometime in the past, you made a commitment to, and now you’re doing your best to follow through. Something that you need to do before you can go on to the next thing. Something you can’t escape.

So instead of a trip to Starbucks being something you do once in a while, you’re reminded it’s something you do ritualistically, like combing your hair a certain way or saying grace before a meal or inflating your tires to exactly 120 psi before each ride. And on their door, they remind you, every time you pass by, that rituals are a good thing, and thatis Starbucks is a part of your daily life.

Brilliant people running that company.