Sunday, February 24, 2008

Cloe's forte

Note: officially, the maximum speed on this trail (and many others) is 15 mph (24 km/h). 5 mph (8 km/h) if you are passing hikers. Do not speed if you can't control your bike and/or pay the hefty fine if you do get caught. Don't even dream of trying this on weekends.


'Came across some old pictures whilst archiving:




Here's Bobcat Trail, a well-maintained fire road in the Marin Headlands, North California. With beautiful, wide, sweeping turns, it drops from 914 feet to 20 feet in 2.9 miles (4.6 km).





Cloe's top speed on this trail: 57.4 mph (91.8 km/h). Her long wheelbase — tire-edge-to-tire-edge measures 6 feet (1.8 m) — is made to carve turns at speed. On the other hand, I never dared push Ivy, my 1996 Specialized Stumpjumper, beyond 45 mph (72 km/h) on this trail.


Related posts
Mega Loop Ride
Marin Headlands Solo Night Ride
Fog & Night

3 comments:

QQ*librarian said...

Now, I don't know much about bicycle jargon, but it surprises me that your bicycle shares the same name as me - and no, I'm not Cloe. Haha! My name is the fruitful vine.

-ben said...

Oh, you mean Ivy?

Yes. Ivy is incredibly adaptable; at home in any circumstance; making the best of every situation; adept and resilient in any environment; reassuring, inspiring, even comforting. She has served me for daily 2 km campus commutes; 170 km solo epics in the mountains; 45.3 C scorchers in parched valleys; -4 C in snowcapped mountains; under monsoon deluges lasting all day, along remote kampongs by the South China Sea; alone at night in forests (with mountain lions); lost traipsing around giant bays; languishing by the roaring Pacific sipping coffee; cussing up the hills of San Francisco, dodging giant potholes; scaring kangaroos, et cetera. It has been almost 12 years since I first spotted her in Cupertino Bike Shop; satin midnight blue, understated, confident, silently beckoning, "Try me," — and she continues to astound, evolve, and impress, ever since.

:-)

QQ*librarian said...

Wow, that's amazing. I'm impressed by the active lifestyle that you and your friends are able to lead, takes plenty of discipline obviously, to stay this fit.