Two-Wheel Tribute.

               At an early age I was introduced to an obsession that has weathered many chapters in my life and continues to do so to this day. While stationed in Hawaii, attending one of dad's work picnics, one of the Naval Officers that oversaw the radiology department rode up on her road bike. The Cannondale I laid eyes on for the first time, up close and in person, looked fast while it sat motionless under her. It oozed speed and radiated sophistication. My huffy would no longer do it for me. I'd have to wait nearly 10 years before putting myself on anything resembling that awesome bike. I speak, fondly, of course about my two-wheeled transports; both pushed and powered. My penchant for fine rides and women are reflected in the christening of each of my rides. In most instances, the given name of my rides holds some personal significance, which may be immediately recognized by those who have known me longest.

               For my last year at UCSD, I indulged my growing bike lust by finally acquiring a nice bike. Something much beyond the bargain bikes found at any run-of-the-mill store. I instead sought out my LBS, Local Bike Shop for the uninitiated, in search of a nice bike. It was then that my relationship with Black Mountain Bicycles (BMB) began. Little has changed with the shop besides the occasional new bike shop employee. Most of the major players I met then, however, are still with the shop. Carrying with me that long distant memory, and the recent opportunity, at the time, to borrow a couple of friends' mountain bikes, I thought it was time to find myself my own ride. I went into the shop knowing little, but soon walked out with a darn nice mountain bike. Although it wasn't a road bike, my 2003 Specialized Enduro Comp radiated speed and oozed the same sort of sophistication that Cannondale did more than 10 years earlier. I decided a mountain bike would be a good choice for me because I'd be able to use it on road and off. Having been equipped with dual-suspension and hydraulic disc brakes only added to the high expectations I had for my ride.

I remember that first ride to school aboard Betty. The computer maxed out at over 42mph, which wasn't surprising considering the grade down Sorrento Valley Boulevard. From there I made my way on the the 5 North; I was riding on the freeway! One of the few stretches of freeway where biking on the shoulder is legal. That fun ride all the way down meant a long ride all the way up the freeway onramp with slight respite at the transition from the offramp onto Genesee Avenue. Heading west resulted in constant climbing. I was so unprepared for this ride all the way up hill that I ended up walking with a quarter of a mile to get to North Torrey Pines. Luckily, that turn onto North Torrey Pines Road ended the ride with a nice long flat section. All said, that first trip took almost an hour and 20 minutes! I was really having second thoughts at this point about the decision to ride to school. I'd eventually have to ride back! The ride back turned out to be even more challenging. The Sorrento Valley Boulevard grade is easily in the 7-8% range. By the time I got home, I was all tuckered out. I'm glad to say that I didn't let that experience keep me from trying to commute again. Rather than trying to commute all 5 days to school, I resolved to commute twice a week. By the end of the quarter, that nearly 80 minute trip was done in just under 40! Besides the continued work on the bike, I was able to get some good cross-training in with Juliana. Haha. A diversified workout, if ever one was to be had! In the end of my ownership of Betty, I was unfit to ride as I recovered from Anterior-Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction. I thought my cycling days were over. If only I knew the truth! In my post knee-surgery depression, I resorted to selling my beloved Betty to the junior officer who served as my physical therapist.
               Given my two-wheel, pedal-powered obsession, it must be of no surprise that the allure of being able to go even faster with less effort was too appealing to be missed. My journey towards motorcycling began as soon as my freshmen year at UCSD came to an end. Having dealt with my first heartbreak at the hands of she-who-will-not-be-named, I was looking to strike out on my own and rebel against the old me. What more fitting than to straddle a machine capable of out-running 4-wheeled implements costing 4-5 times more! But before that could happen I had to learn to straddle powered machines in the first place! I enrolled in a basic rider course and 2 weeks later, I had my license. The year was 1999. It was to be nearly 7 years before I would come to own my own set of wheels, besides my trusty Tacoma. At the time, UCSD and Juliana were quickly fading memories, and I was almost a year into my military service. One Sunday in April, after skipping church, and before heading back to Twentynine Palms, I stopped into a motorcycle shop on a whim. And there within, stood a brand new, 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 Anniversary Edition. Done up in the colors paying homage to one of America's greatest motorcycle racers, the living legend Kenny Roberts, I was ensnared. Before I left the shop, I was dead set on making her mine. And less than 2 hours later, after talking to a loan officer, I had the papers. She was mine!

Rebecca was my first major purchase. It was just like buying my first car. Except it was a motorcycle. And what a motorcycle it was. Rebecca was a sexy motorcycle. I rode her every opportunity I could. I remember planning to take leave, in August, with the goal of riding her everyday. Riding Rebecca around, I discovered parts of San Diego county I never knew existed! I turned into my own little 1-man motorcycle gang. Then came leave. I attended a dinner party at one of The Girls' place on the first day of leave. I rode Rebecca to the house, in a gated community. After being well-stuffed and reminiscing with The Girls, I got ready to head home and walked outside...to find Rebecca gone! Two fresh tire tracks on the driveway painted a picture of two low-life thieves backing a pickup onto the driveway and lifting my poor, nearly defenseless Rebecca. The slow response time by the lazy Sheriff's Department rendered the high-tech LoJack transponder useless. If I ever find those responsible for taking Rebecca, I will kill them. I really loved that motorcycle.
               Because of my experience with Rebecca, I came to really appreciate my insurance company, AAA. Dealing with them, though reminding me of my recent loss, was as painless as could be. Just over a couple weeks after losing my poor Rebecca, I held a check for more than I owed on the bike. It was as if I never had a motorcycle. The desire to continue riding was overwhelming. The search for a new ride began in earnest. I was able to procure an exact copy of Rebecca if I really wanted. However, by this time, having a few thousand miles under my belt I opted to go exotic. I began by looking at some Triumphs. The Speed Triple and any of the retro rides all spoke to me. Then I got the crazy idea in my head that I might as well go for broke. Nearing the end, I narrowed my choice to 3, 2006-models; The MV Agusta Brutal 910, Harley Davidson Nightrod, and the Ducati Paul Smart 1000. Each of the rides had their own endearing qualities, such as being low-slung with the ability to carry a passenger, having a screamer motor and a passenger seat, or being retro-sexy and single only. In the end my choice reflected my personal life. At the time, one of my failed attempts to get anything to go with Alice helped narrow down my choice.

In the end, I couldn't imagine choosing anything besides the beautiful Ducati. As many of you readers know, Giuliana, has been a long time fixture in my garage. Through the ownership of a Ducati, you gain an instant group of acquaintances who share similar taste. Amongst the Ducati crowd, it helps that Giuliana is a Limited Edition. Further bolstered by a majority of the Ducati owners running the race-replicas or any number of Monsters. I've enjoyed group and solo tours all around Southern California. One in particular found a group of us Ducati owners making a high-speed, backroad run to Palm Springs from San Diego, without ever touching any major freeway. That day turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime kinda day, where everything just sorta goes right. After returning home from that ride, Alice and I got together and exchanged shoulder rubs while watching a movie. These days, as the memorable opportunities for either come few and far between, Giuliana is only a garage away from reconnecting.

               2008 turned out to be an exciting year. Having been honorably discharged from active duty, I found myself enjoying an engineering position with a Chicago-based firm. My due diligence at pursuing my Engineer-In-Training (EIT) certification while still in the Navy paid off. It led to my engineering job and the opportunity to do more. After having passed my EIT exam, while still in the Navy, I underwent preparation for accession into the Navy's Civil Engineering Corps. Despite having left active duty, my invitation to the Navy's Officer Candidate School (OCS) soon followed. Unfortunately, my rehabilitation to full health of a recently reconstructed ACL kept me from realizing my life-long dream to be a Naval Officer. At least for the time being. After that blow to my ego, I was in serious need of validation. What better way than to return to my fun-running routes? However, I recalled not really enjoying all those fun-runs. The mud runs were a different story altogether. While looking for some physical challenge to assert my manliness, I happened upon a magazine cover while at my usual Barnes & Noble visit. It was an issue of Triathlete. Right then and there I decided to give it a whirl. A scant 4 months after facing the disappointment of missing out on OCS, I crossed the finish line of the 2008 Los Angeles Triathlon! And there was still a few months left in the year! I told you 2008 was exciting.

               A big part of that accomplishment came with hours spent aboard a couple of two-wheelers that I enjoyed during 2008. The most important, my 2008 Specialized Alléz Double, served as my couch on many of my free days. Jumping into triathlon introduced a whole new specialized language as I overcame Combo and Brick workouts, wherein bike and run workouts are combined, albeit in different order. And when that fateful day in September came, I left T1 and entered T2 aboard Alice.

On any given day, Alice had been a faithful ride. It took a lot of work to get comfortable on her because the first few days was quite a shock to the nads and everything in the sitting area. After that familiarization period My longest and most memorable ride, besides the triathlon, came at the heels of Andy, my Special Ops buddy who I chased from the Lumberyard in Encinitas all the way up to Oceanside Pier and back! That ride was a real burner. I had a hard time walking for a couple days after that ride, having finished with an uphill sprint in one of the neighborhoods surrounding the Lumberyard. Alice would eventually find her way under Lisa, my Mormon-famiily sister, in her first ever (and only) triathlon. That day turned out to be an exciting one for her for a whole different reason. She ended up getting engaged! More on Alice a tiny bit later.
               In 2008, Giuliana and Alice shared garage space with a couple of other 2008-model pedal-powered pushbikes. Before I came to own Alice, I actually ended up with the 2008 Specialized Langster, London-edition. The Langster was a beautiful bike that honors my favorite city. I've always dreamed of meeting my own personal Emma Watson. :) From the picture down below, it is obvious that the Langster was part of the fixed gear craze.

Elizabeth enjoyed the possession of a flip-flop hub, allowing me to ride single-speed (freewheel) or fixed. I started off riding her single-speed as a reintroduction into riding after having sold Betty a few years earlier. Having gone well, I got adventurous and had Mission Hills Bikes flip the hub over to the dark side. Riding fixed was an adventure! I really had to ride ahead to make use of coming clues to accelerate or prepare to stop. I can definitely see the allure to riding fixed. Having seen some of the downtown bombers and speedsters, I yearn to possess that ability. Someday. Eventually Elizabeth found her way to another loving home via Craigslist.
               The other 2008 misfit was my first (and only) bike I've ever purchased online. I won the 2008 Specialized Rockhopper Disc on eBay for about $100 less than I could find it in a store. With the purchase of the Rockhopper, I returned to my off-road roots, albeit on a much less extreme ride.

Roxy was a fun ride! Especially if the picture above is to be believed. While pedaling around the ducky lake, I decided to explore the trails above and below the road. While dropping in on the trail below, unfortunately I hit a lip that took away a bit of my control. I went over the bars into some brush because I wasn't able to scrub off enough speed into the turn. I ended up with a cut lip and fun story to share! Amazingly, Roxy would eventually go on to race a triathlon as the ride for my Mormon-family sister, Erin. I really enjoyed my time owning and riding Alice, Elizabeth and Roxy. However, as I began to further consider my bicycling desires, the urge to make room in the garage resulted in the sell-off of Elizabeth, per above, and the donation of Alice and Roxy to a bike mechanic friend of mine who fixed bikes up and sent them to children in need across the border.
               Giuliana and my current two-wheeled terror, the yet-unnamed Sawyer, offer a good look into my personal taste. A penchant for old mingled with new; classic and modern all at once. Giuliana is a 2006-model Ducati with 70s racing glory inspiration. The Sawyer finds its inspiration in cruisers from the 30s-50s and klunkers of the 70s while being equipped with hydraulic disc brakes. In other words, my anachronistic tendencies forced me to seek out some nice steel steeds to mount. Luckily, my desire didn't need to wait long before Specialized provided products right up that alley. Steel versions of the Langster and Alléz, in the 2010 model year, made their debut. And soon, they debuted in my garage as well. On a whim, after a Specialized Demo Day sponsored by UC Cyclery, the factory rep told me that the steel Langster I was pining for wasn't as hard to get my hands on as my friends at BMB let on. I was pointed to Adams Avenue Bicycles to try to get my fix.

The steel Langster was available in red, fully-built, or as a white frameset. Obviously, given my 2008 trifecta, I kinda had a thing for white bikes. Lo and behold, the steel Langsters were there. In Red. In my size. Perusing the shop, I happened upon a nicely built, white-framed, single-speed. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the frame. It was the fabled white frameset! I prayed quietly that it was not my size, lest I buy it right then. Luckily, as it was equipped, it was well beyond my price range (and that of the red Langsters). As I admired the bike, the shop boy approached and asked if I had any questions. We struck up a chat about the white built-up Langster. 52? Yep. Do you have any other frames? Nope. Whew! But...we can change out one of the red ones, build it as stock and sell it to you for the going rate of the red Langsters. Yippee & D'oh all at once! Lexi was her name, and single-speed triathlon trainer was her game. She did the job well of forcing me to focus on my fitness in preparation for further triathlon pursuits. However, a single-speed she was, and all my triathlon training she couldn't provide. Unless there's a flat triathlon road ride anywhere.

Cue Chloé, my 2010 Specialize Alléz Double Steel, courtesy of citygrounds. Steel frame. Downtube shifters. How perfectly quaint. Or perhaps quaintly perfect. Yes. Chloé was a fine ride. Her steel frame provided a completely different ride from Alice. She was a bit more compliant, or so it seemed. The longer rides on Chloé, however, seemed to turn into leisurely cruises rather than the training rides that Alice and I took. In other words, I was more keen to simply ride Chloé for hours, without really working on the competitive part. Lexi and Chloé were both well loved and ridden. Eventually, after having found myself back in school, pursuing prerequisites for nursing school, I had less and less time to spare for riding. Lexi and Chloé were meant to be enjoyed and I didn't want to keep them from that. So, via Craigslist, I found them nice homes quite quickly.
               As anyone can tell by now. Barring restraints on my time, I wasn't to be without a two-wheeled pedal-powered pusher for long. The last quarter of 2010 approached and I was done with my prerequisites. The bike-riding itch came to bite again. I wanted something different. Something cool, distinct, and mischievous. I wanted the Cannondale Hooligan 3. Originally, I wanted the black Hooligan 3. But alas, there were none to be had the country over. I checked with corporate. Heck, the white one you see below was the last one in Southern California. I drove more than 100 miles to retrieve this bike. Luckily, she was well worth it!

Hillary was one of the funnest bikes, if not the most fun, I've ever had. It looks like Hillary is missing a fork spar and some gears. But you'd only be half-right. Hillary is equipped with Cannondale's proprietary Lefty fork (although not really much of a fork with only one spar). As for the gearing, well, Hillary comes packing many surprises. An internally geared hub being one of them. The proportion also seems to be off in the picture. However, no adjustment is necessary as one of Hillary's greatest assets are her small, 20", wheels & tires. Eventually, Hillary was shod with some dirt monsters which made her a hoot everywhere, instead of being scary to ride in the rough. I took her on some adventures all over the county. Riding it out in City Heights, Kearny Mesa, the Lake, UCSD, etc. She was a truly fun ride. If the discretionary income ever makes itself available and I've finished upgrading the Sawyer, I may try to acquire another Hooligan like Hillary.
               But alas, we know the end of Hillary. Just a few posts back, at the reboot of Darryl's Digest, we find out that Hillary was eventually sold to make room for another retro-wonderful ride, my mountain-cruising 2011 Trek Gary Fisher Collection Sawyer. I love riding that bike! I've ridden her a few miles each day. Now, if only I could think of a fitting name...