planning a bicycle tour route -- google maps "1km zoom level" tip ...

Have shared this tip with quite a few folks in 1:1 chats; it keeps coming up in various discussions, so I decided to write this up.

While planning a bicycle tour, one has to tackle the 'problem' of how to select suitable roads -- cyclists usually prefer avoiding highways, and heavy traffic routes, but if they are unfimilar with the areas through which they are planning to ride, they also wonder which alternate, back roads they can take.

To alleviate that problem, I have been using a trick for selecting routes, which has worked surprisingly well -- 

On any maps app, like Google Maps, set the "zoom level" to ~1km.  At that point, any "interior" roads/paths that are visible, will be wide enough for a car, so they will good picks for a bicycle as well.  If you are finding limited options, you can also go down to "zoom level" of 500m, to look for a road/path, and get options which work quite well for cycling.

This tip should work anywhere in the world, because it is simply related to the map scale, independent of the actual geography, or landscape.  Ofcourse, this does_not tell you what kind of surface that road/path will have.  And also, one needs to be careful to find out if those interior roads are safe, in general. 

From my experience of cycling in diff parts of India (mainly south/western areas), I can say that this method will get you roads/paths with quite good surfaces, ~80-90% of the time.  For the remaining ~10-20%, if not good tarred (or cemented) roads, you will usually get fairly smooth dirt paths, or fine gravel paths.  Only in very few cases, maybe ~5%, you might get roads which have very bad surface (tar/cement roads in poor condition, or simply unsurfaced roads with lot of "rocks"); to the point where you may need to get off the bicycle and walk to cover that stretch.

If you are using an app like Komoot, you can check the elevation profile of various sections, to make sure you are_not picking a route which is very difficult wrt elevation changes / gradients.  Or simply, to know in advance, the difficulty level of what you are choosing.  You can use that info to reduce the "daily distance" that you are planning for those days.

Combining the above approach, with the info re: places -- towns, villages, eateries, etc. -- and natural features -- hills, forests, rivers, lakes, etc. -- available freely on Google Maps or other map apps, one can get a good a idea of what one can expect along those interior roads.  Not to mention staying options -- lodges, homestays, hotels, resorts, etc. -- incase one is_not planning to camp.  I have had very good experience, using Oyo, MakeMyTrip, and just Google Maps hotel search, to find places to stay, on-the-go.  (To date, I have never camped on a bicycle tour; maybe that will change in the coming years.)

One can also use this to plan routes and stays, on a day-to-day basis, depending on where one is at the end of each day.  But then do make sure you have reliable data connectivity; or atleast mobile voice call connectivity, so you can call and get a friend to help plan some sections/stays.

From my experience, in addition to your regular voice/4G-data SIM (which usually will be from some private service provider like Airtel, Vodaphone, Jio, ...), it is important to keep atleast one BSNL voice+4G SIM.

Additionally, a basic BSNL voice/2G SIM, in a basic non-smart candybar phone, is a very good final-backup phone option.  On a tour in 2018, I was suprised that one evening, as I was ending my ride and looking for stay options, my Airtel and BSNL voice+4G-data SIMs were_not showing network/service, and it was only the BSNL voice+2G SIM, that gave service.  So I could call a friend, have them search for stay options near my location, and send me some contact #s for hotels.  Never thought I'd have to actually use the BSNL voice+2G SIM, due to service issues on the BSNL voice+4G SIM.  The candybar phone was supposed to be backup, incase my smartphone ran out of battery.  Either way, 2 backup SIM options was_not a bad idea afterall.  Phew... :)

This bicycle tour route planning method has served me very well over the past 3years, giving me some very memorable multiday bicycle tours -- from ~3days, to ~2weeks.  Very high percentage sections of those routes, I did for the first time, w/o any prior info from, or discussion with anyone re: specfics on what lay along those routes.  Without this method, almost none of my bicycle tours of past ~3years would have been possible; since I am_not keen to "just take it as it comes" wrt roads/terrains on bicycle tours.

And on various day rides, where I have covered the same area on 2-3 alternate routes, I have seen that the routes picked via this method, almost always turn out to be lot more pleasant, and scenic, compared to the more regular roads; with almost no traffic.  On very few occassions, I have had to backtrack to a regular road, because I ended up in some section where it was_not easy to go further.

So this has absolutely become my standard modus-operandi now, for selecting routes, when planning a day ride, or a multiday tour.  Hope you find it useful as well.

Let me know what you think of this, especially if you try it out.

Happy and safe cycling.

"flat tyre rolling" -- finding punctures before they find you ...

This issue has been bothering me for a long time -- getting a puncture on a ride, and realising that the puncture was_not the result of anything poking in through the tyre, but something else -- age of the tube, or issue with the rim tape, etc.

It is quite frustrating at that point, that when the bicycle was at home, I could have fixed the puncture or replaced the tube, if only there was a way to know of the impending puncture; instead of getting the puncture on a ride, and having to fix/replace the tube, "on the road", with disruption to the ride.

After I got a series of such punctures few weeks back, my patience was running thin, & I needed to find a way to alleviate this problem.  Ofcourse, opening the tyre and inspecting/testing the tube, was too effort intensive, so I needed to device some method that would work, w/o having to open the tyre.

After giving it some thought, I decided to try this approach -- 
*01. Deflate both the tyres, by releasing all the air via the valves.
*02. Move the cycle back and forth, ~2meters, to loosen the tube away from the tyre and rim walls.  Aka, "flat tyre rolling".
*03. Inflate the tyres back to regular pressure.
*04. Check the tyre pressure after couple of days, and confirm there is_not much drop (maybe 1-2PSI, not more).
*05. Depending on how reguarly one rides, repeat this 1-2 times, couple of days apart.

I figured that this sequence, would help uncover some impending punctures, proactively at home.

I tried this for 2-3weeks, and to my surprise, it did indeed uncover 2 punctures.  In both cases, the air actually escaped from the tube, 2days after the procedure was done once.  In one case, the measured pressure also showed a ~5PSI drop over ~2days; so I was already suspecting an impending puncture.

While finding a puncture feels bad... and it hits the pocket (eventually, if_not immediately), I must say that finding punctures at home, rather than on a ride, feels a *lot* better.  It is much easier to work on a puncture at home, rather than on the road (with the added impact on the ride).

Am feeling more confident now, that this will reduce the occurence of punctures while riding; other than the ones where something actually pokes in through the tyre, and punctures the tube.  That ofcourse is a "regular" puncture, that one one just needs to work on, when/where it happens.

One concern however, is what if the above procedure, somehow triggers more punctures?  I suppose I will have to develop a sense for that over time.

Would be good to get your comments on this procedure; especially if you try it out.  Thanks.

Happy & safe cycling.

2018-Sep Cycle Tour (Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra) Day-00 ...

The 2018-Sep Cycle Tour was my first, on-the-fly long tour -- ~15days, with a rough plan for the overall route, and day-to-day sections being planned each day.

The tour came about after I had 'missed' doing the Manali-Leh tour earlier that year... it was_not a serious plan, but I had been hoping to do that long awaited tour that year.  But it did_not work out due to work schedules, so when work eased up towards mid of 2018-Sep, I decided to do a tour, "closer home".

The Karnataka-Goa-Maharashtra tour, again had been something that me and some friends had discussed on-and-off.  But I had been wondering how to get info about specific routes/stay options in advance, for a tour on inner roads, avoiding highways; especially national highways.

Meanwhile, in my weekend rides around Bengaluru, I had been trying out a nifty idea to locate new routes on google maps, along inner roads, which were suitable for cycling -- figuring out the zoom level on google maps, which showed roads, which were wide enough for a ~car, which would automtically mean those roads were ok for cycling; though the surface could always be a surprise.

With some trial and error, I confirmed that setting google maps to ~1km zoom level, worked well... roads visible at that zoom level, were wide enough for a ~car.  I did ~half a dozen rides around Bengaluru, exploring new roads using the above technique, and the experience was quite good.

So I felt confident that I could use this technique to head out for a 2-3week tour, and select routes day-by-day, on the fly.  Also found that the plotaroute.org website was a good resource, to plan daily routes, based on elevation profiles.

Finally, with mobile data connectivity improving considerably, and apps/services like MakeMyTrip, Oyo, and Google Maps hotel search having improved considerably, I felt confident that I would be able to plan routes and stays, on a daily basis; and adjust plans as needed.  Ofcourse, keeping 1-2 BSNL SIMs was also important, incase the private mobile providers, were_not having proper coverage in rural areas.

So with 1-2days final preps, I reviewed some routes, and decided I would start cycling from Mangalore.  Did the vovlo booking from Bangalore-Mangalore, and on 2018-09-13 night at ~2000hrs, I headed out to Anandrao Circle, which was the starting point for the volvo.  There had been a shower at ~1900hrs which delayed my start from home, but I  still had ample time to get to the starting point.

I started out in a mild shower, and after few kms, I realised that my front derailleur was_not working.  So the bike was stuck in top gear (#3); within the city it was_not an issue, so I continued riding, and figured I would look for a good shop in Mangalore the next day, to fix the issue, and start the tour.

I got to Anandrao circle, and was pleased to see that the private bus operator had their own area, with good lighting and some seating area, etc.  I got a luggage ticket for my cycle, and then loaded the bike once the bus arrived.  The overall experience was quite pleasant, since this was the starting point, and the area was_not crowded.

The bus started more-or-less on schedule, and I settled into an uncomfortable sleep, since the vovl bus seats usually give me limited leg space.  I got limited sleep during the night.

Near the morning, I was watching the outside scenery, which was quite forested, and was wondering where we were.  Near dawn, I saw a section of the landscape which was very similar to something I had seen few years back during a cycle tour through Kudremukh National Park (KNP).  The bus was_not supposed to go through KNP, so I was surprised.

After we exited the forested section, it was daylight, and the bus stopped for a break.  I got out of the bus, and looked at the road behind; it showed the gate for KNP, so we had indeed some through Kudremukh

Once the bus ride resumed, I checked with the driver, and did_not get a clear answer for why we came via Kudremukh, but seemed like there was some issue on the regular Hassan-Mangalore route.  I asked the about the ETA for Mangalore, and realised that the bus was going to go via Karkala, to Udupi, and finally to Mangalore.  Since my plan was to ride from Managlore towards Udupi, I asked the driver to drop me off at Karkala.  I decided to start riding from Karkala, after freshening up at a lodge/restaurant there.  I had stayed at the lodge few years back, during the cycle tour via Kudremukh/Karkala.

I setup my bike after the bus dropped me off near Kalakala, and rode the few kms to the lodge/restaurant.  They had a very good restroom in the restaurant, and I freshened up there, and a good breakfast, and was ready to start my tour.

selecting a touring bike ...

Some quick thoughts on selecting a touring bike (copy/pasted from an FB post of mine) -- 

See if you can get a used bike.  Yes, Surly LHT (I own one), is a good option.  Trek 520 & Kona Sutra too (from reviews).  If you can get any of them in resale, it might might work well from cost perspective.  Fuji Touring bike too seems decent (don't recall reading many reviews), lower priced than the other ones.

All other things being equal, 26" wheels are generally considered struturally stronger (begin flame war).  26" wheel size is also more universal, so tyre/tube availibility is easier. 

Presta valve tube means the valve hole on the wheel is smaller, so wheel strength is_not compromised as much as that for the thicker Schrader valve.  But you can use a Presta valve tube on a Schrader valve wheel, but obviously not vice versa.  So a Schrader valve wheel might give you more tube options.

A decent steel frame would absorb vibrations/shocks to a fair extent, so a rigid (steel) fork should generally suffice, unless you are doing a lot of off road riding.  Rigid fork means lesser moving parts/mechanics, so simplicity.  Steel frames are considered "field repairable", due to welding options.

Butterfly/moustache handle bars probably are the best for max hand position options, but not sure how much they cost.  A bullhorn handle bar actually is quite comfortable; I switched to that some time back on my Surly & was amazed how comfortable it felt.  While many touring bikes come with drop bars, am not really sure how many riders go on drops while touring.  They mostly rest their hands on the hoods & the horizontal section (next to the steering axis), AFAIK.  The bullhorn bars are ideal for those hand positions, IMO.

Racks that allow lower pannier positions are good on the front.  On the rear, watch out for low pannier position, as your heels might hit the panniers.  Good touring bikes like Surly LHT, have a longer wheelbase (longer frame), so that the rear panniers can be a bit farther back, to reduce chances of contact with the heels.  On the front side, watch out for toe over problem -- toe touching rear part of front wheel, while you turn.  Again, the longer wheelbase of touring bikes should reduce the chances of that.

Go for a good touring gear set, which will offer a wide range of gear ratios, which usually should mean 3 gears on the front, & atleast 9 (10 preferably) gears on the rear.  And something similar or better than Shimano Deore, which will be durable for touring.

Invest in tyres which have good reviews for punture protection -- something like Schwalbe Range Cruisers (i might start using them myself in the next few days), or the even higher (often called bomb proof) Schwalbe Marathoners.  The other option is to use tyre liners for puncture protection, which I have used for last 5-6yrs with pretty good results, but am still a bit hesitant to give a complete thumbs up for; they do cause some tube abrasion themselves, so cause some punctures. (though i might not necessarily be following the intructions for use down to the word.). Might be good to use them for a few months, before you go on tour.  Also, pay attention to tyre liner width vis-a-vis tyre width.  Using a wider tyre liner on a thinner tyre/tube should be ok, but vice versa can be very bad.  So overall, the investment in more expensive tyres with good punture protection reviews, is probably well worth it.

-{db}.

CFOSE 5th Edition - Bangalore 2016-08-05 to 2016-08-07.

I went to the CFOSE 5th edition today, being held at the White Orchid Convention Centre, near Manyata Tech Park, in Bangalore --
http://tradeshows.tradeindia.com/cfoseindia-aug2016/
http://www.cfoseindia.com/

There did_not seem to be many visitors. Regarding the various booths --

* Track-n-Trail -- I would have liked to see more variety of cycles on display at the booth, since I think they import the widest range of brands/models. Plus they have their own brand, Montra. I was there with some friends, whose interest was in hybrids, so those were the ones we were looking for specifically. TnT had the Montra Trance & Montra Blues hybrid models on display, alongwith some Cannondale ones. There seemed to be a fair range of MTBs, though I did_not look at those.

* Hero -- They had some UrbanTrail HT MTBs on display. More of interest to me were their new Milano SS/Fixies. They had couple of those on display. They had also hooked up couple of MTBs to trainers & a video game. Folks could pedal the real bikes, & the video game screen showed how they were doing against the other rider. That was a nice attraction.

* Firefox -- They had the Rapide on display, which is a really nice hybrid, IMO. They also had some other Firefox bikes. I spent some time looking at the Trek MTBs, & the Trek FX 7.2 hybrid.

* Merida -- they had a few MTBs & road bikes on display. There was a (IIRC) Speeder 100 hybrid on display., which seemed to be a nice performance-focussed hybrid.

* Schnell -- I don't think I had heard of this brand. They said they are an Indian brand, based out of Pune, and manufacturing abroad. Looked at couple of their hybrids; those seemed to be nice options. Website -- http://schnellbikes.com/

* Komorebi -- Again, had not heard of them. They said they to are an Indian brand, from Bangalore. They had some hybrid & road bikes on display, which had been manufactured abroad. Nice option again. They said they were looking to start manufacturing in India & hoped to launch those soon, starting with road bikes, then MTBs, & finally hybrids. Website -- http://komorebibikes.com/index.php

Other than those, there were booths from Atlas, Avon, Phoenix, Java, Voltas etc. Some of them again, I had not heard of before. They had electric & folding bikes on display, among others.

There were also some booths from apparel manufacturers & bike accessory manufacturers. When I was leaving the expo, couple of folks approached me outside the convention centre. They said they were from BigBen, and said they manufacture bike saddles and pedals. They too a closer look at the Brooks saddle on my bike. I mentioned to them that it would be nice if they could make a Brooks-like saddle for the Indian market. Something that would be sold for much less than the price of the Brooks saddle. Now waiting to see if they pursue that. Website -- http://www.indiamart.com/big-benexports/ (See the leather saddles section.)

Overall, a nice but low key expo. I'd say, before the general public get's excited about cycling, we probably need the cycling businesses to show more energy. Then again, there was one chap riding around a penny-farthing bike (Firefox branded, I think). Not sure if he was a visitor or from the company... but I guess the expo wasn't so dull after all. :) Oh, and there were some food stalls next to the expo booth area. Pav Bhaji, chaats, rolls and tea. Something to keep the stomach happy. :)

-{db}.

bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part2 ...

Continuing from my earlier blog post (Bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part1 ... ) -- 

Having acquired 2 nice bicycles (on Sat), I was eager to get some cycling done the next day (Sun).  To add to those 2 cycles, I had also borrowed a cycle from my cousin, earlier in the week -- it was a MTB, from Specialized.

I had 3 colleagues from work with me on the trip, one of whom was interested in doing cycling.  So on Sunday afternoon, we all headed towards Half Moon Bay, with 2 cycles -- the Cannondale (which I planned to ride), and the Specialized (which seemed appropriate for my colleague, who was not a regular cyclist).

From the 101FW, after we got on to 92, and crossed the 280FW, we saw some bike route signs, and a bit later, there we saw an open area where some cars were parked.  This was near the Crystal Springs Reservoir.  The two of us who planned to bike, stopped off there, while the other two proceeded to Half Moon Bay.

This was the Chen-Valia meeting point.

It was close to 1500hrs, when my colleague (D :)) and I started riding north, following one of the bike route signs, but a bit further, we reached a dead end.  There was a gated off area, so probably there was a bike route further down, but it was closed now.  So we turned around and got back to where we had parked.  I was wondering which direction to head to, from there, when couple of bikers rode by; I flagged them down, and asked them for bike routes.  They suggested going towards Kings Mountain Road, which they said was provided a good climb, and asked us to follow them for a bit, to get an idea of which way it was.  So we tagged along, and finally they gave us more directions as to which way it we needed to ride.  

It was Canada Road that we were riding on at that time.

Since my colleague D was not a regular rider, he was quite slow, and I was stopping from time to time, to let him catch up.  The cyclists from whom we had taken direction, had gone ahead.  Meanwhile, at one point, I noticed that one of the brake pads of my front brake, was touching the rim.  I tried to figure out what it was, but couldn't.  It was causing some drag, which was annoying, but I could continue riding.

Riding on Canada Road was very nice.  Not much traffic, and there were quite a few cyclists riding in the opposite direction, who I figured were returning from their rides.  There were vehicles parked at couple of spots along the side of the road where there was good amount space for parking.  So overall, this road seemed very suitable for cycling (hence the lot of cyclists there :)).

Around 1630hrs, we reached Woodside.  At Robert's Market, we picked up some water.  

The ride upto this point (ignoring the initial bit where we went north for a bit), was this route (with elevation profile).

As D and I took a break, I saw another cyclist.  I went over and talked to him -- he said he and his friend had cycled till here, via El Camino, from somewhere around Mountain View, IIRC; quite a distance.  I asked him if he was familiar with routes in this area, and he said he wasn't

Back where D was sitting around, I saw a beautiful Rivendale bike; looked like a nice tourer-commuter.  Took some pics of the bike (which I don't have handy at the moment; will post later), and when the owner (a musician from the Santa Cruz area) returned, had a chat with him about his bike as well as bike routes in the area.

Based on all the discussions, I figured I would stick to the plan of going to Kings Mountain Road.  I took stock of the route ahead, from Google maps.  Based on that, I told D to ride back the way we came, while I would proceed to Kings Mountain Road.  The supposed climb there would be tough for my colleague, and with just ~90mins of daytime remaining, I figured it was not safe to be going further at the slow pace D was making.  So around 1700hrs, we left from Woodside -- D riding back the way we came, while I went towards Kings Mountain Road, on HW84.

Within ~15mins, I was at Kings Mountain Road, and soon the climb started.  It was a tough climb, and I realised that asking D to turn back earlier had been the right decision.  I laboured up the road, having a take regular breaks.  One nice thing was that one one break (fairly close to the top of the climb), I figured out why one of the front the brake pads was touching the rim; it was a straightforward tweak, and got that sorted out.

I reached the intersection of HW35 at 1800hrs, when light was starting to drop.  (Part of the reason was also the fairly dense vegetation there, blocking direct sunlight).  This section of the ride, was this route (with elevation profile).

At this point, I was debating which way to head from here -- whether to go back the way I had come, or take HW35, towards HW92.  I met another biker there; had a chat with him, and he warned me of the fast traffic on HW35 (which I was aware of already).  Also on my mind was the recent unfortunate cycling accident on HW35, in which Joy Covey (first CFO of Amazon) had died.

I finally decided to ride on HW35.  As I rode along, I did_not see much traffic.  The road was nice, with lot of trees around, so it was a real nice road for cycling.  It would have been better had it been a bit earlier in the day.  With more light, I would have gotten a better view of the vegetation around.  The route was enjoyable regardless.  It was all downhill, and so was 
quite relaxed.  I made sure I was braking a lot, to make sure I did_not pick up much speed.  This section of the ride was this route (with elevation profile).

About two-thirds of the way along that route, as the wooded area cleared up, the view on either side was quite something -- on the right, below, was the Crystal Springs reservoir, while on the left, was the Pacific ocean at a distance, with some hills, clouds and the setting sun in the distance providing a beautiful mix.

At the end of that route, around 1900hrs, I touched HW92.  It was starting to get dark, and the traffic on HW92 was quite a bit, so I did_not feel safe trying to ride on the shoulder; not even knowing if there was enough of a shoulder all along.  So I synced up with the two colleagues heading back from Half Moon Bay, to pick me up.  We then covered the short distance to get to Chen-Valia meeting point, where we had parked the other car, where D was waiting for us.  From there, we headed back to out hotel in Santa Clara, bring to end a nice day of riding.

So got to ride for ~4hrs on some very nice and scenic routes.  Would have liked to ride couple of more hours, but given that I was quite new to cycling in these parts, and planning the route was taking up some time, it was still a very fruitful day.

Will cover the next weekend's rides, in my next blog post.  Till then, happy and safe cycling!

bicycling (etc.) in the SanFrancisco BayArea -- part1 ...

On a recent trip to the SanFrancisco BayArea, I dabbled with cycling.  When I went there, I wasn't sure how much I would dabble; as it turned out, I dabbled a bit, to the extent that I surprised myself.

I was getting 5 weekends there, and initial plan was that I would be visiting friends outside California on 3 of those weekends.  So I would get just 2 weekends in the SF-BayArea, so I was really not sure how much time I could give to cycling.

But due to various reasons (or maybe subconsciously, I was leaning towards cycling), 2 of the trips ourside California could not happen; and the one that happened was the last weekend.  So I had 4 straight weekends in the SF-BayArea.  And boy, did I capitalise on that! ;P

I landed there on a Friday (how convenient! ;)), so the very first weekend (on Sunday), I went to SFO with a friend.  As we walked around there, sightseeing, I kept ducking in and out of bike stores, to see what was available on rent.  While there were nice options -- ~$30 per day, to $16 per day, if renting for a week or so -- the bikes were not quite the type / level that I wanted.  I am a fairly serious biker, afterall.  So, what was I looking for.  Well, nothing too fancy / exotic.  A steel frame bike, with or without drop bars.  Or if not that, then a Aluminium frame bike, with a steel fork.

Towards the end of the day, as we were returning to where we had parked (near the cafe which my friend's mom runs -- 901 Columbus Cafe, at the corner of Columbus and Lombard), I saw this bike store -- just 1/2 a block from the cafe -- Columbus Cyclery, at 801 Columbus.  I ducked in and got talking to one of the chaps there (John) -- told him what I was looking for, and he showed me couple of bikes.  One was a Specialized bike -- Aluminium frame, with steel fork, I believe.  I really liked it, but it was bit small for me.  John btw, seemed really nice and straightforward, so I felt good chatting with him about my biking etc. in India.  I suppose based on that, he could tell that I was a regular cyclist, and was quite clear on what I wanted.  So at one point, he suggested I take a look at the bike he rode.  We went out, and he showed me his orange frame Cannondale CAD M300 bike.  A used one, fairly old.  But very well maintained.  (I later checked on the net -- these are from the mid to late 1990s, from what I could tell, maybe some are from early 2000s too.  It was considered an MTB, back then.  I would call it a hybrid now, just that it had 26" wheels.)  It was an Aluminium frame with a steel fork.  I took a test ride, and it felt quite good.  He pointed out that it was Made in USA. :)  He said he would sell it for $400, and would also replace the seat, and one of the derailleurs, and the brakes.  The stem was an old style one, and he said he might also be able to put in a different one (still old style, but one that would extend out a bit further), to see if I felt more comfortable on that.  Btw, I felt a big difference between John and the chaps at the other bike stores.  John seemed genuinely excited about cycling.  So it was a pleasure interacting with him.

I told him that I would decide during the week and get back to him, and told him not to sell the bike to anyone else, till he heard from me.  He was fine.  He said he would also buy the bike back for $200 in a few weeks, if I wanted to sell it back to him, when I was returning to India. :)

During the week, I spent some time looking for used bike sale ads on Craigslist, and saw some ads for Surlys etc.  I contacted one of the sellers towards the end of the week, and said I would schedule to meet him on the weekend.  He was near SFO, so I figured I would checkout his bike, and if that did_not workout, I could just swing by John's shop and pick up his bike.

Come weekend (Sat), I headed to SFO, but not before I checked out a used bike store in Mountain View; they also make their own bikes.  They had some really old bikes -- Motobecane etc., from the 80s maybe, if not earlier, but not what I was looking for.

So I continued to SFO.  Once I was there, the meeting with the guy selling the Surly did_not happen.  Btw, he told me he was someone who picked up bikes etc. in auctions, and then sell them off, so he had some other bikes too; and was also flexible on the price.  He said he could show me one other Surly bike too.  So I was really hoping to meet him, but for whatever reason, he could_not come, and that fizzled out.

Meanwhile I had swung by Columbus Cyclery, and met John.  I told him I would confirm within ~30mins if the other meeting was happening, and if not, I would buy his bike.  Once the other meeting was cancelled, I let John know, and we met at the store a bit later.  He had already replaced the derailleurs and brakes.  He got the other stem, and put a new seat, and I took a test ride, and all looked good.  About then, I saw another guy (found out later his name was Ron) standing out side the bike store with a road bike, that looked nice.  While John and I were finalising on John's bike, Ron was there, and I got talking to him about his bike -- a Trek 1200 Aluminium frame with steel frok.  Ron had put various components on it, and built it himself.  And I'm not sure if I am remembering this right, but I think the gears were Shimano Tiagra on the front, and Shimano 105 on the back.  I recall thinking those were some really good components.  The Trek 1200 again, John pointed out, was Made in USA. :)

While chatting with Ron, he said he would sell the bike for $150.  I immediately got interested.  I told John to take a look at the bike, and tell me what he thought.  He looked it over and said it was a real good deal for $150.  He said the front wheel was not that good, but he added that it was a good deal even without a front wheel! :)

After I came back from a final test ride on John's bike, Ron said that one of the other chaps at the bike store had just told him he would buy the bike for $175.  I was wondering if these guys were running a scam on my, and I voiced that to John and Ron.  I decided to take a test ride on the Trek -- did that, and it too felt pretty good.  It was a bit small for me, but it was such a nice bike, and a good deal, that I decided it was too good to let go.

In the end, I went with my gut -- the guys seemed straightforward, and I decided to buy the 2nd bike too. :)  I told Ron that I would buy him beer, and that he should sell me the bike for $150.  Ron agreed, and that was that -- I picked 2 Aluminium frame + steel fork bikes, both Made in USA, for $550.  Both the bikes have such classic looks / lines, that it felt real nice having them. :)

I bought Ron and John couple of beers at my friend's mom cafe :), where we sat and chatted for a bit.  I got John and Ron's email ids too, and then after they helped me load the cycles in my car trunk, we said goodbye, and parted ways.

So, I was now the proud owner of 2 nice bikes.  And it was now upto me to put those bikes to good use.  Well, I was fairly certain that it was mostly the Cannondale that I would ride.  The Trek -- well, one of my friends could ride it.

In the next part, I'll write about my cycle rides, and other cycling related stuff that I did in the SF-BayArea.  Meanwhile, here is a pic of me with the two bikes, from a later ride -- 

Till the next time... happy & safe cycling!