A Shift, B Shift, C Shift, Who Gives a Shift...

SFFD's finest Brent Marks not thinking about work and enjoying the sun as he puts the Santa Lucia range in the rear view mirror. 

The Wind at your six o'clock...

We wanted to share some of Olive's favorite music on YouTube before they start charging a credit card to view...I wish I was joking.

Bad-ass British Boogie Brigade...

Take a moment (or hour) and enjoy this film featuring Wiggins and company and their straight forward no-nonsense approach to cycling. What do you do after you bag a half a dozen Olympic gold medals on the track- you win the TdF. I like the way they view the world. Sean Yates still looks like he can lay it down.

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/12/bradley-wiggins-a-year-in-yellow/

Show him the MONEY...

Lance and Levi donated their prize money to charity at the Nevada City Classic a couple of years ago (which was nice of them). It doesn't take much to look at this situation now and quickly come to the conclusion that they owe BJM $6,000. I would like to call this retroactive good guy restitution or RGGR. BJM could stand to make a couple of bucks if we continue to unravel this thread.

The day Ben lost contact with the group on Bonny Doon in the middle of a thunderstorm in the TOC - did he lose contact with the group or was he leading the retroactive good guy restitution group? I say the latter.

This has a similar feel to the days of yesteryear when Dean Meyer, Trent Klasna and I would get a hold of the result sheet and immediately start counting all the pros that finished in front of us (kicked our asses) at the big stage races. After throwing out all of the pros we felt better that we were now in the top 5 or 10 as amateurs. Even though nobody cared about it - there was some honor to be had there- at least we thought so. Ben's updated palmares will read very well.

Let's see some do re mi change hands...

You can almost hear George & Lennie in the hills...

we think we saw an apparition of this truck southbound on 25

Ridge Top to Ridge Top - Double Bridge Hop...

photo by Cory Caletti

Official Ride Report

Kilometers: yep

Hours: finished with some daylight

Route: up and over down and around

Broken Handlebar:  1

Cat-Like reflexes: 1

Chipped Armor: everyone

Ice Patch: probably

Gravel: with out a doubt

Sand: affirmative

Duct Tape used: yes

Damon Kluck hand-me-down Postal Kit: 1

La Cabana Taqueria: 3

Danny Shane Kit: 1

Pastries: 7

Locally made Bikes: 8

Cold air pockets: 1 (Glenwood at Charlie)

Steel WÜl you find it - Looper, Pedal Pusher, Jocky

The first person to email a photo of themselves with this statue of Genesha the 'Remover of Obstacles' shall receive total consciousness. DP and Emily are already there.Which is nice...

This is dedicated to the kid I met at the OTC in 91'

'WELL WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOIN'
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'VE BEEN

AND WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE KNOWIN'

BUT WE CAN'T SAY WHAT WE'VE SEEN

AND WE'RE NOT LITTLE CHILDREN

AND WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT

AND THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN

GIVE US TIME TO WORK IT OUT'

David Byrne & Chris Frantz - Talking Heads

Road To Nowhere...

The Original North Coast Boogie Brigade...

 Tim,

Thanks for sharing this important piece of Santa Cruz cycling history. We look forward to pedaling with you soon.

Hi Jake,
As I recall before there was Steel WÜl there was Coastal Sportive But before then there was the Davenport Whalers which was the first ride group in Santa Cruz meeting at Rodger Sands Bicycle Center. Here is a pic of the jerseys sewn by mechanic Chris Tacklin's girl friend.

Thanks,
Tim
www.lighthousecycles.com



For the record:

In the 1860’s, the town of Davenport was founded by Captain John Davenport, a whaler from the East coast. Davenport watched the whales pass close to shore and decided this was a good place to start a whaling business to capitalize on the great demand for lamp oil. Soon after he built a pier, a small town grew up around his lucrative business.

The Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company started operation in 1906.

Bobby J always did have great hair...

I hope that Bobby will get picked back up with Team Sky soon so he can quit his new day job.

Have tools will travel - Kev McGill

Steel WÜleur and winner of the 1991 Sweetwater Road Race Kev Mcgillicuddy makes things look down right fun while working on his latest remodel. Enjoy this time-lapse montage..


For the record:
I dropped out of the 1991 Sweetwater Road Race with a bad case of "dead legs" and as it turns out I was able to watch Kev easily sprint for the win only to be relegated to last place after a knucklehead Cat 2 cried foul siting a center line violation (probably a law student). Kev shrugged it off without issue and we learned that another USCF line Judge with a bad case of "common sense" quickly reinstated the win as a center line violation only works when someone else is in contention for the win. In other words, Kev kind of kicked your ass a little bit so deal with it my man. If my memory serves me correctly, Chad Gerlach and Chris Bowman had to bail their buddy out of jail that morning because the Nazi Nevada Highway Patrol automatically arrest you if you travel over 90 mph. They were passing around a hat collecting the bail money for their buddy. I am pretty sure Papa Bill contributed a 20 spot.

"All the roads are brown and the sky is grey"..

photo by Dain Zaffke 

Some people just look "right" on their bike and after spending a half a day chasing Todd up and over the Gabilan Range, I realized he is one of those folks.

photo by Dain Zaffke

completely broke off and sharing a SW croissant with BJM

R.E.M. Boogie...

I woke up early this morning after having the most vivid dream last night. I dreamed that I pedaled south out of Steinbeck country and into condor country via this amazing dirt road with a bunch of friends (Big Mike, the Caletti's, Bad Brad, MT, Traugott, Sophie, Brian, Dain, Todd I, Highlander, Grey Hound and BJM). It was weird, there was an abundance of  these small croissants filled with nutella and cream cheese that seemed to go down rather easily. Then there was this unusual south wind that pushed us north for a while. At one point there was this women (who was easy on the eyes) driving a Prius asking me if I needed anything?

body fat %, watts per kilo, croissants per hour...

I could have sworn that I read a piece by Maynard in Winning Magazine in the 80's that said something about 'croissants per hours'- or maybe I just made it up because it sounded so good. Anyway, I will be armed with 1.3 per hour.

because he can...

Sean Co's new suit has a touch of inspiration for those nerve racking board of supervisors meetings in the East Bay. 

San Benito Boogie - January 5th

WÜleurs,

We are looking to kick off the new year with a San Benito ride on Saturday, January 5th. This is truly a unique boogie that traverses the Gabilan Range twice. We are going to run it as a loop this year beginning and ending in San Juan Bautista via Old Stage Rd, the Airline Highway, La Gloria Grade & Cienega Rd. It is a touch under 90 miles with only 4000’ of climbing. Bring plenty of extra calories on this remote boogie for the WÜleursagwagen. We will do our usual lunch stop at Cal Fire Bear Valley Helitack Station (no joy-rides this year on Copter 406). As you can see from the ride profile, this is a relatively flat ride- we will keep the group together in the flats and regroup at the summit of La Gloria. Please feel free to pass this along to other folks who might enjoy a silky winter boogie with friends.

Boogie Details:

www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/160999308

When: Saturday, January 5th

Time: 8:00 am (roll out at 8:30)

Location: meet at the Windmill Market parking lot in San Juan Bautista (45 min drive from SC)

Dinner: lots of choices for those who want to stay and eat in SJB or Palapas?

RSVP: for ride & dinner reservation headcount

Cost: 2 bucks a head for the WÜleruwagen gas fund

Rain: Medium to heavy rain will cancel, look for a confirmation email morning of the 5th

Carpooling:greatly encouraged...

To get you in the mood here is the 2012 version by Caletti Cycles

Delgado & Chechu - gravel is not a crime

Well it looks like those SW Cobble Classic invitations we have been sending out to the old guard have finally been paying off with Perico training on the gravel with Chechu...

Steel WÜl Holiday - Grindelwald, Switzerland

Merry Christmas to the Hess Family, and all the Steel Wülers
Greetings from Grindelwald, Switzerland
This is the view from our hotel room balcony. Take away the snow and add 15 degrees C. to the temp. and you have some of the best riding in the World. Come on over!
Happy New Year!
Peter and Jan Johnson


We received this fun email this morning from Peter and Jan Johnson. Anyone else doing a unique holiday?

Rain Dance Boogie via Tunitas Bike Hut - Yummy!

Peter Johnson leading us out of Cardinalville

down west La Honda 

up Tunitas Creek

The Bike Hut calorie fest / donation stop

For the record:

The last time I rode up Old La Honda was during the heyday of the noon ride and my teammate Mike Murray was crushing guys half his weight including Jose Luis Vanegas and Jose Robles of Columbia who would come out on the ride to test their pinner legs on San Mateo's finest back boogie. I was stoked to finish in the group with Patrick Heany, Trent Klasna, Dean Myer, Craig Schommer and Jimmy Robinson. Word on the street is that Mike used to drag a small car tire up Old La Honda to increase power. If I remember correctly, his time was sub 14:30 - STRAVA that on a 21 pound Merlin with Mavic 8 speed and 3 cross wheels in plastic shoes. They certainly don't make them like Mike Murray anymore or Eric Heiden - La Honda record holder...

Click to hear it from "the horse's mouth"

Eric Heiden Old La Honda Record 14:10 

► 0:26► 0:26

La Honda Road

Max. grade: 15% (18% inside switchbacks)

Main climb: Avg. grade: 7.3% (elev. gain/dist) 
Length: 3.35 miles (5.39 km) 
Elev. gain: 1290 feet (393 m) 

Come ride with us...

Saturday, December 15 - 9:15AM rollout

Location: Start/End at Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University

About 75 miles, 5300' climbing

Rain cancels

Route Map and info: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/156240473?

Jake and I have put together a Steel Wul ride for the other side of the hill. We love riding the back roads with friends and hope to have some riders from the Peninsula join us for a ride. As usual, our route includes a little dirt. If it rains a bunch before and it's too muddy, we'll use a paved alternate. All our welcome. We aim to keep the bunch together, Gentleman's pace with regroups at the tops of the climbs. Maybe lunch at the Musuem Cafe after the ride?

Hope to see you there for a great ride!

Cheers,

John Caletti