mira mesa

i just moved to mira mesa and went for my first bicycle ride to la fitness which is about 4 or so miles away from my place. there is a lot of traffic going on mira mesa blvd... lots of cars and stuff but i was very aware of my surroundings. the bicycle ride took about 35 mins or so and was fairly flat. on the way back it was a bit scary... but mira mesa blvd is lit well and my light was adequate for the ride home. i think the key for busy areas is just to be aware of the surroundings...

Bummed at the Pump

it seems that bicycles are making news more often. i found this article about the rising fuel costs forcing students to find new ways of getting around. with increase gas prices more and more people are finding alternative ways to get around. students at universities around the USA are definitely feeling the pains. more and more students are opting to ride there bicycles on campus. the univerties are also feeling the pain too and not being able to write as much tickets. they are now trying to find ways to earn revenue by ticketing illegal parked bicycles.

check the full article here

For bicyclists, a widening patchwork world

This article describes the increase use of bicycles... It looks like we are beginning a cycling boom. While Northern Europe and Japan have figured out how to make bicycle commuting a safe, cheap alternative to driving, the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain have not. And the world's two most populous nations, China and India, are discarding bicycles in favor of cars. A rising middle class in both countries views cycling as an unhappy reminder of the recent past, when nearly everyone was poor.

the rest of this article can be found here

REI Sale!

I picked up a cool black Pearl Izumi Zephrr vest at the REI Sale... They normally go for $60 but i got it for $20... Not bad! I tried it on yesterday for my evening bicycle... I think this vest is better during the day than in the evenings. I should at least get something bright yellow so drivers can see me during the evenings. But other than that its a great deal!

I found an old product review here.

quick workout

its been 4 days since i last rode my bicycle... today i went out for a quick 30 min ride around the neighborhood. this was the first ride using my Novara Padded Bike Boxers that i purchased from REI a few weeks ago.

here's what i have to say about the product. its great and super convenient. i can wear these under my gym shorts and still get the same effect as bicycle shorts. the mesh material provides extra cooling when going down hill. the padding is good enough for long and short trips... at first i thought the padding was kind of loose but once i sat on the saddle it worked like a charm. i would definitely buy this product again and recommend it to my friends. it takes the discomfort that i've had before when riding without any paddding.

back to my ride...

climbing the hill was good. i think all that running helped build some strength in my legs... i totally hate that the bike lanes full of little pebbles and rocks. especially when it gets dark i hit those rocks and just messes me up in terms of my peddling. i also was lazy to check the air in my tires. so i kind of felt that my tires were a bit sluggish in some parts. it might just be a mental thing though... but when i got home i made sure i pumped 100 psi in them.

i think i need to work on the hills a bit more to build more strength!

more strength = faster runner and faster cyclist


Garmin 305 Info

Distance: 5.82 miles
Time: 30:45
Avg Pace: 5:17/mile
Avg Speed: 11.3 MPH
Max Speed: 17 MPH
Avg Cadence: 75 RPM

Basic Maintenance Course @ REI Chula Vista

Yesterday, I took a basic maintenance course at the REI in Chula Vista. They provide this course to customers completely free of charge. I don't have any bicycle maintenance experience so going to this class was very informative. a lot of the resources covered are online but going there first hand and seeing it helped out a lot. we covered a lot of things in the two hours. richard, the master tech was the one that was in charge of the whole course. he's a funny. he seemed so in a hurry to cover all the topics and kept on dropping things on the ground.

richard first covered the quick release. he showed us how to install and remove the front and rear tire. the thing that i learned about the quick release was that i didn't have to take out the bolt completely. all i had to do is lift the lever up and unscrew the bolt and remove the tire. and when installing the tire back onto the bicycle it needs to be on straight so it won't run against the brake pads. the tension is also important. u don't want to tighten it too much, just enough tension that my palm and close the quick release. he pointed out that some tires are directional, so i would need to pay attention to the placement of the tire.

next we covered tubes and removal of the tire. he showed us that its not really necessary to use tire levers to remove the tire from the tube. you can just forceful remove the bead from the tire making sure you start at 180 from the valve. Richard said that having tire levers can be handy if you can't remove the tires with your hands. to put back the tube in the tire, you would need to inflate it a bit first... then with the tire somewhat on the rim carefully align the valve inside the rim and slowly place the tube between and the wheel. once done you can continue putting the tire bead on the rim. the last step is just to pump the tube to its recommended pressure.

which led us to a discussion about tire pressure and what is adequate... usually mountain bike tires require less pressure than road tires. road tires are skinnier and require more pressure. the guy said its good to fill up the tires once month... but i usually do it before a ride. i think its best to check the pressure before going out so you wont worry about the being flat.

he also showed us how to lube and clean up chain. it's pretty easy... go to the lowest gear while the tire is suspended. he recommended a product called white lightning. its a wax that prevents dirt from going on the chain and lubes. its like a 2 in 1 product. wipe down all the junk from the chain and move the chain while applying the lube onto the chain.

the tech quickly went over the installation of brake pads. he went so quick that i can hardly remember... i think i might have to just service my brakes at REI or any bicycle shop when the time comes.

patching flat tire with a patch kit is a pretty easy. but id rather just replace the tube with a new one. first finding the hole can be a task. then you have to sand down the hole to make sure its smooth and apply the glue. after applying the glue add the patch. then you can slowly inflate the tube and insert it into the tire.

the REI Basic Maintenance course was very informative and a lot of that information can be found online. seeing it in person helps out a lot. the class felt a bit rush since we had to cover a lot of topics. it was longer than expected but all in all it was a good time.

cycling clothes

in different activities there is a specific set of apperal. you can wear anything you want but sometimes its recommended. like in basketball you see players wear baggy shorts and tops. hardcore runners wear the short shorts and tight top. but for me when i go running i like to wear something thats not too tight and not too loose. the average cyclist usually wears the spandex style shorts with padding in the crotch area to provide a comfortable ride and a zippered jersey to cool down. at first i thought that the whole looked dorky. after purchasing my fox jersey from REI i found out that cycling clothes definitely function the way it should. they wick the sweat away and make the ride more comfortable... for zippered jerseys... when you feel a bit hot and sweaty i can just zip it down alittle and cool down...

you can pretty much wear anything but wearing jeans increases the chances that youll get the pant leg stuck in the chain. i also picked up some fox mountain bike shorts, which are a bit looser and have the padding and a sleeveless performance jersey for those summer rides. cycling clothes can really be expensive, so its good to wait till they go on sale.

silverstand ride to coronado.

today i went out to silver strand. the last time i cycled on silver stand was when i was a kid with my dad. he had his large blue bike with the baby seat and i had my brothers silver bicycle. that was a long time ago... with its scenic view and flat terrain it seem like a nice ride. i mapped it out on the google pedometer and its a 12 mile bicycle ride, round trip. i've ridden about 10 miles before. so completing this ride will be the longest ride so far. i set aside all my gear to prepare myself for this ride the day before. so i was pretty much set. i used my hydration pack for this ride. i made sure the tires were all aired up to 100 psi and crammed the bicycle in the back seat of the corolla.

when i got there i noticed that there was a lane for each direction of traffic... which was pretty cool. there were all sorts of riders. a lot of them were the road bicycle type people with there jerseys and spandex shorts. it was fairly hot and having sun screen was a must. the strand seemed a bit long but since it didn't have any inclines or hills it was fairly easy ride.

i had a great time on this ride and plan on riding more in the future. the only that was buggig me was my handle bar. my handle has a chrome like finish and it reflected the sun in my eyes on some occasions. good times!

Garmin Stats

Distance- 14.68
Time - 1 hour and 7 mins
Avg Pace - 4 mins and 36 sec per mile
Avg Speed - 13 MPH
Avg Cadence - 85 rpm

4 weeks of having my bike

so its been about 4 weeks since i've owned my bicycle... everything has been great so fa except for one thing. i've been hearing some weird rattling sound when i shift to the highest gear in the rear. i think my need its chain cleaned out or lubed. i've ridden my bicycle all over the place and think its time to advantage of the free tune up provided by UC Cyclery. i just set up my appointment next friday before noon and will be getting my bicycle back that same day! hopefully everything will be good so i can attend several events!

garmin 305: first look

this morning i went on a brief bicycle ride with my new electronic gadget for my bike, the garmin 305. i had everything set up... it kept track of the duration of my ride, my speed, the direction i was going, calories, and the distance... this thing is amazing. here are some stats from my short morning ride

total calories: 201
total time: 23: 39
average cadence speed: 77 rpm
average speed: 11.3 mph
and my max speed was 18.4 mph

aint that cool? in addition to that it kept track of me on the gps. it mapped my little route and everything which looked accurate to me. i saved the course in my course history so i can see if i can match it later on.

i still have to read up on the instructions but from what ive read and features ive used so far, im one happy cyclist!

garmin 305!

i've been searching around for the best cycling computer for my needs... ive read tons of reviews from cateye, vdo, sigma computers... every computer has there positive and negative reviews. but when i read a negative review it overshadows all the good reviews... its hard to actually judge a product that i haven't used before and just base my decision on people's reviews. at first i wanted to go with the vdo computer... it was on sale at performance bicycle. but i looked at it and wasn't really impressed by the apperance. can't judge a book by its cover. so i looked into the sigma cadence computer. they had it at rei. i've read a lot of positive reviews about this unit and was about to purchase it... but in the end i found the garmin edge 305. it's about 2x as much as the other computers but the user interface looks visually appealing. the unit looks fairly large but its okay. luckily i received it as a birthday gift. today ill be stopping by REI and get the computer installed so i can start having fun! now i gotta find out how to get there.

cool event in september: Bike the Bay

i was browsin the web looking for some cool cycling events in san diego and came across Bike the Bay. it's a 25 mile bicycle ride though Coronado, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and National City before finishing back at the start/finish line at Embarcadero Marina Park in downtown San Diego. the race is limited to 2,500 entrants and will cost for individuals: SDCBC Members - $50, Non-Members - $55, Tandem Teams: SDCBC Member.

im really thinking about attending this event. i've cycled 10 miles already and it wasn't so bad. i think the secret is to be hydrated through the entire ride. especially those hills and inclines can be exhausting. i read that there will be 3 rest stops for refreshments and bicycle repair. i will need to register by thursday before the price increases.

wedge bag!

i've been purchasing a lot of cool things for my bicycle lately... i picked up a fox wedge bag from bicycle warehouse. the bag looked really cool on the fox website. i went to the bicycle warehouse and purchased it. i tried installing it on my bike and wasn't really satisfied. don't get me wrong it looks cool but i didn't like how it doesn't hold it shape. the velcro straps made it look messy too. so the following day i returned it.

i checked out black mountain bicycles during my lunch break to see what saddle bags they had... they had a few wedge bags from specialized and trek. the trek sport bag definitely caught my eye. it had a nice color scheme and it had a nice clean install with a quick release gadget. now i had to make a decision whether i should the smaller one or the medium size one. they actually had a few sirrus bikes in stock. i lined up the bags in bottom of the saddle to imagine how it would look on my bike. so i decided to choose the medium one. it has more capacity to hold a tube, my cell-phone, wallet, and more goodies...

i highly recommend this bag!

happy birthday!

happy birthday to me!

i was looking for a hydration pack for my longer rides outside the neighborhood. i remember riding to the barbershop that was 5 miles away and a hydration pack would've came in handy. so i asked my mom if she can get me a hydration pack for my birthday present. we first went to go to southbay motorsports to check out the ogio bag. it looked smaller than the pictures. i compared the measurements and indeed the ogio is a bit smaller than the fox pack i was looking at. it can't carry that much stuff. they had the bigger fox hydration bag but it seemed to big and not practical for semi-short rides. so we went to REI at the Otay Ranch Mall. at rei they had a lot of camelbak backs and one fox pack... and luckily it was the one i was looking for. after looking at it and trying it on i was sold. this was the bag to get. my mom asked me if i was going to use it... i reassured her i will put it to good use.

i can't wait to use it!

planet bike lights

on my way home from work i decided to stop by the REI near Roadrunner sports. i was looking for a front light and a tail light... there were a few i looked at it. some have 3 LEDS and some had just one bright LED. i didn't want to spend a lot on front light since i wont be riding too much in the evening time. after an hour or debating what i should get...

originally i was looking at the cat eye 5 LED horizontal tail light... but when i was walking around i saw a planet bike display... they had a whole bunch of different lights. there superflash tail light is brighter than the cat eye but $10 more... so i decided to go with the planet bike clear tail light with the red leds. the clear tail light matches my bike well... the brighter LEDS allow me to be more noticble during my rides.

another item that caught my eye was the blaze headlight. they have a 1/2 watt one and 1 watt one. i compared both and there is a siginificant difference between the two. the 1 watt was white and looked great. so without reading any reviews i decided to get that one as well... when i got home i found two positive reviews...

Blaze 1 watt Review #1 - Kents Bike Blog

Blaze 1 watt Review #2 - Fixed Gear Gallery

night rider

yesterday i went out for a ride after work... the sun was going down and was getting dark. i decided to out for a night ride since our neighborhood is well lit. i rode my bike to the park nearby. i made a few rounds and went up up oceanview parkway and rode to various neighborhoods. the temperature was kind of cold so i just wore a hoodie. some of the streets weren't lit that well and were a bit hard to see. a small light would be handy for such occassions. riding down hill was a bit scary... because i had cars behind me and i was going a fast speed. i made sure to control my speed with my brakes so i won't go to fast. another thing i should purchase is a blinking tail light they can drivers can see me. i guess i have more goodies to buy! haha

cycling gloves

after my several rides on sunday, my hands felt fatigue. i noticed my body is leaning on my hands, so there is added pressure being applied to the wrists and the hands. i've read online that having cycling gloves are a MUST HAVE. so i went online to figure out which gloves i should get. my bionic gloves fitness gloves have a similar look and feel to the cycling gloves... but they're only used for lifting weights. i went to the specialized site and looked at there specialized body geometry gel glove. i called up my local specialized dealer, Pulse Endurance Sports and they had some in stock. i checked out two of the gloves... the Gel Gloves and the Sport Gloves. The sport gloves were really light weight and had some padding but the gel gloves were a bit heavier but had more padding. after some thinking i decided to go with the short fingered bc gel gloves. i think the extra padding will illeviate the pain and will be excellent for longer rides.

shifting gears video.

this video help clarify how to ride a multi-speed bike.

jarvis approved!

today i let my brother ride my bicycle. the frame size was the right size for him, but the seat post was a tad bit high. he was still able to ride it though. he rode around our little street and the neighborhood. he liked it and would consider getting a bicycle in the near future. after the bike ride, justin and jarv went to the nearby starbucks... since the starbucks is nearby, i decided that it would be a nice to ride my bicycle over there while they take the car. this was actually my first ride outside the neighborhood. so i strapped on my helmet and headed off to starbucks. it was quite refreshing going down the hill. when i got to the starbucks, jarv just placed his order for his drinks. they were surprised that i got there so fast. on the way back it was tough. i had to deal a hill to deal with. also, i was still trying to figure out what gear i should be when going hills. overall, it was a good leg workout. after the ride i had to hydrate with some Tiger Gatorade.

later on that afternoon after i read up on shifting gears i decided to go for a longer ride... 4 mile ride around another section of Ocean View hills which involves a few long hill on the way back. when climbing that hill on the way back i noticed a few group of kids walking there bikes up the hill. i was trying my best not to get off my bike and walk it. that would be very embarrasing... super nice bike and getting off. i didn't start a workout program for nothing. so when i felt my legs to tighten up and feel tired. id back pedal for a little bit to rest my legs and then continue to pedal forward. this was a really good technique. as i reached the top of the hill i went into the kasier parking lot where it was flat to ride for a bit and catch my breath. i grabbed my water bottle and hydrated.

when i got home i noticed that i got darker and somewhat sunburned. i totally forgot to put sunscreen on myself. i didn't know that i was going to be out that long.

** Note to self: make sure to put sunscreen on anytime i do any rides when the sun is out. i had a great time and feel good about myself in the process.

good times.

bicycle pick up!

my day was pretty long... i had to detail my mom's miata the entire morning and afternoon. detailing a car is a lot of work. i wanted to reward myself by picking up my bike. i tried calling up some people to see if they have a bicycle rack i can borrow but none of them had it. my backup plan was to take the van up there. i had to wait until my parent's came back from there workshop. once they arrived home justin and i headed up there... when we arrived i showed justin the silver sirrus sport bike. one of the sales guys approached me and i told him i was there to pick up my bike. he looked up my receipt and removed my bike from the ceiling. immediately i was mesmerized by the white color. it looked bad a$$.

i told the sale guy that im also looking for a helmet. i was leaning towards a specialized air-8 helmet, which was in my price range but they didn't have the color i wanted. i looked at the various helmets and noticed bell influx helmet but they didn't have my size. he then showed me a really nice bell GHISALLO helmet. it was way beyond my price but he was able to knock off 20% off of the orginal price. a nice high priced helmet and a discount is a good deal. so i decided to pick up that helmet. i also picked up a few goodies... a water bottle holder and a water bottle and a few upgrades... black steam and the strapless pedals. the sales person was really helpful with the accessories that intend to come back there to purchase more stuff.

when i got home i unloaded the bike from the van, put on my new helmet and went off for a nice ride around the neighborhood. it was a really refreshing feeling to ride a bike. the wind in your face and the shifting gears... its like driving a convertible but without using any gas :)

message from dave from UC Cyclery

i received a voice mail message from dave from UC Cyclery stating that my bike is already to be picked up. so now i have to figure out how to get the bicycle from la jolla to the house.

UC Cyclery

during my lunch break i decided to check out the Sirrus Sport bike @ UC Cyclery in La Jolla. they had a few instock in the silver color. i asked a sales person to take a look at the sirrus sport bikes and he walked me over to them. i wasn't really to impressed by the silver color. i asked a few friends and family which color i should pick and they told me to go with the silver. the silver looked a bit plain and didn't accent the carbon fiber that well. the sales person and i had a brief discussion about the sirrus sport bike and said he can order the white one if they have it in-stock at the Specialized wherehouse. so i asked him to see if its available. so he looks it up in his computer and tells me that they have a lot.

now heres the tough part. should i just order it now since i didn't have my stimulus check yet or apply for credit. i didn't really want to finance a bike since i still need to pay off some debts. so after much deliberation i decided just to order the bike. i decided to go with a medium size frame. it will take 4 or so days to get here and then they would need to assemble it.

the countdown begins now.

I found this really cool picture of a white sirrus sport bicycle

specialized sirrus sport?

ive been looking in great detail on the specialized website and think that the sirrus sport bike might be it. it comes in two colors, silver and white. it comes with the carbon fiber seat stays and carbon fiber fork, shimano 8 speed shifters.

here are the specs:

Spec Name : Specialized Sirrus Sport

Frame : Specialized A1 Premium aluminum, FACT carbon seatstays w/Zertz inserts

Fork : Specialized FACT, carbon w/ Zertz inserts

Rims/Wheels : Alex S500

Hubs : Specialized, forged-aluminum, sealed bearings

Spokes : 14-gauge stainless-steel

Tires : Specialized All Condition, 700 x 28c w/Flat Jacket puncture protection

Crankset : Sugino XD

Chainwheel : 48/38/28

Front Derailleur : Shimano

Rear Derailleur : Shimano Sora

Rear Cogs :Shimano HG-50, 8-speed: 12-25

Shifters : Shimano EF-50

Handlebars : Specialized Event, aluminum

Tape/Grips : Body Geometry Comfort II, triple-density gel

Stem : Specialized, aluminum

Brake Levers : Shimano EF-50

Brakes : Linear-pull

Pedals : Composite w/clips and straps

Saddle : Specialized Sonoma

Seat Post : Aluminum

bike shopping again.

before we headed out to road runner sports i checked out this new running/cycle shop in Chula Vista called the Pulse Endurance Sports. They were listed on the Specialized website as one of the distributors for specialized bikes. they actually had a base model sirrus in-stock. one of the guys gave me the details on the bike and offered me a test ride. i went out for a short ride and found the bike really comfortable. the handlebar grips were ergonomic and were comfortable. i wasn't really familiar about the shifting so some of my shifts were sloppy. it's a great bicycle and would want to check out the higher end one to see if there's any difference.

after we left road runner, we went to Trek San Diego store in kearny mesa after our trip from roadrunner sports. with a better of understand of what i'm looking i decided i wanted to take a closer look at the Trek 7.5FX... its surely not a base model. it has a few nice goodies. light wheels, carbon fork, smooth 9 speed shimano shifter. when i looked at the bike i was blown away. it had a nice steel blue color and just stood out. the sales guy let me sit on the saddle and i was pretty much ready to purchase that bike.

the bad news...
when i asked the sales person about the availability of the bike. he looked at his computer and we found out that the trek 7.5FX is sold out nationwide. he told me that the they were phasing out the 2008s and are ready to release the 2009 next month... but there was catch. a $100 price increase. he mentioned that i can get the tax free since they were running a promotion for the tour de france. he recommend that i call up other local bike shops and see if they have any existing 7.5FX bikes available.

i didn't want to wait till august to get my bike. i want to ride it now and enjoy it. i was in the buying mode and since my stimulus check is due in a few days im ready to get a bike. i need to do some more research on other alternative bicycles that will be comparable to the Trek 7.5FX. we can bid trek FX series bikes farewell... time to look into Specialized!



Trek 7.5 FX

Specilized Bicycles

jarv's co-worker told him that i should check out this company called specialized. he purchased several mountain bikes from them. he was satisfied by the quality of the bikes and the pricing. jarvis brought up trek bicycles to him and wanted his opinion. he told jarv that trek's bikes are overpriced but decent quality. but he firmly believes that specialized is the one i should be looking at. so i went to there website and checked out there variety of bikes. i noticed one range of hybrids that were comparable to the Trek FX line of bikes. the sirrus line of bikes... they come in 3 different flavors.


Sirrus Pro - $2050
The Sirrus Pro is there top-of-the-line hybrid bike composed of all carbon fiber and quality parts.


Sirrus Comp - $1200
The Sirrus Comp is pretty much a Sirrus Sport with extra goodies... Carbon seat post, upgraded drivetrain, etc


Sirrus Sport - $830
The Sirrus Sport is a step ahead of the base model Sirrus. It has carbon fiber fork and carbon fiber seat stays. It has 8 speed shifter and comes in two colors. a silver or a white... the white looks simply amazing with the carbon fiber. very sporty.


Sirrus - $590
This is pretty much the entry level of the bunch. pretty basic stuff here nothing to really brag about except for the affordability.

shopping for a bicycle

i've been thinking about taking up cycling to add to my fitness regimene. i haven't ridden a bike in years. i think it would be fun to get back on a bike and just have fun. a few months ago i received a catalog from trek bicycles that all sorts of bicycles. so i went to there website... www.trekbikes.com to see what kind of bikes they have. i was looking at the Trek 1.2 bike. this bicycle looks like one of those bikes u see at the Tour de France but an entry level. it also received a lot of positive comments from various riders. today i decided to go to trek at eastlake in chula vista after my workout.

i walked in and talked to Tony, one of the employees there. i mentioned that i was looking to get a bike and asked him about the trek 1.2 road bike. he gave me an introduction about the whole biking thing and the various parts. i told him that i was going to use it for fitness purposes and rides. he told me to look into the hybrid bikes. these hybrid bikes are not as fast as the road bikes but they can be used for different purposes... fitness, short rides to the market, and small dirt paths. he showed me the entry level trek hybrid bike.. the trek 7.2FX its nicely priced at $519. i told him id come back after i did additional research on what im looking for.

i came out with a better understanding of what to look for. so the search has begun for my bicycle.

a trek 1.2 road bike review can be found here


Picture of the Trek 7.2 FX Hybrid Bike