Category: Bicycles

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Bay Bridge Traffic Jam

San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge’s new East Span Bicycle/Pedestrian Path

I took a bike ride with a couple of thousand bicyclists and pedestrians on September 3, 2013, on the just opened San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge’s new East Span.

The 15.5-foot wide bicycle/pedestrian path on the new Bay Bridge almost goes to Yerba Buena Island, then ends. A section of the old bridge will have to be demolished before the path reaches Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island.

There is access to the path from the Bay Trail that begins in Emeryville and from Oakland on Maritime Street and the aptly named Burma Road.

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Tour de France, Stage 18, Gap to Alpe d’Huez

The road to Alpe d’Huez

Last Thursday’s Stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France was 172.5 km (107.2 mi), from the town of Gap to Alpe d’Huez. This year’s route required the riders to climb up to the ski resort Alpe d’Huez twice, accending 1124 m (3687 ft) in 13.8 km (8.5 mi), an 8.1% average grade. The climb to Alp D’Huez is categorized Hors catégorie, a French term used in cycle races (most notably, the Tour de France) to designate a climb that is “beyond categorization”, an incredibly tough climb. (Wikipedia)

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Regina Extra Record Ti Freewheel

Regina Extra Record Ti Freewheel

I found this Regina Extra Record Ti Freewheel in my bicycle parts box. My friend Kenny bought it in the early 80’s and I used it for a few miles and then put it in the parts box.

It is a six speed freewheel with 13-14-15-17-18-19 tooth cogs and Italian threading – 1.378″ x 24 TPI. When I recently removed the cogs to clean them, part of the freewheel body looked like it was made out of aluminum. All the cogs are threaded and made of titanium but I was unable to separate the last two cogs (18-19) from the freewheel body.

When I looked at the freewheel listings on VeloBase.com, I saw a Regina Extra Record freewheel that has aluminum cogs but I didn’t see an Extra Record freewheel with titanium cogs.

I checked eBay listings for titanium freewheels and there were several that sold in the $250-$500 range. That reminded me of the Steven Spielberg authored episode of Amazing Stories: Gather Ye Acorns.