Venturi Volage
If I have to buy an electric car in 2012, it will be a Venturi Volage.
Last week, I could not find Arastradero Road. This week, I double checked the map, and made the right turn on my ride coming on Alpine Road. This made for a very nice 20.4 miles loop, even though it felt a little bit short. For the next ride, I will try to make it around 30 miles by taking Moody Road and Foothil Expressway. Then, I’ll go for a 40 miles loop on La Honda Road and Skyline Boulevard.
Following yesterday’s ride, I decided to get back on the road as early as possible, and today’s weather was perfect for a late afternoon tour. I tried to extend my loop by taking Arastradero Road, but somehow missed the turn, hence went on Pagemill Road and Junipero Serra Boulevard. 28.3 of pure happiness. Next time, I need to take my GPS to log my ride.
Today, I took my first ride on my new bicycle. I went on Sand Hill Road, then Portola Road, and back home through Alpine Road. 17.8 miles of fun. My rear end is killing me, and somehow my right arm is very sore, but it’s a lot less painful than I would have expected it to be. Also, getting used to the locking pedals was fairly easy. I cannot wait for my next ride.
After much research and tryouts, I finally got the helmet, the jersey, the gloves, the shorts, the socks, and the shoes. I am now ready to hit the road with my new bike. First ride scheduled for Saturday, for 30 to 40 miles in the hills of Woodside, CA. Four days to go…
I have been looking for a bike for a month now, and I finally pulled the trigger: I bought a 2006 Trek Madone SL 5.9, which was on sale at Chain Reaction Bicycles in Redwood City, CA. I added the Shimano PD-7800 SPD-SL Road Racing Pedals, the mandatory Shimano SC-6502 Flight Deck, a couple of Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon cages, and a Terry Falcon Y saddle (without screened falcon). Before I take it for a first ride, I will also add the Garmin GSC 10 speed/cadence sensor to match my Garmin Forerunner 305. Sweet…
Today, I watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s documentary on global warming. If you’ve not watched it already, you really owe it to yourself to buy, rent, or borrow a copy of the DVD. Even though Gore’s work is not devoid of propaganda and self promotion, one sequence is without appeal: the comparison of variations in concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) to variations in temperature, over the past 650,000 years. I could not find a copy of the chart used in the movie, but the one provided by Wikimedia Commons comes pretty close. The Washington Post reported back in June that the scientific community overwhelmingly supported Gore’s warning. If you had any doubts that our planet is warming up at an alarming rate, and that we are directly responsible for it, you really should watch this disturbing documentary. Interestingly, this is another film produced by Jeff Skoll’s Participant Productions, following the excellent Good Night, And Good Luck, Murderball, North Country, and Syriana. All I know is that the Tesla Roadster looks even more sexy now.
I watched The World’s Fastest Indian today. This sweet movie tells the story of New Zealander Burt Munro who spent his entire life customizing a 1920 Indian motorcycle and ended setting a land-speed world record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. The record is still holding today. Anthony Hopkins’ acting is remarkable, but the DVD’s cut is terrible. I must hope that a better director’s cut will be released one day.
I was supposed to fly to Half Moon Bay (KHAF) today, but the weather was not cooperative, so I went there by land instead. It was a good opportunity to buy a new battery for the HOG and get it out of the garage for the first time of the year, after an unusually rainy winter. Thrilling!
Every year around October, my motorcycle — a 2002 Harley Davidson Fat Boy — goes under the cover and does not get out until Spring. After five months standing still, the battery is totally discharged, and I need to buy a new one. This year is no expection, and my hog won’t start. I bought a battery charger, but the old battery won’t go beyond 67% of charge, which tells me that a cell might be dead. Time to buy a new battery, as well as a battery tender for next Winter.
By all means, I’m a young driver. I got my first driver license in 2002, but it was for a motorcycle, not a car. I drove my first car in 2004, with May as an instructor, therefore my driving experience remains fairly limited. Nevertheless, I like to believe that I can tell a good car from a not-so-good one. For example, when my buddy Daniel—the proud owner of a Shelby Cobra 289 Roadster—and I went to last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, we both fell in love with the very same car, the 1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aréo Coupé, the very car that won the top prize that year.
When I was a kid, the best car my brother and I could see on the way back home from school was a Volvo 740, so when I got the opportunity to rent its contemporary reincarnation, the Volvo S80, I did not think twice and booked one through the Hertz website. Unfortunately, this experience made me realize that many cars are not what they might have been anymore. If Volvo has had any glorious day in some ancient past, it’s long gone today. Through Ford’s ownership, this proud Swedish company morphed into yet-antoher-brand-drom-Detroit, and the Volvo S80 does not feel much different than its Ford Taurus cousin.
What I learned from this experience is this: if you loved a car as a kid, do yourself a favor and do not drive its modern version, for it will most likely spoil the good memories you have and should keep for as long as you can.
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