Quickbeam over Mt Tam

[christian poppell]

Originally titled this as "Adventures in Single Speeding" but I'm not really sure if single speed counts as I have at least three speeds. They're just not super accessible while underway. Until I think of another term I'll call it single speeding. Also, the account is very San Francisco specific but I've tried to describe it the best that I could. 

I was off the bike for about a week while visiting family in Florida. I did get in a short ride that amounted to 8 miles and about 100' elevation crossing two bridges. When I got back to California I decided to ride the Quickbeam to the top of Mt Tam via railroad grade, then take Coast View down to Muir Beach for a late lunch. From there I could take the headlands dirt or the paved road depending on how I was feeling.

I got a late start Saturday morning. Ate a bigish breakfast and wrote a few post cards. Swung through the post office on my way to bart and got stamps to mail my cards. The BART ride was uneventful and I arrived at Embarcadero station relatively quickly. I took my normal route through the city along Embarcadero, branching off at North Point then over the hill to Fort Mason. I Stopped at the Safeway in the Marina to get some snacks: bananas, bars, cookie, and some cornbread. When I was leaving a woman with a slight accent asked me if the way she locked her bicycle looked good to me. I showed her the Sheldon way of locking (through the rear wheel between the rear triangle) and we began talking. Her name was Marta and she is from Barcelona visiting for a week. We talked about politics and other world events for about two hours. Eventually we parted ways and I headed out along Crissy field up to the bike path where there were swarms of tourists on rental bicycles. I saw only one quick altercation where a road cyclist was chirping at the tourists to get the F out of the way.

After a slow bridge crossing I dipped down in to Sausalito. I had to gently tell a tourist not to use their phone while riding. It was really dangerous moving through Sausalito. Lots of inattentive inexperienced riders with heavy cross winds in the road. I was glad to get out of there.

Fighting a slight headwind, I eventually made it to Mill Valley and on to Old Railroad Grade. I really wasn’t feeling too great on the ride up. I'm not sure if it was the week off the bike or lack of food. I felt pretty gassed. I stopped along the side less than halfway up and ate. After that I felt a little better, but the whole ride up to West Point inn I had to push myself. After the inn I was passed by a guy who was either riding an e-MTB or he was the strongest rider I had ever seen. I’m fairly certain it was the former but I didn’t see him again to ask. Eventually I got into a rhythm near the top. I spoke to a guy with a nice Steve Rex road bike with an older Campagnolo ergo group. Said he had it since the late 90's and enjoyed it very much. It looked like a great bike. 

Quickbeam at the top of Mt Tamalpais

Before heading downhill I switched into my freewheel and pumped up my rear tire a bit to avoid pinch flats. I was cruising down and boosting off some of the little berms on railroad grade. The last one I hit a little sideways and almost lost it on the landing. Fun stuff.

Coasted past West Point Inn and down to Pantoll campground. At the intersection I met a guy named Gary who has ridden in the area for a while. He was physics professor that was living in China. His son is also in physics and did his PhD in fluid dynamics. We talked for about an hour or so about the Bay Area and riding.

taken from the picnic table, SUPER FUN!

I made it to the Coast View Trail in a heavy fog and light rain. Coast View is one of my favorite rides in the area. It's not so steep that you're constantly braking hard and the trail is a good mix of easy and semi-technical riding, especially on a road bike with larger tires. I pushed myself to go a little faster than normal on the trail as I felt that there weren’t any others using the trail at the later hour (around 6:30pm). Turns out I was right and I hadn’t seen anyone coming the opposite direction since I left the top of Mt. Tam. I rattled my teeth out on the bumpy sections and bunny hopped the water gates. I had a lot of fun and even said it out loud a few times that the trail was awesome!

Gate at the base of the trail

Doe, right hand side. Little ears sticking up.

 

After the gate at the base I came upon a few deer that were grazing at the edges, we exchanged blank stares and I fiddled with my phone to grab a picture. Once I hit Highway 1 I started thinking about the Pelican Inn and began singing a song about bangers and mash (English name for sausage and mashed potatoes). I made my way down the winding decent to the intersection where Highway 1 and Muir Beach meet. At the Inn I found a wedding and a sign saying “Closed for private event”. No bangers and no mash for me. I was pretty bummed sitting in the Muir Beach parking lot eating half of a piece of cornbread and cookie. Washed all that down with a little bit of coffee and water. I hopped back on the bike and began the ride up Highway 1 to the Miwok Trail. 

sad Quickbeam at Muir Beach

 

In my hunger altered state, I decided I would take the Miwok trail back through because I thought it would take me into Rodeo Valley but I was mistaken and only remembered that once I was almost to Tennessee Valley. The trail was freshly graded which removed all of the deep ruts caused by the spring rains. It also made the trail a little sandy which wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I’ve ever gone that fast down that section of trail before. In general I don’t usually don’t go too fast but it was late in the evening and there was nobody out in the dark, cold, damp fog. While riding downhill I had a tailwind and could only hear the sound of the tires and freewheel clicking, no chain slap, no rattles, no wind in the ears, just hauling ass downhill and having a great time.

Freshly graded Coastal Trail  dropping down to Tennessee Valley.

 

A bit of an uneventful ride out of Tennessee valley back to Sausalito. I decided to grab something to eat because it was about 8:45 at night and I was super hungry. When I stopped at the pizzeria I realized my keys were no longer clipped to my bag. No wonder it was so quiet while I was riding downhill. I sat in silence at the restaurant, thinking about how I could get my keys back. Using the photos I had taken on the ride, I figured out that the keys were somewhere on the Coast View Trail after the picnic bench but before the road. I had hope of finding them because I have my name and number on a brass tag if someone were to find them they could call.

 

Leaving the restaurant I switched into lowest gear and crept along in the dark down under the Golden Gate Bridge to Ft Baker to avoid the double hill and late night wind on Alexander Rd.  I battled the climb out of Ft Baker up to the bridge. It was a pretty and uneventful ride across the bridge and into the Presidio, back to Embarcadero station then BART to home.

 

The next morning I woke up early to go look for my keys. While driving I noticed I had a message from someone who had found them! I met them later in the day and gave them some money for lunch. Super grateful that they didn’t end up in the bushes where they couldn’t be seen! 

Bike as outfitted for the ride.

Christian

Berkeley, CA

[Carla Waugh]

Nice detailed ride! Love the pictures!

[Mike Williams]

Great write up Christian! What size QB is that?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 30, 2017, at 6:50 PM, Carla Waugh <lhtbik...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Nice detailed ride! Love the pictures!
>

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[christian poppell]

Thanks everybody! It's a 64cm. I feel like I could go a size smaller as the bars and the top tube feel pretty high at times but it works and I really enjoy riding it. I'll be making a front rack for it soon. I might do a week long tour on it sometime in the near future.

[Joe Bernard]

Life goal: Meet Marta from Barcelona at Safeway, talk two hours. I love how that got put in there like this is a thing people do every day ;-)

The bike renters in Sausalito are always a site coming off the Golden Gate Bridge. They're in a strange land on borrowed hybrids being blown all over the road by fierce, cold winds they aren't prepared for. I'd be very surprised if more than a few ever do it again.

[Eli Queen]

Wow, siting here in the northeast, those Marin Co. trails look magical. 

Thanks for the ride report ... made my day.

- Eli

[John G]

That's the way a Quickbeam should be used.  Nice!  Glad you recovered your keys.  I somehow dropped my wallet on a gravel road while changing a flat in Michaux State Forest in PA last year and after frantically searching for a couple of hours, got a call from my wife, who said a motorcyclist had found it and ridden over 40 miles out of his way to return it to my house in MD.  People can be really cool sometimes.

[Deacon Patrick]

Quickbeams and mountains are a wondrous combination!

With abandon,

Patrick

[alan lavine]

Could you share the details of your drive train and gearing, please?  Maybe photos?

Thanks

Alan NYC

[Tim O. (Portland, OR)]

That looks like the funnest. Thanks for sharing!

[christian poppell]

Gearing up front is a Sugino Mighty Tour 110bcd double with 40/36 rings. Rear is a Phil hub with a surly dingle fixed cog 21/17 on one side and a ACS 17t freewheel on the other side. Using a 6/7/8 speed chain. Only use the freewheel downhill. Gear combinations that work are 40/17, 36/17 and 36/21. Ill take some photos soon and upload them. 

I purchased the frame from this list and rode it with a co-op gruppo purchased for 90$. After a few months I built some wheels and dialed it in a little to where it is now. Only change i want to make now are a little longer stem and a front rack with lowriders. all of that will be soon. 

Thanks again everyone!

[Philip Williamson]

Hey Christian, that's a beautiful write-up! It's especially resonant for me, with Mt Tam and the Quickbeam. 

I love that you put so much energy into conversing with strangers. 

Philip

www.biketinker.com

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks for the story and photos. I like your setup, and I envy you your rolling dirt roads with firmish dirt.

Patrick Moore, who once lost his keys on a dirt road, went back to look for them and bothered all the walkers and joggers, and got home to find them inside his house, in ABQ, NM.

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Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?

[Bill Gibson]

Ah, that is how I remember Marin. So much fog, my glasses were...impenetrable. I resorted to continuous wiping with my fingers.

Bill in Tempe, who grew up in Austin, Texas, where a saying once went: Onward! Into the Fog!

Bill Gibson
Tempe, Arizona, USA

[Ash [who works to bike]]

Going out for this ride would be my dream Saturday!  Hope I'll get time some time for myself one of these weekends.

Thanks for the write up (and the idea) Christian!

[Joe Bernard]

I need to do it, too, Ash. It's kinda ridiculous that I live here and haven't ridden most of that route. I need to toss the Brompton in the car and get out there.

[christian poppell]

Thanks Phillip, 

I think for me, riding alone has a lot of advantages. People seem to really want to talk, and I don't have any pressure to be anywhere or to ride a certain way. I met you and your gang out riding and was able to switch up my plans without hesitation. I don't think I've ever met a stranger when on a solo ride. Most of my conversations start around the bicycle and maybe the fact that my appearance doesn't fit into what a typical cyclist in the area looks like. I've met some really great and interesting people and that's what I like about cycling is the conversations and exposure to the world.

Also, here is a previous write up on a S24O outing on the QB: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rbw-owners-bunch/8AYdSsNsh7E

Christian

Berkeley, CA

[Ryan Fleming]

Quite the adventure and I'm glad someone found your keys ! great pictures and write-up

[Ash [who works to bike]]

Brompton?!!   Take some pictures.   I mean ask someone to take pictures of you riding a Brompton :)  I always chuckle when I see someone on a Brompton because it reminds of circus!

Hey Christian, is there any easy way for you too share the route you rode?  Thanks..

[Joe Bernard]

I assure you, you are the first person to ever call a folder a circus bike ;-)

[Surlyprof]

Not true, Joe.  My students were amazed when I showed up to class on my bright lime green Brompton (with unfortunately chosen lime green helmet).  Most had never seen one.  I told them that my wife bought it for me when I graduated from clown college.  They never know when I'm being sarcastic so I think there are now rumors going around campus that I spend my summers touring with the circus!

John 

Whose Brompton with touring bag has made commuting on public transport and grocery shopping so much nicer.

[RonaTD]

The Quickbeam, having been developed on the roads and trails around Mt. Diablo, is ideally suited to that kind of ride. I took mine with me once to SoCal and did some road/gravel/single track in the hills and it was heavenly. Very confidence-inspiring handling rolling down a sketchy hillside trail. If I had road/trail combo options like that around here, I probably wouldn't have sold mine.

[Patrick Moore]

John: You breathe new, and doubtless still forlorn hope in my despairing quest to make my Dahon Hon Solo a load carrier.

Would you mind posting a photo of your Bompton with touring bags? I'd like to see what sort of system you use.

Thanks.

Patrick Moore, who has 2 other load carrying bikes, in ABQ, NM

On Sat, Sep 2, 2017 at 9:33 AM, Surlyprof <jmcc...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Snippo ...]

John 

Whose Brompton with touring bag has made commuting on public transport and grocery shopping so much nicer.

Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews.
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[Joe Bernard]

Patrick, here's my new Brompton (I sold the electric one) with a Brompton C Bag. It's huge, and they make huger ones.

Hey Ash, it's a circus bike at Tilden Park!

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks. Now that would do the trick! But I guess that it works only with a proprietary Brompton mounting system?

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[Joe Bernard]

Yep. To do Brompton stuff you kinda need a Brompton. Your bike is a renamed Boardwalk, which is really more of a 'ride from the boat to the truck' design. Here's another shot that shows better how the bag fits on the bike.

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[Patrick Moore]

Thanks. Oh well; if I could find a Brompton that could give me an almost-road-bike riding position (as the HS does with 2" bar extender and original Moustache bar), and let me set it up as a fixed gear, I'd think of buying one. I don't want a bike whose principal benefit is folding small, while its riding qualities are distant from those of full sized bikes.

The HS is not bad at all; "boat to truck" doesn't do it justice. I want a folder that I can ride 20 miles in a normal position without pain.

[Joseph Bernard]

I see your point about the bars, but I've ridden a lot of Dahons and the Brommie rides at least as well as they do. I just finished a 10 mile ride on mine and would easily triple it without a thought. They make a singlespeed that could be converted to fixie. 

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[Patrick Moore]

Question: I've read many comparative reviews of folders, and in many of them I've read that 20" Dahons ride more like "real bikes" than 16" wheel Bromptons; that Bromptons are the #1 choice if you want quick and easy folding, but if you want a ride that is closer to that of a full sized bike, choose something else/

This is repeated again and again. Bromptons fold very nicely, but that is their sole competitive advantage. Other folders ride better. Generally, the reviews say that the easier and smaller the folding, the less the ride quality, and e converso.

Also, straight bars are an immediate disbarment.

Me, I want a bike that folds enough to fit into a grocery trolley, but that, otherwise, rides like a full sized bike. 

Will others chime in?

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[Joseph Bernard]

I'll let others chime in (although they may consider this thread hijacked enough already), but as far as I'm concerned those reviews are bollocks. All small-wheelers handle quick, but that can be mitigated on a Brompton with a couple pounds over the front wheel. Yesterday I rode my Clem L, today I rode the Brompton; they both go straight and turn like bicycles, with one being more stable and one feeling like a sports car. I like both. 

[Deacon Patrick]

I know you've made your bike the grocery trolley. Is there a reason that doesn't work? Would doing so tick all the boxes?

With abandon,

Patrick

[Surlyprof]

Patrick,

I got the Brompton because I started teaching a course that ended when my last train was leaving the station.  I wasn't comfortable putting my Hillborne on the front rack of the bus so I got the Brompton.  It folds down small enough that I can carry it onto the bus without a second glance.  The ride was secondary but carrying capacity was crucial.  I carry a very large (16.5"x11") tablet computer and accessories (portable office), books and lunch when I commute.  The Brompton T-Bag (touring bag) carries it all smoothly but, as you pointed out, it uses their block carrying system.  I did add a Sackville Multisack on one side for ulock and the lunch.  Rides well with occassional heel strike.  The more I rode the Brompton and got used to it, the more I started using it for grocery shopping and hardware store runs.

As the others mentioned, the Brompton takes some getting used to.  I was able to get it very close to the riding position of my Hillborne.  The "H" model would have gotten me fully there.  That said, it does NOT ride like a Hillborne (few bikes do IMHO).  It is a little twitchy at first but you learn that turning is in the lean more than the handlebars.  You really do become one with the bike as you glide through turns.  I almost didn't get it because I didn't get to that sensation during a test ride.  I was turning the handlebars too much.  I would guess that's why Brompton started allowing people to try demos for extended periods of time.  I've heard from friends that Bike Fridays felt closest to road bike feel.  Bigger tires, good geometries smooth steel frames.  My problem with them is that they didn't fold down small enough.  The Helix (https://www.helix.ca/) looked promising but the geometry is tight unfolded.  They also launched their Kickstarter in 2015 and still haven't sent out a bike to their customers!  Here's a couple of photos of my Brompton.  They do make a larger capacity trunk bag for the rack but I liked having some Riv-content with the Multisack/Brompton Mini-pannier:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129545862@N03/33063449290/in/album-72157676942696083/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129545862@N03/32573299260/in/album-72157676942696083/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129545862@N03/32913479866/in/album-72157676942696083/

Now, to not fully hijack the thread, I'd like to say to Christian, great shots and fantastic write up!  You really captured the feel of Tam.  Everyone in the bay area should ride it.  I was a little intimidated until I did that ride with Philip and Evan last year.  We rode up the trails to the West Point Inn for their pancakes and then back down the road.  Not only was it beautiful, it was all sorts of riding in one ride.  Clear as a bell going up the trail; great views from the West Point Inn; and then a cold, foggy road descent.  Crazy how the climate changes from one side of a mountain to the other around here.  Potentially terrifying riding down a mountain in that kind of fog but the cars were timid so I don't remember too many trying to pass us on our way down (until we got below the fog).  Really fun ride.  If anyone wants to try it, the bay area riv riders are planning another pancake ride next weekend.  https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/bay-area-rivendell-riders/ex_XPflpAYk  

See you all there?!

John

[christian poppell]

Hi Ash,

Here's a link to the the rough route in two parts. Its split because Ride With GPS wouldn't let me connect the route through Muir Beach:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/17423638   Part 1
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/17423687   Part 2

Christian
Berkeley,CA

[Marc Nolte]

I've got a Dahon MuXL.  More cushy on Big Apples than my Wilbury on GB Hetres. Steering feels twitchy for the first 100-200m then my muscle-memory adapts. 

Just a wee bit slower than the Wilbury on my standard 15km commute. 

Lack of hand positions is my only gripe. I run wrapped albatross on my Riv, so I have 3.6 distinct hand holds. Dahon, basically 1. 

Love the Nexus-8 on the MuXL too. 

Feel envy every time a Brompton rider does the rear-wheel tuck 'n park trick. 

Still lust after a Moulton SST. 

Marc in Calgary

( Where an exceptional summer has seen the most miles by bike yet. )

[Ash [who works to bike]]

This picture made my day!   I love Bromptons. Their design is so innovative.  Their bag mounting system (and the bags that go with it) is one of the coolest things I've seen in bikes.  I also bought a Brompton (3 times) just for how neat that system is.

A coworker in my previous job had a Brompton.  He is 6'7".   Picture him on a Brompton :)

[Ash [who works to bike]]

Thank you Christian.  Much appreciate it!

Can't wait to try it!

[Sergio]

What a treat to see those trails and fog after so many years in the Midwest. There was always such a feeling of internal pride and accomplishment as you rounded the final curves leading to the tip of the trail. Thanks for helping me revisit! Makes me realize how much I need to bring my bike on a trip home one of these days.

Sergio

[Bob Ehrenbeck]

Great stuff; sounds like a perfect day! I was in Marin this past June (although in a car and on foot, not on a bike) at several of the locations you mentioned, and your descriptive writing (not to mention your photos) brought back some good memories. Thanks for posting.

Bob E