Kites

A child will fly a kite on a windless day; running back and forth across the lawn over and over again while the flying machine flails rather helplessly behind. I imagine the kite wondering, "for goodness sake, why can't we wait for even the slightest breeze to do this?"

But one day, it clicks. The kite finds purchase in the air and zigzag sprints turn to thoughtful tugs on the line. The kite climbs, and the pilot learns to coax it higher and higher till the string has run out and the spruce and tissue are just a diamond speck in the sky.

There is a purity in the balance of the kite and the pilot.

The kite wants to fly, its pull almost relentless, but without an anchor it will just flutter and drift back to the ground. The forces on each end of the string are strong, but the system is frail.

I watched that frailty in my son last night. In his summer before middle school, he's on the cusp of taking flight on his own. Making decisions, managing consequences, challenging the sky above him. And then all at once, seemingly without warning, crashing down again.

I imagine him looking down from up there and wondering, "for goodness sake, what happened to the people holding the string."

We're here pal. Promise.


image credit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kite_flying.jpg

Red Zone

The Toyota 3VZE V-6 of 1990 doesn't compare to a more contemporary powerplant. Its 3 liters promise a little over 140 horsepower, more comparable to a 2010 econobox than a pickup truck. That means on any sort of incline, the 3VZE has to spin fast to develop enough power to pull the Sunrader up hill. Climbing the Grapevine on Interstate 5 a few weeks ago, we were down into second gear to maintain 45-50 mph.

And I was watching the temperature gauge. High revs, heavy loads and slow speeds are all ingredients for overheating -- something that almost never happens anymore in modern automobiles. The little Toyota didn't disappoint, and while the needle moved substantially higher on the scale it never once approached the red zone. This after more than 100k miles of service. Chalk it up to reasonable care and maintenance by previous owners, and fresh coolant.

Today I took a bike ride in the mid-day heat. That is something I typically avoid, but after a late start and a tire change on the Serotta, it was after 11am when I set out. What had been predicted to be a day in the high 80s turned into more than 100 degrees F indicated on our back patio.

Last summer, on a similarly hot day, I got about 30 miles into a 40 mile ride. In spite of carrying extra water and being diligent about drinking, I hit the red zone and had to stop. Completely. It was the first and only time I've ever called home for a ride. And it took a few hours back at the house to actually recover.

Today, I used some human coolant called EFS, similar to Gatorade but with a better electrolyte content, at least for me. I had good legs, which is surprising considering my lack of training this season, but remembering last summer I was cautious through the entire ride. In spite of my legs feeling good, any time I upped my effort on a climb or a strong acceleration I almost immediately overheated.

And the signs were obvious.

Normal human response to heat is, obviously, to sweat. And for body hair to lay flat -- at least according to the small amount of research I did online after my ride. Today on the road as my core temperature climbed, so did the hairs on my arms. Straight up. Kinda like that temperature gauge going into the red zone. And I got the chills.

Now apparently that little signal is the beginning of the skin's evaporative cooling system starting to shut down. The human equivalent of steam slipping out from under the hood.

This year I knew enough to pull over and find some shade, drink, and add coolant. It was definitely a day in the red zone. But I made it, so I have that going for me which is nice. Now to work on the horsepower. Or at least the power to weight ratio.

Fathers' Day

Few plans, but good ones, for today. This morning, Duncan took me for a bike ride up to the Peet's coffee shop in Danville, Ca. It is as close to an East Bay cycling Mecca as you can get, and by the time we arrived mid-morning the entire patio was filled with riders (and bikes) basking in the sun. At 10, Duncan is really coming into his own on the bike, riding on the side of relatively busy roads and keeping a confident, straight line over almost 15 miles of riding. And he actually admitted to me AFTER the ride that he enjoyed it... hmmmm. We may have to keep this going for the summer.

I needed a replacement as the 'treadwear indicator' on my back tire (i.e. the beltweave) had started to show. Whoops. Pegasus in Danville doesn't carry the Specialized Armadillos I have come to love (3,000 miles without a flat) so they talked me into a similar Continental tire that they swear rides better and provides good protection. Armadillo or Ultra Gator. We shall see.

I may regret the convenience later!

I just read an interesting article via Yahoo news (yes, not the bastion of high-quality information but this was a re-post of a U.S. News and World Report piece) that listed some of the top places in the world you could retire and live well on just your U.S. Social Security check. Assuming those checks will still be coming by the time I'm eligible (Gartner 0.5 probability for my enterprise software friends).

I think I'd pick Cuenca, Ecuador. Mild climate, high mountains, rivers and multiple universities...the feel of a European city with a history that goes back 10,000 years.

(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuenca-Ecuador-2.jpg)

The big question is whether the roads are decent for bicycles...worth thinking about. I wonder how long it takes to get to the coast...



This afternoon the kids are taking me to go see Toy Story 3 on the IMAX. It is our first movie at the theater together in a LONG time. And then a burger afterwards.

Yep, it is Fathers' day.

ToC 2010

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the Tour of California 2010.

First Trip

One in the books. Whew!

I'll just say up front that the driving-to-vacationing ratio was a little off on this one. We left home at about 6pm to get from the Bay Area down to our camp site in Big Bear. 9 hours of driving under the wheels and we pulled into site #17 at Pine Knot at 3am. It turns out that the camp ground was about a block away from the finishing straight for the Big Bear stage of the Tour of California. Ha! Happy coincidence.

As planned, we were up at the crack-of-way-too-early-for-a-vacation the next morning to go meet some friends and stake out a spot on the final climb where we could get a good view of the bike race. Leveled out, awning cranked, coffee and pancakes wrangled and we were kings of the mountain on the side of Hwy 18. Everything was working flawlessly except the coach battery had discharged completely on the road down (must not be getting a charge back there) so we were constantly getting an undervolt alarm from the propane sensor. Just enough charge to run the water pump now and again, thank goodness :).

We waited for the road to close, and as I was off doing something in the back of the rig, one of the kids shouted "hey Dad, there goes another Sunrader." So what are the odds that it would be parked in Pine Knot #16 when we got back later that evening? (Thanks for coming by to say 'Hi!' Henry... great to meet you!). After another night in the campground and a breakfast at iHOP (they put the calories on the menu now. WOW, you could fuel a small city on a stack of chocolate chip pancakes) we headed down to LA to watch the ToC time trial. Thank goodness we can fit into a standard parking place, because it was a zoo down at the Staples Center.

I love watching the Time Trial... such a brutal effort. All mind versus pain for 45 minutes on a machine that is pretty unforgiving. The dragster of bikes. Great for straight lines and getting power to the ground, but handling, notsomuch. The wind was gusting enough at times that it would just whack riders sideways when it hit those rear disc wheels, especially as they passed by an intersection and a space between the skyscrapers.

Dinner (after proper, indoor-plumbing-based-showers) was at the lovely La Bruschetta on Westwood Blvd. Terrific food, wonderful staff and a great time with friends.

Sunday morning we were off again, having boondocked in our friends' driveway for the night. Up to Kanan road and Mulholland drive to watch the final circuit race of the 2010 ToC. We found a perfect spot, just beyond the KOM and unfolded the chairs beneath some truly spectacular blue Southern California skies.
So if you've ever wondered how close you can get to the action in pro bike racing, this picture about sums it up. I was using an 18-70mm lens, crouching on the side of the road and the guys came by within 6-8 inches. Amazing. The final stage was a 4 lap circuit, so we got to see plenty of racing, including some amazing attacks. Now these guys go uphill as fast as normal people go downhill, but when they attack it is almost unbelievable. On the final lap, Chris Horner (center) of team Radio Shack, along with a rider from the Garmin team, took it up another big notch and just departed from the front of the main group. It looked effortless and just really, really fast. Unlike ToCs past where the final day was more of a parade lap for the winner, there was some real jockeying for position in this one which made it more fun to watch. George Hincapie in the red white and blue of the U.S. Pro road champion made it a race to the end, coming in 2nd for the day.
But ultimately, this blog is supposed to be about the Sunrader. Hmmm... a quick review, perhaps. Certainly not a flawless trip by any stretch of the imagination. Interstate 5 is a terrific way to get down California in a luxury car above the speed limit. But it is so trashed by semi-tractors that pushing the rig to 75 with the occasional mighty pothole just isn't a whole lot of fun. Next time, 101 is the choice along with a more leisurely travel schedule.

The Grapevine was a nice adventure. We kept 45-50 all the way up, which is pretty impressive given 100k miles on an engine that at best is 130hp, all loaded up with the camper and 5 of us. And we did keep a pretty easy 70mph on the flats -- with 13mpg. All the appliances worked perfectly. I'm most impressed with the propane option on the fridge. Easy to light, and uses hardly any LPG at all to keep things ice cold. Love that. Oh, and roadside pancakes also rule.

The trip back up 101 was much nicer. The road is generally smoother, lacking as it does the caravans of tractor trailers. However, it was as windy as I've ever experienced. We had gusts of easily 40 mph coming across the road, sometimes shifting directions very quickly. That beats caffeine for keeping you alert. But the rig holds the road just fine, and the steering is light enough so things stayed reasonably relaxed. It seems to me that by avoiding the Grapevine and having a smoother surface the difference in distance/time is about a wash. It was certainly a less wearing journey on the way back.

And how amazing to run into ANOTHER Toyota Motorhome owner in Buellton, CA while stopping for some dinner. I was just checking the oil and a fella walks up to me to make sure everything is okay. Turns out he has an Odyssey of his own but loves the 'leak-free' idea of the Sunrader (I set him straight about my front windows, but he assured me I had nothing to complain about).

All in all a great trip. A few too many rattles, a few to much banging and washboarding (new shocks may get to the top of the list soon) but lots of fun.

Lots more pictures that I'll have to get up in an album soon.

New Commission

Soon we launch the Sunrader on the first trip of its new commission. There is still plenty of work to do, lots of bits and pieces as I've said, but it is well and truly roadworthy now.

I got a little behind on things like picking out fabric for new curtains, so I took a chance on some black RIT dye from the supermarket and ran the old ones through the wash. As you may notice, the curtains from the rear window did not survive the process. 20 years of sun exposure will do that to you! But the rest came through in sort of a taupe-tinged charcoal that looks decent enough to work for now. I'm thinking something in a cycling print for the final window coverings...

This week was about lots of finish work. Replacing the cutting board to fit into the left sink, reattaching cabinet doors and adjusting latches, finding an after-market latch to hold the fridge shut while underway. Thanks to the folks at Allied Trailer in San Leandro for lots of help and suggestions. The Web is great, but people who know their stuff are the real deal.

I also went through all the major systems. Hot water is back online, the fridge works on all three power sources (phew) and the stove lights up like a champ. Water flows. Tanks empty.

I'm sure we're going to overload with too much stuff and still pull out of the driveway with one or two things (hopefully not tools) that we'll need along the road. We have a great time watching the www.amgentourofcalifornia.com so I'm looking forward to catching some time with the kids for that, and meeting up with cycling buddies on the road too. Hmmm, may have to put the bike on the back of the rig for this trip. I suppose that wast he whole point anyway.

Packin Up

Not quite done with the rig yet, but the Tour of California awaits. This week I've been reassembling things. The stove is back in and reconnected, hot and cold running water is running (and draining) properly, and all the lights are back in place.

I also finished up the trim around the new floors (the angles were all something different from 90 degrees, so my mitering was more puttying...) and touched up some paint here and there. Still many bits and pieces to do.

I installed two fire extinguishers as well, one just inside the coach door and the other opposite it inside the main utility box. I then quickly kicked and broke the plastic mount for the one in the coach. Perfect! On to plan B...

I also finally got to fixing the big pots-n-pans drawer slide, which had been attached and reattached to the outside wall of the rig at least a half a dozen times over the years. A new plywood mount for the drawer slide with 4 #10 screws should last a little while...at least.

This weekend, we'll test fit all the gear: sleeping bags, cookware, plates, etc. (reading avidly all the RV lists out there on the web) and see what new storage bins we'll need. We'll also be fitting out all the plastic drawers with new cushioned liners to help keep the road noise down. Even with all the cosmetic work, the Sunrader still finds all the bumps on a rough road. Hopefully we won't have to hear the silverware all the way down the road!