douguss amonguss

Happy New Year, Trikke Universe 2014!


I am looking forward to the New Year with exciting challenges and the hope for snow in the mountains.

In October my wife, Sally, started a new job, over the hill, as we call it, in Silicon Valley. I volunteered to drive her to work three days each week, usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It relieves her of some of the stress of driving and allows us to use the car pool lane and cut the commute time by almost a third. We get to spend more time together since we enjoy driving together.

You may ask what do you do all day once you are at your destination. Fortunately there is a wonderful park in Mountain View, Shoreline Lake and Park, which is centered along a number of nice trails skirting the San Francisco Bay. http://www.shorelinelake.com/

There is a lot of California history in this area so I am enjoying learning new things on my rides. The Pacific Flyway brings lots of migratory birds to the area. Already I am seeing lots of ducks and other water birds. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/userfiles/file/sowb/flyways/1_Pacific_Americas_Factsheet.pdf


My rides have become more than just putting miles in at a level I have never achieved before but I have a chance to watch the cycle of shorebirds as they migrate this winter. I have never seen the While Pelican as I am more familiar with the Brown Pelican. Soon I will start identifying the different waterfowl and make a better attempt to use my telephoto lens.


Since I started driving Miss Sally to work in October, I have averaged 200 miles or more each month. I joined a number of other Trikke enthusiasts on Endomondo in a fun set of challenges. It gives me a bit of a guide and most of the other Trikkers are in my age group so it is a great way to stay in touch although we are far apart geographically. endomondo.com is a free app you can use on your smart phone.

Please join me on some of my rides as I introduce you to my new trail system. I have always wanted to ride trails where I can go at least 10 miles in each direction and get a 20 mile ride in easily. The Bay Trail is level for the most part and quite a bit of it has good surface texture except for some areas. http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/baytrail/maps/bt_map3.html