Well… 
I shouldn’t have drank Malbec. What the hell was I thinking. Beer never makes me do stuff like this.
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These sharks, including one male adult who revisited over two years, could be slowly swimming beneath hundreds of kite sailors and swimmers doing the famous Escape From Alcatraz Swim
That may speed your swim up a bit.
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I went snorkeling in San Diego once…off the rocks in La Jolla. Dumbest thing I’ve ever done. You could see like 5 feet. The water was freezing. There were seals and kelp and…shadows…just shadows… I never felt so much like bait in my life.
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didnt want to be the first to mention it !? 
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Great pics and you are a braver man than me.
We (better half and me) snorkelled the greet barrier reef off Cairns. I never felt concerned about sharks because the water was so clear. Having said that there was a group 30 yards away who had a 15ft hammerhead circling them and we didn’t see it.
There’s something primeval about not being able to see and I’ve read the water on SF bay is dark/murky. Rather you than me. I’m convinced you’ll hear the Jaws score at some point in the swim.
Dur dur, dur dur… 
On a lighter note (and assuming you aren’t fish food), how does the bike and run work? I’m guessing the swim is to the mainland and you do the rest there. How is the terrain?
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Yeah…you got it…swim from the ferry off Alcatraz to the mainland…then its a hilly but short (compared to the Ironman) bike ride then an 8 mile run. Again…compared to an IM I think this is much more approachable.
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Well…I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Escape from Alcatraz registration. Couldn’t have happened at a better time…
A few too many…uh…
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Let’s not be too hasty and throw out the baby with the bathwater.
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So…I have this thing where I don’t watch the grand tours as they are happening simply because I can’t usually find the time to watch them live. So I just let them happen…avoid the news of them (thank you for the no spoilers here!) and then watch them on whatever app they show up on (Peacock for the TDF).
Anyway…today I finally finished the 2024 TDF (
) - it only took about 8 months. Fun stuff. Shame Sepp Kuss couldn’t be in it (guess he tested positive for COVID). UAE was a beast of a team. Sure wish Matteo Jorgenson (sp?) could have got a stage win.
As usual, the commentators were great. Love Phil and Bob…sad to hear that Phil is retiring. You could sometimes sense the tension and frustration coming from Bob I feel towards some of Phil’s screwups…but I was really fine and OK with them. I wonder now who they will put in the booth with Bob. Hopefully Christian although he is great on the moto. Actually…putting Christian in the booth with Bob and bringing back Adam Blythe for the moto coverage would be great. Leave Perino out drinking with the crowds and providing cultural vignettes.
BUT… they gotta get rid of TJ Van Garderen in the studio. I loved TJ on the bike…and rooted hard for him…but in the studio I just find him super annoying. Brent Bookwalter really grew into the role the past couple of seasons…but TJ…just really don’t like listening to him for some reason.
On to the 2024 Vuelta now (NO SPOILERS!) - and before we know it I guess we’ll be back to the Giro.
Guess we have Paris-Nice March 9-16 and Paris-Roubaix on April 13…Giro starts May 9
Looking forward to it. Will be odd not hearing Phil.
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I think I love Surly’s stupid bikes.
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Is that thing “Amphibious”?
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Does anyone have experience with Rouvy? Although the outdoor season is here, there are times when it’s either going to be an indoor ride or no ride. I’ve been happily on Zwift for about 5 years, but wondering if there is something better out there. Or perhaps just need a change. TIA
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Been using Rouvy for a few months in place of Zwift. I like the distraction of a rel outdoors photo/video look that Rouvy offers and I tend to end up with something like that or Wahoo video rides as I get further into the winter/early spring and need to see something positive and real (less gamey). Sometimes it is obvious that the video is from a car or motorbike (sharp corners do not come from a bike). Other than that, it works well with my indoor trainer and HRM, and the app is fine and functional. Workouts and stats are all similar and it integrates with Strava and Garmin well. 4/5 stars?
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Good to hear Fridge. Thanks for the feedback.
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So, what are the bike friendly cities that you’ve either visited or lived in? I can vouch for Munich. You can pretty much get anywhere on a bicycle, and take it on the train otherwise.
Manhattan comes to mind. Some friends purchased a brownstone there on W 66th, near the Park. The husband, a chap that I used to road ride with, has recently gotten back into cycling and keeps a bike there. Most, but not all of his rides are in Central Park. He raves about it.
Here, Andy and I are heading up to climb Galibier during the TdF 2002 and paused to get a photo with one of the US Postal team cars. I’m leaning on the 2001 Canondale R3000, which was a great bike, until I tried successfully to drive into our underground parking garage after a post ride beer Lesson learned: bicycle roof racks are good only for bike shops and manufacturers.
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Pretty much anywhere in the Netherlands is fantastic but last year I passed through Venendaal and that town features some absolutely incredible bike infrastructure. All the bike paths are completely separated from car traffic and the only traffic light I encountered was when leaving the town. Everywhere else you had the right of way as a cyclist but mostly you are going through underpasses or over bridges to cross roads
This is what you’ll find there from the outskirts to the centre everywhere in the town:
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Canberra is probably the best city in Aus for cycle infrastructure. There are dedicated cycle paths that are separate from the road network:
That is just the major cycle network. Just about every suburb is also surrounded by and separated from neighbouring suburbs by a greenbelt and cycle/pedestrian paths criss-cross most suburban areas as well:
They also make great wildlife corridors which is why you do actually see kangaroos hopping down the streets of Canberra.
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Dedicated bike paths instead of just taking away a vehicle lane or having them use an existing vehicle lane would be so much safer. As it is now in most of the US bike lanes are an afterthought and not much of one.
Here in Corona on 6th Street they took away a lane though the main part of town going both directions. It has not promoted bike usage one ioata but it has created incessant traffic jams through the main part of town. It has also negatively impacted several businesses in the area due to the traffic jams making access to their locations nigh on impossible for most of the day.
Wheels
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