melville

Hey!

I'm Mel.

I started working on bikes when I was 10, taking stuff home from the dump and making it functional. I worked in bike shops in Seattle from 1987 to 1999.

I always rode, of course. I started racing the road in 1983, in New Hampshire. I moved to Seattle in the fall of 1987 and started racing the track the next year. I quit racing in 1996, when my wife was pregnant with our first child.

We moved to Humboldt county in 1999. Beautiful place, awful roads! I'm also, unfortunately, 300+ miles from any track. When I had a knee injury (overuse) I took up surfing for exercise, but now my surfing has progressed to the point that I don't get as much exercise from it anymore. On the up side, my knee is better and I'm riding again.

Thanks

Mel

cuda2k

Welcome to BikeForums, and welcome back to cycling. Hope you find some good roads and exercise.

East Hill

Hello Mel, where are you in Humboldt county? I'm trying to imagine riding there, and the image varies from quite pleasant to exquisitely painful! What kind of bike riding are you doing there?

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

melville

I'm in Northern Humboldt. Basically, the roads are unmaintained. The same steel criterium bike that I did most of my road riding on in Seattle is almost unrideable here. Knocks me like a jackhammer. I'm mostly riding an old Vitus these days, but after my track and crit bikes it makes me paranoid because it always feels like a tire's going down!

101 is essentially what you're going to be riding on the coast. Going inland it's hard to make a loop ride less than 100 miles or so if you want to stay on pavement. However, some of the dirt roads are a welcome change from what passes for pavement!

The scenery is awesome and the roads are fairly uncrowded.

Later

Mel

East Hill

I think I'd be doing a lot more riding on the MTB/ATB than a road bike in Humboldt County...

I used to work for the USPS in Santa Rosa, and decided to make it my mission to see every town in the zip code area of 954. I've been to Alderpoint, Blocksburg, Whitethorn. I did not know anyone else who'd been to those places.

East Hill

melville

We're 955 up here. Be careful about getting lost on the mountain bike, especially in SoHum. Cougar attack is rare but possible. Stumbling onto someone's grow is reasonably possible. As the sheriff is not in the business of protecting someone's illegal operation, the growers do it for themselves, and they do it well.

Later

Mel

East Hill

I discovered about ten years ago that the towns I named are now also 955! They weren't then, though.

Yes, I have heard many stories about Humboldt and Mendocino counties...I had a roommate who's uncle had a huge ranch in Mendocino county, and there'd been some trouble over the squatting growers...the growers lost.

Still, MTBing in Humboldt sounds like fun...

East Hill