Found myself at the Rose Bowl yesterday. Even if you hate football, the venue is awesome.

We were so close! I think our last appearance at the Rose Bowl was 1962, (And MN won!) Poor Wisconsin, although I won't pretend to shed any tears. They ruined our chance of getting there this year. However we did beat Auburn at the Outback Bowl yesterday.

Awesome!! You live in an amazing area of the US. I’ve always enjoyed watching the Rose Bowl Parade.

I actually thought Wisconsin had the better team. They were winning the game in the trenches, but just made too many mistakes.

The Rose Bowl is always fun ... one of the great things about it is that the Big 10 fans are always very gracious ... probably thankful to be in SoCal for the holiday. I know I would be!

We really are lucky. The weather and terrain are fab. But on the other hand, that also means there are a LOT of people.

I dunno what it is, but the weather is almost always GREAT on New Years Day. Almost always clear and sunny, and almost always with snow in the local mountains. It's uncanny!

Nice. You know, there were some photos taken yesterday during the game of the sunset actually reflecting off the the rather metallic helmets the Duck players were wearing. Super cool. I am sorta busy right now, or I would get you the link. I think it may have been on Oregonlive. Anyhow, very nice photo. Pasadena is so cool.

I finally saw the game last night, and I see what you mean ... that looked great!

We are having some great sunrises and sunsets as of late. I got out of work late last night and missed the sunset, but I got the sunrise this morning.

Latigo Canyon Road

That looks very inviting! The climbs don't appear to be too steep. Even some houses sprinkled in. Did you know that there's a bike leaning against the guardrail??? But it doesn't look like your Scott.

One thing I like about Latigo is that while it is long, it isn't terribly steep ... there are longer sections that are only 3-5%. And unlike a lot of other climbs in the Santa Monicas, it is a great descent.

One of my favorite sections is actually a part where the road is fairly flat, but really twisty. It's so much fun through there. Check out my friend on this one section.



And then there is the twisty section near the vinyard. Oy, is that fun ... both going up and down.

I think it's his Schwinn. Another nice thing about that road is it's twisty enough to slow the motor traffic a bit and even keeps some away. It looks a lot different in some places after the fires,other places there was no fire. It's about 11 miles from the coast to the end of the road at Kanan. Marginal climbers like me have to remember there is a descent in the middle and a second climb before you're out. On a hot day, that second climb kicks my butt.

Oh yea ... forgot to say ... that bike on the rail is my trusty Schwinn Fastback. I dunno why, but I haven't ridden the Scott since the HooDoo 500. It still has the aerobars on it.

Maybe I'll take her down from the garage and take her out for a spin. I'll bet she's getting lonely.

Tempe Town Lake


Mural in Tempe


Graffiti at Rio Salado


Bike at Rio Salado

Last night's view of Ballona Creek from the bike path.

Is it dicey to ride there after dark? I have nver spent any time in that part of town, other than just traversing it to get somewhere else.

Yes and no. The city manager of Manhattan Beach was attacked some years ago, and every few years or so, they find a body in Ballona Creek. I jump on and off the path at a housing project. And there are a lot of homeless at where it goes under the 91 Freeway.

But there are all sorts of people on it that make better victims than me ... I see a lot of women walking by themselves in the dark and the like. I also keep my eyes open and if there appear to be n'ere do wells about (and sometimes, there are), I make sure I am not alone when I pass them. A couple of years ago, there was a group standing around in 80 degree weather with hoodies. I turned around and took another way home. lol

Sea foam, Moonstone Beach, RI

London this week

Tillikum Crossing Bridge just after sunset. This is the bridge just for bikes, peds, and mass transit.

The fishing port of Heda on the west coast of Izu peninsula south of Mt Fuji is protected by a sand bar that has been growing due to a northbound sea current. It is covered with a pine forest, in the middle of which there is a Shinto shrine with red torii (gate). To the right you see Mt Fuji through the open channel. We visited it during my most recent century ride:



The second half of the century ride was after dark which means it was kind of chilly. But it was a Full Moon night and the wintry snow cap of Mt Fuji beautifully reflected the moonlight. Here you see the main part of Honshu across Suruga bay from the peninsula, with the city lights of Numazu and Mt Fuji behind it. The night shot mode of the Google Pixel 3 even picked up some stars.

My favorite thing about winter? When it's over.

Indian River Inlet Bridge looking west to east, bay to ocean.

Sunny January Sunday morning Bethany Beach DE

I rode 163 km (101 mi) yesterday. It was my third Century ride this month.

Thankfully here in Tokyo we don't get frost very often. I still see flowers this time of the year, including this rose in somebody's garden in Yokohama: