Cycling in LaHabra Heights Ride Guide

Riding for pleasure in LaHabra Hts can be extremely challenging yet rewarding.  Of course the hills are but a tease to the accomplished rider or a dissuading humbling nudge to the neophyte .  "See, how I exist for your fitness as well as a quick paced downward flight simulation simulator, take me on and prove your stripes," the LH hill said proudly. For your pleasure I will provide info on two challenging streets, on ways to ride defensively, so you can slither your bike over hill and dale without harm, god willing; I will discuss various routes that provide entertainment in tandem with fitness; defensive maneuvering, avoiding road splat by cars (deathmobiles) or other cyclists (including salmons).  

ARDSHEAL DRIVE

  If you can muster the fortitude and muscle to take on Ardsheal (our shield, defending the province of Heights, LaHabra), by all means champion this hill.  This is a street with grades extreme and a few low grades for a short pause between exertions. Let Ardsheal lead you to a miraculous view located on the right facing opposing hill, hacienda Road  gazillion cars on it rising up the treacherous canyon above an expansive gulch.  Watch you don't suffer from vertigo becoming rather dizzy looking out, imagining yourself kiting across the void. Could prove to be hazardous!
   For your enticement midway on ascension (still on Ardsheal) look to the right side for a stunning view of a faux-lawn tennis court with low fences which remains a strident green in summer.  This remains a mystery, why the low fence? Perhaps  this court is only for show,  or for the wealthy lord of the premises to dispatch the best tennis balls during play to his neighbors below, "spare no expense: just enjoy the game," says he.
 Be weary of cars careening down this slope at breakneck speed by staying close to the right as possible.  I know, if you are a climber specialized you will be tempted to  do the snake, meaning gaining the upper-hand by meandering uphill as a river would be on the descent down a ravine. Funny how we cyclists mock nature's tendencies! Know that this technique of weaving uphill is best performed by using the right lane and not breaching the line (a center line is an imaginary line  on Ardsheal or for that matter in Lahabra Heights, period!).
  One time, probably my last, I was making generous sweeps up a straight slope on Ardsheal, crossing the imaginary line.  A white truck came swiftly bounding around the bend and caught me on the left side meandering my way towards the right.  Well, I made for the right, right quickly.  But in fear I saw that he took to his left lane to compensate for my taking his lane.  Wow, was I in a fix.  Luckily he maneuvered back and I happily live still to ride. Dumb mistakes transfix in the brain to never be repeated again for good reason.

AIROSO ROAD

 

Airoso is a street for the hill hungry cyclist, no diet cyclist you be.. The ascent is rude and crude.  Curving up the hill with no allowances for breaks, just a steady push, you may even find yourself pushing your ride up the hill.  Be not ashamed, your walking speed may even surpass that of riding.

 

 

DEFENSIVE RIDING TIPs

 

 

You are ascending a steepy and you hear coming up from the rear an engines hum (Better yet, you see its approach with your bicycle mirror. If you spy a driveway, pause inside its entrance and wave the car on: or if no driveway is available and you see no opposing traffic pull to the left bank and pause waving the driver on.  If this happens to be the car's driveway, smile and move aside of course. 

 

If you are approaching a curve and you detect a car behind you, I recommend taking the lane and preventing the passing of this vehicle.  This, I'll admit, defies logic.  For if you are on the far right and the car passes you, you'll remain safe and sound.  However, if an oncoming vehicle wraps around the bend, who will the passing car favor?  Will he favor running into a flashy car opposing him or hitting a marginal cyclist, sending him flying down a canyon wall? 

 

When descending a perilous Height's road, take care to stay at or near the center line (Imaginary line of course!).  This prevents the sudden terror of a car lurching out of a driveway and hitting you in your supposed right side imaginary bike lane. 

 

 Practice maneuvering your bicycle down a steep hill by shifting your weight on the bike rather than turning or leaning, this practice is similar to the observed practice of a slaloming skier. This can prove to be very useful when either faced by a car or a another cyclist on the descent.

When passing a pedestrian or cyclist, always pass on the left.  In addition let your desire be known by courteously yelling out "passing on your left" or "bicycle."

 

When you find yourself at the intersection of West Skyline and Hacienda wishing to make your descent down Hacienda either to the left or to the right.  Set your wheel to aim for the crosswalk button.  Wait for the crosswalk sign to magically appear and glide down the hill unimpeded by cars churning down your cyclist on descent pipe.

Warning, never let your guard down.  Yesterday while making my gradual descent on El Travisia,, a white truck jutted out on the right with engine groaning.  I yelled out "Hey!" which helped to awaken the driver to the spook (me) close to the center lane, he came to a stop, thankfully.

 

 

To be continued.



 

Bill Cole and Great Books, the best Lowell High School Whittier had to offer

My very first blog entry is a response to another blog article, so in reality, like the Arabian Nights (Not on pain of death mind you), I only started blogging officially yesterday in response to this fine article by Martha Groeber who wrote a wonderful article on this unique and studied fellow, Bill Cole.
So here is my response:

1.  
2. If one were to examine the life of the present living Ted Hinshaw, how did Great Books and the iconoclastic instructor Bill Cole influence his life? Explain. Elucidate. Compare. etc
   
   Above is an example of how a seminar question would have appeared to a GB student…sort of…except substitute my name for Dante and Bill’s for Virgil…now clearly a more precise version. On second thought substitute my name for Kurt Vonnegut. That’s better.
   There was nothing more terrifying to me than having to attend a Seminar and come up with some verbal defense that would establish that yes, I read the book and yes, my thoughts are my own and not lifted from cliff notes. And you, yes, you other students stop interrupting my train of thought like some ninja warrior as if we were in some sort of debate or something. But you do it so nicely don’t you: “Mr. Cole, Ted expresses a well founded understanding of Dante’s Inferno, however I’d like to bring up another more sophisticated point. Dante had a peculiar fascination for fire…let me explain in pointed detail how his enamored hero Virgil met him in the caldron and how much Virgil had influenced Dante’s life as a young person…yahda da yada etc.” Please, Mr. Cole just pass me is all I am asking of you. So I can leave this snakepit of shaky nervous hell and go about being a kid of sixteen and no dreamer of scholarly persuits mind you!
   Now you think seminars were terrors…Think of how it was for the students of the 60’s who were given an essay exam and some were caught upchucking outside the class prior to the test because this test was a status symbol like driving a Porsche at Hollywood High. You get an A on this mental hair puller and no one questions your mental facilities ever again. One of that elk could only hope. Bill ended this craziness of intimidation only to bring in the performance art production of Seminar.
3.  
4.  

   Well, now that that is off my chest, I’d like to begin by describing a wonderful perk to Great Books not yet discussed. The Great Books Party. That would be two during the year The Bacchanal and The Right of Spring. I was lucky to have been invited to my brother classes’ parties at 12 and, yes, I was spoiled. Here is my enhanced memory of the event (s): Firstly you enter the room and are surrounded by kind smart kids singing Happy Birthday to Bill Cole one dressed up in Gracho’s regalia, next you walk down the hall and see a pair of young ladies playing Beethovens 9th sitting side by side on Piano, at an adjoining room another group is sitting down in a circle playing someone’s made upESP (extra sensory perception) game where one faces another and mirrors the thoughts verbally or appears to be doing so successfully, meaning other’s believe they are successful and are enraptured, someothers discuss the middle east. You exit and find students marco poloing in a greenish blue lit pool, others found on the backyard lawn playing a crafty game of touch football.
   One year for a special treat a student showed his 8mm film he made with the great books class, who he had play various 1950 sock hop roles with love intrigues and gang land aggressions built in…similar to American Graffiti but probably done prior to the making of American Graffiti. Ahead of its time.
   
   Believe it or not one year Bill Cole became deathly ill. 1974? Unfortunately or fortunately the Sub was mocked and ridiculed during the reading of Bill’s red pen left handed scrawled lecture notes. Did the students’ get expelled for such behavior? No, some took up the task of lecturing while others ran seminars. 
5.  
    

   Bill cole as a youth attended a military academy was raised in Long Beach. Was a member of a gang whose penchant was to beat up on the blacks. Perhaps this explains his stubnose, no? He owned a very hot car dodge charger during the 60s and early 70s which he would rumble to and from various revival theaters with lucky students for Great Book Field Trips, a weekly occurrence, accompanied by second hand cars filled to the brim with not so lucky students . One week Hitchcock Psycho, Vertigo…Depalma’s Carry the next. We would stop at say a Bob’s Big Boy for food following the movie and a discussion of the films and other diverse interests.
   Bill was one who prided himself on an extreme appetite. One time he was challenged to an eating contest by an acquaintance at a smorgesborg. He did out eat the man, no one would doubt his eating prowess again forever. To celebrate they both had a cone of vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately this was the twos undoing. The fat creamy mixture provided the lubrication to bring everything up. And yes, you can fill in the rest of the detail.
   My first year at Lowell, 1978, he sported a perm (mop hair) and had an athletic build. Not hard to explain since he lived in Long Beach and rode a Schwinn paramount all over the place. Remember he did almost die in 1974? So to make up for this he became super health nut plus. A jock, a stud…not the pencil necked geek of earlier, not by far.
   My joys of having him for English Class was hearing the past Essay examples from prior students some of which were my bro’s friends. Some were so funny. One was on the merits or demerits of kissing from the point of view of a coed student. Of which she described the “sloppy joe kiss, the orio cooky peck kiss, the French gag kiss etc etc” Uproariously funny stuff! This was not your typical dry comparison contrast essay, not by a long shot: no doubt taught the easy Bill way with humor and intellectual fervor. We were leaps beyond the rest with Bill at our sides.
   His sentence diagram sessions were legend. Bill: “This is a special occurrence, (you) understood with an overarching gerundial phrase and implied wavering line establishing (dot dot dot on the board) seesaw symbol two words ‘this and ‘and.” IE Teds mythical explanation of Bills Sentence Diagramming. Perhaps this studied approach to an English sentence helped me with college math. I don’t know, but it was like no other.
   One year we were going to see as a field trip the great film you can now see on You tube SUNRISE. He was profoundly saddened by the reluctance of some students to take him up on the offer to see one of the greatest silent movies ever. I can still remember his words: “When the silver ring comes around on the merry-go-round and you are reluctant to grasp the ring that chance will never appear again, not for a long while! Grab it while you can! ” Still, they said no. Oh well.
6. Add comment