UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • January 2016 • 13 Exercise in 2016: Testing the ‘Upbeat’ Kona Fire Mountain!
Santa Rosa, CA. ~ I don’t know about any of you out there, but I can only sit behind my desk for so long before I need to get outside and get exercise. So, that said, I decided to go to the local bike retailer, Bike Peddler in Santa Rosa and spoke with clerk Sharon who got a gentle-
man to come and assist me in the right kind of bike to use when going up fairly steep ter- rain and a bike that also fi t my body type. We decided on the Fire Mountain Kona, a durable 27 speed, meant for nice low gears and high gears for fl at roads and climbing hills.
We are doing a se- ries of travel articles in the next many up- coming months that involve biking, kay- aking and hiking. The fi rst was a trip to the Mendocino County coast where my wife and I ven- tured the old logging roads that run along Big River. If you ever get a chance to go on this bike trek, you’ll be pleasantly surprised both with the beauty and the history of this jour- ney through the red- woods, fi r and var-
ied tree landscapes. I had not bought a bike for
well over 30 years, and a lot had changed for sure. Instead of regular rubber, two pad- ded breaks, they now use disc brakes which essentially prove to be superior to the old style,
and able to stop you with great effi ciency. The Kona bicycle also has front shocks, now common on pretty much 100% of the bikes on the market. My old bicycle was a 15 speed, Univega mountain bike with no shocks. I also bought this bike from the Bike Peddler in 1984, which was located off of Men- docino Avenue at the time, and Steve, a gentleman who sold it to me then still works for the new Bike Peddler location on College Avenue in Santa Rosa. It so happens I bought my fi rst 10-speed at this exact location in 1976. The bike was call the ‘Schwinn Varsity’.
The test ride for the prod-
uct was also taken to the coast north of Fort Bragg along the fl at stretch of road that paral- lels highway 1 north of Glass Beach.
The Big River journey really struck a chord because, number one, it was a 20 mile round trip
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JOKES & Humor # 5 Sitting by the window of her
convent, Sister Barbara opened a letter from home one evening. Inside the letter was a $100 bill her parents had sent. Sister Barbara smiled at the gesture. As she read the letter by the window, she noticed a shabbily dressed stranger leaning against the lamp post below. Quickly, she wrote, “Don’t despair. Sister Barbara,” on a piece of paper, wrapped the $100 bill in it, got the man’s atten- tion and tossed it out the window to him. The stranger picked it up, and with a puzzled expression and a tip of his hat, went off down the street. The next day, Sister Barbara was told that a man was at her door, insisting on seeing her. She went down, and found the stranger waiting. Without a word, he handed her a huge wad of $100 bills. “What’s this?” she asked. “That’s the $8,000 you have coming Sister,” he replied. “Don’t Despair paid 80-to-1.”
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UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • January 2016 • 13
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