Wisetrips Travel Blog

I returned to Almaden Quicksilver County Park on Saturday, November 7, for a ride on my Specialized S-Works FSR mountain bike. I started around 11:00 a.m., curious to try the new chain that Sports Basement in Almaden had installed and hot-waxed. The bike felt very smooth. My Specialized S-Works FSR at an overlook. The parking lot is normally completely full by that time, but today there were still spaces avai…

While developing my SF Bay Area Events search program, I discovered Raphaël Feuillâtre was playing at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall. I listened to him on YouTube and looked up his program, and it matched my interest in classical guitar. Born in Djibouti in 1996 and raised in Cholet, France, Feuillâtre trained at the Paris Conservatoire. He attracted international attention in 2018 by winning the Guitar Found…

My friends and I decided to bike the long stretch along Canada Road, from Woodside to Sawyer Camp. Bicycle Sunday normally closes a 3.8-mile section of Cañada Road between the Filoli entrance and Highway 92 to motor vehicles from 09:00 to 15:00. We parked at the nearby Woodside Elementary, and I changed into road cycling clothes. This would be my first ride on my brand-new X-Lab RS7, and I was eager to see how it handled. Th…

Inna and I met up with friends for a Halloween walk around Willow Glen . The neighborhood was extremely crowded, with imaginative decorations everywhere we looked. Orange and purple lights set the Halloween mood. Most people were dressed up. I wore a sloth costume, and Inna wore a sloth hat, so we were ready to join the Halloween crowd. A sloth costume and a sloth hat. There w…

Gunhild Carling’s performance at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco was a terrific night out for fans of traditional jazz—from Dixieland and swing to big-band classics—and for anyone who appreciates musicians as entertaining to watch as they are to hear. The Swedish-born multi-instrumentalist, singer, and entertainer, often dubbed the Queen of Swing , brings together dazzling musicianship, vintage jazz, playful humor…

Today, after test-riding the X-Lab RS7  road bike and the X-Lab GT8  gravel bike at the local Sports Basement in Almaden (the shop finally had both bikes in stock), I decided to buy the RS7 base model in white, size large. At $ 2099 , it offers the best value and felt excellent on the road. I considered the X-Lab RS7 Di2 version with electronic gear shifting for $2899 (an $800 premium), but decided the added cost and comple…