The Sacramento Mile 2012

Here's a video clip.....
Be back with pictures and a few more video clips...


Last years winner Bryan Smith took the main event Shayna Texter beat the boys in the Pro Singles race.

Click here for more info----->Winners

There were a few changes from last years race. They had an 'open paddock' before the race as well as after the races were done. I showed up early enough to get into the pits and get some pics.

Walk up to the stadium entrance

Just inside the entrance my greeting committee was waiting for me...

Slammin' Sammy and Jethro Halberts pit tent

 Sammy, signing my entry ticket.
One of the nicest guys you could meet and an amazing rider.

Number 7, Sammy's bikes.

I took nearly 200 pictures and a few videos as well. It's going to take me awhile to peruse them and decide what and how to present here, So, I'll probably end up breaking this post into several parts. The rest of the pictures are of the pit area before the races.

This Royal Enfield was in the dealer and vender area indoors. It will be racing today, which is Sunday in the Vintage races.

This looks like a good point to finish "Part One"...Be back later with more....

Sacramento Mile...

...will be here in a week. July 28 at Cal Expo.

Chris Carr

Saw retired Chris Carr racing a year ago at Cal Expo. Here are some links.

Click here for----->Race info

Click here for----->Ticket info

Click here for---->Calif. State Fair info

Click here for----->More info

I haven't figured out how to do links to my own stuff here, but if you care to see some pics and little vid clips from a year ago...look it up over to the right...August posts. Hope to get some good pics this time.

Here's those links for you Bodger:

                             Click here------>Jim Rice/AMA Hall of Fame

                             Click here------>On any Sunday reunion report

I've got to work a little harder to link that "youtube" link, did it once before....

Think we figured it out again...

Sculpture PART THREE

As I walked across the bridge I was expecting to find a park of some kind. I had a lunch with me and was hoping to be able to eat near the water. I was a little surprised to find what looked more like a landfill or dump.

There was a gate and it was open, and none of the workers seemed to be concerned that I had entered through it. Started heading south and found a trail leading to a much nicer area, one that nature was reclaiming.

In there is a massive growth of blackberries that should be ripe in a month or so.

A short walk from the bustle of the freeway, found a ""bench and table" to eat my lunch at.

Nice view of a little mini-bay, created when they cleaned up the area,

Evidently this jetty was created with debris dredged up from the area. Lots of old bricks and concrete.

During the big clean-up many containers of debris were helicoptered out.

But many large old timbers were left behind, one can only guess at what this used to be .

Unfortunately, if you look closer you see the evidence of recent flotsam and jetsam.

Did find this little mini-sculpture someone left behind.

Various graffiti 

Walking back to the car I spotted this nice BMW.

This is a European depiction of the native people of this area. The Ohlone lived in this area for thousands of years, until the Spanish missions arrived and disrupted their culture.

Here are some links to sites about the Ohlone.------->The Ohlone

The Emeryville shellmound-------->Sacred sites

Ohlone sites------>Ohlone artifacts revealed

The Ohlone Nation------->The Ohlone Nation

 Early Bay area-------->Early San Francisco natives

About a year ago I saw a Public television program about these ladies and how they saved the San Francisco Bay. If they had not taken the initiative the bay might have become a muddy polluted shipping channel. It might have become something like the next picture.

A link to the PBS program------>PBS program

A link to history of Save the Bay------>Save the Bay

A link to wikipedia----->SAVETHEBAY

City planners and developers would have filled most of the bay if they had not been stopped. This was in 1961, that luckily someone took the initiative to do something about it. Hope you enjoy the links, this has been an informative and interesting trip for me.

Pssssssssst....the Sacramento Mile is comming.....stay tuned.

Sculpture PART TWO

And from 2012, we go back further in California history to the Gold Rush Era.

Looking back at part one of this little blog post, I've decided to put down some words before adding pictures. Been having some probs with this "New" dashboard here at "Blogger", but think I'm getting the hang of it again. From what I hear, I'm not the only one, so will take some consolation from that. From further research on the web, it seems that the tidal flat sculptures have been going on since the 50's even. My first experiences with them date to the sixties. I imagine something of the sort has been going on since humans have started inhabiting the area. Have read that during the gold rush of the 1840's, San Francisco became littered with ships that were abandoned there. I imagine a graveyard of rotting ships, looking like bizarre sculptures floating in the bay. Evidently once the passengers headed off to the "gold fields", sometimes the Captains and crew would jump ship and pursue the dream of riches. Unfortunately very few found riches. A lot of these ships lay buried under modern San Francisco streets.buried ships of San Francisco<------click over there.   Here in Sacramento is the rebuilt old "Sutter's Fort" that dates back to the time of gold discovery at Sutter's Mill, by James Marshall. Sutter's Fort <-------click over there.  John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant and early settler of California formed "New Helvetia" from a land grant from the Mexican government. Click here for part of the story in his own words---->...in his own words...

 Early photo of San Francisco with "Graveyard " of ships
from all over the world.

The gold seekers were known as "Argonauts". I work with a couple of modern day "Argonauts". With the recent fantastic upsurge in gold prices, there is a new "Gold Rush". People are revisiting old sites, looking for those riches once more. This time with modern equipment. and  sometimes with just as much fever...  For a look at the "Argonauts" of yesterday go to this excellent history site, and then scroll down to "The Argonauts (49'ers). click over there-------->The Argonauts(49'ers)


Back to the present and the Sculptures. After looking up the artist and reading about some of the reactions to the art, it prompted me to do more research. Fell down one of those rabbit holes on the web, but found  a bunch of new sites I'll be re-visiting. It's kind of sad how little real California history got taught in the schools when I was a kid, maybe it's better now....?

The artist who created the bike/pedestrian bridge sculptures known as "The Berkeley Big People"

This is a link to Scott Donahue's site------------>Scott Donahue

This is a link to a wikipedia page on Berkeley------------>..."third most liberal city in the US"...

And a link to a site about Emeryville------------>...Emeryville...

And now some pics I took recently...and then some more links from my trip down the rabbit hole, which will

be in Part Three of this post.

Berkeley side of Freeway 80, a nice freshwater lake or lagoon...?

Kayak and canoe rentals, have to see if I can launch my own craft here.

These were all shot from the walkway up to the Bike/pedestrian way.

Walking up to "Big People" on the Berkeley side. The "Protestors"...

Not everyone is protesting in this group, some are engaged in scholarly pursuits. Berkeley is known for  

research as well.

Didn't know it at the time, but this bit of graffiti has a tie-in with some on the Emeryville side.

A motorcycle helmeted Saxaphonist, bikes over to Emeryville...

Looking South towards Emeryville/Oakland. Lake to the left, Ocean Bay to right.

Freeway traffic light and flowing for a change. I usually catch it at it's worst, when it seems no one knows 

which lane they should be in...

Walking up to the Sculpture on the Emeryville side, "The Recreationists...?"

Dog catching frisbee, kite flyers...

And "birders" watching birds...

Until I saw them up close, I was guessing from the freeway...

On the walkway Emeryville side, that ties in with graffiti on the Berkeley side.

Thinking this is a good point to end "Part 2", will be back with what I found on the Emeryville side. 

Was expecting a park of some sort...?

If you happen to look at this post, let me know if you have any problems with the links, Thanks.