The Beltex continued/Watch Gang 10 Carrero

It's a beautiful day here in Ventura, and I'm sitting in my backyard listening to People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938, something I picked up years ago and don't know if I've ever played. I do have a bit of a thing for murder ballads and western swing, affinities that I have always had though I know not why. My parents certainly didn't listen to this, and I was born a bit after the 'Cowboy Show' of the 50s.

I picked up my Beltex a few days ago, and it's beautiful. I've found a few more things about it. (There's one on Ebay right now, if you're interested). It's a Swiss made watch that likely dates from the 50's. There's not a lot of information on the brand, but it appears that by the 1950's Beltex was a 'fashion brand,' only making casings and not movements. According to the internet, the movement was made by Venus, and was used by several smaller Swiss brands. That is why you see similar faces on watches by Huer, Gallet, and many others. It is a good movement, and apparently parts are available.

At the end of the day, I probably overpaid for it all, but I smile when  I look at my wrist, and I know that the servicing is recent. Tom the 'Watch Doc' threw in a crystal since I was paying cash, and it looks really good on my wrist.

The Watch Doc, Toluca Lake

Which brings me to what will likely be my final Watch Gang watch. 

The Carrero

According to the tag attached to this watch, the MSRP is $1475. On the website, the Carrero CS17733MR is also listed at $1475. EBay gives you the true worth, though, and there are 50 Carrero watches ranging from $75 to $1400.

The first thing I noticed when I took it out of it's rather plain box is that it weighs a ton. It's also the first Watch Gang watch that I've opened that wasn't running when I opened the box. Even the automatics were wound and running when I got them. This had the plastic piece that keeps the watch from running down the battery still in place.  

According to the Carrero website, this is a stainless steel watch with a mineral crystal. It has a 44.5 mm face, and a Japanese Epson VR33 muscle movement. The three smaller dials represent the stop watch second hand and minute hand, as well as a 24 hour dial. Interestingly, for a watch at this supposed price point, I'd want the stop watch second hand to line up at zero, which it does not. The 24 hour dial doesn't quite line up either.

On my wrist, after removing a link, it still feels heavy. No sharp edges, though. The face appears to be a deep burgundy.

It's not an unattractive watch, and according to their website, 34 of these have been sold. I will say there's no way in hell that I'd pay $1475 for this watch-maybe $150-200. The movement, for what it's worth, can be purchased for $16.99.

I'm going to wear it tonight. Right now I've noticed that the clasp doesn't seem to stay closed, but that could just be me.

A few days later

I wore the Carrero for a couple of days, and my initial assessment stands-it is a heavy watch, and though the clasp isn't broken, I feel like I have to fight with it a bit more than I should in order to get it to close.

It does have a nice look on my wrist, but not so much that I'd have actually picked it up on my own. I think this will be the last Watch Gang watch for me. I'm going to take the money that I'm not spending on my monthly membership, and start looking for the two watches that have fascinated me for ages, the Hamilton Ventura and the Bulova Accutron Spaceview. Also, I'd love to find the Citizen Bullhead watch that Brad Pitt wore in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And if you'd like to toss me a Rolex or Omega, I'd take one.

Taco and Salsa Truck, Mills and Main

When I started this blog 10 years ago, I wanted to talk about tacos, surf shops and coffee. Since then, I've discussed guitars, ukuleles, watches and anything else that comes to mind. I realized that a few new taco trucks have popped up, and I haven't said anything about them.

I've also decided that tacos are pretty easy, and there isn't much to distinguish one from another. I've had tacos from this truck before, and at $2.75 each, they're on par with most other tacos in the area. If you need a taco, these are fine.

Reading their handwritten sign, I asked what a 'Quesabarba' was, and the guy at the counter said that it's a quesadilla with barbacoa meat. I asked how big it was, and he showed me an 8" corn tortilla. Another customer said it was good, and just order two. I did, but didn't ask the price, ready for a shock when I was wrung up. "$9," the counterman said, a price I was willing to pay.

In spite of my ethnicity, I don't really know much about barbacoa. The definition on the internet says it's slowly cooked and seasoned meat, usually goat or lamb, but also beef head or possibly pork. It's usually served with barbacoa dipping sauce. 

After a few minutes, I got my order. On the ride home, my car filled with the smell of barbacoa, and I was pretty excited.

Opening up the quesabarba, it was as advertised, a quesadilla filled with beef barbacoa.  A cup of barbacoa sauce came with it, which I dipped into before each bite. I caught some of the smokiness, onions, garlic, and cilantro in the sauce, which made the quesabarba tender for every bite. 

I had a Modello Dark here at home, which went perfect with the meal.

Again, I haven't had barbacoa that often, and don't really have much of a reference for it. The sauce was actually very similar to the birria sauce that they use at Pablito's Tacos over on the Avenues. 

I'd like to explore birria/barbacoa more, to mix up my taco diet.

As for Taco and Salsa, I'll be back.

Wolbrook, Lake & Sons and Watch Gang 9-Dufa,

In 2019 I saw a Kickstarter ad on Facebook for Wolbrook watches. I liked the design of the vintage dive watch, and the whole origin story of being Neil Armstrong's watch.

But I also did a bit of research. Neil Armstrong did have a Wolbrook watch, apparently from when he was a test pilot and he gave it to his brother (or father). On the moon, he, like the rest of the NASA astronauts, wore the Omega Speedmasters they were issued. 

I liked the look, especially the red bezel, and it seemed like a fun watch to own. It also reminded me of the skindiver watch my parents bought me in high school. It was supposed to arrive at the start Summer of 2020, and I justified the price as an early birthday present to myself.

Then Covid locked down the world.

The Wolbrook people regularly sent out emails talking about their supply chain issues, and I think I finally got the watch 4 months after their projection.

It's a great watch! They've got several watches now, but this one is a Skindiver WT, currently sold out on their website. It's got a Miyota movement and a sapphire crystal. I really like the magnification above the date, and it has a very bright lume. The band has broken in nicely as well, and it's very comfortable to wear. Initially, I was surprised by the size-it's a bit smaller then many of my watches, (especially the ones that have been sent to me by Watchgang), but it's very comfortable on my wrist.

This Lake & Sons I kind of tripped over. I had bought my son a Vaer S5 field watch for his college graduation, since he does not share my passion for watches. I figured the Vaer was a solid watch that was unique and not too expensive. Not everyone will have one, but it's still a basic watch that those in the know will be somewhat impressed with.

When I saw the watch, I thought it had a good look, but I wanted the A5, their automatic watch. While looking at that, I noticed the Bulova Hack watch and the Hamilton Khaki had a similar look, and all were at a similar price point. (A side note, I just saw that the Bulova is down around $200...). I started to Google hacking military style watches, and came across this one.

Lake & Sons is based in St. Paul, Minn., and sells men's gifts and accessories. This is the Pilot Watch, and it currently sold out. I had a discount, so I think I paid just a touch over $100 for it. It was limited to 500 pieces, this being 468, and has a Seiko movement and sapphire crystal. 

The band is a little flimsy, but I've had it for over a year and haven't felt compelled to change it. It's 40 mm, which is the same size as the Vaer and larger then the Bulova or Hamilton, but it's not a huge watch. My only complaint, if I have to have one, is that the lume is pretty much non-existent. You can see my review on their website-it's a great watch. 

Every few months I check the Lake & Sons site to see if they come up with another watch that I might want.

The DuFa

The DuFa arrived in a white box that said 'DUFA' and inside it came plastic wrapped on a grey pillow. It has clean lines, and interestingly, it is made in Germany. A quick glance at the DuFa website finds several German made watches, and several references to Bauhaus design. 'Bauhaus' is an art and design movement which is geometrically based and features no sentiment or emotion.

This particular watch is the 'Polar White' and retails for $386. It has a Seiko meca-quartz movement, though I don't understand why since it has only three hands, and measures out a 42mm. As always, I had to remove a few links from the bracelet, and wearing it now is comfortable. It's not too heavy and has no sharp edges.

Many watches are pictured on the website, ranging from $282 to $711, though many are labeled as 'coming soon,' and have no price listed. At one time, Germany made quality time pieces, almost on par with the Swiss, but the movements of all the watches I looked at are either Japanese or Swiss made. Not a bad thing, but not a big selling point either.

Interestingly, the lume is on only the hands and the 12 o'clock marker. It would appear that the hours would also have lume, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I've worn it several times since I've taken it out of the box. It's a little bigger than I like-I think my preferred watch face size is 40mm, but it's very comfortable to wear. I don't have any others like it, and unlike some of the odd colors I've gotten from Watchgang, the white face always goes with what I'm wearing. It's a casual watch that dresses up well. At first, I wasn't too sure what to make of it, but now I like it.

 

The Summit

The Summit is a 60's era burger joint on Hwy 150 between Ojai and Santa Paula. It's a bit of a drive, but through some scenic California farmland and on a warm day, it's a great spot for a burger.

I think it's been about 15 years since I've eaten here, and I don't remember it being really worth the drive. But it was a beautiful day for top down driving, and I was passing at about lunch, so I thought it was time to give it another whirl.

I couldn't decide if I wanted a burger or patty melt, and asked the cute, small girl at the counter what she thought.

"Take the burger," she said. "It's simple."

I couldn't argue with the logic, so I went with a burger, fries and Dr. Pepper. It came out to about $15.

In-n-Out is the gold standard for basic burgers, if you're wondering what I compare to. And in comparison, this one wasn't bad. It was cooked about medium rare, unusual these days but actually how I prefer my burger. I wasn't asked how I like my burger, so if you're there you may want to ask how the patty will be prepared. It came with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle, a sauce that I would guess is similar to 1000 island and cheese melted onto the meet. The fries were thick cut and a little under-done, but still edible. 

Small burger stands can be hit or miss, but I'd say this was a hit.

The patio area was also very nice, with a shaded table, and so it was the perfect space for a scenic drive and lunch. I wouldn't drive here just for the burger, but I would drive here just for the drive.

Jury Duty post Covid/Beltex Watch/Lucky Watch Repair

It's been years since I've had Jury Duty, and some things have changed. The most important thing for me is that there was a small coffee bar that served pretty good coffee when I was here before, and refills were a dollar. It seems to be gone, though the space here remains.

They do brew up Peets Coffee, which I'm okay with, but in the main cafeteria area.

Also, instead of filling the Jury room and having us stay in or around the courthouse all day, they bring in a morning group and an afternoon group.

I picked the morning of July 1st, figuring that no one would start anything before a three day weekend.

So I'm in the cafe, stalling on doing real work.

Beltex Watch

I've seen this type of watch before, and when it showed up on the Goodwill Auction site, I thought I'd make a bid. The listing said it was running, though untested, which I thought was a good sign.

 

It's a little beat up, but when I see them, they usually go for around $400, so I figured out what I was willing to pay, and made a bid.

 

It wasn't running when I got it, and they'd taken the back off and didn't put it back on. I was able to get the date hand to work, but it didn't wind and there's no ticking. I'm pretty happy with my watch guy here in town, Lucky Watch Repair, and I took it to him. 

 

A quick note about Lucky Watch. An Asian man with a thick accent, his shop is pretty beat up looking behind the Baskin Robbins on Main Street. But his prices seem fair, and he does good work. I've had him replace the movement of a Seiko UCLA Alumni Association watch that my Mom had bought me, service my Harlem Globetrotter watch, replace the batteries on my Zodiacs and Shinolas, get my cheap (though supposedly limited edition) Goofy and Donald Duck watches running, and repair my 20 year old Seiko Automatic Dive watch.  

But he looked at the Beltex and said, "I can't get parts."

I was counting on him, so that wasn't good.

So, now I need to shop online and send it to someone, and hope that I can get it repaired for a price that is worth my while.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

Tommy Bahama and Watch Gang 8-Charles Hutton

Vintage Styling

I bought my first Tommy Bahama shirt back in the mid 90's while working at Nordstrom Glendale. It was expensive, even with my discount, and it was my go-to dress Hawaiian shirt for a long time. I still have it somewhere-I'm not all that hard on my clothes and haven't changed shirt sizes in forever.

There is no Tommy Bahama, which most people probably realize. It was dreamed up by a couple of guys who wanted to create high-end casual clothes, their vision of what a jet-setting beach bum would wear. I've got several Tommy Bahama shirts (I especially like their Christmas shirts), some glasses, house wear and a few decorative items. I also have three of their watches.

Room for engraving

I've never paid full price for a Tommy Bahama watch. It seems as though people take pretty good care of them, but don't ever want to change the battery, and so I've found many on various auction sites for prices that I'm willing to pay. They look nice, and the three that I own say that they have either Swiss or Japanese quartz movements. I've been trying to find out who made them-there aren't any on the Tommy Bahama website at the moment. My best guess is the Geneva Group, which is alluded to in an old online article. The Geneva Group makes several lifestyle brand watches.

A replacement band

Of the three I own, my favorite is the yellow faced one. I bought a nice yellow leather racer band for it, and I think the watch looks pretty sharp. It's easy to read and stands out, but not too much.

The watches seem solid enough, (though on my black faced diver some water got in and left a stain on the crystal), and are based on vintage or casual diver/sports styles, kind of like their shirts, reflecting a past that never was. Initially they sold for anywhere between $115 and $350. There's a couple of hundred on eBay right now for under $100.

Diver with a water stain

Shinola watches operate in a similar niche, a reflection of a past that never was.

Charles Hutton

The Charles Hutton came in a large box, and inside there was a leather watch carrying case, large enough for at least two watches-a nice bonus as I find that when I travel, I'm now bringing a few watches with me, for no other reason than I have many and I can. It is a nice leather pouch.

The watch inside is heavy. After removing four links from the band so that it would fit, I feel it on my arm. According to the Charles Hutton website, it's a Longbridge ($270 list) with a green face, and a case size of 42mm by a thickness of 11.5 mm. It has a Japanese quartz movement made by Hattori (used by Seiko, Lorus and Pulsar).

The brand seems to be based out of England, and is named after an English mathematician. In their story, they say that they base their designs on the "Classic British lifestyle" and specialize in chronographs and other complications. The website has a section devoted to James Bond, calling him the "Quintessential British Gentleman," and saying their watches are built for the modern man in a James Bond way. There are people who keep track of the watches worn in all James Bond films (James Bond favors Rolex and Omega, with some Seiko digitals in the 70s), and Bond seems to prefer diver watches, but I'm not going to mention that to the Charles Hutton people. 

Charles Hutton is sold at Macy's and this Longbridge is currently going for around $100 in eBay. Prices for watches on their website range from $225 to $285.

Did I mention it was heavy? Along with being heavy, there seems to be some sharp edges around the the bezel and base. Not enough to cut, but enough to be slightly uncomfortable as I type this out. As I gather more watches, the little things start to come into play, and the little bit of sharpness does matter-I imagine at the end of a long day you'd really notice it and the weight. 

I do like the pin that holds in the hands, and the day/date function is interesting, with what seems like two additional dials working on the inside of the watch. Also interesting is that the date works in a reverse clockwise way.

The look is unique and I like it. But the weight and the sharp edges probably would have kept me from buying it in another setting.  Eight Watchgang watches, and only a couple would I actually have bought. I might have to give this up-we'll see.

Next Day

I've worn this watch for the better part of two days, and the weight is as such that it starts to slide down my wrist. I can't remove more links without it being too tight to wear, so the weight does come into play as the day progresses. It does look good on my wrist, but again, as I acquire more watches the little things matter.

Austin

The memorial is in the distance

A week before Covid shut down the world in March of 2020, a small tragedy hit here in Ventura. The high school cross country team was out for a run after school. While they were running down Seaward Avenue toward the beach when a truck lost control, striking one of the runners and killing him.

The runner's name was Austin, and he was a 10th grader. I was coming home later that day, and the road was closed. I could see the lights of the police cars and ambulance, but didn't think anything of it at the time beyond someone had an accident.

I received a phone call from a friend later asking if I had heard about the kid being struck, and did I know him. My son had run cross country but had graduated before this kid got to high school. My youngest was a year behind Austin and knew who he was but didn't know him. 

When my son ran cross country, it was not unusual to see him and his fellow runners running down the various streets here in Ventura. Going from the high school down Seaward was a standard run, and once in a while I would see my son and his teammates running down the sidewalk. It's downhill to the beach, and the team would get there and then run the Promenade. Though my son was never a Varsity runner, Ventura XC did instill a sense of pride and love for running, and even now, as a member of the Marine Corps, he still runs beyond what would be normal PT. I felt bad for Austin's family, of course, but also for Austin's teammates and especially for Austin's Coaches. The Cross Country Coaches were great with my son, who was essentially a space taker on a team that would win state, making him feel wanted and important. How horrible it would be for a coach to send kids out running and then have one not make it back.

I guess I could look, but if I recall, drugs and alcohol were not a factor. The truck that struck Austin lost  control, jumped the curb and hit the runner. It was an accident.

Ventura is a small town, and we knew people who knew him and the family. A roadside shrine went up on the chain link fence where the accident happened, and was maintained all through the lock down. Recently a cap and gown was added to the memorial.

Austin would have graduated this year. He was by all accounts a good kid, active in his church and a Ventura County Sheriff's Office Explorer Scout. 

If Covid had shut down the world a week earlier, Austin would have been able to graduate with his class.

Shinola and another Watch Gang Watch-Earnshaw

Growing up, I often heard my father say about someone, "They don't know shit from shinola." I knew what he meant-that someone didn't know what they were talking about, but I didn't know why 'shinola.'

 Many, many years later, I was in my mother-in-law's store and saw this vintage rack where they displayed a few cans of Kiwi shoe polish, and then it all became clear. Shinola! A brand of shoe polish! Shoe polish kind of looks like poop, and you get poop on your shoes, and the person who didn't look too closely might mistake the two! As I take a quick look at Wikipedia, Shinola was specifically a boot polish, and with my Dad's many years in the military, a boot polish allusion would be totally appropriate for him. That I didn't know boot polish was irrelevant to his using the phrase. I knew what he meant, and that was all that I needed.

Moving on, about a decade ago I started reading about Shinola watches. The origin story was a good one, a group of guys wanting to restart American manufacturing by heading to one of the great manufacturing cities of the last century, Detroit, and opening up a factory for high quality goods like watches and leather products. 

If I remember correctly, initially they had only quartz watches that were vintage in styling and larger in size-a modern take on old watches. I saw them in magazines and liked the look, though I thought they were priced a little on the high side. I did want one, though, and would look at their shops in Los Angeles and the Bay area with a bit of longing. I really liked their leather goods, too, as well as their pens and bicycles.

About five years or six years ago I was at TJ Maxx looking at their watch case and came across a Filson Argonite 715. I'd never heard of Filson, but I knew the Argonite tag, and turned it over to reveal the Shinola connection. If I recall, it was around $150, and though high for something from TJ Maxx,  I knew that was a good price for a Shinola and I bought it. I later found out that Filson is an outdoor goods manufacturer in the Northwest with a solid reputation. From what I can gather plowing through the internet right now, it was somewhere between $600-900.

The leather band has picked up a nice patina over the years, with both Shinola and Filson logos. Some online research shows that both companies are owned by the same development group explaining the partnership between the two. Apparently, it didn't go as well as they would have liked, because no watches are currently shown on the Filson site.

The other Shinola I have I picked up from an online auction for $100. I didn't think I'd win, and I wasn't too sure what to make of it when I received it. I was going to change the band, but the guy who replaces my watch batteries was impressed and said I should keep it the way it is. It's comfortable on the wrist and does have a nice look to it. 

I do still think that Shinola is a bit overpriced for what it is, but if I can find them below $200, I might by another.

 

More Watchgang Watches

I've had this Earnshaw watch for a few months now, and I thought maybe I should get it out of the box. I did open it when I got it, but I really didn't have a call to wear it. It's dressy without being too dressy, but not necessarily a beater either, dwelling in a watch limbo for me. But I have a few minutes and so here we go.

I had to hunt on the website to find it, but it is a Maudslay in Scotsman Blue. According to their site, it runs $400 and as of this writing there is only one left. It's not quite a skeleton, though you can see part of the 21 Jewel Miyota Movement ticking away. The movement, by Citizen, is a solid performer, so the watch should keep good time.

The blue leather strap is interesting. It doesn't really feel like leather, but more like pleather, and I don't really like the feel on my wrist, especially compared to watchbands like the one on the Filson that I spoke about above. The band also seems long-I've got it in the third hole, and there are six more holes in it-that would be a seriously huge wrist.

The blue accents of the watch are nice, with roman numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. There is some lume on the hands, but not too much. The calendar being out in the open is interesting, and not unappealing but not wowing me either. 

The Earnshaw origin story says that they're named after the watchmaker that made Darwin's watch, and all their watches are named after explorers. There are a few Maudslay's listed in Wikipedia, and I'm assuming that this watch is named after Alfred Maudslay, the diplomat and explorer.

The company is based in England, though I can find no indication that the watch was made there. My best guess is that it was made in China. That's not a bad thing, and it explains why their prices are so low. 

 

I wore it for a few days, and though I really didn't care for the look or feel of the band, it wasn't terrible. I noticed that there was some lume, but it seemed to fade away rather quickly. The watch itself is a little bigger than I like them, but I'm sure that I'll wear it more.

Death Race! And Swimming in the Bay

Death Race!

In 1976, my sister and I both had that morbid fixation that many teenagers had, with the added twist that we were both very well read. And one day, while reading the LA Times, I saw a negative article on the video game Death Race. 

Compared to modern video games like Grand Theft Auto, it was pretty tame. In graphics that seem only a shade more sophisticated than Pong and not as advanced as Asteroids, the objective was to run over people walking on the screen. Adding to the challenge, when one of the people was hit, a tombstone immediately popped up, necessitating using reverse to continue with the killing. The more people you ran over, the more tombstones and the more difficult it became to achieve the objective.

Look out, running stick figures!

The manufacturer claimed that it wasn't people, but 'gremlins' that were being run over. No matter, only a handful of the games were manufactured, and once the AP picked up the story, many were removed amid protest. It looked like I would never be able to play one. 

Some kids spent all their time in the arcade back then, playing favorite games for hours seemingly on the same quarter. I wasn't very good, though, seldom earning the extra life or ball or whatever. The value to entertainment ratio was low-I seemed to go through a lot more quarters than everyone else did, and generally preferred to spend my money on records and other things. Still, the idea of Death Race fascinated me and I searched all the local arcades. Finally, probably in '79 or '80, my Mom took my sister and me to Knott's Berry Farm, and in the arcade we saw it-Death Race. My sister and I quickly changed our dollars and set about on mass mayhem, gleefully running over the figures, laughing as we got stuck on the tombstones and had to shift into reverse, both trying to get past 'Bone Cracker' (4-10 kills) and 'Gremlin Hunter' (11-20 kills) in the allotted minute of time. I don't think either of us made it to 'Expert Driver' (which could possibly be a reflection on our current driving skills).

I think I've seen the game at one other place, but I don't recall where, and whenever I'm someplace with older arcade games I have a quick look to see if Death Race is around. According to the Arcade Museum website, though it was reasonably popular, only about 500 or so consoles were made. Again, the graphics are very primitive, and I can't imagine a high demand to play. But it does have that nostalgia appeal to me, recalling a day in Knott's Berry Farm when things were going pretty well in my life.

In San Francisco I was walking by the Musée Mécanique on Fisherman's Wharf, and thought I'd take a quick look around. Most of the things in the building seemed like scary fortune telling machines and creepy mechanical marionettes, the kind of things that start bad horror movies. There were a few old pinball machines and a couple of mechanical player piano type things, but in the back, hidden along a sidewall, was the holy grail-Death Race, looking like a well cared for machine. I immediately pulled a quarter out of my pocket, and dropped it in and it all came back to me in a hurry-running over a figure, a tombstone immediately sprouting up and having to shift into reverse. I had forgotten that as you run over a figure, the others on the screen move faster, making them harder to catch. They'll also duck behind the tombstones or run up on the 'curb.' 

I settled for 'Bonecracker' before continuing my day.

 

Swimming in the Bay

Aquatic Park with Alcatraz in the distance

 

In 1991 I competed in the 'Escape From Alcatraz' triathlon. I was in my late 20's and in one of my peak physical condition phases, having done the San Francisco Marathon the previous spring and competing in Master's Swimming events. I thought doing a 1.5 mile swim, 20 mile bike ride through the city and across the Golden Gate and following it all up with a 18 mile run through the Marin Headlands would be a good time, 

It was a good time, actually, and I learned something important about my athletic ability. I was a great rough water swimmer-I was out of the water 10th overall, in sight of all the race leaders (Mike Pigg, who won, and Scott Tinley) and I think I could have gone faster except that I didn't have my glasses on and really couldn't see. I'm an okay runner, but I'm a terrible bike rider. I felt like the entire race went past me on the bike, and it was a bit demoralizing. I wasn't really tired, but I definitely had a weakness.

I had some other memories, too, of that swim. The temperature was in the mid 50s, and I did it without a wetsuit. I remember going to a mandatory meeting of all the triathletes (and staring at the legs of legendary triathlete, Paula Newby-Fraser, far and away the best legs I've ever seen) the day before, and them recommending you swim that day so you'd have an idea of what you were getting into. I went to Aquatic Park and calculated that the swim should take me about 1/2 an hour. I jumped in, and the wind was knocked out of me. It was a good 10 minutes before I could breath normally. That lasted about 10 more minutes, and then my toes went numb, which spread to my feet and hands. At 30 minutes, my jaw also went numb, and it was time to get out.

In the race the next day, the same thing happened in the same sequence, and as I had calculated, I was out in about 30 minutes.

Every time I've been in San Francisco over the 30 years since, I've looked at Alcatraz and think to myself, "I could still swim that."

The last time I was in San Francisco, I notice a few people swimming in Aquatic Park and asked a pair of older women, both in wet suits, sitting in the stadium if they had just swam. 

"Oh yes, it's a lovely swim, lots of people do it." I chatted with them a few more minutes and made plans to swim it the next time I was in town.

Last week, I brought my swim suit, and since I was staying in Cow Hollow, walking distance from Aquatic Park, I told myself if it was a sunny day I'd give it a try. But it's not an easy thing to decide. The water is cold, there's no lifeguard, and if I go under, no one would know. I woke up at 5:30 AM, thinking about it, and again at 6:30, staring at the ceiling of the motel I was in. At 7 I decided to look up whatever information was on the internet, and found a few suggestions, among them to bring warm liquids to warm up the core, which continues to drop in temperature even after getting out. 

The water temperature was a chilly 59, okay for the air but very cold in the water. I decided that I was going to do it, so I through on my trunks, some shorts over that, a sweat shirt and some shoes. I brought $10 with me to buy coffee on the way back, and headed toward the water.

I had a thick cap and prescription goggles, and walked to Aquatic Park. When I arrived, a well insulated woman was putting her stuff on the bleachers preparing to get in. I asked about swimming etiquette, and she said that there was plenty of room for everyone. I saw people swimming counterclockwise around the buoys, and before I could talk myself out of it, I headed to the water.

It was cold. Very, very cold.

But I dove in before I could talk myself out of it, and after about 10 minutes, started to swim comfortably along. I chatted with some people in the water, and commented on what a beautiful day it was for a swim. At the end of 30 minutes, I was thinking maybe I should get some stroke work in before getting out, but told myself that my goal was 30 minutes, and 30 minutes was what I had done.

The chills didn't hit until I was in the bleachers drying off, and they rippled in a way that I never felt before, from somewhere deep inside of me. It was intense, and I understood what I had read before about core temps. 

But while sitting there, a man walked up and started to prepare to swim. He asked how the water was, and I told him that all things considered, it wasn't that bad, but that now I was getting chills and wanted some coffee. He said that he only swam on days that were like that, clear, sunny, warm and no wind. He also suggested I head up Polk Street to St. Frank's Coffee. A walk to thaw sounded like a good idea.

What I didn't realize is that Polk Street is all uphill.

My feet weren't quite responsive due to the cold temps. The warm sunshine felt good, but the actually walk turned out to be challenging-not because of the hill, though I'm sure that didn't help-but because chills were still rippling through my body for the next 15 minutes, about the time it took to get to St. Franks.

The shop looked very cool, and the coffee was good, but not amazing, and priced a touch on the high side. I wouldn't not go if it were the only shop nearby, but I wouldn't make a special walk either. I still prefer Philz, which actually was on the next block. 

After the swim, though, I'm thinking sometime soon I will conquer the swim from Alcatraz once more.