Win Tunnel, Morgan Hill, CA

The title of this post is a play on words - it's a low-speed wind tunnel at our office, but we have come to call it a "win tunnel" as riders from around the globe, in many disciplines of cycling, use it to get faster on their bikes and literally win races.

It was an impressive look at a pretty high-tech piece of machinery. Have a look yourself...

The "screen" you see above is actually hexagon-shaped filter that smooths and straightens the airflow as it enters into the wind tunnel. Think of this as the rear screen of a big box fan you'd use in the summer. It's better for measurements if the airflow is clean and steady as it comes in.

This mannequin is a literal mold of another co-worker. It is used as a "test dummy" for bikes, clothing, helmets, etc.

This is just one of the ~12' fans that are located at the rear of the wind tunnel. The fans work in unison to pull the air from the front to the back of the tunnel.

The carbon fiber shrouds of around all six fans smooth that airflow and were entirely built/molded in-house.

We were allowed to stand in the tunnel while in operation, up to about 60MPH. It's not so easy to stand there, that's for sure.

Coyote Valley Sporting Clays, Morgan Hill, CA

What do you do as a group activity when a co-worker is leaving a pretty close-knit department? Well, clay shooting of course.

I kid, because it was such an interesting afternoon, and at such a well-run place to have this outing. It pretty much felt like being in a combination of an old Clint Eastwood western and an 18-hole golf course. Complete with picturesque rolling hills, live oaks, golf carts (we walked), and plenty of shotgun shells.

They have 19 "holes", each with different clay set-ups for diversity and interest, including some with "bunnies" that "run" along the ground. It was pretty interesting to step-up to each new "hole" and scope it all out, see how the clays were flying and then have a go at shooting them down. You had a electronic "key-card" for a machine at each hole and it keeps track of all your used clays, which you pay for at the end.

I would recommend this place for anyone in the area, looking to add a a little bang to their day...

San Jose & Santa Cruz, CA

I've had a chance to do a little bit of exploring the last couple weekends, one trip to San Jose for errands, shopping, and most importantly, lunch on a patio in the sun in April. And one Sunday day-trip to Santa Cruz. I'd never been here before, so I started with lunch on the "south" side of town, at the Crow's Nest, then walked my way all up in SC proper. It def has a great beach town vibe, pretty big pier to walk, and crowds to navigate (especially if you drive into the heart of downtown).

Overall, they were both enjoyable, but having ways to avoid traffic would be ideal., IMO.

SJ

SC

 Very tasty, but you do pay for the view in the price of the food and drinks, fair.

There's also a reason to remind Midwestern visitors about sunscreen. It'll bite you later in the day if you forget to apply it out here, without a doubt.

Buongiorno from Specialized-Italy! Milan, Italy

I wanted to highlight some of the nicest historical & current bikes, and the office overall in Italy. It's all pretty much pictures. If you can identify the bikes, you're a bike nerd. I'll try to make this follow - current bikes, historical bikes, current parts, historical parts...

That's it for the bike nerds.