With 169 days to go until our Semantic Web community bike ride, it’s time to get some training in.

Before embarking in such a long ride make sure that your body is accustomed to the road: we are talking about spending a good 6 hours each day sitting on your bike saddle – clearly not a comfy sofa. Having said that, the reward you get looking at the world on two wheels is quite something, so YES commit to the effort!

We are happy to announce that metaphacts is our first Bike Ride Sponsor – and Peter Haase (the company CEO) will be riding with us!

 

The riding crowd (so far):

  • Anna Lisa Gentile (ISWC2018 sponsorship chair)
  • Laura Koesten (ISWC2018 sponsorship chair)
  • Maria Maleskova (ISWC2018 sponsorship chair)
  • Marieke van Erp (ISWC2018 poster and demo chair)
  • Peter Haase (metaphacts – ISWC2018 gold and bike sponsor)
  • Axel Polleres (ISCW-OC Alumni)

 

If you want to join us, make sure you attempt several long rides before this event – and contact us at iswc2018sponsorship@gmail.com 

Join our ISWC2018 Club on Strava to get some inspiration and motivation.

My training rides

Some of my training rides in the past weeks included great places to visit in the Bay Area, you can use them as suggestions if you are taking your bike to California.

At the end of the climb of Portola road from Stanford campus, chasing Axel Polleres and friends.

At the end of the climb of Portola road from Stanford campus, chasing Axel Polleres and friends.

In Portola Valley (very close to Stanford) there are countless riding options. I tried a loop around Kings Mountain and Skyline, about 22 miles where the first 5 are a respectable hill – it’s called Kings Mountain road for a reason 😉

And as riding is always better with friends, I am seizing every opportunity to ride with a “Semantic Webber” 🙂 and with Axel Polleres on sabbatical at Stanford University, I could not miss the opportunity to chase him on the climb of Portola road from Stanford campus.

In San Jose, the infamous Hicks Road is the ultimate climbing test, but if you make it to the top you are rewarded by an adrenaline boost going downhill!

Another iconic climb in San Jose is Mount Hamilton up to the Lick Observatory.

Going a bit north, a good one is the ride from Marinwood to Point Reyes Station via Olema Hill and Bear Valley, a 44 miles with 2,700′ of climbing.

Last but not least, one of the most pleasant rides (and virtually with no climb) is around the conference grounds, on the iconic 17 Miles Drive: my cheeky ride was from the Monterey gate to the Carmel one – with a beer stop in Carmel (oh well, hydration is important).

 

Travel tips

If you are planning to carry your bike on your flight to California, many carriers offer FREE bike shipping, i.e. they consider your bike as a regular luggage, as long as your ticket includes checked items. You need to check and comply with their instructions (and limitations), which might vary for each carrier.

I can report a satisfying experience with British Airways but you can verify the policies of your favorite airline, many of them consider the bike as standard luggage.

 

Happy riding!

Annalisa