Paco
LightNews LightNews
banner
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Paco
@norcalpaco.bsky.social
19 followers 12 following 35 posts
Cat dad, husband, partner, mountain biker, hiker, programmer, Sharks hockey fan, video gamer 🐈‍⬛🐈🚴‍♂️⛰️🦈🏒🎮👨🏻‍💻🏳️‍🌈

📷: https://flickr.com/photos/darren_k/
Posts Replies Media Videos
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I’m told it’s National Black Cat Day, so please enjoy Gideon sunbathing.
Black cat laying in the sun on a chair.
October 28, 2025 at 2:05 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Had to do an emergency tank replacement yesterday after I noticed the top bracket had a growing crack and the front was starting to bow. I think all the fish are accounted for, but the Otto’s are hard to find.
Newly set up aquarium showing a red bristle nose pleco, yoyo loach and a bunch of rummy nose tetras. Newly set up aquarium featuring several pieces of natural wood, Amazon sword plants on the left, a slice of zucchini. Several rummy nose tetras can be seen swimming around.
September 7, 2025 at 5:51 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
For yesterday’s #mtb ride, I was feeling like doing some climbing, but also didn’t have too much time. Rancho Cañada del Oro fit the bill for a short steep ride: 6.42 miles and 1140ft elevation gain. I stopped a lot and my legs were exhausted by the end. It felt great though.
View from the rest area just shy of Bald Peaks. Looking at Mt. Umunhum and the Santa Cruz Mountains in the distance. Landscape showing a heavily wooded hillside in the foreground and a mountain ridge line in the background. Resting after most of the climb. Mountain bike leaning against a picnic table in the shade of a large oak tree Strava screenshot of the ride’s elevation profile.
August 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I did pretty good in today’s #PokemonGO #GoFest2025 Max Finale. A very good Eternatus and good side raid catches along the way. I’m not sure the brunch crowd in Willow Glen was very happy with the big crowd walking up and down the street, but it was fun.
Pokemon GO appraisal screenshot of a 3-star 15/14/11 Eternatus legendary dragon. Screenshot of a Pokemon Go page showing several Pokemon that were also caught today.
August 24, 2025 at 2:47 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
It’s been 5 weeks since my last #mtb ride, so I was happy to finally get out into the hills last weekend. I went back to the new Ojo de Agua trail in Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch for a nice long ride. 14.3 miles, 1497ft elevation gain and my legs were shot by the end. It was a perfect afternoon.
Giant old oak tree on a hillside of tall brown grass. Near the base of the tree, a mountain bike is laying on the ground.
July 30, 2025 at 4:57 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I was feeling more like a distance ride than heavy climbing today, so I did a trail I haven't done in awhile: The full Oak Cove trail at Calero. Saw some deer, turkeys, a red-tailed hawk and young garter snake. There was still plenty of climbing, too.
#mtb #SanJose #California
Oak Cove Trail Landscape of tall brown grass dotted with oak trees with a dirt trail leading off into the distance. A heavily wooded hill is on the right side. A clear blue sky is above. Looking up a hillside with brown grass and fallen oak tree branches. On the left is the trunk of an oak tree with black-tailed deer standing underneath. A blue sky is in the distance. Looking down a small valley with dense oak woods on the left slope and brown grasses in the foreground and right slope. A small bit of blue from a lake is at the far end of the valley, other hills further in the distance beyond the lake. A clear blue sky is above. A wide dirt trail heads off in the distance from the lower right corner. On the ride side of the trail is hillside covered with tall brown grasses and oak trees. In the distance on the left is a hillside where all the grass was recently burned.
June 20, 2025 at 2:53 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Peaceably assembling to petition the Government for redress of grievances. A lot of grievances.
#SanJose turned out for the #NoKings protest today.
(Photo was edited to remove clear faces.)
Large group of protesters gathered in a city park carrying signs and flags. Green grass on the ground, large trees and a blue sky in the background.
June 14, 2025 at 10:28 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Keeping the climbing momentum going with this weekend’s #mtb ride to Almaden Quicksilver. I stopped more often than usual today. Maybe because it was a little warm and a bit asthma acting up. Still, a great, beautiful ride. #SanJose #California
This tree has been hanging on to this hillside for a long time. Every spring, I expect to find it missing, blown over during a winter storm. Yet it endures. Several large intertwined trees with exposed root systems growing on the side of the hill. Background is an oak woods. At the top of Mine Hill. Mountain bike laying on a patch of dirt. Brown weeds cover the ground. In the background are large shrubs with small yellow flowers. Guadalupe Reservoir and wildflowers. The flowers are Ruby Chalice Clarkia and they're in bloom all over this park right now. Brown grass with many pink, poppy-shaped flowers in the foreground. In the background is a small reservoir in a valley, surrounded by oak woods and grassland. A blue sky is in the distance. California Quail. I see them frequently on my rides, but they usually run into the bushes (they're fast runners) before I can get a picture. Two small birds (quail) in the middle of a dirt trail. Brown grass is on either side of the trail.
June 9, 2025 at 12:20 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I got my derailleur realigned last week so my bike is good to go. Today’s #mtb ride was hard. This trail is shorter than my usual rides, but has tough climbs and steep descents with lots of loose gravel. It always leaves me wiped out. Still, it was a great ride.
The near ridgeline was the top of the first climb. Then the trail took a winding path down into the valley below. Landscape of foothills covered by dense woods. In the foreground is tall, golden grass. The sky is bright blue with a few wispy clouds. California Chaparral. Manzanita (red-barked shrub next to the trail), chamise (white blooms) and oaks. Landscape of a chaparral covered hillside, full of white blooms from chamise. A dirt trail is in the lower left corner. Cloudless blue sky. There's still a tiny trickle of water, but the creek is mostly dry for the season. From here I start the second (longer) climb to the top of Bald Peaks. A shaded, dry, rocky creek bed with a steel and wood bridge across it. Two trees, one thick and one thin, are in the foreground. Dense foliage in the background provides the shade. A nice shady rest spot just shy of the top of the climb. A flat dirt clearing with a wooden picnic table in the shade of a large oak tree. A black mountain bike is leaning against the picnic table.
June 2, 2025 at 2:36 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Last weekend my bike fell over, drivetrain side down. Now it doesn't shift so well and if I'm not careful, the chain will hop off. If I stick to the middle gears it works well enough, so could still ride today. I avoided big climbs and just had a mice mellow ride at Calero. #mtb
Goose Pool Party Looking down on a dry grass slope leading to a lake. Several geese are on the shoreline with others splashing around in the lake. A California Buckeye tree is on the left side. Calero Reservoir Looking down at the inlet of a lake. Brown grassy hillside dotted with oak trees is on the near shore of the inlet. Dense oak woods and hills on the opposite side. Bright blue sky with just a few puffy clouds. Calero Reservoir Golden grassy hillside in the foreground. A lake further back and dense oak woods and hills on the opposite side of the lake. A cement dam can be seen off in the distance on the right. Bright blue cloudless sky. Oak Cove Trail Looking down a dirt single-track trail on a heavily wooded slope with green underbrush.
May 27, 2025 at 3:42 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I did a nice long mountain bike ride on Sunday to explore a new area of Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch that has been opened to bikes. There were lots of wildflowers, some deer, turkeys and a fox. Alas, only pictures of the flowers. It was a great ride. #mtb
Mountain bike propped against a trail marker. In the background is a large field of wild grass and a cloudless blue sky. Oak wooded hillside sloping down from left to right with a dirt trail heading off into the distance. This is the brand new Ojo de Agua trail. Ruins of an old wooden ranch house with a large oak tree in its back yard.The house has a rusted corrugated metal roof. The window glass and doors are missing from the house. On the left side is a dilapidated wood shed. Close up of a field of tall grass dotted with purple lilly wildflowers. The flowers are called Ithuriel's Spear.
May 20, 2025 at 4:44 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Another beautiful day for a mountain bike ride. I was short on time, so I went back to Calero county park and did the basic loops. Everything’s still pretty green but a few places are starting to brown.
#mtb
Black mountain bike leaning against a rock. Oak woods in the background and a cloudless blue sky. Landscape of a grassy meadow in the foreground. Hills with dense oak woods in the background. A bright blue sky with just a couple wisps of clouds.
April 21, 2025 at 1:55 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Good hard mountain bike ride today. This time to Almaden Quicksilver county park. Saw more wildlife today than usual: deer, a bunch of turkeys and a rattlesnake. Definitely the hardest ride I've done in awhile.
#mtb #SanJose
Satellite view of the landscape showing the trail route highlighted in orange. Details of the route are in text at the bottom. Ride distance is show as 10.9 miles, elevation gain of 1,625 feet and time of the ride is 1 hour 44 minutes. Landscape of green rolling hills with wild grasses and scrub brush in the foreground. A dirt trail can be seen in the center right of the photo. On the left, an oak tree mostly obscures the view of a small reservoir (Guadalupe Reservoir). In the distance is the suburban sprawl of San Jose. Grey dirt trail with a northern Pacific rattlesnake stretched across it. Snake is slightly less than a meter in length.
April 14, 2025 at 4:41 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Perfect day for a #mtb ride today! The woods are in peak green right now. I got a later start than I wanted, so I just went back to Calero and I did better this time than last. I climbed up to the Cottle Rest Site for a good hard climb to help build my strength back after the winter.
Very green landscape with thick oak woodlands in the background, a green grassy meadow in the foregound and a party cloudy sky. Mountain bike leaning against a trail marker. Green hillsides in the background.
April 7, 2025 at 3:11 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Went for a gorgeous spring #mtb ride today. It's been a couple months since I've been able to get into the woods and it was much needed.
Landscape of green, rolling hills covered in green grass, dotted with spring-green oak trees. A dirt trail can be seen on the left side. Rocky hillside dotted with golden yellow California poppies.
March 24, 2025 at 1:46 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Three shiny Ralts, a 13/15/14 shiny Dialga, a Dynamax Articuno, enough Rookidees to evolve a Corvisquire and traded for a Moltres. It was a good #PokemonGo Community Day!
Screen shot of Pokémon collected on Community Day.
January 26, 2025 at 5:19 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
After a cold gray weekend, it was nice to get out for a sunny bike ride yesterday. I went to Calero county park since it has a lot of trail options and I wasn’t sure how energetic I’d be. I ended up doing the basic two loops for an easier, but still good ride.
Landscape of rolling, slightly green hills with a wooded hillside in the background. A mountain bike leaning against a rock with oak woods in the background.
January 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
For the first ride of 2025, I went to the John Nicholas Trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I wasn't fully recovered from my last ride, so there were lots of stops and liberal use of the lowest gears.
Overhead photo of mountains with a trail marked with an orange line. Text overlay shows distance (10.2 miles), elevation gain (1205 feet) and time (1h 38m) for a mountain bike ride.
January 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
This #mtb ride was a lovely way to wrap up 2024. My last ride was over 3 weeks ago, so this was harder than usual. It was only 8 miles (12.9 km) , 958 ft. (292 m) elevation gain but it felt like a good workout. Beautiful views and flowing creeks made it all worthwhile. Happy New Year!
Shadow of a bike rider on a trail. Two ridges of hills are in the background. Panoramic view of a creek in the woods. A mountain bike is propped against a tree near the creek. Brilliant green moss and ferns growing on a rocky outcrop in the woods.
January 1, 2025 at 4:02 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
I took my Ioniq 5 EV on a road trip to visit family last week. Some data about the trip:

610 miles round trip
5 charges at public DC fast chargers
102 minutes spent charging
20 minutes waiting for a charger
$107 worth of charging

I could have done better if I had slowed down a little bit.
December 31, 2024 at 5:39 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Four years ago this gangly black kitten came into our lives. She had just been spayed the day before and was maybe not quite ready to come home yet, but we didn't want her to spend Christmas at the shelter. Happy adoptaversary Gideon!
Black cat laying on a small grey couch. Black kitten behind the silver metal bars of pink and black plastic carrier, sitting on a green towel.
December 24, 2024 at 7:42 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
The best holiday helpers. Zari inspects the boxes and Gideon guards the wrapping paper. #caturday
December 21, 2024 at 7:33 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Nice hike at Santa Teresa county park this afternoon. Good workout with the steep climbs. Saw lots of wild turkeys.
Several wild turkeys on a hillside under an oak tree Wild turkeys in the distance on a ridge. Blue sky with some clouds. A large oak tree on the left.
December 2, 2024 at 1:03 AM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Black Friday mountain bike ride at Almaden Quicksilver county park. Wasn't feeling like doing the full loop, so settled for a lot of climbing and exploring the mining ruins.
mountain bike leaning against wood fence. background is dilapidated wood and metal mine shaft and wooden mine cart bridge landscape view of a scrub brush covered hillside with a mountain ridge in the background. wispy white clouds cover the sky.
November 30, 2024 at 6:14 PM
norcalpaco.bsky.social
Thanksgiving visitor. The cats were very excited.
Eastern gray squirrel in a planter box with a background of Fall foliage.
November 29, 2024 at 7:40 PM