Bazil George Assan was a Romanian engineer, explorer, and economist. He was an important figure in the industrialization of the Kingdom of Romania. Born in 1860 in Bucharest to a wealthy family, Assan later studied engineering in Liège, Belgium, and economics in Montreux, Switzerland. In 1884, he returned to Bucharest to work at his father's company with his brother. The brothers modernized the company and built two factories, one for soap and the other for paint and varnish. Efforts like these helped the Kingdom of Romania industrialize as quickly other European countries. He brought the first automobile to Romania, and he designed the Danube–Black Sea Canal between Cernavodă and Constanța. He married a Romani woman and had three daughters, named for where he was when they were born: Athenaida after Athens, Consuella after Spain, and Pacifica after the Pacific Ocean. He was the first Romanian to travel to the Arctic, in 1896 on the ship Erling Jarl, to study the geological structure and natural resources of the archipelago of Svalbard. In 1897-8, he become the first Romanian to travel around the world. Assan died on this date in 1918 in Switzerland, aged only 57. A Romanian postage stamp with his name and likeness was issued in 1986. Credit: https://w.wiki/RLzB Stamp Image: Public Domain https://w.wiki/RLzG I rode from Garfield Park on the West Side to join today's C ride, from Capitola to Westlake in the hills below UCSC and then to Wilder. Again it was more fun because I was able to keep up with the group. And it was a big group! I left the group at Wilder, where they headed back to Capitola. I continued up the rail trail and PCH to Swanton Road. Today was the first time I rode Swanton Road in both directions. At the north end of Swanton, where it descends to PCH, I climbed back up to Last Chance Road and down Swanton to head back to Santa Cruz. That climb back up the north end isn't hard at all. I always thought it would be hard, but nope. Light winds, cool, lots of white clouds, but blue sky in the distance. A very enjoyable ride.