We wanted to ride somewhere new so LanceOldStrong sent us a wild animal route that included Pig Farm Hill, 3 Bears, Wildcat Cyn. Pig Farm wasn't as tough as I'd thought it would be, although I was concentrating on the road and missed the farm.
I've done the 3 Bears before, but Chris had not, and he seemed to enjoy those glorious smooth descents. Wildcat Cyn. was new for both of us and the views we got of the Briones and San Pablo Reservoirs, and the hills behind them, offered welcome distraction from the climbing effort.
I wish there had been something like great views to ameliorate the pain of South Park Drive. That was the most challenging climb of the ride by far.
The rest of the ride was great -- scenic, challenging, demanding attention (especially with the traffic on Skyline, as well as the technical descent down Pinehurst) -- pretty much everything you'd want in a ride.
Now that we know the route we hope to do this again in the near future. We've become complacent in our rides, and this one offered enough variation and climbing to give us just the boost in our riding enthusiasm we needed.