Northern California - weekend ride reports - where'd ya ride?

Yesterday evening I rode from Foster City down to Palo Alto and across the Dumbarton bridge and back. I was scouting it out for possibly attempting my commute* on it.

Interesting sight - someone had driven their car into the bay! She seemed ok, just cold and upset. The car was not so happy though, electrical system gone haywire. CHP was working on it. I thought about taking a picture with my cell phone but it seemed a bit insensitive.

*My normal commute by motorcycle/car is 16 miles, from Foster City to Union City across the San Mateo bridge. By bicycle it would be about twice the distance via the Dumbarton bridge. I think I'm going to attempt it soon, my own personal "Bike to Work" day.

As a transportation planner, I am really pissed that there was no bike/ped lane incorporated during the widening of the San Mateo Bridge in 2003. :(

As a transportation planner, I am really pissed that there was no bike/ped lane incorporated during the widening of the San Mateo Bridge in 2003. :(

+1 Opportunity wasted.

Well it's the weekend, and I went for a ride, so I thought I'd share. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/8-25-07

This is where I rode today.

http://www.routeslip.com/routes/60363

Sat -- San Ardo RR. DNF -- I crashed at the end of first lap :(

Sat -- San Ardo RR. DNF -- I crashed at the end of first lap :(

Ivan,

Sorry to hear. Are you and the bike OK?

Dang Ivan. Sorry to hear that. Hope all is OK.

I played hookey from work on Thursday and went up Mt. Diablo from the North Gate with a couple of friends.

Yesterday, the same friends & I went from Sunol over Calaveras & up Mt. Hamilton and back. About 7700 feet of climbing, and quite the whupfest for me! :p

I wrote it up in my blog here: http://callmepokey.blogspot.com/


http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/jobob22/stuff/250807.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1241401593_075a8205c8_o.jpg

Shiloh Park ride; 5750 Faught Rd. Santa Rosa, CA.

Excellent 60 mile ride, descent rolling hills, a few steep ones, tons of twist and turns makes the ryde challenging. This ride is not very aggressive, good for practicing speed. In this area of Santa Rosa traffic is very minimal, plenty of shade and a few rest stops including school zones to replenish the water bottles.

It was my fisrt time on this group ride, people are very friendly.

Cantdrv; I have done that route; those rolling hills are pretty interesting; Did you take the time to visit the bakery at the end of Bodega near the church, they do make some good treats?

I am planning on doing that ride maybe today or tomorrow.

Jobob, if it such an aggressive mountain; Why is the speed MAX speed so low? Does it have too many twist that you cant develop good top end?

Jobob, if it such an aggressive mountain; Why is the speed MAX speed so low? Does it have too many twist that you cant develop good top end?

hee hee.

Part of it is that it's a bit twisty, especially near the top, and I always feather my brakes going into blind corners since I don't trust any approaching cars to stay in their lane.

Some corners on the descent are also a bit gravelly, and I was too darn whupped from the climb to be taking any chances on those. My coordination wasn't optimal at that point. :rolleyes:

I may have exceeded 35 mph in short stretches, but in order for my computer to register it on hte download I think I have to be at that speed at least 20 or 30 seconds. Oh well.

yeah, I'm all right. there are couple of deep scratches on right elbow and knee, and a road rush on right leg. oh, and I'm a bit sore today :)

I'm going to take the bike to LBS in couple of hours. right now I can tell that frame is not damaged. my main concern is handlebar -- it's carbon and there's a deep scratch on the right side. the second thing is rear derailleur -- it seems ok, but I'd like to double check that. front wheel needs truing.

main damages are: pedals, bibs, jersey and gloves. all are totaled.

overall the crash was "good": no broken bones, missing teeth or anything like that.

thanks for the support guys! :beer:

UPDATE: I need new handlebars :(. the rest of the bike is ok.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1412/1241401593_075a8205c8_o.jpg
Cantdrv; I have done that route; those rolling hills are pretty interesting; Did you take the time to visit the bakery at the end of Bodega near the church, they do make some good treats?Yes, we stopped at the Tomales Bakery. It's weird that in the middle of nowhere there's this great bakery!

Another weekend in SoCal. Did a pack ride with Montrose club (pack of about 50-100 riders). Sunday, did another hill climbing ride, up Glendora Mountain Road, 25 miles, 2500 feet climbing. I had to finish early, so I could drive back up to the Bay Area in time to post this. :D

I rode the 60-mile Tour d'Organics from Santa Cruz today. I'll post up a full report in a little bit.

Did this ride today.

http://www.routeslip.com/routes/53176

I played hookey from work on Thursday and went up Mt. Diablo from the North Gate with a couple of friends.

Yesterday, the same friends & I went from Sunol over Calaveras & up Mt. Hamilton and back. About 7700 feet of climbing, and quite the whupfest for me! :p

I wrote it up in my blog here: http://callmepokey.blogspot.com/



Nice ride, and nice blog. I was in that TnT group, and we did have one rider go down on the gravel, but he just had some minor road rash and bruises. Another rider got hurt worse (might be a broken collar bone - I never did hear the final verdict), but that actually happened on the rolling section leading back into Sunol.

Where do you live? I ride down to Calaveras at least a couple of times a month from San Ramon, and then often do Palomares on the way back - makes for a nice training loop if you have the time.

JB

We did a Gordon Valley loop, then went over Cantelow from the Pleasant's Valley side, over Steiger Hill, over Vine Street and Wesley St. onto Markham and Brown's Valley Rd. to home. Longest ride since the Marin Century. Happy to report that the tandem stayed upright the entire time, and we had a great time.

Sorry to say that we took no pics, despite stopping on Steiger Hill to poach some sweet white grapes growing long the road. Mmmm, free food! :D

Nice ride, and nice blog. I was in that TnT group, and we did have one rider go down on the gravel, but he just had some minor road rash and bruises. Another rider got hurt worse (might be a broken collar bone - I never did hear the final verdict), but that actually happened on the rolling section leading back into Sunol.

Where do you live? I ride down to Calaveras at least a couple of times a month from San Ramon, and then often do Palomares on the way back - makes for a nice training loop if you have the time.

JB

Union City. Yep, I ride out that way a lot. I live near the Alameda Creek Trail and it's about 10 miles from my home along the AC Trail & Niles Canyon Road to Palomares, and 15 miles to Sunol.

Saturday: River Ride. Good sized field, pretty danged fast. Some attacks but they were pulled back. I was very pleased with my fitness, I did some work up front, and I managed to make the front group on both legs.

Sunday: Beast of burden. Loaded up the kids' Chariot with the blanket, food, and camp chairs for the Concert in the Park. I wish I'd thought of this earlier this summer; it was much easier than lugging it all by hand.

A relatively quick 45 miles as a shakedown cruise for my newly rebuilt Battaglin. San Mateo to Woodside, up Kings to Huddart and back down to check descending, then out to Alpine and back on Portola, and home.

I felt like I was reaching for the bars, and wondered if I need to go to a shorter (actually, and EVEN shorter) stem. Got back and checked measurements - in the process of levellng my saddle, I'd also slid it backwards 2 cm. What a dope! ALWAYS carry wrenches on a shakedown!

The good news is the bike is great. Rides comfy, even over the broken pavement on Crystal Springs, BEGS to be sprinted, climbs pretty well for 21 lbs, descends like nobody's business. Quick steering, but hands-off stable.

I did this one today. I would have kept going, but I tweaked a muscle at work today and it didn't agree with going uphill :(

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/69084

I rode with Jobob. :)

Veronica

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/09-02-07

I met up with a group for the first time today. There were actually two groups who started together, one wanting to take it easy and one wanting to do a climb. We took the same route to Durham, and then the easier riders split. I was near the front and by the time I realized they had turned it was too late to go with them, so I was stuck with the hill climb. Needless to say, the ones that I was with were really good, and completely kicked my ass up the hill, but were all real nice and encouraged me to keep coming out with them and getting better. As one of them said, they're certainly not the slowest group in town, so I can feel a little better about getting dusted.

Saturday, rode a team time trial with some club-mates and another buddy. Then we had a nice "conversational" climb up Kings Mtn. The TTT was way fun, we were really moving right along! The climb hurt a little bit, as I've been out of training for 3+ weeks :(

No ride today, it's BBQ time ;)

Probably something involving hills tomorrow a.m.

Yesterday I did my local training ride - out of Antioch and into Brentwood to the Las Vaqueros Reservoir. Mostly it was a GET OUT and RIDE, ride, since I'd been stuck in teacher training for four days.

Today a friend and I started in Livermore and did the backside of Hamilton, descended into San Jose, took Calaveras into Sunol and then rode some flat :D stuff back to Livermore. We started at 6 and temps were great until we started the final ascent to Hamilton. Then it was hot!!!!! My wonderful husband provided SAG for us to the top of Hamilton. In case you ever wondered, the Junction Cafe is not open at 8:15 AM.

And a big THANK YOU to the dudes who gave us ice and cold water at the bottom of Hamilton!

Veronica

Yesterday I did my local training ride - out of Antioch and into Brentwood to the Las Vaqueros Reservoir. Mostly it was a GET OUT and RIDE, ride, since I'd been stuck in teacher training for four days.

Today a friend and I started in Livermore and did the backside of Hamilton, descended into San Jose, took Calaveras into Sunol and then rode some flat :D stuff back to Livermore. We started at 6 and temps were great until we started the final ascent to Hamilton. Then it was hot!!!!! My wonderful husband provided SAG for us to the top of Hamilton. In case you ever wondered, the Junction Cafe is not open at 8:15 AM.

And a big THANK YOU to the dudes who gave us ice and cold water at the bottom of Hamilton!

Veronica

Nice ride - I've only tried that once (almost the same route, but we went up Sierra to get to Calaveras) and it is HARD. And since it was a TnT training ride, we had full roving SAG + rest stops (there's not a whole lot on Mines/San Antonio Valley, is there?).

JB

JB

Yesterday I rode up Cardiac Hill on hwy 128 in Vacaville. That's the last time I'm doing that ride in 95 degree weather. I wilted. Today, I rode on Lopes Rd from Benicia to Fairfield and it was a much nicer ride since there was a constant breeze.

Saturday I rode an extended Winters loop, out to Stevenson Bridge near Davis from Vacaville, back through Dixon and Elmira. 45.7 miles early enough to beat the heat. cantdrv55, I've done Cardiac in the heat, once. I literally passed a couple of turkey vultures watching me. I can take a hint. I'm riding tomorrow, I just haven't decided where. I'll probably start in Vacaville and see where the bike takes me.

Scotty

We've had friends in from out of town since Friday, so we rode the Beat the Clock time trial on Canada Rd. on Sat., and that's it until Wed. or Thurs. There just aren't enough daylight hours anymore to fit in everything.

Next weekend we'll be back to our regular schedule of riding both days.

Don't forget the Kings Mountain Art Festival is going on this weekend. Expect to see more cars up on Skyline between 84 and Kings Mountain Rd and ascending Kings. A lot of them being drivers not used to mountain roads.

Thanks for the reminder, Steve. That may be the excuse I need to cut my ride off short ... that, plus the heat!

On Saturday, I went out for what I thought was going to be a pretty long ride - up Palomares, Redwood, Pinehurst, Skyline to Grizzly Peak Rd., and play it by ear from there. But after I got going, I had an awful lethargic, fatigued, dead-leg feeling, which I also had on a similar ride I took Thursday morning. Palomares was a big struggle for me - granted, it was pretty warm, but I don't think it was just the heat that was causing my fatigue. I decided to cut my ride short and loop back along Dublin Canyon and Foothill back to Sunol and then home. On the way home, I was crawling along the AC Trail, barely managing 12-13 mph on a section that lately I had been riding at 17-plus. I even had to stop and rest a couple of times.

On Sunday I did a ride over the GG Bridge thru Sausalito and Tiburon to Larkspur with a few friends. Once again that gawdawful tired feeling kicked in as we were heading towards Tiburon and along Paradise Drive. Being near the ocean and along the bay, it wasn't particularly hot, at least not as my recent inland rides, so heat wasn't much of a factor today. Still, I couldn't keep up with my friends for the life of me, and even the littlest hill was giving me a world of grief.

So I bailed out on the bf Labor Day ride today, and I'm off the bike for the rest of the week. :(

It may be that I've been overdoing it - I've been doing a long (for me) & hilly (for me) ride every weekend for several weeks now, plus very little riding during the middle of the week. The combination of the long weekend rides with very little in between - the "weekend warrior" syndrome - apparently doesn't work well for me over time. :p

So I need to cut back some on the weekend rides, and haul my lazy butt out two or 3 weekday mornings like I used to.

We did a fun and easy ride on the Iron Horse trail yesterday. It was our first time riding there and it wasn't too crowded. Afterwards, we went to REI to buy a new Giro helmet for DW. Here is a pic of her on the trail.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/brownbearcub/tmpphpj74pOi.jpg

30 miles via Stony Point/ Spring Hill area friday afternoon, a smooth group ride of 40 miles San Rafael/ Point Reyes with the Marin Club on Saturday and a jog of five miles on sunday.

Well, today my neighbors were looking at me kind of strange so had no choice to do the 1 feet tall lawn :), hope I can have some energy by the afternoon or I will just stick to some weightlifting and get some rest.

I couldn't make it out to the BF Labor Day ride, so I showed up for a ride to Davis and back. I rode from Fairfield to Vacaville, waited with one other rider for anyone else to show up, an started when they didn't. We rode out to Winters, stopped for coffee at the Putah Creek Cafe(packed inside and out with cyclisrs today). From there we rode to Davis and around UC Davis. We rode past the research farm, the avian center, the primate research lab, the centrifuge, the airport, and lots of other places I didn't know were there. We had a good laugh at the expense of a rider in UC Davis kit who was just puttering along until he saw us and then droped the hamer. Does Ryanf have a relative in Davis? We got lost for a while and then headed back through Dixon to Vacaville. I waved at all the tractors out on the back roads, getting a laugh from several, waves from all. I must have looked done for because my riding buddy offered to get his car and take me to Fairfield when we arrived at the clocktower in Vacaville. I grabbed a big iced tea AND a strawberry smoothie at the Pure Grain Bakery to refuel/rehydrate. I refilled my bottles and rode home, sore but feeling good about the ride. 72 miles, longest ride this year.

Scotty

I did a ride with WW on Saturday, from Lexington Dam reservoir to Scott's Valley, and back via Mt. Charlie. Wow, it was hot climbing Mt. Charlie. Someone had a temp reading of 102 on their computer while we were climbing. Sunday, I was off the bike, doing a hike, up Mission Peak. Then, Monday, the Labor day ride.

My legs are like jello now. I'll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow.

Ride around Lake Tahoe. 77 miles. Not part of the official ride, but road from Alpine through Tahoe City, then around the whole damn thing. It was nice until I "snapped the elastic" on the climb up Emerald Bay. Quite a shock at mile 66 or so. Walked up some of it, fueled back up at Tahoma Market and then managed to pull it together for the last 8 miles or so. It was hard. Felt good to finish, even with the bonk in the middle, longest I have ever ridden yet. Oh yeah. I am slow. Counting my stops at many of the local 7-11s, it took an almost eternal 6 hours 22 minutes.

Rode 30 miles in the Berkeley hills Sunday afternoon (in 100+ weather), then Foster City to Los Altos and the Labor Day ride on Monday (total 68 miles).

I was certainly tired last night!

Good job, senatorw! It's a deceptively tough ride around the lake. I was up in TC at my folks house for the weekend.

Saturday, I rode a leisurely 15 down to Squaw Valley with my wife. Way too many tourists on the Truckee River path but what are you going to do? We laughed at the kids in the river getting drunk and sunburned and the pain they'll experience the next morning. Been there, done that, don't need to do it anymore.

Sunday, I rode a much tougher 45 from TC to the Mt. Rose ski area parking lot and back. From the lake road to the top: 9 miles in 54:00. I need the hill training for Mt. Diablo in a month. As of right now, I don't have the legs to break an hour. It was humbling. On the other hand, it sure was fun coming down.

Saturday:
Rode from Redwood City up Canada, Sawyers Camp trail, and then all the way up 35 to Lands End. I stopped here for a quick snack and then took the SF bike route 5 to the Embarcadero BART to Oakland. Distance of about 39 miles.

Sunday: Did an easy 12 mile ride with my girlfriend from her apartment in Oakland to a park along the waterfront. There was a good view of the empty bay bridge and we saw trucks driving eastbound on the upper deck hauling away gigantic demolished sections of the span they replaced :)

Monday: Rode back home to RWC from the Embarcadero BART but via a slightly different route. I took 3rd street south until it turned into Bayshore. Turned right on Guadalupe Canyon and then took Radio Rd to the top of San Bruno Mountain. It was cold and foggy and the winds were atrocious. I was just about stopped dead in my tracks a few times from the headwind. Descending wasn't even that much fun because Radio road is pretty bumpy and the headwind prevented me from getting any real speed coming down the other side of Guadalupe Canyon Road (24 mph, woo!) I made my way back out to Hwy 35 where I just reversed my previous route. 43 miles and about double the climbing as Saturday's ride.

Rode 30 miles in the Berkeley hills Sunday afternoon (in 100+ weather), then Foster City to Los Altos and the Labor Day ride on Monday (total 68 miles).

I was certainly tired last night!

You certainly deserve the ms. incredible name.

You certainly deserve the ms. incredible name.

She definitely does... and to think she rode all the way with a big, dark backpack!

She definitely does... and to think she rode all the way with a big, dark backpack!

Yeah, that backpack was scary looking.:eek: I've always wondered how she didn't over-heat with that thing on. And I don't remember her taking many drinks while riding too. She is truly Ms Incrdible.:D

Took my new baby on it's inaugural (sp?) ride last night FINALLY (longest week of wait in my life). I would have done it sooner but I had a shoe/pedal/$200-later-thing* happen with it. Man is it smooth. I have not been on a road bike in 15 years and I have missed it dearly. I just hope my MTB still gets some :love:
It was my weekday usual of 8 miles South on Franklin Blvd (straight and flat) in strong headwind. 8 miles back with tailwind. Averaged 14.8 out and 20.3 on the way back. Woooooo Hoooo! It feels good to be on a road bike again.

*Bike came with Ultegra pedals from way back (SPD-R). New shoes I bought only accept modern SL cleats and I found this out after getting home, so I picked up some KeO classics. Wife is really cool about all of this nickel-and-dimin' which is a mega+++++. :o

Last Sunday I took the BART to Embarcadero and crossed the GG bridge to Sausalito on my newly STI'd RB-1. I think I may be rushing to get some miles in after my car crash and it came back and bit me, real hard. My back was so sore after the ride and I think I'd lay off off the bike until I really get healed.
I hope alainp's crash won't hold him back for long like me. Those back injuries really sucks.

Sweet RB-1.

I went to Monterey with the family but did get a little ride in:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1426/1323457109_25eda9b83d_o.jpg

...although it would have been a bit easier had my pregnant wife been able to pedal as well. But what can you do when the belly gets in the way? At least she tried as much as she could. hehe!

Man, those things are heavier than I thought! I'll stick with my road bike next time!

Good job, senatorw! It's a deceptively tough ride around the lake. I was up in TC at my folks house for the weekend.

Saturday, I rode a leisurely 15 down to Squaw Valley with my wife. Way too many tourists on the Truckee River path but what are you going to do? We laughed at the kids in the river getting drunk and sunburned and the pain they'll experience the next morning. Been there, done that, don't need to do it anymore.

Sunday, I rode a much tougher 45 from TC to the Mt. Rose ski area parking lot and back. From the lake road to the top: 9 miles in 54:00. I need the hill training for Mt. Diablo in a month. As of right now, I don't have the legs to break an hour. It was humbling. On the other hand, it sure was fun coming down.

Wish I had known someone else from BF was up there. It was lonely riding around it, and I only saw two other real cyclists in my direction. Those tourists on the Golden Gate Bridge on the East side path have nothing on the bike path people South Shore to West Shore.

No riding on Saturday as I was on a plane all day :rolleyes: but I was bound and determined to get my workout in today.

I started out with an hour "climbing" on a stationary bike in the hotel gym as I knew it would be all flat terrain here in Singapore. Then I walked 3 hours, rented a bike for a couple of hours, finally got to pass some roadies even with me on a mountain bike :D. 2 more hours walking in the afternoon.

Here's the full report (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5236620&postcount=7) of my ride today.

No riding on Saturday as I was on a plane all day :rolleyes: but I was bound and determined to get my workout in today.

I started out with an hour "climbing" on a stationary bike in the hotel gym as I knew it would be all flat terrain here in Singapore. Then I walked 3 hours, rented a bike for a couple of hours, finally got to pass some roadies even with me on a mountain bike :D. 2 more hours walking in the afternoon.

Here's the full report (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=5236620&postcount=7) of my ride today.

Wow, so cool. You did more riding than I did ... I'm on-call, which means I have to be within 20 minutes of a networked PC. Maybe I'll take my recumbent and "try" to ride it around the block a few times.

Bitten by a spider? How big was it? Be careful out there!