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

Took the folder up Alpine and down Page Mill at the end of the day yesterday to meet up with my husband for errands (including bike supply shopping at REI) and dinner.

Got a lot of doubletakes from people climbing Page Mill when they saw me and the clown bike zipping down! :D

Went down to ride both side of Sonora Pass this weekend. It is clear but still closed to traffic until next weekend.


Only had time to post one pic here but a complete set of pics and story on my My Cycling Blog (http://www.bikejournal.com/blog.asp?rname=Sagebum)


Can someone tell me what i am doing wrong such that the image doesn't display?

Now that's epic! BTW, your photo shows up fine.

JB

Having just moved to the East Bay I drove up to Skyline and did a small Skyline/Pinehurst loop. I was under the impression that this was a 20-25 mi loop but for some reason it came out to 18... Needless to say I was kind of disappointed and didn't really know where to go from there. Next weekend it's on.

I suggest The Bears and Wildcat.

Wednesday:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/x136/rides/trifecta-day-1.jpg

Thursday:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/x136/rides/trifecta-day-2.jpg

Friday:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/x136/rides/trifecta-day-3.jpg

:twitchy:

Way to go Alex - (jealous)

Were you on Tam today (Friday)?

I did San Bruno Mountain -> Daly City -> Great Highway -> GGB -> Hawk Hill -> back to San Bruno via Skyline. 49 miles, 4255ft of climbing.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3535394944_a3820cb40a_o.png

Way to go Alex - (jealous)Thanks. :) I've been meaning to check The Trifecta off of the list for some time now. I felt particularly crazy this week.


Were you on Tam today (Friday)?I was. I halfway considered driving down to Daly City afterward to knock San Bruno out real quick, but didn't. In retrospect, I should have, since I ended up hitting the terrible SF-Sacramento traffic on the way home anyway. :rolleyes:

The triple threat? Awesomeness of the awesomeness.

I did San Bruno Mountain -> Daly City -> Great Highway -> GGB -> Hawk Hill -> back to San Bruno via Skyline. 49 miles, 4255ft of climbing.


I've gotta get up that hill one of these days.

:twitchy:

Sweet. So where are you going to ride now that it's actually the weekend?

I did the San Mateo -> Woodside -> Up Kings -> Skyline NB -> 92E -> Skyline NB -> San Mateo
loop again today (friday).

37.xx miles 2 hrs and change, ride time.

I did the San Mateo -> Woodside -> Up Kings -> Skyline NB -> 92E -> Skyline NB -> San Mateo
loop again today (friday).

37.xx miles 2 hrs and change, ride time.

I was out there yesterday (Friday) as well: Home > Canada > Kings > Home. Man it was windy. :)

Sweet. So where are you going to ride now that it's actually the weekend?It's always the weekend!

"Recovery" ride on Angel Island today.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/x136/rides/img_1933.jpg

Rode Mt. Tam today. The heat on the Seven Sisters was something else. I was brutalized.

Fun though :D

Rode with Ben and NY Chris on a Western Wheelers ride over to Soquel with lunch in Corralitos. It was hot but not terrible for the climb up Redwood Gulch and the rest of 9 to Skyline. Once we got to the Summit store I was noticing the heat more. A nice descent down to Soquel before more mini climbs to get to the lunch spot. It was quite hot by then and everyone filled bottles with ice (thanks btw!) before beginning the climb back. Can't say I'm a big fan of Eureka Canyon road, it goes on for a long time. At the top it was a lady bug swarm for a few miles, getting pelted left and right by bugs. Some rough pavement before the downhill back to the store for a regroup. My arms were glowing at this point from the suntan lotion. The group broke up at this point, I rode back with Ben and Chris. They both took off around Los Gatos and I kept a mild 15mph pace along Sunnyvale Saratoga all the way back home since it's a straight shot. A lot of the climbing was in shade but the miserable parts were exposed to the sun. This was a D ride and they don't really mess around. Not a lot of regroups at all. 98 miles total.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/3538497083_3aee508a97_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2402/3539309912_7f45b49e5f_o.jpg

Bigbossman and I did a 50 mile loop in Marin, starting in San Geronimo, to the Cheese Factory, over the Marshall Wall, down to Pt. Reyes Station and thence back to the start, like so:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/-nicasio/947124219025762731

Truth be told, BBM did the whole loop. After multiple chain problems starting with it coming apart climbing the Wall, the entire rear end of the drive train seized up about 3 or 4 miles short of Pt. Reyes Station. I'm still not entirely sure what went wrong, but the result is a trashed Veloce rear deraiileur, a right rear drop-out that looks like modern art and is decidedly not suitable for riding, and a wheel that needs to be rebuilt. :mad: This was on the Ron Cooper, so he'll be on the shelf for a while until proper repairs can be arranged.

I started walking to PRS whie BBM went to got get the car. Fortunately, a big (make that huge) group of folks were out training for the AIDS LIfe Cycle event, and their sag guy passed a few minites later, saw me walking along with rear well in my left hand and the rest of the bike over my right shoulder, and drew the appropriate conclusion - I needed a ride. So, at least I got a ride to PRS. Thanks, Ken. :thumb:

BBM did, in fact, come to my rescue - thanks, John :thumb:.

As for the riding part, it was great. The day was a tad warm (translation: it was hot and I'm really glad I was not riding out in Livermore or in the Central Valley), but it was still green out. I had never gone from the Cheese Factory to the coast before - what a beautiful ride. The Marshall Wall was not fun for this Slowpoke Clydesdale, but even with that, I'd recommend that stretch of road to anyone who is up for a bit of a challenge.

Rode to Montebello School and turned back since it was already getting pretty warm at 8:00 AM. Said hi to some flying buddies at RSA. The patriot mailbox was either removed or replaced at the steepest part of the climb up to the school.

It's all true. The broken chain - that's Rich, in yellow. I actually went back down to help. Yes, yes, I know.... but that's the kind of guy I am:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2009%20Rides/Pt%20Reyes%20Station/brokenchain.jpg

Where'd Rich go? this is the last time the Ron Cooper was seen in one piece:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2009%20Rides/Pt%20Reyes%20Station/richinweeds.jpg

Rode the first Folsom Powerhouse Century. This ride was to raise funds for Parkinson's disease. Worthy cause. About 200 people registered. Started at Bicycles Plus in Folsom. Climbed to Highway 49, north of Auburn by about four miles, then descended and went toward Sheridan and Lincoln. Looped back up to Newcastle, then down to Folsom. Got to ride across the new bridge. My total was 110 miles, 6970' of climbing. The rest stops were well manned with plenty of water, etc. Hope they do it again next year.

For, like, the 88th weekend we did the orchards and tomato and sunflower fields east & north of here. We used Saturday for a training ride (time trials comin' up) and today we didn't push so hard. Glad we got the rides in before the heat really stoked up.

I love this route but will be really glad to get back to the hills. We both need our climbing legs back.

I had to drop relatives at the airport at 6, so I was able to get an early start. I got in 47 miles before noon - basically San Mateo to Woodside, the small Loop, and back.

Oh, and I clicked over 2000 miles on the Battaglin.

Then, when I got home, after a shower and lunch, it was too danged HOT to take a nap! :mad:

Unremarkable weekend of riding.

Had to throw the bike in the back of our van yesterday for an impromptu ride back from the garage - 15miles ~1400ft. Nice to ride down SPDR though - the climb up by the dam is just about the perfect slope - ~4-6% sustained, you can just spin up that at a nice speed. I threw in a detour (Amend Road in El Sobrante) which spikes up over 15% for a short while.

Today, was a no frills Pinehurst-Redwood-Pinehurst loop. 23miles, ~1950ft. Beautiful day riding, but surprisingly warm from an early hour.

After my Friday ride to the Marin Headlands, I was just going to "go easy" at the Saturday AM Pen Velo ride. I should have known better. I tried to stay mid or back of the pack but somehow that didn't happen. Oh well, it was fun anyway. 33 miles.

Sunday, Pelikan and I did the Modesto Road Race. We got rolling around 5:20 and get to the race start in plenty of time. The race was seven 9 mile laps and perfectly FLAT. It was fairly uneventful. We just wanted it to be done so we could get in the air-conditioned car :) 62 miles.

As Ramon mentioned I joined the Western Wheelers ride on Saturday. Those guys are serious! I didn't see a single camera and there was definitely no dilly-dallying at the regroups. It was good to keep the pace moving though since it was a long day and there wasn't time to goof off.

I drank what seemed like a staggering amount of fluid on this ride. Two 32oz gatorades, a 24oz redbull, and multiple bottles of water. I still felt thirsty for hours after the ride but I didn't get dehydrated! One of the Western Wheeler riders bought a bag of ice and I stuffed a few cubes up the legs of my shorts against my thighs. I also put ice in the vents of my helmet and had a nice steady trickle of water to help cool me off for at least a couple miles before it all melted.

The ladybug swarms were crazy. This was on a stretch of road that was in and out of the shade. The ladybugs would congregate in the sunny parts and so fortunately you could see them up ahead before hitting them. I had no sunglasses and so I had to squint and put my head down and stare 2 feet in front of my wheel to avoid taking a bug or three in the eye.

Got a flat at about 100 miles into the ride :( It was a big giant staple that went straight into my back tire. This thing would've flatted a car tire. Overall I got 114 miles on the day since I rode to/from the start. Roughtly 7 1/2 hours of riding time = 15mph average.

Saturday I took my mtn bike over to Lake Chabot for the first time. Looking back on it the whole idea was pretty much flawed from the start. I got a late start (1pm) and climbed the "wrong way" following the map on my "Bay Area Biking" guide map. After the steep climb I was losing steam fast and mistakenly took a wrong turn that deposited me down on the other side of the hill at the golf course. From there it was short spurts of pedaling from shade spot to shade spot and trying not to pass out while conserving my energy and water supply (large camelbak and an elecrolyte bottle.)

You'd think I learned my lesson but I was up bright and early on Sunday morning for my first ride up and around calavares. Starting at 8 I was pretty whipped by the time I reached the top. I had to take a few breaks on the way up and my legs were turned to jelly from my Saturday ride. I made it though. Hit 40+mph on the way down (whee!!) and took in some amazing scenery. I'm glad I stuck that one out.

Overall, I guess I can chalk this entire weekend up to being one big lesson in humility. I got SPANKED.

We did Mines Rd/San Antonio Valley/Hamilton/Sierra/Calaveras then back through Sunol and Pleasanton to our start in Livermore. 106 miles, something north of 10k feet of climbing. Hot. Really hot. unbearably hot on Sierra. And then my back went out part way up Sierra, bringing my day to a crashing (well, not literally thank goodness) halt. I Sag'd in after 70 miles and 6500 feet of climbing, still not such a bad day.

In addition to all the great TnT support (thanks JoBob, LeeBob and Janet at the top of Sierra!), Glenn popped up at the top of Hamilton, and then kept us company up Sierra. In his case, that means he pretty literally rode circles around most of us, as he basically did Sierra repeats. Pretty darned impressive. He took this photo of me on the Hamilton descent, just as you get to the bottom of that first climb on the way down after the bridge, plus a couple from the top of Sierra (at least I think it was Glenn who took these! they were posted to our team website).

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee39/jonathanb715/JBMtHamilton.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee39/jonathanb715/SierraRd.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee39/jonathanb715/MtHamiltonfromSierra.jpg.

JB

Good couple of rides recently.

Thursday afternoon I snuck out and did a North Gate climb up Diablo - wonderful weather and a nicely paced climb for me - kept in my 34x24 up the wall.

Saturday was a series of firsts for me. Got together with a friend from work who showed me some of the peninsula classics, none of which I'd ridden before.

Climbed OLH (24:54mins), then after battling fog, mist and drizzle on the second part of the road, headed for Pescadero Creek. A quick coffee and pitstop at the Pescadero diner (forget what it's called but it was sooo tempting to just sit and stay by the pizza oven). We then climbed Stage, and headed up Tunitas Creek. Boy, the bike hut is just awesome - coffee (3 choices), water, tools, a sofa (furchrissakes!). Tunitas wasn't too bad for me, and we decided to follow the 2009 LowKey variant and climb up the stinger of Star Hill and looped round on Swett, before descending Kings and becoming reacquainted with the sun. That felt soooo good.

Stats - 65.3miles, 4h 43m riding time, and 6691ft elevation by Edge305. Interestingly, motion based awarded me 7209ft of elevation, and Garmin Training Center 7640ft.

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2009_05_23_PeninsulaRide/052309Route.jpg

http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn384/RDW5980/2009_05_23_PeninsulaRide/052309Elevation.jpg

Crazy windy around the bridge spires and lots of tourists since it's a holiday weekend. But made it to the top of Hawk Hill without too much swearing.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3374/3561344610_2398f7f81d_o.jpg

My legs are tired.

Thursday I rode in Granite Bay in the morning - 17 miles with a couple of hill repeats
Friday I rode in Rockville with a group from mtbr - about 10. Rockville is always a blast for getting my skills up - I always feel much more confident in the rides after Rockville. Only did 10 miles here but this place is more about riding rock gardens and sessioning spots than going anywhere.
Saturday was Annadel State Park with a group from mtbr - about 30. Annadel is .. incredible. We did 25 miles there.
Yesterday was a FATRAC beginner ride around Lake Natoma. Went out with a friend and his son for about 15 miles.
And today was 25 miles out at Salmon Falls.

I can't wait to not ride tomorrow :D

One pic of me from Annadel this weekend:

http://cycling.mattandjosey.com/May%20By%20The%20Bay%202009/me-annadel.jpg

Rode up the Bay Trail from 92 to Fairway at the Marina. Rode back on city streets. Found out how to avoid the narrow lanes on Hesperian, but that involved riding the sidewalk past Hayward Airport.

Went up Montebello, then linked to Page Mill via dirt trail portion of Montebello. Descended Page Mill and then went up to Page Mill, folowed by going north on Skyline to descend 84 (after a brief sandwich stop and BF sighting at the Four Corners), and followed it up with 2x Kings Mountain. About 72 miles and possibly 6,500 ft climb?

Went up Montebello, then linked to Page Mill via dirt trail portion of Montebello. Descended Page Mill and then went up to Page Mill, folowed by going north on Skyline to descend 84 (after a brief sandwich stop and BF sighting at the Four Corners), and followed it up with 2x Kings Mountain. About 72 miles and possibly 6,500 ft climb?

That's more than 6500ft. Montebello is like 1900, page mill is 2300, kings is like 1900. I'd guess closer to 8k climbing. How long did it take you?

MyLilPony and I did our Los Vaquerous loop of just over 40 miles.
But that isn't why I'm posting.
I'm posting because I did not flat. I like that in a ride. Not getting a flat is very nice. And somewhat usual of late.
Then I came home and patched tubes from the Saturday NorCal Century.

I'm posting because I did not flat. I like that in a ride. Not getting a flat is very nice. And somewhat usual of late.
Then I came home and patched tubes from the Saturday NorCal Century.

Putting that in writing is terrible karma!

Pokin' around Manhattan on a holiday weekend. In no particular direction. Washington heights, The battery and just about everything in between. Light traffic, stunning weather.

Norris Cyn/Crow Cyn/Redwood Road/Moraga and back down Danvill Blvd to complete the loop. 46 miles, about 3800' of climbing, and lunch at Norm's. Mmmmmmmmm......

My back's been acting up, so I was kind of laying low this weekend. The house of pain loop in reverse (and at a much slower pace than those HOP guys manage) on Saturday, 45 miles and hardly any climbing. Yesterday, some easy intervals up to the Mt. D. junction, at which point the wind convinced me to turn around and call it a day, and Mt. Hamilton from the San Jose side today. Kept the effort easy in all 3 rides, never got above heart rate zone 3.

JB

Rode on my trainer yesterday and today. Heck, it's a start. :rolleyes: :lol:

Rode on my trainer yesterday and today. Heck, it's a start. :rolleyes: :lol:


I am smiling so wide at this news I swear my face will crack. :D

Hot Diggity she is on her way back!!

Did I just hear a faint "on your left" from over Fremont/Newark way?

Friday did an out and back to Donner Lake from Cisco.
Saturday found me on Monitor and Ebbets. Lot's of others had the same idea. Still a ton of snow on Ebbets.
Sunday an easy recovery ride.
Today, I rested.

BR

Spent the weekend in LA. Saturday, climbed some of the canyons in the San Gabriel Mountains, Monrovia Canyon, Chantry Flats, got in 56 miles, 5400 feet climbing. Sunday, climbed some hills by the Rose Bowl. Got in 29 miles, 2000 feet climbing. Short day, had to do some family stuff.

Did I just hear a faint "on your left" from over Fremont/Newark way?

You're so sweet. :love:

Hee hee, but no, that wasn't me.

I was the one calling from way back "wait for meeeeee". :D

Finally I was able to put myself on the bike this weekend, the first time since the Wine Country Century.
Saturday I went up Mt. Diablo South Gate Road. Unfortunately my time was limited and I had a flat before starting the ride so I only went to the Junction. The good part was my rhythm and pace were good.
Sunday I had an easy 15 miles with my wife on the Iron Horse Trail.
Now that some family events and visits are behind I can finally start my Death Ride prep. I was tempted by the Eastern Sierra Double, first because I love the area and second because I have never rode a double before but I think I will be way too short in preparation. It might be a last minute decision, sure it would be crazy but...

That's more than 6500ft. Montebello is like 1900, page mill is 2300, kings is like 1900. I'd guess closer to 8k climbing. How long did it take you?

I still need to put the route into mapmyride and see what it spits out on elevation. I've been kinda disheartened by mapmyride at giving me elevation about 10% less consistently than bikely, but have decided to toughen up and use that as my default measurement.

In any case, the total time was 7 hours and ride time 6 hrs. Probably not as good of an indicator, though, since I spent about 40 minutes traversing that Montebello dirt trail section on foot.

After a week off the bike (work travel etc) I got in a nice long ride today. Took Haskins Hill and Alpine up to 35 where I met up with Jammen (he had ridden up Page Mill from Palo Alto).

We took 35 south to 9, then descended 9 all the way to Felton. Climbed Felton Empire Rd, took Ice Cream Grade across to the descent on Pine Flat and Bonny Doon down to 1 (I got up to 39.5 mph despite headwinds from the coast). We took the side route on Swanton, back to 1, then turned off on Gazos Creek to Cloverdale to Pescadero. Total of 84 miles, 7900'.

After a week off the bike (work travel etc) I got in a nice long ride today. Took Haskins Hill and Alpine up to 35 where I met up with Jammen (he had ridden up Page Mill from Palo Alto).

We took 35 south to 9, then descended 9 all the way to Felton. Climbed Felton Empire Rd, took Ice Cream Grade across to the descent on Pine Flat and Bonny Doon down to 1 (I got up to 39.5 mph despite headwinds from the coast). We took the side route on Swanton, back to 1, then turned off on Gazos Creek to Cloverdale to Pescadero. Total of 84 miles, 7900'.

Went up Page Mill out to pescadero down the coast to Santa cruz where I got some Ice Cream at Marianne's. Got to see Ms./Mrs. Incredible's new house. Looks good! Although the Orbea looked kinda sad next to all the Ducatis...

Saturday we rode the NorCal Century, my first since my crash, and our longest ride on the tandem all year.

Sunday we did a reverse Winters Loop and let the wind push us up to Winters.

Today we rode w/Scotty in near-perfect conditions, a Gordon Valley loop. It was a splendid morning to ride and we're so glad we did.

Now the rest of the week I'll be on the trainer...maybe Jobob and I need to synch our trainer rides and ride virtually together. ;)

I got almost no riding in this weekend.

Friday MTB ride at Water Dog in Belmont was cut short (25 minutes max) when my buddy pinch flatted and we had no patches and the tube I had was dried and cracked.

No riding Sat and Sun, argh.

40 minute, 17.5 mile race. on Monday.

Went up Page Mill out to pescadero down the coast to Santa cruz where I got some Ice Cream at Marianne's. Got to see Ms./Mrs. Incredible's new house. Looks good! Although the Orbea looked kinda sad next to all the Ducatis...

That's ok, the Orbea gets all the fun weekend rides, my Duc is mostly relegated to being a commuter. ;) The Birdy was in a closet.

I still need to put the route into mapmyride and see what it spits out on elevation. I've been kinda disheartened by mapmyride at giving me elevation about 10% less consistently than bikely, but have decided to toughen up and use that as my default measurement.

In any case, the total time was 7 hours and ride time 6 hrs. Probably not as good of an indicator, though, since I spent about 40 minutes traversing that Montebello dirt trail section on foot.

Eh, I use the Garmin elevations, so everything I post is probably 10% high as well. Regardless, as long as you use the same measurements each time you will know how what you've done compares to your other rides.

(to be honest, the Garmin elevations at the tops/bottoms of climbs seem to be about right. I don't know if it's oversensitive on rollers, or adding cumulative ascent wackily)