Northern California - What happened to the Bike Around the Buttes thread?

Which Lodi? The Delta Lodi or the Sunrise Lodi? We're signed up for the Delta one

Sorry about that, I meant the Sunrise. That will be my first century.

My report for the Ride around the Buttes:

The day dawned wet. Yes, it was raining. Naturally, this did not discourage me or Sammilove. However, it did cause some discussion from fellow BF members bigbossman and BlankCrows at the start of the ride:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/East_Hill/IMG_0511.jpg

[BlankCrows on the left, bigbossman on the right]

BlankCrows and BBM decided to go off and have breakfast along with Mrs. bigbossman, and the young Ms. bigbossman, and decide later if they really wanted to get soaking wet.

Sammilove and I took off around 8.30 or so.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/East_Hill/IMG_0513.jpg

Not a really good day for photography, and I had the camera wrapped in a plastic bag most of the way...but I could not resist a photo of this:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/East_Hill/IMG_0515.jpg

Yes, in the center of the photo, you can see a BMX bike. A determined young man rode his BMX bike on the 40 mile ride, and finished, too. He got in about 40 minutes after we did.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k317/East_Hill/IMG_0512.jpg

Here's Sammilove, looking like a big buck deer with the tree branches sticking out of his helmet! This was in the first few miles of the ride, when it wasn't quite as wet as later.

We finally straggled in just after noon. We were soaking wet, but being used to the rain helps a lot.

A big, big thank you to bigbossman for getting the Nishiki International into rideable condition. I never did get a picture of me on the Nishiki, so I will have to 'fake' a shot later.

My husband and I had a great time, and really enjoyed meeting bigbossman and BlankCrows. I was disappointed that I did not get to meet some of the others of you, but I think we will be planning to do this again next year. My husband's older brother leads hikes into the Buttes, and we will try to fit a hike in as well, next time.

East Hill

East Hill...sounds like you got wet like us. We managed to struggle through the beginning and when we hit the last 40 fo the 100..we were dry and saw some really cool views of buttes up close.

Yes, except for the obvious California scenery, we would have thought we were right at home. I'm glad I'm used to riding in the rain :D .

East Hill

If any of you saw a flash of red tandem going by, that was us trying to get in before the predicted thunder storm arrived. We left on the 40 about 8, got back in about 10:30, including a stop at every rest stop mainly to try and get circulation back in the numb limbs. We were only able to see the buttes once or twice due to the clouds. We plan to go back soon to do it on a dry day, self supported, obviously.

I was honestly amazed at the number of low skilled riders out there on bikes that seemed unsuited, and the dress of people was amusing, ponchos were possibly the worst choice I saw, but i got a kick out of some of the improvisations, including garbage bags and dry cleaning bags.

One girl came into the second rest stop just after we did, this was before the rain began in earnest, she was on an MTB, not dressed in cycling clothes to begin with, but also was dressed for a 70 degree day. The rest stop staff was wrapping her up in their own jackets when we left. I would guess she either sagged in or maybe even needed to be treated for hypothermia, she seemed in bad shape.

I was honestly amazed at the number of low skilled riders out there on bikes that seemed unsuited.....

Before I decided to call it a rain-out for my family, I was speaking to Blankcrows about that very thing. I mentioned the inordinate amount of dept store mtb's, and even pointed out several older, low end road bikes that were in obvious disrepair - no bar tape, frayed cables, worn tires, that sort of thing.

This ride is about as easy an organized ride as you're likely to find, and I guess it attracts all sorts of folks.

Before I decided to call it a rain-out for my family, I was speaking to Blankcrows about that very thing. I mentioned the inordinate amount of dept store mtb's, and even pointed out several older, low end road bikes that were in obvious disrepair - no bar tape, frayed cables, worn tires, that sort of thing.

This ride is about as easy an organized ride as you're likely to find, and I guess it attracts all sorts of folks.

Definitely a flat course for sure. Last year I trained and did my first organized ride at the Auburn Century with all of it's difficult climbing. I liked doing the buttes ride this year as a warm up to the more difficult rides to come.

Definitely a flat course for sure.

The only other flat century I've found is the upcoming Delta Century. The Lodi Sunrise Century is relatively flat with only about 3,000' of climbing, but the last 20 miles or so can be into a vicious head wind. I'd rather climb...... :D

The Canyon Classic out of Patterson has a deceptively small elevation number, but Del Puerto Canyon is a back-breaker 3 mile climb that is followed by 7 or so more miles of more moderate climbing up Mines Road until you finally tip over the summit and have a long glide into Livermore.

I did the delta about three yearsa ago. It was dry, but windy. Biggest hill of the day, on and off the levee. New tandem, shakedown/breakdown run. Sweeper truck followed us in, we were the last, food was all but gone. A memorable ride for sure

IMO, I'd rather ride up Mt Tamalpias, in my back yard, than do a water level ride, no coasting on the flats, and no glory in the headwinds.

IMO, I'd rather ride up Mt Tamalpias, in my back yard, than do a water level ride, no coasting on the flats, and no glory in the headwinds.

Me, too. I'd rather climb all day than ride into the wind, and flat rides are B O R I N G - especially in The Delta, where the scenery never changes :D

I got up there as well, but didn't ride. It actually started to rain in Sacramento at 5:45am when I left to drive up to Sutter. I had heard the rain might taper off later in the morning but that didn't happen. Too much rain to ride in for for my taste.

Visiting with East Hill, Sammilove, and bigbossman and his clan were highlights, and those older bikes in the parking lot were fun to see. A few were gaspipe-like tanks in variable states of disrepair, but slow and steady was good enough for the wet conditions at least until they fell apart. The SAG crews must've had a busy day.....

East Hill's Nishiki looked real sharp. Good job on that bigbossman!

Looking forward to next year up there!