Northern California - Davis area laid back ride - Part I, June 28th

It was pretty cool riding with recumbents. It was like, "Everything you ever wanted to know about recumbents but was afraid to ask". I'm going to have to convince my wife that I need a bent.

Thanks to everyone that came out for today's ride, that was quite the turnout! We had recumbents, singles, and tandems and a lot more variety than I'm used to seeing on any given ride, so Goatbiker, thanks for posting to the 'bent forums and having some of your riding buddies join us today, they're a lot of fun.

The route and conditions today were ideal for a bike ride, and I think everyone made it through OK; after lunch @ Steady Eddy's we had a practice run on the second half of the Wheelworks TT section, which was more of a TTT by the time all was said and done. I knew we should have tried it before cgallagh and RedRider took off for VV.

Special thanks go out to huytheskigod and Rushfan for their help in planning this fun ride, and making sure everyone was on track. I hope to see everyone at next month's hillier version of today's ride.

Here are some more pics from the ride:

Group pic at start
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/group.jpg

Trike
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/trike.jpg

We had miles and miles of this in bucolic Yolo County
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/bucolic.jpg

Taking a break at Lake Solano
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/solanobreak.jpg

JoelS' Colnago
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/JoelSbike.jpg

cgallagh and RedRider's tandem
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/cgrrtandem.jpg

Comparing notes
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/solanobreak2.jpg

Bikingshearer's Ron Cooper
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/roncooper.jpg

BigBossMan takes up RedRider's challenge to grab a wheel
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/draft.jpg

On the road...
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/ontheroad.jpg

More pics...


Da Big Boss Man
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/bbm.jpg

Bikingshearer and Hoo Koo
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/bikingshearer.jpg

The locally famous graffiti bridge
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/bridge.jpg

Those 'bent guys and gals know how it's done...laid back style
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t139/t4mv/laidback-1.jpg

I did the Giro di Peninsula. I haven't figured out how to be two places at once yet, so I missed this ride.
Great to see all the photos. Looks like fun!

What type of bike was that very low recumbent ? Looks pretty cool.

Dunno..... a low one? :D

Here're some more pics as it passed under me - the bike was very low to the ground:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Davis%20BF%20ride/bent-1.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Davis%20BF%20ride/bent-2.jpg

Wow, what a turnout. Funny that after the nastiest, smokiest week imaginable, there were two separate rides on the same day with a huge turnout. Thankfully the smoke cleared out in time (though apparently more in the peninsula than Yolo/Solano). Kind of wish I'd done this one instead of the Giro, but ah well. I'll keep an eye out for Part II. :)

The ride was also announced on the Recumbent Riders of Sacramento and Recumbents of the East Bay sites. I'm trying to work back up to this level of ride by the end of summer.

... I'm trying to work back up to this level of ride by the end of July.

Fixed it for ya. :D


Alex, see if you got time in your sched for Pt II. If you're a hill masochist, it'll be more to your liking (emphasis on "a hill")...

Fantastic turnout and the bucolic-road and break-at-Lake-Solano photos look really inviting.
Is the hilly pt.2 ride going to have the same amount of tree cover?

I was surprised how mild the weather was in Yolo on Saturday. Good question about tree cover for ride #2.

That was one of the most fun rides we've ever done. The laid-back pace makes for more socializing and more "smiles per mile." We enjoyed meeting everyone and riding with overthere and bigbossman again. Thanks to Huy and Norman for organizing this ride. We're looking forward to the next one.

Oh, and the pics were terrific! Love the perspective of the 'bent from BBM's height. :thumb:

BigBossMan takes up RedRider's challenge to grab a wheel

Chasing down those two had me slobbering and wheezing like a rodeo bull in no time. And it was all for naught - they dusted my broom in pretty short order.

It was great meeting everyone yesterday, and I agree-nice to learn so much about 'bents. Thanks for the drag race on Putah Creek Road....

Next month's ride spends less time in the orchards but I think is a much better ride. Pleasants Valley Road is my favorite road in the area.

Henry and Chris, my recollection of the route is that most of it looks like you see in the pics due to it being ag land and farms, and WRT to the Cantelow climb, I think the lower slopes are tree covered and then maybe thins out a bit at the top, but nothing like Mont Ventoux or anything like that. Cantelow's not a difficult climb, maybe kind of like a Pierce Rd/Mt Eden combo, and I think even flatlanders would do fine with it. On a hot day, though, it's a good challenge.

Would you say that Cantelow is the same level of difficulty as Ink Grade in Napa? IG is 4 miles long and the last time I rode it, I had to stop to catch my breath. I've never ridden either Pierce or Mt Eden.

Would you say that Cantelow is the same level of difficulty as Ink Grade in Napa? IG is 4 miles long and the last time I rode it, I had to stop to catch my breath. I've never ridden either Pierce or Mt Eden.

Cantelow is maybe one quarter the length of Ink Grade. It's more uneven, with a spot or two steeper than Ink Grade, especially steeper over the last quarter mile, but overall much shorter.

Two different beasts. Ink Grade is nicely shaded, so on a hot day I'd rather ride it. If you ride hills at all, Cantelow is not too bad.

I posted the elevation for Cantelow on the other thread. (yes Norman, figured out how to use photobucket)

No worries, Chris, it's *much* shorter...I think it's maybe like a mile to a mile and a half long from the eastern side (the side we're riding up)? When I used to ride it regularly, we always rode up the west side which is sort of short and sweet (and steeper), so for most Bay Area folks who ride hills on a regular basis this will be a good climb but nothing that'll stop people cold. It's definitely not Oakville Grade in Napa, hows that? :)

I think I can do it then. Thanks guys.

If anyone cares, here's the Garmin trace from the ride. The flat line between mile 27.5 and mile 30 is a resullt of me neglecting to hit "start" after lunch.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/jd6572/2008%20rides/Davis%20BF%20ride/garmintrace.jpg

What a great group - I had a blast. Tandems, singles and bents, all riding together in harmony. Maybe Rodney King's plea is being heard, and we all can get along.

Except for those fixed gear types, of course. :D