rumbutter

Awesome ride today everyone. Lots of nice friendly faces and pleasant riding companions. We were blessed by a tailwind on much of the climb and we seemed to have a mishap free day with the exception of one crash on the last hairpin turn. I got a real good workout in on the cross bike ready for the first race of the season (Next Saturday). Mant thanks to pete for organizing this. Pictures to follow.......................

rumbutter

Here are my pictures from today. I am very sorry but I have an apalling memory for names so I cant caption very well.



The merry throng at the start. here you can clearly see Bike Forum member 1, Bike Forum member 2....etc..etc



Here we see two Webcor riders that I rode with for much of the climb. They were both very strong.



Two more riders whom I shared the lower slopes with.



This chap is experiencing a very spritual moment at the Observatory.



The profile of mountain goat

rumbutter

The top section of Mount Hamilton in all its twisty goodness



Another spiritual moment of Quiet Contemplation.



My neon Steed resplendant with its knobbly hooves.



This impish sole put in many attacks in the last 5 miles to hurt the legs



Two happy Webcor's



A kind passerby offers this fallen gentleman some beer (it looks like beer) to help him recover



I know this one ! This is my wife "Britpower" cresting the peak. First time up Hamilton and a job well done.

spingineer

Great turnout today. Thanks for putting this together, Pete (aka Phoebe). Great to re-acquaint myself with some old friends, and meeting some new ones too.

We were definitely blessed by not having such a scorchingly hot day. Looking at the weather reports, it looks like we lucked out, as it calls for higher temps Wed and Thurs.

Hooked up with SesameCrunch for awhile, and climbed for awhile. Then, he wanted a scenic shot, so we stopped about 60% to the top. So, I obliged. Although, there would be more scenic shots at top, it was refreshing to get off. Waited for Paula (MsIncredible), then continued the rest of the climb with her. Doing such a long climb like this is so much better with good company.

As we were climbing, we suddenly hear a "beep beep" ... that was Ramon, charging up the hill like we were standing still. He and BottleRocket decided the Mt. Hamilton itself wasn't tough enough, so they threw in Quimby, then intersected with Mt. Hamilton. I think he needs to go back down and climb Quimby again, because he had way too much energy to be passing us so quickly and easily.

We were also passed by BottleRocket a little later. We chatted for awhile, then he wanted to catch up with the rest of the "Gladiators". I think we can include BottleRocket as one of the "Gladiators".

On the descent, who did I find off to the side of the road??? Taxi777. And what happened??? He got a flat. He was bombing down the hill like a madman ... well, I guess he caught one too many pebbles, and had to fix his flat.

There was this one car, that was going sooooo slow ... I think he pulled over 5 times during our descent. They were most likely tourists, as I think they were average 20 mph.

Met up with the rest of the crew back at the school. As luck would have it for Pete, I think he tried to pump up his tire a little more, and then got another blow out. I guess he's hitchin' a ride from BottleRocket.

All in all, a terrific ride. Thanks for the company Alan, Paula, Tim. It made the ride that much more fun riding with you.

Pics to follow.

x136 

The group left without me at the start, and people were starting to disperse once I got to the top, so I don't have much in the way of people pictures or a ride report.





Couldn't have asked for nicer weather, and what a turnout! I had a great time. Powering up Hamilton really helped make up for an embarrassing Diablo showing a few days ago. Thanks for setting this up, Pete, and for signing me up against my will. Hope you made it home without several more tires exploding on ya.

spingineer

The gathering ...


Alan (SesameCrunch) new ride. He flew out to England just to pick it up. That's some dedication. I guess UPS, Fedex lost out there.


Everyone re-acquainting with old friends


Jonathanb715 ... Aw, do you have to take my picture again?


Waiting and waiting ... Let's Get On With It


Off and running


Leaving the school


Climbing Alum Rock


Starting the climb


One of many overlooks, this one at the beginning of the climb

spingineer

Spingineer taking a breather


Panoramic shot from top of Mt. Hamilton


SesameCrunch at top of Hamilton


Jin ... made it! I saw him cramping on the descent. Hope you are okay.


My apologies ... I don't remember who this is.


Superunleaded ... love that name


AlainP ... he always takes a great pic ... so photogenic


Blastradius ... showing it all off


Blastradius and Superunleaded ... showing off matching socks


Melissa ... Giddy Up

x136 

I count about thirty heads there. Nice!

...And off to the left of that picture, you'll find me, putting my shoes on, wondering where everyone is off to.

spingineer

120 inch Telescope


Pete ... all smiles ... for now at least


OMG ... what did you do Pete? I guess you were just bombing down the hill so fast, you couldn't avoid that pebble ... flat????


What's that between your legs?


Pete, showing frustration ... blames it all on me ...

rumbutter

The puncture bug bites again....who's next ?

alainp

Great photos guys. Keep 'em coming! Really enjoyed the ride and the good company. Got to climb up with Johnathanb in the beginning and finished up the ascent with Jinws and Lorri (?). The summit was chillier than I thought which made me glad I wore a base layer. Descending is always an issue for me but I got down in one piece this time although I heard someone took a spill near the bottom. The last 6-8 miles was a blast with the newly paved roads and smooth, quick descent. That's where Jin and I finally passed the lol (aka little old lady) who passed us by as Jin was nursing a cramp! Thanks, Pete, for setting up another great ride .

CRSturdivant

Great ride everyone! By the way for those of you who I didn't get a chance to meet today, my name is Colin (white jersey, black shorts). My friend Will (neon green trek 2 decades old), sends his greetings as well!!

mtnwalker

Kudos to Pete, thanks for the great ride. It was great to see familiar faces and to meet new people. That has to rank as my most difficult ascent so far. I must have stopped 10+ times before I reached the top. Thanks to Harold and Rob for waiting up for me before you guys descended. I was feeling so much like crap, it was great to ride down with somebody.

Oh, I almost took a spill too. I somehow ended up off roading on the ditch while descending. The only things I can think of was to stay upright, resist the urge to brake and somehow get back on the pavement without taking a spill. I have no idea how it happened but I did get back on the road safely. Man, someone must have been keeping an eye on me up "there".

alainp

Good job on the recovery, Tony . Glad you got back in one piece.

x136 

Yikes. Some of those turns are a bit hard to read. Luckily you went off into a ditch instead of down a steep embankment!

SesameCrunch

My first time up Hamilton from this side. What a great workout. Met some nice folks today and caught up with some "old" friends as well. That's what's great about these BF rides.

It was also my first big ride with the new folder - a Moulton TSR30. It's a fully suspended road bike with small wheels. It was really great coming down the mountain with the suspension, that's for sure!



Kudos to Pete for setting up the ride. He can sure draw a crowd!

spingineer

Wow, glad you made it down safe and sound, Tony. I've been a bit conservative on my descents, and I also swear by the light colored shades. It allows me to see the road better, especially when going from light to dark.

msincredible

My first time up Hamilton, that was fun guys! I had done Diablo for the first time on Saturday, definitely was feeling it today, but not too bad.

Alan, Ron, Henry, and Tim, great riding with you guys.

Tim, hope you heal up quick. Don't forget the ice and the anti-inflammatory and vitamin E.
Tony, glad you made it safely down.

My camera is not doing very well (I busted the LCD screen) so I only managed a picture of my bike at the top.

sweetnsourbkr

You guys remember that funny looking peacock sitting on top of my head today? Well, we made a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM4uKvwy3K0

Hope you guys like it!

velogirls

anybody wanna buy some bikes? I'm retiring!

alainp

That was cool! I really enjoyed that stretch of road on the descent (although around 4 minutes into the video the white car was in your lane for no reason). I was expecting to see Pete freak out or something when you were riding up on him from behind!

msincredible

It's September 1, not April 1.

SesameCrunch

Oh no, you're not! We're not letting ya!

jinws

hey, thanks for ridin with me when I got the cramp, would've definitly called for a ride if you weren't there.

and a big thanks to Mike for hooking me up with the magic little pill.

and Lorri, it was nice chatting with you on the way up.

slabby

That was me, right after a blowing a big exhale from the gut.

sure thing, dude. i tend to carry too much gear and stuff w/ me. glad it came in handy.

happy to meet and ride w/ y'all! ... and a pic ...