After work training ride on 8/16. A number of us had not ridden together in quite some time, so it was good that almost all of the Wild Kitties were able to participate. We took our usual route of up Tunnel Rd (becomes Skyline), up Grizzly Peak, through Tilden Park by the Golf Course, and Wildcat down to San Pablo Dam Rd., then returning via BART at the Orinda station. Cool and foggy on this side of the tunnel, pleasantly warm with a little sun on the other. We did have to turn on our lights before the end of the ride, but it was not dark while on the road. 20 miles and 2200 feet of elevation gain.
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| Beth at the end of our ride. |
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| Eleanor, Nancy, and Mary ready to return via BART. |
Training ride on 8/19. I had tickets to a performance in the evening, so I wanted to stay close to home and did not join the official group ride leaving from Moss Landing and doing Elkhorn Slough. Instead Eleanor, Mary, Ray and I met at the Orinda BART station, headed out to Crockett, through Martinez and returned via Pig Farm Hill and the Three Bears. Fortunately, not too hot. 50 miles and 3900 feet of elevation gain.
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| On our way past the intersection of Castro Ranch Road and Alhambra Valley Road, I stopped to check the progress on the repairs following the collapse during the winter rains. As you can see here, lots going on, but hard to see the exact spot that is being repaired. I believe it is supposed to be finished just as we are completing the bike tour. |
Team Cycling4Fun Bake Sale 8/20! As part of our fundraising efforts, we hosted a bake sale at the intersection of Grizzly Peak Blvd. and Skyline, right on the edge of Berkeley and Oakland, in the hills. This is a common area for cyclists to come through. All of us on the team have stopped at this spot many times to re-group, catch our breath, or just ponder which way to go next. We knew there would be a lot of cyclist traffic here, but had no idea how many people really do go through this spot on a weekend morning.
We had lots of treats to choose from. Eleanor works in a place with a commercial kitchen, so she and some co-workers really cranked out the chocolate chip cookies. Other items included brownies, snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin cookies, molasses cookies, apricot bars, lemon bars, mocha cake, fresh squeezed lemonade, and for those who didn't want gluten or sugar, hard boiled eggs.
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| Trays of chocolate chip cookies waiting to be baked at Eleanor's commercial kitchen. |
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| Nancy and Ray flagging down cyclists and drivers. We were not successful with car drivers, perhaps only 2 or 3 stopped, but Ray did run across the street to sell something to some motorcyclists. Fortunately, there were plenty of bicyclists. |
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| Mary and Eleanor at your service. |
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| Eleanor in a sunny spot. |
Mid-week after-work training ride 8/23: Although the Wild Kitty get-together the previous week was good, there was a lot of overhead for me to be able to participate right from work. As a result, I went out on my own for this ride and will probably do so once a week until we drive up to Oregon. When I ride alone, I leave from my home in El Cerrito, travel through the Berkeley hills out to Bear Creek Road (AKA The Three Bears) and go up and over Papa Bear only, then take a right on Happy Valley and climb that into Orinda. From there, I take some neighborhood streets down to the recently repaired and re-opened Miner Road and then return via Wildcat. It is almost 28 miles and about 3,000 feet of climbing.
I was home by 8 pm to a crock pot dinner. Nothing like a hot meal waiting at the end of an evening ride, even if I had to prepare it the night before. Sorry, no photos; I was in a hurry to get home by 8. I had told I friend I was going out alone and instructed her that if I wasn't home by 8 pm to start calling my parents and my partner. She's my back up in case anything really goes wrong. It gives me peace of mind while out alone that someone knows where I am and is making sure I get home in one piece. Unfortunately, I had misjudged the arrival time at the time I texted her and I didn't want an all points bulletin going out for me!
It was cool and foggy from my side until about Inspiration Point, then blue skies and pleasant temps on the other side. On the return, a jacket was definitely necessary after Inspiration Point since it is almost completely down hill from there and temperatures are definitely dropping at that time of night.
Local Training Ride again 8/26. No training group ride was offered due to a competing commitment that our group leader had, but Mary, Beth and I went out for a local ride. Whew, what a hot day it turned out to be! And I was tired, too because I did a spin class the night before. Anyway, we sort-of reversed our ride from the previous weekend with a few changes thrown in for variety. I envisioned moving through the hottest parts early enough that they wouldn't be a problem and then ride close enough to the bay to have cooler temps and a breeze. That only partly worked out. We made good time and were at the top of Pig Farm Hill early enough that I thought we could be in Pinole by noonish, but that isn't how it played out.
Pig Farm Hill has continuing road work. Although no crews were out last weekend, they were working this time. According to the signs, they are scheduled to be working in that area beyond mid-October. The flagger controlling traffic was a sweet guy who wished us all a lovely day. It was a hot climb on a steep hill, but fortunately not too long. The flagger's sign showing "slow" was not a problem for us.
We had some misdirection where Alhambra Valley Rd. turns left. It was not the first time that day that someone in the group wasn't sure where to go, nor the last. In any case, after re-grouping, we continued up Franklin Canyon, which didn't have as much shade as I thought it would, but at the same time was not too exposed or hot. We took McEwen to go down to Crockett and enjoyed the cool breezes briefly as we came through the residential area.
The section after the Dead Fish restaurant all the way to "old town" Pinole, isn't such a great stretch. It is not that conducive to re-grouping and also moved somewhat away from the bay, so not as cool as we had hoped. It was quite warm in Pinole, up Castro Ranch and throughout El Sobrante. While waiting for a stoplight to change in downtown El Sobrante, I remember thinking, "I can't believe it is so hot here! When is it going to get cool?" With the change of the light, I headed up a steep, but not too long climb. Approaching a ridge on the climb brought the cool breezes I had been looking forward to for some time. While cycling home through Richmond, I could feel the temperature dropping. I'm not usually very thankful for the cold wind that we get where I live. Mostly I find it too cold and with the fog somewhat depressing, but it was a welcome relief today.
That was a 4 water bottle ride! About 60 miles and around 4,700 feet of climbing for me because I rode to the start from home. Quite a lot for such a hot day. Also another no-picture ride. I spent all my non-riding time standing in the shade and drinking water.
Mid-week after-work training ride 8/30: This was a repeat of my ride alone on 8/23. It was a beautiful night for a ride. There wasn't even any fog when I left El Cerrito. In fact, it was pretty warm up those climbs. I used to hate riding alone, but last season I had to start doing it or I wouldn't have gotten the training in. Although I still prefer to ride with others, sometimes a ride alone is relaxing and comforting, especially on a familiar route and good conditions.
I like this route because there a lot less cars, at least on a week night, than on so many routes, so it feels quieter than many rides. At the same time, the route isn't so isolated that I feel worried if something were to happen to me or my equipment.
Lovely temps and blue skies almost the entire way. However, Inspiration Point is the dividing line between central county weather and west county weather. As I approached the top of the climb on Wildcat on my return, there is a slight curve in the road. As soon as I entered the curve, I would feel cooler temperatures and wind picking up. I stopped briefly to put on my jacket for the descending. Unfortunately, I left work a little later than I had planned and then BART was having some delays, so I got home later than expected and started the ride later. I still had about 25 minutes to go until home from Inspiration Point and darkness was coming on. The difference between getting home at 8 and 8:20 was really noticeable. Next week I'll have to leave work earlier. Because I was losing light, I didn't stop for any photos.
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| This picture is from two weeks ago. I thought I would throw it in so this last part wouldn't be all text. I'm at the Orinda BART station. |
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