PCC Day 1

We had a noisy night next to the barking sea lions, but it wasn't too bad.  I didn't sleep well but I don't think it was the sea lions.  In part, it was because I was too hot.  I put too many clothes on before going to bed.

After breakfast, which was a very tasty breakfast burrito, we went just down the street to a Rogue Public House for photos. After pictures there, we hit the road out of town, led by John and Steve.  John is the brew master at Rogue and Steve is the captain of team Inbetweenie.

Rogue Public House was our starting point.

Although overcast, the weather was warn enough that I didn't put on any arm or leg warmers, which is practically a miracle me, especially considering I was getting dressed at 6:30 am.

After leaving Astoria, we rode for a while and then came into Seaside.  In Seaside we had a lovely ride along the car-free promenade, right on the water.

Somehow I missed the first rest stop in Canon Beach and just kept going.  There was some rolling and climbing, but nothing too strenuous.

One of the major challenges of the first day of riding is the Arch Cape Tunnel.  It is a narrow with limited to no shoulder.  To improve safety for cyclists, before entering tunnels there is a button to press which activates flashing lights on yellow signs to alert cars that cyclists are present.  Cars are supposed to slow to 30 mph. I'm not sure how many do.  Also, the lighting isn't great and the noise level is terrible.

Last year, I must have lucked out because I can't really remember having a bad experience or hardly any cars.  This year, not so lucky.  Quite a few cars went by, each direction.  It was a bit hair-raising, especially with the constant noise.  The one good thing I can say is that the tunnel isn't that long.

Lights and sign outside tunnel

This is a picture taken by another cyclist of the inside of the tunnel, showing the lack of shoulder.

 I saw the second rest stop because Ginger was at the curb with pom poms.  The stop was at a restaurant, but it was only 11:30 in the morning and I wasn't very hungry, so I took a PB&J half sandwich and continued after a short break.

Besides not being very hungry, I had an ulterior motive to eating light.  I planned to stop at the Tillamook cheese factory when I got to town and eat their samples.  I knew that would be at the end of the ride, in about 20 or 25 miles.

Just down the hill from the rest stop was a turn off 101 and on to some back roads through farming areas.  Last year we stayed on 101 the whole time, but on Sundays the traffic is fairly heavy, so one of the route changes this year was to get off the highway for a while.  It was definite improvement and the scenery was lovely; peaceful and relaxing.  The "detour" was 14 miles and then we returned to 101 to get into the town of Tillamook, riding along Tillamook Bay and enjoying the shining sun.

Relaxing cows on our 101 detour.

Sheep on the detour.

We camped at a different place this year, closer to town and across the highway from the cheese factory.  I arrived about 1:30 pm, which gave me plenty of time to take a shower and put up my tent before going to taste the cheese.

The factory was mobbed with people and there wasn't much going on in the factory to observe, but I did get a few samples.

Tillamook Bay

Cheese factory

Stats:
66.5 miles
2,928 feet of elevation gain

People's Coast Classic (PCC) Bike Tour for the Arthritis Foundation Day 00

9/11:  Today was a travel day.  I did some last minute packing, went to the ATM, packed a lunch and then set out on BART.  I sent my bike ahead to Newport Bikes about a week earlier and a few days ago sent my camping gear in the car with Jennifer from the Arthritis Foundation's San Francisco office, so I only had one rolling suitcase with me.

This was the first time I've used the connector between the coliseum station and the Oakland airport.  It was very easy to use and worked well.

Six of us were on the flight.  It wasn't a very  big plane.  In fact, it had propellers.  First time for me!

We arrived in Portland, collected our stuff, which included 4 bikes in boxes and cases plus various luggage and took a shuttle to the hotel. 

Kim and I got a good nap in before meeting the group for dinner.  We had a great time at the Kennedy School, a former elementary school that has been transformed into a hotel, restaurant, bar, and movie theater.  I'd like to come back and spend some time here.

That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will take a bus at midday to Astoria and start camping.

Propeller plan we took from Oakland to Portland.

Cycling enthusiasts in Oregon can have a license plate that shows their support of cycling.

Mary and Kim collecting their bikes at the oversized luggage claim.

Training Ride 9/5: Marin Loop

This is the traditional final group training ride before taking off for the Arthritis Foundation bike tour.  It is a beautiful route and we had great weather this year!  In my first year we were rained out.

Here we are, ready to start.  Some will do the California Coast Classic, others the People's Coast Classic in Oregon, and a few others were just along for the ride.

We started at the very far eastern end of Lucas Valley Road at McInnis Park Golf Center, a public golf course and ball field.  Actually, the street is called Smith Ranch Road at this location.  It changes its name to Lucas Valley after it passes 101.  We continued west all the way to the other end Lucas Valley Rd.  The sun was shining and it was fairly warm in the sun, but on the latter part of the road, which is mostly in the shade, it was still cold at that time of the morning. The road winds up and down for about 10 miles.  Much of it doesn't have any shoulder, but as a major cycling route, cars and bikes manage pretty well together.  Lots of lovely scenery, especially after passing the the mostly residential areas.

We regrouped in Nicasio.  I took my leg warmers off there and never missed them. We headed out together to the Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Highway.  Those doing the shorter route went left.  The rest of us went right to Hicks Valley Road.  Hicks Valley Rd. is a fairly quiet place with mostly dairy farms and a very small elementary school.  From there, we got even more rural on Petaluma-Marshall Road.  

The Marshall Road is one of my favorite sections of this ride, which has many great parts.  The condition of the road isn't great, but it is very quiet and restful.  It rolls up and down for about 8 miles with cows here and there and some sheep, too if you know where to look.  

At the base of the Marshall grade I waited for some of the others to join me.  While I was waiting a couple of guys drove up on an ATV pulling a small trailer with hay for the cows in the field behind me.  They heard or smelled them coming before I did.  They started mooing like crazy before I could tell what the fuss was about.  When the men entered the far side of the gated area, those cows high-tailed it over there for lunch.

Mailboxes on Marshall-Petaluma Road.

We headed up the climb.  It isn't that high, but the grade can be challenging, some of it is 10%.  I coughed most of the way up.  Something must have been blooming that affected my allergies.  I was rewarded with a great view at the top.  Almost no clouds at all.

View of Tamales Bay from atop the Marshall grade.

I headed down the other side to highway 1.  The ocean influenced air helped to get rid of that itchy feeling in my throat, but it didn't go away completely until the end of the ride.  

We headed south on highway 1, Tomales Bay sparkling beside us.  Despite being a holiday weekend, the car traffic wasn't too heavy.  We rolled up and down the highway to Pt. Reyes Station for our lunch stop.

After lunch we took Pt. Reyes-Petaluma highway to Platform Bridge Road so that we could connect with Cross-Marin trail and into Samuel P. Taylor park.   We took a lovely path that had been converted from a defunct railroad line.  We rode through a forested area amongst redwoods, ferns and many other flora. When the paved trail ended, half of us continued on the unpaved trail and half got on Sir Francis Drake Blvd.  The unpaved trail was about 3 miles.  It intersected with Sir Francis Drake again and we got back on the pavement.  A few miles down we turned on to Nicasio Valley Road where we met the half who took the paved road the whole way.

On the unpaved trail with Mary Arnone.

We went another 8 miles or so to Lucas Valley Road and took that all the way back to the starting point.

Stats:
72.29 miles
3,240 feet of elevation gain

Training Ride 9/2: Wednesday Night Ride

I met Mary at her house and we started our usual ride.  I was somewhat overdressed with both leg and arm warmers on.  When I changed at work, I was guessing at the weather by looking out the window and it didn't look very good.  I was also on my old bike with the upright handlebars. We have shipped my usual bike to Oregon the day before for the tour.

I considered taking off my extra items to cool off a bit, but I didn't feel like stopping to do it.  It wasn't too long, however, before I started to appreciate all the items I had on.  The wind came up and was cold.  Before we got to the top of Old Tunnel the clouds had come in and it was getting colder. 

Plaque on Old Tunnel Road showing where the old tunnel used to be.

Another plaque with more information about the tunnel.  Do you want to know where these are?  Let me know and we'll ride up there some time.

 We had a miscommunication with Kim and accidently missed her at Peets.  She was on her way up Old Tunnel so we rode back to meet her and then up to the top again.  We continued together up Grizzly Peak Blvd.  The light was fading due to it being a bit later than usual because of the meeting place mix up, the fog, and the sunset getting earlier every day.  

On the way down Grizzly Peak after steam trains, I ran over something in the road and got a flat. I pulled over a little above Centennial.  I was very happy to change the flat quickly, but I couldn't get wheel aligned right.  I kept rubbing on the brake. 

When it seemed that I wasn't going to be able to get it right and the light was fading, Mary called her husband to come pick us up.  After all the arrangements were made, I did fix it but it was nearly dark.  By that time I was getting pretty cold with the wind blowing on my sweaty clothes so I put on my jacket.   

While we were waiting, I saw some guy walking toward us in the darkness.  I was not alarmed but I was keeping an eye on him because it was an odd place to be walking, especially at that time of night.  Of all things, it turned out to be my boyfriend John!  On his way home from work he had passed us standing in the pull out waiting.  Even in the low light he could recognize our orange Arthritis Foundation jerseys.  He parked a little further ahead in the next shoulder and walked back to us when we didn't ride past him.  What a coincidence!

Since John was there and happened to have his bike rack, I went with him. While we were loading up, Mary's husband arrived and picked up Mary and Kim.  By the time I got into John's car, I was feeling extremely cold, especially my hands, due to the half finger gloves. 

John took me to Mary's house, where my car was and I drove home.  It felt like it took forever for my hands to warm up.  I had to get under a wool blanket once I was in the house.

Stats:
12.44 miles
1,922 feet of elevation gain.  As Mary pointed out, we had done all the climbing anyway, so skipping the down hill and flat miles wouldn't make a big difference.

Training Ride 8/30: Calaveras Loop

In previous training seasons I have done more rides that were on consecutive days to be prepared for a week of days in the saddle when on the bike tour.  I haven't done as much this year because it really sucks up most of the weekend and makes it hard to get anything else done.  However, I decided that as the end of this season's training was coming near, I needed to add a consecutive day of riding.  So, despite all the climbing the day before for Big Basin, I joined the California Deaf Wheelers for their monthly road ride on 8/30. 

Group picture before take off.

We met at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont and then headed through some residential streets to connect with Niles Canyon Rd.  It was much nicer than going down Mission Blvd., which is how I have gotten on to Niles Canyon with all the other groups I have ridden with. 

When we turned on to Niles we ended up behind a very large group on same route, Avila cycling.  I couldn't find any listing for them when I did a Google search.  I wish I knew more about them and what their event was.  Being behind this large group on such a narrow road, we were slowed down.  We regrouped at corner of Niles and Calaveras Rd, which allowed the Avila group to get ahead of us and spread out a bit.

Our group of about 10 people, turned on to Calaveras.  Calaveras rolls a little for a few miles and then begins a gentle climb.  I was worried that I'd be toast on the climb due to all the climbing the day before, but I took it slow and steady and everything was fine.  The guys on this ride are mostly faster than me, so I found most of them waiting in the shade at the false top where the dam construction entrance is.  It was pretty warm out and still a bit humid from the day before.

After regrouping, we continued on to the down hill and rolling sections.  There was a nice cool breeze once past the false top.  We met again at the top and then went down "the wall" and into Milpitas. 

I don't really know my way around this part of the Bay Area and there was no route sheet, so I tried to stick close to at least one other person at all times so I wouldn't miss a turn.  We took a variety of residential streets until we reached Mission Blvd. 

When I got to Mission, I'd gotten dropped by the people in front of me, but I knew someone was behind me, so I waited for him to arrive and tell me which way to go.  I thought it would be left, but it turned out to be right.  Good thing I waited.  After thinking about it for a while as I rode on, I realized I should have known to go right from the several times I have been this way with other groups.  Oh well.

We continued on Mission Blvd, where we found the others waiting for us near Ohlone College.  We continued together in a sort of pace line to Stevenson Blvd. and turned left.  We were almost back to the school and the end of the ride when our ride leader got a flat just before the last corner (Gallaudet Dr.)  He changed the tire quickly and we went around the corner and into the school's parking lot.  It was a nice warm day, but not too hot.  Because this was a relatively fast group, we got done before noon, which was great for me.  I had a bunch of chores waiting for me at home.

Stats:
38.88 miles
1,896 feet of elevation gain

Training Ride 8/29: Big Basin

This loop is one we do every year near the end of the training season.  Although not very long, it has a lot of climbing, (spread out into 3 sections) which is why it comes near the end.  It is also a very beautiful ride.

We started in downtown Saratoga. It was an overcast day but fairly humid day, so I took off in shorts and a light jersey.  The ride begins with a roughly 7 mile climb up highway 9 (AKA Big Basin Way and Congress Springs Rd.). 

Part way up highway 9 it started drizzling and continued all the way to the top and for some distance on Skyline.  When I got to Skyline Blvd. I had to clean the drops off my glasses because I could barely see.  

We rode for about 10 miles, basically to the end of Skyline.  Skyline didn't have too much traffic that day.  After the turn off to Los Gatos, it turns into a narrow, curving road with very little traffic.  It is a lovely and relaxing section.  I believe we saw only one car, one motorcycle, and one bike on that section.

Just before we reached the turn on to Bear Creek Road the sun came out and it was quite warm while we were there waiting for the regroup.   The ride on Bear Creek is mostly down hill for about 10 miles with a little bit of mild rolling.  The sun went behind the clouds before we reach Boulder Creek and stayed there for most of the rest of the ride.

We regrouped and had lunch in Boulder Creek. After lunch about half of us took some residential streets to get on Big Basin Way, traveling the opposite direction this time, while the others took highway 9 toward Saratoga.  Highway 9 cuts out about a thousand feet of climbing and some mileage also. 

Anyway, the group I was in continued on Big Basin Way, which is mostly moderate climbing, to Big Basin State Park. The road has a limited amount of traffic, has dappled shade and is tree-lined.  Just before arriving at the visitor's center we stopped due to a small tree down across the road.  Apparently, it had very recently happened.  The ranger who was monitoring traffic and people, said that the park had had quite a few trees coming down during the summer.  They have mostly lost Tan Oak and Douglas Fir.  She believes it is because they are stressed due to the drought.

We carried our bikes a short way over to a footpath and walked that briefly to get past the section of road where the tree had fallen.  We continued our climb up Big Basin Way thinking that there would be very little traffic since the tree was across the road.  It didn't seem to work out that way.  Either the tree was cleared very quickly, which was possible as it wasn't very big, or the traffic was people who were heading south turning around because the road was closed and going back north.  Although having continuous climbing is challenging for me, the grade is gentle and it is nice to be amongst the redwoods and ferns.  The road narrows near the top. 

It can be quite cold at the top, even on very warm days, but wasn't this time. After reaching the top, there is about 3 miles of twisting down hill road until the intersection with highway 9. We had a quick regroup there and then returned to climbing up Big Basin Way.  We stopped at view point about 2 miles below Skyline Blvd.  It was good to stretch my back.  The last two miles went by fast and then it was 7 miles of sweeping, twisting down hill into Saratoga.  This is an excellent road to go down.  We were lucky to have limited traffic sharing it with us. 

Stats:
57.17 miles 
Garmin reports 6,999 feet of elevation gain, which seems too high.  Ride with GPS reports 6,506; that's probably closer to being right.

Training Ride 8/26: Wednesday Night Ride

Mary and I took our usual Wednesday night route from Rockridge, up Old Tunnel Road and then up Grizzly Peak.  Most evenings it starts cool or turns cool and foggy by the time we reach the steam trains, if not before.  Tonight, however, it was a beautiful evening, allowing us to be out in shorts and short sleeves.  At the intersection of Grizzly Peak and Golf Cousse Rd., we regrouped and took a moment to appreciate how lovely the night was.

We continued through Tilden Park.  At the end of Wildcat Canyon Road where it intersects with San Pablo Dam Rd. I waited for Mary to catch up.  I was surprised to see two women leading horses pop out from a very small trail near the intersection.  They waited for the light to change at the corner, led the horses across the Dam Rd. and then continued on the horses on another tiny trail on the Bear Creek Road side.  Mary just missed them.

Horses crossing San Pablo Dam Road.

We continued down the Dam Rd. to the Orinda BART station and took BART back to Rockridge.  Even though the sun was all the way down and we had our lights on, it was still warm out.

Stats:
21.08 miles
2,126 feet of elevation gain