jobob
01-25-2005, 10:22 PM
This is the second in a sporadic series of unofficial training rides in preparation for the events which seem to all be crammed into the month of April in Northern California, starting with the Cinderella and ending with the Top Hat Classic.
For those of you who live in the South Bay (or who wouldn't mind schlepping over here), how about a ride this Sunday the 30th, starting from my home in Union City (next to Fremont, northeast of San Jose).
We'll shoot for a 10 am start. Rain cancels, threat of rain I'll play it by ear. If I do cancel, I'll post it here by 8:30 am.
I live close to I-880 & 84 near the Dumbarton Bridge. Parking should not be a problem - I live on a quiet side street.
Please PM me for my address.
Here’s the plan:
We'll first head out to Coyote Hills park along the paved trail that runs along Alameda Creek, and circle Coyote Hills which is alongside the bay. It's really pretty out there right now with the green grass and the various birds & other creatures cavorting about. There are some short rolling hills here, nothing significant. Those of us feeling spunky can attempt my Nemesis Hill, which, I'm happy to report, seems somewhat less steep than at this time last year - must be continental drift or something - but since it's just an up and back, those less inclined can take a raincheck. You'd miss out on a nice view at the top though. After Nemesis we can head back along the Alameda Creek Trail, pass near my home (~10 miles elapsed at this point, for those who want to bail), and continue on the AC trail heading away from the bay, towards the Niles district of Fremont.
We'll get off the trail before that, and get onto Paseo Padre Blvd, which has nice wide shoulders and for the most part is very bike friendly, altho we will have a couple of moderately busy intersections to cross when we pass thru a commercial area, but that doesn't last for very long. We'll pass by Lake Elizabeth and continue on Paseo Padre. There's a shallow uphill incline here that goes on for a couple of miles – look a the bright side, we’ll go down it on our way back. We'll turn onto Washington Blvd, which is also wide and bike-friendly. Near the end of Washington Blvd (also a shallow uphill, oh well) at the intersection of Mission Blvd., is Mission Coffee.
Those who have had enough hills for the day can hang out at Mission Coffee, while the rest of us hang a right onto Mission Blvd. We'll be rewarded with a not terror-inducing-steep but nevertheless fun downhill run on a nice wide road, with a right turn near the bottom onto Durham and another gradual downhill on a good road where you can see just how fast you can crank it, yee hah ! But, as always, what goes down must go up, and in this case we make another right back onto Paseo Padre, and encounter a moderatley steep but not-toooo-long uphill. Once we get to the top (and give Jo a chance to catch her breath!) we meander through a quiet neighborhood which hooks us back onto Washington Blvd., where we rejoin whoever might be waiting for us at Mission Coffee.
After a well-deserved coffee/snack break (good oatmeal cookies!) we re-trace our route back to my place. This part of the ride is really fun because you're now going down that gradual uphill so the ride feels almost effortless. It's essentially flat from then on, except we might run into a headwind when we get closer to my place – less likely this time of year, though.
Total mileage: ~10 miles for the Coyote Hills loop, ~25 miles out to Mission Coffee and back, plus ~5 miles for the optional Mission/Durham/Paseo Padre hill loop, so we’re talking either 10 or 35 miles w. minimal hillage, or 40 miles w. one challenging hill. All these are *very* approximate - I may have overestimated the Mission Coffee & back part, I can't remember if it was 25 miles itself or 25 miles with the hill loop added on.
My average pace is around 13 mph - (much) slower uphill, faster down.
PM me if you'd like to join in so I can give you directions.
- Jo.
For those of you who live in the South Bay (or who wouldn't mind schlepping over here), how about a ride this Sunday the 30th, starting from my home in Union City (next to Fremont, northeast of San Jose).
We'll shoot for a 10 am start. Rain cancels, threat of rain I'll play it by ear. If I do cancel, I'll post it here by 8:30 am.
I live close to I-880 & 84 near the Dumbarton Bridge. Parking should not be a problem - I live on a quiet side street.
Please PM me for my address.
Here’s the plan:
We'll first head out to Coyote Hills park along the paved trail that runs along Alameda Creek, and circle Coyote Hills which is alongside the bay. It's really pretty out there right now with the green grass and the various birds & other creatures cavorting about. There are some short rolling hills here, nothing significant. Those of us feeling spunky can attempt my Nemesis Hill, which, I'm happy to report, seems somewhat less steep than at this time last year - must be continental drift or something - but since it's just an up and back, those less inclined can take a raincheck. You'd miss out on a nice view at the top though. After Nemesis we can head back along the Alameda Creek Trail, pass near my home (~10 miles elapsed at this point, for those who want to bail), and continue on the AC trail heading away from the bay, towards the Niles district of Fremont.
We'll get off the trail before that, and get onto Paseo Padre Blvd, which has nice wide shoulders and for the most part is very bike friendly, altho we will have a couple of moderately busy intersections to cross when we pass thru a commercial area, but that doesn't last for very long. We'll pass by Lake Elizabeth and continue on Paseo Padre. There's a shallow uphill incline here that goes on for a couple of miles – look a the bright side, we’ll go down it on our way back. We'll turn onto Washington Blvd, which is also wide and bike-friendly. Near the end of Washington Blvd (also a shallow uphill, oh well) at the intersection of Mission Blvd., is Mission Coffee.
Those who have had enough hills for the day can hang out at Mission Coffee, while the rest of us hang a right onto Mission Blvd. We'll be rewarded with a not terror-inducing-steep but nevertheless fun downhill run on a nice wide road, with a right turn near the bottom onto Durham and another gradual downhill on a good road where you can see just how fast you can crank it, yee hah ! But, as always, what goes down must go up, and in this case we make another right back onto Paseo Padre, and encounter a moderatley steep but not-toooo-long uphill. Once we get to the top (and give Jo a chance to catch her breath!) we meander through a quiet neighborhood which hooks us back onto Washington Blvd., where we rejoin whoever might be waiting for us at Mission Coffee.
After a well-deserved coffee/snack break (good oatmeal cookies!) we re-trace our route back to my place. This part of the ride is really fun because you're now going down that gradual uphill so the ride feels almost effortless. It's essentially flat from then on, except we might run into a headwind when we get closer to my place – less likely this time of year, though.
Total mileage: ~10 miles for the Coyote Hills loop, ~25 miles out to Mission Coffee and back, plus ~5 miles for the optional Mission/Durham/Paseo Padre hill loop, so we’re talking either 10 or 35 miles w. minimal hillage, or 40 miles w. one challenging hill. All these are *very* approximate - I may have overestimated the Mission Coffee & back part, I can't remember if it was 25 miles itself or 25 miles with the hill loop added on.
My average pace is around 13 mph - (much) slower uphill, faster down.
PM me if you'd like to join in so I can give you directions.
- Jo.