The Three Bears - Nov. 27

[Veronica]

Nancy and I will be riding the three bears Sunday leaving from the Dead Fish Restaurant in Crockett at about 8:30. I've never done this ride before so don't know how far or how hard... but a little mystery is good. Let us know if you're interested in joining us.

V.

[aka_kim]

I'd hoped to join you ladies on this ride, but I tweaked my back over the holiday and an easy 15 mile ride today showed me that riding is not a good idea right now.

Have fun!

[Bike Goddess]

Kim- Sorry to hear! Darn it anyway! I promise, we'll do this one again! It's a great ride from the Carquinez Bridge.

[BikeMomma]

I'd hoped to join you ladies on this ride, but I tweaked my back over the holiday and an easy 15 mile ride today showed me that riding is not a good idea right now.
Owwie! I did that recently too. Mine lasted for about a week. I think I did it while running, though.

Sending warm heating pad healing vibes.....
BikeMomma

[Veronica]

Aww... Kim, I hope it gets better soon. We'll miss you.

V.

[aka_kim]

Well, tell us all about your ride. What was the "mystery" route you took? Did you head up Pinehurst or Wildcat?

I'm sorry I had to miss the ride, since yesterday's short ride was my first all week, and I do need some way to burn off those Thanksgiving calories. I've been having back problems since summer. Maybe it's time I went to the doctor (insert fear and loathing symbol here).

[snapdragen]

I've been having back problems since summer. Maybe it's time I went to the doctor (insert fear and loathing symbol here).

I was going to insert some cluck, cluck, mother hen noises and say something like Gee Kim, haven't you had problems since the summer? I'd say a doctor or massage therapist was in order missy! :D

[Veronica]

I arrived at our meeting spot a little early. My car said it was 43 degrees out. I figured I would pull Fluffy out and ride across the bridge to meet Nancy so I could warm up a bit before tackling our first climb.

But as I pulled out my bike I discovered that my rear tire was flat. Great. In my haste I had not thrown in the floor pump, just had my mountain morph and of course only one spare tube and my patch kit. I changed the tube - the tire had picked up a staple and I was putting it back on when Nancy and a friend arrived and the Benecia Bike Club.

Our first climb was up Cummings Skyway - which I had just driven down. It really wan't too bad - other than my worry about what I might have done wrong or forgotten in changing my rear tire. This was followed by a really nice, long descent into Martinez where the club stops for coffee and then returns to Benecia. A few of the club members seemed surprised that I was planning on doing the Bears on my "commuter" bike.

After the coffee break, it was just Nancy and I. We headed off to Pig Farm. This is about a three mile climb, fairly gradual, with a good pay off in the descent. We then turned onto Bear Creek Road and did what I believe to be Mama Bear. From this side, a fairly straight climb with a really nice view of the reservoir at the top. Nancy had told me Papa Bear was the last hill and had a false summit and we were going to stop at Briones before for water and bathrooms before doing it. Baby Bear must be one of the rollers between the two because poof we were at Briones.

At first I thought Nancy must have been joking about the false summit because when I got to it, there was a cheese hill sign - in the right direction! Woohoo!!!! I was flying, but alas the road did turn up again, but that brief, steep little downhill was a great break.

We then headed out to El Sobrante (I think) where we went to a bike store and stopped for lunch. I got a new tube at the bike store and they pumped my tire up the rest of the way. I had managed to get it to 60 with my little pump. The diner was pretty crowded and service was a bit slow. The french fries I had were good.

Nancy and I cruised back to our turn and as we started going towards Pig Farm, Fluffy developed some really odd noises. We eventually narrowed most of them down to being my pump bouncing a bit on the rack. But one was certainly a rubbing of something. The climb back to Pig Farm is not really long, but it's pretty steep at the end. I'd guess at least 9%. Next time I'll actually measure it. And everytime I pedaled, I could hear and feel this rubbing and all I could think was, "Something is stealing all my energy." It was kind of demoralizing.

I got to the top of Pig Farm and decided that I would call my best friend to pick me up, rather than tackle going back up Franklin Canyon with a mechanical. we whizzed back down to Martinez. My friend picked me up and we went up Franklin Canyon. Nancy was flying! She is one strong lady. I waited until Nancy arrived at the Dead Fish where she had half a cookie to fortify her for the rest of her trip home.

This is really a very pretty ride, through some nice countryside. In spite of my bad luck, I had a really good time and the company was most excellent! :D

I want to do it again. Thom didn't think it would be very tandem friendly, but the climbs aren't that long. I think we could slog them out.

My task this afternoon is to figure out what is wrong with my bike.

V.

[bikerz]

Sounds like a great ride, V - sorry about the mechanical trouble- that would be frustrating. Great write-up - since I just did it (well, just the 3 bears part if it) I could picture everything you described perfectly (although, I must admit, my memory has the hills seeming bigger and stretching longer!)

[jobob]

Sorry we didn't join you, but Lee's been having aches & pains so we figured we'd stay closer to home. Plus there's no way in creation we could keep up with you guys !

So we headed from home out to Alum Rock Park in San Jose (about 28 miles one way). Here's a view of the road leading into the park:
http://tinypic.com/hwirrk.jpg


And here are our "commuter bikes" :D , Pokey and Waldo, patiently waiting for us. (Lee now owns Waldo - note the "retro-grouch" shellaced cork handlebars and khaki saddlebag)
http://tinypic.com/hwit5l.jpg

After our snack stop in the park, we turned around and headed back, with a side trip to our favorite pizza place (Mission Pizza in Fremont, where we got together after the Mt. Hamilton ride) for a well-deserved 'za. We really like that Vegi Special pizza!

We were feeling good, Lee's knee/back/what have you wasn't acting up, so we bypassed our home on the return trip and continued on the Alameda Creek trail (a paved multi-use trail) out to the San Francisco Bay to bring our ride up to 64 miles. Late in the afternoon it was very pretty along the bay, and for once there was no screaming headwind on our way out to the bay - a very rare occurrence!
http://tinypic.com/hwitdv.jpg


It was sunny, clear, temps ranged from 50-60 degrees, and little or no wind. Pretty chilly for us thin-skinned Californians so the armwarmers, legwarmers and vests all stayed on throughout the ride. We even had to start out with long-fingered gloves but they were shed after 10 miles or so.

All in all, a fine day out !

[Bike Goddess]

Hey Jobob- Thanks for the pics! Great scenery. And the bay looks pretty serene as well.

I too had a great time. Since the service was slow in the cafe in El Sobrante (yes, V that is where we were) I got to hear more about V's class and what curriculum she is teaching. That was most entertaining AND I got some insight of what it's like to be a teacher these days (speaking as a former Resource Rm teacher). Not an easy job and not much support from the public as we all know. Thanks for keeping up the good work Veronica!

She didn't mention that when we were at the bike shop (the Pedaler), one of the guys offered to weigh our bikes. Veronica's topped out at 31lbs and mine at 24! I told her that if she dropped all that weight, I'd never catch up!

I've done this ride many times. It was much easier for me and with V's companionship (despite the mechanical problems)it was most enjoyable. I'll do it again if anyone wants to come along. My rides are always NO DROP rides. Sundays or Tuesdays are my riding days so saddle up folks and join the fray!!!!!