Yay! (well, not the turning around bit, of course)
Printable View
Yay! (well, not the turning around bit, of course)
Decisive as ever, I'm still a maybe. Maybe I'll attempt the full ride. Or maybe I'll just do an out and back to the top of Hamilton. Or maybe I'll just ride to the foot of Hamilton and turn around. Or maybe ...
However you do it, it'll be great to see you Kim!
Glad to know you're so dependably you.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by aka_kim
Bubba was doing a lot of whining this weekend. Demonstrated his "30 whines in 30 secs" for someone. Nostaglia . . . .
I'm in! I feel like the co-instigator of this ride, so I can't really back out at this point. People might think I'm a chicken or something. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by maillotpois
Disclaimer to follow:
===============
I also haven't been riding much -- I'm starting to admit that it's not just a taper. So I might be BEHIND the autobus. Or hanging out with LeeBob in the Element.
OTOH, my housemates and colleagues would be happy to confirm the ways that I have been cross-training for the Tour di Stupid.
Just shoot me now....
Did that someone almost pee in his/her pants laughing, like the first time I was subjected to it? :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Or something. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by melissam
Did it involve lifting mass quantities of adult beverages, perchance? :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by melissam
Since pretty much everyone has either not ridden much lately, or has to be someplace later in the day (damn! I wish I though of that one!!!), could we perhaps consider scaling back on the stupidity a bit ?
Like, maybe, up to the summit of Hamilton and back down the way we came?
Oh geeze, I can hear maillotpois yelling "wuss!" :D
Isn't that still something like a 60 mile ride? I mean I wouldn't exactly sneeze at it...Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
But I love that descent down Mines.. :(
I'll do whatever the collective wants to do. (Resistance is futile.)
Well I'm bettin' my $.05 that somebody's going to want to do the whole thing, despite claims to the contrary.Quote:
Originally Posted by maillotpois
See, now I want to see the descent down Mines. So we'll have to schedule it again later just for me. :D
It's been an intense and varied training program of stupid activities. Sometimes they involved mass quantities of adult beverages, sometimes they didn't. What can I say? I'm flexible.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
A-choo!! :p ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by dachshund
I am lazy, moderately fat and uninspired. My daughter has logged more miles than I have this month. (She did a 90 miler yesterday as training for Tucson.) So I am up for the scenic up and back, the out and down to the biker bar, or whatever you guys want to do.
A shorter version might be doable...
Veronica
I sense a trend. :cool:
Let me know when you reschedule the long one and I'll SAG but it probably doesn't make sense to haul my behind over there for a 60 mile out an back :p ... I at least want to be 'needed' :p:p:p
You're right Trac', it looks like we won't be needing your help after all - but thank you so much for offering!!
Hopefully we'll whip our collective lazy butts into shape and get motivated for Tour di Stupid Redux
OK, now that collective wisdom has prevailed and we're settling for a somewhat shorter version, we have more flexibility in our starting location.
If we start from the Fremont BART station, to the top of Mt Hamilton & back would be about 75 miles roundtrip.
If we start from the vicinity of Alum Rock Park, it would be about 40 miles round trip. But, if that isn't enough and one feels compelled to punish oneself further, Sierra Road is only about 5 miles due north of Alum Rock. Just sayin'. :cool:
Any thoughts?
yes!!! ;) definately... I love to do SAG and be involved so please let me know (in case I'm not paying attention :rolleyes:) so I can come down. I'm not in shape to ride those long rides so at least I can do something cycling related and meet/hang with friends!Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
We'd like the closer start at Alum Rock.
Veronica
I second that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Can someone give me directions? I suppose the park is listed in my GPS, but just in case. And meeting time?
Well, if we do Hamilton up & back from Alum Rock, we can start a little later - how about 8 am?
Hopefully that would still give dachsund plenty of time for her afternoon commitments.
The entrance to Alum Rock Park is at the end of Peneticia Creek Road in San Jose. There is a lot just before the toll gate where you can park for free. Hopefully it won't be filled up before 8 am. If it is, you'll either have to pay to enter to park inside the park, or find a place to park in the nearby neighborhood.
Directions from points north:
Take I-680 South to the Berryessa Rd exit, head east on Berryessa, turn right on Piedmont Rd, left on Peneticia Creek Road, and keep following that road until you reach Alum Rock Park.
So, meet at the parking lot at the entrance to Alum Rock Park at 8 am?
BTW, LeeBob will be joining us. Hope that's OK... :D
Yep, 8am at Alum Rock is A-OK. But about that LeeBob character ... :p
Will there be pizza after?
I don't mind going if a lunch is provided. But I must be fed. :p
Veronica
Excellent idea!
I propose Mission Pizza (off I-680 at Washington Blvd in Fremont) unless anyone has another suggestion.
I guess as I'm technically the one who got the discussion going, I'd better come back out of lurk mode and join y'all!! I originally was thinking that I was in no shape to ride the whole loop, but now that it's shorter, I know I can handle it. :D I'm looking forward to meeting y'all!!!
Glad you can join us, att!
Whoo hoo, less than 24 hours until the Tour di Stupid Extra Extra Lite! Looks like we're going to have unseasonably warm weather for our jaunt up Mt. Hamilton. :)
Can't wait to see you all tomorrow. We have quite the guest list:
Jobob
Leebob
Maillotpois
Veronica
Thom
Kim
Dachshund
Andtckrtoo
Yours truly
Anyone else?
- Mel
GRRRR!!! I have to drop out. My hubby made plans with his boss and his wife, so I have to be there. :mad::mad:
It was a great ride - sorry you had to miss it ATT, but we'll do another ride sometime soon.
We all gathered at about 8 am at Alum Rock. It was nice to see maillotpois - I hadn't seen her in ages. An old friend of mine (and a former client in my law firm days), Gerald, also joined us with his friend Hugo.
We first headed through the park. They just opened the restroom inside the park and we took full advantage. Then we wended our way out of the park via Alum Rock Road (closed to vehicles) and then down the open part of Alum Road Road and cut across Miguelito to reach Mt. Hamilton Road. There we regrouped, and those of us wearing jackets shed them there - it was clearly going to get warm!
Then we headed on up. I promptly fell of the back but many, especially mp and mel, hung back with me. :) Still, my almost total lack of riding over the last few weeks was really taking its toll. I was feeling like crud in no time and I started getting a headache by the time I reached the top of the climb out of Grant Ranch Park. grrrr.
Thom and V needed to get back so they turned around at that point. It was really neat to hear about the progress on their tandem - hopefully we'll see it in the flesh (in the steel?) by the end of the year.
Some whining and ibuprophen later, I continued on with Mel, but I have to admit, with much less enthusiasm than before. I met up with Lee & Sarah (or was it Lee & Mel - gah, my brain was fried) who were waiting for me farther on up. I told them that I was probably going to find a nice shady spot a bit farther up the road and call it a day, and wait to join them on the way back down.
Which I did, in a couple of places in fact. I found a nice shady switchback where I hung out and admired the scenery and listened to the woodpeckers tapping on the trees. It was really nice. Then after a while I trudged on up to the large pullout where there's a perfect view of the observatory. It's so close it seems you can reach out & touch it, but in reality there's still about 2 miles or so of climbing left to go on account of all the switchbacks that zigzag along the mountain at that point. I could just see Lee in his bright red Harris Cyclery wool jersey (which I might add he looks quite fabulous in, not that I'm biased or anything :p ).
After a while I thought I'd trudge on further, but after about 1/2 mile I saw a little line of bicyclists (led by the aforementioned red jersey) heading away from the observatory so I pulled over and awaited their arrival.
The descent was a bit spotty in points - wherever there was a sharp right curve alongside the mountain there'd almost always be rocks & dirt in the road kicked down by a vehicle brushing alongside the mountain - so it had to be taken a bit cautiously. But past Grant Ranch Park the road was repaved and the turns were generally less sharp so that part of the descent was an absolute delight.
After we reached the bottom of Mt Hamilton Road we bypassed Alum Rock Park and took the flat & non-scenic route back to the cars. Still, it was nice to ride for a couple of miles on dead-flat roads.
We then headed off for pizza at Mountain Mike's on Alum Rock Road. I didn't know it was there so this is definitely a good place to know about for after-ride carbo-replenishment, they made a darn good 'za. (Hopefully next time there won't be a big birthday party going on and we won't need to sit right next to the air hockey table, though :D)
Despite my sluggitude - I can't believe I was contemplating the 98 mile version, who was I kidding? :D - it was a wonderful ride with dear friends.
What's next? :cool:
It was a lovely day for a ride. I thoroughly enjoyed actually looking at the scenery for a change. There are just some amazing views on that ride.
My favorite post ride food of late has been cheesy macaroni bites bites from Jack in the Box. They are actually not THAT bad for you.
Cheesy Macaroni Bites 3 pc Calories: 220 Calories from fat: 110 Grams of fat: 13
Of course I do pair them with a shake. :rolleyes:
Veronica
That really was a fabulous ride. The weather was Perfect, what a treat! I was watching the woodpeckers, too, they're quite entertaining. I was having a good day, so after the rest stop I decided to try to keep up with Gerald and Hugo, who were slightly ahead of me. They must have gone back down hill pretty quickly, though, I didn't see them milling around at the top. Maybe we forgot to mention that it's tradition to hang out and enjoy the view for a while. :)
Jo, I thought Lee looked pretty stylish in that red jersey. Good choice!
I hope they pave more of that road. The second half of the descent was fun, the upper section, not so much...
It was really nice to see everybody. Hmm... where should we go next? :rolleyes:
What?? No pictures?!?! Sounds like a great ride:)
It WAS a super fun ride! Sorry about the no pictures, Ca. Seriously, the view was worth some pics. Hmm. and I remember, come to think of it, that dachsund had a pic taken at the top.... Maybe someone's holding out on us. :rolleyes:
I saw them on their way back down while I was at my first hang out place (the switchback). They had to get back for family obligations and stuff. I originally told them I thought the ride would take only about 4 hours - oops. :oQuote:
Originally Posted by dachshund
Lee mentioned afterwards "that Amy is a climbing machine!" :)Quote:
Originally Posted by dachshund
50% fat is "not that bad for you?" :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
I'm not even doing the math on my post-ride bacon and grilled onion Pilot Butte burger with "small" fries. Uh-uh. At least I did not have a shake and the burger had a lot of lettuce and tomato.;)
All depends on what else you eat. I consider my intake as a whole and my regular daily daily fat consumption is pretty low.Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Veronica
That was awfully nice of him to say. Please tell him "thank you" from Amy. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
This one turned out OK. If you squint you can see Mel and Sarah.Quote:
Originally Posted by maillotpois
Attachment 7935
I cajoled Mel into taking my "big grin on top of Mt. Hamilton" pic.
Nice one, Mel, you managed to catch Lee and his red jersey. :D
Attachment 7936