Bay Area ride Sunday - 30-35 miles?

[bikerz]

Melissam and I are planning a 30-35 mile ride on Sunday - something not too hilly, not too hot (if possible), mostly to get a some distance in. (Sorry Cindy-Sue - I'm not ready for Diablo yet! )

One idea we had was to do the Calaveras loop (whichever direction lets us come DOWN "the wall"!).

Anyone want to come along?

Anyone have any other ideas for routes? East Bay? Marin? Peninsula?

[jobob]

I'd love to join you, and I'll bet I could talk LeeBob into it as well. He'd really like to see the new Seven.

We could start in Sunol and ride most of Calaveras and turn around before we reach the wall, and head back into Sunol. That would be roughly 30 miles and about 1200 ft of climbing. For apres-ride snacks there's a little coffee shop in Sunol, or the general store has an excellent selection of Haagen-Dasz bars. In a way I prefer the latter, hanging out on the porch of the store enjoying my ice cream & watching the world go by.

Or, if you'd like to do a longer loop, we could start from the Niles Staging Area & head up Niles Canyon Blvd. to Sunol, then head over Calaveras then go down the wall, pass Ed Levin Park, then hang a right and follow a moderately flat route (er, except for some slogs up Warren & Misson Blv.). At the top of Mission we could reward ourselves w. smoothies at Mission Coffee and then roll downhill the remaining 4-5 miles back to the staging area. All together that would be about 38 miles and about 1800 ft of climbing.

[cindysue]

Dependent on when you finish maybe I could join you for the after-ride party. Would love to see you all and that sexy new bike BikerZ - it's been way too long!!

[bikerz]

Wow - that sounds great - I just got back from the Bears, take 2 - and it was better than last week's (thank goodness! - 8.5 minutes faster, and an average mph improvement of .7 mph. I think it is mostly heat-related.)

So - tomorrow -

I'm leaning towards option 1 - head to the wall and then back. Ice cream on the porch sounds nice, and an extra treat if Cindy Sue can join us!

The main thing is the heat factor - What do you guys think abuot heat and start times?

We have to go back to the LBS shortly so I can get new pedals, cleats, and shoes (and pay fro the new bike!) - I'll check in later this afternoon and we can firm up plans.

[jobob]

Excellent ! That'll be a nice ride. If the weather is anything like it was today, heat won't be an issue.

Today I did a loop up Palomares, over Crow Canyon & Norris Canyon, and down San Ramon & Foothill Rds. into Sunol. It was pretty chilly up until I reached San Ramon. As a public service, I checked on the Haagen-Dazs & Ben & Jerry's ice cream bar supply at the store in Sunol, and I'm happy to report that they're very well stocked! ... er, sans one H-D vanilla w. dark chocolate coating

While I was hanging out in Sunol I was talking with a guy from my club who was doing an out & back over Calaveras. He had a nice Seven Axiom, which he bought from Robinson WW!

He told me that there's a bald eagle(!) nesting in an old electrical tower that's no longer in use, which you can see off of Calaveras. Evidently a lot of people have been heading out there with their cameras w telephoto lenses to try to snap pixs of the eagle from the road. So we can keep our eyes peeled for photographers along the route and perhaps even see a bald eagle if we're lucky.

Well well, lookie what I found http://www.pbase.com/tgrey/image/77988640

[jobob]

By the way, the best place to park in Sunol would be the lot in front of the Sunol Glen School, which is on the corner of Main St. & Bond St. in Sunol. A lot of rides start from there.

While there aren't any 'facilities' there, there are several well maintained porta-potties at the far end of the lot at the Sunol Train Station, which is at the corner of Main St. and Kilkare Rd., about 1/2 mile away from the school.

[cindysue]

Well well, lookie what I found http://www.pbase.com/tgrey/image/77988640

neato!!

Hey - weren't you signed up for LRRH?

[bikerz]

Jo - that ride and the starting point sound great!

What time shall we meet? Looks like it will take us 40 minutes or so to get there. Given that the heat won't be much of a concern, what time would you like to meet?

And Cindy, when can we see you? It HAS been way too long!

(I'll be sporting my new Sidi shoes and DA look-style pedals!)

A chance to see a bald eagle - wow!

- Ann

[jobob]

How's about 10 or 10:30? Lee & I will probably ride out to Sunol (it's 15 miles from our place) so we'd need to leave home about an hour before that. That way we wouldn't need to get up really early.

Cindy, yes, I was supposed to be at LRRH today. But Lee & I returned this past Sunday night from Lee's mom's funeral in Hawaii, and I wasn't sure I was up to more travelling so soon after I got back. But then Trekhawk made the decision very easy for me, she called me while I was still in Hawaii to tell me that her husband had an unexpected work assignment this weekend and she wouldn't be able to go to LRRH after all. Since she & I were going to drive out there & room together, I thought it was a good oppotunity for me to bail out as well.

[bikerz]

10:30 it is! We'll see you guys at the Sunol Glen Elementary School!

I'm looking forward to it!

[maillotpois]

Hope you guys have a great ride!!

That bald eagle is amazing. The family and I were up near Petaluma a couple of weeks ago and swear we saw what we thought was a bald eagle. We had binoculars and were able to clearly see a white head on what was a huge raptor. Maybe they're coming back?

[jobob]

Yep, we had a great ride indeed.

In part because WE SAW THE EAGLE !!!

Oops, dinner's about ready, gotta go. mwbr.
Yeah, I suck, what of it?

[melissam]

Whew, what a fun ride! It'd been years since I'd been on Calaveras, and it didn't disappoint. Let's see, as Jobob mentioned, we saw the Eagle. Between the four of us, we also saw: a bobcat (Leebob & BikerZ almost crossed paths with it as they were descending one of the rolling hills), a family of quail, a couple of hawks, some lizards, and a snake carcass.

We had a casualty: bikerz's lovely Seven's handlebar tape got a bit scratched after a chain drop/clipless pedal catastrophe. Her ankle and front wheel also bear evidence of the fall. On the brighter side, the racer boys coming up the hill gave her a perfect 10 on the dive. Frankly, sports fans, I gave her a strong 9 on the fall -- to get a 10 you have to do something extraordinary, like land right side up on the wheels. But then again, I am a little critical.

Jobob and I rode back to the parking lot, so I could come back to get BikerZ and her wounded Seven. Wait, strike that. Jobob towed me back to the parking lot. I got to drive Ann's TT (hee hee!) to SAG her in. Meanwhile, Leebob escorted BikerZ, who was descending Calaveras with no front brake, one foot unclipped, and a wobbly front wheel.

Let's just say that Leebob is the epitome of chivalry & kindness, encouraging BikerZ up Calaveras and its rolling hills, as well as hanging with her during the nailbiting descent. If you ever want a thrill, put your wheel out of true (so much so that it rubs against the brakes), and descend a few miles.

Ahem, anyway, after we were all safe & sound back at the parking lot, we decided to get something to eat. We ended up at Bosco's Bones & Brew in Sunol. If you're ever there, be sure to go to the bar and order Bosco's ale, just so you can watch them pour the beer. I won't say anything more, as I don't want to spoil the surprise.

We had a lovely set of appetizers, but I think we all enjoyed the stuffed Portabello mushrooms the most. Wow. And the sauce went really well with the garlic bread we'd ordered.

And, if that weren't fun enough, Jobob & I got to stay for another beer while BikerZ took Leebob back to get their car. Tough choice -- ride 15 miles into the headwind, or stay & have another beer while they get the car.

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all, and BikerZ's Seven will be patched up & as good as new in no time.

[jobob]

Tough choice -- ride 15 miles into the headwind, or stay & have another beer while they get the car.

Avert your eyes, coach!!

Ack, bus-ted...

[Veronica]

What a fun day. Can you plan this ride again - like next weekend?

V.