Bike MS: Waves to Wine

[MojoGrrl]

Has anyone ever done this ride and have any info to share? I've signed up, trying to get my boyfriend to do it with me on the tandem as a team. Anyone in the greater SF Bay Area/Northern CA who's interested can join my team if you want, as well

[maillotpois]

I have done it twice and doing it again next year. What specifically do you want to know?

It is a GREAT cause and fun route. The support has improved (according to my sources) over the years.

Last year and this, my husband and daughter are doing it on the tandem. It is definitely a tandem friendly route.

[MojoGrrl]

Last year and this, my husband and daughter are doing it on the tandem. It is definitely a tandem friendly route.

That's great to know! We're trying to figure out the logistics of *getting* to the start with the tandem, as we are coming from out of town and we don't currently have a tandem-carrying vehicle...we might take the train to SF, trying to carry all of our gear and the giant bike, ha ha

[maillotpois]

That's definitely a challenge. Tandem and bags will be tricky. However, the start is quite close to the train station. Maybe one of you could ride the bike solo from the station and the other could take a taxi over with the bags?

[MojoGrrl]

That's definitely a challenge. Tandem and bags will be tricky. However, the start is quite close to the train station. Maybe one of you could ride the bike solo from the station and the other could take a taxi over with the bags?

Hmmm, good idea.

So, the ride itself - just how hilly is it? I can ride flat for hours, but I am pretty much new to serious hill climbing. I still have a few months to build up my climbing skills, though, and my boyfriend seems to think I'm capable of just about anything

[maillotpois]

Not sure what routes you are planning to do.

Day 1 - the 75 miler has a lot of rollers. No significant climbs, but repeated rollers. Perhaps 1 - 2 climbs of less than a mile - nothing too bad, though. The 100 miler has a climb, Marshall Wall, done form the easy side. That's probably 1 - 2 miles of real climb, totally doable.

Day 2 - neither route has any long climbs.

For any of the routes it would be really good to get some hill training under your belt to make you more confident and help you work on pacing. I agree with your boyfriend, even though I have never met you, you ARE capable of almost anything. It's largely mental - if you think you can do it, you can.

[aronan]

That's definitely a challenge. Tandem and bags will be tricky. However, the start is quite close to the train station. Maybe one of you could ride the bike solo from the station and the other could take a taxi over with the bags?

The problem is that the train station near the start is across the bay from the train station that the train from Davis stops at. Riders from Davis and Sacramento who are going to San Francisco have to get off the train at Emeryville station and take an Amtrak bus from there. So I am not sure how that is going to work with the tandem. You (MojoGirl) might want to make sure you can actually get your tandem to San Francisco via Amtrak.