Tour di Stupid (Lite) planning thread

[maillotpois]

Can someone give me directions? I suppose the park is listed in my GPS, but just in case. And meeting time?

[jobob]

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...

[aka_kim]

Yep, 8am at Alum Rock is A-OK. But about that LeeBob character ...

[Veronica]

Will there be pizza after?

I don't mind going if a lunch is provided. But I must be fed.

Veronica

[jobob]

Excellent idea!

I propose Mission Pizza (off I-680 at Washington Blvd in Fremont) unless anyone has another suggestion.

[andtckrtoo]

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. I'm looking forward to meeting y'all!!!

[jobob]

Glad you can join us, att!

[melissam]

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

[andtckrtoo]

GRRRR!!! I have to drop out. My hubby made plans with his boss and his wife, so I have to be there.

[jobob]

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 ).

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 )

Despite my sluggitude - I can't believe I was contemplating the 98 mile version, who was I kidding? - it was a wonderful ride with dear friends.

What's next?

[Veronica]

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.

Veronica

[dachshund]

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?

[Blueberry]

What?? No pictures?!?! Sounds like a great ride

[maillotpois]

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.

[jobob]

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.

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.