Saturday, August 27th in Monterey?

[Adventure Girl]

Would anyone be interested in doing a very easy, very fun and very scenic 50ish mile ride on Saturday, August 27th? This will not qualify as TE's Girls Hill Training Program because there are no hills! I’ve done this ride many times. It is just for fun! There are no lung-burning climbs or 50-mile per hour headwinds. It's really good for your ego because your average speed will be so much faster than on regular rides!

It starts in Marina just outside of Monterey. It goes along the bike path by the coast for about 10-12 miles or so. There is a 2-3 mile section that has pretty heavy foot traffic (along Cannery Row and the Monterey Warf). The bike path ends and there is a short stretch along the coast to get to the entrance of the 17-mile drive to Pebble Beach.

Let me know if it sounds like something you want to do. My schedule is kind of hectic, but if there’s any interest, we can check other dates.

P.S. to SadieKate: This will not help with your climbing goal! Over the 50 miles, you might get to the 50th floor of the ESB!

[bikerz]

I SO want to do this - a nice longer ride with no whopper hills sounds so great!

(Trek - this counts as base miles, right?)

I might have access to a place where a couple of us northerners could crash in Santa Cruz - I'll start seeing what the options are there...

Thanks AG - it sounds really nice!

[Veronica]

Please do this ride again in October when I'm done with my globe trotting. We've done 17 mile drive before, but I thought there were some hills in it. It is VERY beautiful.

V.

[SadieKate]

P.S. to SadieKate: This will not help with your climbing goal! Over the 50 miles, you might get to the 50th floor of the ESB!

Awww, thanks for thinking of me. Purty works also! I'm actually hoping you'll schedule a mtbike day some time. I keep hearing about the trails in your nek-o-the-woods. Might even plan an overnighter for that.

Until our house situation in OR gets figured out I can't quite pin down my schedule yet. I might know more after the weekend but I'm having to hang loose. The original plan was nixed and Plan B has yet to be formulated.

I have pencilled it in Outlook so I don't forget!

[aka_kim]

That's a 2 hour drive for me, but wait, that's nearly how long it took to get home from work today!

Count me as interested. August, September, October? - I don't know, my "schedule" is a mess right now.

[BikeMomma]

I'm interested, AG! I'll pencil it as well, but I'll need to check with the hubby to make sure that he's willing to hold down the home front.

What time were you thinking? It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive for me...I might want to just find a cheap room for the night if we meet really early.

Fun fun! I looovve Monterey!

[slinkedog]

VERY interested! The only caveat is that my dh has a college buddy coming into town that weekend and I think that's the day they're going (and taking Jonathan) to Sonoma for some car race at Sear's Point. If so, I may not be able to do it unless I can arrange for someone to watch Elizabeth and Mallory for the day. This sounds really fun and I hope I can make it!! I'll keep you posted!

[Adventure Girl]

I hope you all can make it. As for what time, I'll leave it up to you. I live about 15 minutes away, so time doesn't matter to me. We can do it again in October if that works for other people's schedules. I do it all year around. For a while, I did the first half of it as a night ride with a group.

I rode the course by myself this weekend. I recalibrated my computer so it should be pretty accurate. It’s a little less than 50 miles. My computer shows 46.44, but I did a little hill section 2 times. Total climbing was 1,582 feet.

I started around noon, and it did get a little windy, but it wasn't that bad. The winds are hit and miss around here, as is the sunshine.

As it gets closer to the date, let me know who's interested. I'll post info on the meeting place. Does anybody have suggestions for a starting time?

[BikeMomma]

Ok, the home & kids are covered, Hubby's agreeable.... Time? Ummm...say 10:00/10:30? That should allow me to drive over in the morning without having to shack up somewhere overnight.

Where in Marina could we meet? I think that's the area I usually pass through on the way to Monterey from Los Banos/Atwater over Pachecho Pass. I recognize the name.

[bikerz]

10 am sounds good to me - avoiding heat/wind if possible is always good in my book!

AG: I have a question - you said the ride is basically flat, but the total climbing was 1,582 feet. Is it mostly a bunch of small up and downs? I'm just curious -- I got my new mountain cassette on my bike the other day, so I don't mind some climbing since I can see how these new gears work...

[SadieKate]

BikerZ - you climbed more than that on Diablo, in one non-stop unrelenting climb. Almost 2,000 ft up and up and up.

[bikerz]

Thanks SadieK - AG just PM'ed me with pretty much the same info! I geuss I need to work on my "rep" as Miss Hill-Climbing Anxiety 2005!

I guess I wasn't thinking about the feet of climb over the feet of distance - AG put that in perspective for me! I'm learning, I'm learning!

Now I have to got home and ride up Old Tunnel Rd!

[SadieKate]

Thanks SadieK - AG just PM'ed me with pretty much the same info! I geuss I need to work on my "rep" as Miss Hill-Climbing Anxiety 2005!

Yeah, put this down as one of your goals or AG and I will just keep whacking you over the head simultaneously! I was there last winter and look what I've done. The TE Girls' Hill Training Program is very effective. You just have to believe in your powers.

[bikerz]

BikerZ - you climbed more than that on Diablo, in one non-stop unrelenting climb. Almost 2,000 ft up and up and up.

Ahem... not *quite* non-stop...

Well - this weekend I'm riding from San Francisco to Tiburon and back (36 miles?) There should be a couple of good hills in there!

[SadieKate]

Ahem... not *quite* non-stop...

Well, the hill was non-stop. You . . . you were the Persevering Peddler! That's all that counts.

San Francisco to Tiburon sounds like a nice ride. Have fun!