Actually, there was a precursor on Saturday, Sept 30 in the form of a bike ride in Marin County. A group of VeloRaptors and Rotarians started
in Nicasio, cranked the top of the Marshall Wall, made the exhilarating descent
into Marshall, then continued along Tomales Bay to Pt Reyes Station for lunch, before
returning to Nicasio for a post ride libation.
While the first half of the ride over Marshall wall was
terrific, Tomales Bay was nothing short of spectacular. Route 1 is flat and
smooth, and traffic was light. So we
just took in the views.
Fabulous view of floats
for the Oyster Pots
Lunch was at the Cowgirl
Creamery (https://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/pt-reyes-shop-creamery ) and I
enjoyed an affogato (in a paper cup) along with a tasty turkey sandwich.
Affogato!
Upon returning to Nicasio,
several of us enjoyed refreshments on the outside deck at the Rancho Nicasio
Bar and Restaurant
Blue Angels - Fleet Week
The great riding in
October started with a ride on the Bay Bridge Trail out to Treasure Island to
watch the Blue Angels practicing for Fleet
Week. We had prime viewing from the
Mersea restaurant, enjoyed a sandwich and cappuccino.
Food is good, and it seems
that you can reach out across the bay and touch San Francisco
Great view of the ‘Angels’
making a pass
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A couple of days later, on
my regular Sunday club ride I snapped this pic from Grizzly Peak Blvd.
ASTI Tour de Vine
This was one of the best
rides of the year. The ride is a tour of
the Sonoma county wine country, including Dry Creek Valley, Cloverdale etc. The ride starts and ends at the ASTI winery
and is hosted by the Cloverdale Rotary Club, and Oakland Rotary 3 (my club) had
7 riders participating.
Part of the route went through Cloverdale River Park along the Russian River
Very nice bike path
through the park
Grape
harvest was underway.
Robin and Steve enjoying
the route
The ride was incredibly
well supported, with 6 well stocked rest-stops along our 65 mile route. Most of
them featured homemade goodies, and I’ll give special mention to the peanut
butter cookies at the Robert Young rest-stop.
They were serving white wine at that stop as well (I passed on the wine).
One thing the rest-stops
did not offer was espresso, but never fear, we found a spot. The JimTown store on Route 128, an excellent
place for an unscheduled stop.
Mt Diablo
The great riding continued
on October 27 with a ride up Mt. Diablo. This was a 50 mile ride from Moraga,
along the LaMorinda Trail to Lafayette, the through Danville and out to the
south entrance to Mt Diablo. Once I
started up the mountain road was quiet, with few cars, clear skies and
temperature in the high 60’s. I had long
periods of zen, with the brilliant visuals, the muffled voices of the two women
riding behind, and the whispering rasp of my bike chain as I toiled up the 7
mile climb to the junction.
We decided to forgo the 4
mile climb to the very top. The descent
of the North route was exhilarating as always!
The
following day, Sunday (10/28) the group ride provided beautiful views from
Grizzly Peak Blvd as well as good times at our coffee stop in Orinda
Here are
four of our riders, trying out their Ho-Ho-Ho’s for the holidays.
End of October
The last day of October (Wednesday
– October 31), provided another perfect opportunity for riding. The regular group ride leaves from Montclair,
traverses the East Bay Hills to Moraga, and the heads north to Orinda. I was
served a very autumnal cappuccino made by Joe, at our customary coffee stop
- Café Teatro (Orinda Library).
After coffee, we climb
Wildcat Canyon Road and are treated to fabulous views of San Pablo Reservoir,
as well as a mile or so of 10% grade.
Wildcat wanders along the
ridge in Tilden Park, eventually intersecting Grizzly Peak Blvd. From there it
is a bit of a slog up Grizzly Peak to the top of the Berkeley Hills. On the other hand, the view out to the Golden
Gate is a real treat.
