Wednesday, November 7, 2018

October Cycling in SF Bay Area - 2018

Must be something about the fall air.  It’s been awhile since my last blog post, and I’ve been waiting for inspiration. It arrived with the clear skies, warm temperatures and autumnal colors of October. 

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. 

Chris and Pauline enjoying Route 1 along Tomales Bay 









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 
Mersea  is an interesting as it is a unique container style restaurant and bar.  /http://www.mersea.restaurant/


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. 

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