Saturday, February 28, 2009

Bosco's Bones-n-Brew Ride Report



We began arriving at the Devil Mtn shop at around 9:00 this morning for our ride to Sunol. The forecast was for cloudy skies with rain showers late in the evening and that turned out to be right on target. As usual, the folks at Devil Mtn were waiting for us with some coffee and all sorts of breakfast goodies. Aren't they great!?!

By the time we pulled out of the parking lot we had 16 bikes in the group. We rode through Pittsburg and Antioch emerging on Deer Valley Rd to the south. We turned onto Marsh Creek Rd and followed that to Vasco Rd and into Livermore. We zig-zagged through Livermore and joined Hwy 84 on the south side of town, following that all the way to 680 at the Sunol Grade. Instead of turning toward Sunol we turned east, following Calaveras Rd through the hills and along the west side of the reservoir. For some reason there were a lot of bicycles on Calaveras road today. And, as usual, they kept us on our toes as we maneuvered around them. In a couple of places they created a major hazard as we tried to dodge them. At one point in particular a car going the opposite direction stopped to make sure all the motorcycles in the group were able to safely get by on the narrow road. The bicycles overtaking the stopped car decided to pass, moving into our lane to do so. Of course this caused part of our group to stop to avoid colliding with the bicycles. There should be a law!!! Fortunately we were able to get by the bicycles without incident and continue on. We descended the hill into Milpitas and merged onto 680 heading north. We rode up 680 to the Calaveras Rd exit and turned west this time to Sunol and Bosco's Bones & Brew.


After parking we made our way inside and had a nice lunch. A few folks visited the bar area and watched Bosco pee in a cup. Yeah, really. You should check it out next time you're there.



Most of the group departed Sunol together after lunch and rode up Foothill to Bernal where we merged onto 680 north and home.

It was a great day for a ride with temps in the 60s and no precipitation, even though it was cloudy all day. A fantastic day spent riding with friends. Hopefully the rain will hold off tomorrow so we can do it again.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Bruce's 09' Delta Ride


We started out at the Devil Mountain shop at 9:00 this morning. This was an early departure compared to most of the rides so far this year. We heard several folks say that they almost missed the ride because they thought it was leaving at 10:00am, so we hope you didn't miss it due to the 9:00am departure.

There were 26 bikes as we headed east on Leland. We turned onto Century Blvd and made our way through town on 10th St and Wilbur Ave, merging onto Hwy 160 at the Antioch bridge. We crossed the bridge and turned right onto Sherman Island Rd and followed that all the way back to Hwy 160. Then it was a short distance up 160 to Brannan Island Rd to Twitchell Island Rd and then back onto Brannan Island Rd. We rode the levees along the San Joaquin and the Mokelumne Rivers and made our first planned stop in the boat launch parking lot next to Hwy 12. After a short break we were back on the road, merging onto Hwy 12 and then angling off to the right on Terminous Rd and on into Isleton from the back side. We turned onto Hwy 160 and then onto Tyler Rd about a half mile north of town. We followed Tyler Rd to Race Track Rd and made a brief stop to pay our respects to J.R. before continuing on or way. From there we rode up River Rd through Walnut Grove to Vorden Rd, Herzog Rd, Lambert Rd and back to Hwy 160. We turned north on 160 followed by a left turn onto Randall Island Rd and back on 160 again, this time heading south. We followed 160 for approximately a mile and a half before crossing the river and turning north on River Rd. We continued north to County Rd 143 and followed County Rd till we rejoined River Rd. and took that up to Clarksburg where we made our second scheduled stop.

Once back on the road we made our way over to Netherlands Ave and followed that for a few miles before turning onto Waukeena Rd. Then it was on to Courtland Rd, Ryer Ave, and Ryer Rd over to Howard Landing. At Howard Landing we boarded the ferry to cross Steamboat Slough and then made our way via Hwy 220 back to Hwy 160 and home.

The weather for most of the trip was nice, but as we neared the end of the ride it turned cold with the temp dropping into the 50's and the wind was picking up. As we rode home people began waving off and heading for home trying to beat the rain. The clouds looked dark and ominous, but I don't think anyone actually got wet. I had a passenger frantically insisting that we pull off in Antioch so we peeled off a couple of miles before we reached the destination, the Chinese Restaurant/Buffet on Somersville Rd. Hope everyone had a good lunch there.

At the pre-ride brief Bruce mentioned counting left and right turns. I don't know if anyone actually did, and I don't know how many of each there are. What I can tell you is that there are 55 (plus or minus a couple) turns with ample opportunities to turn in either direction. Definitely a good ride and another great day spent with friends.

See you on the next ride ...

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Nike Missile Site Ride Report




Even though the skies looked ominous this morning it turned out to be a very nice day. People began collecting at McGuire's at around 9:00 AM and there was a steady trickle of arrivals till we departed at just after 10:00 AM.

We staged two groups with 26 bikes total under the BART tracks as usual, and after sorting out who was going to ride in which group, we were on our way. We rode down Main St to Geary, to Pleasant Hill, to Grayson and then onto Reliez Valley. We went into single file formation as we made our way along Reliez Valley to Alhambra Valley and then to Pinole Valley. Though it didn't rain on us all day, the 'valley' roads were still a little wet from the rains late last night. We proceeded cautiously as we made our way over to I80 and headed south. We were only on I80 for a couple of miles before we followed the Fitzgerald Exit onto Richmond Pkwy and made our way through San Pablo and Richmond to 580. The left turn light from Castro St to the on ramp for 580 west is really quick, so all of group two didn't make the light and they weren't able to catch up before we reached the toll plaza. We pulled over just before the toll plaza to wait for them so they wouldn't have to pay their tolls twice. Aren't we considerate ;?) Once they caught up we proceeded across the bridge, took Sir Frances Drake Blvd to Hwy 101 south and exited at Madera Blvd in Corte Madera for our stop at the Safeway store. This was a 'bring your own lunch' ride, but some couldn't bring lunch so we factored in the Safeway stop so they could get some vittles. We expected to find group one there when we pulled in, but we didn't see a one of them. After getting food for those that needed it, we were on our way again.



We merged onto 101 south again for a few miles before exiting in Marin City onto Bridgehead Rd. As we rode through Tiberon we saw group one at the Safeway store there (that explains why we didn't see them in Corte Madera). They appeared to be lining up to get back on the road, but group two was now in the lead. We continued through Sausalito on Bridgehead and had a perfect view of Richardson San Francisco Bays on our left. As we exited Sausalito to the south we noted a flurry of police activity and some tow trucks. We didn't see where the accident had been, but there were a couple of crumpled cars left as evidence of a 'not so good' day for someone.

We then made a right turn onto Bunker Rd and paid our obligatory 5 min. homage to the signal light at the tunnel. Then it was our turn and through the tunnel we went. I dearly love the sound of a group of Harleys as we ride through a tunnel. Before we knew it we emerged back into the sunlight and were making a left turn onto McCullough Rd and headed up the hill overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. As we made our right turn onto Conzelman Rd we were treated to a beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay. We could see the GG Bridge, SF, TI, Angel Island, and the Bay Bridge all at the same time. Oh, and there was a blimp that just seemed to be floating over the bay. As I said, a beautiful view. We rode past the Point Bonita Lighthouse and up into the park.




We pulled over in the park for ten minutes or so hoping group one would catch up, but we got impatient and made our way down the hill to the Nike Missile Site. Group one finally arrived at the Nike Site while we were parking. Seems they'd had some bike problems that had delayed them a few minutes, but all was well now.



We brought our food over to the picnic tables and ate before touring the facilities. This is an impressive tour and if you haven't taken it yet you should put it on your list of places to visit.




All too soon it was time to go home. Some had left on their own, but most of the remaining riders returned as one group the way we had come.

A fantastic day for a ride and good conversation with friends. Let's do it again tomorrow!