It was a classic “you couldn’t ask for better weather” ride yesterday. After a night of mild rain we were greeted by clear skies and bright sunshine. As well as chilly temperatures. But the wind was calm and the Bay was classic flat water. The January Social Ride went to Treasure Island by the eastern span of the new Bay Bridge, explored the island, returned, and then went up to Assemble in Richmond on the water. Derek was the only casualty of the day when his e-bike battery mysteriously gave up the ghost not long after the start. By trading batteries and head units we were able to pin the problem down to his battery, which oddly enough indicated it had a full charge yet would not provide any power. So he had to return to MacArthur BART while the four of us—Roger, Jim, Roger Sayre, and I—proceeded on. It was Roger Sayre’s first time on the Alex Zuckerman path and he proceeded to take photographs liberally. With the old span completely gone, the view to the South Bay is unobstructed and marvelous now. There still isn’t much to see on Treasure Island except for the exceptional views of both SF and the East Bay from the shoreline. Afterwards we went back to the East Bay and headed up the Bay Trail to Assemble. Because we had dawdled we got there pretty late—2 p.m.—but there was still a hefty lunch crowd. Needless to say the food was pretty damn good. I had a bowl of homemade clam chowder, the others had omelets or other breakfasty food. Roger complained that his house fried potatoes were not fully cooked—an unusual error at Assemble. On the other hand I had to have a plate of fries and they were perfect. Back to MacArthur BART after a pleasant jaunt along the bayshore!
The Chain Letter 