Last year is so last year. And don’t we just move on to the next thing and wipe our memory regardless of how awesome or gruesome it all was? Here’s one last look at lowlights and highlights of 2023 before we consign it to the historical dustbin.
The year started off with a whimper when the January 1 Resolution Ride had to be cancelled. It wouldn’t be the first time it was cancelled due to rain. But this time it was due to the effects of the New Year’s Eve atmospheric river that caused North Gate Road to collapse and closed all of Mt. Diablo State Park. Everyone else had the common sense to find something else to do. But Roger and I had to break in the new year with a ride. So we went for a ride out to Redwood Road only to discover…a huge section didn’t exist anymore again due to the storm. It still doesn’t exist today! It turned into a cyclocross day with plenty of walking, mud, and a long clean up afterwards.
The lowest of lowlights had to be David Sexton’s murder. On July 1 David was murdered—oh excuse me, he was a victim of ‘vehicular manslaughter’ since getting murdered by car drivers has its own lesser category—when he was hit in Richmond, CA while cycling to Napa to visit Gordon. At the time the police indicated they knew who did it. But no arrest has been made to date. David was much loved in the club and his loss is/was a hard one. Although a lot of Spokers have passed over the years, very few have been due to car drivers; the last one was Dennis Nix, who was a club secretary in the late 90’s, who was killed in 2015 by a hit-and-run driver in San Francisco.
The incredible rainfall in the first quarter of 2023 was the other lowlight. Although the prolific atmospheric rivers—33 altogether, I believe—finally ended the multi-year drought, it made cycling even more character building. Every single club ride in March was either cancelled or postponed. As was the case in 2014 a raft of roads popular and well-used by cyclists ended up being closed due to road failure or landslides. Many of them are still closed today, more than a year after the New Year’s Eve deluge that wiped out most of them. On the bright side, some eventually reopened although it took a long time. We’re still waiting for Mountain Charlie, Redwood Road, Wildcat, and Highway One.
All that rain as well as Covid resulted in the cancellation of the annual Kick Off Meeting. When the rains stopped and David got over Covid, the lack of enthusiasm by the board to host the KOM was evident. Ironically we eventually did have a ‘kick off meeting’ of sorts but it was at the very end of October. Which turned out to be a highlight because the end result of a long discussion about the future of the club was a slate of volunteers to step up and become the new board. Yahoo!
One of the highlights at least for me was the rerun in April of New Speedway Boogie, an oblique reference to riding up to Altamont Pass via Patterson Road. Patterson was closed due to a rain-induced landslide but was quickly reopened (compared to just about every other road closure, that is) in time for a club foray to catch the still luxurious green hills. And riding along the California Aqueduct is always a gas!
An intriguing highlight was the club going to the Golden State Warriors game on LBGT night. Yes, we’ve had Gay Games, Angel Island LGBT Sports Day, the Amgen Tour of California, the Coors Classic, and even club time trials around Lake Merced. But this was the first time the club went to a non-cycling spectator sports event. We sold out our allotment of 29 tickets! Spectator sports are the antithesis of cycling, which is all about moving your body. Nevertheless the event was an unexpected hit. Let’s do it again!
The final highlight of the year was the increasing popularity of the Short & Sassy rides, which goes to show that there are club members who would like short(er) rides, like less than 25 miles. A Short & Sassy South Bay ride drew six riders, which is great for a first-timer; the Short & Sassy Tib loop now draws almost as many riders as the Jersey Ride.
The Chain Letter 