This was the second time that Roger and I offered our Happy Hour in the East Bay ride. By club standard’s it’s an outlier of a ride because it’s quite short—just ten miles, takes place midweek, and barely after work hours. Oh, and it’s in the East Bay rather than San Francisco and by “East Bay” I don’t mean Oakland or Berkeley but the other East Bay, i.e. the other side of the Berkeley/Oakland hills. Not a lot of Spokers live east of Berkeley and if you drive over there’s a congested tunnel you have to drive through if you do want to enjoy the best of Contra Costa. (More the reason to take BART…if you can squeeze you and your bike into a train car!)

This ride was originally offered as a lark. Is it that hard to post a post-work ride or gathering? Nobody since Aaron and to some extent the late Will Bir has done it with some regularity. There have been occasional one-off attempts. So I thought we’d give it a try. Kind of a demo—see, anyone can do it. That’s kind of what we did with our Social A Rides a decade ago: throw something up on the wall and see what sticks.

Last month there were five of us and this month there were the exact same five! I guess we’re the “Outsiders”. Lamberto and Joe live in Contra Costa, as do Roger and I, and it’s easy for them to make their way to Lafayette for a ride. Chris is from the other side of the hills but a BART ride over is all it takes for him to join us.

The ride was the same as last month: start at the Lafayette Public House, go up the Lamorinda trail to Moraga Common, and then turn around and head back for post-ride refreshment. Unlike last month it was hot—90F at 5:30 PM when we left. In other words it was a typical summer day in Contra Costa during a surprisingly atypical summer in which this was only the second heat wave. Unlike last time when the trail was well populated, it was quiet and mostly deserted and that allowed us to move a bit more quickly.

The Lamorinda Trail—officially, the Lafayette Moraga Regional Trail—is my favorite local ride. It’s a rails-to-trails multi-use path that despite being well-used is great for a relaxing ride. When Roger and I want to get in a quick and easy ride, this is where we go. The trail climbs very gently up to St. Mary’s College and down to Moraga Common.

Last time we had an ad hoc confab at the restrooms at Moraga Common—not that kind of “confab”!—that had us getting back to the Public House late. We were so lost in gabbing that time got away from us. Because sunset is coming earlier we were more cognizant of getting our business done and then heading back. Even though we did gab a bit, we were able to make good time down the trail since it was so devoid of the usual walkers, doggers, and fellow cyclists. Plus, it’s a gentle downhill almost all the way back.

Back at the Public House we were greeted by a huge group of women with name tags. It looked like two groups of refugees from “Sex and the City” were holding court and hogging most of the outdoor tables. Lamberto went inside and reported back that the sole server/barista/bartender was holding the fort against a long line of customers. Time for plan B: we jumped across the street to Tutu’s, which also has outdoor tables. We immediately snagged a table where we could conveniently watch our bikes.

Tutu’s used to one of the Chows. Maybe you recall Chow? This tiny chain had four restaurants. The first was at Church and Market just around the corner from where I used to live. The owners opened another one in the Inner Sunset and then two over the East Bay, one in Danville and in Lafayette. Chow crumbled about ten years ago for unknown reasons. But the Lafayette Chow was, I understand, sold to its employees who mostly kept it the same—the organic market, the menu, the vibe, and the look. The only thing substantial that changed was the name.

This turned out to be a fortuitous turn of events because although the Lafayette Public House has a really nice biergarten feel and the food is decent, it closes early being mainly a breakfast/lunch venue and the menu is limited. Tutu’s on the other hand does a real dinner service and the menu has a variety of comfort food. Oh, and they do fish really well and it’s almost always my go-to choice. We got there just in time because within 15 minutes the outdoor tables went from less than half-filled to brimming with eager diners.

Our casual post-ride refreshment turned into a two-hour dinner. Chris got the lamb burger—the “Silence of the Lambs” fav—which is always a good choice; Roger got the Cobb salad—they do an excellent version ; I got the petale sole, natch’; and Joe and Lamberto both got pasta dishes. They also got real post-ride “refreshmant” aka beer. Hey, we weren’t riding anymore and they were gonna catch BART back to Walnut Creek so no harm no foul.

Our ride and dinner conversations were one of the more wide ranging ones I’ve had in a long while. Joe and Lamberto recently got back from a two-week road trip in the Southwest; Joe got new cycling shoes that he was trying out on this very ride. Other topics included: getting the latest Covid shot, the number of older men who are coming out later in life; the pros and cons of revocable trusts and wills; touring Taiwan; gluten intolerance; prediabetes; filipino restaurants in Lafayette (there’s only one); real versus dumbed down Chinese restaurants (cough PF Chang’s cough), the US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis; cycling in the Delta; and pet insurance. Was there any talk about the club? Strangely enough, almost none.

It was very dark by now. Then our very helpful waitperson naturally offered us dessert. Despite their best efforts to eat better, J&L requested a raspberry crumble. With a lot of ice cream. Some people just can’t skip dessert! After it arrived they offered some of it to us, which we declined despite its very appealing nature. Whoever said “nothing tastes as good as the way thin feels” was obviously demented.

That was one enjoyable ride and dinner.

Next month we’re starting an hour earlier, at 4:30 PM instead of 5:30 PM and starting just down the street at Batch & Brine instead. Or maybe we should go back to Chow- I mean, Tutu’s…

I developed a hip injury almost three months ago that has mostly kept me off the bike. I tried selling my soul like Dorian Gray but I got a bum deal: not only is the picture hideously aging but so am I. The record of my sins is in every niggling overuse injury I seem to be incurring with increasing rapidity the older I become. I finally got into PT and am making progress and the pain is diminishing. So what better than to lead a club ride and thereby either proclaim my miraculous youthful recovery or reveal the broke-ass nature of my old body, one or the other?

Relatively last minute I picked a ride I like, wasn’t long, and didn’t have much climbing: head out on Cañada Road on a Bicycle Sunday and then loop through Portola Valley and back. Roger is also slowly getting back into shape after a crash and broken collar bone in late spring. Cathy, Nancy, and Roger S. deigned to accompany us. Ironically Cañada Road and Portola loop were my “Tiburon loop” when I lived in the Midpeninsula to the point that it became boring just like the Tib loop when I lived in SF. I haven’t lived in the Palo Alto area since the very early 80s and every ride down there has now happily recovered its luster. I relish every chance I get to get over a bridge quickly and do a ride in my old stomping grounds.

If you’ve done this venerable route before, you understand its appeal. Woodside and Portola Valley have “semi-rural” environs. So even though you’re actually riding through a suburb, it doesn’t feel like it, or at least it doesn’t feel like your typical suburb with nicely trimmed green front lawns and houses lined up on the street like bowling pins. Most everything is concealed amidst trees and back roads giving you the false impression that no one lives there. Anyway it’s generally nice and at times feels like being out in the faux countryside. And they sure haven’t changed much in 55 years, which is remarkable for the Bay Area. (Because $$$$!)

Bicycle Sunday didn’t begin until just before I moved to San Francisco in 1982. I remember doing one of those very first Bicycle Sundays and what a crowd it drew. The idea of closing off what was a major thoroughfare for the hippie granola riffraff was like opening wide the asylum doors; everybody was there—skaters, bikes of every kind, xc skiers, walkers, buggies, you name it as long as it didn’t have an engine. Things have calmed down a lot over the years but Bicycle Sunday still brings out the masses just not in moshpit quantities anymore. It was pretty sedate when we started off. By the looks of things—the large number of cars parked at the north end—there were a lot of cyclists. But it sure didn’t look or feel like it was a typical bike event being fairly quiet. After a quick pit stop at the Pulgas Water Temple we headed south deep in conversation. Nancy and I gabbed about lubricant…bike lubricant! and the pros and cons of oil and wax. We also talked about loss and how long it takes to recover, i.e. a lot longer than everyone else thinks it should. I also quickly realized in talking with Nancy about chain maintenance that it’s been a slow, downward slide in my enthusiasm and diligence in taking care of the bikes. I used to clean off my bikes after every ride. Not anymore. That train left the station a long time ago. Hearing squeaky or crunchy sounds is the whip it takes for me to do anything about my chain and even then my declining hearing is helping me ignore that as well. Next I’ll be living in a van down by the river.

Chatting with Cathy I learned that the day before she did a metric century in the same area, the Tour de Menlo. I’d never heard of it. It’s run by the Menlo Park Rotary and the metric does most of what we were riding today. My curiosity piqued, I made note to include it in the list of centuries for 2026 and I sure hope Roger and I can do it then. Cathy observed that although the ride was great, the food was not. Whether it was due to inexperience in putting on a bike ride, or the intention of putting on a minimalesque event, the food provided sounded like the results of a pro forma trip to Costco. Eventually these nonprofits like Rotary and Lion’s Club, which are turning to bike events to fund their charity fundraising, are going to realize that if you want a good turnout (= $$$), you’d better provide good food. There are enough good centuries out there with great food that phoned it in is not going to cut it these days especially when you’re charging $85. I like to support good charities but if your event sucks, why don’t you just forego the hassle of putting on an event and just beg for $85? It’s like buying ABC cards from the Deaf guy on BART: here’s the money, keep the manual alphabet card and go away, please.

Roger S. and I got to share our latest medical ailments. That’s what happens when you old. All that coy gay banter about hunky boys and fabulous parties is replaced by commiserating about your gradually failing body.

After a really nice roll through Portola Valley—it was sunny and the temperature was perfect—we zoomed down Alpine to Amigo’s Grill. This is quickly replacing Robert’s as my preferred stop on the Portola loop. Robert’s is okay if you want to pick up something really quick and rush out. But stopping for a proper lunch is definitely the way to go. (Touring habits die hard.) The Ladera Shopping Center has other places to eat including a somewhat pricey Greek place and a bistro. It also has “Konditorei”, which should be a bakery, but instead sells bagels (huh??) and sandwiches. Not a cake in sight. Maybe we’ll try it out some day despite the misnomer. Amigo’s is a Mex place with reasonably priced lunch choices given that it’s in a luxe suburb. When the rent is high, there is no such thing as a budget Mex restaurant, so I’m not complaining! Going in to order, the regulars were pinned to the bar counter watching a football game. Not a bad place to watch sports and get restaurant quality noshes so you can forego the Cheetos and potato chips. Cathy, Nancy, and I opted for the usual midride go-to: a burrito. They were of course huge. (Is there any other size?) Roger got a quesadilla with what looked like a homemade tortilla. Roger S. got a huge, sizzling mound of fajitas. The odor of the crackling meat set off my carnivore gene and I was beginning to regret my choice of a veggie burrito.

Lunchtime conversation veered about: upcoming trips, riding with “mainstream” (=non-LGBTQA+) cycling clubs, where we buy bike clothes–is the Pearl Izumi outlet store really closed??, the OPP, watching the Vuelta on TV, why club kit is less than fetching, etc. Hearing remarks about what it’s like to ride with straight cycling clubs made me laugh because ten years ago Chris Contos was blaming the dwindling membership of the club on the world being post-gay, i.e. we’re so accepted by the straight world that gay clubs don’t matter anymore. Yeah, right. Then I hear about being harassed by members of straight clubs by thoughtless—or maybe intentional—verbal macro-aggressions. I was sorry to hear it but glad to have Different Spokes to ride with. You should too. The world is still fucked even here in the “enlightened” Bay Area. If I hear another clueless remark about us being post-gay I’m going to scream.

Most clubs are probably like us in having no written or even understood code of conduct and this is what you get. You do know we don’t have a code of conduct, right? Maybe we should. Back in the day there was an infamous ‘fish’ comment made by a male Spoker at a Decide ’n Ride that horribly offended some women attendees. I’d like to say it set off an uproar. But my recollection was that nothing much happened. That he didn’t like women members was patently obvious and he took multiple opportunities to voice his opinion. Instead of being talked to or expelled he was allowed to wallow in the disdain and snubbing that ensued. No concrete action was taken as I recall but he did stop coming to Decide ’n Rides (or at least the ones I attended). What a jerk. And the club at the time was wondering why we didn’t have more female members. Yeah, of course you want to hang with a club that has members who actively hate you. What a nice way to feel welcomed.

After a long lunch break we waddled over to our bikes and headed down Alpine to Menlo Park. Cathy and I had managed to inhale our burritos but Nancy being wiser ate only half of hers. I’m not sure how Roger S. survived his mountain of fajitas. We needed to get going or else I was going succumb to food coma. Down Alpine we went past where I used to live—it was a hippie dump but it’s now the site of a trophy home. We also discovered since the last time we rode here that Santa Cruz Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas are getting some love. Not only are they repaved but they are putting in bike lanes. The usual return route is to head up Sand Hill and then up Whiskey Hill. I actually like riding up Sand Hill, which is actually two hills, but you then have to avoid the cars accelerating across your path to enter I-280. Alameda de las Pulgas to Woodside Road has fewer cars (and fewer cyclists). Instead you get one longer uphill on Woodside Road back to the center of town.

As usual the northward leg on Cañada Road had a headwind. No one was in a hurry so it didn’t matter. Bicycle Sunday was still in effect but there were hardly any cyclists in mid-afternoon. We were back at the cars before 2:30 PM and more gabbing ensued before finally saying our goodbyes. Nice day, great company, good food, and my hip didn’t hurt. I call that a win on all fronts.

Ten Spokers headed out to roam the roads of the Marin Headlands last Saturday. What follows is the recap from Kate Dresher, one of the ride leaders.

“The ride was good. We all rode together (with regroup spots) to the top of first planned Hawk Hill summit. Then folks proceeded in mini-groups or by themselves based on route preferences. There were lots of individual preferences so I’m not sure how many subsets there ended up being. No one rode the double Hawk Hill option. Chetan, Milo (William) and I did Battery/Rodeo Road loop and climbed back up McCullough. At the crest where the traffic circle is, there wasn’t any interest in doing a second Hawk Hill climb. Nancy, Cathy, Anish, Chetan and I all finished at Peet’s—and four of us had a fun lunch at Duboce Park Cafe afterwards.”

But…Chris chimes in: “If inquiring minds wanted to know…I did the double Hawk Hill to the peak again and turned for home after getting to the traffic circle on McCullough.” So there!

A cool, scenic bike ride that’s not too long, not too short; hanging with the Spokerati; then a delicious post-ride lunch al fresco–sounds like a great day to me! See you all on the next Different Spokes ride!

We had a packed house for the Orinda Pool Party last Sunday. I’m not sure what provoked more people to sign up this year—we had 30 people express interest in attending. The typical number is somewhere from 16 to 22 but we did have one year when 28 came and boy, was that crowded and hectic. Part of the reason we had a big turnout this year may be the mild summer. For Contra Costa that’s fantastic because in recent years summers have been inferno-like. Having a summer that is actually cool has been weird but also soothing. Of course “cool” for us is 75F, which would be a warm day in San Francisco. I understand that it’s also been cool and overcast a lot over there. We lucked out this year because the ride was in the low 70s and by the time people were at the house it was low to mid 80s making it a very hospitable day to jump in the pool and paddle around.

We also had a turn-around this year: 15 people did the ride. In the distant past that would have been unremarkable because other than the bike widows everyone rode. For the past few years the trend has been to skip the ride and just come to the pool party. Not a problem for Roger and me but this *is* a cycling club. Last year was the nadir with just six riders, or just one-third of the whole gang. Nonetheless this year we had a smattering of non-riders, due to injury, surgery, indolence, or because they’re bike widows.

Unfortunately several people who had registered had to cancel last-minute due to illness. And yes folks, Covid is still out there! We appreciate that those who felt sick declined to attend because exposing us might have led to ugly consequences. Also the slightly reduced number took some of the pressure off of Roger and me. We had only so many folding chairs and scrounged pool and patio chairs and tables in order to have enough places for people to nosh and carry on. The patio deck was still pretty crowded.

The menu this year was a repeat of last year. Roger gets great satisfaction smoking pork ribs and each year he gets better and better at it. Last year they were fall-off-the-bone tender, maybe a little too tender. This year they were perfect. The vegan riblets seemed to go over well again and were a good break from veggie burgers. Maybe next year we’ll get really creative with a vegan/veggie main dish. (But don’t hold your breath.)

Making food for 25 people is stretching the limit of what our kitchen can do. We just don’t have enough large pots and pans to make it easy. So there is always a lot of shuffling of pots and bowls to contain everything. At university I lived in a coop where we cooked our own meals for the 50 of us every night; I wished I had those pots and pans! Alas, we had to make do by preparing dishes repeatedly, i.e. instead of just quadrupling a recipe we made the same recipe four times. Fortunately our smoker can accommodate enough pork ribs to feed a big crowd and that’s good because smoking them takes over five hours.

Adding all our food—ribs, pesto pasta, green salad, brown rice salad—to the food that everyone else brought meant everyone left well sated. Roger in a fit of excess decided to bake a large ricotta peach cake to add to the mass quantities. This year’s peach harvest was more than ample and it happened to coincide nicely with the pool party.

At lunch Roger and I finally got a chance to sit down and enjoy the whole thing. I wished we could have spent more time hanging out with you all. For us playing Perle Mesta has us bouncing between preparation and greeting folks. I did get a chance to catch up with Karry, Jordan, and Tim even though my time with Gordon and Doug, whom I made an effort to persuade to come to this year’s party, was much more limited. (Anyway I’m glad you both came—I hadn’t seen either of you in literally years.) We had several newer members attend this year and I’m glad you all got a taste of a longstanding Different Spokes tradition as you never know when these things collapse and fade away. (Maybe that’s “when we collapse and fade away.”) We wish we could accommodate you all. But unless others also want to cook up a storm, the Pool Party is going to remain a limited attendance event. And for those of you who missed out, be sure to register in advance next time. Tim missed out last year and, lesson learned, this year he was one of the first people to sign up!

Ed. Chris, the ride host for June’s Jersey Ride, submitted the following.

“We had a good mix of riders in age range and pacing.  Kate, Sara, and Alden took off, being veterans of ALC.  I believe they did last year’s ALC but not this year’s.  David G. took off as well on the hills of Paradise Drive.  I tried to keep up until the cold realization that he’s on the Short & Sassy and I had better save some for the return trip and climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge.  I definitely hadn’t quite recovered from the Three Bears ride, led by Nancy and Cathy, the previous weekend. We lingered a bit longer over lunch.  Everyone seemed excited to be part of this ride and catching up socially.  I paid dearly on the ride home but we got safely back in the Castro by 2:30 PM.”

Members can see more photos of the ride on the club website.

I had a fabulous time on Cathy and Nancy’s Three Bears ride this past weekend. Since this ride is in my town it’s hardly new territory for me. That said I tend to take it for granted as it’s generally a ho-hum ride for me since I’ve done it a zillion times. The Three Bears is the East Bay’s Tiburon loop. For out-of-towners Tib loop is wonderful. But if you live in SF it’s such a go-to route that it fades into the background of your awareness and even becomes dreadfully boring. But doing a ride alone and doing it with friends makes all the difference in the world.

It’s also one of our lucky, stuck-in-the-middle-of-the-suburbs rides that doesn’t feel like that at all. It’s mostly rural road because development isn’t allowed to happen. A big portion of the ride abuts East Bay Municipal Utility District land and its watershed so it’s essentially unblemished. Having San Pablo and Briones reservoirs as scenery doesn’t hurt either. The rest of the adjacent land is ranches—a scattering of cows, horse stables, and scattered homes. The one oddity is a Jewish cemetery stuck between two ranches. It’s always rather quiet and peaceful, disturbed only by the sports cars and motos who use Alhambra Valley Road and Bear Creek Road to practice laps. You can ride the Three Bears for relaxation, for training hard—it has a series of short, challenging inclines for long intervals or threshold workouts—or to get away from civilization.

The Three Bears loop is not without its blemishes. The most distressing is that San Pablo Dam Road is slowly slumping into the reservoir. The wet winter of 2023 caused more serious damage to the roadway including one big slump, and although some of it has been “repaired” it’s immediately apparent to any cyclist avoiding the plethora of obstacles—big cracks, uplifting, roadway debris, broken bollards—that the road could use some love from a paver. But the county doesn’t have the dough for such a major repair, so this is our new normal. The second bit of ugliness, which we didn’t have to abide this past weekend much to my amazement, is that sections of the Alhambra Valley Road and Bear Creek are dumping grounds for household furniture and appliances. I’ve counted as many as 15 big piles on one ride. But this time I didn’t see any. I did notice that there is now a big sign posted with phone numbers to report illegal dumping; at one point there was a security cam placed at one location that was often the site of a truckful of crap time after time.

In addition to the co-leaders Cathy and Nancy, were Stephanie, Michelle, Chris, Peter, and I. The weather was partly cloudy but it soon became full sun and the temperature never strayed from comfortable. I almost didn’t make this ride due to hosting guests from Germany for the past week, leaving us with a raft of delayed household tasks. But a half-hour before the start I decided to take a break from being rushed and dutiful and instead indulge in the company of fellow Spokers after a week of non-riding.

I had a chance to chat with almost everybody at some point. I really appreciate the effort Nancy and Cathy are putting into leading rides this summer. They’re testing out routes and if they like them, they’ll post them on our ride calendar. You should definitely keep your eyes open for more of their enjoyable forays! Cathy now has more free time to ride so we should be seeing more of her. Peter’s sporting a new bike full of the latest greatest and apparently is able to ride more now that his hip seems to be somewhat under control. Apparently that is why he has rejoined the club too.

For me this was a social ride full of conversation and with little intent to go fast or keep up; in fact much of the time I was in the back. Back in the day my rides with Different Spokes were “social” in the sense that the animals all went fast but we chatted when we occasionally slowed down. Being in grad school and working part time wasn’t conducive to hanging out much after rides since I always had to be somewhere or hit the books. I’ve slowed down considerably in both senses and riding amiably and chatting are one of my favorite pastimes now.

Despite being contradicted by other riders I am not convinced that the one short but steep hill on Castro Ranch Road is not Baby Bear. Yes, it’s not on Bear Creek Road. But the other little lumps sandwiched between Mama, Papa, and San Pablo Dam Road can’t all be Baby Bear even though bears actually can have litters of three cubs. In order not to do damage to the story of Goldilocks, my vote is still for the ugly lump on Castro Ranch Road as the one and only official Baby Bear.

We stopped on Alhambra Valley Road so that some could remove excess wardrobe and there I noticed how striking the few oak trees stood against the now dun colored hills and the blue sky. Usually I’m enamored of the lush green grass and poppies we get in spring. But even the dry season has its beauty. While on Mama we stopped to take in the view of Briones Reservoir, which is currently full to the brim to get ready for the summer heat.

For a change Cathy and Nancy added Old El Toyonal after the Bears. To get there of course you have to go up Wildcat Canyon Road, which is currently still closed to cars but open to bicyclists. But that will end this July when the county finally will begin the repair of the collapsed section, at which point the bottom of the road will be closed completely until construction is done. The bottom of Wildcat is fairly steep but not horrible. Without cars it’s a dream. If only we had more roads like this! If you think Wildcat is steep, try climbing up the only other alternative, El Toyonal, which has multiple sections greater than 15%! At Old El Toyonal we cut left by the horse stables, which was bustling with activity and continued up, again without cars. Nancy remarked that OET reminded her of Morgan Territory Road and that is indeed an apt comparison (especially now that Morgan got a long needed repaving a couple of years ago!) OET is quiet, almost completely hidden under tall trees, and a challenging uphill climb as well. Once we turned onto El Toyonal we dropped by the manse where I bid the group “tata”. What a nice morning! To those of you who forwent this ride, please join Nancy and Cathy for their next social adventure!

Nancy reports: “So it was me, Cathy, Ginny, Jeff, and Roger- on his birthday! The birthday surprise was that it was windy and cold at the start. Enough so that some wondered whether they wanted to ride. But we persevered and we were rewarded with sun and less wind! Everybody enjoyed the climb, especially those of us who haven’t done it for years. But when we got to the  top, it was more wind, cold, and nastiness than we signed up for on a Memorial Day weekend. The group decision was to descend Old La Honda—with Ginny, Jeff, and Roger making it an out-and-back—with a stop at Robert’s Market for a well-deserved sandwich and snacks. Cathy and I decided to use the opportunity to scout another ride that we are planning, which was a great idea and a bit of an adventure.  When we got back to the start, lo and behold, Roger was relaxing in his car, out of the wind, and receiving many birthday wishes on Facebook!”

Jeff reports: “We modified the route, turning back at the top of Old La Honda because it was pretty cold and we thought the stretch of Skyline might be scary since it has no shoulder. Ginny, Roger, and I just retraced our steps stopping for lunch at Robert’s Market where we celebrated Roger’s birthday, sharing a scrumptious dessert that Ginny bought. Nancy and Cathy headed towards Alpine Road for more adventures. We also stopped at the Pulgas Water Temple and watched girls all dressed up for a quinceañera party—delightful!”

Ed. Members may peruse more pictures of the ride at the Different Spokes website.

It turned out not to be much of an escape after all. Getting from the East Bay to Woodside for this ride meant crossing a bridge. And it wasn’t going to be the Bay Bridge since it was the morning of the Original Party-on!-Foot (says Wayne). Seasoned San Franciscans know this is the morning you avoid trying to get across town unless you like to wait for 75,000 drunk and high “runners” to get out of your way. But checking Google Maps before leaving the manse it said the quickest way to Woodside Town Hall was via the Bay Bridge. What?

Against my gut feeling we headed for the toll plaza because Google Is Always Correct. Just the other side of Yerba Buena Island the legions of cars slowed to a molasses-like crawl. “Lane closure” the sign read. This couldn’t be another traffic disaster like yesterday, right? In case you didn’t hear, Caltrans scheduled a closure of the #4 bore of the Caldecott Tunnel for this past Saturday and it didn’t go well. A crash in the #3 bore—the only other westbound bore—meant that traffic backed up all yesterday morning and most of the afternoon since all that “light” Saturday traffic had to funnel down to one lane. I know this because Waze directed hundreds of cars up my street as they frantically tried to escape car hell. Desperate drivers overflowed into Orinda like rats fleeing a burning building. That “lane closure” turned out just to be the far right lane to the Fremont Street exit being closed because Bay to Breakers. This is standard practice every year. It wouldn’t be a biggie except that thousands of drivers insisted upon driving to downtown San Francisco anyway. So they jammed the bridge trying desperately to get into the far left lane to exit at Fremont. What were they thinking?? It’s Bay to Breakers day and the chaos starts downtown! That exit was massively backed up onto the bridge making the whole area a mosh pit of cars. Only after getting past that insane mess did we discover that traffic was actually light on the 101. Seriously, just stay away from San Francisco on Bay to Breakers day.

Things were much better when we arrived in Woodside. It was sunny and warm, so warm I was overdressed in a longsleeved jersey and gilet. As usual for a Sunday, Woodside was packed with cyclists. Our ride was starting so late—10:30 AM—that riders were turning into the Town Hall parking lot because they were finishing their rides! Well, we made the better choice: not only was it warmer but by the time we got to Old La Honda the road was empty. Honestly, like just four or five cars passed us on OLH (all but one being Teslas) and we saw exactly seven other cyclists. There are times riding up OLH you feel like you’re a salmon heading upstream. Along with hundreds of your fellow salmon. But not today—it was quiet, undisturbed. Basically it was awesome having the road all to ourselves.

Old La Honda is, well, old because it goes back to the 19th century when the lumber industry needed roads in the Coast Range. I’m uncertain of the history of La Honda Road, which is also State Highway 84, and of what is now Old La Honda Road. Perhaps the two roads had the same name because they eventually ended (or started) at the town of La Honda. In the 19th century these weren’t public roads anyway. They were logging roads or perhaps toll roads built after logging made the Coast Range more inhabited. In any case what is now Highway 84 became the main road for car traffic probably because it’s wider and less winding than what is now called Old La Honda Road. That was good news for cyclists as cars took 84 to get to and from the coast and to roam up and down Skyline Boulevard leaving Old La Honda as a mostly forgotten byway.

In the late 1960s my high school friends and I would ride our bikes over to the coast on weekends and we usually took Highway 84 instead of Old La Honda because Old La Honda was steeper. We were also on very modest bikes. I was riding a Schwinn Continental, my first ten-speed. This boat anchor of a bike probably weighed well over 30 pounds with its chrome rims, chrome cotter-pin crankset, chrome handlebars, chrome seatpost, and kickstand—basically it was all steel. Oh, and I hadn’t figured out that it would help to have toeclips and straps to get over the hills. And it was a true ten-speed: a “racing” standard 52-42 crank with a five-gear freewheel, probably a 13-28. It wasn’t made for going uphill at least by the feeble (or feeble minded). So Highway 84 involved the least amount of suffering. Also the summit, Skylonda, is lower than the top of Old La Honda. So in all ways it was easier except for the incessant automobile traffic. We did occasionally go up Old La Honda, Kings Mountain, and even Page Mill Road to get to the coast. But they were a lot harder.

Today we were intent on checking out Old La Honda, specifically the west side, because that portion of road had a serious collapse the winter of 2023 resulting in its long term closure. The county wasn’t able to find the money, line up a contractor, and get it repaired until last July. But we hadn’t been back to check out the road since our last club ride through there in 2022. West Old La Honda is nice for avoiding the jam-up at Skylonda and although not essential for the usual loop out Haskins Hill and back Tunitas, it makes it a much more pleasant adventure. It was also a chance to check out the northern section of Skyline Boulevard, which I hadn’t ridden in many a year.

On Sand Hill Road we were passed by two cyclists like we were roadside litter and made the turn onto OLH. That was the theme of the day: we got passed a lot more than we passed anyone.

The climb starts immediately on OLH and continues unabated until you arrive at Skyline about three-and-a-half miles. I was tired and I merely wanted to check out the roads and survive them, not burn them up. I soon dropped into the granny. Although I wasn’t in my lowest gear, I was getting mighty close! Since there was surprisingly little traffic on OLH we had a peaceful ascent. The road is almost entirely shaded by redwoods and pines making it a good choice on hot days. Although it wasn’t hot, the shade was welcome. OLH has an average grade of about 7%. But it often feels a lot worse due to its frequent turning and the gradient increasing in the curves. OLH is in decent shape still. It’s not often repaved and the last chip seal seems to be holding up well. Well, until you get near the top and you see the road becomes one lane and is controlled by a timed stoplight: that portion is collapsing down the slope.

Dropping down west OLH was the objective. Back in the day west OLH was a dirt road. I believe it wasn’t paved until well into the 1980s. At that point I started to use it a lot more since it was a lot less bumpy and rutted. The upper section is looking worn but okay; midway you can see a newer chip seal that’s rather smooth. It wasn’t until about halfway down that we finally saw the repaired collapse. The retaining wall is impressive. Further down it looks like the county also did some patching to the roadway. We encountered just one car heading uphill.

Turning onto Highway 84 to head to Skylonda, you’re in a different world, the world of impatient cars, loud motos, and weekend Ferraris. Highway 84 is adequately wide but the shoulder is often nonexistent. We saw one pickup driver give a downhill cyclist a punishment pass. The cyclist was right up against the edge of the road and the pickup driver leaned on his horn as he roared by. Back in the 1970s the attitude of car drivers was in some ways much worse. There were fewer cyclists and we were viewed as real oddities and there was a lot less awareness about sharing the road. In thinking about that poor cyclist, riding in the gutter was exactly the wrong thing to do. Instead he should have taken the lane and forced the driver to slow down, as he would have gotten the horn anyway.

Fortunately the climb is only about two miles and it’s rather gentle, about 3%. At Skylonda it was the usual mess of motos, cars, and cyclists trying to get through the intersection. Traffic on Skyline has no stop sign so they are typically pedal-to-the-metal, making any crossing an anxious and hurried affair. When you’ve got an expensive and powerful sports car or moto, where can you drive it at full throttle? Skyline Boulevard!

By now I was tired and the climb up Skyline to Skeggs Point is several miles at about 6% or so. We lucked out in that there was surprisingly little traffic traveling on it for a Sunday. I watched Roger inch ahead of me as my legs got slower and slower. If you are planning to ride Skyline, it’s better to ride it in the opposite direction, i.e. from Kings Mountain to Skylonda, rather than the way we did it. A better loop would have been to go up Kings Mountain, then Skyline to west OLH. But then we would have had to descend OLH and that can be sketchy with weaving uphill cyclists sprawled all over the road including in the blind corners because, of course, no sane cyclist goes down OLH! I was relieved to finally arrive at Skeggs Point. Whew, that was a work out!

After Skeggs it’s easy-peasy with a fast drop down to Kings Mountain. From there it was literally all downhill, about six miles of constant descent. Although it was only three years ago since we went down Kings Mountain, a lot can happen to a roadway in that time. So we took it carefully in case we encountered potholes, debris, or a car crossing the centerline. We passed a lot of cyclists heading up the road, all of them slowly. After all that climbing it was a wonderful way to end a ride. Old La Honda is back on the menu again!

Three weeks ago Roger and I went up to Sacramento and rode the American River Bike Trail on a Monday. We had been thinking of going up to do it on the weekend. But the weather on Saturday and then Sunday was less than ideal. A weekday would actually be a better day to ride it because there would be less traffic on the trail or so we thought. We thought about listing the ride on the club calendar. However we were indecisive when we would actually do the ride given the sudden change in the weather.

The American River Bike Trail, also known as the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, runs from Sacramento all the way to the Folsom Dam recreation area, about 32 miles one way. The entire distance is well paved and although technically a multi-use path it is really intended for cyclists. Much of the way has parks and picnic areas as you wend your way up the American River with plenty of places to take a break, get water, use a restroom, and enjoy the river setting. The trail officially starts at Discovery Park in Sacramento but you can enter the trail at almost any location since suburban development has proceeded all the way to Folsom and beyond with plenty of entry and exit points. If you need something it’s easy to leave the trail and head into a town to look for food or a bike shop if need be. You can make this ride shorter or longer depending on your mood. Although technically ending at Beals Point at Folsom Dam, the trail actually continues further north to Granite Bay.

Given that we are ostensibly a San Francisco based cycling club, Sacramento is pretty far away for a club ride. The club first started going up there in May 1984 courtesy of Derek Liecty and Richard Palmer. Derek led it annually for several years and then Tom Harrison, who worked in Sacramento and eventually moved up there, led it for a while. Derek is still with us but he is no longer riding his bicycle; both Dick and Tom have passed.

The first time Derek led it the ChainLetter reported that “over 35” people attended. Other than the Pride Ride, that kind of attendance is highly unusual. Off the top of my head the only other regular club ride in recent history that had a number that high was a Mt. Hamilton ride that David Gaus led many years ago and that was because he cross-posted the ride on social media. In 1985 “social media” was your landline phone! In recent years Roger and I have led this ride off-and-on and we are lucky if we get two other participants. So the “pull date” for this ride is long past. Yet we continue to go up there because we like to ride it and if others would like to try it out, great. This is in harmony with our ride leading philosophy, that you should lead rides that you enjoy doing. If you’re leading a ride for the club because you “have to”, that might be welcomed by others but it’s not going to do wonders for your mental health. So post rides you love to do!

Admittedly the American River Bike Trail is an acquired taste. First, you have to enjoy riding on a multi-use path. If you like to go fast, maybe it’s not a good choice because the ostensible speed limit is 15 MPH, the same as on every other MUP. But like the speed limit on freeways, this is completely ignored. Local clubs do rides on the ARBT and racers train on it including hammerheads on tri-bars. The other choice is to ride on Sacramento city streets and then you’ll have to deal with cars and a myriad number of stoplights between Sacto and Granite Bay. The good news is that the ARBT is not like other MUPs: it’s a bike trail. Since we last went rode it the trail has had a repaving. Prior to the repaving there were clear markings on the pavement that pedestrians were to stay off the pavement and instead walk/run on the dirt shoulders. Even further back in the day there were explicit signs forbidding skateboarders. Of course enforcement is another issue and as far as I can tell there isn’t any. Nonetheless most of the peds we encounter do indeed stick to the sides of the trail and we saw just one skateboarder poaching the trail. So the ARBT is a paragon MUP for cyclists. It’s nice to be treated well for a change!

Second, the ARBT is hella flat. Until you go beyond the Nimbus Fish Hatchery where the little climbing this trail has hits you in the face after all that flat goodness. But in this case flat isn’t boring. You’re constantly wending your way along the river passing parks, natural habitat, and river scenery including occasional glimpses of the burbs on either side. And no matter how “isolated” you seem to be you’re actually very close to civilization. So that mid-ride Starbucks frappucino is always at hand!

Third, you’re probably going to enjoy this ride more if you pay attention to the weather. Spring and autumn are the best times to enjoy it because the temperature is mild. Once the valley starts to heat up in mid-spring you should be careful about picking your ride date. Summers in Sacramento can be blisteringly hot—well above 90F for days—and since most of the trail is not shaded, you’d better enjoy riding in hot weather. I’ve ridden the ARBT in every season, even summer, and I’ve never had a bad time (well, maybe a tad uncomfortable when it was in the 90s). On hotter days you ride earlier or later in the day or you just do a shorter out-and-back.

Your reward if you make it all the way to Beals Point is a fantastic view of the reservoir as well as a pleasant beach. If it’s warm enough, you’re welcome to go in for a dip too. That presumes that we’ve had a wet enough year and the dams upriver are releasing into Folsom Lake. We’ve been at Beals Point in drought years and it’s a loooong walk to get into the water! On weekends there is a snack bar at Beals Point; having a chili dog with Fritos was my reward! This was my sole regret about riding the trail on a weekday.

In previous years we’ve started our ride at the very beginning of the trail in Discovery Park just north of Old Sacramento. This year we decided to start six miles upstream at the Cal Expo site. This wasn’t just to cut the mileage but for some peace of mind. Discovery Park is just a short walk from “Homeless Central” in Sacramento—the north of the railroad yard—and there have been homeless encampments nearby along the river. The day was sunny and in the low to mid-60s, perfect for cycling. Since it was a Monday we were expecting fewer users on the trail. That turned out to be somewhat true but there was still a lot of cyclists rolling along the trail including a few training groups. Wherever we stopped to drink, use a restroom, or get water we encountered other cyclists and we often were either passing or being passed by others. E-bikes? Yep, there are plenty of them using the ARBT. There’s no escaping them these days.

It was somewhat disorienting at first because we were starting in a new location and the entrance to the trail was convoluted. We did find the route but we encountered workmen digging up the trail with heavy equipment. After some odd stares as we passed we encountered workmen who informed us the trail was blocked ahead and that we had to turn back and ride on the levee road instead. The levee is just above the ARBT and varies from dirt to pavement. We eventually found a workman who let us cut through a chainlink barrier up to the levee and eventually we got past the closed portion. That was the only mishap of the day.

Being a weekday the picnic areas were devoid of users; on weekends with good weather they are packed. Monday was clearly the day the park services takes advantage to mow the enormous acreage of lawns they have to maintain. The smell of freshly cut grass was everywhere.

Once we arrived at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery we had our first “climb”: across the bridge to the north side to continue. After all that flatness it was a struggle! After the climb there is a steep drop down to Lake Natoma. Lake Natoma is a long, placid body of water that scullers use to full advantage. Rowing Nationals have been held here and even on a weekday rowers were plying the water. This section of the trail was closed about a decade ago in order not to disturb a pair of Bald Eagles that had set up a nest above the trail. Then not long after they vacated, a rock slide during a wet winter completely blocked the trail and took a long time to be rehabilitated. Now it’s back to its former glory. Continuing towards the town of Folsom we climbed again. We didn’t drop into Folsom, which we have in the past for lunch, and instead forged on to Beals Point. Just out of Folsom you’ll see the dam ahead. As you approach it you leave the river behind and emerge from the river valley to find you are actually in a suburb with plenty of traffic. But the trail is still separate and you continue for another mile up a gentle climb to Beals Point.

At Beals we stopped to have our packed lunch as we watched the paddleboarders get their equipment ready. There were several groups of young picnickers on the beach. Although we didn’t intend to go to Granite Bay, the trail north of Beals is currently shut down for repairs.

After a relaxing break we headed back to Sacramento. Typically there is a headwind of some sort as you head westward but not today. We took our time in no rush to get back to the car. An added benefit of riding the ARBT on a Monday was that the lighter traffic on I-80; on Sundays there is inevitably a crush of afternoon traffic as the Tahoe crowd returns. However with the current construction to I-80 just west of Sacramento we still had to fight to get past Davis.

This year it was just the two of us. I wonder what it would have been like to ride with 33 other Spokers!