Got up this morning to a weather report that said that we would be having a 25 mph wind from the south. Since I needed a recovery ride I decided to do a flat ride and it would be perfect to have a nice tailwind on the way home. My brother decided to go with me. He's 15 years younger than me and just retired. He's been riding like hell and dropped 20 lbs. He has one of the newer Looks with an Ultegra group on it. So I decided to take my Time VX with an Ultegra group. Make it the French Connection.
We left at 8:45 into that headwind early so it was perhaps only 7-10 mph. It took us an hour of easy riding to go from San Leandro the 15 miles to the park adjacent to the Dumbarton Bridge. We did the next 10 miles cross wind in a half hour and stopped at Paris Baguette. The first 5 miles is across what can barely be referred to as "pavement". It is so rough that its more like pave'. About a mile into it some SOB on the freeway must have been doing their usual California Speed Limit (as fast as your car can go) and cut it too close to a car he was passing. The ensuing wreck took out the car he was passing and threw his car airborne through about 30-40 feet of fencing onto the side road that goes to the bike lane across the bridge and into the only tree for miles. We had to work our way around the 5 or 6 cop vehicles and the first tow truck that had just loaded what was left of the speeder's car onto its flatbed. Then we rode up to the bridge and over it teeth rattling on the pretend pavement. Though they are putting patches on it.
As we started over the bridge my brother took off like a rocket but I was recovering from Thursday since the Saturday ride didn't do much in the way of recovery. That one went in the reverse direction and the wind turned around and was on the nose both way. Near the top I caught up with him. I think he slowed down to wait for me. Besides, he knew I had bigger gears than him and could have caught him on the way down. Better to look like he was waiting for me than getting caught.
Last tine I was at Paris Baguette they had a sandwich like creation that was a "savory" pastry so I got something that looked somewhat similar. What it turned out to be was a sweet pastry around a hot sausage. (And no kidding HOT.) Rather odd but what the heck, It was different.
We spent about a half hour there and then took off to come back. So as usual the weather report was completely wrong and the 25 mph wind was out of the north and not the south.
On the way down we had taken the shortest route on a main road without a bike lane. As is usual with California drivers they wanted to drive in the right lane despite the other two being empty. Close passes were the order of the day. On the way back with much more traffic I decided to take the back roads. While the side roads are completely empty you have to move from one to the other on main drags where the cars are doing the usual 20 mph over the speed limit and have no intentions of yielding to bicycles. So it's a game of dodge Dodge.
About halfway back I started getting the little brother (he's 5'8" and I'm 6'4") routine - "Are we there yet?" Hell, he's been doing 70 mile rides all the time since he retired a couple of months ago and it's a lot windier out where he lives than here.
Finally we pulled into my driveway at 12:15 at 55 miles. It should have been a recovery ride but wasn't because of the wind and having to JUMP across the roads to miss traffic flying by. In in one spot the San Mateo Bridge empties directly onto the city streets. Because the traffic is going 90 mph on the bridge they can't slow for the stop light on the streets and often blow through the red light at 60 mph or more.
Luckily it looks like it will rain on Tuesday so I won't be taking the normal 37 mile 3,400 feet of climbing ride. So I should be ready for the Thursday ride for the usual 45 mile 3 hour ride with only 2,500 feet of climbing. Just once I'd like to have a tailwind coming home though.
And only one time in five years have I watched a cop pull over a car for breaking the speed limits. California driving laws are a complete joke. No one pays any attention to them and hence California consistently has the largest number of bicyclist deaths and injuries.
We left at 8:45 into that headwind early so it was perhaps only 7-10 mph. It took us an hour of easy riding to go from San Leandro the 15 miles to the park adjacent to the Dumbarton Bridge. We did the next 10 miles cross wind in a half hour and stopped at Paris Baguette. The first 5 miles is across what can barely be referred to as "pavement". It is so rough that its more like pave'. About a mile into it some SOB on the freeway must have been doing their usual California Speed Limit (as fast as your car can go) and cut it too close to a car he was passing. The ensuing wreck took out the car he was passing and threw his car airborne through about 30-40 feet of fencing onto the side road that goes to the bike lane across the bridge and into the only tree for miles. We had to work our way around the 5 or 6 cop vehicles and the first tow truck that had just loaded what was left of the speeder's car onto its flatbed. Then we rode up to the bridge and over it teeth rattling on the pretend pavement. Though they are putting patches on it.
As we started over the bridge my brother took off like a rocket but I was recovering from Thursday since the Saturday ride didn't do much in the way of recovery. That one went in the reverse direction and the wind turned around and was on the nose both way. Near the top I caught up with him. I think he slowed down to wait for me. Besides, he knew I had bigger gears than him and could have caught him on the way down. Better to look like he was waiting for me than getting caught.
Last tine I was at Paris Baguette they had a sandwich like creation that was a "savory" pastry so I got something that looked somewhat similar. What it turned out to be was a sweet pastry around a hot sausage. (And no kidding HOT.) Rather odd but what the heck, It was different.
We spent about a half hour there and then took off to come back. So as usual the weather report was completely wrong and the 25 mph wind was out of the north and not the south.
On the way down we had taken the shortest route on a main road without a bike lane. As is usual with California drivers they wanted to drive in the right lane despite the other two being empty. Close passes were the order of the day. On the way back with much more traffic I decided to take the back roads. While the side roads are completely empty you have to move from one to the other on main drags where the cars are doing the usual 20 mph over the speed limit and have no intentions of yielding to bicycles. So it's a game of dodge Dodge.
About halfway back I started getting the little brother (he's 5'8" and I'm 6'4") routine - "Are we there yet?" Hell, he's been doing 70 mile rides all the time since he retired a couple of months ago and it's a lot windier out where he lives than here.
Finally we pulled into my driveway at 12:15 at 55 miles. It should have been a recovery ride but wasn't because of the wind and having to JUMP across the roads to miss traffic flying by. In in one spot the San Mateo Bridge empties directly onto the city streets. Because the traffic is going 90 mph on the bridge they can't slow for the stop light on the streets and often blow through the red light at 60 mph or more.
Luckily it looks like it will rain on Tuesday so I won't be taking the normal 37 mile 3,400 feet of climbing ride. So I should be ready for the Thursday ride for the usual 45 mile 3 hour ride with only 2,500 feet of climbing. Just once I'd like to have a tailwind coming home though.
And only one time in five years have I watched a cop pull over a car for breaking the speed limits. California driving laws are a complete joke. No one pays any attention to them and hence California consistently has the largest number of bicyclist deaths and injuries.
