Another Outing from Geno’s Perspective

On May 11th, friends and I joined the Sacramento Wheelmen on their Zodiac Trip to Guerneville, Calif. After 4 days of hard riding around the region on roads such as Coleman Valley, Joy, and Kings Grade; we departed for the city of Anderson just south of Redding to do the Anderson River Park Century. Unfortunately for us, the weather in the central regions was predicted to be in the 100’s. The six in our group all completed the century safely and in good spirits regardless of the 105 temperature during the last 20 plus miles. In all, it was a challenging week of riding and a great outing with friends. See story and pictures on Geno’s blog. By the way, all of this hard training we’ve been doing is in preparation for the upcoming Bicycle Tour of Colorado during the last full week in June. A group of us will join 1,000 plus riders on a fully supported tour around Colorado covering 513 miles over 7 days with the highest pass being 12,326'. Wish us Luck.

Santa Cruz in May

Kay and I managed to squeezed in a short 4-night trip to Santa Cruz during May (2 thru 6) staying in a one bedroom studio one block from West Cliff Drive along the coast. The small studio was located on the backside of a residential home on a quiet neighborhood street. While there, we were joined by family for a day out and about ending with dinner at the ever popular Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery in Moss landing. Although Kay and I had hoped to spend several days riding our tandem bike around the region, a persistent light rain curtailed our plans somewhat. We did, however, get in a 50 mile bike ride to Watsonville one day. It was a little longer than I expected, but Kay was a good sport and we met a local rider who showed us some shortcuts back to Santa Cruz. As always, Santa Cruz is a wonder area with pleasant temperatures, a picturesque coastline, and an eclectic collection of folks. Always struck by the colorful flowers seen along the coast, Kay wishes they would grow in the central valley. Alas, she’ll just have to enjoy them when we visit. Other activities include downtown browsing, quiet walks on the coast watching surfers and wildlife, and visiting the Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab which is free the first Tuesday of each month. Use the link below to see all the pictures.

Link to Photo Album: Santa Cruz 2009

Sacramento Wheelmen’s Spring 2009 Bike Tour

On April 20th, I joined the Sacramento Wheelmen on part of their week long loaded bike tour organized by Dave Clifton. Nine people rendezvoused at the Solano County Park campground 6 miles north of Winters on the first night. It was a loose set up with people fitting in what they could time wise. Five people stayed with the group for the entire tour which concluded in San Jose with a train ride home. I left the group after Santa Cruz intent on riding home through the East Bay. The busy East Bay is a conglomerate of adjoining cities with San Jose in the south and Concord to the north; and lots of development and traffic between. In the end, with the help of an East Bay Bike map and the knowledge of other riders like Ralph and Dave, I was able to make it home over 3 days via the Antioch Bridge. I’m guessing that my 7-day bike tour covered about 400 miles. My daily destinations were the Solano County Park, Skyline County Park in Napa, Montara Lighthouse Youth Hostel on the coast south of S.F., New Brighton SP in Capitola, my brother’s home in East San Jose, motel in Clayton, and my home in Sacramento. In conclusion, it was great to spend some time with other club members and to explore areas by bike at my own rhythm. Use the link below to see all the pictures.

Link to Photo Album: Sac Wheelmen Spring Bike Tour