Mount Shasta Summit Century

Another first! For me, this has been the year for lots of “firsts”. First time for the SW Calistoga Zodiac, SW Guerneville Zodiac, Anderson River Park Century, Bicycle Tour of Colorado, Mt. Evans climb, and now, the Shasta Summit Century. It’s a challenging 100 mile ride up the mountains surrounding Mt. Shasta City with a final 14 mile ascend up Mt Shasta to 7,730 feet during the hot part of the day. Total elevation gain for the century ride is 10,500 feet. If you are really feeling strong, you can do their Super Century which covered 138 miles with 16,500 feet of climbing. Two from our group of five, Geno and Clayton, completed the Super Century. Way to go!

My “congratulations” to everyone in our group, which also included Peter and Saxon, for doing what they did. Not many people could ever imagine a feat such as this. Unless you are physically gifted like the top competitive cyclist of the world, climbing uphill is hard work. For hours I watched riders slowly churning the pedals up Mt. Shasta, the last and longest climb of the day, with their gaze fixed on the road ahead and lost in their thoughts. At that point, it was all about determination and perseverance. Upon the road’s end below the majestic peaks of Mt. Shasta, I felt only satisfaction. What a great challenging ride! This was not something I was seeking to do, but once it was presented to me, I couldn’t pass it up.

Sea Ranch

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Sea Ranch with family in July. Sea Ranch is a coastal home development just south of Gualala off Highway 1 along the picturesque shoreline of northern California. Fifty miles north of there is the quaint town of Mendocino, a day trip during our stay. For most visitors, the remoteness of Sea Ranch makes it a good place to settle back with family and friends, or just a good book. It’s a quiet place great for walks along beaches and the buff overlooks. With patience and a careful eye, you can easily spot wildlife moving quietly about the natural flora of the region. Use the link below to see all the pictures.

Link to Photo Album: Sea Ranch

Colorado 2009

During the latter half of June 2009, a group of us traveled to Colorado for the purpose of riding the “2009 Bicycle Tour of Colorado”, BTC, which immediately follows the well known “Ride the Rockies”. Of these two supported bicycle tours, this was considered the more difficult endeavor with a total of 512 miles over 6 riding days and 31,000 feet of elevation gain. Per my recent memory, which is getting shorter as I get older, this was probably the most challenging event I’ve done in sometime. The tour simply packed a lot of riding and climbing into a week with one rest day. Needless to say, I rode at a touring pace intent on completing the day with sufficient energy to survive the week. With such an approach, I found the tour challenging, but fun and enjoyable. The people who supported the tour as well as the riders were great and the scenic route through the Rockies of Colorado was stunning. Two of the mountain passes, Cottonwood and Independence, were above 12,000 feet. Breathtaking is the best way to describe the landscape surrounding the Rockies. I can understand why Colorado draws so many visitors and new residents.

In summary, seven of us, Geno, Peter, Bob A, Dennis, Frank, Bob T, and I, made the trip to Colorado leaving on June 16th. We departed for the BTC early so we could get better acclimated to the high altitudes in Colorado and to spend time visiting the Colorado National Monument outside Fruita. After a great BTC tour, three of us, Geno, Frank and I, took a rest day in Glenwood Springs to recover. We basically slept, eat, and used the opportunity to soak our tired bodies in the famous Glenwood Hot Springs. With a little rest under our belts, we then drove to Idaho Springs to bike the highest paved road in the U.S. on top of Mt. Evans ending at 14,100 feet. As Dick F. would say, “there’s no better time then now”. We’re in great physical condition and we’re in the area. Again, the landscape and views throughout the ride were outstanding, a must see if you’re in the area. Note that most people drive to the top. Biking is optional. During our drive home, we also attempted to hike the 13,100 feet Wheeler Peak within the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. But, after two miles of hiking, we decided to abort due to rain and thunder. A wise move! No need to push our luck as Geno would say.

Many thanks to Geno for organizing the group and for leading us through the necessary training to prepared for this arduous trip. It was great fun and a challenge. So what can we do next to top this? Until then, I’m simply glad to take a break from all the hard training rides.

My trip pictures are divided into four groups: Colorado National Monument, BTC, Mt. Evans, and Wheeler Peak. I hope the pictures give you a sense of our experiences during the trip. Use the link below each picture to link to the photo set.

Colorado National Monument

Link to Photo Album: Colorado National Monument

2009 Bicycle Tour of Colorado

Link to Photo Album: Colorado 2009 BTC

Riding Mt. Evans

Link to Photo Album: Colorado Mt. Evans

Wheeler Peak

Link to Photo Album: Wheeler Peak

On the Road Again

Restlessness prevails and I’m again on the road. With our bikes loaded, Geno, Dennis and I headed out on another short bike tour on May 29th. In total, our 6-day self-supported bike tour covered 252 miles with 12, 500 feet of elevation gain. We ended in San Francisco catching the ferry to Oakland followed by a train ride back to Sacramento. Plans are made but you can’t control the weather and spring 2009 has been unpredictable, too hot or cool. We started with temperatures in the high 90’s and ended with 4 days of foggy weather. “June gloom” as Geno described it referring to the beginning of fog season along the coast. However, the gloomy weather did nothing to lessen our spirits for its always adventurous fun to be out on the road touring by bike. Life on the road is simple; ride, eat and sleep. We certainly did our economic duty supporting the local eateries along the way.

We have done various iterations of this route in the past. This time, our overnight destinations were Lake Solano County Park, Calistoga Fairgrounds, Bodega Dunes SP, Olema Campgrounds, and the Marin Headland Youth Hostel. We encountered some new roads on the way to the Bodega Dunes SP. Use the link below to see all the pictures.

Link to Photo Album: May 2009 Bike Tour

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