…eventually. All morning we had light rain, or some heavier rain. Our 9 am start got pushed back to 10, 11, and then after lunch. We ate ham and cheese croissants for lunch and it was still cold and wet. Finally at 1 PM the sun came out and we hit the road. Our first […]
The ride along the Gorge de la Nesque is one of the best cycling roads in the world. The climb is 10 miles long and is all uphill at 2 to 5%, so it is steady but not steep. The views are spectacular. Actually that understates it, but ‘spectacular’ will have to do. And there […]
I saw the signs as we started up the Col de la Suzette. “Route Barrèe”. These signs are common on the roads in France, but usually they mean that there might be a small excavation or blockage coming up, and cyclists can almost always just ride around it. Or at worst, walk 50 meters or […]
But cyclists call it something else. And we use words not appropriate for this G Rated blog. Riding in windy conditions is really irritating. I would much rather climb cols in calm conditions than ride on flat roads into a stiff breeze. And since we go slower into the wind that we do when it […]
When the most irritating thing that happens to me is a creased crossword puzzle, it had to be a pretty good day. Sunday was the first time the high temperature rose above 70 degrees since November 12, 2018. That is 125 days, and I learned from Mark Finan on KCRA that a streak this long […]
I bought my Honda Element back in 2006, and on Friday the odometer turned over 100,000 miles. Appropriately, when we reached six figures Stoker and the CoMotion and I were on our way to Ione in search of some hills to climb. For most of those 100,000 miles there has been a bike, or two, […]
Yesterday was the 11th edition of Pedaling Paths to Independence, a charity bike ride to benefit the Community Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The ride is a delightful romp from Linden to Woodward Reservoir and back through Milton on the return. The February weather can be cold, foggy, rainy or brutally windy, but […]
Ed Kohler, aka ‘Big Ed’ is moving to Idaho. The Stockton Bicycle Club is really going to miss him. And those of us who found shelter from the wind riding on his wheel will especially miss him. Big Ed is a big guy. He is very fit and can churn away with lots of power […]
That phrase is at the very top of our club’s monthly ride schedule. Today’s planned club ride is from Livermore up Mines Road to the Junction, and then possibly up to Mount Hamilton. Looking at the forecast and considering that this ride goes up into some major hills where the odds are it will be […]
and Strava segments. Yesterday’s club ride started in Tracy and journeyed through the Altamont hills to the Livermore Valley. Our club rides here a couple of times each year, but in 20 years of club riding this was only the second time I had joined in. After yesterday I am wondering why I have stayed […]