On the 2nd day of the 30 Days of Biking, I needed to go on a light spin, so that I can have enough energy for the Nifty 1050 ride (in Berkeley, 50 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing). I decided to go on a ride with the South Bay and Peninsula Biking meet up group.
I rode over from home to meet them in Palo Alto. As always, I mistimed my arrival and I got there way too early. So I decided to do a few extra loops around some of the hills, som I made the 30 mile ride into more of a 50 miler, but not enough to wear myself out.
It’s a nice social group (for me at least, but my definition of social may be much different from their definition). There were a couple of triathletes in the group, plus a few that just love to ride their bike, but not at the beginner level. At least everyone has good bike handling skills, which is a lot more than some other social rides I’ve been on. It was definitely a social ride, but still one where you did get some workout.
We did a counterclockwise direction on the Portola loop. We only got one flat on the ride, so the stops were kept at a minimum. The group did get splintered a little bit on the climbs, but it wasn’t too bad.
I was first to get to the corner of Alpine and Portola. I got a chance to take a few shots of the rest of the group (a rarity, as I’m usually the last one on my normal rides). Everyone arriving seemed to have a really happy smile on their face (most likely because of the downhill stretch we are going to embark upon).
When I got there, I noticed the San Mateo Sheriff had a booth set up right at that intersection. They were just wanted everyone to honor the stop sign, and just make sure everyone doesn’t just blow right past it. They also wanted to pay homage to those fallen cyclists (like Kristy Gough). One of the riders in the group, Michelle, visited the booth, and they were actually quite courteous to the cyclists. Yes, they were there as a presence, and I recall seeing some cyclist riding down to warn the cyclists that there are sherriffs parked at the intersection. However, they really wanted just to make sure the stop sign is observed, and just make everyone aware of general safety overall. They even gave us wristbands (kind of like the Livestrong bands).
They also gave away a blue teddy bear … I guess that’s their mascot. Here we have Michelle mounting him in a TT tuck position. A cycling teddy bear … imagine that.
This is a fun group. They also have Tuesday night rides … I think I’ll try to hook up with them on that.
Anyhow, wound up with another 48 miles, and 1773 feet climbing. Definitely a mellower ride than I normally do. Now to get some sleep, and suffer through 50 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing. Why do I do such things?
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