Retirement Adventure #1
Retirement Adventure #1
Summary of Day 1, Day 2, Day3 and Day 4
Thanks to all the team members out there for your tremendous support! We are having a blast and the hills just keep on coming.
Since I decided not to carry a laptop, I'm only going to post info when the hotel has an available computer or a good friend (in this case, Nita Fariss, Larry's Mom) has a computer I can use. Needless to say, my blog will only hit a few high/low lights while the authoritative journal will be at bamacyclist.com (ride leader Mike Munk's journal).
Nevertheless, I want to jot down a few memories for posterity and your enjoyment.
Day 1
The ride out of Burlingame, CA, our start point, was wild and wooley (Randy Larsen, that means "very exciting" in French!). The combination of road/path closures due to the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, running races, and road work made the trip to dip our rear wheel in the Pacific a real "cluster" event. The wheel dip occurred in the vicinity of the SF Zoo and was a great warm up of about 20 miles from start to feet wet. If I figure out how to post photos, you'll see them soon. If I'm either technically challenged or too tired, photos will come a bit later.
We then departed the Pacific to cross the Golden Gate bridge. We did an unplanned drive thru of the Presidio and only God knows where else before we had a crossing in the mist to Sausalito. It was a wonderful experience.
Just when we thought we'd had our navigating challenges behind us, we searched for a turn point that was now displaced by an overpass. About 10 miles later, the 20 of us had "bonded" and rearrived at the original turn point. This made our first day trip a 96 miler instead of an 86 miler. Small potatoes indeed and the entire group kept a great sense of humor and discovered that "Murphy" also travels via bike and helped us find the hotel in Fairfield.
Day 2
The ride from Fairfield to Sacramento was so fun and painless. Lots of shade and country riding. After the challenges of the first day, all enjoyed the lower stress of riding about 51 miles to arrive at the Best Western. One of our riders, Mark _____, from Davis, CA offered to guide us on a short "off route" tour of the UC Davis campus and nearby bike paths. We had a blast meandering among the beautiful coeds and settled down for a cup of Starbucks while Mark stopped in to his hometown bike shop. Yes friends, war and bike riding across the country can be hell. After ambling along for about 51 miles, we called it a day and had the pleasure of visiting at the house of one of our riders, Scott Terpstra. Kathy and Scott treated us to a great dinner and then we came home and crashed. 0600 still comes early.
Day 3
Our ride from Sacramento to Auburn gave us our first taste of hill climbing. Although we only ascended about 1500 vertical feet, there were some hills that required us to use all of that great technology on our bicycles to arrive in Auburn with plenty of energy for Day 4, the acknowledged most difficult day. Our hotel was right next to the river and the adjoining bike path which made the day's start super easy and pleasant. Larry Fariss, Scott Terpstra and I rode with the ride leader, Mike Munk (Lt Col USAF, retired) and learned some great things about biking. Mike has us very well organized and despite hurding 36 cats along a 3,840 mile course, he maintains a sharp sense of humor. We got our thighs warmed up after another 50+ mile easy day and arrived in Auburn knowing that the next day would challenge all 36 of us. After the ride, Larry Fariss and I drove to Grass Valley, CA to visit his Mom, Nita and visit the home of his brother, Brett. Brett and his wife, Sherry, hosted a birthday party for their son, Reuben and a cast of thousands (okay, maybe 15). Lots of love and hugs exchanged with Grandma Nita presiding and all celebrating Larry's visit to the neighborhood. After a 45 minute drive back to the hotel on autopilot, we again crashed for the 0600 wakeup.
Day 4
Whew! It is now Wednesday night, 7 June and I've peddled an enchanting 73 miles up over Donner Pass and rode from Auburn to Truckee, CA. This was truly an exhilarating day. We climbed about 7000 feet, again navigated around road work (at least some of us did--make that Steve did and Larry +10 didn't), rode about 20 miles on I-80 (15 miles with a wide, clean, beautiful concrete shoulder on the way up and then 5 miles down a dilapidated, torn up asphalt piece of shoulder at speeds that caused a few to blow a tire or two), and finished in the quaint town of Truckee. This 73 mile ride was not for the faint of heart. All members of the group finished this leg and had wide smiles after their first significant achievement. Larry and I are both excited because we finished with a good supply of gas left in our tanks. That is definitely a "good thing" for tomorrow we pedal over Mt Rose, an 11,000 foot peak and end up in Sparks, NV. The ride is about 20 up, 17.5 down and then 12.5 rolling. By this time tomorrow we will have more mountain climbing under our belts and I should be independently wealthy from winning my fortune at the roulette table!
Thanks to all your comments and support in the hinterlands. I am having as much fun at 49 with a bike as I did when I was 9. I cannot wait to get up tomorrow morning and do it still again.
Summary of Day 1, Day 2, Day3 and Day 4
Thanks to all the team members out there for your tremendous support! We are having a blast and the hills just keep on coming.
Since I decided not to carry a laptop, I'm only going to post info when the hotel has an available computer or a good friend (in this case, Nita Fariss, Larry's Mom) has a computer I can use. Needless to say, my blog will only hit a few high/low lights while the authoritative journal will be at bamacyclist.com (ride leader Mike Munk's journal).
Nevertheless, I want to jot down a few memories for posterity and your enjoyment.
Day 1
The ride out of Burlingame, CA, our start point, was wild and wooley (Randy Larsen, that means "very exciting" in French!). The combination of road/path closures due to the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, running races, and road work made the trip to dip our rear wheel in the Pacific a real "cluster" event. The wheel dip occurred in the vicinity of the SF Zoo and was a great warm up of about 20 miles from start to feet wet. If I figure out how to post photos, you'll see them soon. If I'm either technically challenged or too tired, photos will come a bit later.
We then departed the Pacific to cross the Golden Gate bridge. We did an unplanned drive thru of the Presidio and only God knows where else before we had a crossing in the mist to Sausalito. It was a wonderful experience.
Just when we thought we'd had our navigating challenges behind us, we searched for a turn point that was now displaced by an overpass. About 10 miles later, the 20 of us had "bonded" and rearrived at the original turn point. This made our first day trip a 96 miler instead of an 86 miler. Small potatoes indeed and the entire group kept a great sense of humor and discovered that "Murphy" also travels via bike and helped us find the hotel in Fairfield.
Day 2
The ride from Fairfield to Sacramento was so fun and painless. Lots of shade and country riding. After the challenges of the first day, all enjoyed the lower stress of riding about 51 miles to arrive at the Best Western. One of our riders, Mark _____, from Davis, CA offered to guide us on a short "off route" tour of the UC Davis campus and nearby bike paths. We had a blast meandering among the beautiful coeds and settled down for a cup of Starbucks while Mark stopped in to his hometown bike shop. Yes friends, war and bike riding across the country can be hell. After ambling along for about 51 miles, we called it a day and had the pleasure of visiting at the house of one of our riders, Scott Terpstra. Kathy and Scott treated us to a great dinner and then we came home and crashed. 0600 still comes early.
Day 3
Our ride from Sacramento to Auburn gave us our first taste of hill climbing. Although we only ascended about 1500 vertical feet, there were some hills that required us to use all of that great technology on our bicycles to arrive in Auburn with plenty of energy for Day 4, the acknowledged most difficult day. Our hotel was right next to the river and the adjoining bike path which made the day's start super easy and pleasant. Larry Fariss, Scott Terpstra and I rode with the ride leader, Mike Munk (Lt Col USAF, retired) and learned some great things about biking. Mike has us very well organized and despite hurding 36 cats along a 3,840 mile course, he maintains a sharp sense of humor. We got our thighs warmed up after another 50+ mile easy day and arrived in Auburn knowing that the next day would challenge all 36 of us. After the ride, Larry Fariss and I drove to Grass Valley, CA to visit his Mom, Nita and visit the home of his brother, Brett. Brett and his wife, Sherry, hosted a birthday party for their son, Reuben and a cast of thousands (okay, maybe 15). Lots of love and hugs exchanged with Grandma Nita presiding and all celebrating Larry's visit to the neighborhood. After a 45 minute drive back to the hotel on autopilot, we again crashed for the 0600 wakeup.
Day 4
Whew! It is now Wednesday night, 7 June and I've peddled an enchanting 73 miles up over Donner Pass and rode from Auburn to Truckee, CA. This was truly an exhilarating day. We climbed about 7000 feet, again navigated around road work (at least some of us did--make that Steve did and Larry +10 didn't), rode about 20 miles on I-80 (15 miles with a wide, clean, beautiful concrete shoulder on the way up and then 5 miles down a dilapidated, torn up asphalt piece of shoulder at speeds that caused a few to blow a tire or two), and finished in the quaint town of Truckee. This 73 mile ride was not for the faint of heart. All members of the group finished this leg and had wide smiles after their first significant achievement. Larry and I are both excited because we finished with a good supply of gas left in our tanks. That is definitely a "good thing" for tomorrow we pedal over Mt Rose, an 11,000 foot peak and end up in Sparks, NV. The ride is about 20 up, 17.5 down and then 12.5 rolling. By this time tomorrow we will have more mountain climbing under our belts and I should be independently wealthy from winning my fortune at the roulette table!
Thanks to all your comments and support in the hinterlands. I am having as much fun at 49 with a bike as I did when I was 9. I cannot wait to get up tomorrow morning and do it still again.
posted by Steve King at 4:42 PM
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