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Old 11-09-08, 11:48 PM
  #32  
bigbossman 
Dolce far niente
 
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Northern CA
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I was feeling a bit cheated after bailing and taking the shortcut on Saturday's ride, so I accepted Bikingshearer's invitation for a ride Sunday.

We started from my house, and went straight up Norris Canyon towards Crow Canyon. There is a little bit of Norris that is in excess of 14%, and in short order I was questioning the wisdom of doing this ride. Soon the suffering was over, and we headed down the backside and continued on.

My legs were pretty dead from Saturday's ride, but I took it easy and managed to not hold anyone up this time. Once we reached Castro Valley, we turned up Redwood and started climbing some more. The major climb up Redwood is pretty easy, and getting to the top was achieved in pretty short order.

The scenery up there is very nice, and the traffic was sparse. We really had a good time just tooling along and enjoying the day. There were lots of wet patches left over in the shady corners, and the descents were a bit on the chilly side through the forested parts. But after we turned off on Pinehurst and headed for Moraga, the temperature warmed up acceptably.

We reached Moraga in short order, and I insisted on coffee and a pastry, so we stopped at a local coffee house/café. After a decent cup o' joe and a remarkably bad piece of coffee cake, we took off and headed for Walnut Creek.

Since Carl and Rich had started in Walnut Creek, we split up there and I headed for home - a straight 10 mile run down Danville Blvd. By the time I reached my driveway, it was getting noticeably cooler and the sun was setting fast. All told, 42 miles and another 2500 or so in climbing for the day.

For a weekend that was supposed to be a total loss, I managed to bag a grand total of about 85 miles and 6500-7000' of climbing. Not too shabby.

A few pics:

Garmin trace:


Las Trampas Ridge, looking towards home:


Autumn colors:


Carl and Rich, climbing up Redwood:


A nice bit of shady road:
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