I had it in my head that I wanted to start off 2009 on the right foot. That foot being in a cycling shoe pedaling up Mt. Hamilton. It seems that most holidays have some kind of special annual gathering/ride. There's the CalPed Thanksgiving ride- Danville/Pleasanton/Blackhawk loop. The Thanksgiving Kennedy dirt ride complete with turkey brunch at the top. On New Years Day there is the Mount Hamilton ride.
I have been thinking about doing the Death Ride in July so I have been riding/working out during the fall/winter. Would be nice to get through the holidays without gaining any weight! I did it...
Feeling a bit more fit than this past summer got me to thinking.... I'll ride Mt. Hamilton. Dave was talking about it, Frank was leading a group, so I figured if I found someone to ride with, I would try. I asked Sue if she would be up for it. We both planned to ride as far as Grant Ranch and then decide if we could make it to the top.
The day started off chilly, 45F, foggy and wet. We knew at some point we would climb out of the clouds. At Grant Ranch we rode into sunshine and beautiful weather. Cool and perfect for climbing. We decided to go for the summit. Dave passed us (started 30 minutes after we did) while we were taking a "break". Sue and I made it to the Lick Observatory on the summit. Was a hard climb but worth the effort... was great looking out at the valley still covered in fog. Fog that we would have to descend through to get back to the car.
The descent was tough, lots of sand left on the road from the snow a couple weeks prior. Dave, Sue and I rode down together. The first few miles has tight turns with constant braking. Nearing Grant Ranch the road eases up and you can push the speed. Once we were back in the fog it got COLD and very wet. With about 4 miles to go my legs were screaming from the cold. I thought I was done for when I rode through a flock of vultures munching on something in the road. They don't fly very fast... wish I had a picture of that.
At the bottom we said our goodbyes and I headed for the nearest hot chocolate I could find.
So starts the year. I am glad to be back on the bike, and I am looking forward to many more miles on the road.
2 weeks ago
