Given the fact that my stomach comes in only second to my gonads to totally controlling me, I decided to start the ride in Larkspur at Emporio Rulli, a fine Italian bakery. The goal was to have a nice food joint to end the ride at. And guess what, it worked!
We got on the road around 10:00, nice ride through downtown Larkspur. In the 30 years Ross and I have been in the Bay Area, have never been to Larkspur. Go figure! It's a charming town, lots of old Victorian buildings, great tiny park with huge redwoods and, you can actually park your car and not have to pay. Nice option when you cart your bikes on the car. The ride took us over to Hwy 101, over the highway and then, to the peninsula. It's hilarious how many bikers there are in Marin county - no kidding, more bikers on this road than cars. And, not just bikers, but fully garbed, color coordinated bikers - packs wearing the same colorful clothing. Damn I wish I had taken some pictures.
We don't get too far onto Paradise Drive before I get a flat. No big deal, small puncture and we are right by a Country Day school, so I get to change my flat on a nice wooden deck fully equipped with a picnic table. Made the job easier. I also got to test out my worthless bike pump - hey, it's stylish and fits into my saddle bag, but it only has 4" of play, so it would have taken me all day to pump up the tire. Luckily, other pumps on Ross' and Pete's bikes did the trick. Off we go, about 20 minutes lost.
Paradise Drive is gorgeous - many trees and terrific views of the San Francisco Bay. We passed by a marina filled with boats of all kinds, then past many homes built into the hill, with spectacular views of the bay. It was pretty cool - actually, I was freezing in my light jersey and shorts. Another lesson learned - as the weather cools I need to bring along some warmer clothes. Hey, it's all a learning process. After about 10 miles, we pull into downtown Tiburon and stop for a bio break and some coffee/hot chocolate. Great rest stop! And, I got to put on Pete's long sleeved shirt - what a god send. Just a bit more clothing made so much difference.
Spent about 30 minutes relaxing and sipping the hot drinks, then off we went to ride back to Larkspur and a potentially terrific lunch. Easy ride back, except that Pete forgot his backpack by the chair. I was leading the pack and at some point, no longer saw Ross and Pete in my mirror (ah, love the clip on mirror, makes it so much easier to see behind me!). I stopped, waited a few minutes, still no Ross or Pete. Hmm, the bad thoughts come - did they go down? I backtrack and as expected, soon find them. Pete had high-tailed it back to the cafe to get his backpack and was just catching up to Ross when I got to them. Nice to have remembered the pack! Uneventful ride back to Larkspur.
Lunch was well, friggen fantastic. Great panini and cookies for dessert. So nice to sit inside, where it was warm and look outside to see the throngs of bikers passing by. Relaxing way to end the ride.
Statistics
- Time: 2 hours riding
- Distance: 22 miles
- Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
- Max Speed: did not record
- Temperature: low 60's
- Wind: bit of a breeze in places, 10-15 mph
Physical Feelings
- easy ride, no aches or pains, barely felt tired. No tired legs afterwards. Ate well afterwards, Cliff Bar with hot chocolate in Tiburon. Not a great night sleep prior night.
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