Iron Mtn Road Ride - Sunday, Aug 27

Edited to add: 8 am at the parking spot indicated in the link.

We've got plans in the works for a morning ride up Mormon-Emigrant/Iron Mountain. If anyone has words of wisdom about conditions, weather, etc., please add your 2 cents.

Route info from Beautiful Vista

Jersey ordering info

All the info you need to choose a style, size and pay via PayPal is on the ORDER FORM.



Remember, the deadline is Wednesday, June 14th.

Jersey Re-Order Progress

Amici Veloci - Fast Friends

OK - here's the count so far. We've not met minimum yet.
Short sleeve jersey - 24 (need 25)
Arm Warmers - 4 (need 25 if ordered alone, 15 if we get 10 long sleeve)
Long Sleeve - 6 (need 10)
It's still early, don't panic.

snap

JERSEY RE-ORDER

After much procrastination, I’ve finally got the new order process ready and Snap has graciously agreed to collect the orders with payment via PayPal. If we can get the orders collected by June 14, the orders will be shipped the week of August 7th. They’ll go off to the equally gracious yellow (to avoid CA taxes) who will ship the individual jerseys.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Amici Veloci story, here is the short version. Back in August 2004 I was diagnosed with MS and was open about it on this forum. I decided I wanted to ride in the Top Hat Classic 2005 (a local MS ride) and I suddenly received an incredible email from jobob, snap, aka_kim, veronica and Adventure_Girl. They wanted to be on a team with me! Wow, was I an emotional mess. Our team grew to 15 strong and we were the largest non-corporate fundraising team (thanks to many of you). Out of that we decided that we needed a jersey but that also we would try to ride one charity ride a year. We want anyone and everyone who wants a jersey to have the opportunity to buy one and encourage all to wear it in a charity event.


http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b310/SadieKate/Amici%20Veloci%20jersey/

The details:

• DEADLINE: JUNE 14
• Photos: go to the photobucket link above
• Items available: See order form which is for information purposes only. You will need to give snap all the details on the PayPal transaction.
  **We need 25 minimum short sleeve/sleeveless items for the min order.
  **25 min also applies to arm warmers and or long sleeve jerseys.
• Shipping: included in cost
• Payment: PayPal only
• Fit: if you have a local shop that carries Voler team kit, ask to try it on. Feel free to ask anyone who already has a Voler jersey for advice but check which fabric is used. The AV jersey is made from SQPro which does not stretch as much as Aries MicroPlus.

If you know anyone that may be interested, please feel free to direct them here www.amiciveloci.org.

May we all be Amici Veloci, fast friends.

Special thanks to spazz for her design help. I finally get to meet her Saturday!

Fleming Meadows - May 28, Sunday

Bubba and Sarah are planning a little jaunt at Fleming Meadows. Been too long since we've played in the dirt.

Time: Ready to ride at 10 AM
Where: The Trailhead

Call us if you want more info.

Mt Diablo 5/27/06 - road ride

Ride up South Gate Road to the summit (or wherever you want to turn around)

When: Saturday, May 27
Start: 7:30 or earlier if it is hot
Where: Train Museum in Danville http://www.museumsrv.org/directions.html
After Ride Rehab Location: La Ultima (New Mexican restaurant in walking distance)
Distance: 15 miles climbing up 3,850' and then back down the same path.

Dam Corners and Valleys Ride AGAIN - May 20

Saturday morning at 4:30 am and KCRA's triple doppler is showing clear skies. Looks like it could be one great day!

I'll only post again if it looks like **** when I deliver everyone to the Davis Double start.


We're going to try again. The Davis Double is also on May 20th so we may have a few sane people joining us whilst spouses go abuse themselves. The DD will have a rest stop at Markley Cove from 6-9 am so we should see the DD riders.

This ride will be a relaxed ramble through the countryside. We’ll climb northwest up the canyon alongside Putah Creek over the Monticello Dam and Cardiac Hill, which are the only big climbs of the day, to Moskowite Corner. From there, one little bump and then we fly down Wooden Valley to Mankas Corners and on to Fairfield where we'll take a food break at the coffee house. We’ll turn north, climb a few short rollers and then have a couple options: 1) a nice smooth ride all the way north back to Lake Solano Park and on to Winters or 2) head east across Vaca Valley Road, up Gibson Canyon and the east side of Cantelow. Option 2 rejoins the Option 1 riders for the smooth ride back to Winters.

Start: Steady Eddy's Coffee House in Winters (park in lot next door)
When: On our bikes by 7 am (early because of the heat and the boat hauling idjits)
Length: 62-72
Climbing: 2,780 without the extra climb of Cantelow

To get to Winters: Interstate 505 goes north right into Winters from I-80 or your can take Russell Blvd east out of Davis.

Let us know if you're interested.

Dam Corners and Valley road ride - Sunday, April 30

A reprise of a lovely route. This ride will be a relaxed ramble through the countryside. We’ll climb northwest up the canyon alongside Putah Creek over the Monticello Dam and Cardiac Hill, which are the only big climbs of the day, to Moskowite Corner. From there, one little bump and then we fly down Wooden Valley to Mankas Corners and on to Fairfield where we'll take a food break at the coffee house. We’ll turn north, climb a few short rollers and then have a couple options: 1) a nice smooth ride all the way north back to Lake Solano Park and on to Winters or 2) head east across Vaca Valley Road, up Gibson Canyon and the est side of Cantelow. Option 2 rejoins the Option 1 riders for the smooth ride back to Winters.

Start: Steady Eddy's Coffee House in Winters (use Rotary Park parking lot at Railroad and Main east of Steady Eddy's)
When: Ready to ride at 10 am
Length: 62-72
Climbing: 2,780 without the extra climb of Cantelow

To get to Winters: Interstate 505 goes north right into Winters from I-80 or your can take Russell Blvd east out of Davis.

Let us know if you're interested.

AV team jersey spotted in the desert!

Look where it turned up?

72 degrees fahrenheit. Lovely.

Friendship, Life, and Cycling

SK and I have been having an offline email conversation about this little (big?) electronic world through which many of us have become acquainted. But for the Team Estrogen forum, many of us may have never met...just waved a friendly hello as we rode by. But now as a result of that forum and Team AV, we have new friends that have affected our cycling and everyday lives in many ways.

Fer instance, do not most of us gals now call restrooms "elephants"? And we all know what a "cheese hill" is.

Yesterday I was out skate skiing in Park City and I ran across this sign. I immediately thought of Princess Zippy, who introduced most of us to the term "cheese hill". After zipping by the sign, I turned around and went back to take a picture. And it made me chuckle a few more times that day.

Thanks, P Zip and everyone else for making my life a little richer!

New Year's Day Road Ride

THIS ISN'T LOOKING GOOD. EXPECTING THE FREEWAY TO BE FLOODED THROUGH FAIRFIELD AGAIN SO DON'T EXPECT THE DAVIS CONTINGENT. THIS MAY BE A MOVIE AND HOT COCOA DAY.

If the trails are awash in mud, come join us on a road ride up Mt. Diablo. Seems a good way to welcome in the new year - not that Mad Cyclist's dirt ride wouldn't be just as good.

Princess Zippy is training for the DMD so she's going for the summit twice. She and her coach are starting at 8 am. The rest of us will meet them at the North Gate Entrance at 11 am.

I'm guessing that means being on your bike at Arbolado Park at 10:30 but I really can't remember how far the entrance is from the park so this time may change.

Probably head for the local pizza and beer joint after. I believe it has received the Jo Certificate of Approval.

If you want to carpool from Davis, you know how to reach us.

PS - Rain cancels, but if the skies just look threatening we may choose a more weather-friendly route.

Yellow's Yewtah "New Home" Adventures

As most of you know, I (yellow) relocated from Placerville, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah a couple of months ago. After living in a rathole for a month, we found a nice little restored home (originally built in 1890 at 850 square feet!) and moved in around the middle of November.

Our biggest challenge has been going from a 2100 square foot home in California to a 1400 square foot home in Utah. Now I think this is good because it has forced us to learn how to live with less (space, and therefore, stuff) but we've had other challenges that I didn't really anticipate.

Fer instance, the upstairs is a finished attic and while it is relatively spacious, there are few flat walls (most are the slope of the roofline) and only one smallish closet. Consequently, we still haven't figured out where to hang most of our clothes. We're looking into getting a "portable" wardrobe closet, but are having problems finding one that isn't too tall so that it doesn't come into contact with the sloping ceiling/wall. And how do you hang a mirror in the bathroom if the walls aren't flat? Oh, the challenges.

But today, this very morning, took the cake. We had our first very cold storm yesterday and last night (it got down to about 12 F), resulting in about 4 inches of snow here at the house in the city and a couple of FEET up at Alta, where I have been skiing. So OF COURSE I was going to go get some of that fresh, famous Utah powder. But...I go to flush the toilet in the downstairs bathroom and...it doesn't re-fill. Yep. Frozen pipes somewhere in this house that I'm still getting to know.

So I get on my grungy clothes and prepare to go under the house. I don't like confined spaces, so this is not something I am looking forward to. Fortunately, it's well lit, pretty spacious, and not nearly as scary as the Placerville house. And unfortunately, I discover that NONE of the very numerous (plastic) water pipes in the exposed area are insulated. Because there is more thawing required than can be accomplished with a hair dryer, I venture to Ace Hardware to purchase a space heater and some pipe insulation. I must have been a sight, all dirty from going under the house and, as I discovered later, with my shirt on backwards and inside out.

The good news is I got the pipes thawed and none of them were broken. I stayed down there and insulated everything as well as I could. And now that I'm done I'm pretty durn pleased with myself (though that doesn't make up for missing out on the good snow). My neighbor tells me this weather is not usual.

But the ultimate cruel fact-o-life is that it's not supposed to snow again in the near future, so I get crud tomorrow. It figures.

Cool and Pink!

Bubba and I had a few errands up in the foothills today, so we got in a quick loop in Cool. Mathilda has her new pink wheels and was just tickled . . . well, you get the point.

Don't think it got out of the 40s today. I think Old Man Winter is with us. Any place there are springs or the drainage isn't perfect, the horses have destroyed the trail. They even go off on the singletrack that was obviously built by the mountainbikers trying to minimize the damage. They're breaking down a bridge that should never have horses on it. Very frustrating what they are doing to public land.

Otherwise, we had a superb though quiet ride. We were the only bikers and most of the horse folk were finish up when we arrived. The bay berries were just glowing and the oak leaves were a carpet in some places. Knickerbocker Creek gurgled away but was very rideable. Some of our most memorable rides seem to be in the cold winter weather (see Utah rides below).

Guess we're just going to have to figure out how do help with the trail maintenance. Bubba's poison oak incident last year was very serious and I get sciatica when wielding a shovel. Maybe we can tote the lemonade. Need to find some way to help.

AV Late Fall Utah Meeting

SadieKate and Wrench Boy ventured to Salt Lake City, my new home, over Thanksgiving weekend to visit Wrench Boy's mother. Of course they were willing to bring their bikes.

We did two rides, one up in Mill Creek Canyon (brrrr!) and one on Antelope Island (an island in the Great Salt Lake). What fun it was to see and ride with them again. It was chilly (especially the ride up in Mill Creek Canyon), but we just wore lots of clothes and rode faster than we might normally! Oh! And we did have Thanksgiving dinner together at a lovely little bistro in one of Salt Lake's trendy neighborhoods. Thumbs up to having someone else cook and clean up.

To see all of the ride photos, you can visit SadieKate's Photobucket site (I'm gonna have to git me one!)

(At Antelope Island, from L to R, Brian, Yellow, SadieKate, Wrench Boy)

Dam Corners and Valley road ride - Sunday, Nov 20

The Princess has decreed we will be starting in Winters.

Extended forecast shows sunny through the weekend so let's keep our fingers crossed. In keeping with traditional winter training goals, this ride will be a relaxed ramble through the countryside.

We’ll climb northwest up the canyon alongside Putah Creek over the Monticello Dam and Cardiac Hill, which are the only big climbs of the day, to Moskowite Corner. From there, one little bump and then we fly down Wooden Valley to Mankas Corners and on to Fairfield where we'll take a food break at the coffee house. We’ll turn north, climb a few short rollers and then have a nice smooth ride all the way north back to Lake Solano Park. This is the "good" section of the Foxy's Fall Century.

• Start: the town of Winters (Rotary Park parking lot at Railroad and Main across from the Buckhorn and Steady Eddy's Coffee House)
• When: Ready to ride at 10 am
• Length: 62
• Climbing: 2,780 (unless you have to go over Cantelow on the return)

To get to Winters: Interstate 505 goes north right into Winters from I-80 or your can take Russell Blvd east out of Davis. http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=u8Nhjq160SyvQA0bpmqBMulSMUtJa6zz_Bvx9k0QKNEu6UagR4mUKkMkvI6I997NqQ--&name=The+Buckhorn+Steak+%26amp%3B+Roadhouse&desc=%28530%29+795-4503&csz=Winters+CA&country=us&cs=10&qty=9&ds=n

Map of the route that you may want to download to be able to see.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sadiekatel/detail?.dir=65dc&.dnm=fd0d.jpg&.src=ph

Pizza after? We can test the Pizza Factory: http://www.palmsplayhouse.com/pizzafactory.html

Let us know if this floats your boat, spins your wheels, etc.

Napa Valley photos

For once, I stopped and smelled the flowers. Though this time of year, it was the grape harvest. We rode through a constant delicious aroma of fermenting wine grapes.

These photos were taken going up Ink Grade from Pope Valley. Veronica summits, then Kim arrives desperately trying to get rid of the madman who followed her up the hill.

Saw lots of dead raccoon, squirrels and salamanders. Dangerous time of year for these critters.

Nov 12 - A Twist on the Tour of Napa Valley (road ride)

• Time: ready to ride at 10 am (but stay tuned, rain will cancel)
• Parking: Adams St east of Main St in St. Helena. This is a dead end street and recommended by both the Police Dept traffic person and the St. Helena Cyclery.
• Length: 54 miles, about 2,800 ft climbing
• Route: We’ll start in St Helena, go south down the Silverado Trail, climb up Sage Canyon (around Lake Hennessey) to Chiles & Pope Valley Rd. Continue north through the junction of Pope Valley Rd and then up to the small market in Pope Valley for a brief stop. Then, we’ll climb the beautiful Ink Grade and fly down White Cottage and Crystal Springs to the Silverado Trail. Here is the twist on the Century route: we’ll go up to Calistoga for a food break at the truly charming gourmet market by the glider port. After, we’ll just cruise the Silverado Trail back to St. Helena.
• Food/water on the route: the markets in Pope Valley and Calistoga only
• Food after ride: It's the wine country. I imagine we can find something edible.
• Map of St. Helena: http://city.ci.st-helena.ca.us/page.cfm?name=map
• Website for the St. Helena Cyclery: http://sthelenacyclery.com/site/intro.cfm

After the Mt. Hamilton ride - Mission Pizza in Fremont

In case anyone would like to get together after the Mt. Hamilton ride for a bite to eat, and perhaps a recovery beverage ...

Since it seems most of you are coming from north of San Jose, I thought we could get together at a really good pizza place which is just off 680, about 12 miles north of the Alum Rock exit - it's pretty much on the way home for most of us. And those who might be coming from points south, I hope you won't mind the detour.

Mission Pizza is at 1572 Washington Blvd. in Fremont.
http://www.missionpizza.com/

There's a good selection for meat-eaters and veg's alike, and their mini-pizzas are pretty substantial (so no bickering over what kind to get, you can order whatever you want).
They also have a decent salad bar, and lots of excellent beers on tap (on the off chance you might like to join us, Robb ...)

To get there from our start/finish location:
Head back down Alum Rock Ave. and get onto 680 North
Drive north ~12 miles, and take the Washington Blvd. exit
At the end of the ramp, take a left onto Washington Blvd.
Take an almost immediate right (at the sign for the veterinarian) into the Ohlone Center strip mall.
Take a left as you enter the mall parking lot. Mission Pizza is about halfway up the length of the mall.

Hope you can make it !

Mt. Hamilton, Saturday Nov. 5

Here's the plan:

If it's raining, or if there's a very good chance of rain, I'm going to cancel. I don't do mountains in the rain!

Check this spot at 7 am that morning, or call me on my cell at (510) 507-4689.

Anyhow, if the weather cooperates, we'll start out at 10 am.

Meet before 10 at the corner of Alum Rock Ave (Rt. 130) and Mt. Hamilton Rd. in Milpitas.

Here's a google map of the general area (you can move it around and resize it to get an idea if where we're at)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=milpitas+ca&ll=37.383048,-121.815205&spn=0.014740,0.040770&hl=en

To get there: take I-680 to Milpitas (which is south of Fremont, north of San Jose), exit at Alum Rock Ave./Rt. 130, head east on Alum Rock for about 1-2 miles until you get to the T-intersection where Rt. 130 turns right, which is the start of Mt. Hamilton Road. Instead of turning right onto Mt. Hamilton Road, you'll turn left into a small parking area along the side of Alum Rock Ave.

If that parking area is full there's Linda Vista School, which is on Kirk Ave off Alum Rock about a mile back, where we could also park. I'll be at the parking area at the corner of Alum Rock & Mt. Ham, so if that area is full I'll send you back to Linda Vista and will (ahem) patiently wait for you to ride back and join us.

This link has directions on how to get to Linda Vista School - just bear in mind that it's written assuming that you're coming from the San Jose area, so if you're coming from Davis, Antioch and other points north you'll be taking 680 South. But you knew that.
http://bikemaster.home.att.net/routes/lvs_list.htm

Make sure to bring a couple of water bottles and some snacks. It's about 20 miles to the summit, and there are vending machines stocked with very pricey snacks at the summit observatory, but that's about it. There are rest rooms at the observatory, which I assume will be open, plus there are a couple of camping/picnic areas along the way up with portapotties and drinking water.

After-ride nourishment TBD

- jobob

Okay, So Maybe I Was Being Too Optimistic!

Apparently I did not do my homework, when it came to selecting the appropriate AV jersey size. Or, I was hoping to lose more weight than is humanly possible. The bottom line is that all circulation is cut off when I put on that attractive little jersey.

Is there anyone out there who missed an opportunity to buy a size large, club cut... or who got one that is too big (xl/xxl)? Let's make a deal!

Otherwise, I'm going to have to flag down some skinny waif on the bike trail and give it away.

Seriously.

Robblog...