Long Ride

Today was a bit of a long ride and a new route (for me) all rolled into one. It turned out to only be two of us which was probably good considering.

The Mines Rd part was basically a one lane road thru open space. It had some great curves but the road was so bumpy and gravely you couldn’t go fast at all. Definitely not a route for newbies. It was very scenic though. We stopped about mid way in the lowlands and I was overcome with a bit of nostalgia for home. It wasn’t the landscape so much as the vastness of it. There were a few farms spread out thru the area but most of it was just open space. I’ll admit I get so caught up in the daily grind I forget sometimes how much I enjoy nature and the outdoors.

I hadn’t planned a group ride in a few weeks so I wasn’t sure how many would show. I honestly was hoping for a small group (I got my wish) as the route was obviously a bit tricky in places. Like a good little EMT, I brought along my first-aid kit and extra water blah blah blah. There were only 2 of us as the weather was a bit overcast in the early morning. I think that scared a few people away. Anyway, the day was drama-free, no accidents or getting lost. I’d never met the guy that came along today, we met up in Livermore. I really liked him. He was very easy-going for one. He has been riding for decades but didn’t have any attitude about it and was very easy to ride with. We chatted and got to know each other a bit over lunch.

He lives in the East bay so after lunch we split up. He took 680 and I took 280. The ride had gone faster than I expected so I decided to take Hwy 84 across to Hwy 1 (along the ocean). That was a mistake. The fog had rolled in something fierce and I froze my ass off. lol

I didn’t stop and take pics, sorry. I’ll try to remember to bring the damn camera next time.