The Alamo

 

The distances are getting greater and the time on the bike is getting longer.  As we enter the dog days of summer, we are getting in to longer and longer mileage.  I was shocked when we didn’t get back home from our ride on Saturday until 5 p.m.  We started a little later than normal and stopped for lunch, but man we are spending some serious time out there on the bike.  So much so, that I have a grumpy dog when I got home that ignored me for the first 30 minutes upon my return home.  Sucks to be a spoiled dog when Dad’s hobby takes him away for most of the day. 

 

Saturday was a great ride. It was also the furthest I ever went on a bike, and I felt good doing it.  I had some left in the tank when we got home and while I was tired, I wasn’t dead to the world.  I could really feel my conditioning come into play.  Now this could have been a few things, could have been less climbing than the week before or it could have been that it was about 6 degrees cooler outside.  I don’t know, but I like to think it is all the work that I have been putting into the bike.  

 

I must report that bike ride was somewhat more boring than the previous weeks.  Luckily, we had no bike mechanical issues.  Also, we didn’t have any heroics this week either.  Not that we were up to it, we just didn’t’ see anyone in need that required us to stop and lend a helping hand.  Although after I called David heroic he did try and wear a cape on this week’s ride, but I was having no of it and made him take it back off.  LOL, I tease of course.  

 

Are you ready?  Let’s go riding!

 

Let’s get the logistics out of the way first:

 

Distance:  70.13 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,392 ft

Time Riding: 6 hours 6 minutes

Time Away from Home: 7+ hours

Average Speed: 11.5 MPH

 

By now you should know how this ride started out, with a nice loop around neighborhood.  We did the big loop, not the little loop.  Where we go out to Laughlin to Northrfront then to Garaventa, just a little cruise through the neighborhood.  From here we head out to Vasco and ride towards Manning.  It seems like very ride anymore starts with Manning.  I think if you are going to go out Manning you must do it early before it gets to hot out. 

 

From Manning we once again we take the Highland Bypass.  This has really become one of my favorite places to ride.  Although sometimes the cars are a little assholish out there.  However, cars will be cars, or I guess it is really drivers will be drivers.  As we were winding through Manning, we noticed this pull was on the run.  I thought it was coming for me since I had a red jersey on.  It was running, and I was like where is that horned cow going to go?  I thought it was going to run headfirst into the fence.  However, there was a tunnel for the cows that went underneath highland.  That moo just ran right under me and onto the other side.  It must have been chow time or something.  

 

Unlike last week upon coming to the end of Highland instead of heading left for San Ramon, we headed right, which would take us to our furthest point out which was Alamo.  I had never imagined I would ever go to Alamo, Ca, let alone ride my bike there.  However, after many a back and forth with David on email, it seemed the best and safest route was going out to the end of Highland and taking a right onto Camion Tassajara and then taking that up to Blackhawk Road and so on and so forth.  I had us taking a different route originally. What I realized though is if we were going up Blackhawk Road we might as well just shoot the moon and go all the way out to Alamo.  That would give us the most bang for our buck and limit the amount of back and forth we would have to do upon getting back to Livermore.  So, yes, I am giving David a back handed compliment for suggestion going to Blackhawk to Diablo, as much as it pains me to do that.  

 

So right onto Camino Tassajara we set out on.  Riding to Blackhawk Road wasn’t so bad.  There is a lot of traffic on Tassajara.  However, we had a wide bike lane.  Now that start of Blackhawk Road sucks.  That is because you must start from a stop light and go up hill. There is almost nothing I hate more than a stop light on a hill.  Me personally, I like a little momentum before I go up.  It is really a pretty ride up there.  You get to see the gold course and nice houses.  I head somewhere in Blackhawk Vince Neil of Motely Crue fame lives up there. I don’t know if that is true.  However, I like to think Vince passed me and saw a big guy working his ass off on his bike and Vince was like, good for him, good for that guy being out here working it.  

 

Blackhawk Road turns into Diablo.  This road gets a little narrow for my liking.  However, there is plenty of marking to share the road with bike riders and the road is marked well for it.  It isn’t a long time that you are riding without the bike lane, so it could have always been worse. 

 

From Diablo we picked up Green Valley Road and this takes you to Stone Valley Road.  Lots of Valley roads and Canyon roads in this part of California.  I like Stone Valley, mostly because it takes you under 680.  I think any time you can go under a highway for the crossing that is a good thing because going over, just isn’t very much fun at all.  Too much traffic, drivers being in a hurry to go wait in more traffic, it just isn’t fun, so my advice is if you can find a way to go under it and not over it, always go under.  That is mainly advice for crossing freeways, I am not sure that is advice for all of lives problems.  

 

After going under 680 you turn left on Danville Road.  You basically stay on Danville until it becomes San Ramon Parkway, and then San Ramon, and eventually Foothill.  It is a nice straight shot back form the Alamo.  We stopped and refilled our waters for the second time in Alamo.  I would end up draining my 1-liter CamelBak 7 times on Saturday’s ride.  I do like to stay hydrated because if you aren’t properly hydrated out there you are going to have a bad time.  

 

I like riding down Danville/San Ramon Road.  Good bike lanes, there is traffic, but it is manageable because of the bike lanes.  Plus, there are plenty of places to stop and get water if you need too, when you are draining liters of water like I am that is important thing to have around.  About halfway down San Ramon Road, we turned off onto Norris Canyon Road.  We did this to pick up an extra 3 miles, I wanted to avoid riding loops around Livermore as much as I could.  I wanted to add as much mileage as possible before we got back into the tri-valley.  So, I did this little turn off and looped back around on another smaller road and picked up some extra milage and then we got back onto San Ramon and kept heading back towards Livermore. 

 

We came off San Ramon Road before it became Foothill because crossing there last week was a real pain in the ass.  So, I navigated unto a road called Silvergate.  What I didn’t know about Silvergate was it was an uphill and at mile 40 I was trying to avoid that.  Oh well, you can’t win them all.  It was an uphill, but an uphill I could do.  So, I just kept cranking and up and over I went.  From Silvergate we land on Dublin and from Dublin we took a little road called Regional (I think that is what it was called) and cut over to Amado Plaza and then we took this and its nice shady bike lanes down to Hopyard.  At Hopyard you must cross 580 and while crossing 580 at Hopyard is much better than doing it at Foothill, it still isn’t the funniest thing in the world to do.  However, the only place I know of to cross 580 by going under it, is down at Greenville Road and well that just isn’t an option when you are in Dublin. So, up, and over we went and then took Hopyard to Downtown Pleasanton.  

 

In Downtown we enjoyed a well-earned half of a turkey bagel sandwich.  I am not going to lie; I planned this stop making the route.  I took us right by the Bagel shop in downtown so we could partake in some turkey.  It must be the riding but honestly, still the best turkey sandwich I have had.  Could be the 50+ miles talking but man it was tasty. 

 

From Downtown Pleasanton we head for Sycamore Grove Park.  We did this by heading down Stanley to Nevada.  Nevada to Bernal and Bernal to Vineyard.  I always forget there are rollers on Vineyard.  I always think it is going to be this nice easy flat ride, but it isn’t.  It isn’t a terrible ride either, don’t get me wrong but every time I get on there, I think new hills have shown up.  

 

We took our normal rest at Sycamore Grove, and I reloaded my waters for the final time.  From Sycamore Grove to Northfront was the final hard push we had in front of us.  Lots of little ups.  Nothing that isn’t doable.  This is where I found my conditioning kicking in.  I was tired, but I didn’t feel awful as we went down Tesla.  Going up and over from Vasco to Greenville felt much better than the week before. Going over Greenville I felt good.  There as not reeling in the Beaverfish this week.  He took off and I didn’t chase.  I just road and kept a good consistent pace.

 

Normally, getting to Northfront means it is time to head for home.  However, Saturday we had to pick up 4 more miles.  So, not turning for home just yet.  We had to ride down Northfront and cross Vasco and do a little extended Neighborhood riding so that we could collect the mileage needed to hit our goal of 70.  It was good light riding all flat and we looped back to my house and just like that I had been to Alamo and done a 70-mile ride.