One Last Oakland Ride

I've been out of it lately. Maybe the long days of unemployment have been atrophying my spirit to get out of bed. But more likely it's been the fact that I've been continuing the Thanksgiving tradition into the long weekend and eating too much at every meal. Nonetheless, this lethargy has kept me from going on any real rides of late. I tried to catch up with some group rides through some East Bay bike groups on Facebook, but those all fell through. Finally today, I got out there one last time before I embark for the East Coast.

Figuring today was going to be my last day seeing these roads for a bit I'd figured I'd do some of my favorites. With chores to do I didn't really have much time to hop over on the other side, so instead I just did my favorite up, up Shepherd's Canyon and down my favorite descent, down Old Tunnel Road. I felt slow, for whatever reason (probably continual Tofurkey gut), but it didn't matter, I got out, which always feels good.

Ungreen Shepherd's Canyon (just up the path from previous pic)

On the ride up I had some time to think about this upcoming trip. Of late I've been second guessing this extended trip away from the Bay after getting here so soon. I made the decision sort of rashly my tour buddy James, a never-ending cycle tourist at this point, was in town and inspired me to get back on the bike and get out there. Yet, all this time to think, I have found myself trying to count my chips and see where they lay, and I realized, I have completely given up on a writing career, which sucks. Being here in Oakland, I feel revitalized, I have left the grey snowy confines of Western NY behind and have found sunnier skies here and something about being here inspires me to pursue this now.

The steep up Satori. A short tough climb.

I trickled along Skyline at a mere trot at this point, just trying to make sense of these racing thoughts. It's like starting all over again, leaving then coming back, as if this tour is still only a continuation of my previous tour. It doesn't have to be that way though, I can settle down for a bit. Touring will always be an option, but should not be my life. Getting on the bike, made me realize, some time off the bike might do me good, not in the sense of not cycling, but rather in being ambitious in all walks of life, not just the two-wheeled kind.

Skyline views, it was hazy and wet in the city, but dry on the Hills.

Peering through the trees as I came up on Old Tunnel Road I made this realization, but thought even further of how great it is to get to enjoy this break for a minute. To spend another month without a real home, without real responsibilities, and to get to see some of my favorite old friends. This might be my last big trip for a little while (or so I say for now), but I'm going to embrace it. I felt the wind through my hair and the wind on my knuckles and thought of the joy of just me and the quiet snowy trees of Upstate NY as I track my way home for the holidays.

Old Tunnel Road.

I got home around 3 PM, with plenty of time to pack up the rest of the few things I had to put away. It did fit in only two bike trips, which is great. Tomorrow will be my last night in Cali for a month, the transition period has felt shorter than expected. Back to the East Coast, but only for a bit.

Expect a sweet kit list tomorrow for those interested.

Vegan Cycling

Thanksgiving is upon us, the day when people gourd their faces and eat til they fall asleep watching the Dallas Cowboys lose another football game. This Thanksgiving will be a little different from previous ones (different from last years, because I'm actually in the United States for it), this year I won't be eating turkey, or heck even buttered rolls. Last January I gave up meat and this past fall I gave up dairy as well, if you would like to know my reasons feel free to message me, I'd be glad to talk about them, but this post is about nutrition, not about animal rights.

Zucchini fritters with roasted cauliflower and pasta.

One of the most important things people talk about when giving up meat is the loss of protein. This is mostly a myth. Yes, meats do have more complete proteins, but beans and nuts are a very ample source of protein to fill that gap (besides before I was even full vegetarian I hardly ate meat). I was also using a great deal of milk to fill that deficiency as well (but almond milk actually has more protein and less fat, win-win). Veganism does mean eating more though, as meats do have a higher protein per gram ratio than vegetables (meaning they fill you up faster too), but so what? Usually I just try to fill in the gap with bigger meals and lots of daily snacking (I try to bring almonds with me everywhere, the best snack on the go).

Roasted carrots and beats over greens.

If you're wondering if this would bring me to any competitive disadvantage (as I may venture into racing), I'd say take a look at Dave Zebriskie, a competitor in the Tour de France, who is vegan (with the exception of salmon to get his omegas). The biggest concern may be food availability while touring. Being vegetarian was enough for strange glances along the small towns of America, but not having eggs or dairy might be even more difficult. I recently watched an excellent documentary on the racing of the Great Divide Trail, in which one of the racers was vegan. Standing in the gas station going through all the junk food reading label after label trying to find something he could eat within his boundaries. It's something I have small feats about. In terms of nutrition, though? I feel very confident about my ability eat healthity. If anything a change in diets has helped me focus more on the positives and negatives of what I eat.

Review: Detours Sodo Handlebar Bag

Since my last tour, I've been working to downsize my kit. Being that it was my first tour, going out with fully loaded panniers, carrying everything including the kitchen sink, wasn't really all that bad (the guys who helped me out in Medford, OR made fun of how much I had). Now, with that first tour experience under my belt, it's not okay to just have huge bags to throw everything into. The first step in shrinking my touring bike was to find a decent handlebar bag that was bigger than my little Jandd I had for the previous tour (in hopes of losing the front panniers).

In my hunt for the right bag it started to become apparent that bag makers make handlebar bags in two different styles and two different prices; the first being randoneurring bags. Usually made from canvas or a similar materials these bags have class, but that class comes at a price, it was hard to find any of these bags within my price range. The second were utility handlebar bags, big huge waterproof bags made of nylon that looked, well, very unclassy. Then I came across Detours, a Portland based bag company. The first thing I noticed is their lower prices compared to most bag prices. With the Sodo pricing at $78 does this price come at a discount of quality?

Mounted on the Surly.

First thing I noticed about the Sodo was that it was not as big as I was hoping. I was expecting a huge Ortlieb or Arkel style handlebar bag, but once putting the bag on the handlebars, I was glad it wasn't. The bag looks real good on the handlebars, it's not bulking out beyond the drops. That doesn't mean it's small either. I was able to stuff in several notebooks, some Cliff Bars, my electronics and still had plenty of room. The thing I really like about this bag though is that is that it was designed with organization in mind. My Jandd bag was basically a bag to throw everything in, making it so when I needed something I had to dig through everything to get to it, the Sodo has various pockets, pen holders, and two separate zippable sections, making finding things a breeze. Then add on top of that the top has a waterproof map case (a must in my bag search), the Detours seemed to be made for disorganized people like me. The bag comes with a quick attach system making it easy to take and go (also with a shoulder strap too), perfect for valuables on tour.

Lots of room and organized too!

The bag itself is not waterproof, but underneath the bag is another zippered pocket with a waterproof cover that has it's own convenient carrying case (and clip to help you even more not to lose it). The only strange thing about this is having the waterproof map case, the cover seems to cover the map case when trying to use the waterproof cover. It's possible to make it work, but would involve not clipping closed the map case. The other thing that I was not crazy about, but this could also come from my lack of having a real handlebar bag is how close the bag is to the actual handlebars, making sticking my hands on the top of the bars a little tight, doable, but not ideal.

A tad tight, but workable.

These drawbacks don't take away from the utility of this bag. A touring bag with the class of a rando bag at a competitive price, I think this is a good way to go.

El Toyonal

Maybe it's poor engineering, maybe new cars are too heavy for these roads, maybe people decided going the long way around ain't so bad, but here in the Bay Area there are a plethora of old roads closed to auto traffic. One of these roads is El Toyonal, a short road connecting Lomas Contadas and Wildcat Canyon Road. After I found this road I decided to do it in both directions.

First time I decided to go down Lomas Contadas and up Wildcat Canyon Road. I've only gone down Lomas Contadas once before and there were two things I forgot about this road; one, it's absolutely beautiful, two, it is an absolutely terrifying descending. Shortly after leaving Grizzly Peak Road, passing the Steam Trains at Tilden, Lomas Contadas hugs around Grizzly Peak opening up a panoramic view of the backside of the Oakland Hills and the foothills on the other side, stretching far back the hills slowly get bigger until topping out at Diablo. From this bend the road points straight down toward Orinda, but unlike the joyful descent of South Park Road, Lomas Contadas is scary as it twists and turns around the residential neighborhood on this hill side. On top of that the road is very skinny not giving much room for passing cars, my fear was that I'd turn around a bend and slam right into the back of a car. Luckily, that didn't happen and I safely made it to El Toyonal.

The viewpoint from Lomas Contadas

El Toyonal isn't long at all. Being the fact that it's only a pedestrian, cycle, and horseway, the road is ill-maintained, but with 40 mm tires I didn't really care. The trees lazily arched over the road as I slowly made my way along, picking that pace for no other reason beside that I like the road. Eventually there is a short wood bridge that crosses a stream that slips down the hillside. From there it's a short gravel section, then back out to Wildcat Canyon, my favorite climb up to Tilden. Then from Tilden it was back home.

El Toyonal

The second time I came back here I did the reverse, mostly because my stomach probably couldn't handle that dangerous Lomas Contadas descent. I also decided to try a different way  up taking Centennial Drive up to Tilden from the flats of Oakland/Berkeley. Rocking somewhere around 9 or 10 percent Centennial Drive was a tough one up. It is weird to me that UC Berkeley sprawled up this steep slope, but I guess it was the only direction they had left to build. The uphill part was fairly long too, but it was also the quickest way to Tilden as it crests right at the intersection of Golf Course Road and Grizzly Peak. I looked at my cyclometer, it was 45 minutes and I was already in Tilden, that ain't so bad.

The beginning of Centennial Drive.

Looking out at Berkeley from Centennial. Stopping for this picture was totally not an excuse to take a break from the climb!

Ups always look shallower in photos.

Wildcat was a gentle descent, actually noticing how the road goes down, when compared to Lomas Contadas Wildcat Canyon is a great descent, the Old Tunnel equivalent of the backside, not too steep and with enjoyable gentle bends that don't require squeezing the brakes the whole time. This was a shorter turn around to El Toyonal and once again it was a peaceful quiet trip over the bridge to the other side.

Gold Course Road in Tilden goes down right after the Centennial up.

The gate at El Toyonal from Wildcat Canyon.

This was the real challenging part, Lomas Contadas was an ultra steep grade. I really should start using my granny gear more on these climbs, I mean I'm still getting myself up even if it's a smaller gear right? Anyway, I didn't this time, although I thought of it, instead I just stood on the pedals and made it up. This was for sure one of the tougher climbs up. A roadie passed me, which has been happening a lot lately, I might be losing my tour fitness of 80 mile days, but nevertheless, we both crested around the same time, then he pushed away and I settled in to sketch at that beautiful point on Lomas Contandas.

I sketched for about an hour as a man played trumpet along to a CD playing in his jeep, a nice surprise adding some humanity to this tranquil spot. He left before I did, so I did get to enjoy these spot in peace as well. Eventually I got back on my bike and after this rest I absolutely bombed the Old Tunnel descent, hammering my pedals on the straights and focusing on form around the corners (I've been reading Bicycle magazine lately about racing tips). I actually passed a few people on the way down, including a car, which is always fun. Then it was back home. If I had to choose, this second way was much more enjoyable, a challenging climb and no death defying drops.

El Toyonal has me curious now to find more of these tranquil quiet roads that are hiding in the hills and other places in the San Francisco area, just more things for me to explore.

Three Bears Ride

A classic East Bay ride. Almost every roadie who has matched pace with me for a chat while climbing has mentioned this one "Have you done the Tree Bears yet?", I always answered no. Little did I know I should have answered yes. When I got to the Bay Area I went into a great rest period of two weeks, no padded shorts, no jerseys, no non-commuting rides. After this hibernation my first ride was actually a semi-sort-of commute ride. At the time I was volunteering for the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA, I would then ride the thirty miles back to Oakland.

The ride was along Alahambra Valley Road, then over Bear Creek Road. I remember the rough rolling hills that eventually would lead to the final climb of Wildcat Canyon Road. After the steep grades of Papa Bear, I took a liking to Wildcat's gentler climb. Then I'd drop back home to Oakland.

I didn't realize this until I actually looked up what the Three Bears actually was. I assumed it would have something to do with Grizzly Peak, but they didn't. Three Bears is a combination of three hills along Bear Creek Road. Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear. I decided today I'd do this road strictly as a day ride.

After descending Wildcat Canyon Road I bore left along San Pablo Dam Road. I circled the Reservoir, giving some nice views of the crystal clear water that I'd probably end up drinking at some point (this was one of the East Bay's drinking sources, which is also why it's fenced off almost completely). Once the reservoir ended the loop continued around the reservoir turning right on Castro Ranch Road and then followed down Alahamabra Valley Road, a section after the intersection of Bear Creek from Martinez, this was all new territory for me.

Looking over Berkeley from Old Tunnel Road.

The San Pablo Reservoir.

This section of the ride had me stopping all too much for photographs. It was what I thought California should look like. The California that Steinbeck wrote about, the one before LA and San Francisco were all us East Coaster thought about, a different kind of California one full of open ranches, rolling brown hills, water starved trees, and wire fences, the California Okies found in 1932. One part of this road especially struck me where the road slopes down right before the intersection of these two roads. The gentle down grade gives the eye the advantage of looking over the freshly paved road with telephone poles neatly arranged next to a hill that has been evenly shaped by the winds of time.

I could stop and take pictures all day of these ranching roads.

More shots of the hills on Alahambra Valley Road.

Some day I'll learn how to capture this on a pad with pencil, but for now, digital photography works.

Quickly on Alahambra Valley Road, the macro turned to micro. Now a small creek jogged beside me with trees hugging the banks, giving the creek a relaxing look, a place I'd expect to find some cliche of Tom Sawyer catching frogs. I stopped again to snap some photos, that still were unable to grasp the picturesque quality of this spot. Part of me wanted to stop drop a line in the creek and take a nap, but no time for that.

Crowded trees hid open fields.

Brambles created from an actual water source.

I couldn't get over the way the sun was sneaking through the trees here.

Then from Alahambra Valley Road I returned to the route I knew, Bear Creek Road. Time to settle in for the ride, no more photos. Mama Bear is a straight climb, not a back breaker of a grade, but not a walk in the park. I like the fact that I can look straight up to the summit and just keep my eye on the vanishing point, as I settle into a cadence. It was an enjoyable climb, just to keep pushing and watching the crest get closer, and before I knew it, I was over it.

The descent to Papa Bear is a fun one, full of rolling hills that eventually roll right into the climb of Papa Bear. Nearing a mile long, this one is not so friendly. The road is painted with encouragement for cyclists, I wonder if this was for a race, or if some obsessed roadie spends his weekends spray painting words of encouragement on the road ways (either way, I'd like to shake his hand). Papa Bear is also not as steep as some other East Bay roads, but it's length is what gives it grit. Like Mama Bear, the final section is straight up, which allowed me to time my energy consumption. Unfortunately, there is less shade on Papa Bear, the sun baked through my jersey and I was sweating profusely, but I made it, crested and descended. One thing I don't like about these climbs, and maybe it has to do with the fact that I've ridden them before, is that they don't afford stunning views as the Oakland Hills, Diablo, and Tam do.

San Pablo Reservoir through the hills from the top of Mama Bear.

The descent to Papa Bear.

The descent from Papa Bear is an intense one. I probably clicked around 40 MPH around bends with some cracked roadways and gravelly shoulders. It sounds more terrifying than it is, it's actually a lot of fun to spin around these steep bends and then stand on my pedals over Baby Bear, the little climb before the intersection of San Pablo Dam road and Wildcat Canyon Road. Taking the Three Bears not as a commute, but a day ride is tougher and more fun, it's weird how the mentality of "getting there" and "being there" really changes a ride.

Let's Get Technical

Since beginning my foray into off-roading, I haven't done much technical riding. East Bay Regional Parks mountain biking is mostly old fire roads, rarely getting a chance to touch single track which split off the fire road in every direction along parks such as Redwoods. I completely understand this and am not complaining at all. As an avid hiker too, I would be very annoyed if I was hiking along and someone on a bike comes rocketing at me full speed.

Before the trail I found this sweet old fashioned looking utility building, reminded me of Buffalo/Niagara.

The East side of Old Tunnel Road before Quarry Road.

On my ride the other day, it started out that this was the same. From Grizzly Peak Blvd. I always eyed this road that went straight up the East Ridge, I was curious to find it. So after some Googling, I found it, Quarry Road. Part of the old quarry that is now Sibley Volcanic Regional Park, Quarry Road goes straight up the side of the West Ridge. It was a brutal ride up it, but once there I hopped along some fire road that was flat along the top of the ridge, but what is up, must go down. This was one of the most intense fire roads I've ridden since my experiments on gravel. Quarry Trail, a fire road as well, dropped down back to Quarry Road on a fairly shallow drop, but on gravel with a cliff to your left, this is a lot hairier than the incline leads to believe.

The West Ridge.

I guess these are the volcanoes?

Quarry road switchbacks, plus no traffic! Yum!

Then from there I was able to rocket down the wall that is Quarry Road. Now I was in the valley and had to find my way back up to the West side of the West Ridge, how to? From where I stood a trail led up to the Skyline Staging Area of Sibley Park, other than that, it meant backtracking, but why backtrack? I've got the tires why not?

The beginning of Skyline Trail.

This was no fire road. A single track that crossed dry and not so dry creek beds, bumping up and down over tree roots, this reminded me of the true mountain biking I did as a kid in Rocky Point. Going over technical bumps and popping over the trail, the trail decided it too wanted to go straight up. At first this wasn't so bad, but with the cover of trees dropping their fall foliage, as well as being wet, this meant my tire had nothing to grip on to. I hopped on the bike, pushed, but to my dismay the tire only spun, I put my foot down. I really wanted to prove I could ride this, tried it a few more times, but nope, wasn't happening.  I got out and carried the bike up this ridge.

Damn leaves!

I hopped back on, going through some more mud (no fenders this time, means no stopping!), but it wasn't long until up came again and this time mud was the culprit, Round Two of walking it up. Luckily this was the last defeat, from there on out I was able to grip some and push up to the Skyline staging area, almost a straight line up the ridge in shrouded single track that was totally worth the struggle for, and for once, it was an up that I'm more excited to go down than a down I'm excited to go up.

Diablo Part Deux

I'm trying a new regiment of waking up early to ride, so I can have the rest of my day to bask in unemployment (this blog is quickly turning into an ode to not having a job). Today was my day set for a long ride though, so riding was the main focus. At 7 AM, my alarm went off. Rolling out of bed before I changed my mind, I rapidly threw on my jersey and shorts, grabbed an energy bar for breakfast, and hit the road.

Today was not about the Oakland Hills, so I'll spare the discussion of those roads I've written about on here incessantly. Nonetheless, I cut into Moraga, followed the Lafayette-Moraga trail into Walnut Creek, where it ends, not in Lafayette, like the name would suggest. From here I rode through the outdoor mall that is the WC. Beelined straight to where I want to go unlike last time.

It was cloudy in Oakland, but on the other side of the Hills, Pinehurst was sunny.

Lafayette-Moraga Trail.

Last time I ended up in this same spot, except my tires were 12 mm thinner and much smoother. Now I came prepped for the trail. Unlike the earlier mentioned bike path, the Briones-Mt Diablo Trail actually does connect the two places in its name. I headed west towards Diablo, growing larger and larger with every pedal stroke. The trail had some technical bits at first, including a straight drop down that was mostly jagged exposed rock. I bumped down it and then sped along on mostly hard packed Fire Roads. Diablo kept growing the closer I got. Eventually I was staring it right in the face from the top of one of Diablo's foothills. Erected base to summit, I could take it all in from that spot.

Mt. Diablo-Briones Trail, where I gave up last time.

The Diablo Foothills are surprisingly a lot higher than the towns below.

Forests are great, but the way the trees stand out so singularly here in the hills is pretty majestic.

It wasn't until I actually crossed into Diablo State Park that things truly revved up, literally, up. Coming out of Pine Canyon, the last drop on Burma Road before the climb back up Burma Road. Unfortunately my granny gear was giving me trouble (road riding with no added weight means I never use this gear), so I gave up and did something that would make any road rider sick, I pushed it. But today I'm no road rider. The hope is to make it all the way up to the top by trail.

40 mm Mondials at home on trail.

Cheating the weather, clouds over Oakland.

Pine Canyon

That was quickly defeated. Once I crossed pavement at the junction of Burma Road and North Gate Road the trail kept going up. 7 miles from that point to summit. I'd be there in no time at all. Well, 7 miles means the way the crow flies and that's their advantage, they can defy gravity, I can't. Burma Road was a wall. I've hardly seen hiking trails go up as steep as this one. I decided to get off and carry my bike up seeing if it levels out after this climb. I pushed with my toes, as the physics of it made it impossible to do otherwise. My calves burned and the grade stayed. There was no let down. This was it. Carry the bike to the summit or turn around and ride the road.

Well, frankly, riding sounded better. I almost felt like turning back with 30 miles in and about 10 of that on trail, but I was there, I should summit. Up I went. North Gate was the same road I took up last time, a no holds-bar, elevation busting, gut-wrenching, gear spinning climb. I settled in to my cadence and pressed on. I started around the 1,000 ft elevation thanks to the some bit of climbing on trail. The 2,000 mark didn't seem to come much later. I had my legs under me, for now.

Once I reached the junction my legs were starting to give a little, but hell, push through it. Since I couldn't summit by trail, my new goal was no stopping. Like most mountains, Diablo gets steeper closer to the top. After the junction I minimized out my middle ring (even though I did fix my granny gear on the road) and spun and spun and spun. I kept around 7 mph for the final 4.5. Just focusing on time not distance helped me over come the mental block, and before I knew it, it was my second summit of Diablo. I enjoyed the views, chatted with some folks doing the same, then began the descent.

The view from the top.

The descent was down South Gate as it let me out further West and I was hoping to ride home today, with not getting lost like last time. The South Gate descent was as fun as the North Gate descent, except a little more hair-raising. It reminded me of the last couple miles of the Big Horn descent in WY, where the road just drops off to nothing at times, meaning I hugged those brakes. I swooped around the bends and once the road flattened out I was in the town of Diablo, then turning due north through Danville and Alamo. With a dead GPS I didn't really know where I was, but I knew the hills to my left were the Oakland Hills, so I figured I'm heading north. Unfortunately, I was heading Northeast, so I ended up back in the WC. Not wanting  to get lost again with no GPS I grabbed BART back. 60 mile days before 4 PM aren't so bad anyway now are they?