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We headed out 237 to 880 to Mowry to Mission to Niles Canyon where Tammy was waiting for us at the corner. Ed and Lynzie experienced some technical difficulties so weren't able to make it for the ride. We saddled up and headed up Niles Canyon turning left on Palomares, which is a beautiful twisty road cutting through the hills. We were gifted with visual treats galore… the canyon wall on one side and stream running along the other side of the road… beautiful homes framed by a bevy of flora and fauna - in particular a stark, white house with yellow-leaved trees towering behind it… lush dense foliage in all shades of greens… pinks, purples, white, yellow, red flowers… lovely manicured horse farms. Palo Verde Rd. to Castro Valley Blvd. and into town for a gas stop and pick up lunch to take with us to the park. Headed up Redwood Rd. and after a couple of miles of residential and stoplights, we finally broke through to the backroads, passing by the reservoir but being on the lookout since the roads in the area we still damp from the previous day's rain and there were lots of goodies on the road (gravel, etc.) to keep us busy staying upright and on the road! Turned right on Skyline with some breathtaking views of the Bay to our left (more to follow!) and then another right to continue on Skyline. We passed groves of eucalyptus trees which were great to smell but had to take care of the droppings from the tree, which made for many slippery spots to avoid. From Skyline, continued on via Grizzly Peak which winds its way through the myriad of lovely homes, exquisitely manicured, in the Berkeley hills. We wondered what it was like to wake up every morning with a breath-taking view like that… and also what it was like to worry about mudslides and earthquakes and having your home move to a new zip code! We turned right on Wildcat Canyon and left into Tilden Park, finally coming to rest near the carousel. At the point CC asked, "How did we get to Berkeley?!?" and Real countered with, "Are we still in California?" After traveling through all the twisty roads and different terrain, it did feel like we were a long way from Kansas, Toto. We found a picnic table and eagerly dove into our deli lunches. At that point, Real looked around and said, "Hey, this is a great ride… me and four ladies!!" After lunch, I caught Real and CC doing their lizard imitations on the benches outside the carousel, catching a quick cat nap and enjoying the warm sun as it caressed their faces. Everyone got treated to a carousel ride (okay, maybe a certain someone gently coerced them into getting on the carousel to get in touch with their inner biker child - and yes, there are photos to prove it!) and, while they squawked all the way, there were many smiling faces after they got off (the carousel… not, well, you know…). Since it was such an enjoyable route, we decided to reverse the same roads but this time taking the time to stop and enjoy the view without worrying about driving off the road! We ended up stopping at The Wall, a semi-famous pullout where bikers stop to enjoy the view and take a break from the twisties. Today was no different as bikes and riders of all kinds graced the area as well as a car bumper firmly lodged in a nearby tree, probably put there by college pranksters or possibly dropped by an alien spaceship as it abducted some poor unsuspecting auto. It was a bit hazy but we could see the Golden Gate, Bay, and San Rafael bridges with the entire SF Bay splayed out in front of us. We vowed to go back at dusk one of these days to watch the sun set and the lights come on below. We continued back on the same roads but driving them a different direction gives you a whole new view of the landscapes and appreciation for the simple gift of sight and smell. We stopped off at The Florence in Fremont for a beverage (www.theflorence.net), one of Tammy's home bases and a fun biker friendly joint (they have just started their Sunday afternoon barbeques if you're in the mood to go hang out). We got to hear quite a story about our demure, motorcycle-riding grandma getting into a fight with a transvestite who was trying to make the moves on her boyfriend. The things you learn about people while out on a ride! lol It was a funny story but I though twice about hugging her boyfriend goodbye when we left! After a refreshing orange juice and soda water, we still had a hankering
for a little more riding so headed up Niles Canyon, which is such a
lovely stretch of roadway (and has a personal soft place in my heart
as it was my first "big kid's" ride on my first bike). We
jetted onto 680 and for parts home as the sun set in the West and the
purple-blue sky changed colors in the East. Another lovely day, lovely
ride, and lovely people.
Peace,
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The
day started off with overcast skies but we were rewarded for our perseverance
with beautiful blue, sunny skies once we got to Tilden Park. We met
for coffee in Santa Clara (and I promise, no more last minute changes!
:) Real and CC were there bright and early to caffeinate themselves
and play catch up. Patrick made surprise appearance on his '67 Triumph,
which proceed to mark it's territory (the bike, not Patrick) by leaking
pretty much any fluid it could everywhere it was parked. Cheryl showed
up just in the nick of time as we were pulling out of the parking lot.
I think we'll nickname her Wrong Way Corrigan as she ended up going
the wrong way on 101 and ended up in Redwood City and rumor has it this
is a common occurrence for her. ;-)