Skeggs - on the Peninsula mountian biking

This is Rich, pointing out the Skeggs trail.  It's a ride I've been hoping to do for years, so glad I finally got a partner to do it with.  Why do I keep finding the fast riders?  Pretty much, ate dust both rides, but had a blast.  We ended up going to Alices for a bite after.  Another classic place.

This gives you an idea of what the scenery is like, as well as some of what we ran across on the ride.  I would have had more pictures, if I wasn't so far behind Rich, the whole day.

Not a lot of vistas, but some.

We're in the deep woods most of the ride.  Hardly saw anyone either.  It's supposed to be a crowded, ride, but we didn't see it.

This was my view most of the day, when I could see him.  Following.

It is beautiful.  Just beautiful.

Water Dog Park - The Dog - Mountain Biking in Belmont

Ray out on Water Dog Park Trail

This picture does not do this park justice.  It's an awesome little park, with lots of steeps, single track, challenging technical stuff.  No, I can not ride the whole thing without getting off in a few spots.  Yes, it seems innocuous at first.  A park behind suburbia.  You can just about see the whole thing from various vantage points in the hills.

Dropping in, almost immediately it's a grind, depending where you start.  We went around to the Ralston/Alemeda entrance, or just West and South of there.  I forget the names of the streets.  There are actually about 6-8 places to jump in.  This little park is well maintained, an incredible myriad of trails to chose from, but I don't think there are any choices where you won't get a serious ride of climbs, switchbacks, and just plain tight trails.  A full loop is probably only about an 8 mile loop, but it lends itself to doing figure 8's or any number of adaptations to get in a good length ride.  Even the 8 is worthy of a nice ride in and of itself.

Jib Jab
Dang.  For so long I have been trucking up to Marin to ride Mt Tam, with my buddies Chris and Matt.  It is riding paradise, and I really enjoy going with these guys.  Having said that, it is a haul.  For me to limit myself to riding there is nuts.  So, finally, after at least a year, I finally found Water Dog.  No, it's not Mt Tam, but yes, it's a blast!  And it's riding distance from my house.  On bike, I can be there in about 15 minutes.

This was one of two rides I did here with Ray.  I gotta comment on his attire.  Don't you love that shirt?  It's a crash dummy!  It has some silly tag on the back saying if found, put back on the trail or something.  I forget.  Oh Ray.  Heheheehe, even included a typo.  Yep, spelled cyclist with an s on the end.  Very funny.  That said, Ray is a great rider.  He rode my buns into the ground.  The first day was particularly difficult, and even the second, after a good rest, Ray powered up hills I couldn't and stayed on in the technical stuff when I would get off.  Still, it was fun, fun, fun, all the way around though.  So good to see my buddy after all these years, just hanging together and having fun.  He had new brakes and the discs were acting up, so we ended up at this other gem of Belmont.  Passion Trail Bikes.

Thanks, Ray
I know you planned me into your trip, which I really appreciate.  I hope you had as much fun as I did.  Our friendship lives on, and I felt completely rejuvenated on that front.  Ray, you are a special part of my life.

As you can see, my pictures were, well, limited.  We tried this one trail, that goes tight around the lake.  As it turns out, it wasn't a finished trail.  Ray and I went exploring anyways....  :-)

Passion Trail Bikes ***** (5 / 5 bikes)
Just like the name says.  Essentially, nice mountain bikes, parts, and accessories, and a huge shop, great people.  No kids bikes.  No road bikes.  No messing around.  You know how some quick auto lube shops have that little sitting area?  Passion does too.  And you can get a cappuccino (make your own) or you can pour yourself a delicious micro brew from Devil's Canyon Brewery, which is just a couple blocks away.  It's like a college house bachelor pad.   Yes, dirty dishes in the sink.  coffee grounds around the machine, couches looking extra worn, and a mini-fridge with a tap out the top.  Just pure enjoyment.  Such a treat.  So, we pull in here, late Saturday afternoon, after having rode Water Dog.  We basically needed to get Ray's bike brakes fixed within the hour, or he was going to have to deal with it in Thailand.  In every respect, our chances were a long shot.  Can you diagnose the problem?  Can we get credit for the defective parts Ray just put on in Colorado?  Do they have replacement parts? Could they work on the bike, essentially drop what they are doing? 

"Do you two want a beer?"
Yep, we explained the situation, and the guy was totally on the ball.  Understood the issue, immediately tested the bike, and had some ideas in his head.  So, yeah.  They were busy in the shop, but gave us tremendous support.  So, once he figured out what was what, he says- "So, do you guys want a beer?"  "yes"  "Blonde or Scotch?"  "Blonde, we have to ride home."  Hahahahhahaha!  Awesome!  Dude fixes Ray's bike on the spot.  We are sipping a delicious brew, and the next days' ride, Ray was so excited to be back on track.  Wow.  Full endorsement for Passion.  Great experience.  Really, one of those special moments when you are so happy to be a part of mankind.

References:
This trail has some good references from Passion.  Also, the maps about online and on the trail.  In the end, Ray and I decided, staring at maps doesn't really help.  Just ride.  You can't get too far afoot.

Local Rides thanks to Passion

Happy, Happy in Calistoga, California

Happy Birthday, Malcolm!  What an awesome celebration!  What a special weekend.  I am taking notes.  This was such the way to celebrate.  Just 4 couples, in a gorgeous house and grounds even better, in Calistoga, California.  Yes, the place where they bottle Calistoga water.  It's also rich in wineries.  We visited a couple.  But really, the best part was just hanging out with family and friends, cooking, eating, enjoying the pool, baccy ball, making huge fires, delicious wine and scotch, and conversations as long as you want.  We canceled all our dinner reservations within minutes of arriving.  Almost in unison, we all said, let's stay here and cook!  Yes, we did ride our bikes, all of 15 minutes, before deciding we should stop for a beer and what the heck, some oysters, and buffalo wings too...and the spa, massages and salt rub.  It was fine.  But the real fun was hanging with our tribe. 

This is the "after" picture.

Jib Jab
It's an incubator for growing friendships.  No to do list.  Just incredible people, great food (and cooks), great drinks, and an outlandishly gorgeous setting.  First, the house, but really, the beauty was the grounds.  So many treasures, little nooks and crannies, so much attention to detail, blending in, looking so natural, yet landscaped, just so.  Gorgeous pool, outdoor dining area and huge stone fireplace, and a little kitchen bar, bathroom and shower and the gardens.  Everywhere.  The veggie garden had cilantro, and strawberries en masse(yes, we used plenty).   What else?  Basil, and spinach.  And a bunch of other stuff in perfect raised beds, for later in the season.  And flowers and so on everywhere. 

We did include some cross training with what I want to call cattle bells.  I think it's really kettle bells.  We did sit-ups, push ups,  some sort of deep bend, and of course, swinging the kettle bell and sprints.  A pretty serious work-out and done in about 20 minutes.  Oh, we also enjoyed a hike, not sure what mountain.  We didn't quite reach the top, but got to where we had monster panoramic views.  Okay, fine, I swam some laps too, so in the end, we did quite a bit, but never felt rushed or out of time for anything.  Such a treat, and pure relaxation and rejuvenation. 

This turned into one of our favorite spots.  It's  dream outdoor living.  Pool, fireplace, dining, everything done, just right.  Right in the lower right corner, see the serving table.  Concrete with two down-lights.  They thought of everything!  Behind this is the cabana, with a little bar, bathroom and shower, all done in teak.  The pool was huge.  Plenty big for swimming laps.  And the hot tub attached to the pool was huge.  A party tub.

Have you seen the blog where the guy puts his camera on 2 second delay, then runs?  This is my version.  On 10 second delay, and swimming.

Here's something else I've never done.  Linking to my facebook album.  Not sure it works.
Let me know if you can't get to it.
More photos

Mount Tamalpias Mountain Biking

Okay, something new to post... Yep, mountain biking. These pictures are of an awesome ride up on Mount Tamalpias. The shot with the vistas includes the ocean, just outside the golden gate, if you look carefully, you can see the north tower of the Golden Gate bridge and the Sutro tv tower.

Okay, something new to post... Yep, mountain biking. These pictures are of an awesome ride up on Mount Tamalpias. The shot with the vistas includes the ocean, just outside the golden gate, if you look carefully, you can see the north tower of the Golden Gate bridge and the Sutro tv tower.

I got a mountain bike about 6 months ago, maybe not quite that long ago. It was quite an interesting turn of events, which, as you may have guessed, I can go on and on...so, at the risk of being so predictable, here goes. So, actually, the timing can be traced back to a post I did a while back, on going skiing. I went with an old friend, Matt, I reunited with. We went skiing, and during our awesome ski trip, I said, I am really looking forward to getting a new mountain bike...so, trying to make a long story short, he says, I mountain bike. So, a couple weeks later, I am at the bike shop, texting back and forth with Matt, on what I am looking at, and he is texting me on what to look for, and say and request. So, after about 30 texts, I am leaving with a bike, super nice bike actually. Way nicer than I would have gotten without his help. Thanks Matt!! I hope you know how much I appreciate your help on that! So, I got a Trek EX9.0 something. Looking back, the previous post was in March, so I got the bike in April.

So, anyways, these guys rode with me for my birthday ride. Starting in Fairfax, and in the end, riding up and over the Bolinas Ridge and then down the super steep Willow Camp Trail into Stinson Beach.