The 2007 edition of the Terrible Two double century—on Saturday, June 16—took place on another day of not-so-terrible weather, leading to a low rate of attrition and a high rate of success and satisfaction for most participants. But, as has become the norm, it was a very near thing: all week long, leading up to the big day, it had been triple-digit hot in the region. (105° in Healdsburg on Thursday.) But the forecasts called for a cooling trend, and on Friday night, Mother Nature’s big air conditioner finally kicked in. The Pacific Ocean fog rolled in and hung around until the riders were halfway up the Geysers. The official high in Cloverdale on Saturday—our traditional benchmark—was only 86°, and that translated to bike thermometer readings of high 80’s to high 90’s on the exposed ridgelines of Skaggs Springs after lunch. Toasty, but not terrible. On Sunday however, the offical high in Cloverdale was right back up to 97°, which would have turned Skaggs into an inferno. How lucky can you get?
285 riders took the start, almost identical to last year’s record field of 286. (That includes three tandems, so 282 official starters.) Unlike last year though, when hot weather contributed to only 55% of the riders taking home their coveted “I Did It!” t-shirts, this year, with such pleasant conditions, 212 riders (75%) made it in by 10:00 pm and 229 finished altogether. 229 total finishers is a new record.
Up at the front end of the field, the results looked much the same as last year. Santa Rosa’s Brenda Phelps was again the first female finisher, in a time of 12:05, and for the sixth year in a row, Mr. TT, Brian Anderson, sat atop the men’s pile. But at least this year, the Santa Rosa homeboy had to work for it. His time of 11:11 brought him to the finish just five minutes ahead of Sebastopol’s Marc Moons. That was his closest margin since he finished tied for first in ’02 and ’03.
It’s fascinating to see how Anderson goes about this business. As is well known by now, he doesn’t lead early, but is patient and saves something for later in the day. A look at the time splits tells much of the story. He was in 27th place, 16 minutes behind Moons and the other front runners at the Geysers stop. By lunch, he was 12 minutes behind; by Camp Gualala, 8 minutes behind. And at Fort Ross, when Moons rolled in, the workers said, “He’s right behind you.” Marc turned around and looked, and sure enough, there was Brian, standing right behind him.
At the finish, Anderson hung around long enough to shake Moons’ hand, then did his usual modest fade, leaving quickly and riding back home to Santa Rosa. An enigmatic and intriguing figure.
Phil Hornig finished third, nine minutes adrift of Moons, but he was close enough to stay ahead of Moons in the final standings in the California Triple Crown Stage Race. (Defending Stage Race champ Robert Choi of Rohnert Park had been in second in the standings, but didn’t enter the TT.) Tony Lee of Petaluma—another SRCC regular—was next in the standings with a four-minute lead on David Fisher going into the TT. They finished together in 11:50, tied for 8th, so Tony gets the final podium step in the Stage Race. That’s the second year in a row that Sonoma County boys have occupied two of the podium steps in the CTC Stage Race.
Second behind Phelps in the women’s division was Theresa Lynch of Palo Alto and Janet Martinez of Pleasanton was third.
All three tandems entered in the TT finished, led by Robert and Barbara Fletcher of Vacaville in a time of 14:25, with Curt Simon and Rebecca McClelland of San Rafael not far behind. James Kern was the only recumbent finisher, cranking out a very snappy time of 13:19, which is a new short-course record, although still a ways from Eric House’s ’bent record of 12:53 on the old long course. Former winner Ken Eichstadt was again out there making the impossible look somehow plausible: he did it again on his fixed-gear. The oldest finisher was William Oldham at age 69—third oldest ever—and the youngest finisher was Matthew Wilson of Sebastopol, aged 18.
As far as we have been able to determine, there were only two accidents of any note. Once was nothing much at all, but the other was quite a story. Steve Berry of Brisbane finished the ride to claim his sixth TT tee, but out on the Black Mountain descent to Cazadero, he had crashed on one of those tricky tree-root pavement bumps that make that stretch such a minefield. Front somersault at about 35-mph. After sorting himself out, he got back on his bucking bronco and finished the ride. Then went to the emergency room. Several hours, x-rays, and CT scans later, it was determined he had a broken neck! Obviously, not the kind of broken neck that everyone fears, but still a pretty big deal, and it will feel even more like a big deal after a month in a neck brace. Steve gets our True Grit-No Brains Award for 2007.
The Analy High School campus in Sebastopol once again served as the start-finish venue, and it was as nice this year as last, with a regular circus of festivities in the school plaza after the ride. The route changes introduced last year, including the switch to Analy, should have resulted in a route of exactly 200 miles. But the Hwy 101 construction detour in Santa Rosa last year added half a mile to the course. Now, with the detour gone, we are happy to note that the 2007 version of the Terrible Two was exactly 200.0 miles...and that is the first time in its 32-year history that the miles have been on the button.
Finally: thanks to all of the 150+ SRCC members and friends who volunteered before, during, and after the event to make it such a success. The e-mails from happy riders let us know how much all that energetic and cheerful work means to them. You are all the best!
Thirty SRCC members headed south in early June to do the first of the club’s pair of one-week cycle-tours of this summer season. This was the Mid-State Tour, which explored a scenic assortment of hills and valleys around Santa Barbara, Solvang, and Paso Robles...in or near the Santa Ynez and Santa Lucia Mountains.
The guiding theory for this tour was that it would be a bit easier than the longer Northern Oregon Tour scheduled for August. It was a worthy goal, but it turned out to be just about as hard, thanks to a more-or-less non-stop hit parade of big and little climbs. If one did every mile of every stage over seven days of riding, the total would have been around 440 miles and 37,000' of gain, which puts it in the same league as the Condor Country Tour. That’s no coincidence, as this tour shares many of the same roads with that earlier tour.
However, no one did every mile on offer. Some came very close, but many made use of sags or shortcuts to whittle the stages down to a more manageable size. Socializing, relaxing, and being comfortable were higher priorities than climbing every hill and pounding out every available mile.
Stage 1: 64 miles, 8500'. Probably the hardest and hottest day of the tour. We began in Paradise Canyon on the wild Santa Ynez River (where we camped for our first two nights). We first climbed to the village of Painted Cave, above San Marcos Pass, then descended, through a thick, damp fog, to the outskirts of Santa Barbara by way of twisting, technical Old San Marcos Road. A meandering transit of Santa Barbara and Montecito, with a visit to Mission Santa Barbara along the way, eventually brought us to the massive, epic climb of Gilbratar Road (compared in this month’s Outside magazine to the Col du Galibier in the Tour de France). This really is a monster ascent, and temperatures in the mid-90’s didn’t make it any easier. But the payoff was the ridgetop run along Camino Cielo, with panoramic vistas spilling 4000' down to the blue Pacific—the fog burned off just in time—plus almost 15 miles of wild and crazy descending back to camp to wrap it all up.
Stage 2: 70 miles, 6000'. A long, lazy run over the rollers next to Lake Cachuma brought us to lovely, tranquil Happy Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley, home to the vineyards of Sideways fame and to Kentucky Derby-level thoroughbred ranches. Half the group followed a lowland route around the valley, lopping off many miles and climbs, while the other half tackled the extremely hilly and remote backcountry in the shadow of Figueroa Mountain. Big, big climbs and slinky descents made this walk on the wild side a grand adventure for those who took it on. Both groups visited the quaint but touristy faux-Danish village of Solvang, then found several different ways to ride from there to our camp for the next three nights: an RV park in Buellton. This sprawling complex has a shady lawn set aside for campers, and it offers a nice swimming pool and hot tubs for weary riders. The only bad part about it was that it was cold and windy all the days we were there...shockingly chilly for June.
Stage 3: 70 miles, 5000'. This was a simple stage: out-&-back to remote Jalama Beach. We rode into the teeth of that chilly, foggy wind on the way to the beach, then cruised home on a zephyr tailwind after lunching on delicious Jalama Burgers at the the beachfront cafe. Although much of the route is nearly level, there are enough mid-sized summits to add up to a fairly substantial elevation gain.
Stage 4: 59 miles, 4000'. Certainly the easiest full stage, but still with several significant climbs of up to 16%. This is the definitive Santa Ynez Valley loop, connecting Drum, Cat, Foxen, and Ballard Canyons... all pretty, quiet, rolling back roads through a mix of vineyards, oak-dotted meadows, produce fields, and forests. The wind once again slapped us about all day. Mostly it was against us, except along famous Foxen Canyon, where we caught the tailwind just right. The wind made the day harder than it would appear on paper, including beating into a brick-wall headwind at the end.
Stage 5: 74 miles, 6000'. Another challenging, hilly stage, but very scenic. After moving our car pool caravan 80 miles north to Templeton, we set off on a trek through the Santa Lucia Mountains to the Pacific shore. York Mountain and steep, tangled Santa Rosa Creek were our way west to a stop in faux-English Cambria. Then a sweeeet tailwind run south on Hwy 1 brought us to Cayucos, where we had to grapple our way back up from sea level into the high hills, including two brutal miles with non-stop grades in the mid to high teens. Some folks retrieved the cars in Templeton and drove to our motel in Paso Robles, while others rode there via lovely Las Tablas and fabulous Peachy Canyon...one of the best bike roads in the world.
Stage 6: 70 miles, 5000'. Beautiful early but boring later, this stage began with more pretty miles in the Paso hills, then broke out into more open, austere country—some called it desolate—east of the Salinas River. Not a great stage but still a decent ride.
Stage 7: 30 miles, 2500'. A little gem for the morning of our getaway day: a reprise of nearly perfect Peachy Canyon, followed by Vineyard and Adelaida Roads, both almost as good as Peachy...one of the best little rides on this or any other tour, and a fitting finale for a week of wonderful cycle-touring, with good food, good company, great scenery, and best-quality biking, every day of the week.
— Donn King, SRCC RUSA coordinator —
Thirty three riders started the SRCC 600 K and 27 finished. The time limit was 40 hours. There were three Santa Rosa Cycling Club riders: Jose Mundo, Craig Robertson, and I, and all of us finished. Jose didn’t get sucked into any Memorial Day parties in Middletown this year and that improved his time substantially. I actually finished the brevet and last year I did not, so my time improved as well. Craig Robertson, on a tandem with Jenny Phillips, and riding with Robert Choi, did this 375-mile, 15,000' course in 23:45!
Lake Beryessa was surprisingly quiet this year. The Highway Patrol was out in force, and I was glad to see it. It was the Memorial Day holiday and the area around the lake and Monticello Dam can be Party Central, especially at night. It looked like the police weren’t allowing cars to park and party this year and it felt a lot safer.
It was near 100° in Lake County in the daytime and clear and cold at night. Pope Valley on a bicycle is beautiful but cold after dark, and correct clothing is a must, or the rider will be in misery, at best. Fine-tuningclothing is a part of the challenge of randonneuring.
SRCC provided two supported controles in each direction. John and Laura Russell ran the motel controle in Clearlake Oaks. They rented the rooms, bought the food, and with the help of John’s brother Tom, staffed it, both outbound and inbound. John and Tom are going to PBP in August. Laura and John and Tom stayed up all weekend to take care of the riders. The specialty of the house was grilled cheese sandwiches and good coffee all Sunday morning. Laura would jump right up and run around when a rider needed anything, and she and I even managed a few bars of ‘It’s Wonderful, Wonderful’ at 5:15 Sunday morning.
The Pope Valley controle is always a hot topic of conversation on this brevet since Bob Redmond took charge four years ago. This year Bob, Evelyn and Bill Ellis, and Kirk Runner from Tiburon ran the show, and it was sensational. They had smoothies, misters during the hot afternoon, crushed ice for camelbaks, and after dark, a campfire, a sleeping tent, espresso, and the Star Wars Trilogy going on a portable screen. Usually Bob likes rock and roll at Pope Valley, but this year the music was French, to get riders in the mood for Paris.
This is a hard 600 K: Hopland Grade, Sulfur Banks, Butts Canyon, Pope Valley, Lower Chiles, Cardiac, etc., all in both directions. Hopland Grade, at mile 315 on the way back, is the final barrier to the friendly confines of Hopland and Sonoma County to the south. I definitely felt a rush of relief when I crested it, and felt the cooler air from the coast.
Tom Kuhn, Bill Mattinson, Joanie and Peter and I staffed the Finish controle. It’s fun to be at the Finish because you get to see some pretty shattered but happy riders. There were some first-time finishers. Completing a 600 K is a milestone, oftentimes the longest distance that a rider has ever done. Finishing a 600 K is a huge accomplishment for most cyclists. The first one is especially sweet but subsequent 600’s are always a challenge, to say the least.
Whither SRCC randonneuring?
We are at a turning point. The club has completed four full seasons of brevets, including a PBP year. There will be a lull now for a couple of years until interest begins to heat up again for PBP in 2011. Should the club continue to offer brevets? Does sufficient interest in ultra distance riding exist in the club? Who is interested in becoming involved in the presentation of the brevets? In order to continue, I would like to hear from people in the club who are interested in riding, helping with rest stops, or administration. Maybe there is someone who would like to co-chair with me and learn the entire operation. New energy is welcome at all phases, including ridership, planning, administration, route design, etc. Creative ideas for brevet design and increasing ridership, especially within SRCC are welcome. Contact me and let me know what you you think, and thanks for your support over the past four years!
Each year the League of American Bicyclists selects clubs from among its 600 member organizations to be honored as Clubs of the Year. This year, the League has selected the Santa Rosa Cycling Club for that honor, representing the region of the Western United States that takes in California and several other states.
The honor is in recognition of a consistently high level of excellence in all of a club’s efforts, from rides and events to advocacy. We in the SRCC know we have a good club and do a good job on several fronts, but it’s always nice to discover that others outside the club have noticed. If you have volunteered on a club event, doing anything from listing a ride to working at an event to serving on the Board or on a committee, then you can take satisfaction in knowing your efforts have been recognized out in the larger world, beyond our club.
Now that we have completed the Wine Country Century and the Brevet Series and the Terrible Two; now that the bulk of our big tasks are behind us for the year, it’s time once again to doff our caps, or our helmets, if you prefer, and shout out a big “THANK YOU!” to each and every club member who has helped out on any of these events. (And we know that many of you have helped out on all of them, often in more than one capacity.)
There is a reason why the Wine Country Century sells out a month in advance of the event, with those who didn’t get in beating down our doors. There is a reason why the Terrible Two is voted #1 in rider satisfaction by Triple Crown participants, year after year. There is a reason why our club has been honored as Club of the Year for all of the Western United States by the League of American Bicyclists. That reason is YOU...each of you individually and all of you collectively.
Sure, we have great routes. (Dreamed up by earlier volunteers once upon a time, and tinkered with by current worker bees every year since.) But the main thing that sets our events apart from others is great support. Each of us doing our little bit—and a few stellar souls doing a lot—has added up to a superb organization in this club that knows what is needed and knows how to provide it.
What makes all this remarkable is that we are not a for-profit corporation with a paid staff. We are a loose-knit, grass-roots gang of amateur volunteers. We don’t get paid to do what we do, and I don’t think most of us would want to be. We do it because we love it and because we know that the doing of it makes the world a little bit better than it would have been without our efforts. When the call goes out for this task or that chore, the volunteers show up. Amazing!
Now, having said that, it is worth noting that the voluteers who do show up mostly have familiar faces. The same folks are carrying the load most of the time. In a club with over 500 members, less than 200 are doing 95% of the work, and less than 50 are probably doing 80% of it. This is typical of most organizations that rely on volunteer energy to keep the wheels turning. But it is a concern because those carrying the load are only human, and over time, taking on too much will eventually lead to burn-out. So while we congratulate those who have done so much to make this such a vibrant, successful club, let’s remind the other members that we’re all in this together. We always need new folks to step forward and become involved. Try it: you’ll find it’s great fun to be part of such a dynamic family of volunteers.
This is the season when club members mysteriously disappear from the scene for a few weeks, then return with tales of great cycle-tour vacations in far off places...Tuscany or Provence, or at least Utah or British Columbia. If you are one of those lucky wanderers, share your tales with the rest of us in print: either drop me a quick note to say where you’ve been—for a mention in this space—or write the whole thing up for a stand-alone feature piece in some future newsletter. (Not toooo long a write-up. Space is limited.)
I have heard a few snippets of travel news while riding with folks. I know José Mundo had a wonderful run down the Natchez Trace—one of America’s very few, very special National Heritage roads—where he loved just about everything he encountered. I know Rich Fuglewicz and Jean Cordalis have already managed cycle-tours in both northern Arizona and Southern Utah (Moab area)...two different trips. I know Lou Salz got in an early-season tour in Arizona. I believe John and Jo Devries are just now setting off for a tour in Italy, that Firouzeh Attwood is heading for the Dolomites, and that Linda and Sid Flurher are heading for France. I’ve probably been told other, similar stories by other riders, but there’s only so much data I can keep on my tiny hard drive (the one between my ears).
I can speak first-hand about the club’s recent Mid-State Tour. But I will do that elsewhere in this newsletter. It was a good tour, maybe even a great tour, thanks mostly to the organizational genius of Doug Simon and the upbeat, cheerful energy of all the participants. I will say it was a tough tour; harder than most of us expected it to be, including me, and I drew up the routes. We did essentially the same stages on two prior tours a few years ago, when they didn’t seem that hard. Either we’re getting older or the hills are getting steeper.
Between that tour, which ate up two weekends and all the days in between, and another lost weekend back at the end of May, and the Terrible Two weekend, I haven’t been on a “normal” club ride since May 19. That means all the ride reports here will be from others, usually the ride leaders. That begins with Rich’s Bad Little Brother on May 26. I will copy Rich’s note here... “Bad Little Brother is a great ride just by the route....133 miles and lots of hard climbing, with no shortcuts, except the sag wagon. It becomes really special when so many fine riders come from all around the bay area—and sometimes beyond—for an extreme cycling experience; even more special when the support on the course is great: this year Rita, Jean, and Kimberly, with Matt when he wasn’t riding. They were out there taking care of everyone, ready to lend a hand for whatever was needed. They were just the best.
“A group of 24 left together, but about 13 riders had left earlier...so 37 riders out there, same as last year! And that was without 5-10 of the regulars. I love getting riders new to the course! We had the best weather day all weekend...sun by the time we climbed across the Mendo line and that great tailwind at the coast. The headwinds up Hwy 128 were mild and I was probably one of the few that caught any really hot weather on Mountain View, I heard it went over 90. As far as I know, there were no mishaps with traffic; all the drivers going by were very courteous. We lost one rider at Boonville with a mechanical, but he rigged his derailleur and chain to get back to the start with a single speed. Some of the riders opted for the extra elevation and quieter road on the ridgeline out of Point Arena. Off Hwy 1, the run up and around Annapolis is always sweet: less traveled than the way in from Stewart’s Point. Then, what defines the final suffering of BLB: Skaggs in from Gualala. Those who have come in those final 10-15 miles know it well, and even the strongest of the group have something to say about ‘those last two grades’....a tough finish indeed! What a great year...thanks to all who came out to make the ride, and thanks for the fantastic support all along the way!”
That same day, there were two other, slightly less ambitious rides. Ken Russeff had an A ride starting in Cotati and Wayne Kellam had a B ride up Pine Flat. Ken reports on his ride: “It was a joint ride with the Golden Gate Cycling Club. We had a total of 22 riders, nine of whom were members of GGCC or of both clubs. The GCCC was basically a B group, and they, along with several of the SRCCers, rode off into the distance. Nice stop at the Tomales Bakery, as usual, with numerous individual riders there taking a break, plus a corporate outing of 20 riders in matching orange jerseys. The sun finally came out and we had a nice ride. If there is a vote for the best stretch of road in Sonoma and Marin Counties, my vote is for Chileno Valley, that is, if you love virtually no traffic, Holsteins, and an almost flat ride.”
Here’s what Wayne sent in about his Pine Flat foray: “My May 26th Pine Flat ride started great. There was fog in the Alexander Valley when we started up, so it was cool. I think more than a third of the riders were C riders. I was last up so I could keep track of everyone. Just below the peacock ranch, Oscar turned back. He had gone off the road speeding down Pine Flat a week or two before this ride, so he was taking it real easy. By the time I got to the steep spot, eight riders had passed me going down. That means that 19 out of 28 riders attempted the top climb! The descent was perfect for me. It was starting to warm, so I didn’t get chilled. For Kirk Amos it wasn’t a good day at all. In an attempt to control his speed, he went over the bars, breaking a clavicle and a finger. Jim Draeger rode to his large van and returned to pick up Kirk and his wife and bicycles, and took them to Memorial Hospital. Thanks Jim. Good work.” I can tell you that Kirk is mending well. He’s disgusted to be missing a good chunk of his summer season, but vows to be ready for the Oregon tour in August.
Richard Stone had a B ride out of Piner HS on Sunday: a classic loop up into Alexander Valley and back via Healdsburg and Windsor, with stops at the Jimtown Store and Cafe Noto. Richard reports that 35 riders showed up, and that everything went well all day long. This might be a good spot to mention the changes at the Jimtown Store. They really are cycle-friendly there, and they have now added a sort of curb-side service out front, under their old porte-cochere, with food and refreshments tailored to the needs of cyclists. No waiting in line at the counter inside. They have also added bike racks, which were donated to them by the Santa Rosa Cycling Club. I haven’t seen the new set-up yet, but I hear it’s nice. Next time you stop there, be sure to tell them you’re with the SRCC and that you like what they’re doing for cyclists.
That weekend—Memorial Day weekend—was the date of our final SRCC-RUSA brevet for this season leading up to Paris-Brest-Paris in August. This was the longest brevet of all: the 600 K. Donn King’s report about the event is on the opposite page.
That takes care of May and ushers in June, which began with a Rose Mello ride over Coleman Valley. Rose is training her AB riders to be serious mountain goats these days, with roads like Coleman. Rose reports: “We had 14 riders. The weather was nice and cool. The sun did not come through till almost noon. The Russian River Rodeo was going on at Duncan’s Mills...pretty busy place.”
The next day brought us the official century of the month, lead out by Randall Ray. “We had a rather meager turnout for the coveted green century for June. With many of the die-hards on tour, we had only nine at the start. Doug and Deanna met us at Duncans Mills on their tandem, just in time to engineer the fast train to Jenner and down the coast. The first climb to Hwy 1 split us into two distinct groups: those who desired to hang on the wheel of the tandem, and the chatty sight-seers. Following Wayne Kellam’s formula for ride leading, I hung near the back, trying my best to keep track of all my sheep (cats). At Tomales we lost a few riders to the shorter route, so there were 8 of us in it for the full 100. We had a nice tailwind climbing out of the fog on Marshall Wall, making for a fairly easy spin with gorgeous views all the way to my favorite rest stop, the cheese factory!
“I think we milked the rest stops for all they were worth, but somehow we all wedged our saddles back into position and started turning the cranks again. The last 30 miles started with a tailwind up Red Hill, but then began a seemingly endless series of rollers into either a headwind or crossing headwind. We met back up with a 100-K’er and a lost sheep along the way, and a few peeled off to head home. My GPS showed 7,800' of elevation gain, mostly rollers. For me as a ride leader, this was a very enriching century. Things really change when the group is small on a longer ride; your options become fewer and your decisions become more important. Good stuff!”
Speaking of centuries, this was also the date of the Sacramento Wheelmen’s Sierra Century. They came up with a brand new route this year, out of Murphy, and by all accounts it was a whopper of a ride, with over 10,000' of steep climbing. Not your entry-level century! We know that Rich Fuglewicz, Bob Stolzman, and Jean Cordalis were there representing the SRCC. Perhaps there were others as well. Rich and Bob both sent reports which we may run in a future month if we can find the space. But they both say about the same thing: wickedly tough course, but a new, instant classic.
Next up was the Second Saturday ride, this month out of Healdsburg and featuring some new ride leaders. George Gallegos—a veteran leader at this point—led the A group, and I did not get a report from him, but I got notes from both John O’Connell, who led the B’s, and Tony Lee, who led the C’s. John’s report: “It was a great thrill to ride with the C riders for a short time (until I just couldnt keep up anymore). Tom West and I rode most of West Dry Creek until coming across what I thought was one of the C riders and another person fixing a flat. We stopped until they were done and Alan and Sue joined us to make a group of six, We picked up another at Yoakam Bridge, my friend Brad, who had driven over from Davis to join us. It was a perfect day for a ride and all was smooth sailing. The only startling moment came at the Jimtown store when sombody’s front tube exploded—literally—while it was leaning up against the building (not one of our bikes...ours were all in the bike rack).” And now Tony’s C-note: “We had a good turnout for the ride. The C riders started off with John and the B riders for a pleasant pace up West Dry Creek. About 20 of us split from the B group at Dutcher Creek and regrouped at Lake Sonoma. Rockpile was beautiful and the return trip to Lake Sonoma was a blast, with probably most of the riders clocking near or above 50 mph on the long descent before the bridge. Some of the guys were boasting about it in the visitor’s center and a friendly park ranger gave some motherly advice and offered free tickets to anyone who wanted them. Several riders split off to return on Dry Creek and a few more split off at Geyserville. The rest of us took advantage of the tailwinds and picked up the pace. Total stats for the day: 66 miles at 17.9 mph. Good job everyone!”
This weekend featured another popular Bay Area century: the Sequoia Century in the South Bay hills and Santa Cruz mountains. We had reports from Mike DeMicco and from Bill Ellis, who did it on the tandem with Evelyn. This is another century that tinkers with its route, year to year. Mike and Bill both like its current configuration and had many flattering things to say about the ride. Perhaps we can gang their reports together with the Sierra Century reports in a month when the TT isn’t taking up so much newsletter space.
On Sunday, the Eunices had another of their Welcome Wagon rides—still going strong—and Wayne Kellam had a ride out in Pope Valley. Wayne checks in: “The Pope Valley ride was pretty good for everyone but me. We had a cool ride most of the way. It didn’t get warm until we were were riding down Howell Mountain into the valley with all the climbing done. Unfortunately, the Pope Valley store was closed because of a memorial service. There was some sharing of water and food to help those who didn’t have enough. As soon as we left the store, my front derailleur quit working. I was stuck in my small chainring, but if you have to be stuck in any chainring at the base of Ink Grade, you are lucky to be stuck in the small one. There wasn’t much level riding until we got to Pope Street in the valley. Everything else seemed to be up or down, so it wasn’t such a bad glitch. On Monday I gave the stiff shifter a little WD40, and it works perfectly again. Hmm...”
And that brings us to a really, really big ride: the Terrible Two on June 16. You can read the report on that ride elsewhere in this newsletter, and if you’re a nut for the details, you can pore over the tiny-type results lists to find your name or the names of your friends. Let’s hope you find them there and not in the unlisted limbo of the DNF’s.
Speaking of doubles, there have been four of them during this reporting period, not counting the TT: Central Coast, Davis, Heartbreak, and Eastern Sierra. So far, none of them has managed to get their results up on the ’net, so we will wait to report on them, and on the possible participation of club members in them, until they get their acts together.
One final item... You are of course aware of our litter pick-up program on West Dry Creek Road. It now appears that our efforts are producing some positive results beyond the basic removal of the trash. The homeowners’ association in Dry Creek Valley held its own litter day awhile back, and they invited Richard Stone, our current litter boss, to attend. The work was followed by a BBQ at one of the homes in the neighborhood, where Richard was the recipient of much praise and good wishes for all that the SRCC has done. We received a note after the event which included this: “The Dry Creek Valley Association very much appreciates the involvement of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club for its yearly cleanup of the Dry Creek Valley. Several residents said they too are avid cyclists, and agreed it’s important to continue the outreach between the cycling club and residents of Dry Creek Valley.” Those of us who can recall how adversarial and contentious our relations used to be with the folks in this valley are thrilled to see how much things have improved. Taken together with the cycle-friendly developments at the Jimtown Store—including our SRCC bike racks—we can begin to feel hopeful that the tide of public opinion is turning ever-so-slightly in our favor up in the wine country.
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