Mid-Week Rides: North Bay Ride

9 September 2009

Chris has this thing about the number 9. It being 2009-09-09 what better excuse for a ride.

WWWobble write:

Six riders participated in the “Nines” (9/9/2009) ride called by Chris Weld and posted on this site for some time.

The Captain, Dick Zunkel, Bill Grass and Don Theile arrived ON TIME at the Golden Egg in Novato. WWWobble arrived a short time later, taking his time removing gear and enjoying the parking lot before joining the group inside. This inadvertent “stall” tactic made Randy’s later arrival seem less “late” than it really was. Who says Firemen always arrive first? Breakfast was delightful and well served. When it came time to depart the restaurant for the “real” ride, we learned that only WWWobble and Randy, the two late arrivals, had already filled their fuel tanks. AHEM!

Whatever… At least the Captain was prepared with a mobile cooler complete with chilled bottled waters inside the better to help our small group cope with the projected 85 to 90F forecast temperatures along our route. Jacket liners and electric vests came off in the parking lot as we headed west from Novato, over the back roads west of Petaluma. Dry [Golden California] grass, the smell of cattle, cow patty dust along the usual roads — Novato Blvd, Petaluma Rd, Wilson Hill, Chileno Valley and some left/right jogs toward Valley Ford. Say, that’s a bit of a fog bank out there, don’t you think?

Regardless, the Captain continues thru Freestone, Occidental, thru the Bohemian Groves and over the Russian River at Duncan Mills, then to Cazadero where a local informed us it only rained 48 inches there last winter. Not much rain in other words. Warming up as we had come inland, we continue up and along King Ridge enjoying rough, twisted pavement and views of more dry grass and cows. A group photo shot is called at the old “square nail” school house which Chris seems to know something about. He attended class there in 1913, or was it 1963, I dunno. Something. Don and I weren’t born yet. But the Captain must have learned something, because he got us off the ridge, down steep and curvy Timber Cove Rd to the cool and overcast coast. Jacket liners in. Nobody’s drinking his chilled water.

At Jenner Zunkel informs us that we will not be stopping at The Landing in Bodega because he doesn’t want to. Fair enough. Several of us are hungry now, and WWWobble, ever observant, notes we are parked next door to a cafe. One that serves good sandwiches, soup, and drinkable coffee. Outdoor seating, and I believe the sun may have shown for a bit there as well.

Then down the coast into the real fog of Dillon Beach. The guys who hadn’t put in jacket liners did so then. Ah, the summer coast. Natural air conditioning at its best. We then depart Dillon Beach, thru Tomales, back onto the Marin back roads, thru Lucas Valley onto 101 and each make our way home.

Good ride, good company, no tickets, crashes, or mechanicals. Nah, I won’t count one partially dropped bike because it wasn’t really a good drop that breaks stuff, especially expensive stuff in some cases, so it doesn’t count. Pictures follow, probably out of order because the Captain will NOT purchase a $49 photo editor that doesn’t strip exif data, but WWWobble seems to be the only one who cares — so we get what he gives us. They’re probably not much more “out of oorder” than this ride report, so there you go.

Major WWWobble