Last night we did a test pack for our summer tour. We use our pack list from the West Coast, updated for the older kids, especially with Ruth on the tandem. As we won’t have the Chariot and its extra space (typically used for food, shoes, blankets, and more), we needed to figure out how to carry it all between us. It looks like the bags we bought for the tandem will do just fine.

So for today’s ride we carried a partial touring load. I don’t have my front rack installed again yet, so I just took bags on the back. Anne carried her new panniers on her rack with most of the stuff that was previously in the trailer.

The ride itself was a bit more than we’ve done this year, but still on the mild side. The first hook north was pretty nice, going between hills north of Dublin. Many a cow, horse, and rusting heaving machinery was spotted. There was a nice climb followed by a fun descent, all with limited traffic. Max was excited to pedal on the downhills — “super race car speed!”

At an early turn at a red light, Anne stopped just as it turned green. I went on ahead, starting a light climb, with Anne promising to be right behind me. When I looked back, she had disappeared. Max suggested she found a shortcut, which seemed unlikely. Eventually they reappeared. Anne said the bags on the back were messing her up, thinking something was wrong.

The hook south was fine, but not as nice. We entered more built up areas, with more or less shoulder and bike lane. The weather was lovely, but the views of housing developments weren’t particularly inspiring. Along Bernal there was a series of short climbs of increasing slope. We gave up on one and walked.

Still, it was nice to be out, the weather was just about perfect, and I’m excited to be building towards the tour loads and duration.

It’s been a while since we’ve done any family rides. We had planned a bike trip this summer, but then a few weeks ahead of the trip we discovered a crack in my frame near the seatpost. Long story short, my bike was out of commission for a while and we had to cancel the trip.

Anne wants to do Cinderella again this year. It’s a women’s only organized ride she’s done many times, mostly with Ruth attached in some manner. To prepare, and just for general family fun, she’s suggested we start doing rides again on the weekends. This is the first.

The Mission loop is a favorite local ride of ours. It’s a simple 25 mile loop without any sustained climbs. Something we can do without thinking too much about it.

It was about 40 when we got started, and didn’t get above 50 on the ride. Between getting warm clothes ready and generally getting all the bikes together, we didn’t get rolling until after 9:30 — long after our target.

Other than the cold, the weather was quite nice. We hit a small amount of headwinds on Mission, but that meant tailwinds on the sometimes-dragging return. Traffic was fine, and the kids mostly seemed to be having fun. On the one big downhill, Max excitingly yelled “I’m holding on for dear life” repeatedly.

It was nice to get on the bikes together, but I’m clearly out of practice. I’ve been bike commuting some, though not more than one round-trip a week. And it’s harder with Max in a trailer. Still, I’m looking forward to more of these rides.

Anne has done Cinderella, a woman-only organized ride, a number of times, mostly with Ruth in a trailer, or this year in a rented tandem (ours was still on order). We’ve also done our own version a few times. Today we did it again.

For 2019, the Cinderella organizers shook up the route. Instead of starting at the Alameda fairgrounds (at about 7 o’clock of the loop), the starting point moved to Los Positas College (at 12 o’clock).

It was cloudy and a bit chilly as unpacked the bikes, but as soon as we started rolling the sun came out and it warmed up. The new starting point means an immediate gentle climb out of the hills.

We rode through the canyons and ranches with a slight headwind, to get to the more populous Danville and San Ramon. This section, while fine enough roads, is a slog and not especially attractive, other than the concrete creek of the Alamo Canal. The new route puts this in the middle third, instead of the last third, which makes it much more tolerable.

We stopped for lunch at Val Vista Park. There was great selection of playground equipment but it was nearly deserted on a lovely Saturday.

Getting back to it, we cut through residential Pleasanton, climbing short hills and enjoying matching short descents. Max likes going fast on the downhill, and pedals furiously to go faster. He helps a bit on the climbs, but I wish he had the same enthusiasm.

Leaving Pleasanton behind, we made a more direct eastward path along the vineyards towards Livermore. The wind was on our backs, the sun was out, and it was a lovely ride. We stopped at a gas station to use the facilities and buy some cold drinks.

One of the unfortunate changes in the route is the loss of climbing Cross Road, instead turning early at Greenville. Cross Road is a more interesting climb, although it’s also longer.

Then it was time to head back. This was formerly the middle third, now the ending. The flat landscape, ranches, and now more intense headwind made for a long ride. It started cooling off, which combined with the wind to get Ruth complaining even with a fleece jacket and arm warmers (for the tour we’ll have a rain jacket too, which should help with wind).

We had a bit more climbing to do. More than one was declared “the last climb” when enlisting little legs to help. None were especially steep or long, but I was starting to tire.

Finally we turned back towards the college and our stop point. That gentle climb at the beginning reversed into a fast downhill back. We had turned, and the canyon funneled the wind to be on our backs, helping even more. The last few miles flew by.

The day was long, although typical of what we’re planning for the Washington tour in August. The next ride won’t be for a few weeks, but it will probably be our first fully loaded training ride of this season.