2019 Rides

Bay Loop, Heat Edition

This ride gets closer to the real thing for this summer’s tour. There wasn’t much climbing, but we had more distance, and Anne carried closer to real touring load.

The Chariot trailers that we’ve always pulled a kid in have doubled as cargo trailers, while I’ve also carried bags front and rear. This summer we won’t be bringing the Chariot, so we need to figure out how to replace the capacity. We bought new panniers and a trunk bag for Anne to carry on the tandem. The trunk held food, and the panniers had some tshirts as a simulated load.

The forecast was for heat, so we tried to get an early start. As usual, we were only partially successful, but we did start rolling before 8.

We meandered our way through Newark and Fremont to get to Paseo Padre and some mild climbs. Max was pretty excited about going fast down hill, though I had a hard time getting him to pedal forwards on the uphill.

In Milpitas we got off the road and onto the Bay Trail. Anne had moved the hitch from her other bike, so could take both kids (Ruth on the tandem, Max in the trailer) to make a long train of awesome.

It started heating up as we worked our way past the landfill and water treatment facilities, which Max declared (accurately) was super stinky.

We hit some construction in Alviso (and borrowed their port-a-potty), but Anne found a way around to the Alviso Marina County Park for a food stop and water refill.

Then it was back on the Bay Trail and the hard packed path between Moffett Field and the bay. The heat continued, but we had a light breeze to help.

Then it was through an office park, where Max’s trailer clipped the curb on a corner of a path, stopping Anne’s bike suddenly. I was a bit ahead and heard an “oomph”. By the time I got back they were all ready to go again. I later heard that the tandem fell over; Ruth managed to hop off like magic, but Anne bumped her leg and chin. She didn’t break the skin, but probably has a bruise by now.

I took Max back and we continued on our merry way, though East Palo Alto. We could see smoke rising up from the trees. As we got closer, we saw fire trucks and the source. There was a grass fire in the field at 84 & University.

The heat continued to rise as we crossed the Dumbarton Bridge and worked our way back home. When we got home the temperature had risen to 93.

The heat got old, but I’m glad we got the miles in. Both kids were cooperative throughout the day. Anne was carrying close to a full touring load. I should probably start doing the same.

2019 Rides

Wet Mission Loop

We’re planning on a one-week tour in Washington this summer, which means we need to start getting some saddle time in. We’ve purchased a tandem for Ruth to ride with Anne. Max will ride in the Hase with me this time.

Without being creative, or really putting too much effort into it, we figured we’d do our basic Mission loop. It has a bit of climbing as it circles around Fremont and Newark.

We had hoped to beat the rain, but were only partially successful. We didn’t bring much rain gear, though we did have jackets for the kids. We didn’t bring the Green Torpedo, so Max got some road splash from my rear wheel. He took it pretty well, using a toy laptop as a shield for at least part of it.

We’ll need to do more training, and re-figure out how to carry all of our gear, before August.

2019 Rides

Tandem Test Ride

As the kids get bigger, they keep outgrowing our bike solutions. We’ve been thinking about the next step and decided it would probably be a tandem. Anne and Ruth have done one sales test ride a few weeks ago, but I wanted to do something closer to the real thing before pulling the trigger. So we rented one for the day and went for a ride.

The model tested is a Co-Motion Periscope. Its claim to fame is telescoping seat posts, so it can keep fitting as the stoker (person in back) grows. Max got to ride in the Hase, the trailer-with-pedals Ruth rode down the west coast.

The ride itself was pretty modest — just 25 miles and about a thousand feet of climbing. But we haven’t done many rides lately, Ruth would need to sit up in a bike saddle the whole time, and I’ve got a cold. It was enough.

We started our loop at Bicycle Outfitters in Los Altos. We went along some roads that we’ve done before, though mostly in new directions. We stopped for lunch at Robert’s Market, a grocery store which doubles as a hot spot for cyclists to rest and regroup.

After lunch we still had about 2/3 of the miles but had done most of the climbing. Max was thrilled as we sped down the hills. Anne fishtailed the tandem a bit when a traffic light changed at the bottom of a hill (it’ll take some time to get used to how a tandem behaves).

All in it was a successful ride. Anne took us into the shop to start to talk to a salesperson about a purchase. Ruth really enjoyed being on the bike with Mommy, although she did complain a bit about how Mommy would “boss my feet around.” Max was a little chatterbox in the Hase, excited to be pedaling and better able to see around him.