Four of us ended up making the ride up Mount Hamilton: Manny, on a beautiful Bleriot equipped with a medium-sized Carradice bag; Todd, on a blue A Homer Hilsen with a front basket, Benz, on a Della Santa sporting a handsome Nigel Smythe saddlebag; and me on my scrappy Atlantis, with a Carradice bag stuffed with warm clothes and food. Everyone had fenders, which came in handy on the wet roads. I had invited a few carbon-fiber weight weenie friends, but none of them showed up. Just as well, because those delicate flowers would have been afraid to ride on the dirt.
We headed up Mt. Hamilton Road to Grant Ranch, then turned off at Grant Lake to go up Halls Valley Trail and Canada de Pala, returning to Mt. Hamilton Road at Twin Gates. That dirt section is my favorite way to go up Mt. Hamilton, quiet, and beautiful at all times of the year. Normally, on the section after the second retrograde Lick Observatory taunts the unwary cyclist. "Almost there," it will whisper as you look up at it, seemingly just around the corner when actually it's seven miles away. Or six miles, or four miles... the Observatory always looks like it's just above you. But today it was fogged in. I couldn't even get a glimpse of it until just before we turned off Mt. Hamilton Road onto the Observatory driveway. I've been up on top of Mt. Hamilton when it was colder than today, but the fog and wind drove us indoors to eat our lunches on the comfortable benches. Then we bundled up, to head down and finish a delightful ride. Thanks, guys. -- -- Anne Paulson He who wills the ends wills the means -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=.
