[trip-list] Napa

[drewish@katherinehouse.com]

[Oops, instead of sending out this email, I grabbed the wrong draft and sent it out. That was my dumping ground for ramblings that didn't quite go any where but seemed to have some promise. Sorry about that. Back to the regularly scheduled programing.]

RICHMOND, CA 08/05/02 - Up early and with only with a few things to do before meeting the Mayor, my host Peter showed me a short loop I could take out through some of the vineyards [still have no idea how to spell that]. It was great. I got a couple pictures and saw some beautiful country side spread over rolling hills. By the time I was done I felt like I'd earned breakfast. 

I stopped in at Bicycle Madness and they sold me a bike map of the North Bay and a new rear tire. Replacing the cheapie I got in Chico with another slightly less cheap tire thatwould run at 110 psi instead of 65 psi was a major improvemment. I picked up 2-4 miles per hour on my average speed.

Back on Friday in Sacramento while I was waiting for the guys at City Bikes to swap out the derailleur I met a lady named Sandy working there who lived in Napa. I told her about the ride and that I'd be going through there on Monday and meeting the mayor. She was interested and said she'd email some other riders in town and the Eagle Cycling Club ( http://www.eaglecyclingclub.org )
of which she's a member.

Sandy really got the word out. After the events in the last three cities having little participation from local cyclists--mostly because we weren't able to find the Sandy in each town that could let the right people know about it--I was blown away to see the 10-15 cyclists, some on recumbents, that showed up. The fact that that many people turned out from a relatively small town made a big statement: a lot of people care about safe cycling in Napa. Best of all the Napa News was there with a reporter and photographer to document the whole thing. [ I'm told there are a few inaccuracies but you can read the article at http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&idqD4105D-B424-4C1D-ADF9-00FA9D042EFA ] 

Mayor Ed Haris came out read then pesented me with a proclamation declaring August 5th National Bicycle Greenways Day in Napa. We got some photos taken, talked to the news paper reporter, then the riders escorted me out of town. Before they left they showed me the best way to get down across the bay into Martinez.

While stopped at a gas station to check my email on the payphone a guy walked up to talk to me. Now if I'd had to make two guesses about Kurt based solely on his apearance I'd have said "volunteer firefighter" and "into dirtbikes". He didn't let me entertain those predijuces (sp?) long, I believe his first sentence was "So how's the 'bent treating you". He had both a Trek road bike and a Rands recumbent and as he put it, "Most of the time I can't decide which to ride. The recumbent's so much more fun but I paid a lot more for the Trek and feel like I ought to be riding it.". He told me exactly where the shuttle across the Benicia Bridge left from and even offered to take me across in his truck. I declined, thinking that in the spirit of the ride I'd go as far as I could on my own and where CalTans said I had to take a ride, I'd take a ride.

The shuttle left from a Park and Ride lot just north of the Benicia Bridge on 780. The driver was a champ, since the bike wouldn't fit in the rack on the back of the bus he helped me get it in inside and just let me park it in the isle. The only other passenger was a road rider in the popular Postal Service spandex suit who told me a joke. "Lance Armstrong and his team were stopped by French custom for bringing in an unknown substance."
Now you say "Oh really".
"Yeah, deodorant."

I got myself put back together after the ride and started up into the hills. The plan was to find a place to camp then drop into Oakland for the meeting tomorrow. The evening was one of the best I remember. I spent the last of it chasing a golden sunset over one hill after another. Coming up to a turn I'd see the final red light shining on the dried grass and dark knarled trees. Rounding it and I'd be temporarily blinded by that big orange ball hanging there challenging me to try to make it down and back up the next hill before it set.

andrew

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