Bob's birthday ride is always a fun time every year, but this year was a bit more special since it was the big 6 ohh. I rode to the Edgewood and 280 park-n-ride to meet Greg, Dave and James in Greg's vintage bike hauler and was a bit concerned having brought my fendered commuter bike that won't fit on my rack. Fortunately it fit on Greg's roof with at least 1/16" to spare - whew. After a pleasant ride to the Mill Valley heliport we met the gang, did some introductions as we had some new riders, and proceeded on the usual route across the flats and up Camino Alto. I broke away early and Stephen passed me about 2 seconds later - guess that 350 mile fully loaded ride to Morro Bay he just completed put him in great shape - never could catch him. We paused at the top to catch our breath then descended like batz outta hell - what a blast! In Larkspur we took the nice paved bike/hike trail then under 101 and behind the mall in Corta Madera - this is where Stu and Ramie broke away on the flats on their CoMotion tandem like a rocket! I tried to keep up but, oh well... Once we hit the 1st small climb on Paradise Dr. the scenery became very nice and we all slowed down and spread out to enjoy it at a more civilized pace. Meeting for a rest stop at the firehouse was a welcome break. From there the ride and view became very nice and I slowed down even more. We met in Tiburon for some photo ops and our last break to enjoy views of the bay and the cool Marin Co. ambiance. The last part of the ride through the quaint neighborhoods and bike trail along the water was quite relaxing and Greg let me draft the last 1/2 of the flats back to the van. Then it was off to Bob's place high on a Mill Valley hill for a great party thrown by his lovely wife Rita and daughter Nicole. What a spread! And I'm talkin' 'bout the endless delicious food AND all the vintage bikes in Bob's garage. The stars of the show this year were the salmon and tuna and of course the birthday cake with Bob's L'Eroica likeness on it AND the Rene Herse on the work stand. A GREAT time was had by all and a huge THANK YOU goes out to Rita and Nicole for making Bob's 60th one to remember forever!
more pics here:
