Populaire Brevet 7.17.10

Early 7am start for this one, we rolled across the foggy Golden Gate bridge on wet surfaces. Hardly any cars at this hour and as we rode through Sausalito, Mill Valley and ascended Camino Alto I could begin to see the magic of starting this early. We stuck to the road in Larkspur and weaved into the San Anselmo street fair that was just setting up - we needed coffee! After a nice break it was on to Fairfax and that hill, grrr. No one waited at the top but I did have a nice conversation with a sweaty gentleman across the road, it was starting to get hot already. Across the valley and heading for the trees we took Cross Marin Trail through Samuel P. Taylor park. The trees and creek were awesome and a welcoming shady lane from the sun. Pt. Reyes Station welcomed our hungry crew with many choices and then always coffee at the Cowgirl Creamery. Ramona almost abandoned her bike for a vintage Benelli motorcycle but we managed to talk her out of it. We rode out the same way we came in but took the Nicasio Valley route past the reservoir then took a break in town. It was really starting to heat up in the middle of the afternoon so a couple of us had popsicles to cool down. Climbing out of Nicasio Valley is always a challenge and today was no exception. What really got to me though was the climb up Fairfax hill and then the fast descent - I was super hungry and shaking by the time I got to the bottom and raided the Carridice for all it was worth. Cherries, grapes, cheese, brownies? All gone in an instant. This gave us the strength to continue into town and well, wouldn't you know it - it was beer:30 already! A couple pints were consumed by thirsty cyclists and we lingered for awhile since the bikes looked so comfortable hanging from the wall. Rolling on home we could feel the weather change to the SF variety we like so much and in Larkspur a cyclist we met directed us a new route to Camino Alto summit - very picturesque and NO CARS. Sweet... We absolutely all bombed down Camino Alto then hit the flats thru Mill Valley. By the time we got to Alexander Ave. in Sausalito the fog/wind machine had kicked in big time and thank god - kept me awake to the bridge. Over the bridge & to the statue for final pics and goodbyes I was sad for this great day to end. I must say that the Populaire went from 35 last year to about 125 this year and the folks I rode with this time were all extremely strong riders, it was tough to keep up. Hope to see you all again next year...

more pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157624404758937/

Kelley's pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelleytrahan/sets/72157624525542908/

Meli's pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meligrosa/sets/72157624533449608/

Adrienne's pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriennejohnson/sets/72157624407259157/

'til next time, "Have a Nice Ride"