Sunday, May 30, 2010

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Michael and I leave the house and climb Spruce to join up with Jane Bailowitz and Mark Abrahams (on a tandem) for a T pace GPC club ride starting out from the top of Spruce and Grizzly Peak Blvd in Berkeley.

The route goes along Wildcat Canyon, passes Inspiration Point and drops us down to the intersection of Bear Creek Rd and SPDR. We head west on SPDR to the Park N’ Ride lot at the corner of Castro Ranch Rd for a brief regroup.

We climb Castro Ranch before making the descent onto Alhambra Valley Rd. The rolling terrain on this stretch of road brings us to Bear Creek Rd. This road leads us to the climb on Mama Bear. The climb is a little under a mile with the average gradient being 7%. There is a series of big rollers in between before you reach the climb on Papa Bear. Papa Bear is also under a mile long with an average gradient of 7%. You get a blasting descent down Pumphouse before reaching Baby Bear. Baby Bear is the final lip up to the intersection of Bear Creek Rd & SPDR. The gradient hits a max of 12%, fortunately this climb is very short.

We continue on Wildcat Canyon, the final climb of the day. Wildcat is 2.5 miles with the average gradient being 7%. The road eases up after you pass the intersection of El Toyonal. There is another regroup at Inspiration Point and then it’s back on Wildcat to Spruce & Grizzly.

Thank you Jane & Mark for a fun social ride!

29 people in attendance with 2 tandems

37 miles with 3597′ of elevation gain.

Weather: Sunny skies with the temps reaching a high of 85

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>KEEP RIDING!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

**Photos are courtesy of Mark Abrahams