Weekend's Ride: 6/27 - The Start of the Hills

Woke up early in the morning to the sound of rustling trees.  Hmmm....wonder if it will be windy today?  We had 10 riders meet up at O'Neill's at 6 am to start the ride - Evil Gary, Good Gary, Stacy, Greg, Blythe, Maneeshika, Andrea, Bryan and his visiting friend, and myself.  We were doing the modified city loop (route here), which, unlike last weekends ride, had some elevation. The plan was to head east along the south edge of the city to the first rally point at Smiths to pick up new rider Tina.  Calvin left his house in the NE, and was somewhere behind us, intending to catch us at some point.

Ride start - early in the morning!

We began our slow ascent which was complicated by a stiff canyon breeze that would plague us the rest of the day.  We made it to Smiths by 7, and after the rally, we headed north along Tramway to then turn and go further uphill toward the Tram (and what a brutal uphill it is).  While at the top, Calvin finally caught up with us. It was an impressive ride, as all 12 riders made it to the top of the tram (a new Penultimates record).  From this point, we all did the fun 8 mile downhill losing the 1400' of climbing as we raced down toward the valley floor below us.  Always an exhilarating ride.

Triumphant at the top of the Tram!

At this point disaster (minor) struck twice.  Good Gary and Tina had two flat tires along the same stretch of road.  While repairs were being made, we started to break up a bit, as riders headed toward the end of the ride.

Fixin' o' the tire!

We rolled back into Nob Hill at 10 am.  A good ride!  A few new riders (great riding Tina and Andrea!) completed their first Penultimates ride.  Tina survived her first ride and her initiation, as she had her first field tire change and derailleur repair on this ride as well.  Go Domo!