Let's go on a bike trip!

I usually make a detailed plan in advance for our bike trips, mainly for my mental security.

Yesterday, just before leaving home, we changed the first plan to ride at Sonoma Valley Regional Park, we decided to try riding to Forestville from Sebastopol via West County Regional Trail!!!

Our new car Honda Fit could be loaded two bicycles easier than previous Toyota Corolla for Mr. WhP.  I was pleased to hear that.

Warmed up a little bit in the Ragle Ranch Regional Park, 

we rode  Ragle Rd. to Mill Station Rd. to Barlow Ln. to Occidental Rd for catching onto West county Regional Trail.
Last time we just crossed Ragle Rd. so we didn't think about how busy this street is.  

I got nervous whenever speeding cars passed by, but I had a much worse experience later.
Finally reached Mill Station Rd and after crossing, we were going to turn right on Barlow Ln.  Then Mr. WhP goofed up to read the sign and called me to ride back because I passed our turn he thought. 

We both were not awake. Finally we realized the sign shows a turn 400FT ahead.  I rode up again with whining  a little bit.

Occidental Rd was very busy with huge trucks but has a nice bicycle lane for a while and if I and he paid attention well we could have turned into the trail smoothly and no problem.

But when my eyes caught a car evilly parked on the bike lane, I got distracted by raging and missed to see the gate of West county R. Trail. (Nothing is good about getting mad.  I should remember.)

I had to swerve around the car, and a mean and nasty car driver blasted his horn at me, so I really got mad.  When Mill Station Rd changed to a share road and narrow, I got really scared and frantic.  So I u-turned by foot to calm down.
At that time we both didn't know what happened.  When we walked back to a wider intersection, we stopped and checked the map.  We were totally confused.

A friendly cyclist who was passing by offered to help us, but we were so embarrassed and no thanked.  Thanks so much for your kindness.

We still were talking to each other.  

The second cyclist who was going to turn and saw us, rode toward us and offered his help, I felt he was Superman on a bike and asked his help.  He looked at my map and listened to me patiently,

and told us that we need to go back and cross the street to get to the trail.  
He kindly offered to lead us into the trail, so we followed him.  Thank you very much for your kindness!!!! for taking your time so much.

After we all got into the trail, he told us another way to get back instead of just taking the same route.  That was very good information for us later, which saved us a lot. The cyclist left like the wind;  he flew away and disappeared from my sight.

We reached familiar Graton Rd.  Last time we went East to go back, this time we went West to find the continuous trail.

 
From here we rode the first time, so my heart was pounding a little.
Amazing long wooden bridge,

Sweaty long up-slope,

A complicated intersection, but we were lucky to hear this kind cyclist's information,

Turn right here and turn left the 1st street, 

Then, you will see the trail gate on right.

We rode through more bridges and slopes, and we got the end of the trail at the sign of Pajaro Lane.

We turned right on Pajaro Lane, and saw nice subdivision houses of Forestville.  Unfortunately I had no information about Forestville yet, so we just turned back.  Next time we want to try riding in Forestville.

We took Hwy 116 from Occidental Rd to Mill Station Rd and back to the Ragle Park.
On the way riding the two way Bike lane on Hwy 116, we dropped by the fruit store and bought nice looking figs which were delicious.  

We had fun very much from this 15.6 mile bike trip.  

Last night stretch exercise seemed not enough or couldn't erase the fatigue, we both were sensationally tired this morning.  I wanted to ride a short distance, but we just couldn't do it.  Anyway that might have been a good idea, tonight we both felt back to normal with just a minor neck or thigh pain.

Spring breeze trip to Davis

Last month, March riding record:
March:  Residential road
Mar.02,    6.75 mi., ave.  9.0mph, max. 20.5mph,  0:44:56
Mar.03,  10.24 mi., ave.  9.9mph, max. 16.6mph,  1:01:49
Mar.04,    6.10 mi., ave.  9.3mph, max. 15.1mph,  0:38:54

Mar.06,    3.94 mi., ave.  9.9mph, max. 15.5mph,  0:23:41
Mar.07,    4.64 mi., ave.  7.9mph, max. 14.9mph,  0:35:05
Mar.08,    7.76 mi., ave.  8.8mph, max. 19.4mph,  0:52:33
Mar.09,  10.50 mi., ave.10.0mph, max. 17.7mph,  1:03:17
                    
Bike Trainer
Mar.11,   5.012mi., ave.11.4mph, max. 15.5mph,  0:26:10
Mar.12,   5.041mi., ave.12.1mph, max. 16.8mph,  0:24:49
                    
Schwinn Loop Folding Bike on residential road
Mar.11,    5.12 mi., ave.  7.6mph, max. 14.1mph,  0:40:10

Mar.13,    4.38 mi., ave.  8.3mph, max. 13.8mph,  0:31:32
Mar.14,    8.82 mi., ave.  7.9mph, max. 17.3mph,  1:06:15
Mar.16,  12.22 mi., ave.  8.1mph, max. 16.8mph,  1:30:19
Mar.17,  13.06 mi., ave.  8.1mph, max. 17.0mph,  1:35:34
Mar.18,    7.95 mi., ave.  8.1mph, max. 18.9mph,  0:58:38
Mar.19,  13.15 mi., ave.  7.7mph, max. 18.1mph,  1:41:43
Mar.19,    4.68 mi., ave.  7.7mph, max. 16.3mph,  0:36:26
                    
Bike Trainer
Mar.15,   3.097mi., ave.12.6mph, max. 17.7mph,  0:14:45
Mar.18,   3.015mi., ave.13.5mph, max. 16.4mph,  0:13:14

Mar.20,   2.671mi., ave. 12.6mph, max. 16.4mph,  0:12:44

Schwinn Loop
Mar.22, 10.31 mi., ave. 7.7 mph, max. 16.9 mph,  1:19:33
Mar.23, 10.39 mi., ave. 6.8 mph, max. 16.9 mph,  1:31:32
Mar.25,   8.74 mi., ave. 8.3 mph, max. 17.2 mph,  1:02:26
Mar.26,   5.63 mi., ave. 8.1 mph, max  18.1 mph,  0:41:26

Mar.27,   7.34 mi., ave. 8.4 mph, max. 17.2 mph,  0:51:43
Mar.28,   5.23 mi., ave. 8.1 mph, max. 18.1 mph,  0:38:26

Novara Jaunt
Mar.31, 13.30 mi., ave. 9.3 mph, max. 19.4 mph,  1:26:01

March Monthly Total:  199.086 miles, 22 hours3minutes41
 
Because of my weight gain or just aging, I felt not well recently.  But finally we pushed ourselves to go and try the Davis Bike Loop again, which we failed to follow all the way last year.

This time I tried to ride the loop the other way around, and that was successful!!

We were so happy to see the clear green mark line on the ground to show which way to go for the Davis Bike Loop, so we never got lost.  Thank God.  And I really appreciated the great work and effort in Davis. 

We just loved this loop. 

We both felt energized very much and forgot that we rode more than usual. 

Now we are really tired tonight. 

We were going to have lunch in downtown, but when we saw W.. Foods Market, we changed our minds.  We felt pooped a little.
Really enjoyed the smoothy, and pieces of pizza.

The first trial of shopping bike trip

Finally we got guts to try.  Because the speed limit is slower and not as much traffic as Leveroni Rd, we took Watmaugh Rd, but that was bad decision.  No trucks or cars obeyed the 40 mph limit on Watmaugh Rd, they drove 50 or even 55.  In addition the road surface was cracking away so it was very bumpy so that Mr. Whp couldn't see with the vibrating mirror.  That made him very nervous.  I had to concentrate not to loose my balance which I did pretty well.

Finally we reached our first destination, Broadway Market.  I bought 2 expensive juices and we put them in each trunk.

 We crossed Leveroni Rd and got in the bike lane.  Then looked for the entrance of Fryer creek trail which we biked before.  The trail was covered with more brown leaves than before, we enjoyed the relaxing ride.  

Turned right on W MacArthur St and turned right on Broadway to the second shopping destination, Subway.  

His trunk is bigger than mine so the foot long sandwich fit in OK.

Took Broadway for a second, turned right on Malet, turned right on 1st St W, then turned right on W MacArthur St again.  Crossed Broadway and got onto E MacArthur St until the Nathanson Trail.  We took nice breath and relaxed, then turned right on Leveroni Rd, via Arnold Dr. to return home.

Leveroni Rd speed limit is 55, cars driving by the same speed as Watmaugh Rd which is supposed to be 40, and 35 around the bridge.  I thought that Mr. Whp was right.  Leveroni Rd is a little better for cyclists.

We had cooling down in our community road to add 2 miles more and finished this bike trip today.

After we got home we happily enjoyed this sandwich and 2 kinds of juice. The sweet onion and Teriyaki chicken foot-long was Delicious!

And Odwalla smoothie too!
 
Next I might think about the shopping bag to hook onto the bicycle.


Most of today's drivers were careful and kind, so we were lucky.  But I'm thinking that at the intersection sharing with cars would still be scary if we were not lucky.  

Anyway I really appreciate the people who were kind and careful driving today.

The whole sky was covered by mackerel clouds!

That was a good sign?!  I wondered when I got up and saw the sky in this morning.  Yes, it turned out to be a merciful gift for us.  We had such a nice cool morning that we could ride a few hours later.
Clouds were starting to bloom out a little bit. 

I was humming away while riding.  People with their dogs seemed happy and cheerful this morning.

So were those geese.

Finally we could ride over 10 miles, but we got tired suddenly, so we stopped.

Time, Distance, and Average&Max Speeds.

Yes, I remembered that we got into a main road and sprinted for a few minutes.  That sprint was a necessity to finish before the cars came.  Watmaugh road is always scary! 

Main road trip to Cotai with 2 punctures

We wanted to try riding on main roads in another city.  So I planned to park at Penngrove park & ride, and we were ready to bike.  But Old-Redwood-Hwy, which is in front of the parking lot, was quite busy with high speed cars and trucks, I got freaked out.  But once I got onto the bike lane I was fine, then we turned right onto Main St. which has no bike lane but is a bicycle friendly road.  The road was also busy and an up-slope so it was quite challenging for me.  Finally we got up to Petaluma-Hill-rd with bike lane.  That road speed limit is 45mph, but car and trucks were passing at a much faster speed, then I saw another slope was standing ahead.  I took some breaths and started again.

Just in case, I decided to change left-hand gear 1 just before the slope.

As you see, the drivers are courteous enough not to pass too close to my elbow, I was lucky.

When I turned left onto E Cotati Ave, I carefully moved into left turn lane with cars.  Beginning of E Cotati bike lane was not finished yet, but there is a nice side walk all the way to where the bike lane starts.  So it was quite comfortable, except for small gravel bits and tree seeds.
But suddenly a broken and poking out surface on the bike lane came up to me and I was really surprised.

They should paint it to warn us, I thought.
Then I noticed that I heard a strange noise from my bicycle, and found the front tire was flat.

Mr. WhP examined my tire for a while and finally found the tiny hole.

  

OK, we started enjoying the ride on E Cotati, and dropped by Oliver market to get sandwich. 

We crossed Old Redwood Hwy by walking and got onto Old Redwood Hwy.  Suddenly Mr. WhP said something.  Now his rear tire was punctured!

Other than that the ride on Old Redwood Hwy was quite fun and comfortable.  With bike lane the speed limit should be 35- 45 mph should be the best I thought.  Like this road. 

When we returned to the parking, we continued riding to cool off in the small parking lot.

Distance, average speed, max speed and time.
 

Another Main Roads and Trails

Suddenly got an idea to go and see our old residence townhouse and its neighborhood, so I planned the bike trip to include that.  It's been more than a decade so the view of the area must be different, we thought.

When we were living there 15 years ago, the park didn't exist, just an empty field.  Now the city built a nice park, we parked our car, and started riding on the main road which had a nice wide and never disappearing bike lane!  What a wonderful city Petaluma is!!  Because of easy riding we reached our old place smoothly.  We enjoyed those nicely grown trees in front of the town house.  We had no idea what kind of trees were there, everything was young and small back then.

We left with a happy and nostalgic feeling for the next trail.

Back to the city road with the bike lane.   Some parts were overhung by big tree branches so we had to hunch low. 
It was very easy access to the trail from Sonoma Mountain Pkway. The trail is running along the east side of Leghorn park, North to South.
I love the green surroundings.

We came from over the city road to here.
Mr. WhP is drinking water.

Then we turned right onto Maria Dr, crossed Sonoma Mountain Pkwy again, walked to cross Ely to another nice Trail by Fieldstone Ln. 

Looking back on the trail.

 Looking ahead on the trail.

After turning right on Riesling Rd, I was so happy to see the wide bike lane.  Thank you, city of Petaluma!

Turned right on Dove Dr. to get onto the trail we rode before, then came down to Sonoma Mountain Pkwy all the way to Leghorn Park.
We wanted to ride more, but my headache started slightly because of the extreme hot weather.  We came back.
Our back garden temperature was 104 F!!!  We had iced juice and cold cereal with cold milk to cool us off.

Today's record:
Time, Distance, Average speed, and Max speed.

 
 
 

China Camp State Park, San Rafael

Maybe we might ride either on road or on some of trails, we thought.  Took exit San Pedro Rd of 101 Fwy, drove all the way to Bullhead Flat parking lot.

Grabbed a envelope to write down information about our car and purpose, with $5 into the metal bin near the sign.  Put the tab which was cut from the envelope in our car to show.
OK, let's cross the street to try Shoreline Trail.  Umm, left side one looked too steep, maybe right side.

I was excited and went over there.  Oh, no!  The trail has fence both sides and it is narrow for me.  When I get psychological fear, that's the end.
Gave up and I started climbing up the paved road. 

Cars might scare me, but at least I can ride.  But quite a number of cars were coming down on the other side of road.  How much should I climb up, I wonder?  I couldn't go so much.  Stopped and took a picture.

Even while we were stopping at there, speedy cars came by and passed us.  Well, we'd better to go down to the parking lot.  Oh, the coming back way is the San Francisco Bay side!

I was fine, I was scared about cars passing by more than the cliff.  When we came back to the parking lot, I wanted to try the trail on which I couldn't go 10 mins. ago.  And I could get in and rode some!  Until the trail got steep, I gave up.  But anyway jump hurdles one at a time.

From the road to a little more ahead of here.  But I told Mr. WhP if he wants to try more Shoreline Trail, go ahead.  He went for a while, and came back with huff 'n puff.  Just for my memory/record I asked him to take a picture.
He tried other side of the trail too.  But both trail are getting steeper and steeper, he said.  Energetic young guys passing us, and we were amazed.
 
Then I decided to ride more on the road down, maybe next parking lot down up there.

Reached! From down there the whitish building spot to here. 

Weber Point also has a restroom and a nice view.  But I was anxious to return to our parking lot.
Be careful to watch the car passing by!

we safely crossed the street to come back.  The late afternoon wind was very nice.  Somebody was eating her early supper while looking at the bay.

Ready to load our bikes to go home. 

My speedometer shows:  Time 20'59, Average Speed 5.6mph , Max Speed 15.5mph, Distance 2.013miles.

That was the most tense 2 miles ride I've ever ridden lately.

I'm not a mountain biker type at all, I realized now very well.  And we really need to find a relaxing beautiful paved road next.  It is the time to travel, maybe.

Surely we both got really tired.