Tomales!!

Somewhere on Highway One near between Marshall and Hamlet

Last Saturday (April, 16, 2011) Joseph was leading a Different Spokes ride from SF to Tomales and back (120 miles).  I decided to do this ride because Will, a friend from work, was interested in meeting us in Fairfax and riding the best 70 miles with us.  The 20+ miles to Fairfax are usually pretty mundane and tedious; when did crossing the Golden Gate get tedious? 

I broke out the camel pack and cleaned it as I said I would do after the Mt. Diablo ride.  After a hellish finish on Diablo, my goal was slow and steady, 120 miles is a long way and a long day. 

Will and Joseph, I made them stop so I could get pictures of those pretty yellow flowers

From Fairfax, Joseph took us on a clockwise route through Samuel Taylor State Park, Olema, Point Reyes Station, Marshall, Hamlet, to lunch in Tomales!!  Last time Joseph and I rode this ride we took the counter-clockwise route and that was just dumb.  We had encountered not only fierce headwinds on Chileno Valley Road but also coming out of Tomales to the coast.  Coming out of Tomales last year must have been the worse headwinds I've ever encountered.  Even worse than the 2009 Tierra Bella headwinds in Gilroy.

In Tomales, we ran into a small group of AIDs/Lifecycle riders lunching. 

After Tomales, we continued in the clockwise direction to traverse Chileno Valley Road.  As we suspected we had some awesome tailwinds pushing us southwest.  Those poor riders heading in the other direction.  After Chileno Valley it was up and over Wilson Hill to the Cheese Factory and eventually to Fairfax and back home.  Arrived home around 5:30 pm, tired, but no cramps and plenty hydrated.  A very successful training ride that was a ton of fun too. 

A foggy Tomales Bay