So, this morning found me at the BART train at 40th and MacArthur at 9.30, headed north toward Pittsburgh / Bay Point. The BART ride was surprisingly long. But, with sunlight streaming into the car and not too many passengers, I had a pleasant ride, enjoying the view of the brown California hills (oops, "golden" hills, I am supposed to say). My ride began at the last BART stop (about 15 miles from downtown Oakland, by my reckoning): Pittsburgh / Bay Point. This is an industrial-looking town along the south side of the Sacramento River delta. Lots of not-so-scenic looking refineries and power plants, plus a port to accommodate barge traffic coming down from Sacramento (see map). Not the prettiest place to start a bike ride. But, I had contacted a local biker club and was told this is where the "novices" would meet, at 10 a.m. Well, I got there around 10, and no one else from this "club" was there (I asked another biker resting nearby, just in case I had missed them somehow). The "novices" were apparently taking a break, or had graduated to a better classification. I was on my own. I asked the same biker at the BART stop where I might be able to enjoy a "scenic" ride. He sort of laughed. "Lots of traffic here. I don't like to ride in this area", he said. I could see that the area didn't have that many roads ... and where there are fewer roads, there are more cars. That's just life in California. I noticed the same thing in certain parts of Europe, so I I'm used to that. I set out intrepidly, despite my fellow biker's advice, and headed for the hills.
And what a hill it was! I proceeded from Pittsburgh back toward Walnut Creek (and Oakland) via the "Kirker Pass" on the romantic sounding "Railroad Avenue". I didn't see one other biker on this road. And I soon figured out why. a) lots of fast-moving traffic passing by, b) lots of flat-tire causing gravel and litter on the shoulder / bike lane (the bike lane was not marked as such, but at least there was a stripe), and c) a hill that steadily increased in grade until it because practically impossible at the top to go on. Nevertheless, I didn't regret the ride. I learned the limits of both my own legs and my 10-speed bike. My legs can get me up a short hill, like the one I live on, without too much problem. When it comes to longer inclines though, like the approx. 4 mile uphill I did today over the pass, I still need training. I walked about 1/4 mile. To be fair, my older-model road bike (I'm guessing it was made in the 80s) is also not designed for the faint of heart and body. While modern roadbikes have a forgiving 24 speeds, (allowing even weak guys like myself to traverse most hills), my Peugeot only has 10, of which only 8 are really usable.
As I wrote on the accompanying map, my estimated bike distance was a paltry 18 miles, while the BART ride was about 20 (including the trip back from Walnut Creek to Rockridge). I saw a lot of scenery, including lots of the nice suburbs that border Oakland and Berkeley to the north/west. Lots of sunshine there, hills to go biking and walking, shopping malls, beautiful, tanned (mostly white) people. The American Dream, I suppose. This includes the cities / suburbs of Walnut Creek, Pleasanton (the old home of PeopleSoft, now Oracle/PeopleSoft), and Concord. I will return. I need to measure myself against the Kirker Pass again.
