Saturday (Nov 1) : To paraphrase the “We ARE traffic” motto of Critical Mass: We ARE Yoly’s clientele, especially when we take almost all the chairs.
This past Sunday (10/26) 13 riders ignored the fog and mist and enjoyed great comradery riding in the East Bay hills. Most of the group did the Wildcat/El Toyonal descent to Orinda and then enjoyed coffee, pastry and lively conversation at Si Si’s in Moraga, before climbing back over Pinehurst.
If you are unfamiliar with the El Toyonal option for avoiding the closure on Wildcat Canyon, the graphic below shows the El Toyonal route from Wildcat to Orinda highlighted in blue.
On Sunday – Sept 29, VeloRaptors and Bike East Bay celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Bay Bridge Trail by riding the trail out to Yerba Buena Island, then riding back and continuing on north to Richmond. Over 60 riders representing the wide demographics of the Bay Area came to mark the occassion.
Amanda Carson from Bike East Bay was the primary organizer, and Steve Blair from the VeloRaptors led the motley group over the route. Amanda gave a HUGE shout out to Corey, Jan, Steve, Walden, Dani and Robert for helping out with the ride! These rides would not be possible without the help of volunteers, so thank you so much for your support!
Also, Gavin from MTC (Metropolitan Transit Commission) for shared information on future plans for the Bay Bridge East Span Path. Implementation of the plan over the next few years will make it possible to bike from Oakland to San Francisco!
VeloRaptors were out in force in September, roaming the various parts of the East Bay!
Due to construction on Wildcat Canyon Rd and Tunnel Road we have had to alter our Sunday and Wednesday routes. Our regular start times and locations remain the same, but the exact route may change on any given day. Additional information for rides on a given day can be found on the calendar.
Work to rebuild the washout on Wildcat Canyon has definitely started and the road really is CLOSED!
Photo taken from San Pablo Dam Rd. courtesy of David K.
Trip report – Canadian Rockies
On Saturday May 17, Twelve VeloRaptors participated in the BORP Revolution Ride, taking in the beautiful scenery of Marin County along a 40 mile loop that started and ended at the Mill Valley Community Center, and included a climb up the Marin Headlands as well as a loop around Tiburon.
While these riders pedaled their way around Marin, many other VeloRaptors actively supported the BORP campaign and in all we raised over $20,000.
This year we rode in honor of Steve Goldenberg, an avid BORP supporter for many years and who passed away way too soon in January of this year.
Here are a few pics of the VeloRaptors at the ride taken by the official ride photographer, Scot Goodman at Scot Goodman Photography.
Metric – a Month! One of the attributes of VeloRaptors is their ability to ride moderate to long distances. In fact, during one phase of VeloRaptor history, Howard Neal somehow persuaded several members to join him in participating in the World UltraCycling Association Year-Rounder challenge: basically riding a Century a Month during a year. Lots of fun and great memories are associated with those rides.
Well, that was ten (plus) years ago, and several participants from that era miss the rides, but not the suffering of a century. So, now, being older and maybe wiser, the club has decided to organize a VeloRaptor Metric-a-Month ride series to help us all stay in shape and enjoy the VeloRaptor group dynamic.
These metrics will generally be on Wednesdays as many of us are riding anyway. Starting in January, one Wednesday a month, riders have the option of a “Metric Century,” in addition to the regular Wednesday ride.
Our first Monthly Metric was January 8, and we had a fabulous turnout that included 19 riders!
We started with a large group at the top of Little Pinehurst. Some riders peeled off, but 19 stayed the course. Our next Monthly Metric will be in mid-March!
The Metric Century for March will be on Wednesday, March 19 at 9:30AM, and we will be riding in Marin, from the Marinwood Community Center at Lucas Valley Road and Miller Creek Road. The tentative route is attached, and I’ll send out more details closer to the date. LMK if you’re planning to come.
— Rob
P.S. Here is the route.