B/EASY/10/800-1000 Enjoy a ride for experienced beginners and intermediates who want to go slower. Meet at 10:30am to ride, socialize, enjoy the scenery, and work on
your biking skills at a slow to moderate pace with frequent breaks for 2.0 hours or more depending on group wishes. Rides will choose from the Russian Ridge, Coal Creek,
Monte Bello, and Skyline preserves, including moderate steeps, single tracks, and fire roads. Explore and learn new trails in a supportive group or share your favorites in
these preserves. Bring your helmet, water, sunscreen and possibly a snack. Rain cancels.
Location(**new parking/ start location**): Meet in the vista point parking area on Skyline Blvd/ Highway 35 located 1.1 miles north of its intersection with Page Mill Road (i.e.,
right turn from Page Mill onto Skyline for 1.1 miles) and directly across from the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Russian Ridge Preserve.
Directions: Take I 280 to Page Mill Rd south (in Palo Alto) going up into the hills, continue on Page Mill Rd 25+ minutes (watching out for road bicyclists on twisty road) until
stop sign at intersection with Skyline Blvd/ Highway 35 (near the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Russian Ridge Preserve), turn right, continue 1.1 miles and park on the right in
the vista point parking. (Do NOT park in the parking lot for the Russian Ridge Preserve off of Alpine Rd near the intersection of Page Mill Rd/ Skyline Blvd).
Location: vista point parking area, 1.1 miles North of Page Mill Skyline Blvd Woodside CA
Contact Information: Phil Solk psolk@pacbell.net
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4. Female Friday: August 22: Home Cookin'
This month the Ladies' night is Friday August 22. See our blog post for
details on what happened last month. Save the date. Tell your girlfriends!
Patty and Jay have been conspiring on the menu and it looks like they are going with "Home Cookin'" including blackberry pies and other recipies from California and the
great American heartland.
Girls riding, boys cooking.YUM!
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5. Caltrain bike capacity comments needed
Peter sent us this note: There is just under a month for people to comment on the Caltrain bike plan. The plan focuses on getting more people to park bikes at stations,
rather than do anything towards allowing more people to bring their bikes on the trains with them. I'd rather not have to have 2 bikes (one that I leave at each end of my trip);
I want to bring my bike on board with me! To add your voice, please click here and read the details on the plan and how to comment: http://www.caltrain.org/news_2008_08_11_Caltrain_Bike_Plan.html
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6. Bears in the Santa Cruz mountains?
Patty lurks on a variety of email lists; one of them is a list for birders on the SF Peninsula, and another is for docents. Well, last week, list postings included the
following:
"Last week Tuesday around 7pm, my parents saw a
black bear in Rancho San Antonio, crossing Rogue Valley Trail about 0.3
miles east of the pond. This is one of the busiest and most popular
hiking/jogging trails.
Also back in spring this year, a colleague of mine and his girlfriend
saw a black bear the Sanborn Skyline Park/Castle Rock SP boundary.
Both times, there were no photos or other recordings. However, I do
trust both my parents and my colleague and his girlfriend to have seen a
bear."
Low and behold, it turns out this is probably a credible report, and has been written
up in the Chronicle. The map above is from the California Department of Fish and Game. Amazing!
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7. Grassroots racing at Oroville and Caspar
Lyle Wright from Lake Oroville asked us to pass on the word that LOBO is hosting a fun race on some nice singeletrack near Lake Oroville. The money from the race entries
will be used for two very worthy non-profits, the Lake Oroville Bicyclists Organization and the Butte County Habitat for Humanity. LOBO has been lobbying hard in a very
political process to preserve MTB access to trails around Lake Oroville, so we thought we'd encourage you to attend and support their hard work. Here's the details:
24-HOURS of GOLD
November 15 & 16, 2008
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, Loafer Creek, Oroville, California
Test your mettle! Solo or teams up to four, compete to finish the most laps in 24 hours.
Hit Pay Dirt! The Roy Rogers and Loafer Loop Trails combine to create a ten-mile singletrack course that is fast and challenging!
24 Karat Gold Accommodations! The Loafer Creek Group Campsites are true Gems! Each group site includes five tent spots that share picnic tables, BBQ grill, sink and
running water. The six group sites share two separate, state of the art restroom facilities, with SHOWERS!
Stake your claim early! Free tent camping to the first 100 entrants.
More info and registration: www.lakeorovillebicyclists.org
Another great place we love to visit is the cool coastal town of Caspar, just north of Mendocino near the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. This area has a lot to offer
wine tasters, window shoppers, and people who like to walk on the beach, so bring your SO for a fun weekend on the Coast! This year the
Mendocino Coast Cyclists will again hold the Caspar Classic Race on Sunday August 31st, Labor Day weekend.
Race starts at 10am registration opens at 8am on Caspar Logging Rd at Rd 600.
From Hwy 1 at Caspar (between Mendocino and Fort Bragg) go east on Fern Creek Rd to top of hill, right on Caspar Orchard Rd, then stay straight on dirt Caspar Logging
Rd for 1 mile to Rd 600.
The course is the same as last year, a 7-mile loop with 500ft of climbing, about 1/3 dirt road, 1/3 double-track trail, and 1/3 single-track trail.
Racer groups will be as follows
Beginning racers 1-loop/7 miles/500ft climb
Intermediate racers 2-loops/14 miles/1000ft climb
Advanced racers 3-loops/21 miles/1500ft climb
Racer groups for woman, single speeders and others will also be formed as needed.
Race fee is $25
Come have some fun and help support cycling on the Mendocino Coast!
http://mendocinocoastcyclists.blogspot.com/
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8. NorCal High School League team coach sought for the Peninsula
The NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League is beginning to gear up for fall with a coach's first aid course on August 24th. This weekend long course offers 16
hours of instruction in advanced wilderness first aid, with the curriculum specifically tailored towards mountain bikers and their unique situations, injuries and resources. We
would like to see the NorCal League put together a team for kids on the Peninsula and want to encourage you to forward this message, ask around, or even look inside
yourself to see if you would have time, energy or connections to help make a team come to life. If you can help out as a coach, attending the training is a great benefit and
fun initiation into the circle of friends that make up the NorCal League. For more info, contact Patty at patty@passiontrailbikes.com.
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9. Highland Way (road to Soquel Demo Forest) is CLOSED
We've received notice from CalFire, your friendly Soquel Forest land managers, that Santa Cruz County Roads Department has REALLY closed Highland Way and is
starting repair work on the slide. Riders posting on the NorCal Forum on MTBR noted that
they were turned back and were not able to cross during construction activities. There is also construction on Eureka Canyon Road, the normal access route from Corralitos,
on another slide. This nearly closes off access to the forest, although there is always climbing up through Nisene Marks State Park, or taking Eureka Canyon Road to Rider Road to Buzzard Lagoon. Please note that there is no public access from the west side of the forest due to private property; the only allowed
access points are at Mt. Rosalia (top of the Ridge Trail) and Highland Way (top of Hihn's Mill Road). Hopefully they will complete construction soon!
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Happy Trails, the PTB crew
Charles, Patty, Berry, John, Bret, Sterling, Daryl, Daniel, Peter, Reba and Buster