Drizzle. Cold. It spells the end of those mass weekend recreational cycling events in the Pacific Northwest. But those bike rides are still going strong in California.
Many clubs and organizations bracket their big bike rides around the hot summer months. Plenty of events are offered in October and early November. I've listed about 20 of them at California Bike Rides under the Pacific NW Ride Calendar.
The Mt. Diablo Challenge ushered in the month October. This is just an 11-mile ride, but it take cyclists to the top of Mount Diablo nearly 4,000 feet above the surrounding suburbs of San Francisco's East Bay. A 6.9% grade greets riders for the last 4 miles. (This public photo, above, on flickr.com shows the after-ride view from a camera mounted on a balloon.)
Who rides it? A lot of young and middle-aged men and women and Bob Barriskill, age 82. The first person to the top this year was Devon Vigus. Take a bow, Devon. He finished it in 47 minutes and 55 seconds, an average 13.5 mph. In all, 875 made the ride this year.
There are other California bike rides through fall foliage, through vineyards, along the coast, and up and down rolling hills. There's even an inaugural double century in Fresno in a couple of weeks.
Leave a comment (below) if you know about other fall bikes rides coming up and I'll post its at California Bike Rides.
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