Detour to Del Valle

Arriving at the park in Livermore, we were greeted with chilly fog and gray skies. No worries some said. It'll blow off soon.  I was skeptical.  Lo and behold, this was how the club ride began with sun and blue skies.  Today's club ride was to take us from Livermore to Tracy and over Patterson Pass. 

Hmm, I kept wondering, that looks pretty thick and we're headed that way.  Still, it was beautiful.  I kept stopping to take photos and thus, the gang was way ahead of me.  We had two tandems on today's ride.

I never tire of the cotton candy (my name for it). Then again, I'm usually observing it safely in a vehicle.  The sun shone again but still I wondered what was around the next corner.  Well, it got worse.  And denser. And then, really bad climbing Tesla Road.  My glasses were fogged up.  I could barely see cars coming in the opposite direction.  The trees dripped on me.  I wasn't cold thanks to the many layers of wool I wore along with a jacket but still, it wasn't particularly enjoyable.  And of course the wind kicked in making the bike wobbly.  Suddenly I was at the summit being greeted by the gang who waited for me!  A wise decision was made to turn back.  It was too dangerous.

 Once back down, we decided to turn on Mines and do Del Valle!  I've always wanted to do that climb as well as visit the park.  So, all was not lost.  And once again, the sky was blue and the sun shone. 

The climb was beautiful.  I forgot to mention that back in the danger zone, some bozo overtook another car and almost hit me.  Luckily you didn't hear what came streaming out of my mouth.

We crossed this bridge!  We went to the visitor center and learned about the flood back in 1986.  I guess today was all about the weather.

The descent was super and not technically difficult. Great views and yes, more of the cotton candy.  Sure enough, when we got nearer to the end, we were once again greeted with chilly foggy weather that blew in rapidly.  We were fortunate for the most part.  As I told The Boyfriend, who had just landed at SFO,  it was epic, as in, close to being a disaster.  He thought we had great weather since on the plane flying up the coast from San Diego, all looked gorgeous.  Ha ha ha.  I think I'll make him clean my muddy bike....

Just the Stats:

34.86 miles
30.5 mph descent
10.1 avg mph
3 hr 26 min.