Montebello and Wine
30.6 mi, 2,740 ft
Two of the team commenced the ride early in Santa Clara to log some extra miles and thus points for bike month. Commencing a climbing ride with a few miles of flat provides the added bonus of an intial warm up prior to the steep shock. In this event, the initial warm up may have been overkill, due to again-ferocious headwinds. Indeed, for a full fortnight thus far, the South Bay winds have cruelly and inconveniently reversed direction, adding several daily unwanted commuting minutes and much extraneous psychological disturbance. My manager, after several days' exposure to my moaning on the topic, motivationally suggested that we work harder to develop more and better versions of our product, so as to reduce fossil fuel viability and mitigate climate change, thus returning the Bay Area winds to the prior orientation.
After scooping up the third rider, the Montebello climbing portion began. Feeling gratingly self-congratulatory on a good intial pace, upon rounding a bend a rider ahead came into view. This rider was also keeping rather a good pace, but on a heavy mountain bike, towing a toddler. Simultaneously awed, envious, and appalled, I gathered up breath to overtake and congratulate him. The words died on my lips as it became apparent that he had a second toddler somehow attached to the front of his bike. "Ummm wow," I hollered, moving past at a marginally-differentiated velocity. At least he was extraordinarily sweaty.
The top of Montebello was ominously enshrouded in freezing cloud and thus not at all conducive to lingering. One uncomfortably rapid protein bar and zero photos later, we turned tail. The descent was even less comfortable than the ascent, buffetted as it was by icy crosswinds inducing the quandary of whether to slow down to reduce exposure, or to speed up to get it over with. With differing viewpoints on this topic, the group dichotomously arrived at Picchetti's Winery near the bottom for some pre-planned quaffing of delicious wine and photosynthesising in the delightfully sunny picnic garden. Highly recommended end to any Montebello ride experience, excellent or adverse.
Well not quite the end in this case, as two of us had still the return to Santa Clara. Magnificent tailwinds on Homestead at last, thanks no doubt to the wonderfully planet-warming emissions from all the gasoline-consuming drivers alongside. And we, smug on our bicycles, benefitting.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider sponsoring my Bike MS 2018 ride! The process is as easy as clicking this link and hitting "Donate to Jessica". Despite the button label, it is in truth the National MS Society that receives the donation, and not Jessica herself.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/jessicaadams
Two of the team commenced the ride early in Santa Clara to log some extra miles and thus points for bike month. Commencing a climbing ride with a few miles of flat provides the added bonus of an intial warm up prior to the steep shock. In this event, the initial warm up may have been overkill, due to again-ferocious headwinds. Indeed, for a full fortnight thus far, the South Bay winds have cruelly and inconveniently reversed direction, adding several daily unwanted commuting minutes and much extraneous psychological disturbance. My manager, after several days' exposure to my moaning on the topic, motivationally suggested that we work harder to develop more and better versions of our product, so as to reduce fossil fuel viability and mitigate climate change, thus returning the Bay Area winds to the prior orientation.
After scooping up the third rider, the Montebello climbing portion began. Feeling gratingly self-congratulatory on a good intial pace, upon rounding a bend a rider ahead came into view. This rider was also keeping rather a good pace, but on a heavy mountain bike, towing a toddler. Simultaneously awed, envious, and appalled, I gathered up breath to overtake and congratulate him. The words died on my lips as it became apparent that he had a second toddler somehow attached to the front of his bike. "Ummm wow," I hollered, moving past at a marginally-differentiated velocity. At least he was extraordinarily sweaty.
The top of Montebello was ominously enshrouded in freezing cloud and thus not at all conducive to lingering. One uncomfortably rapid protein bar and zero photos later, we turned tail. The descent was even less comfortable than the ascent, buffetted as it was by icy crosswinds inducing the quandary of whether to slow down to reduce exposure, or to speed up to get it over with. With differing viewpoints on this topic, the group dichotomously arrived at Picchetti's Winery near the bottom for some pre-planned quaffing of delicious wine and photosynthesising in the delightfully sunny picnic garden. Highly recommended end to any Montebello ride experience, excellent or adverse.
Well not quite the end in this case, as two of us had still the return to Santa Clara. Magnificent tailwinds on Homestead at last, thanks no doubt to the wonderfully planet-warming emissions from all the gasoline-consuming drivers alongside. And we, smug on our bicycles, benefitting.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider sponsoring my Bike MS 2018 ride! The process is as easy as clicking this link and hitting "Donate to Jessica". Despite the button label, it is in truth the National MS Society that receives the donation, and not Jessica herself.
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/jessicaadams
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