Canyon Classic Century 2011 and Ride For Matt fundraiser

There might have been a better way to celebrate our 12th anniversary weekend than riding 111 miles Saturday and 72 miles Sunday. Wait...  Nope, I can't think of one.

All the cool kids must hang out here.

We started our weekend with the Canyon Classic,  a century ride that starts in Patterson, heads up to Mines Rd, drops into Livermore and heads home through the farmlands of the Central Valley. It's a very pretty ride with wonderful volunteers. Though they apparently aren't aware that "century" means 100 and not 111. After 100, 11 is a really big number. Most of the 5,672 feet of climbing comes in the first 33 miles. After that there's a downhill, this year featuring a huge headwind and some exciting gusts. It was all worthwhile for the endless downhill with a massive tailwind on Tesla Road.

We lunched at Bent Creek Winery. I'm usually rushing Tricia through the rest stops. This time she teased me because I insisted on tasting their wine and buying a couple of bottles. She didn't, however,  seem to mind helping drink them later.

I didn't really transport the wine back on my bike.

Ride for Matt
We learned through our friend Joel about his friend Matt who'd been hit by a car in early 2011. Matt's friends planned a benefit ride for him. They did an amazing job, from their Ride4Matt.org website to the route markings. We don't know Matt, but because we're only one degree of separation away, as we are with so many Northern California cyclists, we wanted to support the efforts to help him.

We went with our friend Joyce, starting our drive to Roseville entirely too early and way too worn out from the Canyon Classic. We got an early start on the 70 mile route. Though some folks were less than thrilled with the bike path start, I enjoyed riding under bridges next to creeks. It didn't last long, and with our early start we didn't have to contend with much other traffic.

The rest of the route was just right. We'd ridden pieces of this before, and enjoyed them all. We've ridden so many rural Northern California roads that they all seem familiar, like home.

Though I was tired, and not riding fast, near the end I found myself annoyed that I was passed by a few... heavier.. riders. Then I realized I was seeing people who were on the 30 mile loop, and felt a bit better, kicked it in a bit and put a stop to that nonsense. Yep, life is a Cat 6 race.

When we arrived at the park finish it was like being in a small town. There was a band playing old standards and a crowd of riders eating their barbeque lunches. It just felt nice. We had to leave before Matt spoke, but we understand the ride was a huge success, getting more participants than expected and raising a goodly sum for Matt. We wish him well.

Joyce complained there weren't any new photos of her, so here she is with Tricia.