Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 19:45:28 -0700
Subject: [TB] Bikeaholics Team 1 does the DMD -1.2

In an overwhelming show of support, a motley group of non-Ultra Bikeaholics
did a wimpy, reverse version of the Devils Mountain Double in order to
hopefully meet up with and cheer-on the true Ultra Bikeaholics, Craig,
Bill, J. Mike, Ken H., and TandemTomSarah.

Team members Ken S., Don and Lisaa were present for pre-ride activities
that included meeting at Starbucks in Milpitas at 7:00 am for a large dose
of caffeine and sugar.  We then met the rest of the group at 8:00 am at the
old Big C's on Landess in Milpitas (you could sort of see that a sign had
been there; apparently the shop had recently moved).  After a sufficient
number of people had made fun of Lisaa's new seat post rack and giant trunk
bag (which was purported to contain everything including the kitchen sink,
make-up bag, espresso machine and possibly a stowaway), we headed out to
Alum Rock Park.  "We" included the three mentioned above plus
TandemMikeJanine, TJ, Dan, JohnS, Stella, Glenn and KenB.  We quickly
discovered that the road to Alum Rock was really closed to through traffic,
including bikes, so we skirted the hill to the base of Mt. Hamilton
instead.

A couple of miles up the hill, Lisaa started discovering something was
amiss.  Not only was the seatpost squeeking, but it was also tilting up and
from side-to-side.  Apparently KenS (lender of the American Classic
titanium seat post) had not notified Lisaa (borrower of the aforementioned
seat post) of certain adjustment screws and tork values that were necessary
to achieve a stable riding configuration.  We secured the saddle with
Stella's Allen key and performed a more permanent adjustment at the
observatory.

We dilly-dallied at the top for some time, actually held conversations and
took pictures in front of the snow piles, then descended the back side
(STEEP side, for those of you who had to climb it) of the hill.  The road
was very curvy and had lots of gravel and sand on it making it a terrifying
experience, but we all made it to the bottom.  After touring the
wild-flower meadows, we regrouped at the Junction Cafe at about 2:00.  Thus
far we hadn't seen any DMD riders, despite the fact that CRAIG said he'd
see us at the top of Mt. Hamilton at about 11:00 am.  While there, the
first of the DMD riders rolled in to the lunch stop, including a really
gnarley two-man tandem (one guy was wearing a DEATH VALLEY DOUBLE jersey!)

After we had sufficiently cooled off, refilled bottles, and eaten more real
food, we continued our journey on Miles Rd. toward Livermore.  Fifteen
minutes or so later, we saw Bill coming the other way.  He was easy to spot
with his turban-kerchief.  We all stopped to get the latest news of who
started when and who was seen where.  It was a jovial discussion.  Another
15 min. or so later, we saw Craig, who also stopped to chat.  He wasn't
feeling well, so we commiserated awhile, and cheered him on.  In a flash,
we saw KenH and J. Mike and shouted greetings.  After the river crossings
(several locations along Mines Rd. were flooded) we saw TandemTomSarah on
the side of the road.  StokerSarah was observed to be feeding CaptainTom
from her carefully guarded stash of salted pretzels.

We regrouped in Livermore and had a leisurely lunch at Togo's (more real
food).  Seeing that the time was slipping by, we gulped down the last
crumbs and headed out to Calaveras Rd.  The scenery was spectacular and the
temperature was just right.  At that point, the team sort of fell apart.
Some of us (Lisaa, KenS and Stella) had gone on ahead and decided to do the
Felter/Sierra extra loop with the hope of catching up with the Bikeaholics
Ultra riders coming the other way.  The climb up Felter turned out to be A
LOT HARDER than we thought.  (Lisaa was in her granny triple gear - you
know, all that extra weight in the rack pack and all).  Eventually we got
to the top and started our descent.  Then we saw Bill!  He seemed in fairly
good shape at that point.  We chatted a while then let him go on.  As I
descended with white knuckles on my brake calipers, I heard a "Hi Lisa"
from KenH that cheered me up.  At the bottom, we saw Craig hunched over his
handlebars, not looking he best, but determined, and in fact eager, to
begin the climb up Sierra.

We parted ways and KenS, Stella and I mangled our way back to BigC's (after
getting totally lost and having to ask for directions twice and look at a
map of Milpitas).

All in all, we had a very fun day.  We ended up with nearly 120 miles
(including loops through Milpitas neighborhoods)  and 8500-9000 ft of
climbing, depending on who's estimate you want to believe.  We even may
have recruited a couple more non-ultra team members!

Respectfully submitted,

Lisaa