Matt with the tail whip
Our first PV Adventure Series ride kicked off on Saturday 10/23/2021 with a beautiful loop of a personal favorite, Planet of the Apes.
Check out the photos and make sure you join us next week for Mt. Umunhum! For a complete list of all 6 rides in the series, please check out our flyer
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/2835395739864245774
Photo Gallery: https://penvelo.org/pv-adventure-ride-series/
Ride Recap:
PV introduced the Adventure Ride Series this year to inspire members to venture out, ride with teammates, and have a great time together.
Rolling out from Woodside we were 19 strong, and headed north to the Crystal Springs bike path. Next stop: Sweeney Ridge. This paved climb offers a few meters above 10%, but is largely an easy pedal to the top. It’s at the top that the fun starts by way of the twisting gravel descent via Baquiano Trail (https://www.strava.com/activities/6156778752/segments/2887114299005520962) into Pacifica. Watching the group roll off and down into town was pure joy.
A bit farther along and we started up the serpentine “Planet of the Apes” route up Montara mountain. While Charlton Heston didn’t make an appearance, a group of fun loving MTB’ers were at the top to properly heckle our road tire encased mass of red, yellow and orange.
Speaking of red, yellow and orange, man those new kits are gorgeous! Rolling through easy pacelines or watching from afar, it was easy to appreciate the Castelli craftsmanship and quality, with many thanks once again to the design team who came up with such a winning combination. Alas, our luck ran out a little bit on the gravel descent from Montara with several flats, including Tom Dillon, who thought a wee bit of outrageous chain suck (as in under the chain catcher and behind the BB) would be a nice addition to our ride time. While most of us bantered away at the base, Tom and Menko endured the challenge, only to have Menko promptly puncture mere moments after things seemed good.
Fortunately it was a no drop kinda ride and we all got together for the jaunt to Half Moon Bay and the lovely Inland Hills Loop. A refueling stop at a local bakery in Montara set things right for most of us and we embarked on the last phase content with calories. The last true test was the fabled Purisima dirt climb up to Skyline. It’s only about 3 miles, but gains over 1,400 feet with several sections well above 10-12%. This is where those who still had legs were able to tackle the climb in full-tilt boogie mode, while the rest of us battled up it in survival mode. A quick descent of Kings Mountain Rode and we were back at our starting point happy and tired from a great day.
Up next….Mt Umunhum from Woodside or Los Altos starts, won’t you join us?
