On New Year’s Day, it was Be Kind to Your Bike Day – my decision totally. Bring your bike, lube and rag, preferred beverage and lube your bike in my garage. And there were blueberry scones as a treat.
Jonathan, Amal
On Saturday, there was a foggy mist when we left on our ride to Old Sac plus a 5-mile downtown loop to explore the buffered bike lanes (green paint), separated bike lanes, designated bike routes and areas where taking the lane was the only choice.
Leo, Cheryl, me, Barbara
This was a fun ride. We drove to the Amtrak station in Davis and rode the Davis Bicycle Loop.
On Wednesday, we rode 24 miles around Hansen Ranch Park. The farthest point is on the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail near Elkhorn Blvd at the location of “Wally”, a heritage walnut tree designated by the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
Leo, Carmen, Barbara
On New Year’s Eve, we rode a new loop through Land Park out to Sutterville Rd which turned out to be the longest ride of the year.
Kathy, Barbara
From November 12 to December 31, 22 different bike riders rode 3990 miles on 28 scheduled rides. I did all the rides and rode 444 miles. Among those riding the most often, Barbara rode 301 miles. Cheryl, Jonathan and Leo have 200+ miles. Dani, Kathy, and Jane have 100+ miles.
To get the word out about the next round of classes, Jibe decided to place some 15-second (40 words max) ads on radio – local stations and Pandora, etc. and asked me to be “the voice.” I had an appointment at a recording studio on Tuesday morning.
Suggestion from the producer: “More enthusiasm even if you think you sound over the top. Like a teacher in front of her class first thing in the morning, she had a few cups of coffee and she LOVES her job.”
Usually this is the day to go to the BEST Christmas party of the season, right? And I went to two – 2020 style. #1: Four Season Westshore offered a free meal from Buckhorn Grill.
The best part was the champagne greeting – with an invitation to come back for refills!
I rode my bike to Party #2 at N Natomas Regional Park: it was a Bike Doc party given by Jibe. Because Bike Doc is sponsored through SABA and I was the receptionist several times, yay, I was invited.
Covid-19 is worse and there isn’t a lot for a person to do. Outdoor activities, however, are encouraged which means … lots of bike riding. Thank goodness.
Wed Dec 9: 7 of us rode to E Levee Rd for a winter view of Hansen Ranch Park. The loop that I’d planned ended at this point on the levee improvement project (a sign would have been nice), we turned around and rode back to Sorento Rd.
A very good ride! 18 miles total.
Fri Dec 11: 8 of us rode a route called Tour of N Natomas. All the major bike trails are included – Jackrabbit, Redbud, and Fisherman’s Lake Parkway – plus N Natomas Regional Park. Our longest group ride yet – 21 miles.
Mon Dec 14: 8 of us rode to Old Sac, then crossed the Tower Bridge to explore the Riverwalk going in one direction and the Riverwalk Trail going in the other direction (south) which ends here. The word WEST swivels 180 degrees by the way.
Wed Dec 16: 3 of us rode 4 cold miles to see the 12 homes on the Four Seasons Westshore Christmas lights tour. Our last stop was at Kirk and Holly’s on Crete Island Lane.
Today: 3 of us rode around Hansen Ranch Park to the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail and home. 24 miles! Woo-hoo!
To celebrate the end of Better on Bikes, Jibe organized a get-together at Blackbird Park – a recently opened park next to Four Seasons Westshore. Mellissa demonstrated how to change a flat tire.
Mellissa hoped there would be enough time for everyone to pair up and change a tire on one bike. But lunch arrived – time to eat. One diligent student, Lorraine, did indeed change the tube in her tire with a bit of coaching along the way.
See the orange fanny pack on the table behind Lorraine. Every Better on Bikes participant received one filled with more goodies as a thank-you for participating.
Tonight was the final Zoom class – whew! Done. You might be able to tell from this picture what might be coming next. Yes, I had a glass of champagne after the final sign-off at about 7 pm. Yes, my sewing machine sits nearby on the floor ready to finish the next sewing project.
Our Zoom moderator, William took this group photo:
arletelouise 