Pinehurst - Bears - Pig Farm

Rick decided we needed some extra-Diablo miles before Foxy's. I agreed. Wound up with 55 on the day and agreeing we could do another 50 no prob.

Met at my office parking lot. Trail to Moraga. Foggy and 55°F.

One hour to the bottom of Pinehurst. We saw a lot of riders headed toward Diablo. Still foggy and 55°F.

Pinehurst of course is a great climb but it's always shorter than I remember... also, you never know where exactly you're at because you can't see past the next hairpin. At one point there was a "COUGAR CROSSING" warning painted on the road, and another section was one-lane due to mud slide. We passed four small groups on the way up but one TT guy on a Cervelo outclassed us. Still foggy and 55°F. Took photos of us in front of the "CONTRA COSTA COUNTY LINE" sign at the top but somehow managed to lose them. Photos here are courtesy of Rick's mobile phone. He also got some cell phone video on Skyline and Grizzly Peak... I'll try to get those uploaded this week too.

One of the great things about this ride is the incredible view from the ridge. I always remember taking my parents and grandpa up here to show off my newly adopted home after they helped move me to Berkeley. This morning though it was hard to see squat through the fog. Don't regret losing my photos of the fog too much but one of these days I'm gonna have to repeat this ride with clear skies.

Coming down Wildcat, a car was behind us but we smoked him. Still foggy and 55°F. At this point I asked Rick, "Are we doing all the Bears and Pig Farm, or half the Bears and Happy Valley?" his answer, the former... his voice communicated that there would be no further discussion on the matter.

The Bears of course are the same as they've always been, and the water fountain at Briones is always a good rest stop. Finally it started to warm up... about 80°F.

Pig Farm, sadly, is losing it's iconic status as... a Pig Farm; but never as a bikie landmark.

Then we hammered back to P-Hill for a Chipotle nutritional reward.

Ride data from Rick's computer... 50+ MPH coming down South Park... yeeeeeehaw!

Didn't lose this photo of moonrise over my Mountain on Friday night.