Monthly Archive: October 2011

remodel

Muddy Ride to the Bus Stop

They say its the little thing in life that makes things interesting.  We have been riding out to Coyote Hills and Alameda Creek for years now. These days and weather permitting , we take an old levee road out to “no man’s land” where the old salt ponds meet the San Francisco Bay. Whenever we get out this far we usually take a break.  Someone else had set up some old pieces of washed up scrap  wood  to create a makeshift bench.  We started to call it the “bus stop”.  This is the same spot where we have seen seals bobbing around during high tide. Also saw a couple of sharks trolling in the shallows just a few weeks ago, and tons of birds feeding and flying when the tide is out.   The last few times we’ve been out there and the tide is out, we set up a little game of  “hit the ring”.  There is a stick sticking up out of the mud, we found an old rusty metal ring and balanced the ring on the wood. Then we would stand up on the levee road and throw rocks or sticks and try to knock the ring off the stick. Click here to watch video.  We have come to call this activity the “Olhone games”  after the local native American tribe that used to inhabit this land.   There are times when we get out to the bus stop and the tide is in, the wood is underwater and metal ring on the bay floor.   Whenever the tide is out and we set up the ring, we hope that its still “up”  next time we ride out there. So we rode out there yesterday.  A muddy ride to say the least.  We get about half way out the levee road and the rain from the recent storms had turned part of the trail into slop. Mud started to cake up on the tires (and everything else! ) and at some point we were only going forward because we were afraid to stop for fear we couldn’t get going again! It eventually got a little better, and as we rode up on the bus stop we could see the metal ring still hanging, only this time way out in the water!  The  ring was barely hanging on as the waves lapped up against it and the wind blew.  Still pretty cool to realize it had hung there since Saturday with all the wind and tides and rains.   Amazing!

flashbacks

Eden Landing Ride

Untitled Took  a Sunday ride on the dirt side of the Creek trail, and ended up going someplace we’d never gone before. I had been checking  out Google maps and saw that there were some offshoot trails on the north side of Alameda Creek that looked like we could take out and around almost clear up to the San Mateo Bridge. Little did John Downing know that this was my plan when I asked  him to ride with me today.  All was well and good. We took a right off the creek trail and headed northwest on a trail we had never been on before. After a about a half mile or so, a road block. Ugh!  A gate and barb wire fence and sign saying Eden Landing Ecological ReserveIMAG0171  – NO TRESPASSING.  That was good enough for me and I was ready to turn around there,  but John  had other ideas.  At first he suggested throwing the bikes over the gate. I said why don’t we just climb over the gate and check things out. Over the gate we went.  There was a trail going in both directions as fas as the eye could see. Then John spotted it,  a clearing beyond the barb wire where people had  created a way to get around the gate. The lure of the unknown and the glorious day clouded our better judgement and on we went.

008  Beautiful ride in a true “no man’s land.”  On our left, the marshiness of the 2000 feet or so of distance between the Alameda Creek trail and us. Nothing but  marshy wetness, pools and vegetation. On our right, the remnants of  an old duck hunting village. Little make shift duck blinds (8-12 that we could see) that must have been great back in the day when duck hunting was king in this area.   002 We made our way out to where the trail bends and heads north along the bay waters. What a cool and out of the way place.  We took our break here and marveled at the beauty and untouched splendor that was all around us. This was obviously a place where the wind, tides and bay waters push alot of drift wood  onto the the shore. We checked out tons of drift wood, found more than a few tennis balls and even a 004 few coconuts.  After a well deserved break we turned around and headed back. Good thing John was paying attention else we would have missed our turn and ended up somewhere in Hayward.  Before we got back to the creek trail and familiar ground, we did see this 4 foot snake taking a sun bath on the trail. All in all a great day and a great way to end a Sunday Ride.

 

bike

Dairy Glen Camp Out

IMAG0209Over the years and during many of our  bike rides out to Coyote Hills,  We’d sometimes see  scout troops or church groups camped out at Dairy Glen,  the lone camping spot in the park.  When ever we would ride by  (usually early saturday morning),  we would see tents dotting the glen and early morning activity in the camp ground. The smell of camp out breakfast filled the air. Dairy Glen is also where “heart attack hill” starts.  The short and hard climb up to the highest point in Coyote Hills Regional park. So we’d spend a lot of time climbing up and and zooming down right into Dairy Glen. We talked and talked and talked about reserving this great little spot,  nestled into the hills and looking out over the glen and the marshiness of the areas on the eastern side of Coyote Hills. On the western side of Coyote Hills is nothing but San Francisco Bay.     The only civilization that you can see from the  campground is the small stretch of distant road where cars are just  getting onto the Dumbarton Bridge.  We’d always say that we had to camp here one of these days.    Saturday was the day.

IMAG0215Saturday at 2pm the truck was packed (so much stuff for one night of camping)  and I followed Steve over to the park to begin the setup.  Three miles and ten minutes later I was unpacking the truck and setting up camp.  The great thing about being so close was that Barb could hang back at the house and come later when all the work was done, I mean all the fun was starting.  It wasn’t that hard setting up camp.  Armando lent me his 4 man tent that was up in about 5 minutes. Blew up the air mattress, unloaded the ice chest and I was all set. Steve on the other hand had to set up his 12oo squre foot 3 bedroom family tent. Maybe it was just a two room but either way it was big. Within no time Downing, Vandenbusch and Flahertys were all set up and settling in for some camping fun. We ordered dinner from nearby Dino’s grill and had a nice dinner by the camp fire. 

IMG958865As night fell we began realize just how cool and different a trip this was. The park closed at 6pm. Gate locked (we had the combo)  and  the park ranger goes home.  We are alone.  Very alone!  If you look at a map of the park and the camp site, you can see that we were isolated out there yet still smack dab in the middle of the 7 million people that make up the bay area.  We had plenty of fire wood and kept a nice warm fire going all night.  The boys took a little ride out the levy road to the “bus stop” where we take our breaks on Saturday morning bike rides. Riding out there in the twilight was awesome! IMAG0219 The sun had just set and the redness of the western sky and the darkening blue of the evening made for a beautiful reflection on the bay.  Fantastic!   Later in the evening we all took a short night hike up and around the trail that circles Dairy Glen. Headlamps and flashlights in hand we ventured up and out of the camp ground . It was really REALLY dark when we turned off all our lights and it was REALLY cold when we got away from the warmth of our campfire.  What made this interesting for me was that I had been on that trail hundreds of times over the years, but never when it was so dark and cold and quiet.  We made the hike a short one and headed back to camp. Smores and small talk filled the rest of the evening.

IMAG0222Up early enough to watch the sun rise over mission peak. Bacon and eggs for breakfast then a five mile bike ride (boys) and hike (girls and Steve)  up  heart attack hill AND out to the bus stop. Back to camp to tear down and pack up.  Said goodbye and made the long 3 mile trip back home. Five minute later we were pulling into the driveway. Unpacked the truck and still had 30 minutes for the 49ers started.