Coyote Hills Coasting Classic – Catching a Rainbow
Its not all fun and games when the boys and I go on our Saturday bike rides. We get serious sometimes. Part of ride includes climbing up “heart attack hill”. A short but steep climb up to where the old Nike Missile base was back in World War Two. Today its part of Coyote Hills regional park. From atop heart attack you can see the entire bay area. San Francisco and Oakland skylines to the the north, Mt Hamilton to the south and Mt Diablo to the east, and everything in between. Saturday’s ride almost didn’t happen. The rain was heavy on Friday and scattered showers on the hi-def doppler showed rain clouds blowing in from the south. We took a chance and went for it. We got hit with a few raindrops on the way out but as we started our ascent up heart attack hill the sun was starting to shine over the clouds.
Its always a “win” getting to the top of heart attack. Fist bumps all around for the old guys that can still climb the hill. On this day we were rewarded with something special. A full rainbow! One end dipping into the salt ponds of the bay, the other resting on some of the “coyote” hills to the east. BEAUTIFUL!!
We always take a break at the the top to catch our breath and enjoy the view. Today we took pictures of the rainbow. Even got this pic of John catching some rainbow magic.
After a short break its time to get down to the serious business of coasting. Whats the point of climbing the mountain if you cant have some fun going down. And this is no leisurely coast back down. Speeds up to 38 miles per hour have been registered “going over the top” and zooming down into Dairy Glen. Its fun, its exhilirating. It has some level of danger. The competition part is who can coast the farthest. Once you get to the bottom of the hill you coast up (or try to) the path that circles dairy glen. There is a stick in the ground way up the path that has been the goal, the benchmark. Nobody has ever made it to the stick. Even with perfect condition and wind to your back, the best that could be done is about 10 feet from the stick.
But on this day John caught the rainbow and something was different. He zoomed down heart attack like a man possessed. I dont think he was using any brakes as he negotiated the downhill turns and steered clear of a rider that was slowly chuggin up the hill. When John hit the saddle (the bottom where the downhill ends and the uphill begins) I knew that a record would be broken today. He was in perfect tuck position and had a great line. And then history was made. He coasted where no man had gone before. To the stick and beyond!! Incredible!! A new world record. One that may never be broken!
I went back the next week and took a picture from where John stopped coasting looking back towards heart attack hill. From this angle you can see how far he coasted UP to where he stopped. Ever impressive! Unless someone comes along with helium in his wheels and strong wind at his back, this spot will forever be known as the “Downing Line”
