Tour de MALT July 24, 2016

Several years ago my friend Jeannette bought a nice bicycle but quickly thought better of actually riding it, so she generously passed it on to me, along with a new helmet, lock, and bike rack.  I too was intimidated by the serious cyclists out here, not to mention the threat of motorcyclists and cars on the weekends, and years went by before I started to ride it routinely. 

Now that I am living out here for the summer, I have reconnected with one of the great joys of my youth - the freedom I feel on a bicycle.  Lately I’ve been doing a one-hour route, starting from my house, down the shoulder-less Point Reyes-Petaluma road, along the smooth and shaded Platform Bridge and Bear Valley Roads, with the challenge of the Bolinas Ridge climb on Sir Francis Drake in between.

Thus emboldened, I suggested to my friend Yang and her husband Kevin that we add our wheels to the Tour de MALT, a fund-raising cycle through this agricultural landscape.  Yang and I signed up for the 40-mile loop, while Kevin for the 60, and yesterday morning, on a brilliantly sunny morning, we took off!

Starting in Nicasio, we soon passed Pi on Route 1, and Yang and I shed some clothes at the house as we went by.  I wouldn’t let her stop for her first treat at the Giacommini Ranch because we were hoping to complete the loop within four hours.  She was a good sport about it.

After passing Marshall, the MALT volunteers flagged us eastward onto the Marshall-Petaluma Road, and we suddenly found ourselves climbing a hill.  I learned only later that this section is referred to as the Marshall Wall.  I’m certainly glad that I didn’t know that ahead of time, as I may not have even signed up!

But we made it back to Nicasio, where I sought out a shady area to cool off in savasana with some ice cubes on my forehead.  An ice tea followed by a cold beer and a burger restored me, and I almost felt ready to do the circuit all over again.  Almost.