Midsummer rides and getaways

Last excursions before school begins

LAST HURRAH In the final days before school begins, consider hopping onto bikes and hitting the trails.

August used to be the second month of summer; nowadays, it’s the month when many schools start! Your kids and grandkids may only have a few more weeks of freedom, so enjoy the last summer rides together while you can. Oh, and prep the locks, then start exploring and practicing your safe routes to school. At least once, ride at the routes to and from school at real time, so the kiddos get the feel for the typical traffic patterns.

Need a fun, family-friendly activity just before school starts? Consider hopping onto the bikes on August 12th, and visiting some of the amazing backyard train layouts on the Garden Railroad Tour! Sponsored by the Bay Area Garden Railway Society and the South County Railroaders, this annual event benefits Gilroy’s St. Joseph’s Center, as well as the Food Bank of San Benito County, so be sure to bring a nonperishable food item to any of the layouts. (More info: check out Save the Dates!)
From the Marin Century to the Tour de Fox, there are multiple offerings almost every weekend! Because it’s the new kid on the block, I’ll finish up by exploring the Ride 4 Diabetes.
The R4D will take off from Cupertino’s De Anza College on August 26th. Your choices: a 3.5 Bunny Ride, an 18K Stevens Creek Trail jaunt, a 60K Portola Valley Loop, and a 90K Skyline Ridge challenge! All routes feature fully stocked rest stops and full SAG support. Oh, and did I mention that there’ll be a post-ride beer and wine festival, complete with live music? Sign me up!

Save the Dates

Road and Mountain
8/5—Marin Century/Mt. Tam Double—marincyclists.com
8/5—Ryde for Lyme—Marin—rydeforlyme.org
8/13—Tour d’Organics—Sebastopol—tourdorganics.com
8/19—Tour de Menlo—Atherton—tourdemenlo.com
8/20—Tour of Napa Valley—eaglecyclingclub.org
8/26—Ride 4 Diabetes—Cupertino—ride4diabetes.org
8/26—Tour de Fox—Santa Rosa—tourdefox.com
9/9—Best Buddies Challenge—Carmel—bestbuddies.org
9/16—Tour de Fresno—tourdefresno.com
9/16—V3 Hopfest—San Ramon—v3hopfest.com
9/16—Tour de Coop—Silicon Valley—tourdecoop.org

Events
8/12—Garden Railroad Tour—South County—[email protected]
8/19—Tour de Fat—San Francisco—newbelgium.com

It is recommended you check for last minute changes on dates before attending.
Curt Hentschke has pedaled over 58,000 miles of South Valley and San Benito County trails. Send your cycle celebrations and cerebration to [email protected].