A unTypical Ride

[Manuel Acosta]

Amit was/is in town. We went riding. Not really knowing where to go with the overcasted  weather I figured Diablo can't disappoint for someone who never rode to the top. So I called some Rivendell guys and soon it was on. Plan was to meet at Rivendell after hours and ride to the top of Mt.Diablo. Amit was on amtrak time constraint so the ride had to be short and sweet. But like most trips at Rivendell things don't always go as planned. When we were ready to go, I asked Grant if he wanted to join us. He told us, "Well I'm have other things to do but I'm going to do a short ride that I always do before or after work." Figured since Amit needed to catch his train Grant's shorter ride seemed best. So a bunch of us tagged along with Grant while he went on his "typical ride". The ride was shortish but the hills were grunty. Through the twist and turns of the lovely homes of Walnut Creek Grant takes us through a couple of sections of dirt. Reaching to the very top of the ride we ended up kinda of stuck due to the trail being closed. So without really making a big deal about it Grant just walks off the trail down the hill. We follow suit and continue along our way. After a couple of turns and descents we make it way back to towards Bart. Grant tells us, "Well I'm going home now if you want to go to Bart just go that way."  Joe, Jim and Sean decided to keep going while Amit, Will and I have to cut the ride short and catch a train. 

And usually this happens on rides that I do. Most of it is made up with no destination. Usually we ride till we don't want to. We ride with the sense of adventure, exploration and a little bit of recklessness. Thanks to Grant for allowing us to tag along. Amit is here for a bit so expect so more shots of him before the year is over. 

Pictures proved that pizza is good biking fuel:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDdQWmk

-Manny "I guess we go with Grant" Acosta

[Steve Palincsar]

Great description and slideshow! So, contrary to the subject, for Grant
this actually is a "typical ride"?

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[dougP]

Manny:

Thanks for the photos & story.  Looks like Grant's commute is a good place for test rides. A lot of that turf looks familiar from photos on Riv's website, especially that sequence of pushing bikes up a ridgeline. 

dougP

[Jim Mather]

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 7:22 AM, Manuel Acosta
<manueljo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Amit was/is in town. We went riding.

Great to ride with you as always, Manny, and thanks for the photos.

Manny's quite impressive when taking photos while riding -- turning
around in his seat, hanging off the edge -- all to get the best shots.
And he's stealthy too. Before you know it, you're pained face is on
flickr for all to laugh at. ;-)

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

Good times and great pics... let's party.

On Monday, December 17, 2012 7:22:20 AM UTC-8, Manuel Acosta wrote:

[grant]

Clarification on "typical ride": It's a ride I do in some variation thirty or forty times a year, but the paved part (the grunt up to the water tower) is one I do a few times a week before or after work, depending on the season and weather. Even tho this ride is minutes away from me (from my house I can be at the high point in the  hills in less than 18 minutes)...but the point I want to make is that I had a great time on the ride, as gooda time as anybody, even though I knew the route. Great company, and it's more fun to ride with guys like that. Amit said he'd never ridden trails like that, and he did great. Jim and Joe were on fairly skinny tires, no matter. Sean climbed a climb I've made it up only about twelve times, and he did it the first time he ever saw or rode it. (I will credit "good traction, no loose soil", but he is clearly a good climber. I think the 2TT helped. <---yes, a joke there, c'mon... Manny as always took tons of neat pictures. He is a real, real, real cycling photographer...doesn't miss a beat, doesn't make anybody else  miss beats, and he shoots great shots. All fun...

[Frank]

Manny - best slick o' photos in the genre I've seen. I really enjoyed looking at the set and the nuance in each image. Thanks for taking them and posting.

[Michael Hechmer]

I live in a town that's about 90% dirt roads.  It's been in the mid thirties and raining for a long time.  Not very inviting for riding no matter how wide the tires or how long the fenders.  These pictures make me whistful.

michael

[Mike]

Thanks for posting Manny. Looks like a fun time was had by all. 

--mike