Anthony Chabot Bicycle Loop
Route Review:
This bicycle loop is one that starts and ends on paved trails, but is unpaved, hard-packed dirt for the middle section that happens to have almost all the climbs. This loop is amazing in terms of bathrooms. Every few miles, there is an outhouse stocked with a hand sanitizer (and presumably, toilet paper).
I started out near the Marina and headed out on the West Shore Trail. This trail was beautifully paved with lots of shade. It was busy with hikers, but the traffic wasn’t too bad. After the dam, I started the first meaningful climb of this loop on the Bass Cove Trail. This trail was very pretty, though there wasn’t too much shade. The trail was hard-packed dirt that was flat, and felt great.
I then turned onto Goldenrod Trail, and it was rough. I think the combination of rising temperature, shade running out, and eating too much at lunch all added to me having a horrible time. The trail just climbs away from trees and onto a ridge without shade. It then drops all that elevation in a short half mile stretch that was not too smooth. I rode my breaks a bit and was sad that I couldn’t enjoy the downhill like I had done earlier in the day.
I then crossed a stone bridge and started on the Brandon Trail. This trail had uphills, but it wasn’t too bad (even though it was the same grade as Goldenrod) because of the awesome Eucalyptus forest that this trail cuts through. There was plenty of shade, though the road condition totally deteriorated in certain sections where my bike became a whole-body-vibrator.
The loop then cuts through a parking lot and I hit my first downhill section on the Towhee Trail. It lasts for about 30 seconds (a few minutes, but felt super short because it’s just downhill). I then started going down the Live Oak Trail, which was a super steep descent on really, really terrible roads. I just engaged the brakes the entire time, although, I’m not sure my brakes would have stopped me completely even if I engaged them all the way.
I then crossed a stream and got on the East Store Trail. Much like West Shore Trail, this trail was beautiful. It had amazing views, ultra smooth roads, and lots of shade. There were more people here than on West Shore Trail, but again, it wasn’t too bad at all.
What I Learned:
At the end of the Live Oak Trail, there is a water crossing over the San Leandro Creek. It looks like most people take the narrow foot/bike bridge that goes over that. Not I. Blindly following my map, I took the path less traveled, and got my shoes soaked. Next time, I’m going to take the bridge.
I should have eaten a smaller lunch before attempting this ride. While nothing terrible happened, I felt sluggish and was uncomfortable for the first 40 minutes of this ride.
Eucalyptus forests make the most interesting sounds. Besides the beautiful birdsong common to lots of forests, the eucalyptus trees groan and creak. I think these sounds come from broken branches, but I have never heard such sounds in forests of other trees.
While observing the various places on the trail where one could get down to the water, I got the fantastic idea to hike this path in the future with a packraft, then to ride that back to the Chabot marina.
I was thinking about upgrading my bike with a 1x10 drivetrain. One of the things I was thinking about was if I should replicate the same gear range as my current 3x8 setup. Before this ride, I was thinking that I should replicate the low and high end as exactly the same as my current setup.
On the Brandon Trail, I re-injured my knee, but I also learned why I was injuring just my right knee during cycling. It’s because when I dismount, I swing my right leg over the back and plant it on the left side of the bike. I’m sure if I did this carefully, it’s not bad for the knee at all. But when I do this on an incline, sometimes, I can really drive that leg hard against the ground before the bike has stopped, which would then apply a sideways force on that knee. So yeah, I have to stop doing that.
The trail so so rough on Brandon Trail that my iPhone got dislodged from its holder and got thrown out in-front of the bike. Right in front of the front tire, actually. I couldn’t stop in time, so I ended up running over it with the screen facing down. When I went to retrieve it, I thought the front screen would be shattered, since it sat on top of a few pebbles. Instead, it survived! I mean, it has a nasty scratch, but everything works and there’s no crack!
During this ride, I decided that was a stupid idea, since I really wanted another low gear.
While going downhill on Live Oak Trail, I realized that I may need to upgrade my brakes if I actually want to stop completely while going downhill.
Fears Faced:
Very Steep Downhill Section—On the Live Oak trail, there are steep downhill sections, one even being -24%. I was a bit scared about falling, but I just rode my brakes and it all worked out okay.
What Happened?
11.3 miles, 2 hr 6 min, 1443 ft of ascent
After Three Bears Loop, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to bike another 10 miles with 1000+ft of elevation gain. But, I had felt so good on the morning ride, that I went for broke and headed over to Anthony Chabot Regional Park.
Unfortunately, I ate such a delicious lunch that I ended up overeating, which meant that this bike ride was almost torture during the first half. But, I settled down for the second half, and actually enjoyed it.
The highlight has to be the eucalyptus forest, which I had never been in. Just the sound of the forest was so different from all forests that I had experienced before.
