Iron Horse Trail

Trail Review

• I rode this trail late last year and the trail was pretty much the same. Though I guess it was prettier this time as things were much greener.

What I Learned

• There’s a delightful ice cream store called “Corner of Brazil” in Danville. It just so happens that Cassie and I chose to eat there on a whim and it turned out to be delicious, super cute, and homely. I’d highly recommend it!

• It was our first time riding our new bikes and they performed great. I really enjoyed using the SRAM 11-speed derailleur that came with my bike (my first SRAM component) and Cassie got acquainted with her bike’s drop bar, which was a first for her. Another great experience buying a bike off of bikesdirect.com.

What Happened?

23.1 miles, 3 hrs 17 mins, 303 ft of ascent

On our last ride, we had our bikes stolen. Since, we had bought new bikes off the internet for cheap and had gotten them ready for showtime. Given that we were in the East Bay for the day, we took the opportunity to ride the Iron Horse Trail from Dublin to Danville. Our objective was simply to ride our bikes for around 20 miles, get acquainted with them, and reward ourselves with ice cream. It took us just a bit of time to get started, but getting to really know our bikes took the whole ride.

For me, I found the default pedals to be too slippery and I missed by pannier rack in the back. For Cassie, getting used to the drop bar took a while, and just being on a long ride on a bike was something her butt would have to get used to. Even with the small misses, when we got to Danville, we were all smiles as we sought out an ice cream shop.

We spotted a few people eating what looked like ice cream near a Starbucks, but then one of us spotted Corner of Brazil and curiosity drove us over. Once we realized that they had rolled ice cream—I had only seen it on Instagram—we were sold! We ordered Strawberry + Banana and Acerola (Brazilian cherry) though we left no evidence as we devoured every little bit.

Satiated, we biked back to Dublin with smiles and ended the bike ride strong with a race back to Ramona. Cassie had a lot more left in the tank than I had thought and she finished way ahead of me. Though, I wouldn’t say I lost, given how well the day went.