NCG Pyzano’s Pizza GTG & Cruises

The Pyzano’s Pizza GTG has been on the books for a while, such that we could distribute calendars, but I figured that it would also be a great day/location for a cruise. After talking with a few NCG club members I planned both a Pre- and Post- cruise.

The Pre-cruise met in Martinez and headed south along some of my favorite roads.

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There were between 10-14 cars with me on the cruise, unfortunately the weather wasn’t very cooperative. While it wasn’t really raining, the ground was wet and it was quite foggy. Because of this I kept the pace a little slower than I would have liked, but safety first! I was surprised to see there were even quite a few bicyclists out on the roads in the sub-par weather.

The trip through the Berkeley Hills was really hampered by the fog (and the bicyclists), so wasn’t all that much fun. When we made it to Redwood Rd. and dropped in elevation a little the fog cleared out and allowed for some fun. I was really happy with the way the route turned out… we never really found ourselves split-up too much and didn’t have to deal with much other car traffic. I think quite a few of the people on the cruise enjoyed the roads, and I hope we do something again when the weather is better.

After the Pre-Cruise the gang arrived at Pyzano’s Pizza. Everyone was really impressed with the number of people who made it out.

The gang headed into Pyzano’s for some really great pizza (their sauce is awesome and their crust is nice and chewy). After eating, we handed-out the 2010 NorCal GOATs Calendars that people had ordered. I was surprised to get a couple from the club in gratitude for all of the hard work that I put into the project. It was really not necessary, but greatly appreciated.

After talking-shop with the GTO owners the group headed-out on a Post-Cruise towards Hooters in Dublin.

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The group left Castro Valley and headed to Palomares Rd. The weather had cleared-up a bit and visibility was better. The temperature was still cool, but the roads were dry. Again I tried to keep the pace a little conservative, but we were still able to have fun. About half-way into Palomares Rd. we caught-up with a slow moving Honda, who was nice enough to pull-over and let two of us by, but didn’t want to pull-over to let the rest of the group buy. We tried to get the Honda to pass us but he just didn’t get the clue (I actually had to pull off the LEFT side of the road to get him to go by me). We stopped for a little before proceeding, but by that time there was only a mile left before we hit Niles Canyon. Once we left Sunol we had the road to ourselves, but Foothill just isn’t that exciting of a road (sure beats I-680N though).

Overall, I was happy with the way the cruises went. I wish the weather was better and people had more of a chance to experience the roads to the fullest. I tend not to have as much fun when I’m leading a cruise, as I spend my time thinking more about the pace and keeping everyone together, but it was OK.