Would join if I didn't have to take my wife to work in the morning lol

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Damn, I was thinking of going on Sunday morning. Don’t think I can wake up early enough tomorrow haha.


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Kids tee-ball game at 8:30 [emoji107]Hmmm that might be doable for me

Meet at same Starbucks on Sunday? 730am?


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I was thinking about Mines tomorrow but on the earlier side. How will traffic be with rolling at 7:30?

I think motor traffic will be light, the biggest concern might be cyclists. Maybe @finch1750 can chime in if he went today.

Rolled through Livermore around 6:20am this morning. Passed one truck just as I got on Mines. Didn’t see another car until I was almost to the top of Hamilton, and it was a 911 going the other way.

The wildflowers are pretty epic out there right now. 10/10 - would recommend.

I put a few photos on the instant grahams: https://www.instagram.com/joereifer/

I missed you by a few hours... rolled out of Starbucks around 8am and the roads were mostly clear. A few minivans did slow things down for part of the journey. By about 10am there were a lot more cyclists.

Started from Livermore and took Mines Rd out to the Junction. From there continued up to Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton. The roads are in as good shape as I’ve ever seen it. No road closures, no construction. There I ran into a decent sized gathering of Subarus and participated in an impromptu photo and video shoot LOL. They invited me to continue with them back to Livermore for lunch but I wanted to continue on and finish the route down into San Jose. Another enjoyable drive with a little bit of unexpected friendship and discovery along the way. I’ve got a few pics on IG as well.

https://instagram.com/p/Bwz_eoTH5Wb/


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Really? I felt like a couple of the braking zones were bumpier then usual. Or maybe it was that I hadn't driven Mines in a while. Also there were those really nasty pot holes on the SJ side, but it's so slow over there they are easy to avoid.

Didn't see this earlier to help Joe but we didn't hit any traffic either really leaving at 7:45. No cyclists until the back side (and they were on their way up). Had a couple cars but they all were nice and pulled out fairly quickly to let us by.

I don’t mean to say that the roads are in great condition, they have always been a bit bumpy in parts LOL. But the last few years there’s been a lot of gravel, construction, loose rocks etc. This year some of those major issues seem to have finally gone away. Yes, there are some major mounds of asphalt you need to dodge on the way down into SJ but as you said they are easy to spot and avoid if you take it easy going down.
I should also note due to the fair amount of rain this winter, there are 2 light “water stream crossings” on Mines in the narrow section. Not a big deal but I haven’t seen that in a while.




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That's true. There was much less debris then last year. I did obliterate a few pine cones though lol

And the false hope of great new asphalt on those 2 small sections was cruel

So I'm taking some time off all next week (before I start my new job) to have some much needed R&R: hang out with the kids one day, do some maintenance on the RS and install the pile of parts I've accumulated in the garage.



Thinking of doing a drive after all this is done, maybe all the way to the bay and hit the old haunts: breakfast at Village Inn at Orinda, redwood-pinehurst-grizzly peak, maybe even venture further south to Skyline, La Honda & Stage rd. and stop by for some artichoke bread and take in the coast for a little bit.


I'll mostly be winging it and playing it by ear, but others are more than welcome to join. No set schedule yet, but will most likely be next Tues or Wed since Mon is planned to be install day and this drive will be more of a "shake down".

I can't guarantee anything... However, I am feeling like I might be coming down with something and sometimes my illnesses only last a day but don't really start for a week..

So in other words, I'm possibly down. At least for the southbay/peninsula portion. Definitely post the details once you know the plan.

@BigFatFlip - the best thing about being in between jobs is weekday drives. :)