Pedaling down memory lane

Our friends Ann Marie and Braden are moving to the east coast so I suggested we needed to do a ride with them before they flew off into the sunrise. So today we got together with a few more of there friends for a nice little ride from Fremont to Berkeley with the goal of catching lunch in Berkeley then riding BART back to Fremont. A ride from and into my past lives. I lived for 15 years in Fremont, spent a few more in a life before that as a Bezerkely denizen. So this was a ride back to some of my roots.

The route from Fremont to Castro Valley was … hmm, boring. Mission Blvd had been chosen for most of that. Blech! Palomares Canyon would have been nicer, but then there is that dreaded elevation factor. In Castro Valley we caught Redwood Rd., which we followed to Pinehurst then to Skyline, so we did do a bit of climbing. This was the pleasant part of the ride; quiet, gentle, just turning the pedals and enjoying the scenery. Ann Marie has not been riding much lately so she was riding sweep for a part. Somewhere on Skyline her husband drifted back for a check and told her she had earned a hot dog. Hot dog? It has been well over a score of years since I frequented Berkeley, but the mention of the hot dog led me to question the lunch plans. Yes, ‘Top Dog’ is still in Berkeley and that is where the planned lunch stop was to take place. Deja vu. Back in my far past we would often trip over to ‘Top Dog’ for a quick bratwurst or kielbasa. I think the last time I had a ‘Top Dog’ was 1983, when I returned to visit Berkeley, had lunch at Top Dog, then caught a double feature of ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Risky Business’.

Due to some sore joints on a couple of riders (not the eldest!) we altered the planned route a bit, dropping down to Tunnel Rd. and coming in on the south end of Berkeley rather than using Grizzly Peak around to the north side. Near the Caldecott tunnel we passed Mintie Panda and her Mr Man going the opposite way, probably a bit surprised to see the south peninsula contingent coming out of the Oakland hills. It was a strange trip into town; so many things were familiar but so much has changed. The biggest constant was all the crazy traffic, pedestrian and car, which we added to when Braden decided to lead us the wrong way onto Durant, a one way street. So much easier than circling the block, or so the excuse went. We made the requisite stop at ‘Top Dog’ where I unashamedly downed two brats. It was then more craziness with Braden missing another couple of turns leading us to BART while trying to avoid riding on Shattuck.

A genteel ride, a bit crazy at times, but definitely a time warp for me. Nice warmup for the 70 or so mile social ride with another group of friends tomorrow, this time into Marin county. Good to be with friends, a bit strange to travel into one’s past.