San Leandro Marina/Hayward Shoreline Bike Ride

This weekend we decided to get the bikes and go for a ride. We headed to the San Leandro Marina. We hopped on the bikes and headed south along the shoreline trail. The first 1.5 miles is a paved path. This area close to the marina is pretty busy. Lots of walkers, runners and bikes. When the trail headed toward local housing we simply turned right to continue to follow the shoreline. The trail then turned to hard packed dirt with a bit of gravel. We continued to follow the trail as it entered the Hayward Regional Shoreline crossing several small bridges along the way. We found less people as we got closer to Hayward although we did pass a group of birdwatchers. The weather on this occasion was perfect with only a light breeze. But be warned it can often be extremely windy along the shoreline. We turned around just before reaching the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center. We took a few pictures and retraced our tracks back to the marina. We ended up riding just over eleven miles.

On a side note, a brand new dog park just opened at the San Leandro Marina.

Hayward Regional Shoreline Website

San Leandro Marina Park

Tracy Bean Run

The Tracy Bean Run took place again this year for the second year in a row although the race location was different than the year prior. The Bean Run used to be an annual event years ago and is now well on it's way to becoming a well established annual event again. The run is named for the Tracy Dry Bean Festival that happens annually in downtown. There was both a 5k and a 10k. I ran the 5k. Last year the race began and ended by the city's Chamber of Commerce. This year the start and finish took place a few miles from downtown in front of the Tracy Public Library. There is a very small parking lot at the library and part of it was closed off for the event so we parked on the street close by. There was plenty of street parking. Bib pick up was quick for pre-registered runners but there was a line for same day registration. Race t-shirt pick up was easy but there were limited sizes, Large or XLarge. The flyer for the race did state that there were no guarantee of shirt sizes but I didn't think it would be this limited. Hopefully this will change for next year. There were goodie bags as well. There were some breakfast bars available before the start which was nice. No timing chips for this race though, maybe next year. It was a mass start with the 5k and 10k runners starting together at about 8am. The street in front of the library was blocked off but that proved to be the only part of the race course that was closed. We started by heading east on Eaton, passing a church and school before heading north on Parker Avenue into a residential area. We turned west then south through neighborhoods before getting close to completing our loop. The course was marked with construction cones and chalk markings on the streets but there were very few volunteers to help guide the way. This is another thing that could be improved upon before next years' event. They did have a one mile marker that was misplaced but no other mile markers that I saw. As I approached the finish line I did notice that my gps showed that the course was a bit short. Having passed the finish line I quickly grabbed some ice cold water that was nearby since it was really starting to warm up. I started making my way back toward the library parking lot and realized that in order to get there I had to cross the course, all the finishers would have to. This was not a huge deal in a small local event but should be avoided if possible, maybe next year. Post race goodies included fruit, water and breakfast bars. Race awards began at about 10am and I was glad it wasn't any later in the day because it was hot, hot, hot! Although there is still room for improvement, I look forward to participating in the race again next year.

5k Results
10k Results

September Events

Here are a few things going on in September:

9/3    Color the Skies 5k in Ripon

9/3    Rebel Rebellion 5k in Sacramento

9/10  Bean Run 5k and 10k in Tracy

9/10  Drag-N-Fly 5k, 10k and Half Marathon races at Diamond Mines

9/10  Remember and Prepare 5k in Modesto
9/11  SF Sunday Streets Cycling Event

9/11  Walnut Festival 5k and 10k races in Walnut Creek

9/16  Ragnar Relay from San Francisco to Calistoga

9/17  Back to School Run 5k and 10k at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park

9/17  Big Sur Trail 5mile, Half Marathon and Marathon
9/17  Folsom Cyclebration

9/18  Tri for Real at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park
9/24  Central Valley Triathlon at Woodward Resevoir
9/24  National Park Fee Free Day

9/24  HERS Keep Abreast 5k and 10k in Fremont

9/24  Trix 5k run in Lodi
9/24  See Jane Run Womens' Triathlon at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park

9/25  Granite Bay Tri and Duathlon
9/25  Oakland Grand Prix Cycling Event

9/24  Half Moon Bay Marathon

REI Free Clinics (all at 7pm)

  Backpacking Basics

    9/6  Stockton
    9/27 Mountain View

  Bike Maintenance Basics

    9/6  Fremont

    9/7  Brentwood

  Independent Cycle Tour in Europe

    9/13 Fremont
    9/19  Saratoga
    9/27 Mountain View

  East Bay Hikes

    9/14 Concord
    9/29 Brentwood

  Transit and Trails

    9/7  Concord
    9/15 Mountain View
    9/27 Fremont
    9/28 Corte Madera
  Half Dome in a Day
    9/15  Brentwood

  Get to Know Your Bicycle (3:30-4pm)

     9/11  Concord

     9/18  Concord

     9/25  Concord

  Cycling from Kentucky to Alaska

    9/14  Berkeley

    9/22  Mountain View

REI Used Gear Sales (all at 10am)

    9/3   Concord

    9/3   Mountain View

    9/3   Saratoga

    9/17 Berkeley
    9/17 Brentwood
    9/17 Corte Madera