“By opening our streets to bikes, joggers, pedestrians we are giving Oaklanders more room to spread out safely.”—Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland
I rode my Sondor’s e-bike a few miles to my friend James (Jimi) Hunter’s home off Highway 9 near downtown Los Gatos. An avid mountain bicyclist, he knows the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains like the back of his hand. He forewarned me that this would be a more challenging ride but believed my Sondor’s Shimano seven gear shift and myself were up to the challenge.
Our approach was to take the creek trails beginning in Los Gatos, accessing the underpass along Highway 17, up to and above the majestic Lexington Reservoir County Park where we had ridden before, enjoying a spectacular view. “It makes you feel like we're kids again,” Jimi said. I couldn’t agree more.
We then crossed the freeway to the Montevina trail which was another steep climb. It passes through El Sereno Open Space Preserve, relatively unknown to locals, mainly because it is such an ordeal just to get to the trailhead which is mostly an exposed fire road. The main appeal is that there is never anyone there (though we were greeted by a father and his daughter taking a hike), and the view was "on top of the world” spectacular in a different way than Lexington. From our vantage point, we could see the ocean with a fog bank just above it.
For all our hard work, really a labor of love, we were rewarded with a screaming cruise downhill descent on Bohlman, a paved road with many winding switchbacks into town to make it challenging and fun.
As a result of posting several blogs about my biking experiences over the past couple of months, I have received some heartwarming emails. One, in particular, was from my former patient and dear friend Mary R., ten years my senior who lives in Lincoln, CA. She said she was feeling a bit guilty enjoying her golfing, hiking, etc., in the midst of this pandemic. She had been golfing with her son, respecting the physical distancing guidelines, including taking separate golf carts. She was enjoying the gorgeous scenery of majestic trees, flowers, ponds, ducks and geese, and a variety of exotic birds. “Life is what you make it, she said. “Keep enjoying yours, you’re my inspiration,” she added. She had told her elderly friends, “A day of peace is better than a hundred days of stress."
Mary and I agreed we need to take care of our mental health as well as our physical. The body-mind connection is an important consideration. I recently saw Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf interviewed on TV. She had announced she was closing some streets which have been left empty to allow for proper social distancing for joggers, walkers, and cycling as part of an initiative called "Oakland Slow Streets." She said, “It’s to get people who have been sheltering in place the past few weeks some fresh air and exercise…By opening up our streets to bikes, joggers, pedestrians we are giving Oaklanders more room to spread our safety.” If this pilot program is successful, the city of Oakland has plans to expand the program to nearly 74 miles of residential streets.
Mary shared something her pastor said recently. After acknowledging the troubled times, we are in, he said: “Sometimes in life when everything is going to pieces, the best thing to do is enjoy each day and don’t forget to laugh a little…”
