In my last DOT post I said there was only one loop left. Now that I check my pics, I see that there are actually two left to cover. And honestly, I remember very little about this one except that it was the first time I ventured up into the foothills on my completely-unsuitable-for-offroading commuter bike, and it was exhausting and stressful, but the views were worth it.

To maximize downhill miles, my plan was to take the R line to Lincoln station and then the E to Ridgegate, and then bike DOT segments 10, 9 and 8 clockwise back to Mineral Station where I’d left off. But when I got to Lincoln, there was a 23-minute wait for the next E train, so I decided to just bike it. I did beat the train to Ridgegate Station. Later, gasping for breath up in the foothills, I was sorta wishing I’d just waited for the train and saved my energy for the trail.

Historic Schweiger Ranch:

The gravel trail wound up into the hills pretty quickly.

Sometimes it was more dirt than gravel, my bike liked that better.

No complaints about the views.

At times the trail was barely a trail.

In some places it was hard to get a bike through.

Once, very briefly, I got a stretch of pavement!

But that didn’t last long.

At least the weather was lovely. Couldn’t have asked for a prettier day.

I had finished off the tea in my water bottle, so when I rolled back down into civilization I detoured to a 7-11. But when I got there I saw what I thought was a little taco place with a patio, so I figured that would be a nice place to chill for a while with an iced tea. But it turned out to be a nice restaurant where they bring you warm tortilla chips with salsa, and at that point you’re basically obligated to order something. I was not hungry at all, but I ordered a burrito to be polite, thinking I would take most of it home for dinner.

It was delicious and I ate the entire thing there at the table.

Thus refueled, I continued on my way.

I wonder if Bob Marshall won his election.

I think this was Chatfield Reservoir. Might be McLellen Reservoir.

I took the D line from Mineral Station to Broadway, planning to take the H to Florida, but there was a 30-minute wait for the train. I decided to bike home, even though it was getting dark and my phone was dying.

That was an interesting ride. The kind of homeless people that you don’t see in the daytime materialize in sheltered corners at night. One or two of them looked at my bike with a little more interest than I was comfortable with. It took me about an hour and a half to ride home, taking the straightest route along busy streets instead of the more bike-friendly trail. I probably won’t be doing that again.

One more DOT post, for real this time!