57 Miles for 57 Years!
This year, for his birthday, Beaver had the great/crazy idea of getting a group together and going for a bike ride the distance of his age . . . 57 miles for 57 years! Surprisingly, we were able to get a solid crew of over ten riders to embark on the journey and what a journey it was!
To get things started, we met at the wonderful Amsterdam Café in downtown Paso and crowded inside to soak up some warmth before braving the 29-degree weather! As you can imagine, riding adds a significant wind chill factor, and when it’s below freezing outside you definitely feel it! Luckily, the ride went straight out Peachy Canyon Road, which is a nice incline and just what we needed to get the blood pumping and the body heat up to a tolerable level. For those of you who are into cycling, running etc, you know there is something special about embarking on a challenge with a group of friends who are in it together and pushing themselves while supporting each other.
As we made our way through Peachy Canyon, Adelaida and Klau Mine Rd I couldn’t help but feel fortunate to live in such a beautiful and peaceful place. The terrain back there is a beautiful mix of rolling hills strewn with oak trees, vineyards and cattle and the traffic is very minimal, which is a cyclist’s dream. After winding/climbing our way through Paso’s West Side we headed out San Marcos Rd to San Miguel for a much needed lunch break at Dos Hermanos Mexican Restaurant. At 44 miles into the ride, tacos and a pacifico never tasted so good!
After too many tacos and a nice rest it was time to make our way back to Paso to complete the “Tour de Beaver”. Luckily, the last leg of the journey was only 14 miles and most of the hills were hours behind us. I actually really enjoyed this portion of the ride, as it was completely different than the morning leg. Most of all I think we appreciated the relatively incline free rout, as most of our legs were feeling the burn!
Once we made it back into Paso, it was time to celebrate, so we headed to Artisan to sit on the patio and enjoy some fine local brews! I think I can confidently say there was a collective feeling of relief and accomplishment in the group and I couldn’t have been more proud of our Castoro team! Especially considering the average age of the group was around 50.
Happy Birthday Beaver, next year lets do 58!
As always, stay tuned for upcoming blogs featuring local restaurants, current events and much more. Also if you are a cyclist and want to join the team, our jerseys are available HERE.
Cheers,
Luke
