I've Made a Huge Mistake

So tonight I had to get over to Lafayette, CA. Its just on the other side of the hills from Berkeley. I took the BART to within about 2.5 miles of my destination, and then proceeded to ride my bike the rest of way. I had it all mapped out, I knew the potential to get lost in suburbia was high, so I wrote down all the turns I needed to make. However, I did not consult a topographic map.

Topographic maps, as I'm realizing, are very important in California. They inform you when you simply shouldn't be trying to scale a certain vertical pitch, let alone try and ride your bike up one. Unfortunately for me, the highest point in Rhode Island is the landfill, so I'm not used to worrying about drastic increases in elevation. Well, I suppose I got what was coming to me tonight.

Below are two maps for comparison. The first is the route I took, the second is the route I should have taken. The difference in elevation is several hundred feet.

Elevation at the Orinda BART station is 476 feet. After turning onto Bates Blvd, I was greeted with a elevation rise from 518 feet to 892 feet in 0.6 miles. This is no Mt. Everest, but when you have a few pints in you, its more than you'd like to surmount. To say the hike uphill was arduous would be an understatement.

After reaching peak elevation at 892 feet, I descended to an elevation of 602 feet in just 0.4 miles. To say I wasn't worried about my brakes failing or careening off a cliff in the dark on the way down would be a lie. The suburbs are not well lit. Halfway down I rode past the home of the Consulate-General of Cyprus. I was too distraught to stop in and say hello.

Learn from my mistakes, please consult your topographic maps.

Also: Senator Evan Bayh writes an Op-Ed in the NYT on why he's leaving the Senate...