I have this idea to do a Bay Trail Gravel Century that's an out-n-back between Alameda to Alviso Slough. Since the day's aren't quite long enough to do that yet I just put something together to check out Alviso Slough and did something new for Bob in Coyote Hills. Although this is a double out-n-back, I prefer it since we don't have the junk miles through Fremont and Newark and it's almost entirely on trails and paths where it's mostly peaceful and free of traffic noise. The AQI was pretty poor and the skies were quite hazy otherwise I think Alviso Slough would've been quite pretty. For some strange reason they fenced of the connection between Alviso Slough Trail and Mallard Slough Trail. Luckily we were able to go around it and do the ride as planned. We were only ~25 miles into the ride when we finished Alviso Slough but it was lunch time and we were hungry. Turns out we were right by a place Bob's been to before, El Taco de Oro. This meant we wouldn't have to do the extra junk miles to get to Mr. Pickles from Coyote Hills. And because we ate so early in the ride it also meant we could have dessert at American Bistro at Shoreline Lake on the way back. The dessert on the way back gave me the boost I needed to finish the ride. As we were leaving Coyote Hills there was a rafter of turkeys right at the trail head and one of them came soaring down the hillside. It was something else. I had Bob go first so I could get pics but I was also hoping he might stir them out. Who knows what chaos could ensue. The answer - none. Mostly, today seemed to be lazy bird day. All the birds just seemed to be sitting in the water resting. I had the gravel wheels on and I was too lazy to switch to the road wheels. This flat gravel is perfect, and better, on the road wheels. The gravel wheels were more comfortable for some sections but the road wheels just roll that little bit faster, especially on the paved paths. But since I had the gravel wheels on, I took every opportunity to really off-road and take some singletrack that I would normally avoid. Super fun! It took a while for the day to warm up because of the haze blocking the sun.