neither here nor there

Yelpers got a little carried away with their gushing reviews of this spot.  Of all the East Bay runs I’ve done since we moved here this summer, this one was certainly the most disappointing so far.  ”Inspiration Point” in a Berkeley section of Tilden Park was less than inspirational.  To begin with, it took us about 40 minutes to drive through the winding roads to reach this run despite the fact that we live literally 5 minutes away from Berkeley.  I’m not against driving a bit to get to a good trail run but instead we found a rather dull, paved bike path on a grassy hill.

Inspiration Point, Tilden Park, Berkeley

It was a hot (well, hot for the Bay Area) day and it didn’t help that we were running at noon with zero shade.  There were a few little side trails but they didn’t really seem to lead anywhere and were mostly just dusty paths through the grasses.  There was a pretty good view about 2 miles out, but I’ve enjoyed MUCH better views after running a mile out my door.  I think perhaps it would be an inspirational spot if it was transplanted into a city such as Danville but for being in the heart of the East Bay, you can do so much better than this.

I do recommend it if you are running by yourself and concerned about safety, as there are tons of runners, walkers and bikers out on the weekend.  I might go back and try it on a rainy, winter day.  The lack of shade won’t matter and the paved path without car traffic should work well in the rain.

Overall rating: OVERRATED

Share on Facebook

I was googling a local news video on some gang shootings in my school’s neighborhood because I plan to discuss the incidents in class with my 5th graders. When I recently revisited one of the videos, I found this vomitous response from some skin head who crawled out from under a rock to post this.

Oh Oakland, you’re the melting pot of America. Did I say melting pot? I meant chamber pot. Because Oakland is a toilet full of the excrement of society. Thank you liberals. People who work I hope you like it, BECAUSE YOU’RE PAYING FOR IT. So the next time you see an illegal or some welfare slime walking around with their 15 kids, feel happy, you’re paying to raise them. Oh and when they grow up, and rob and murder someone you care about, even if they end up in prison, you’ll pay for that too. I just wonder how much longer the people who work can pay for this exponentially increasing gutter slime.

Brian
Sep. 11, 2009 10:35am PDT

My response was this:
Brian- It sounds like you must not have spent much time with the people of Oakland. Your ignorant, hateful and certainly racist ideas are disgusting and should be embarrassing to you. It is to no one’s surprise that there are tragically high rates of crime and brutal acts of violence in areas of poverty. As someone who teaches in a school less than a mile from the scene of both shootings, I would like you to know that there are wonderful, loving, hard working families in Oakland. When you broadly describe an entire city or population as “gutter slime” you sound strikingly similar to Hitler. Last time I checked, there are some pretty horrific people outside of Oakland and impoverished areas too. Was Bernie Madoff also an illegal or gutter slime with a house in the Hamptons?

Sep. 14, 2009 6:45pm PDT | from Oaklandteacher

What is wrong with people? I know that that there are people with these ideas and beliefs circulating in their blackened hearts, but it continues to shock me when I see or hear it. Makes my blood boil…

Share on Facebook