2 December 2006

Tour de Santa Cruz

The club ride was scheduled to start at 8:30 from Capitola, so I got started at 8. It was close to freezing in the morning, and the ride to Capitola was very cold. It was a sunny day, so it was warmer the rest of the day, though it was still cold in some of the shaded areas. At Capitola, I signed in and got a route sheet. Unlike last week's turnout of 8, there was a large group on this ride.


Natural Bridges We started off on Jade and Brommer at a relaxed, social pace in a large, strung out group. Intersections split up the group a little by the time we headed through the yacht harbor. At East Cliff, we headed over the trestle bridge, by the beach boardwalk, and along West Cliff to Natural Bridges, where we stopped for a regroup. I took a picture. A few riders who only had time for a short ride would head back to Capitola, including one who had to run a bike shop. We were also joined by a couple of riders who didn't want to get up early enough to go to Capitola.

We headed out of Natural Bridges at an easy pace in a few big bunches, riding through the westside neighborhoods, passing by Mission Hills Jr High, crossing the High St pedestrian bridge over Hwy 1, and heading down to the river path. From the path, we took Water. The route sheet had us turning up Market to Branciforte, but, since the underpass to Hwy 1 was still closed for improvements, we continued up to Branciforte, then took Goss to Branciforte. Around this time, the two hammerheads started upping their pace, so I went with them. The longer route headed up Glen Canyon to Scotts Valley, then back down Granite Creek to rejoin Branciforte, while the shorter route continued straight up Branciforte. The three of us took the longer route. The sunny upper part of Glen Canyon even had a warm breeze. We continued on Green Hills, passing by the old Borland buildings, which were no longer occupied by tech companies. The one formerly occupied by e-Mu was occupied by some health care company. The ones formerly occupied by Starfish and Rainmaker were vacant.

We continued on Granite Creek, Branciforte, and Mountain View to the next regroup point at the top of Mountain View. We caught up to a small group that took the shorter route just as we were reaching the top. During the regroup, some riders in the club on a ride of their own stopped by. In continuing, some decided to head down Laurel Glen to avoid the steep ups and downs of Rodeo Gulch. We then headed up Rodeo Gulch, and the two hammerheads and I went ahead of the rest on the climb. Then, after the steep descent, it flattened out a little, and they took off, so I had to work really hard to stay with them. We then took Soquel past Cabrillo College before looping back to Soquel for the lunch stop at Gayle's Bakery.


Rodeo Gulch The remaining route was just a short trip back to Capitola, so I was planning on heading straight home after lunch. However, one guy said that he'd go back and climb Rodeo Gulch, and since it was only 1 and the day was warming up, I decided to chase after him up Rodeo Gulch. I never did catch up to him. I stopped to take a picture right where Rodeo Gulch starts climbing steeply.

I continued backtracking the route I had ridden earlier in the day down Mountain View and Branciforte. Since Granite Creek was the most significant leg in which my personal best was still from 2005, I headed up it, trying for a good time, and got a new best by almost a minute and a half, thanks to the cooperation of the stoplight at the Hwy 17 north entrance. I continued through Scotts Valley down to Felton.


Felton Quarry From Hwy 9, I turned right onto San Lorenzo by the Bigfoot Museum, since Google Maps showed that it climbed up to Felton Quarry Rd, which led to Empire Grade. I figured I'd try and see if I could make it to Empire Grade, and, if I couldn't, I'd just turn around. It started as a steep, straight climb, with grades up to 15% according to the signs for descending trucks. After the steep climb by a residential area, it became a more gentle climb through the mountains. The quiet reminded me of the upper part of East Zayante. The climb started becoming steeper when I came upon a closed gate to the Felton Quarry. I took a picture of it. The right sign on the gate was a long-winded no trespassing sign. The left sign on the gate warned of cancer causing substances in the area. I turned around and headed back down to Hwy 9, which I took back to Santa Cruz and home.