25 December 2006

Mountains west of Boulder Creek The forecast from a few days ago had rain for today, but more recent forecasts moved the rain to this evening, tomorrow, and into Wednesday. I had this week off, so if I didn't ride today, my next chance would be Wednesday or Thursday. I hadn't climbed Bear Creek Rd in over a year, and had tentatively planned on doing it on the 9th, which was rained out. I also hadn't climbed Jamison Creek Rd this month, so this would be my chance for that as well. I didn't want to start too early, because of the cold, and I didn't want to start too late, because the sun would set around 5. So, very roughly, I figured it would take an hour to get to Boulder Creek, two more hours to go up Bear Creek Rd and Skyline to the top of Hwy 9, another hour down to Big Basin, and two more hours to return home, for a total of about 6 hours. So I needed to start by 11, or earlier to give me some margin.

Starting out, it wasn't too cold. The first traffic light, by Westlake Elementary, turned red just as I approached. How annoying. It turned green for the nonexistent cross traffic. The second traffic light, at Encinal and River, went through a full cycle without green lighting the left turn as I waited, so I ran the light. The next light, at Graham Hill Rd, turned green just as I coasted in, which was unusually nice. The next light, by San Lorenzo High, was green as always. The final two lights of the ride, at the ends of Glen Arbor, were irrelevant, since I was turning right at both places. At Boulder Creek, I took a picture of the mountains to the west.


View from Bear Creek Rd Bear Creek Rd started out relatively flat. When it started steepening, the road was wet. At one particularly smooth spot, my rear tire momentarily lost traction. I hate when that happens, which is why I don't like riding on dirt trails. From right around the David Bruce Winery to the summit, there were many good views of the bay, which wasn't totally covered in fog like it was in the summer. After a while, I finally decided to stop and take a picture. Unfortunately, the picture didn't capture the view.

On Skyline, there were some people taking walks. Between Gist and Black, a guy in a pickup pulled alongside me and said, "Merry Christmas." I replied, "Merry Christmas." At Black, I stopped to wait for a train of 5 cars coming up Black. Skyline continued to the highest point of the ride at over 3000ft, then back down, by Castle Rock, to the intersection with Hwy 9. I stopped for a snack. I considered continuing to the fire station for a sugary drink, but headed down Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 instead. In the last part of the descent to the park headquarters, the road was wet and there were lines of duff surrounding the tracks of the car traffic, so I was extra cautious.

At Big Basin, the store was closed, so I ate the last of the food I brought, and refilled my water bottle. The climb to Little Basin started cold and damp, and the road was wet. It dried out as it climbed out of the tree cover and into the sun. After the descent, going by the country club, the road was very wet, especially on the bridge just before Jamison Creek Rd. Since the last time I climbed Jamison Creek, almost two months earlier, there must have been some event, since there were new things painted the road in yellow. There were 1, 2, and 2 1/2 painted at points offset a few hundred feet from the points 1, 2, and 2 1/2 miles from the start of the road. The "IT ONLY GETS WORSE" at the 1.33 mile marker was painted over with a more encouraging "You're getting stronger. Go!" At the .15 mile marker, there was "Go Go Go", and, near the top, "Sprint!" I didn't have much of a sprint, but I picked up my pace a little, finishing the climb in 32-33 minutes.

I rested a little at the top, drinking some water, and trying to cool off a little, on the theory that being sweaty would make the descent cold. After a few minutes, though, I couldn't keep standing around and got going. A little after the Felton-Empire/Ice Cream Grade intersection, I started feeling hungry and low on energy. I must have been counting on getting some sugary drink at Big Basin like I usually do. Unfortunately, I was out of food. Fortunately, it was almost all downhill, though the little climb after the Smith Grade intersection was tougher than usual.