Saturday, February 24, 2007

24 February 2007

Club Ride led by the Race Team


Jade St Park
It was a chilly, overcast day, and the forecasts called for rain later in the day, so I put on an extra layer, leg warmers, gloves, and headed out on my old bike. The repaving of Soquel was finished, which made it much smoother and faster, and the addition of bike lanes was a nice bonus. The ride was scheduled to start from Jade St Park at 9, and I got there at a quarter to, and signed in. I didn't take a route sheet, as I knew the route pretty well. I rode a very similar route on 24 April 2005. There was a huge turnout, with lots of people I had never seen before. I guess a lot were with the race team. I took a picture from behind the sign in table.

When we started, I was riding in the biggest pack I'd ever ridden in. There were a number of curious or supportive onlookers. There were also two motorists that leaned on their horns while passing, so they had their horns going for quite a while. Too bad they didn't drain their batteries. The pace started off at a slow warmup. On McGregor, a tandem and another guy went off the front, so I half-heartedly went after them. Without the pack, and the tandem ahead and out of sight, I and two other guys took Spreckels down to Rio del Mar rather than heading through Seacliff State Beach. We rejoined the pack at the bottom of Rio del Mar. The climb up Rio del Mar split up the pack, and I rode with the group in front to Seascape, where we stopped for a regroup at the bus stop just before San Andreas.


View from Hazel Dell summit
It was a big pack again headed along San Andreas. I rode near the front, so I didn't see the pack splitting up, and I didn't see those riding the short route turning off at Buena Vista. We rode to the end of San Andreas and stopped at the start of Thurwachter to regroup. We continued along Beach through Watsonville, crossing over to Lake at Hushbeck, then turned left at Casserly. After zipping along Casserly, it was a smaller group that headed up Mt Madonna Rd. On the climb up to Hazel Dell, two guys put on the hurt, but I managed to stay with them for the time being. After Hazel Dell passed Green Valley, though, I couldn't keep up, as one of them rode away from the other, and they both rode away from me. At the summit, we stopped to regroup. I took a picture. A few motorcycles went by. A group of three cyclists went by. After a pack of motorcycles passed through, we continued without waiting for the rest of the group. It was a fast descent to Corralitos, and we overtook the group of three cyclists from before just before Hazel Dell became Browns Valley.

In front of Corralitos Market and Sausage, girl scouts were selling cookies. Some riders bought some. One enterprising little girl tried to sell some more by saying they wouldn't melt in pockets. One guy got a wad of meat from the market. It was like a sandwich without bread or anything other than the meat. Most of the riders were doing the medium route, which headed back from Corralitos. I was in a group of seven doing the long route, which headed up Eureka Canyon. There might have been others that headed up Eureka Canyon -- I saw two of them descending in an out-and-back up Eureka Canyon, but I didn't see any others. About three quarters of the way up, a light on-and-off drizzle started. I was the second one to the regroup at Ormsby, being unable to keep up with the first guy. At the regroup, we decided to skip the lunch stop at the Summit Market.

The on-and-off drizzle continued on Highland, and the road was wet. I got splashed whenever I followed a wheel. Finally, I got behind a strong guy on a mountain bike with fenders who was sitting on the wheel of the fast guy. Eventually, I couldn't keep up and dropped back a little. After Mt Bache, I caught back up and sat in their draft for the descent down the remainder of Highland. We turned left at Soquel-San Jose, and I continued sitting in their draft for the fast descent. I hardly had to pedal as I took this descent faster than I ever had before. The on-and-off drizzle was more off than on. After Laurel Glen, the road flattened, and I couldn't keep up with the other two, so I rode by myself the rest of the way.

At Soquel, I stopped and got a can of Coke at Hernandez Market. The rain got slightly stronger than a drizzle as I got going, but then it soon stopped, and that was the last of the rain. Approaching the turn to Harbor High, I started catching up to a cyclist, but fell behind after hitting a couple of red lights. I caught up to him at a red light at Morrissey and saw that he was riding a fixie. I think he didn't even have a front brake. Later, I caught up to three cyclists stopped at the red at Mission and Hwy 1. They also turned at Highland and then headed up High. I overtook them on the climb up High, even though my legs were cooked from trying to keep up with the fast guys on the climbs up Hazel Dell and Eureka Canyon.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

17 February 2007

Solo ride


Foothill Blvd
It was a warm, sunny day, so there were lots of people out and on the roads. Lots of cars, motorcycles, and cyclists. I decided to ride a route with some places I'd never ridden before. De Anza and Stevens Creek sucked, having lots of traffic, lots of stoplights. I was surprised by the little climb on Stevens Creek just before Foothill, though. Sand Hill Rd, with its rolling hills that I didn't expect, was pretty challenging, as I was trying to keep up with a guy on a Trek who later dropped me about a third of the way up Old La Honda.

I started up Hwy 9. Initially, it was kind of cold under the tree cover in the morning. At the railway tracks, I overtook a cyclist with a little dog in her backpack. It warmed up on the climb up to Saratoga Gap. Near the top, bunches of cyclists were descending. I reached the top less than two hours after starting out, which probably a new personal best. My new bike helped for that. I had a new personal best on the descent to Saratoga as well. There were lots of cyclists climbing, as well as heavy car traffic headed up from Saratoga. There were also lots of huge packs of motorcycles. I stopped at the 76 station and got an orangeade.

The next few miles through Saratoga and Cupertino weren't very enjoyable, with lots of car traffic and stoplights. That's Silicon Valley, I guess. It got better once I got onto Foothill, where there were lots of cyclists headed in both directions. I took a picture. Oops. I didn't realize I had a finger in front of the lens. I saw a guy on a short-wheel-base recumbent zooming in the opposite direction on Foothill. I turned left at Sand Hill, and burned more energy than I should have trying to keep up with a guy on a Trek. I turned left on Portola, then headed up Old La Honda. After overtaking a few cyclists, the guy on the Trek dropped me about a third of the way up. There were also numerous cars headed downhill. Why weren't they taking Hwy 84? I made it to the top in 28 minutes. I'd like to do it in under 25 minutes some day, but I guess I'd need fresh legs for that, which would be difficult, since I'd have to ride 50 miles or so to get there from home. I continued to Sky Londa, where I got a Sprite and then sat on a bench and ate a bar. I was in the sun, and it was uncomfortably warm. There were lots of motorcycles as well as a number cyclists. Two cyclists sat near me, and I overheard one of them saying, among other things, that he didn't need any more climbing and was going to head down through Portola Valley, giving him 40 miles. I mentally laughed a little, as I had already ridden about 60 miles, with about 55 more to go.

After having been in the sun, the initial descent on west Hwy 84 was chilly under the tree cover. There were three cyclists waiting at the end of Old La Honda. I guess that's a popular regroup point, as there were cyclists waiting there the last time I rode by. I zipped by the red barn, and continued through La Honda, turning left at Pescadero Rd. As I headed up Haskins Hill, from time to time, I saw glimpses of a cyclist in a yellow jersey far ahead of me. Mostly, the road was too twisty to see him, though. At the summit, a woman was waiting on her bike on the other side of the road. As I passed by, she said, "You did it." On the subsequent descent, there were a few cyclists climbing. I guess the woman was waiting for them. A little before Loma Mar, I caught up to the guy in the yellow jersey. He was riding a Look. We swapped pulls for a few miles. Then, I dropped back, since the pace was higher than I felt I could maintain, and there was a slight headwind.


Pescadero
I stopped at Pescadero and took a picture. Again, I didn't notice my finger in front of the lens. I got an orange soda at the market. There were lots of cars parked on Stage Rd. There was even a car with a consulate license plate or something like that. After resting for a while, I got going at about quarter to three, so I was sure I'd be home before five.

I decided to take Bean Hollow, which I had only ridden once before. After that, there was a nice tailwind on Hwy 1. A little after north Swanton, my right calf cramped momentarily. Immediately afterwards, my left calf cramped hard. I started to stop, and stretched the calf. I didn't stop, but my left calf had an incipient cramp for the remainder of the ride, which I tried to alleviate by stretching it from time to time. I also tried licking the sweat from my upper lip hoping the salt would help, but it probably didn't. At Western, I turned left and headed home. At least the cramp never threatened when I was climbing hard.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

11 February 2007

Very short solo ride

Due to the rain, I wasn't planning on riding at all. However, late in the morning, it looked warm and sunny outside, so I headed up Empire Grade. Initially, going by UCSC, I was going into the wind, without having warmed up, and I had just eaten, so I didn't feel very good. After the bridge, when I got settled into climbing, I felt a little better. However, the roads were wet, the air was damp, and it was cloudier and colder than I thought, so I turned around at Felton-Empire. It would probably be colder and wetter further up, as the sunniest and warmest part of Empire-Grade was the part I had just ridden, between Smith and Felton-Empire. Heading back down, I was extra-cautious on the turns due to the wet roads, but still set a new personal best on the descent, probably due to having fresh legs for the straight parts, as I usually only do this descent after having ridden at least 70 miles.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

4 February 2007

Short Sunday ride

It was a sunny and warm afternoon. I headed out to Soquel via Capitola to go on a short ride with a friend who was starting to ride again. We headed out on Soquel, then up Freedom, before turning around and heading back. On the way back on Soquel, the traffic lights were unusually green except for one. Usually, I come up to a red light at almost every intersection between 41st and Capitola.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

3 February 2007

Semi-solo climbing ride


Gate at the top of Soda Springs
I planned a solo ride with a few climbs to see how my new bike felt on the climbs. It turned out a little different that what I had planned, which was a route of about 70 miles with about 7000 feet of climbing. As it turned out, I joined up with the club ride for a while, adding a climb of Soda Springs, which I had never climbed before, and then, to get back to my planned route, adding a climb of Black, and I wound up riding almost 90 miles and climbing about 11000 feet.

It was sunny when I started out, and it was promising to be a pretty warm day. However, as I headed up Branciforte to Granite Creek, it was cold under the heavy tree cover. The Granite Creek climb warmed me up after that. Then I headed up Glenwood by Scotts Valley High and the new housing development next to it, then, after climbing a little, descended into cold tree cover. At Bean Creek, I started seeing riders the club ride. The club ride this week took Bean Creek from Scotts Valley, then continued on Glenwood, up Mtn Charlie and then down and around Lexington Reservoir for a ride along the Los Gatos Creek Trail and lunch in Los Gatos before heading back the same way. It got very chilly around the Weston intersection. I then headed up Mtn Charlie. There must have been a big turnout for the club ride, since I overtook lots of them and slowed to chat with a couple of them. When I got to the top, four of the fast guys were there waiting. I stopped to chat and a lot of the cyclists that I had overtaken on the climb came riding up for the regroup.

From there, I had planned to take Summit and Skyline to Hwy 9, but the four fast guys were planning on climbing Soda Springs, which was an optional out-and-back on the club route sheet. Since I had never climbed it before and intended on climbing it some day, it didn't take much to convince me to go along. They described Soda Springs as 6 miles of continuous 6% climb with no break in the climbing, but without any really steep parts. It turned out to be more like 5.2 miles at around 8%, but otherwise as they described. I figured I could go through Redwood Estates to get back to my route, but one of the guys said that Black would work better, and I realized he was right, so I decided to take Black afterwards.

The four fast guys and I then headed over Hwy 17, then continued down Mtn Charlie, Old Santa Cruz Hwy, and Aldercroft Heights. Then we started around the reservoir on Alma Bridge Rd. Due to the lack of rain this season, the reservoir was very low. At the bottom of Soda Springs, there was a group of four or five cyclists standing around. I didn't recognize any of them. We headed up Soda Springs without stopping. Early on, two guys dropped back. A while later, another guy dropped back. The remaining guy and I rode together to the gate, doing the climb in about 45 minutes. As advertised, the road climbed relentlessly, with many sharp 180 degree turns, lots of wet spots on the road, and sand covering the road on some of the turns. We'd have to be pretty careful on the descent. At the top, I ate half a bar and took a picture of the gate. There were too many trees for a good view. Apparently, beyond the gate, there were good views. About ten minutes later, one of the other guys came riding up. He made a remark about us being the Easton boys, since we all had Easton wheels. He had Orion IIs on his Cannondale, the other guy had Circuits on his Trek, and I had Ascent IIs on my Ibis. Actually, three of the wheels were old enough to have Velomax labels. Much later, it occurred to me to make a comment about Weston (West End) girls. After another five minutes or so, the other two guys made it up.

The four guys decided to head back rather than continue to Los Gatos. They didn't need to get lunch, and didn't want to ride on the dirt trail. Also, this 2000+ feet climb was quite enough for the day. After more chatting about one guy's training for a race in Arizona, the road conditions for the descent, and how the gate used to be farther up, we headed back down cautiously, regrouping at the bottom. We then backtracked along Alma Bridge Rd, and up Aldercroft Heights. The four guys then headed up Old Santa Cruz Hwy. I said goodbye to them and headed down, stopping at Lexington School to refill my bottle. At one point, I saw a coyote or some similar small animal far ahead on the side of the road. It stood there for a few seconds before disappearing into the bushes.

At Bear Creek, I crossed over Hwy 17, and headed up Black. There was a guy in a red MIT jersey on a Fuji a little ahead of me. It looked like he had a power meter on his rear wheel. When he started tacking back and forth in the lane, I overtook him. As I approached Lakeside School, he came zooming by me. He headed up Gist, while I continued on Black. I rejoined my planned route at Skyline, where I was chilled by a slight wind after getting sweaty from climbing Black. I headed down Hwy 9 and got to see how my new bike felt going down a fast descent. I concluded that I didn't need the 11 tooth cog. Also, in the smaller cogs, the 12, 13, and 14, the chain would sometimes fail to catch and skip a tooth before catching with a clunk. Perhaps that has something to do with the removed tooth in the SRAM cogs. Also, sometimes, if I didn't push the lever far enough when downshifting, it would downshift, then upshift when I released the lever. Nevertheless, I'm still pretty happy with SRAM, though my next cassette won't have an 11, and might be Shimano.

I continued onto Hwy 236 to the Big Basin Park Headquarters. I refilled my water bottle, then got an iced tea at the store. I finished my remaining half bar as I drank the iced tea. My thighs were burning as I sat on the bench by the store. When I got ready to go, my GPS had lost signal, so I held it out and waved it around to get it to save a point with the timestamp of when I started again. A couple of park rangers said to me that cell phones don't work here. I said it was a GPS. They said that those probably don't work either. Just as they walked by, the GPS regained the signal, and I headed out.

It was 3:52 when I got to Jamison Creek Rd. This would be the first time climbing it on my new bike. Even though my new bike was about 5 pounds lighter than my old bike, I didn't expect to have a terribly good time, as I had already done a lot of climbing on this ride. There was something new painted on the road. There were 4, 5, and 6, painted in blue, with the 6 about a hundred feet from the top. Just before the 1.66 mile marker, I was wondering if I was in my lowest gear, and pushed in my shift lever past the first click. After that, the lever stopped, so I was in my lowest gear. However, when I released the lever, it shifted up. Oops. I immediately downshifted. That's one drawback to the SRAM shifters. Between the 1.42 marker and the 1.33 marker, someone had dumped a couch on the right side of the road. It was soggy and gross. A bit later, a descending pickup truck spewed out stinky diesel exhaust. A little after that, a big old Chevrolet pickup slowed to pass me a bit too close for my comfort accelerating hard to continue up at a reckless speed. Perhaps the driver wasn't that reckless, as he or she did slow to pass me. It occurred to me that my legs felt fine, without the burning that I had felt at the park headquarters. When I made it to the top, it was 4:24, so I did the climb in a bit more than 32 minutes, not bad considering all the climbing I'd done. I then took Empire Grade back home.