4 August 2007

Ninth Annual Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge

Little Basin rest stop Since I was working the rest stop at Little Basin, and had to be there at 8, I wanted to get going by 6:30, but wound up running about ten minutes late, even after skimping on breakfast. It was cold and foggy, so I put on a windbreaker. I headed out on my old bike in regular shoes, since I didn't want to work the rest stop in cleats. Gravel from roadwork on High St plinked on my downtube as I set off.

On Hwy 9 to Felton, the fog cleared, but the sun was only sporadic, mostly being hidden behind the mountains to the east. At one point there were signs warning of horse crossings, with crossing guards stationed at the crossing. I saw two horses on the trails to the right. I guess some equestrian club had something going on. I continued up Hwy 9, then turned left onto Hwy 236 at Boulder Creek, and got to the rest stop at 8:11.

I helped keep the food and drinks stocked. The first few riders came through around 8:50. At first riders trickled through, stopping only long enough to get their bottles refilled and to grab a few snacks before getting back on the road. Later, riders would stay longer to chat and rest. A few waves came through, causing lines to build up for water and gatorade. I saw a former co-worker for the first time in a year, and met his wife, as they were doing the ride. It was sunny and kind of hot, as I was wearing a volunteer T-shirt over my jersey. By 11:30, most of the riders had passed through, so I was free to go, and headed out around 11:45.

It was 11:58 when I got to the bottom of Jamison Creek. I saw quite a few people walking up. Last year, I only remember seeing one person walking. The dead skunk was still on the 1.33 sign. At around a half mile to go, a guy on a DeRosa caught up to me, then rode behind me. When the end was in view, he burst ahead. I was really hot in the T-shirt, and when I got to the top, I stopped for a few minutes and sucked down gatorade. It was 12:28 when I got to the top, with the climb taking 30:06, so each time I've done this climb since breaking my leg, I've improved. Since the next stop was less than two miles away, I didn't bother to top off my bottle at the water stop here. At the next stop, I just didn't feel like eating, even though I hadn't eaten very much all day. I had a hard boiled egg and piece of bread with a little bit of lettuce and tomato, and sucked down a can of soda. As I headed out, I had a few vinegary pickle slices that were really good.

As I headed down Pine Flat, I blew a nosefull of snot, then noticed that there was someone behind me. Oops. Sorry. He was from LA and had lost his route sheet, so he wanted to follow me. We rode together down Pine Flat, up Martin, Ice Cream Grade, then down Felton-Empire to Felton. Then I pointed him left up Mount Hermon, since he was doing the 60mi route.

On the way up Zayante, I was pretty hot and tired, so I decided not to push hard. I was much slower than I was the previous year. I stopped briefly at the water stop just before Middle Ellen Rd to get my bottle topped off. The upper mile and half or so, there were sections where I was going maybe 5mph, with a 5mph tailwind, so the air was absolutely still, and I was in the sun. That T-shirt was not comfortable then. The next rest stop was a little before Bayview. I still didn't feel like eating, so I just had a can of soda and topped off my bottle.

I continued along Summit, crossing over Hwy 17, Old Summit, then back to Summit, then down Soquel-San Jose. At one point, a bloated pickup truck passed me, with a road-raging woman sticking her head out the passenger window yelling something incoherent. I didn't know what that was about. I was riding on the right side of the lane, and I wasn't weaving all over the place, so I wasn't doing anything wrong that I could tell. Later, a couple of riders that were behind me said that the truck coming around the corner behind me slammed on the brakes and seemed to lose control. I never noticed that, but I guess that's what the people in the truck were bent out of shape about. My theory now is that the driver of the truck, after getting by the cyclists behind me, floored the accelerator in impatience, then saw me when coming around the turn and had the jam on the brakes, losing control. It was a close call that I didn't even realize it at the time, and could have turned into a horrible matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the little climb, a pack of four riders went by me. I tried for a little while to jump on, thinking it would be nice to suck wheel for a while, but just didn't have the energy.

On Laurel Glen, I caught up to a group of maybe 6 or 7, including the 4 that passed me earlier. When the climbing started, two of them went ahead, so I went with them. They would be the ones that later told me what happened with the truck earlier. At the top, I stopped briefly at the water stop, but my bottle was pretty full, so I continued down Mountain View. There was a group, so I sucked wheel along Branciforte and the first half or so of Granite Creek. The two from before and a guy on a Rambouillet went ahead when the climbing started. I was a little ways behind them, and the rest wound up too far back for me to see. I was dreading the last part of the climb after the Scotts Valley city limits sign where it would be in the sun. I made it, then took the descent, crossed over Hwy 17, then crawled up to Scotts Valley High, arriving at 5:13. The routes officially closed at 5, so I was a little disappointed that I didn't make it there by 5.

I still didn't feel like eating, but I had a piece of vegetarian lasagna and two cans of soda. There was ice cream, but I didn't feel like having any. At 6, there were 3 riders left on the course, including my former co-worker. His wife rode the 60mi route, and was worried. When I headed for home, I saw him riding up Glenwood, so he was ok. I went down Scotts Valley Drive, then down Glen Canyon, then back home. It was almost 7, so the ride took over 12 hours.