15 September 2007

Eureka Canyon

Summit Rd It was bright and sunny when I headed out. I was feeling pretty strong at first too, which I hoped would last, since I planned on climbing Jamison, which I hadn't done in 5 weeks. I got to the ride start and signed in. Since there were two club rides today, some of the regulars were probably on the other ride. However, there was a decent turnout, with a handful of new people and several that I hadn't seen in a while.

We headed out in a big group through Capitola, by New Brighton, to Aptos Village, then headed up Valencia. When the road started climbing, the group split up. I went with the group in front. We overtook a pair of cyclists on Valencia and another pair that were stopped on Day Valley. At Day Valley and Freedom, we stopped for the cross traffic, which included a group of cyclists as well as a bunch of cars. Then, it was down Freedom to the 5 Mile House for a break and regroup.

We trickled out to Corralitos, so took it very easily. We regrouped at Corralitos before the Eureka Canyon climb, and then headed on up. Eventually, I was in a group of 4 at the front. Somewhere along the way, it became a group of 3, then 2. About a mile from the top, I couldn't hang on anymore, and dropped back. I got to the top second, with the third guy not far behind. We sort of regrouped there. After 8 or 9 of us had arrived, we continued on Highland and headed to the Summit Market.

I got a coke and a pastrami sandwich, which made me kind of full. Riders were still trickling in, and some started heading out in small groups. Still digesting the sandwich, I headed out with two guys along Summit, then down Old Santa Cruz Hwy, then up the east side of Mtn Charlie back to Summit Rd. I said goodbye to the two guys who headed down Mtn Charlie to Scotts Valley, while I went north on Summit, still digesting the sandwich.

At Bear Creek, I headed down to Boulder Creek. Near the wineries, I saw an old red Mustang slowly disappear behind a curve ahead. When I caught up, I saw that there were at least 3 vintage Mustangs pulling into a winery. Further down, there were two separate wrecked cars being stripped off the right side of the road. They both looked pretty recent. I rode through Boulder Creek without stopping and headed up 236 towards Jamison Creek.

It was 1:25 when I started up Jamison. The sandwich had been digested by then, and I was feeling pretty strong. However, it was a tough climb, as usual. Near the bottom, there was a descending cyclist. On the 1.33 sign, most of the skunk that had been there before was gone, but the tail still hung over the back side of the sign. Near the top, there was another descending cyclist. When I got to the top, it was 1:52, and less than 15 seconds later, it was 1:53, so my time was probably under 28 minutes, and, for the first time since breaking my leg, I climbed it in under 30 minutes. The time turned out to be 27:45, my second best time up Jamison.

After that, I took it easy on Empire Grade. I saw a handful of cyclists climbing, including a tandem. Near the bottom, I had a tailwind, so I blew by UCSC and headed home.