30 October 2007

Weekday morning UCSC loop

It was overcast and foggy and chilly in the morning again. It had rained yesterday afternoon, but the roads were mostly dry. There were buses each time up, as well as the van towing racks of bikes on two of the climbs. On the third descent, being a bit more winded, I took it easier pedaling, and concentrated more on aerodynamic form. On the fourth and last descent, I pedaled harder. It turned out that the third descent was about 10 seconds faster than the first two, and the fourth descent was only 3 seconds faster than the 3rd. On the climb, though, I was slower on each subsequent loop.

It looks like I was slightly faster than a week earlier, but slower than I was on the Sunday afternoons.

28 October 2007

UCSC loop

It was another nice day, so I had to get out and ride a little. I pumped up my rear tire. Then I tried to pump up my front tire, but my pump valve was leaking. I didn't realize that and tried to reattach it. The result was a totally flat tire and a busted pump. I was disgusted, but still wanted to ride, so I pumped it up with my frame pump. After 500 strokes or so, it was still a bit soft, and it didn't seem like continuing would get any more pressure. So screw it and just ride. I'll get a new floor pump tomorrow.

Sunday afternoons are nicer than weekday mornings. It was warmer, so I wasn't wearing a windbreaker flapping in the wind on the descent. On the 4 times around the loop, there was only one bus, as opposed to 1 or 2 buses each time up the climb on the weekday mornings.

27 October 2007

Saturday morning Crow's Nest ride

There's this big weekly ride that starts at 8am on Saturdays at the yacht harbor near the Crow's Nest, so I decided to give it a try. It was cloudy and cool, so I wore my windbreaker. I headed down High and Mission, then Water to Soquel. At Morrissey, I turned right, then made my way to Frederick, which dead-ended, so I backtracked to Broadway and Seabright, then took Murray and Lake to the start. I should have continued on Soquel, then taken a right on Capitola, then a right on 7th, which would have taken me to East Cliff and the start.

There were three guys at the start, and two others arrived after me. Not a very big group at the start, but that would change. We took East Cliff and then down the hill to Capitola, riders joining along the way. Then up the hill and Park Ave and Soquel through Aptos Village all the way to Freedom, with yet more riders joining. It was a pretty big pack by now. Freedom over the highway, then left onto Bonita. Up to this point, the pace had been very relaxed. It was supposed to speed up a lot on Bonita and San Andreas, then slow back down going into Watsonville. The pace did pick up a bit on the little climb, but well within what I could handle. Then there was the little descent before the right turn at San Andreas.

The pace went up, but it wasn't beyond my level of fitness to stay in the pack. Being pulled along in the big pack, I hardly noticed the little climbs along San Andreas, and yet, I was going faster than I ever had before on this road. At one point, there was a piece of sheet metal, probably from a road sign, flopping around in the road. I narrowly avoided it. I think someone had to jump over it. Quite a hazard for a bunched up pack. On the descent to the bridge near the end of San Andreas, the pace picked up even more, and I found myself at the back. So I sped up and got back to the back third of the pack. Up front was a sprint, and there a big gap in the pack. So I went to the front of the back half for a little while, and then the sprint was over and the pack was back together again. Over the final two miles of San Andreas, my average speed was around 31mph, with a maximum speed of around 42mph. Usually, my average speed over those two miles is around 21-23mph. So I had managed to stay with the pack over the fast part. Apparently, the pace today was relatively slow, which was just fine with me. Otherwise, I probably would have been off the back somewhere on San Andreas.

The pace was relaxed going into Watsonville. At Main St, a bunch turned right to do the long route. There was talk of San Juan Grade and even Fremont Peak. I continued straight with those doing shorter rides. At Holohan, a bunch turned left for the short route. I continued straight with those doing the not so short route. We turned left at Casserly and the pace picked up. I was at the end of the line and had to work to keep up. The pace on the 2 miles from 152 to Mt Madonna Rd was 23-24mph. At this rate, I would be toasted on the upcoming climb. At Mt Madonna Rd, two guys turned off to skip the climb. The rest continued onto Mt Madonna Rd.

I was still at the end of the line. The next two guys ahead of me, both in UCSC jerseys, sat up and slowed. Eventually, I went around them. The rest of the group was way up the road, but two guys other guys, one in a black jersey, and one in a blue jersey, had fallen off the pace. I caught up to them on the steep little climb after the road curved right by Valley View and Gaffey, and then pushed ahead on the initial part of Hazel Dell. When I saw that they hadn't come with me, I sat up and took a drink. We climbed Hazel Dell together. Then came the descent. I was ahead of the other two, when my windbreaker unzipped and became a parachute. By the time I got it zipped back up, the other two were way ahead.

Once the road straightened out, I could see the other two up ahead. They were side by side, so I could make up some ground. Then they lined up and turned right on Browns Valley into Corralitos, and I lost them again. I passed through Corralitos and saw them heading up Hames. I caught up on the climb, and then blue jersey fell behind, while I stayed behind black jersey. On Freedom, he powered off ahead, so I turned off on Day Valley, and then took Valencia and Trout Gulch back to Aptos Village. Then, I headed back home on Soquel, Water, Mission and High.

So now I have a little experience in a big, sometimes fast, pack. I'll try this ride again in the future.

23 October 2007

Weekday morning ride

So I rode on a weekday morning before work for the first time. It was cool enough that I wore a windbreaker. I did the UCSC loop four times, just like on Sunday afternoon.

The academic year was in full swing as students thronged the bus stops on Hagar, and I had to maneuver around buses at the stops several times on the climb. The view to the left on the descent of the city and the bay was nice, but I was concentrating on pedaling more than the view.

My times on the loop were about a minute slower than on Sunday, or close to 11 minutes. I was about 15 seconds slower on the descent, which I attribute partly to wearing the windbreaker that was flapping in the wind, and partly to the colder, denser air, and partly to just being slower. That means I was almost 45 seconds slower on the climb.

On the descent after the sharp right, I shifted into the 11t cog, I think, and found it too big a gear, and shifted back down to the 12t immediately.

I'll see if I get stronger after doing this loop more on weekday mornings before work.

21 October 2007

It was such a beautiful day, and I saw many people on bicycles on my walk, so I decided to do a short ride after getting home. I had done the UCSC Hagar-McLaughlin-Glen Coolidge loop twice yesterday, each loop taking about 12 minutes. I decided to do it four times today.

Without having done Alba and Smith Grade like I did yesterday, I had fresher legs and did the loop in about 10 minutes.

The descent on Glen Coolidge had a nice view on the right of Pogonip, Santa Cruz, and the Monterey Bay.

20 October 2007

Solo ride

Alba School After taking the last weekend off, I decided to climb Alba for the first time in almost a year. It seemed warm enough in the sun when I got started, so I did without a windbreaker. However, it was slightly chilly in the shade, and the wind was from the north. It was nice in the sun, though. It was supposed to have rained overnight, but most of the streets were dry. In the mountains, though, the roads were damp.

I headed up Hwy 9 into the wind, then turned off at Glen Arbor. It was still a little windy. It was 11:19 when I got to the bottom of Alba. Alba was like I remembered it. A long steep section near the bottom, followed by an easier part. Shorter steep sections in the middle joined by easier sections. Then the Alba School, followed by a short steep section leading to a clearing, followed by a longer steep section. The road narrowed for the top third or so, with a variable grade, but mostly not terribly steep. There was a windy part as the road curved to the left, just like the last time I climbed Alba. It was 11:55 when I got to the top, or about 36 and a half minutes. Slightly better than my previous best of about 37 minutes.

I turned left on Empire Grade, going slowly as I recovered from the climb. At Pine Flat, I turned right and headed down the gently twisting road. I turned right at Bonny Doon and enjoyed the long straight descents before the series of turns that preceded the winery. I turned left onto Smith Grade and dropped down the steep, damp, and narrow road before having to climb back up to Empire Grade, where I headed back to town.

I took the south entrance to UCSC to do a loop up Hagar, then down McLaughlin and Glen Coolidge twice. I'm considering doing this loop on a weekday morning for "training". I've never ridden for training before, but this 2.75 mile loop with about 320 feet of climbing is conveniently close to home, and I would like to get stronger.

6 October 2007

Solo ride

Looking down Jamison Creek Rd It had been a while since I had gone on a real solo ride-- almost two months. I took advantage of the lack of a designated start time to start late and avoid the morning chill. I decided to ride up Zayante and then Skyline and 9, 236 through Big Basin, then back home via Jamison Creek and Empire Grade, a bunch of old favorites.

It was warm in the sun, but a little chilly in the shade. I brought a windbreaker, but never put it on. My original thought was to head up Graham Hill, since it had been a while since I had done that. However, there's a reason why I don't ride Graham Hill much, and as I headed down High, I decided instead to head up Hwy 9, then take Glen Arbor and Quail Hollow to Zayante, which I also hadn't done in a while.

There was somewhat of a headwind on Hwy 9, and more traffic than I usually see. The traffic was probably due to riding around midday rather than in the morning. I turned off at Glen Arbor and then headed up and over Quail Hollow. Just after Lompico Rd, two police cars passed by. When riding alone, leg bothered me more than when riding in a group, so I think it's partly psychological, where it doesn't bother me if I'm not thinking about it. It was still better than it was a month ago, though. The climb was easier as the first climb of the day than it was in August, the last time I climbed it after doing various other climbs.

At the top, I turned left and briefly followed Summit Rd until it ended at Bear Creek Rd, where I turned left. At the turnoff just left of the start of Skyline, there guys working on two or three cars. I turned right onto Skyline, where there was a light covering of gravel for the first few hundred feet. Somewhere between Black and the summit, I saw a deer a few hundred feet ahead run from the right side of the road, then up the cliff on the left side of the road. As I passed by, I looked at the top of the cliff and didn't see anything, then looked further down, and the deer was standing halfway up the cliff, watching me.

At Saratoga Gap, there were a bunch of motorcycles parked and the hot dog stand was there, but I didn't see any cyclists. I passed by without stopping and turned left and headed down Hwy 9. The headwind from earlier was now a slight tailwind. Approaching the 236 intersection, a group of 4 or so motorcyclists that had passed me earlier were pulling off to the right of the road, so I passed them on the left, going almost onto the center stripe. From the start of 236, I hoped to make it to China Grade in under 30 minutes, and from there to the park headquarters in under 10 minutes, which I ought to be able to do without pushing myself, and I did it. While on 236, I heard helicopters and then a siren approaching. A fire truck passed me, cutting its siren for a half second as it passed me. My ears still got blasted. The siren faded in the distance, but the sound of helicopters would continuously come and go.

I took my first break at the park headquarters, getting a coke and eating a snack. It felt good to sit in the warm sun. There were the usual tourists. I got going around 3, figuring I'd be home around 5. At the western Lodge Rd intersection, the firefighters had stopped traffic for fire trucks to go through or something. After 4 or 5 minutes, they let the traffic continue through. A little after that, there were two forestry dept or fire dept pickup trucks parked off the right of the road, and I could smell smoke. I could also hear the helicopters. I could see a little smoke to the right. Soon, the smell of smoke faded away, but I could still hear the helicopters.

I got to the bottom of Jamison at 3:26. I rode harder than I did the last time up this hill, but I wasn't feeling as strong as I did that day. There were two cars that passed me, one around the bottom and one around the middle, that spewed out stinky diesel exhaust. They sure didn't help me get up the hill. There was still a piece of a skunk tail hanging over the front of the 1.33 sign. At times, I could hear the helicopters in the distance over Big Basin. It was 3:55 when I got to the top, so I did the climb taking between 28 and 30 minutes. The GPS data showed the climb time to be 28:54. I hope to regularly do the climb in under 30 minutes now. A year ago, my typical time was somewhere around 33 minutes.

I was pretty wiped from the climb, so I took a break, then slowly headed back home on Empire Grade. It was chilly in the shade and I was going slow enough that I could feel a tailwind blowing from behind at times. Eventually, I recovered and picked up the pace. After Felton-Empire, it was much sunnier and warmer. Climbing out of the trough at Smith Grade, I kicked up my effort a bit more and made it home before 5.