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.