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.