10 November 2007

Solo ride

Redwood Estates There was a good chance of rain in the afternoon and even more in the evening, so I went for a not too long ride and hoped to miss the rain. It was cloudy throughout the ride, and on the upper part of Empire Grade, foggy and drizzly.

I headed up Glen Canyon to Scotts Valley, then up Bean Creek and Mountain Charlie, over Hwy 17 then down to Old Santa Cruz Hwy to Holy City. I headed up Holy City Rd and through Redwood Estates to remind me how to get through that maze. Basically, it involved taking the painfully steep climb whenever there was a branch. More specifically, turn left at the top of Holy City Rd, and take the underpass to Hwy 17, then bear left on Madrone, going by the fire station. At Bayview, turn left, with the general store and the post office on the left and an italian restaurant on the right. After a couple of bumps, it turns into Laverne and turns right. After some steep switchbacks, there are a couple of To Summit Rd signs pointing left, so I headed left and, I think, back on Bayview. The next real choice was at Bayview and Zella, where Bayview headed steeply up and to the left, while Zella went to the right. I stayed on Bayview which continued all the way to Summit Rd. A cable television truck passed by me several times through Redwood Estates. The driver must have been somewhat lost in that maze.

I rolled down Summit until it ended, then turned left at Bear Creek. I had considered taking Skyline to Hwy 9, but, considering the threat of rain, I continued to Boulder Creek. Since I had been taking it pretty easy most of the time other than the steep bits on Mtn Charlie and most of Redwood Estates, I was feeling relatively fresh and decided not to stop. I continued on Hwy 236 to Jamison Creek Rd.

It was 11:59 at the bottom of Jamison. Actually, it was just before 11:59, but it was 11:59 by the time I could check the time, since a sudden line of cars appeared behind me just before I could turn onto Jamison and I had to wait for them to go by. Jamison was hard, and steeper than I remembered. A bit before the 1.42 sign, maybe around 1.5 miles from the top, there was something new. Someone had dumped the cab of a stripped pickup truck on the right side of the road. Unusually, it was on the mountain side rather than the valley side of the road. It had a "Don't do it" sticker on it. The bed and the engine and the front had been removed. The skunk tail was still hanging from the 1.33 sign. The upper part seemed steeper than I remembered, so I was sure it would take me more than 33 minutes or even more than 35 minutes to do the climb. However, when I got to the top, it was 12:28, so I was sure I did the climb in under 30 minutes. But it turned out that I was at the bottom just before 11:59, and got to the top just before 12:29, and did the climb in 30:04. Just missed breaking 30 minutes. However, 30:04 is my 5th best time this year and I was riding my heavier old bike due to the threat of rain.

Near the top of Jamison, the road was getting damp, and the fog was starting to get thicker and I could feel drizzle hitting my face. This continued on Empire Grade. Just a little way along Empire Grade, a pack of motorcycles went by me. The fog kept getting thicker. On the descents after Alba, I kept my speed down, since visibility was not good and the roads were damp. At the Pine Flat intersection, I saw the pack of motorcyclists lined up on the side of the road. After I went by, I thought I heard their motors start up, but I never saw them, so maybe they went down to the coast. As I descended, the fog cleared up. By Smith Grade, it was pretty much dry and there was no fog. So I felt comfortable enough to take the descent from the 8-14% grade sign to the bridge pretty quickly and then hammered by the university.