1 December 2007

Gazos Creek/San Gregorio

Cloverdale Rd It was supposed to be cold, but it wasn't supposed to rain. I headed north on Hwy 1 and it was cold at first. It was warmer at places, and there were cold pockets. It was mostly cloudy, but the sun helped warm things up where it was sunny. There was somewhat of a headwind. The windsock near Waddell was at 40-45 degrees indicating the wind from the north to northwest. Less than a mile from Gazos Creek, I started feeling a drizzle, but it was gone by the time I got to Gazos Creek.

I turned left into the parking area and got signed in. The turnout was around 18 riders. It was warm enough that there wasn't a chill in the air. The clouds looked ominous, though. Eventually, we headed out along Gazos Creek, then Cloverdale. After the up-and-down narrow part of Cloverdale ended by the entrance to Butano and the wide Cloverdale started, I felt a drizzle again. This time, it strengthened to a light rain and the road was all wet. I saw a faint rainbow and took a picture of it. I think the rainbow was too faint to be visible in the picture. The rain stopped by the end of Cloverdale, and Pescadero Rd was not was wet.

We stopped at Arcangeli's in Pescadero. It was partly sunny and the warmth from the sun felt nice when it was there. Then we headed up Stage. The road soon dried out and it was dry all the way to San Gregorio. It was sunny there as well, and the sun felt good there too. There was live music in the general store, two guys with guitars who were pretty good. For some reason, I decided to just have a bar and a 7up.

The route sheet said to continue up Stage, then turn left on Hwy 1 and continue all the way back to Gazos Creek. I saw some just take Hwy 84 to Hwy 1. A lot of people were talking about heading back on Stage. A few were going to head up Hwy 84, then take Pescadero Rd to Pescadero. I took off by myself and headed up Hwy 84, which I had never done before. I had come the other way on Hwy 84 a few times, and there was always a headwind for the last few miles, so I enjoyed a tailwind for the first few miles this time. Hwy 84 also had been newly resurfaced. It soon became overcast, and there was very little sunshine for the rest of the ride.

I turned right on Pescadero Rd, then headed up Alpine. On the upper parts that were exposed to the north, it was windy and cold. I turned right at Skyline and headed for Hwy 9. There were a lot of cars headed into Skyline Ranch, and I wondered what that was all about. Later, I saw a number of cars with Christmas trees on their roofs, so I think that some of them got them at Skyline Ranch.

I turned right at Hwy 9, and soon I was in the rain again. It was a light rain, but the descent made the drops hit my face hard. The rain stopped by the time I reached Hwy 236, but the roads were still quite wet, and would continue to be until the bottom part of Empire Grade, much later. I continued up Hwy 236, then took the descent cautiously due to the wet road. At the park headquarters, I stopped briefly to get some water, then headed out.

It was 3:19 when I got to the bottom of Jamison. I wasn't feeling that strong, and the ride was longer than I anticipated. I also hadn't expected it to be so cold in the afternoon, and I stupidly hadn't eaten more than the bar I had in San Gregorio. So once it started getting steep, I started bonking. I noticed that the pickup truck cab that was on the right side of the road the last time had been removed. The 1.33 sign still had the skunk tail straggling down it, though. I just didn't have any energy and when I struggled to the top, it was 3:55. The climb took almost 37 minutes, a horrible time. I stopped and downed a bar. From time to time, I got chilled by gusts of wind as I was damp from the earlier rain as well as the sweat from climbing. Eventually, I headed out on Empire Grade.

I took the climbs slowly. I also took the descents slowly, not just because the road was wet, but because the wind was chilling me. Lots of cars with Christmas trees passed me. Then a bunch of CDF fire trucks passed me. A little ways after Pine Flat, the CDF had flares on the road and were doing something. They soon let me through. I was too cold to look to see what was going on. After Felton-Empire, it was getting late and cars had their headlights on, another thing I hadn't anticipated. At the 8-14% grade sign marking the final descent, the road had finally dried and I was feeling better, so I went up to a normal pace despite the chill from the wind, as I was almost home.