27 November 2007

Weekday morning UCSC loop

It wasn't as cold as it had been the last few mornings, and, despite lots of clouds, it was sunny. Still, I put on leg warmers, but didn't feel any need to wear gloves, though I would have gotten them had it been cold as I went out the door. It had been six days since the last time I did this loop, and it was windy then, but this time the air was pretty still.

Just after the right-hander on the descent on the first time down, there was a sign in the bike lane saying that it was closed ahead. A little farther along, cones marked off a stretch of the bike lane as off limits. The next time around, there were more cones and a truck sitting on the side of the road. The third time around, the truck was slowing going down the bike lane, laying cones as it went. By then, the cones stretched from just before the right-hander down a ways. The last time around, there were just the cones and the sign.

24 November 2007

San Juan Bautista

It was very cold in the morning. I had leg warmers on, but wished I had gloves, which I hadn't brought from home to Soquel, where I was starting from this time. At least it was slightly warmer in the sun. At the sunny parts of San Andreas, it warmed up a little so that my hands weren't freezing. I made my way to Elkhorn Rd and Kirby Park, the start of the ride.

The ride leaders arrived late, having camped out at Sunset Beach and were carrying loads of stuff on their touring bikes. I got signed in and got a route sheet. It was sunny and cool, but quite comfortable. We set out on Elkhorn, then up and over Hidden Valley, down Strawberry. I enjoyed a nice tailwind heading north on San Miguel Canyon, then it was gone on Tarpey and San Juan Rd. Then there was the climb up, then descent down Carpenteria for a regroup at Aromas.

After a break, we headed out on Carr and Anzar. Instead of following the route sheet to take San Juan Rd into San Juan Bautista, I took San Justo and then doubled back on Hwy 156 to San Juan Bautista for lunch. It was warm in the sun, and it was nice and sunny at midday.

After lunch, a few riders headed up Fremont Peak. I felt I had to get back, so I skipped that climb and headed back to Aromas, then towards Watsonville on San Juan, Murphy Crossing, and Hwy 129. Then, I took Carlton, Casserly, Mt Madonna, Hazel Dell, and Browns Valley to Corralitos. By then, it was overcast and getting chilly. I then took Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, Trout Gulch, and Soquel back to Soquel.

22 November 2007

Thanksgiving day ride

Top of Pine Flat It was sunny and clear, but cool. I headed down to Natural Bridges and Delaware to join a group of 7 others. On the way up the coast, there were two flat tires, that eventually caused 2 riders to ride ahead due to time constraints. After the second tire was replaced, the rest of use continued on to Bonny Doon Rd and then up.

I had climbed Bonny Doon to Smith Grade 3 or so times before, but never beyond that and had never climbed Pine Flat before. I've done the descent a number of times, though. After regrouping at the top, we headed down Empire Grade, regrouping at the UCSC west entrance.

I had never ridden through the western part of the campus before. It was pretty much uphill on Heller from Empire Grade. It flattened out, then descended on McLaughlin, curving into Glen Coolidge. We stopped at the overlook to Pogonip. The view of the bay was somewhat clear, but Moss Landing to Monterey was obscured by fog. Then we coasted down to High St and I broke off to go home.

18 November 2007

Sunday afternoon UCSC loop

It was sunny and comfortably cool. I decided to go around the loop 8 times, so I held to a more comfortable pace than usual. Except for the last time around, I held back on hammering up the last bit of the climb. On the descents, I concentrated on staying low, feeling my thighs bump up against my stomach. The main result was that my left arm, for some reason, got really tired. I also managed to do the descent in about 3 minutes each time, which was better than my typical 3:15-3:20.

I also noticed a couple of other riders riding around the campus. There was an old woman in a blue jacket that was riding up and down Glen Coolidge and McLaughlin that I saw a number of times. There was a younger woman pulling a trailer that I saw riding up Glen Coolidge, then down Hagar, then up Glen Coolidge again. There were also the usual riders that I saw only once or twice.

17 November 2007

Saturday harbor ride

Foggy yacht harbor from Lake The morning started with thick fog. It was hard to see some of the time on my way to the yacht harbor. I got there about 7:57. A handful of riders were there, and another handful arrived over the next few minutes, including a faired recumbent. We started off around 8:02 for the slow ride through Capitola and Aptos, picking up riders along the way.

The pace picked up a bit on Bonita, about the same as the last time I did this ride, so I felt fine. Once we hit San Andreas, though, the pace jumped and I was working hard. Last time, the first 3 and half miles from Bonita to Buena Vista, the average speed was 22mph, and I had no problems sitting in. This time, it was over 24mph. On the little climb after Buena Vista, I found myself moving backwards, unable to keep up, and soon, I was off the back. A little later, the recumbent, also dropped on the climb, went screaming by once the road flattened out. By Sunset Beach, I had caught up to another guy and we worked together on the rest of San Andreas and Beach. By the time we got to Lee, two others had caught up to us. We rejoined the main pack for the slow procession through Watsonville.

Those doing the long ride split off at Main St. Later, those doing the short ride split off at Holohan. The group I was with turned left at Casserly and I was hanging on to the tail end of the group as the pace went up again. At Mt Madonna, those skipping Hazel Dell split off, turning left. I continued with the group going up Mt Madonna. At the left curving bit marking the start of the steep little climb to the start of Hazel Dell, I fell off the back immediately. By the top of the little climb, I had made it back to the wheel of another guy who had been dropped. I stayed on his wheel until the climbing started again after Green Valley, and then gradually fell behind. I could still see the main pack ahead for a while, though. By the summit, I got to within 10 yards or so of another guy, but gradually fell behind again on the ensuing descent. I lost sight of him on the initial twists of Browns Valley.

I settled into a maintainable pace to Corralitos, then up and over Hames to Freedom. I turned right at Day Valley and saw several bunches of the SCCCC Saturday ride going the opposite way. I continued on Valencia and Trout Gulch, then took Soquel back to town and then headed back home.

11 November 2007

Sunday afternoon UCSC loop

In contrast to the cloudiness of Saturday, it was clear and sunny on Sunday, despite the earlier forecast of rain. So, even though I was still a little sore from yesterday's ride, I had to take advantage of the nice weather and ride. I decided to go around the loop 5 times instead of the usual 4.

It was a little windy, so I had a headwind on the climb and a tailwind on the descent. So my times on the climbs were slow, around 7 minutes, and fast on the descents, under 3 minutes.

The view to the right on the descent showed clouds to the south over the bay. There were patches of dampness on McLaughlin from yesterday's rain.

There were buses going up on 3 of my climbs. The first time, the bus turned onto Hagar a bit ahead of me, and then I didn't see it after that. The second time, the bus turned onto Hagar at the same time as I did. I saw it again stopped on McLaughlin as I finished the climb and started the descent. The third time, the bus passed me on the bottom part of Hagar. I passed it just before it pulled out of the bottom stop. I saw it again pulling out of the stop by East Remote far ahead of me. I passed it again at the stop just before the steep bit at the top of the climb.

I backed off on my effort quite a bit on the descents. I probably could have gone somewhat harder on the climb after recovering on the descent. I think I held back too much due to going around 5 times instead of 4 times, since it really wasn't that much more.

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.

9 November 2007

Weekday morning UCSC loop

There had been heavy fog every morning this week, so, Monday to Thursday, I skipped riding. Then, on Thursday night, airplanes buzzed overhead spraying moth pheromones, due to the fog having let up.

On Friday morning, it was still mostly cloudy, but at least the sun filtered through a little, so I rode. Coming down the second time, I felt a slight drizzle and considered quitting. But it was so light and didn't get any heavier when I got to the bottom, I continued. I concentrated more on staying low on the descent than pedaling hard. On the last time down, I stayed low and tried pedaling harder, getting my best time by 1 second on the descent. I was a little weak on the climb, though, so my times were about the same as they were 10 days ago. I was thinking about the moth pheromones that I was probably breathing in and hoped that they wouldn't hurt me.

It started raining about a half hour after I finished.

3 November 2007

Moss Landing

Moss Landing from Hwy 1 It was sunny and chilly as I headed to Capitola. The traffic lights were green a little more than usual, so I got there a little faster than usual. There were two different times published for the ride start, 9am and 9:30am. I got there by 9, but the ride started at 9:30. Four riders started off at around 9:15, but I waited and got signed in.

I wound up riding mostly solo to La Selva and from there to Moss Landing. I tried taking a picture of the power station on Hwy 1 just after Struve, but missed and didn't want to try again.

I had a sandwich for lunch, and it was quite big, so it made my stomach uncomfortable for first hour and half of the return ride until it got digested. After lunch, I headed out in a group. By Elkhorn, I was in a group of four, including one guy on a fixed gear bike. It was getting pretty warm in the afternoon. We stopped at Gizdich for water. By then, my lunch was almost digested, but my legs were getting sore.

We headed out to go up Hazel Dell. I felt very little motivation to ride hard. At the summit, one guy turned around to go home. The guy on the fixie was ahead and out of sight, but I overtook him on the descent and tiredly rolled into Corralitos to rest and get more water. After a long break, the remaining three of us headed to Freedom, then Soquel. At State Park, the other two turned left to return to Jade St, while I continued straight.

I took it easy the rest of the way. I noticed the welcome to Santa Cruz sign for the first time on the median just after the cross street to Harbor High. Then, I noticed the red light at the intersection with Capitola Rd and stopped in a gear that I thought would be a little too big for the upcoming little climb. I managed the climb in that gear. The road was in bad condition and the lanes were narrow. After the top of that climb, the bike lane appeared and the road was recently repaved.