26 July 2008

Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge

Rest stop #2 I had to be at the 2nd rest stop at 8am, so I had to start riding early. I planned on 6:30, but I was a few minutes late getting started. It was chilly and sunny in the morning, and the sun glared low on the horizon, which was an annoyance when heading eastward. When I hit Hwy 9, the construction at the Salz Tannery seemed well underway for the artist colony. I made pretty good time up Hwy 9 and Hwy 236, and got to the rest stop just after 8.

The rest stop was a little west of where it had been the previous 2 years, due to a wedding there. I helped set up and stock the rest stop. The first rider arrived around 8:45 on a red Cannondale, stopping briefly for water. The next, a group of 4, came through about 5 minutes later. Then riders started trickling in, and then coming in greater volumes and staying longer than the earlier riders. It was becoming a pretty hot day. Eventually, the volume ebbed and at 11:30, I was free to take off and ride the rest of the course.


bikeforums.net rider Ramon I had to stop at the bottom of Jamison to wait for the GPS to regain its signal, which it did at 11:40. I declined to participate in the time trial. I didn't have a rider number anyhow, not being an official ride participant. It was hot and painful. I overtook a bunch of riders that were weaving back and forth due to the grade. I stayed to their left. There were a few walking up in their cleats. There was still the US flag on the 1.33 sign, but I didn't look at it long enough to notice if anything else had changed. Approaching the top, I hammered it, giving a burst of speed and then collapsed on my bars at the water stop. It was 12:06, and the GPS had lost signal. After 15-20 seconds, the GPS regained the signal and it was 12:07. So my records will have a time of 26:31, though it's 15-20 seconds less.


Lunch stop After resting for a few minutes, I continued on, soon catching up to a guy and sucking his wheel all the way to the lunch stop. I got a coke, made a half sandwich, and had some boiled potatoes. I headed out alone and rode alone for the next hour. I headed down Empire Grade. Then Pine Flat, Bonny Doon, Martin, and Ice Cream Grade without seeing another cyclist on the ride until near the end of Ice Cream Grade. There were also a few getting water at the fire station. I headed down Felton-Empire alone. There was a white truck a little ways behind me, but I soon left it behind due to the twists in the road. At the bottom, I caught up to a group stopped at the red light.

I followed the group to Zayante, and then sucked the wheels of a group of 3 that were going faster than the rest. They set a pretty good, though still relaxed, pace through the flatter lower part of the climb. When it got steeper, one went ahead, another dropped back, and I stayed on the wheel of the 3rd. Eventually, as we were passing knots of riders, I got ahead of him, and he must have dropped off at some point. The upper parts were a grind, punctuated with a few steep pitches. The parts in the sun were hot. There was even one guy walking his bike on the upper part, even though he was already beyond all the steep sections. The right turn onto Summit led to more grinding climbing for a few miles before the 4th rest stop.

My bladder had been complaining since the middle of Zayante, and I had to wait even more for a port-a-potty to free up. It was in the sun, so it was like an oven inside. I got a coke, some potatoes and some strawberries. After dallying for too long, I headed out alone. The only riders I saw on Summit were headed the opposite direction, and I didn't see any on the undulating, bumpy Old Summit Rd. Heading down Soquel-San Jose, I only saw one other rider, whom I overtook during the fast part of the descent.

On Laurel Glen, I took it easy, spinning a low gear. Eventually, I came up to a group of 3 and sucked their wheels. When the climbing started, one, then a 2nd dropped back, so I followed the 3rd guy to the water stop at the top. Since my bottle was 3/4 full, I continued alone down Mountain View and Branciforte. On Granite Creek, I again took it easy in a low gear. About halfway in, my left inner thigh cramped and I had to stop. Two guys in different green jerseys went by, the 2nd one huffing and puffing very exaggeratedly. I started off again, and soon the 2 green jerseys disappeared ahead. After the Scotts Valley city limits, there was the climb in the sun that I was dreading. It wasn't that bad, though. There was one guy walking his bike and I passed another guy, and I could see one of the green jerseys off in the distance briefly. After stopping at the stop sign at South Navarra, I caught up to the 2 green jerseys on the 17 overpass due to the red light. I took it easy on Glenwood, and they got way ahead of me. Just as I was about to climb up to the high school, my left thigh cramped again, so I stopped again. Finally, I made it up to the high school.


Finish at Scotts Valley High School I was really thirsty, but not hungry. It took almost an hour to eat a small portion of burrito filling. The tortilla just looked too big to me. I didn't have any ice cream or cake that were available either. Finally, I headed home, slowly.

On Branciforte, just outside of Santa Cruz city limits, at about 5 minutes to 6, 2 riders who were way off course were headed the other direction, and asked how far to Granite Creek. I guessed about 3-4 miles, but it was actually about 2 miles. They asked what the easiest way back to the high school was, so I suggested taking Glen Canyon and then Scotts Valley Dr. It felt good when I finally got home.