23 August 2008

Pescadero and Tunitas Creek

There was thick drizzle and the roads were wet when I started out. As I headed north on Hwy 1, the road eventually dried, and the fog on the ground cleared, but still hung around the hills just 50ft up. There was pretty much no wind, so I made good time. The wind sock just before Waddell hung straight down, as did the flag at Pescadero. I turned right at Gazos Creek, which had been recently chip-sealed. A portion of Cloverdale had a relatively thick coat of dirt, which was unwelcome in these wet conditions. After the fast part of Cloverdale, I made it to Pescadero and got signed into the club ride.


Top of Tunitas Creek Rd The ride started up Stage to Hwy 1, then down to Tunitas, and then up Tunitas. The bottom part was recently chip-sealed, but it soon became the familiar bumpy rutted road as the climbing started. The road was wet in many places in the bottom and middle of the climb. In the middle of the climb, the fog was close to the ground, and the light filtering through the trees made beautiful light beams through the fog. Eventually, I was above the fog and the sky above the trees was clear. Near the top, a large Alto Velo group came descending by. When I went by the top of Swett, the same group was stopped there. On the descent to Sky Londa, the Alto Velo group went by me. I didn't feel comfortable enough on the turns that I didn't know that well to slot in anywhere. Eventually, there was a really big gap, so I tried to latch on there and sort of succeeded. I pulled out at Sky Londa and stopped at Alice's for lunch.

I filled my water bottle and got a greasy breakfast burrito. Eventually more club riders arrived. There was the usual motorcycles stopped there or passing through. Lots of Alto Velo riders passed through as well. The radio played Dylan, Skynyrd, and other oldies. When I was leaving, The Who was playing. It was sunny and warm on Skyline as I slowly rode to Hwy 9.

I headed down Hwy 9, then took it easy up Hwy 236, then down to the park headquarters where I took a break. I got a coke from the store. After the break, I slowly headed up 236. It was 2:41 when I got to Jamison. I had ridden over 90 miles at this point, but I was feeling relatively good due to taking it easy for the last few hours. One car went by near the bottom, but other than that, there was nobody else on the road the rest of the climb. On the 1.33 sign, there was still the U.S. flag, the skunk tail remnant, and the strip of paper. Added to that was a white sticker with red lettering reading "INVESTIGATE 9/11". It was 3:08 when I got to the top, for a time of 26:57, the second slowest of the year, which is expected after having ridden so much, but it was still faster than the fasted time of 2007, though just barely.

After a break, I headed back home on Empire Grade. When passing the UCSC west entrance, I had recovered enough to hammer the rest of the way, going 30mph for the last 2 1/2 minutes (downhill).