4 April 2009

Santa Cruz Mountains

I got up early to meet up with a bikeforums ride. I was going to join at Pescadero. I headed up the coast, then took Gazos Creek and Cloverdale. It was kind of cold, but at least there wasn't any wind. At Pescadero, I sat in the warm sun for a while, which was nice.

After a while, I headed up Pescadero Rd slowly. A number of cyclists came by the other way. I noticed that there were still 3 flamingos at the flamingo house. I went by Loma Mar and the Memorial Park entrance. I was starting up the base of Haskins when the tandem leading the ride came by. I turned around and joined, with 2 other riders a little further back. Soon, we were all together and rolling into Pescadero for a stop.

We headed out on Cloverdale, Gazos Creek and Hwy 1. I felt my rear tire going down on Hwy 1 about 4-5 miles from Davenport. Apparently it had a slow leak and had been going down for a while before I felt it. I changed the tube, and then we were rolling again. We stopped at Davenport. Again, it was nice to sit in the sun.

Then, it was up the Bonny Doon climb, where the decisive move of the 2009 Tour of California was made. Then we descended Empire Grade, and Felton-Empire. Going down Felton-Empire, we stayed bunched together behind a slow white pickup. We stopped at New Leaf in Felton.

We headed up Hwy 9 to Ben Lomond, then turned left to head up Alba. I felt fine for the first 2-3 miles, including all of the really steep parts. Then I hit the wall and faded badly, crawling slowly up the top part of the climb. To top it off, it was cold and windy on Empire Grade.

The others headed north, with a 2200ft climb yet to come. I headed south and mostly coasted home. It was still cold. I was so lightheaded from bonking that the road that I had ridden many times in this direction looked unfamiliar. I didn't even recognize my neighborhood and had to read street signs to find my way home.