30 May 2009

Half Moon Bay

It was cloudy and overcast, but not really cold. I realized that had forgotten to recharge the batteries in my GPS when I headed out, so I employed the strategy of turning it on briefly just before I stopped to record some points, then turning it off, then turning it on briefly again when I started off again, then turning it off.

I started out to Pescadero, enjoying a slight tailwind. It was very slight, as the wind sock near Waddell was hanging straight down. After Scott Creek, I felt occasional drops of water in the air all the way to Gazos Creek, but it didn't rain. On the final climb on Cloverdale before the entrance to Butano, my left cleat came loose, so I had to deal with my foot sliding around the rest of the way to Pescadero.

At Pescadero, I borrowed a screwdriver to tighten my cleat and got signed in to the club ride. We headed up Stage to San Gregorio, then up Stage and down Hwy 1 and up Tunitas to the Bike Hut, which was stocked with stuff. There were pictures of the Tour of California which went by it in February. Across the street, there was three white horses in the field. Then, it was up Tunitas, Lobitos, Verde, up Purisima, and down Higgins-Purisima, and then into Half Moon Bay for lunch.

It was 1:15 when I started back, and I hoped to make it back by 4. At first, there was a slight headwind, which made me think I wouldn't get home until 4:15 or later. Eventually, the wind was gone, but I was getting tired. It was around 3:56 when I got to the Santa Cruz city limits, so I didn't get home until about 4:05.