20 June 2009

Pescadero, Tunitas, and Sky Londa

It was cool and overcast when I started out. There was a decent headwind heading up Hwy 1. The green wind sock near Waddell had been shredded, but the remaining tatters stood straight out, indicating a pretty strong headwind. I got some relief from the wind on Gazos Creek, and the wind was not quite as strong on Cloverdale. I saw a bobcat or a fox on the side of the road on Gazos Creek, but it disappeared into the vegetation before I got near it.

At Pescadero, I got signed in and started off, taking North St to Pescadero Rd, then backtracking on Cloverdale and Gazos Creek. Then, it was north on Hwy 1, into the wind again. I took the lead and pulled. At one point, a guy on a big yellow bike (Jobst Brandt?) headed the opposite direction pointed downwind and said "That way." as we passed by. At Bean Hollow, we turned right. The wind lessened considerably. At Pescadero Rd, I turned right and headed back to Pescadero, where I found that I was alone, so I headed up Stage to San Gregorio. I later found out that the route headed left on Pescadero Rd to Hwy 1 north to Hwy 84 to San Gregorio.

From San Gregorio, I headed up Stage to Hwy 1 down and then up Tunitas Creek. I stopped briefly at the Bike Hut for a snack, then continued up. The road had been resurfaced and looked like it wouldn't be a totally horrible descent like it was before. And there were a few riders descending. I turned right at Star Hill. At Swett, I headed up the initial steep rise and into the fog. Skyline into Sky Londa was cold, damp, foggy, and windy. And drops of water fell from the trees at times. It got slightly sunnier and warmer as I rolled into Sky Londa.

I joined a couple of riders who skipped the Cloverdale-Gazos Creek loop at the start of the ride from Pescadero at Alice's Restaurant. It got cloudy again, and, from time to time, there were cold gusts of wind outside, so we moved to a table inside. I got hot tea and a sandwich. We joined up with another couple of riders that skipped the Cloverdale-Gazos Creek loop that I had passed on the Tunitas Creek climb. After an hour, nobody else from the ride showed up. I wonder what held them up.

The route would then head down Old La Honda and Hwy 84 to San Gregorio, then south on Stage back to Pescadero. I took Skyline all the way to Hwy 9. It was around 1:30 when I continued, so I figured I'd be home around 4:30 to 5, since I was feeling pretty tired with all the wind. It was windy and cold most of the time. At times, the sun came out and it was warmer. A lot of the time, it was foggy, with the fog streaming from right to left.

I finally got to Hwy 9. The hot dog stand was back in business there. For the summer, at least, I guess. I headed down 9. At first, it was cold and into a headwind. At one point, I saw the guy on the big yellow bike from Hwy 1 headed up (back to Palo Alto?). After the 236 intersection, it started warming up, and it was sunny by the time I got to Boulder Creek, and remained sunny all the way back to Santa Cruz. I got home before 4:15.