Saturday, October 24, 2009

24 October 2009

Saturday harbor ride

It was very foggy by the coast. However, I didn't have to worry about riding in the pack in the fog. After the turn from Bonita to San Andreas, there was a big gap from the rider ahead of me to the pack, so I burned myself out trying to close the gap. After a couple of riders came by from behind, I was able to get back on. However, on the little climb at Manresa, I fell off the back. The pack slowed after the climb, and hung tantalizingly ahead of me for a little while, but I couldn't close the gap. The remainder of San Andreas was solo in the thick fog.

On Beach, a small group came by and I jumped on and caught up to the group in Watsonville. On 152 and Casserly, it was a pretty fast pace. The group split up on Mt Madonna, and I went up Hazel Dell solo. On Browns Valley, a rider went by and I jumped on. We caught up to 2 others, and then I was too cooked to stay with them, so I was solo the rest of the way to Corralitos and afterwards over Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, Trout Gulch and Soquel and then back home.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

10 October 2009

Saturday harbor ride

It was cold and overcast, and the sunrise was getting later, so it was hard to get up for the early ride. The pack seemed smaller than usual, but I never ended up at the back on San Andreas, so I couldn't really tell, as the pace was pretty easy.

A group of 15 or so went up Mt Madonna. At the steep part just before Hazel Dell, the 6 or 7 at the front surged ahead. I stayed with them until slipping back just before Hazel Dell, then they took off on the descent, and I couldn't match that acceleration. But then, they slowed, so I made up ground until the climbing started after Green Valley, after which I slowly lost sight of them as they started shedding riders off the back. I traded pulls with one other guy on the descent to Corralitos, then headed back solo over Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, Trout Gulch and Soquel.

It remained overcast. On the last little climb up High St, my chain kept skipping. Somehow, my rear skewer had come loose.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

3 October 2009

Alba

It was sunny and a little breezy. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond, and then up Alba. It was 12:12 when I started up the bottom. Near the end of the initial steep part, a car on its way down spewed out a lot of stinky diesel exhaust, and I had to breathe it well into the less steep section. I got to the top at 12:44, so the climb took 32-33 minutes.