6 March 2010

Solo ride

It was partly cloudy, cool, but not cold. The forecast for a chance of rain overnight did not materialize, so the roads were dry despite having rained most of the week. There was a breeze from the north. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, then turned left at Hwy 236. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:34. It looked like the last visible remnants of the skunk tail were finally gone from the 1.33 sign. I got to the top at 1:00, then headed down Empire Grade. There was a bus at the stop at Pine Flat and Empire Grade. The bus caught up and passed me somewhere between Felton-Empire and Smith Grade. I caught up to the bus on a couple of the twisty parts of the road, including the section just before Smith Grade, and had to deal with the debris kicked up behind the bus in my face. The little ascents before and after Smith Grade, and the relatively wide and straight road until the 8%-14% grade sign meant I wasn't catching up to the bus again.