10 December 2011

Solo ride

It was clear and cold, but getting warmer in the sun. There was a decent tailwind as I headed up Hwy 1. I climbed up Bonny Doon and Pine Flat, then headed down Empire Grade. There were a couple of cars with trees on top of them, but there was not as much traffic as there had been a week earlier. I had to stop at the red light at the UCSC west entrance yet again before the final stretch of Empire Grade/High St.

3 December 2011

Solo ride

It was clear and cool and somewhat windy. There was more traffic than usual on Hwy 9 and Empire Grade. Some of the extra traffic was from trucks maintaining power lines after the strong winds of the last few days. On Empire Grade, most of the extra traffic were cars hauling cut down trees, though south of Smith Grade, there were plenty of the usual trucks hauling mountain bikes. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:37. There was short windy sections, but mostly there was no wind. There were also sections with debris on the road, and my rear wheel lost traction at least 4 times. I got to the top at 1:02 for an estimated time of 25:25 on the 14th time up this road in 2011. I headed down Empire Grade amid the extra traffic.

Tracking my times up Jamison Creek since 2005:

Year	Count	Fastest	Average	Slowest
2005	6	35:05	36:36	38:43
2006	14	28:48	33:36	42:16
2007	14	27:08	31:29	38:15
2008	14	23:16	25:16	27:51
2009	4	25:54	27:14	30:13
2010	14	24:00	25:26	27:40
2011	14	23:52	25:07	26:15

26 November 2011

Saturday harbor ride

It sunny and slightly chilly when I started out. Some of the roads were wet. There was a headwind on San Andreas, so the pack wasn't too fast. Leading up to Sunset, the pack accelerated, and I couldn't, so I started slipping back. After Sunset, I kept slipping back and then was off the back, and had to face the headwind. I was still able to see the tail end of the pack making the turn onto Beach, so I wasn't that far behind. On Beach, I joined with a few other riders to get back to the pack. There was decent sized group on Casserly, but a big bunch turned left instead of continuing on Mt Madonna, so I was at the tail end of a group of 6 at the bottom of the steep part, and promptly fell behind with one other, as the other 4 raced ahead. A lot of Hazel Dell and Browns Valley was wet. From Corralitos, I headed over Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, Trout Gulch, and then Soquel back. It was turning into a relatively warm day.

19 November 2011

Solo ride

It was partly sunny, and partly overcast, and chilly. Most of the roads were still wet from the previous day's rain, particularly in the shade. I headed up Hwy 1, then up Bonny Doon and Pine Flat. Then, it was a chilly return down Empire Grade.

5 November 2011

Solo ride

It was cold and overcast when I started. I started earlier than I otherwise would have because it was supposed to rain in the afternoon, and it did not rain during my ride. I headed up Hwy 9, Glen Arbor, and Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek, then up Hwy 236. I started up Jamison Creek at 11:13. There was some traffic, though no motorcycles, including at least one truck carrying mountain bikes up and down the mountain. It was 11:37 when I got to the top, and 11:38 just after I turned left onto Empire Grade. My estimated time for the climb was 24:56. After the effort of the climb, it got cold on the descent of Empire Grade.

29 October 2011

Solo ride

I headed out on Soquel to Aptos, then took Trout Gulch, Valencia , Day Valley, and Hames to Corralitos, and started up Eureka Canyon. On the lower parts, it was slightly chilly in the shade-- a reminder that Eureka Canyon is chilly in the winter, but very nice on a hot day. On the upper parts, it was warm in the sunny parts, and very nice in the shade. On parts of Highland, there was piles of dirt on the side of the road from slides earlier in the year. The road was cleared, though narrow in places. The slides were why I hadn't ridden this way in quite a while. I headed down Soquel-San Jose. There was a stink from roadkill in the middle of the road a little before Olive Springs. I turned right and headed up Laurel Glen and down Mountain View, and returned on Branciforte. It was a sunny and warm afternoon when I got back.

22 October 2011

Solo ride

It was sunny and warm. I headed up Hwy 1 with a little tailwind past Davenport to Swanton. There were many bunches of motorcycles, including on Swanton, Bonny Doon, and Pine Flat. At the north end of Swanton, I headed back on Hwy 1. There wasn't really any noticeable wind. At Bonny Doon, I turned left and headed up Bonny Doon and Pine Flat, then back down Empire Grade.

15 October 2011

Saturday harbor ride

It was overcast pretty much throughout, with hints of drizzle when I started out. There was a tailwind for the outbound part, especially on Soquel and San Andreas. On San Andreas, a cop car blipped its siren a few times before going by the pack. At one part, the pack slowed to go by a slow tractor on the road. A little before Sunset, I couldn't keep up and fell off the back. After Watsonville, a decent size group of at least 20 went on to Casserly, where pack was held up by another slow tractor on the road. On the steep bit of Mt Madonna just before Hazel Dell, I was at the back of the pack and was further behind by Hazel Dell. On the Hazel Dell climb, I was in a small group for before falling behind at the part where the right side of the road had collapsed in a slide, and went into Corralitos by myself. It was briefly sunny on Browns Valley going towards Corralitos. I continued over Hames and Day Valley and Valencia to Aptos. There was a headwind for the rest of the way back, and it remained overcast.

8 October 2011

Solo ride

It was sunny and cool when I started. As I headed north on Hwy 1, dark clouds loomed and there was a slight headwind, and it seemed to get colder. At Bonny Doon Rd, I turned right and headed up. It became sunnier and warmer. In the shaded parts, the road was still wet from the week's rain. I continued up Pine Flat to Empire Grade, then turned right and headed back down.

1 October 2011

Solo ride

It was sunny and cool. There was heavier traffic on Hwy 9 than there had been over the summer. I took Glen Arbor into Ben Lomond. Around the Boulder Creek city limits, an old Honda came by, spewing massive amounts of toxic smelling air pollution. When I got to the Hwy 236 intersection, the Honda was being pushed down the road. I continued on Hwy 236, and started up Jamison Creek at 12:27. Although it was cool, I had to deal with sweat running into my eyes throughout the climb. I got to the top at 12:51, for an estimated time of 24:52. I remember encountering only one car and no motorcycles on the climb, which would be less traffic than usual. I headed back down Empire Grade. I had to stop at the red light at the new traffic light at the UCSC west entrance which turned red as I approached, which was an annoyingly common occurrence.

24 September 2011

Solo ride

It was cool and overcast when I started out. I headed up Hwy 9, where there was a lot more traffic than there had been the last few months. The sun came out, but it remained cool under the tree cover. At Felton, I turned left and headed up Felton-Empire. At Empire Grade, I turned left and headed back for a short ride.

17 September 2011

Saturday harbor ride

I woke up a half hour before starting off and it was overcast. There seemed to be a bigger group this time at first. At the start of San Andreas, I was trailing the pack, about to fall behind, when two other riders came up from behind and pulled me back. After Buena Vista, though, I couldn't keep up and immediately joined up with three others for the rest of San Andreas and Beach, getting back to the main group before Watsonville. On Mt Madonna, I fell behind the main group well before the steep part. The clouds had cleared, but it was still cool, and it would remain so for the rest of the ride. I caught a few on the steep part, and a couple more on the Hazel Dell climb. On the Hazel Dell descent, a group of four came by me, so I jumped on and followed them to Corralitos. From there, I took the usual route of Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, and Trout Gulch to Aptos, and Soquel back to town.

10 September 2011

Solo ride

It was overcast as I started north on Hwy 1, and it became quite foggy in places. At one spot, a red car, going over 60 mph, passed uncomfortably closely. The car was partly in the shoulder, as it was in the process of passing another car by passing on the right, and it merged in front of the car with less than a foot between them, this was just before the slight uphill before the curve and the downhill by Laguna, probably about half way from Dimeo to Laguna. I had a tailwind and the radar sign at the bottom of the San Vicente Creek gulch just before Davenport said I was going 36 mph. I continued past Davenport and turned onto Swanton, and it shortly became clear and sunny. Down the back side of Swanton, a fallen tree had blocked the left lane at one point. When I got back down to the coast, it was cloudy again, and there was a definite headwind as I headed south. I turned left and headed up Bonny Doon, and it was sunny again, and I continued up Pine Flat and headed down Empire Grade. It was overcast again as I headed down by UCSC. The light by the west entrance was red as I approached, then it turned green, and I started to accelerate, but then it turned red again before I got there and had to brake hard.

3 September 2011

Solo ride

It remained cold and overcast. I headed north on Hwy 9 with a tailwind. It was sunny before I got to Felton. I took Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond and it was warm in Boulder Creek. It was 1:09 when I started up Jamison Creek. It was warm all the way up, and there were a few bug hovering around my face part of the way. I got to the top at 1:34 for an estimated time of 24:41. It was still warm and sunny on most of Empire Grade. Between Felton-Empire and Smith Grade, the air suddenly became a lot cooler. Somewhere around the upper UCSC campus, it became overcast.

6 August 2011

Solo ride

It was overcast all morning, and the streets were wet, so I waited until the afternoon. It was still overcast when I started. I headed up Hwy 9. There were signs warning of a horse crossing that was also staffed by some people, so something was going on. By the time I got to Felton, the sun was shining. I continued up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, then headed up Hwy 236. I started up Jamison Creek at 1:49. There were a few small bunches of motorcyclists headed up and down, and I had to breathe their fumes. After the last bunch of motorcyclists, the only car went by. I got to the top at 2:13, for an estimated time of 23:52, my 3rd best time ever, and the first time under 24 minutes since 2008. I headed back on Empire Grade, and the skies had cleared by the time I got home. There was also a staffed horse crossing on Empire Grade between upper UCSC and Wilder Ranch.