7 May 2011

Solo ride

It was sunny and breezy, with the wind mostly from the north. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, then took Hwy 236. On 236, a white van waited behind me for a while, then, passed me, sounding its horn, and moved towards me while passing. As it went by me, it was at least 2 feet right of the center line, and there was no oncoming traffic to attribute its moving towards me while passing, so I think the motorist was deliberately trying to intimidate me. I think motorists that use their vehicles to deliberately intimidate people should have their licenses suspended, and repeat offenders should have their licenses revoked. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:14. There may have been a slight tailwind for the climb, but I didn't notice any wind. There were 3 cyclists descending about a quarter mile from the top; one of them was wearing a Radio Shack jersey. There was a group of mountain bikers at the top -- they had passed me in a number of trucks on the way up. It was 12:38 when I got to the top. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade. For the fast part of the descent by upper UCSC marked by the 8-14% grade sign, I was behind a couple of cars that were going relatively slowly and had to ride the brakes down to the bridge.