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.