8 December 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and cold, and the roads were still wet in the shade. I headed up Hwy 9. Early on, on the rail on the right of the road, a big brown doll, maybe of a humanoid dog, was propped up. I continued through Felton, taking Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond, then back to Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek. There were a handful of cars and trucks with trees strapped on top on Hwy 9. At Boulder Creek, I headed out on Hwy 236 and started up Jamison Creek at 12:14. Unusually, I encountered no motor traffic at all on the climb. However, at about 2/3 mile from the top, another cyclist went by, climbing much faster than I was. I got to the top at 12:39 for a time of about 25:09 and turned left and headed down. There were lots of cars and trucks with trees strapped on top on Empire Grade, including one with two trees on it.

24 November 2012

Solo ride

It was clear and cool, with wet patches in the shade. I headed up Hwy 9 to Felton, then up Felton-Empire. There was some extra car traffic with trees strapped on top. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade.

22 November 2012

Solo ride

It was clear and cool, and the roads were still wet in the shade. I headed up Hwy 9 to Felton, then up Zayante to Quail Hollow and down to Ben Lomond. I started up Alba at 11:36 and got to the top at 12:11 and headed back down Empire Grade.

10 November 2012

Solo ride

It was mostly sunny and chilly. There was a strong headwind as I headed north on Hwy 1. I turned up Bonny Doon Rd, where the road was still damp in the shade. At the top of Pine Flat, I turned right and headed down Empire Grade, where it was cold in the shade.

3 November 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and cool, with damp patches on the road in the shade. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek. There were lots of election season signs. I turned left and took Hwy 236 and started up Jamison Creek at 12:40. Apparently, the rim of my rear wheel had a crack in it, which caused my brake to start rubbing. At the steep part, the brake rub got more severe. I used the brake release, but it was still rubbing strongly, so the climb was very difficult. I got to the top at 1:06, for a time of about 26:03, which was better than I thought it would be. Then, I headed down Empire Grade, with the brake continuing to rub. On the descent to Smith Grade, my rear tire popped with a bang, so I started walking home, theorizing that the brake rub caused my rims to heat, which caused the tire pressure to rise and blow the tire. A couple miles later, I got a ride the rest of the way to town.

20 October 2012

Solo ride

It was overcast when I started, but became sunny as I went up into the mountains and it was sunny when I got back. I don't know why, but there was heavy car traffic in town. I was delayed by traffic at King and Mission, after making through downtown, I headed up Branciforte and Glen Canyon to Scotts Valley, then up the much quieter Bean Creek Rd and Mountain Charlie. I took Summit Rd over Hwy 17, then down Soquel-San Jose, over Laurel Glen and down Mountain View and Branciforte back to town, where there was heavy traffic again, but it didn't directly hold me up this time.

6 October 2012

Solo ride

It was mostly sunny with scattered clouds and comfortably cool and slightly breezy. There was a slight headwind as I headed up Hwy 9, which had the usual relatively heavy traffic, and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, and some more slight headwinds on Hwy 236. Parts of Hwy 236 had newly repaved strips of 2-3 feet wide and about 10=15 feet long. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:49. A pack of motorcycles went by between the 1.66 and 1.60 markers. I got to the top at 1:13, for an estimated time of 23:43, which would be tied for my 2nd best time ever with a time from July 2008. I turned left at Empire Grade and headed home.

29 September 2012

Solo ride

For a short ride, I started up Hwy 1. It was a bit chilly and overcast along the coast. At Bonny Doon, I turned right and headed up, getting above the clouds, where it was a bit warmer. I continued up Pine Flat, then headed down Empire Grade.

22 September 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and warm. I took a route covering roads I hadn't ridden in a while or in directions I hadn't ridden in a while. I started up Empire Grade, then turned left on Smith Grade. On a steep part of Smith Grade, I shifted to my small ring and dropped my chain, and failed to get it back onto the chainring after a number of attempts and had to dismount and reseat it. At Bonny Doon, I turned right and headed up. I originally planned to head up Pine Flat to the upper intersection of Bonny Doon and turn left, but since it was such a nice day, I decided to extend the ride and turn right on Ice Cream Grade and thought that I should have had that idea earlier so that I could have turned right at Martin Rd instead. I took Ice Cream Grade to Empire Grade, then headed up to Pine Flat, and then down to the upper end of Bonny Doon, and took Bonny Doon all the way down to the coast. Then, it was tailwinds on Hwy 1 back to town, finishing with a climb up Western.

15 September 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and warm. I just did a short ride, heading up Hwy 9 to Felton, then went up Felton-Empire. The lower half of Felton-Empire had lots of paint outlining cracks in the pavement and potholes. The upper third was more recently repaved and smooth. At Empire Grade, I turned left and headed back down.

6 September 2012

Swanton time trial

I headed up Hwy 1 into a typically tough headwind. There was a light turnout of about 10 riders. The wind had eased a bit when I started. Once, on the early part before the valley, due to the bumps in the road, I lifted off the saddle and sat back on a testicle painfully. I don't know my official time, but my estimates give me 20:08 outbound, and 14:45 on the return, for a total of 34:53, reflecting the easing of the wind. After a minimal break, I headed home with the tailwind. The sun was starting to set by the time I got home, so it's good that I didn't rest any longer before heading back home.

3 September 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and warm. I headed up Hwy 9 to Felton, then turned right on Graham Hill, left on East Zayante, then headed over Quail Hollow and down Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond, and started up Alba at 11:47. There was a sign in the flat part with the houses just after the steep part just after Alba School which said there would be delays due to road work from Aug 27 to Oct 24. There was lots of paint on the road marking various things all the way to the top, but no tearing up of the road yet. The graffiti rock had "F.T.W." painted on it. At the top, there was another sign for the descending traffic with a similar message about delays and road work. I got to the top at 12:22 for an approximate time of 34:27. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade.

1 September 2012

Solo ride

It was mostly sunny, with some clearing morning clouds early on. I headed up Hwy 9 through Felton, then took Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond and Hwy 9 through Brookdale to Boulder Creek, then headed out on Hwy 236. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:09. There was a headwind on the lower part, and most of the lower mile also had the stench of diesel fumes. I also encountered two cyclists that were descending the lower part. The 1.33 marker had a tiny, faded and stained U.S. flag draped over it. In the middle of the steep middle part, another cyclist was descending, and then, just before the 1.02 marker, a group of 5 more cyclists were descending. I got to the top at 12:33, for an approximate time of 24:22. There were two more cyclists standing around at the top. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade. The light at Heller was red when I first saw it, but it turned green before I arrived at the intersection. I expect not to be as lucky with that light after the start of the fall term at the university.

25 August 2012

Solo ride

It was cloudy and chilly in the morning, so I delayed starting out, and when I did start out, it was still cloudy and chilly. I headed up Hwy 9. By the time I got to Felton, it was sunny. I took Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond and continued up Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek, then headed out on Hwy 236. I turned left and headed up China Grade for the first time since 2008, over 4 years ago. In 2008, I did the climb in about 21:29. This time, I did it in about 20:56, which is pretty close to the same time. The upper part of Hwy 236 had been repaved since I last rode there a month earlier, and there was residual loose gravel, but the road, though still somewhat bumpy, was much smoother than before. I headed down to Hwy 9, then up to Saratoga Gap. This would be the first time I climbed the upper part of Hwy 9 since 2010, when I did it in about 31:28; this time, I did it in about 31:38. The upper 2 and half or so miles were also newly repaved since I had descended it a month earlier, and there was more residual loose gravel. There was the hot dog stand and lots of cars at Saratoga Gap. I turned right and headed up Skyline without stopping. There were lots of cars parked around the Castle Rock entrance. At the end of Skyline, I headed left on Bear Creek, then rode the length of Summit Rd and then headed down Soquel-San Jose, which also had been repaved in places and I had to stop at one spot where only one lane was open. I was tired and hungry as I headed up Laurel Glen, so I stopped at the top after having ridden almost continuously for 4 hours and ate a snack. I headed down Mountain View and Branciforte, parts of which also had been repaved, back to town and then back home.

18 August 2012

Solo ride

It was warm and sunny. I headed north on Hwy 1, and it felt like I had a tailwind at first, but soon, it became a headwind, though it was not too bad. At the bottom of the gulch of San Vicente Creek just south of Davenport, the speed detector said I was going 30-31 mph. I continued to Swanton and continued on Swanton, where it was still a bit windy until the valley. After the climb, I continued down to Hwy 1, turned left and headed south with the tailwind. There were a number of cyclists on Hwy 1 both ways, but I saw none on Swanton. My top speed going down to Scott Creek was around 47 mph. Just north of Davenport, the speed detector said I was going 29 mph with the tailwind. At Bonny Doon Rd, I turned left and went by 3 cyclists who were going slowly as if they were waiting for something. I went by 2 more on the curvy part after the bridge and before the straight leading up to Smith Grade, another on Pine Flat just after the upper intersection Bonny Doon, another 2 a little before the Bosch Baha'i sign, and caught up to 1 more just as she stopped at the bus stop just before Empire Grade. I turned right and headed down Empire Grade. As I approached Heller, the light was green, but, to the left, I saw a car on Heller approaching the intersection, so I sprinted for it and beat the light.

11 August 2012

Solo ride

It was sunny and warm, though there was still some morning coolness when I started out. It would be pretty hot in the mountains, with forecasts predicting high temperatures in the 90s in Boulder Creek. This would be my first real ride on my bike after it had been overhauled a week earlier, and it felt good. I skipped riding last week because it was cold and it even rained a little.

Hwy 9 by the Tannery had been repaved, so it was no longer a bumpy turn from Encinal. I headed up Hwy 9 through Felton, taking Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond, and continuing up to Boulder Creek. I headed out on Hwy 236, and started up Jamison Creek at 11:30. I felt much better than I did the last time, 2 weeks earlier, when the climb took me between 25 and 27 minutes, and I would guess was around 26:30, but my GPS had been turned off then, so 25-27 minutes is the most precise estimate I have. It was pretty hot, but it was mostly in the shade. There were short stretches in the sun around the 1.42 marker, around the 1.33 marker, and somewhere around .7-.6 miles to the top. I got to the top at 11:54 for an estimated time of 24:19. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade.