23 March 2013

Club ride

It was sunny and a little chilly in the morning. I headed to Aptos for the start. The route started out on Soquel, Freedom, Bonita, San Andreas, Beach, then right on Thurwachter over the river. At Trafton, we stopped to fix a flat tire. Then, it was on to Bluff and Jensen and Hwy 1 to Moss Landing for a break.

After the break, it was out on Dolan and Russo before taking Elkhorn. On Elkhorn, I became the only local rider in my group, and I hadn't ridden around this area for 4 or 5 years and instead of turning left at the end of Elkhorn, then right on Garin, I turned right, then, after a while, left onto San Miguel Canyon, then left onto Lewis, which had a tough little hill that I had never seen before. Then, after an extended downhill, I came to the other end of Garin, back onto the route, and turned around and headed left on Vega, eventually rejoining other riders on the club ride. After that, I remembered the route, even though didn't need to with the other riders there.

It was San Miguel Canyon, San Juan Rd, Murphy Crossing, Hwy 129, and Carlton. I got ahead of the group stopped at Gizdich, while the group didn't, but there were a few other riders at Gizdich. I got a juice and there was a long line to pay. After finishing the juice, I continued by myself. I caught up with the riders that were stopped at Gizdich at Casserly and Hwy 152. We continued on Casserly and Mt Madonna. At the steep part of Mt Madonna, I caught up with some of the riders that didn't stop at Gizdich.

I continued on Hazel Dell by myself, then down Browns Valley to Corralitos. This was already my longest ride in over a year, I was getting tired, and my right hamstring started cramping up a couple of times. I headed over Hames, Day Valley, Valencia and Trout Gulch back to Aptos, then headed back on Soquel.

16 March 2013

Solo ride

It was sunny and cool, with a breeze from the northeast. I headed up Hwy 9 to Felton, then up Felton-Empire. Around Krazy Acres Lane, the air was filled with the greasy smell of cooking oil. At the top, I headed down Empire Grade.

9 March 2013

Solo ride

It was clear, cool, and a little windy. I started up Hwy 1 into the wind, then headed up Bonny Doon and Pine Flat, then returned down Empire Grade. As usual, the light at the UCSC west entrance turned red just as I approached, so I had to stop kind of sharply.

2 March 2013

Solo ride

It was mostly cloudy with periods of sun, and comfortably cool. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, then out on Hwy 236, which had numerous strips cut out and repaved with a little loose gravel around. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:35. Much of the traffic was cars carrying mountain bikes up the road. I got to the top at 1:00 for an approximate time of 25:14. I turned left at Empire Grade and headed back down.