31 August 2007

Stanford Hospital

Blake Wilbur Clinic Since I had a doctor appointment and X-rays at Stanford today, I took the day off. I decided to ride there and back, and figured I could get there in under 4 hours. I hoped that I wouldn't be stuck waiting in the waiting rooms for so long that I wouldn't be able to ride back before dark, as, last time, I was there for over 4 hours.

Also, I originally planned on taking Pierce, Mt Eden, and Stevens Canyon from Hwy 9 to Foothill, but, due to wildfires between Montebello and Redwood Gulch, Stevens Canyon was closed yesterday. So I decided to take another route from Hwy 9 to Foothill, heading up Saratoga-Sunnyvale and taking one or another of the roads leading to Foothill. I wound up going into Cupertino and taking Stevens Creek.

I got up early, and headed out before 7am on my old bike with toeclips, since I didn't want to walk around the hospital in cleats. This would be the first time I would ride on Hwy 9 on a real weekday, and, just like on the weekends, there was lots of traffic between Felton and Boulder Creek. I even saw the light by San Lorenzo High red for the first time. Beyond Boulder Creek, the traffic was light, just like on the weekends. My hip bothered me quite a bit, so it took me about 2:10 of total time to get to the top, which was a few minutes more than I expected.

On the way down, I saw a bunch of Porsches and a cop car stopped in a turnout. At Redwood Gulch, there was a sign saying the road was closed. At Saratoga, I turned left onto Saratoga-Sunnyvale, and took that giant road lined with strip malls up to Stevens Creek, and turned left. I turned right at Foothill, and the first four traffic lights turned yellow just as I approached. How annoying. Finally, the fifth one stayed green.

I turned right at Alpine, then right onto Sand Hill, then right onto Pasteur, and headed to the orthopedic clinic. There weren't as many people there as the last time, so it all took less than two hours. The doctor said my X-rays looked good -- my bones and the screws hadn't shifted around. I guess the bone was healing too. I should make another appointment in about 6 months.

I was hot and sunny when I started back. I took Sand Hill and Portola to Old La Honda. It was 12:57 when I turned onto Old La Honda. Despite the shade, it was pretty hot on Old La Honda. There was some traffic on the bottom part, about 8 cars. There was only 1 car after the one-lane road sign. It was 1:25 when I got to the top, so my time, which was 27:43, was about the same as my last time, which was 28:00. I turned right at Skyline, then left at 84 and headed down to the coast.

After La Honda, I faced cool coastal headwinds. They were slightly chilling, but it was also sunny. With my hip bothering me, I didn't feel like going hard into the headwinds, so I was going pretty slowly. Finally, I got to San Gregorio and stopped for a break. I got a 7up at the store.

When I got to Hwy 1, it was overcast. The sign said 38 miles to Santa Cruz, and I was tired. There was somewhat of a tailwind, but it wasn't much help. The windsock after Waddell was at about 70-80 degrees, sometimes sagging down to under 45 degrees, sometimes picking up briefly to 90 degrees. I guess it was windy enough, as there were a half dozen or so kite surfers at Waddell. After Dimeo, on the hill to the left, I noticed 6 or 7 cattle lined up and walking slowly north along a fence. I saw a calf about 50 yards behind that group also by the fence.

Finally, I got to Western, and, as usual, had to run the light to turn left, and headed up the hill.

25 August 2007

Felton-Empire and Bonny Doon

Top of Felton-Empire It was cloudy when I headed out to Capitola for the club ride. At three straight intersections on Water and Soquel, as I sped up on approaching green lights with cars approaching on the cross streets, the light turned yellow, so I had to stop, which was annoying. I got to the start early, and got signed in. As is typical with the Felton-Empire ride, the turnout was light, with about a dozen riders at the start.

We headed out, taking East Cliff, around the yacht harbor, East Cliff again, then the riverside path, where we lost a rider to a flat, but gained a tandem and another rider. At the upper end of the path, we crossed the parking lots to River Street and headed up Hwy 9 to Felton, where we regrouped at New Leaf. Two riders had second thoughts about the descent on Bonny Doon and decided to head up Mt Hermon to Scotts Valley instead.

I forgot to note the time at the start of the climb up Felton-Empire, but it was 10:22. I started up in a group of three. About halfway up, it became a group of two. After the steepest bit that followed a left curve, I felt a little like puking and couldn't keep up. I was the second to the top, and it was 10:50. Since I didn't know what the time was at the beginning of the climb, I didn't know how long the climb took, but I was hoping for something under 30 minutes. This would be the third time I climbed Felton-Empire since breaking my leg, and the times were 45:17, 38:36, and, for today, 28:17, 17 minutes faster than the first time, and a new personal best, beating the old best of 28:36. My gearing was 34/23 for the entire climb.

Regroup at the top. The tandem headed off on Empire Grade, because they live nearby. We continued onto Ice Cream Grade. Near the school, three riders were headed in the other direction, so we stopped and they joined us. They had climbed Bonny Doon Rd rather than Felton-Empire, which was not an easier climb, but does have less traffic. We then looped around on Bonny Doon Rd, which was the ride leaders favorite part, and stopped by the winery. Then came the big descent that was a little windy as well, before heading up to Davenport.

We had lunch at La Costa. I got a burrito that was pretty big. After lunch, I was feeling stuffed, so I sat in all the way back to Santa Cruz. I was still feeling full on the initial climb up Western, and I felt like puking again, so I took it easy after that.

18 August 2007

Solo ride - Montebello

Montebello gate It was bright and sunny when I got started. I had never climbed Montebello before, so I headed out to give it a shot. Heading up Hwy 9 to Felton, I got a scare when a fast oncoming jeep was in my lane. I guess he was trying to apex a turn, since there was nobody around but him and me. Motorists sometimes forget that they are operating a dangerous, heavy machine, and forget their responsibility to not endanger others on the road.

Hwy 9 starting somewhat after Boulder Creek had been repaved up to about a quarter mile before the Hwy 236 intersection. The last time I rode this section, the 4th of July, it hadn't been repaved. I got to the top in a little more than 2 hours and continued down. There were lots of cyclists climbing up from the valley side as usual. I turned off at Pierce and then Mt Eden.

On Mt Eden, at the edge of the park, there was water stop set up, and cyclists were approaching from the other direction, and turning around at the stop. I wonder what was going on. After turning around they would continue along Stevens Canyon. I stopped at the base of Montebello, but the other riders continued.

After a snack, I headed up Montebello. It reminded me a little of Soda Springs at first, but more so after the flat section in the middle. A dark gray pickup sped by inches from my left shoulder and honked. I guess some motorists use their vehicles as tools of aggression. Every other motorist on this road behaved responsibly, though, slowing as they approached, and passing by when the way ahead was clear. A half minute later, I heard honking from ahead. I guess it was the pickup again. When I got to the school where the flat part started, I overtook a couple on mountain bikes. I guess the pickup was honking at them.

There were views of the bay to the right. After the flat part, I was reminded a little of Page Mill. After the road became one-lane, I was reminded of the upper part of Montevina. Finally, I got to the gate, and stopped to take a picture and rest a little. Then I headed down cautiously. My GPS said my top speed was 52mph, but I think that was some glitch. I then headed back on Stevens Canyon, then up Redwood Gulch to Hwy 9. Redwood Gulch was so hard that I decided to skip Hwy 236 and Jamison and just take Hwy 9 all the way back.

On the climb up Hwy 9 from Redwood Gulch, there was a constant threat of pulling something in my right hip when seated, and, whenever I tried to push a little harder, I would pull something. Standing would give relief to my hip, but it wasn't steep enough for that to be comfortable for long and I was too tired to shift to a bigger gear. After the long crawl up those 3 miles, I got a coke from the hot dog stand and rested in the sun. Then I took Hwy 9 all the way back to town.