24 March 2007

Solo ride

Holy City Rd It was cloudy, and the roads were damp all morning, so I took my time getting ready. When I finally got on the bike, it was still cloudy and damp. It turned out to be cloudy all day, except for three places. I took pictures at two of those places.

I had a route in mind that would include climbs that I hadn't done in a while. I last climbed Soquel-San Jose in April 2006. I last rode up through Redwood Estates in October 2006. I last rode Quail Hollow in May 2006, and last rode it from west to east in May 2005. I last climbed Felton-Empire in December 2006. I last rode Smith Grade in December 2006.

I started out heading through downtown, where I stopped at lots of red lights. At Water and Market, the light turned red just as I approached. A pickup truck was next to me, and it hesitated an instant, then, after the light had been red for a second or two, blew through it. I stopped, though. A minute later, on the little climb on Water up to Branciforte, a cop car passed by, but it was way too late to have seen the pickup. I continued on Branciforte, Goss, then turned right onto Branciforte, finally getting out of the city. I headed up Branciforte and Mountain View. As a climb, Mountain View ended before I knew it. I only climb Mountain View occasionally, while I descend it more often, usually in less than 2 minutes, so it's pretty short. I headed down Laurel Glen, and then headed up Soquel-San Jose.

On the climb, I started noticing my left cleat seemed loose, and it was making grinding noises when I was pushing down after pulling up. When I got to Stetson, I stopped to check it out, and the cleat was firmly attached. So the cleat must have just been grinding against the pedal. Maybe it was worn or something, which was odd. My right cleat was perfectly fine, and its the one I always unclip for stopping, so the right cleat should be the one that's worn more. Anyhow, I wound up having to suffer through the cleat grinding on all the subsequent significant climbs.

A cement mixer passed pretty closely, and I thought about AB60, a proposed law to mandate a three-foot safety zone for passing cyclists. After Miller, it was sunny and the sky was blue. I expected that it would be sunny the rest of the day, but no such luck. Once on Summit Rd, I could see clouds near ground level ahead. Again, a cement mixer passed me closely. At Old Santa Cruz Hwy, I turned right and headed down. On the descent, I passed two cyclists from the club who where climbing up. I last rode with one of them last week, and the other one in February. Further down, it became sunny again. At Holy City, I turned left and headed up the hill. Just before it got really steep, I took out my camera phone and took a picture. At the top of Holy City Rd, I continued under Hwy 17 and headed up the steep, narrow, twisting roads of Redwood Estates. By the time I got to Summit Rd, it was clouded over again.


Self-portrait It was cold and damp on Summit Rd. At one part, the road was wet from water dripping down from the trees overhead. On Bear Creek Rd, I decided to continue down to Boulder Creek, rather than following my original plan to take Skyline, then head down Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek. At Boulder Creek, I stopped for a can of coke at the gas station. After the little break, I continued to Ben Lomond, then headed up Glen Arbor and Quail Hollow, and down East Zayante and Graham Hill to Felton, where the stoplight at Hwy 9 stayed red for a long time.

I climbed Felton-Empire in a little more than 30 minutes, my second best time for that climb, then continued up Empire Grade. I turned left at Pine Flat and zipped down to Bonny Doon Rd, where it got sunny again. I took a self-portrait at the mirror on Bonny Doon Rd. Continuing down Bonny Doon Rd, it got cold and cloudy again.

At Smith Grade, I figured I'd be home in about 40 minutes. After the initial relatively flat bit, Smith Grade was a fast descent. The road was narrow, one-lane at times, with lots of blind, though not very sharp, turns. After the descent, it became somewhat rolling until the final steep climb to Empire Grade. The intersection with Empire Grade was a saddle point, so continuing on Empire Grade meant another little climb. After that, it was a fast descent back to Santa Cruz. I reached Bay and High about 35 minutes after the start of Smith Grade, so my 40 minute estimate wasn't too bad.

17 March 2007

Eureka Canyon

Cox Rd It was foggy when I started out to Jade St Park, where the club ride was to start at 9. There was a moderate turnout, and the fog was thicker as I signed in. I started out coasting slowly, but then hammered up the little climb on Monterey Ave to Park Ave to join up with a tandem and two other guys. I turned left at Trout Gulch with the tandem and one guy. The other guy continued on Soquel to Freedom, which was the shorter option. We continued on Valencia, then turned left onto Cox. I got out my camera phone and took a picture. Just after taking the picture, the road steepened and the tandem dropped back. After the summit, the other guy slowed, so I went ahead. With the pace in my hands, I hammered down Day Valley and Freedom to the stop at Pony Espresso, which was formerly 5 Mile House. The fog was so thick, my glasses got covered with water droplets.

More people were joining the ride at the stop. Riders started trickling out, and eventually I went. I took it very easy on Corralitos Rd, but kicked up the pace once I hit the bottom of Eureka Canyon and started catching groups of riders. Eventually, I settled in with three other guys, while another guy had disappeared off the front. Finally, we were out of the fog. A little before Koinonia, one of the guys and I went ahead, eventually pushing a very hard pace. We managed to catch up to the guy who went ahead earlier at about 100 yards from the top. Up in the mountains, the sky was blue and it was warm and sunny. This was the first time I climbed Eureka Canyon on my new bike, and, thanks to the motivation of the chase, I got a new best of around 41 minutes, two minutes better than my previous best.

A little later, the other two guys came riding up. Three or four groups of mountain bikers came riding by. Eventually, we decided to get going instead of waiting any longer for any of the others to show up. Looking left from Highland, I could see the fog blanketing the coast. After Spanish Ranch and Mt Bache was the fast descent to the Summit Market, where I got a sandwich and a coke. Several other groups of cyclists stopped there as well. I hung around there for a long time to let the fog on the coast burn off. I saw someone ride up on a carbon Ibis (same as my new bike) for the first time. Eventually, I headed out and joined two others for a while. However, since I was leaving them behind by simply coasting, I tried to see how far I could coast. I managed to make it through two of the little upgrades without having to pedal, and then made it to almost the 6.91 marker before finally coming to a stop and having to pedal. I coasted much of the rest of the way to Casalegno's, where I stopped and waited for the other two. After chatting with them a little, I headed up Laurel Glen, while they continued to Soquel.

I went up Laurel Glen, down Mountain View and Branciforte, and then headed home.

15 March 2007

Swanton Road Time Trial

After work, I headed home on my beater mountain bike. I got home at 5:25, quickly got changed, and headed out for the Swanton Road Time Trial, which I had never tried before. Since it started at 6:15, I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time, but I also didn't want to ride too hard and trash my legs. When I was almost there, I checked the time, and it was 6:05, so I would be on time.

I started 5th, and headed out at a pretty good pace. On the way out, I overtook three riders that started ahead of me, and didn't get passed, so all the really fast guys started pretty far after me. A ways before the turnaround at the top of the climb, I saw the last guy who started ahead of me headed down. After the turnaround, I saw lots of riders headed up the climb. After the descent, there were a bunch of bugs hitting me in the face. With about three miles to go, a guy on a Litespeed flew by me. I kept him in sight until the last few hundred yards. My time was 34:08, I think. It was a time I was quite happy with.

After resting a while, I headed home, hoping to get back before dark.

[My time was 34:29 in the posted results. Going in, I wanted to ride under 40 minutes, so I'm very happy with a time under 35 minutes. My previous best time out was around 23 minutes on 30 December 2006, and my previous best time back was around 21 minutes on 10 July 2005, making for a time around 44 minutes.]

10 March 2007

Kirby Park to Monterey

Monterey County Bike Path The club ride to Monterey had various starting places -- Aptos, Kirby Park, Pezzini's Market, and Marina -- so I headed to Aptos, the closest one, which had the earliest start time of 8am. It was early, so it was cooler than I liked, and the sun was low and in my face almost all the way to Aptos, as I was riding eastward. On Soquel Ave between Morrissey and Dominican, I had to stop at a bunch of gratuitous red lights, many of which didn't even have any cross traffic. I thought for a while that I might not make it to Aptos on time, but I did. There was only one guy there for the ride, though there were a few mountain bikers, presumably headed up Nisene Marks. We waited for a while, then decided to get going. Since he didn't remember the way to Kirby Park, I took the lead. Ironically, he lives in La Selva Beach, along the way. Just as we started to go, one more guy showed up, and the three of us headed to Kirby Park. It was still cool in the shade, but it was warming up comfortably in the sun. There might have been a slight headwind, but we rode at a good pace, making it to Kirby Park about an hour.

There were only a few riders at Kirby Park, but the start time from there was 9:30, so there was still 25 minutes or so. We got signed in and looked at pictures from a trip to Chile for Cyclists for Cultural Exchange that some of the riders went on a couple of weeks ago. More riders arrived. A pack of racers went by on Elkhorn just as they did 23 December 2006, the last time I went on this ride. Though I guess the racers ride by every week on a regular training loop.

The ride leader gave a brief speech, and warned of a short stretch along the freeway at Castroville, and then we started off. By the end of Elkhorn, I was in the lead group with the two guys who rode from Aptos and one more guy. A little after getting off the freeway in Castroville, and about a mile or two before Pezzini's, one guy got a flat. I stopped, since, last week, he asked if he could borrow my pump if he got a flat. The other two were a ways ahead, so they continued. As he replaced his tube, a group of five or so on the ride passed by. So, this would be the first time my frame pump would be used. We continued to Pezzini's, where there were three or four riders getting ready. Everyone else had already left. The guy who had the flat asked around to see if anyone had a floor pump, and I headed out in time-trial mode to catch up to the group. I took Monte, then followed the bike path, at a pace of 18-20mph. On the path, somewhere between Marina and Sand City, I was catching up to a pack of cyclists, so I took out my camera and took a picture, but they were still too far away to show up in the picture. The pack was my group, with the addition of riders who started at Pezzini's and Marina.


Approaching Monterey On the approach to Monterey, I took another picture. Part of the group stopped for lunch at Pino's in Monterey, while others went to Goodies in Pacific Grove. I got a sandwich at Pino's. After lunch, I joined a small group that continued along the crowded path by Cannery Row to Lover's Point. Then, instead of continuing to Asilomar, we stopped at Goodies. Instead of stopping there, two others, the guy who was at Aptos on a Giant and a woman who started from Kirby Park on a Calfee, and I decided to head back, so we got back to the path and backtracked and rode together all the way back to Elkhorn Rd. On the bike path on Castroville Blvd, the Giant got a flat, so we stopped for about 10 minutes to put on the spare. He had tubulars. At Elkhorn, the guy on the Giant continued on Castroville Blvd, and, on Elkhorn, the woman on the Calfee was tired and dropped back.

Beyond Kirby Park, I started facing a little headwind. On Salinas Rd, the headwind got stronger, and was quite strong on Trafton. I was only going 12-13mph. On San Andreas, the headwind wasn't as strong, and, after the initial little climb, I got my pace up a little. By then, I was getting quite hungry, and I decided to stop at Soquel. On the little climb after Spreckels to State Park, I was pretty weak, so, while I rode by Cabrillo, I ate the remaining half bar that I started eating at Kirby Park in the morning, and I felt a little better. At Soquel, I got a Pepsi at Hernandez Market. That helped revive me. On the climb towards 41st St, I gained ground on a cyclist in a yellow jersey. There were lots of red lights from Dominican all the way to downtown Santa Cruz, so I caught up to the cyclist, who was riding a Serotta, at each red light. Our paths coincided until I turned off of Mission at Highland.

Some time after getting home, I found that my calves were painfully sunburned. Next time, I'll make sure to use sunscreen.

4 March 2007

Flamingo Ride

Arcangeli's It was another beautiful day for being outdoors. I headed down to Another Bike Shop (which was closed) to join the Flamingo Ride, billed as a fast-paced 90-mile ride. I had ridden with three of the guys there before, including the one guy on a mountain bike, as the frame of his road bike was being fixed. I think there were 13 riders, including 2 women. Two of the riders joined us on High St. We headed out pretty slowly, winding our way to Hwy 9. It was a little cool on Hwy 9, but, since I was sitting at the back of the pack, the wind was not as chilly as it would have been if I were riding alone.

By the time we reached Felton, everyone was warmed up, and the pace ratcheted up. By myself, I usually ride 17-18mph from Felton to Boulder Creek. We were going around 21mph. I stayed near the back of the pack. Just after Redwood Elementary School, we stopped for a break. Even including that break of about 4 minutes, the time from Boulder Creek to the upper Hwy 236 intersection was only 2 minutes slower than my best time, and faster than most of my times. At Saratoga Toll Rd, I tried to shift to my small ring and dropped my chain. As I recovered my chain, the pack split up. I moved up to join the group in front, spending a lot of energy. It soon became clear that I couldn't keep up, but I hoped to stay with them until Hwy 236. No such luck. After a half mile or so, I had to fall back. When I passed Hwy 236, they were still in sight, but pulling away quickly. There was also one guy a few hundred yards behind me. The lead group soon disappeared ahead. Eventually, the guy behind me dropped out of sight as well. I made it from Hwy 236 to Skyline two minutes faster than my previous best, then turned left and headed to the fire station.

Regroup at the fire station. I got a Sprite and refilled my bottle with water. I think one guy turned off at Hwy 236, and another turned right at Skyline, so the group was 11. A few other cyclists also stopped at the fire station. After the break, it was a fast ride along Skyline to Alpine. During this stretch, a guy behind me pointed out that I lost the top to one of my bottles. It was my empty bottle on my seat tube, so I guess I'll have to buy a new bottle. At the top of Alpine, there was group of cyclists, and they warned of sand on the road. On the descent, I fell back, with only the guy on the mountain bike behind me. Since the last time I did this descent was 10 July 2005, I stayed pretty cautious on the turns. It took me about 19 minutes from Skyline to Pescadero Rd. The last time, it took about 34 minutes. Eventually, mountain bike guy and I caught up to two others, and then the four of us caught up to one more. The five of us rode together to the Pescadero Rd, where there was a short (from my point of view as the last to arrive) regroup.

On the climb up Haskins, a group of five rode ahead. I stayed with the group behind for a while. Then, one guy went off ahead, and I stayed with him until a few hundred yards short of the summit. On the descent, he got a few hundred yards ahead of me. Eventually, I caught back up as he negotiated past a slower guy in a red and black jersey. A while later, I asked him about the flamingo house, which I had been looking out for, and he said we just passed it, and the flamingos had been removed last year. There seemed to be a slight headwind, and the rest of the group caught up and the six of us rode to Pescadero together.

We stopped for lunch at Arcangeli's. I got a pastrami sandwich and a coke, then went back out and took a picture. Then I saw that everyone else and their bikes were gone. I sat down on a bench and ate my lunch. It turned out that everyone else was sitting at tables behind the store that I didn't know about. After I finished, I headed out by myself to Cloverdale. On Cloverdale, I saw a beautiful white bird with a long neck off to the right. It looked like a snowy egret. There was a bit of a headwind, so I slowed quite a bit until the hilly part. Then, I took Gazos Creek Rd out to Hwy 1. On Hwy 1, the headwind reappeared, so I slowed to around 14mph. About a mile later, the group came zooming by. I jumped to latch onto the back of the pack, going by Año Neuvo. On the little climb to the county line, I couldn't keep up and fell off the back. The climb after Waddell was unusually difficult, so I geared down and took it slowly.

After the climb out of Scott Creek, I started seeing a cyclist in a blue jersey far ahead of me. On the climb out of the dip after Davenport, I made a lot of the distance and caught up a bit after Bonny Doon Rd. He was at the back of the pack and got dropped on the climb out of Waddell. He also told me about the tables behind Arcangeli's, clearing that up for me. We rode together back to Santa Cruz. At Western, I said goodbye and turned left.

3 March 2007

Short solo ride

Jamison Creek Rd Since the club ride this week started at Suñol, which was too far away, I planned on joining a ride on Sunday. However, since the weather was supposed to be very nice all weekend, I decided to go on a short ride and climb Jamison Creek Rd, to make it 14 straight months in which I had done that climb at least once. With my new, lighter bike, and with the short route, I was pretty sure to set a new personal best on the climb.

The route I took was identical to one I rode 28 May 2005, which I never logged. On that day, I rode with someone to see an art and wine festival in Boulder Creek, and we walked up half of Jamison Creek Rd.

This time, it was a little cooler than comfortable on Hwy 9 in the shade, but very nice in the sun. By the time I got to Felton, I was nicely warmed up. At Boulder Creek, I turned left onto Hwy 236 and headed to the bottom of the climb at an easy pace. It was 12:13 when I started up Jamison Creek. There were signs warning of ice from earlier in the week. There was also lots of sand left on the road. As I approached the steep right-hander just before the 1.33 sign, I took out my camera and took a picture. I barely managed to turn the camera off and put it in my pocket before I had to stand up for the steep part, my front wheel almost coming off of the road. Near the top, the sand made my rear wheel slip when I was standing. When I got to the top, it was 12:40, so I destroyed my old personal best of a little under 29 minutes by over a minute and half, setting a new personal best of a little over 27 minutes.

At Empire Grade, I turned left and headed home.

After getting to Hwy 9, the only places I stopped were at the red light at Hwy 9 and Graham Hill in Felton, and at the stop sign at Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 in Boulder Creek.