29 November 2008

Alba

It was cool and sunny. I went out for a quick ride to climb Alba. There were still patches of dampness on the road in the shade. I took Hwy 9 to Felton, then headed up Zayante and Quail Hollow and descended Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond. It was 2:05 when I started at the bottom. By the middle of the climb, sweat was getting into my eyes and it was stinging. About 3/4 of the way up, I had to stop to wipe my eyes out. Near the top, sweat was stinging both eyes again, so I had to stop at the top to wipe my eyes again. It was 2:38 when I got to the top, so I was about a minute and half faster than last time. I then took it easy heading down Empire Grade.

22 November 2008

Saturday harbor ride

It was cold and sunny. It was quite cold in the shade. It was warmer in the sun, but there was a lot of shade early on. The sun was low in the east sky, glaring in my eyes. At San Andreas, the pace seemed slow at first. After Manresa, a truck and a gray Prius went by, the Prius had its horn blaring throughout, for at least 10 seconds or so. A little before Sunset Beach, a gap opened ahead when I was at the back of the pack. I was on a wheel, and he made it back to the pack, but I couldn't hold the wheel, and got dropped. The pack receded maddeningly slowly, but I didn't have enough get back on. After the bridge, a group of 4 came by and I hopped on, and got back to the pack after it slowed down on Beach.

It was a small group doing Hazel Dell this week, but it split on Mt Madonna well before the steep climb, and I was at the back of the trailing group. I went to the front of that group. At the steep part, I hammered up. There were 2 Giant Strawberries riders ahead of me. I gradually closed the distance on them up the Hazel Dell climb, catching up a little before the summit, and followed them into Corralitos.

From Corralitos, I headed back solo over Hames, then lollygagged a little heading over Day Valley and Valencia before picking it back up on Soquel between the red lights. It was warmer, but it still got pretty cold in the shade.

15 November 2008

San Juan Bautista

It was windy with a headwind at the start and the sun low in the sky. It was slightly chilly in the shade in the morning. That would change.

I got to Kirby Park and got signed in. We headed out on Elkhorn, Garin, Vega, San Miguel Canyon, San Juan, Aromas and Blohm to Aromas for a break. Then, it was up Carr and Anzar. On the descent, I pushed hard to stay on the wheel of a tandem and it paid off with an easier fast ride on the flat part going into San Juan Bautista.

After lunch, I headed home through Aromas and Corralitos. It was getting very warm, and I was running low on water by the time I got home.

8 November 2008

Low Key Hill Climb Week 6

The Jamison Creek climb would be the only LKHC within easy riding distance, so I had to do it. I headed up Hwy 9 and it was mildly chilly. I took it easy, saving my energy for the climb. At one point there was dead raccoon in the middle of the lane. I got to the start early and got signed up. For the next 30 minutes or so, there were only a handful of riders around. Then a number of large groups started rolling in, starting with a big Bicycle Trip group.

I started near the back of the pack. The pace was quite fast for the not so steep bottom part, and I moved up to somewhere in the middle of the pack by following wheel after wheel. By the time I got to left-hander that started the real climbing, the leaders were long gone. The first photographer was taking pictures just after that curve. The second photographer was somewhere after the 1.66 sign, but definitely before the 1.33 sign, which still had the little US flag on it. I was concentrating too much on the climb to notice any of the other usual details of the 1.33 sign. For most of the rest of the climb, I was either just ahead of or just behind a Bicycle Trip rider on a Santa Cruz. Another Bicycle Trip rider on a Litespeed went by us breathing very loudly over the course of the last mile or so. With about 80 yards to go, the Santa Cruz rider blew by me with his sprint. With about 40 yards to go, I started my weak little sprint for the finish and shouted out my number. I had no idea what my time was.

After about 15 minutes of recovery, I headed home on Empire Grade. It was warmer than in the morning and my legs felt pretty good. There was a headwind for the final descent by UCSC. According to my GPS track, my time for the climb was 23:09, a new personal best.