13 March 2008

Swanton time trial

After work, I got home and changed. It had rained early in the morning, but it had been sunny and warm all afternoon, so I headed out without a wind-breaker and no leg warmers. At first, I kind of wished I had the wind-breaker, since it was a little chilly in the shade, though still warm in the sun.

The ride out to Davenport along the coast had a stiff headwind. I didn't want to work too hard, but I also didn't want to get there too late and have to start so late that it would be dark before I got back.

I wound up starting 22nd, which it was going to be pretty late when I got back. The sun was also setting, and the wind was chilly, so I was shivering while standing around waiting to start. After starting, though, the cold was not an issue. At first, I was afraid I went out a little too hard, but then I stopped worrying about that. About half way out, the guy who started a minute after me went by. About 2/3 of the way out, I saw the fast riders who started earlier headed back. More riders zipped by on their way back. Finally, I got to the climb, and there were more riders descending. I shifted into the small ring and huffed up to the turnaround. It was hard, but I felt pretty good, considering. The road still had wet patches, so I took the descent pretty conservatively. The tailwind kicked in at spots on the return, but mostly, the wind was blocked by the hills. Coming out of the sharp right-hander, the guy who started 2 minutes after me went by. Then it was time to hammer back to the line. The time of the guy just ahead of me was 33:11, so my time was around 35:20-35:30.

After a few minutes of catching my breath, I headed home with the tailwind as the sun set. It was twilight by the time I headed up Western.

8 March 2008

Boulder Creek club ride

Saratoga Gap It was sunny, but chilly in the shade, in the morning when I started out. I headed up Hwy 9 to Boulder Creek. In Henry Cowell, between Santa Cruz and Felton, I saw a somewhat blobby cross-shaped piece of art to the left next to the fire road. I got to Boulder Creek and signed in. There were about 25 people doing the ride. I elected not to ride the longest option, which would go down to Saratoga and Los Gatos, then up the Los Gatos Creek trail, up the dam, around the reservoir, then over Hwy 17 and up Bear Creek, then down Bear Creek back to Boulder Creek. The route I chose would cut along Skyline from Saratoga Gap to Bear Creek Rd, some 40 miles less.

We started out on Hwy 236, regrouped at Lodge, then headed up Lodge and into the park HQ for a short break. Then, we continued up Hwy 236, regrouping at the intersection with Hwy 9. I hammered up the remainder of Hwy 9 to Saratoga Gap, hoping to do it in under 30 minutes, but it took me a little more than 30 minutes. I got a coke at the hot dog stand. The warm sun felt good, and we sat around for a long time. There were lots of motorcycles stopping by, and not that many cyclists. At one point, a Lamborghini and two Ferraris stopped by.

Finally, the two guys doing the long route headed down to Saratoga, and I headed up Skyline with others doing the shorter route. Eventually, I rode ahead on my own, going by Black, Gist, and finally turning right at Bear Creek. At one point in the descent of Bear Creek, a station wagon or SUV with a Ron Paul sticker passed me. Since it was pretty twisty at that point, it didn't get very far ahead of me for 3 or 4 minutes. Finally, the road straightened out and the descent briefly became a mild upslope after the bridge and then it went off in the distance.

In the last mile or so, a guy in an CSC jersey and a woman went by, so I hopped on their wheels. They happened to be going the same way I was going for a while. We turned left at Hwy 9, then right onto Hwy 236 where there were girl scouts selling cookies on the corner again. A ways up Hwy 236, we passed a guy on a mountain bike, and he hopped on my wheel. At Jamison Creek, all 3 of them continued on Hwy 236. I turned left.

It was 2:04 when I checked the clock at the bottom. Then, when putting the GPS back in my pocket, it fell out, so I had to stop, turn around and pick it up. I wasn't feeling as strong as I did last week. The little US flag and the trace of skunk tail were still on the 1.33 sign. It was 2:31 when I got to the top, and my time turned out to be 27:51. I may now be strong enough to routinely climb Jamison in under 30 minutes. I certainly wasn't a few months ago.

I turned left at Empire Grade and continued much more slowly at first. I was tired, having hammered up two half-hour climbs. It was also slightly chilly in the shade. After Felton-Empire, it was mostly in the sun and that felt good. I saw maybe a dozen cyclists headed up, in pairs or solo, over the length of Empire Grade. At Chinquapin, I saw a dozen mountain bikers on the trail to the left coming up from UCSC. I felt fast going down the stretch between the 8-14% grade sign and the bridge, but my top speed was only around 40mph according to the GPS. Going by the UCSC west entrance, there was a strong smell of ozone.

1 March 2008

Solo ride

Zayante Due to the rain, I hadn't climbed Jamison since December, so this would be my chance. It was cloudy early in the morning, but since I was riding solo, I could start later, and by 10am, it was sunny. I headed out up Hwy 9. A little before the tracks, a bunch of cars passed me, including a pickup spewing clouds of noxious blue smoke. At that point, a couple of guys passed me, so I hopped on their wheels and let them pull me into Felton, where they turned right at Graham Hill. I continued on 9 to Glen Arbor, then over Quail Hollow and up Zayante. I took it easy almost all the way, only briefly ramping up the intensity for the steepest bits.

Then, I headed down Bear Creek into Boulder Creek. There were a bunch of girls and their mothers selling Girl Scout cookies in front of Johnny's Market, and they were shouting at the motorists, pitching the cookies. I continued along Hwy 236.

It was 12:56 when I got to the bottom of Jamison. Since I had mostly taken it easy up to this point, I could increase the intensity for this climb. On the 1.33 sign, there was still a trace of the skunk tail on the right side. There was also a very new looking little US flag stuck on it. At the right curve around the 1 mile point, the right edge of the road had been scraped off, a patch 3 or 4 inches wide. A little ways before the 0.48 sign, I guess around 0.6, a white limousine went by going up and emitting the most noxious smelling fumes, just the thing for someone gasping for air on a tough climb. What the hell is a limo doing heading up Jamison? My effort seemed a little less than it had the last few times I did this climb, so I was able to finish strong, and it was 1:21 when I got to the top, so I definitely had a new personal best. My old personal best was 27:08 on 3 March 2007, pretty much exactly a year ago. My new personal best is now 25:32. It must be due to the weekday morning UCSC hill repeats that I've been doing the last few months.

After the climb, I felt fresher than I usually had after that climb, and turned left and headed home on Empire Grade. After Felton-Empire, the mostly sunny parts felt nice and warm.