19 July 2008

Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge Workers Ride

Just before starting, I checked to see where the ride would start, and it started from Scotts Valley High. I had been anticipating starting at the Scotts Valley Transit Center, which would be 5-10 minutes less to ride to, so I was starting late and had to hurry or skip my final preparations. It was foggy and chilly in the morning, but it would be warm in the mountains, so I didn't wear anything over my jersey. I headed up Glen Canyon, then Green Hills to Granite Creek, and Glenwood to the high school.

Oddly, there was no sign in. I took a look at the route sheet. A route emailed to the club list the previous evening had two changes from last year's route. Most significantly, instead of taking Riva Ridge and Summit to Skyline, it continued on Mtn Charlie to Old Santa Cruz Hwy, then over Hwy 17 at Bear Creek and Black up to Skyline. The other change was to go around the Bonny Doon loop to Martin instead of going straight down Pine Flat. I was relieved to see that the change to include the Black climb wasn't there. The Bonny Doon loop change was there and that was a nice minor change, because it has long straight descents that are fun.

We headed out going up Glenwood, then up Mtn Charlie, which sorted out the riders into groups. The front group didn't go too hard, but appropriately pacing for the long hard ride. Riva Ridge provided a nasty steep little climb after Mtn Charlie, and then it was Summit Rd. One guy was a fearless descender and off in front out of sight. When we caught up to him at Bear Creek Rd, his rear wheel was way out of true and his saddle was bent backwards. What had happened was that there was suddenly an oncoming car in the middle of the one-lane road near the Zayante intersection, and he got on the brakes so hard, his rear wheel lifted. I guess when the wheel came back down, a spoke and the saddle got messed up. He got the saddle fixed when we got to the rest stop, but would ride the out of true rear wheel the rest of the day, and continue doing his rocket descents.

We continued up Bear Creek and Skyline to the rest stop at Castle Rock. We stopped for about 35 minutes, and, for tracking purposes, I moved that stop to Saratoga Gap rather than create a new location. Food and drink for the long ride. Then we continued down Skyline to Hwy 9. There was no hot dog stand at the intersection yet at 10am. Then down Hwy 9 and up Hwy 236. Just before the China Grade intersection, there was a camel perhaps outfitted for riding with a bunch of cloth coverings on it off the left side of the road. Then down to the park HQ for a little break. Then it was up Hwy 236 to Little Basin and down Hwy 236 to Jamison Creek.

We turned right onto Jamison at 11:19. Some of the group had never done this climb before and one guy announced that he wouldn't go too hard, not knowing this climb. He would do the climb in 26-27 minutes, which I think is really good. Since, I've done this climb lots of times and had a good sense of the pacing, I went ahead by myself. The US flag, trace of skunk tail, and strip of paper that were on the 1.33 sign 2 weeks earlier were still there. A number of cars, trucks and motorcycles went by in both directions. It was 11:43 when I got to the top and it turned out to be a new personal best of 23:44 for the climb. Most of the rest of the group did the climb in 25-30 minutes, which was better than I could do most of last year. I sucked down most of the water in my bottle. After regrouping, we headed up Empire Grade to the next rest stop, which was only a little ways up the road.

We stopped about 35 minutes at the rest stop. For tracking, I moved the stop to the CDF station. More food and drink. Then we continued on Empire Grade. Some riders doing the 100km route continued on Empire Grade, while the rest of us doing the 100mi route turned right at Pine Flat, then right on Bonny Doon for the fast descents. At the other intersection with Pine Flat, we headed back up to Martin, then by the areas devastated by the Martin fire, then Ice Cream Grade. After that was the fast descent down Felton-Empire.

From Felton, we headed up Zayante. I was in a group of 3. We were joined by an Alto Velo rider for the upper part of the climb. It was long hard grind up. Then, it was Summit Rd over Hwy 17. We took Old Summit Rd, avoiding the Summit Rd traffic for a stretch. The bumpiness of Old Summit Rd and Summit Rd rattled my bottle cage loose. I wound up holding my bottle for a few hundred meters before stopping at the Summit Market. I hand tightened the bolts, which would be good enough for the time being. We got water and gatorade. After a while, a 4th rider, who had stopped at Zayante Market earlier joined us. The rest of the group had stopped to fix a flat. We waited for them for a while, then bombed down Soquel-San Jose.

Stopped at Casalegnos was a SAG truck, so we stopped, got more food and water. Not long afterwards, the rest of the group arrived, so we headed up Laurel Glen in a group of 8. Down Mountain View and Branciforte. At Granite Creek, 5 turned right to head back to the high school. The remaining 3 of us continued on Branciforte to ride back to town and home. One turned off at Goss. On Market St, I thought to myself, "Another ride safely completed." Ironically, my front wheel got caught in the uneven concrete at Market and Washburn. Fortunately, I didn't go down, but that was kind of a scare. The other guy turned off at Ocean, and I continued through downtown and then up High. Now, I need to get an allen wrench and tighten the bottle holder bolts.

12 July 2008

Solo ride

In the morning, there was thick fog and the roads were wet, so I decided to ride later. Around midday, the roads had dried, and it was sunny and warm. It was also a bit humid. Fortunately, it wasn't hot.

I started off going up Hwy 9. At one point, there were 4 horses crossing the road from right to left. By the time I got there, they were all on the left. I continued through Felton, then took Glen Arbor to Ben Lomond, then headed up Alba. It was 12:34 at the bottom. After 4 miles of steepness, it was 1:09 when I got to the top. About 35 minutes has to be faster than my previous best. I continued on Empire Grade to Pine Flat, headed down Pine Flat and around the Bonny Doon loop, then down Bonny Doon Rd to the coast. After the bridge, where the road got narrower, I started catching up to the car ahead of me and then had to ride the brakes most of the rest of the way down to stay behind it. I took Hwy 1 back without much of a tailwind if any, then hammered up Western.

6 July 2008

NorCal Tandem Rally and Wheelsucker Ride

Gazos Creek Beach I started out a little before 8, which was probably way too early. On the other hand, the later I start, the more the headwind kicks in. I was going to join the group at Gazos Creek Rd, which would be about 25mi upwind for me, and about 25mi downwind for the group from Half Moon Bay, and they were starting about 9:15. I figured that if there were a strong wind, it could take me up to 2 hours, and the fastest of the group could take about an hour. I forgot to consider that the climbs after Tunitas Creek, San Gregorio Creek, and Pomponio Creek would slow them down.

I started in dense fog. Drops of water started gathering on my glasses. About halfway to Davenport, the fog had lifted, but it was still overcast, and I could still see clumps of fog covering bits of the hills to the right. Around Fambrini's, I saw a cyclist way ahead of me. When descending to the bridge over San Vicente Creek just before Davenport, I could see the cyclist near the top of the climb to Davenport. I was gaining while nearing Swanton Rd. The cyclist turned right at Swanton, and I could see for the first time that it was a tandem. How appropriate.

The green wind sock was varying between 45 and 60 degrees, so the headwind was not terribly strong. However, at Waddell, the wind strengthened noticeably. Also, after crossing the bridge over Waddell Creek, it was suddenly sunny. Soon, though, the hills to the right shaded out the sun, and it was still windy, and then I had to climb to the county line. After Año Nuevo, it started getting cloudy again, and, by Costanoa, it was completely overcast.

When I got to Gazos Creek, I had been riding an hour and a half, so it wasn't even 9:30 yet. I was way early, so I occupied myself by listening. There was only one moment of maybe 10 seconds or so in which I could not hear a motor vehicle coming or going. Birds were chirping and there was the sound of the waves in the distance. It was also windy and chilly.

At around 10:10, I decided to slowly head up the highway and turn around when I saw the group coming. I passed Pigeon Point without seeing anyone. About a mile and half past Pigeon Point, I saw some dark forms in the opposite shoulder coming over a rise in the distance. I turned around and started heading back. A minute later, a tandem and a wheelsucker came by, and then another tandem and a couple of wheelsuckers. This was the vanguard of the group. I latched on and sucked wheel back to Gazos Creek. This wheelsucking was going to be fun.

Regroup at Gazos Creek. Moments later, a third tandem with a couple of riders in tow went screaming by and missed the turn. They couldn't hear our shouts and the cell phone reception was almost nonexistent, so we couldn't call them. As it turned out, they went all the way to Año Nuevo before turning around, and rejoined us at Pescadero. After everyone had arrived and still not seeing the errant tandem returning, we headed inland on Gazos Creek and up and down the roller coaster part of Cloverdale. The smooth part of Cloverdale featured more fast tandem wheel sucking, leading to the stop at Pescadero.


Semirecumbent tandem at Pescadero At Pescadero, a larger group doing the shorter, more relaxed-paced, version of the ride was already there. That group also had a bunch of tandems, including a semi-recumbent with the stoker in front. Since I hadn't started from Half Moon Bay, I didn't get to ride with any of them. Eventually, that group headed up Stage.

The rest of us headed up Pescadero Rd. As we headed inland, it became sunny and warm. There was more tandem wheel sucking for the first part, going by Loma Mar and Memorial Park. Then Haskins Hill split the group apart. The upper part of the climb was in the sun and I felt overdressed. Then came the descent. I soon came upon a slow moving truck towing a big horse trailer. Rather than risking trying to pass it, another guy and I followed it all the way down to the intersection with Alpine.


Hwy 84 and Pescadero Rd
Regroup at Hwy 84 and Pescadero Rd. After that, more wheelsucking down Hwy 84. Approaching San Gregorio, it started getting cloudier and there was a damp, chilly headwind. At San Gregorio, I stopped while most of the group continued. Sorry about checking up without warning, which is a lesson for me. After a little break, I headed back south on Hwy 1, where it was overcast and chilly. Supposedly, I had a tailwind, but I didn't really have much strength. By Costanoa, I was feeling the onset of a bonk. By Año Nuevo, it was partly sunny. On the little rise running up to the descent at the county line, I was crawling. I stopped at Waddell to eat some. There were lots and lots of kite surfers at Waddell and the sky was filled with kites.

There was a sandy tailwind, but I still crawled up the climb after the bridge. I finally started feeling better a little after the northern intersection with Swanton. The tailwind started kicking in too, and I hit 45mph heading down to Scott Creek. That was one of the rare times I found my 11t cog useful, but I still wouldn't miss it if it were gone. The tailwind was fabulous pushing me by Swanton Berry Farms. In the distance, the top of the structure at Davenport was wreathed with fog, but it cleared as I neared.

After Davenport, it was sunny and the tailwind was marvelous back to Santa Cruz. There was the final grind up Western Dr that I was almost too tired for, and then I was home.