7 May 2011

Solo ride

It was sunny and breezy, with the wind mostly from the north. I headed up Hwy 9 and Glen Arbor to Boulder Creek, then took Hwy 236. On 236, a white van waited behind me for a while, then, passed me, sounding its horn, and moved towards me while passing. As it went by me, it was at least 2 feet right of the center line, and there was no oncoming traffic to attribute its moving towards me while passing, so I think the motorist was deliberately trying to intimidate me. I think motorists that use their vehicles to deliberately intimidate people should have their licenses suspended, and repeat offenders should have their licenses revoked. I started up Jamison Creek at 12:14. There may have been a slight tailwind for the climb, but I didn't notice any wind. There were 3 cyclists descending about a quarter mile from the top; one of them was wearing a Radio Shack jersey. There was a group of mountain bikers at the top -- they had passed me in a number of trucks on the way up. It was 12:38 when I got to the top. I turned left and headed down Empire Grade. For the fast part of the descent by upper UCSC marked by the 8-14% grade sign, I was behind a couple of cars that were going relatively slowly and had to ride the brakes down to the bridge.

5 May 2011

Swanton time trial

I headed north on Hwy 1 into the wind. It had been a very warm day, but it was cooling on the coast. The wind seemed to ease a bit north of Davenport. There was a headwind for the start of the time trial, but didn't seem to be a factor once I got into the valley. One rider overtook me before the climb, and three others on the return leg. Near the end, my left calf repeatedly threatened to cramp, but, just after finishing, my right calf briefly seized up. Based on my GPS data, my time was around 36 minutes.

23 April 2011

Solo ride

I headed up Hwy 1. It was overcast, with a little tailwind. I turned off onto Swanton, taking the loop back to Hwy 1, and into the headwind. Looking at the GPS data, I barely got up to 30 mph on the descent to Scott Creek. At the sign just outside of Davenport, I was going 18-20mph according to the GPS data. It briefly flashed 21mph between all the car traffic making it register around 50mph. A week earlier, with a tailwind, it showed that I was going 27mph. At Bonny Doon Rd, I turned left and headed uphill. From Smith Grade up, there were traces of drizzle. At Empire Grade, I turned right and headed down, and it was wet and chilly, though the road remained dry. The drizzle became more than a trace, and my face got completely wet. It was like being in an invisible fog.