30 August 2008

Saturday harbor ride

I had gotten up late, so I had to hurry to eat breakfast and get out on the road. It was foggy and I had to stop at several lights that turned yellow just as I approached. I got to the start just before 8. There was a pretty big group at the start.

We headed out just after 8, and the pace, though still fairly easy within the pack, was much higher than usual. A top pro was in front warming up. At a stoplight at Aptos, she yelled back apologies. We were 6-9 minutes ahead of the usual time. The last part of Soquel right by Hwy 1 had been recently chip-sealed and had some loose gravel at the edges of the road.

Since it was a large group, I figured someone would really push the pace on San Andreas, but the pace was a little slower than it had been the last few times. Part of that was due to having to go around a slow tractor on the road. It was pretty foggy, especially around Buena Vista. I was at the back of the pack, so after the bridge near the end, the pack split and I was behind the gap.

A relatively big group, more than 20, chose to do Hazel Dell. I was at the back of the pack again. When the climb came, I went around some riders and found myself in a group gapped by the main group. After the first climb, I got on the wheels of some strong riders and stayed within sight of the main group until the climbing started again after Green Valley. On the climb, I slowly lost sight of the main group. Coming the opposite direction was the club ride that I decided to skip, as it started early at 8, and started further away. I hit the descent alone, and started down Browns Valley alone. Eventually, a train of 8 or so came through and I latched onto the end into Corralitos.

I continued over Hames. On Freedom, I was on the wheel of a strong guy. I took a couple of pulls, but it was obvious that he was a lot stronger than me. I stayed with him on Soquel through Aptos Village, but had to drop back by the time we got to Cabrillo, and I didn't see him after that. Heading back to town on Soquel, there were several occasions where the light turned yellow just as I entered an intersection, so at least the lights are sometimes favorable.

Highland from Mission to High had been closed for repaving the last few days. The repaving was finished, so I didn't have to take a detour to get to High. Finally, the last light at High and Moore gratuitously turned yellow just as I approached and I had to stop briefly before it changed green just in time for the car behind me to go through without stopping. I got home before 11 for the first time.

23 August 2008

Pescadero and Tunitas Creek

There was thick drizzle and the roads were wet when I started out. As I headed north on Hwy 1, the road eventually dried, and the fog on the ground cleared, but still hung around the hills just 50ft up. There was pretty much no wind, so I made good time. The wind sock just before Waddell hung straight down, as did the flag at Pescadero. I turned right at Gazos Creek, which had been recently chip-sealed. A portion of Cloverdale had a relatively thick coat of dirt, which was unwelcome in these wet conditions. After the fast part of Cloverdale, I made it to Pescadero and got signed into the club ride.


Top of Tunitas Creek Rd The ride started up Stage to Hwy 1, then down to Tunitas, and then up Tunitas. The bottom part was recently chip-sealed, but it soon became the familiar bumpy rutted road as the climbing started. The road was wet in many places in the bottom and middle of the climb. In the middle of the climb, the fog was close to the ground, and the light filtering through the trees made beautiful light beams through the fog. Eventually, I was above the fog and the sky above the trees was clear. Near the top, a large Alto Velo group came descending by. When I went by the top of Swett, the same group was stopped there. On the descent to Sky Londa, the Alto Velo group went by me. I didn't feel comfortable enough on the turns that I didn't know that well to slot in anywhere. Eventually, there was a really big gap, so I tried to latch on there and sort of succeeded. I pulled out at Sky Londa and stopped at Alice's for lunch.

I filled my water bottle and got a greasy breakfast burrito. Eventually more club riders arrived. There was the usual motorcycles stopped there or passing through. Lots of Alto Velo riders passed through as well. The radio played Dylan, Skynyrd, and other oldies. When I was leaving, The Who was playing. It was sunny and warm on Skyline as I slowly rode to Hwy 9.

I headed down Hwy 9, then took it easy up Hwy 236, then down to the park headquarters where I took a break. I got a coke from the store. After the break, I slowly headed up 236. It was 2:41 when I got to Jamison. I had ridden over 90 miles at this point, but I was feeling relatively good due to taking it easy for the last few hours. One car went by near the bottom, but other than that, there was nobody else on the road the rest of the climb. On the 1.33 sign, there was still the U.S. flag, the skunk tail remnant, and the strip of paper. Added to that was a white sticker with red lettering reading "INVESTIGATE 9/11". It was 3:08 when I got to the top, for a time of 26:57, the second slowest of the year, which is expected after having ridden so much, but it was still faster than the fasted time of 2007, though just barely.

After a break, I headed back home on Empire Grade. When passing the UCSC west entrance, I had recovered enough to hammer the rest of the way, going 30mph for the last 2 1/2 minutes (downhill).

16 August 2008

Saturday harbor ride

It was cool and there was thick fog in the morning. At the start, there was an unusual crowd of people due to a outrigger canoe club or something. There was also people making chalk marks on the road for a run or a walk.

On San Andreas, I was at the back of the pack, but the pace was relatively slow, so the pack was all bunched up. At one time, I saw one guy off the front. Approaching Buena Vista, there were two guys off the front. After Buena Vista, the pace picked up a little, but not that much, so the pack was still pretty bunched up.

At Watsonville, a big bunch headed off for the long route. A good sized bunch went for the shorter routes, with a decent size group of at least 20 doing Hazel Dell. On Casserly, the pace was slow at first. The latter part of Casserly had been pretty recently chip-sealed, so there was loose gravel on the side of the road. The pace picked up and strung out the group single file. The group bunched back up on the shallow climbing of Mt Madonna, then split up when it got steeper.

At the start of Hazel Dell, the sky was clearing. When the climbing started, I fell back from the lead group. At the summit, it was sunny. I was in a group of 4 and hung onto their wheels on the descent. A couple more riders caught us before we got to Corralitos.

After Corralitos, I continued solo over Hames, Day Valley, Valencia, and Trout Gulch to Aptos, then Soquel back to town. From Main St in Soquel all the way Ocean St, I had the worst luck with traffic lights. All except for 2 were red and a number of them changed to yellow as I was approaching. It was now sunny where it had been foggy in the morning.