Riding Through The Redwoods
This morning, I was out the door and on my bike shortly after 8:00. Heading out, I had a specific goal: to beat my best time up Highway 9, and to ride to (and back from) Boulder Creek. And on both accounts, the ride proved to be successful, and in a few other ways as well.
Riding into Saratoga, I stopped in briefly at the Blue Rock Shoot. After that short stop, I headed up the hill. I felt really good from the beginning, staying in a higher gear than usual. I kept going at a decent speed, and by the time I got to the half-way point I was 1.5 minutes ahead of my time from Wednesday. Amazingly, I was still able to keep the pace high; though I started to get a bit tired in the last couple of miles. But when I got to the one mile marker at 34:00 I knew that I had a shot at it. With a half-mile to go I was beginning to actually slow down, but I was determined. I sprinted the last quarter mile, and got to the top in 41:40, 20 seconds faster than the time I chased a group of women to the top...
After a really short break to clean my glasses, I headed down the roller coaster ride into Boulder Creek. The air was refreshingly cool as I got down past Waterman Gap, and in no time I was pulling into the parking lot at the Rainbow's End coffee shop. After getting a cup of coffee and a brownie from Olga, I sat down and slammed it all. Caffeine is sooooo good when you need the energy. And the brownies there are second to none (at least as far as store-bought ones go).
Then I crossed the street and headed up Highway 236 towards Big Basin. This road was actually the first mountain road I ever rode on, way back when I was in high school. My memory of that ascent make the hill steeper than it is. For the first 4 miles or so, it is actually very mellow. Then it kicks up a bit for the last 2.5 miles. Still, cresting the top at Little Basin Road was a welcome (temporary) end to the climbing. The bit into Big Basin from there is slightly downhill and a smooth, fast road. I got an It's It and a Gatorade from the store there, and sat down outside and chowed down as well. The nice thing about long rides is you don't have to worry so much about how many calories you are consuming. = )
The ride out of the basin, and up to Highway 9 is on a rough road, but it is mostly uphill so the jarring isn't so bad. The downhill sections can be a little brutal, but it passes quickly. After those roads, the stretch of Highway 9 seemed fast. And in no time, I was summiting Highway 9 for the second time of the day. Without stopping, I bombed down the eastside of the hill, following two motorcyclists the whole way down. After some of the roads I had ridden, getting on a familiar downhill was a welcome relief. This was probably the fastest I've ever descended 9, hitting 45 at one point.
After riding the boring flats home, I showered and drove back to Saratoga to watch part of Alesandra's gig at the Blue Rock Shoot. After grooving to the good tunes for an hour, I was off to Santa Cruz to look at a potential place to live. One of these days I'll find something...
Riding into Saratoga, I stopped in briefly at the Blue Rock Shoot. After that short stop, I headed up the hill. I felt really good from the beginning, staying in a higher gear than usual. I kept going at a decent speed, and by the time I got to the half-way point I was 1.5 minutes ahead of my time from Wednesday. Amazingly, I was still able to keep the pace high; though I started to get a bit tired in the last couple of miles. But when I got to the one mile marker at 34:00 I knew that I had a shot at it. With a half-mile to go I was beginning to actually slow down, but I was determined. I sprinted the last quarter mile, and got to the top in 41:40, 20 seconds faster than the time I chased a group of women to the top...
After a really short break to clean my glasses, I headed down the roller coaster ride into Boulder Creek. The air was refreshingly cool as I got down past Waterman Gap, and in no time I was pulling into the parking lot at the Rainbow's End coffee shop. After getting a cup of coffee and a brownie from Olga, I sat down and slammed it all. Caffeine is sooooo good when you need the energy. And the brownies there are second to none (at least as far as store-bought ones go).
Then I crossed the street and headed up Highway 236 towards Big Basin. This road was actually the first mountain road I ever rode on, way back when I was in high school. My memory of that ascent make the hill steeper than it is. For the first 4 miles or so, it is actually very mellow. Then it kicks up a bit for the last 2.5 miles. Still, cresting the top at Little Basin Road was a welcome (temporary) end to the climbing. The bit into Big Basin from there is slightly downhill and a smooth, fast road. I got an It's It and a Gatorade from the store there, and sat down outside and chowed down as well. The nice thing about long rides is you don't have to worry so much about how many calories you are consuming. = )
The ride out of the basin, and up to Highway 9 is on a rough road, but it is mostly uphill so the jarring isn't so bad. The downhill sections can be a little brutal, but it passes quickly. After those roads, the stretch of Highway 9 seemed fast. And in no time, I was summiting Highway 9 for the second time of the day. Without stopping, I bombed down the eastside of the hill, following two motorcyclists the whole way down. After some of the roads I had ridden, getting on a familiar downhill was a welcome relief. This was probably the fastest I've ever descended 9, hitting 45 at one point.
After riding the boring flats home, I showered and drove back to Saratoga to watch part of Alesandra's gig at the Blue Rock Shoot. After grooving to the good tunes for an hour, I was off to Santa Cruz to look at a potential place to live. One of these days I'll find something...
posted by Mike Deitchman at
12:42 PM
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