|
The first descent is somewhat technical, and it would be
a lot of fun but for the several bumpy sections and
rocks and gravel in the corners. I was ahead, slowing several
times to point out rock debris in the corners. There was an occasional
blast of heat rising from the canyons below. I probably had my jersey somewhat
unzipped. On the bottom of the second descent, I felt a sharp pain in my left side. As sometimes happens, I had picked up a yellow jacket in my jersey! The sight of me flailing
about on the side of the road must have been pretty humorous. I'm not allergic to wasps; they just hurt. Oh well. Three stings later, after
reassembling myself, we were back on the road.
I powered up the last little climb with Brent - a little adrenaline can
only help with the stings, right? The last descent is very smooth - as it's
the closest to civilization, it gets the most attention. It's not particularly technical, so it's easy to
just coast in the high 30's right to the bottom at Alum Rock.
At 38 miles, it's not a high mileage ride, but it is a total of 4700 feet
of climbing, and it's a tough climb. We had a nice lunch in San Jose,
where we talked about bikes, the ride, and I thanked Steve, Brent, and Shauki
for joining me on a good, solid ride. We timed it right, as a major wildfire broke out
near Mt. Hamilton two days later, creating a lot of smoke and unhealthy
air.
The Wall
I did Sunday's ride solo - a good opportunity for reflection. I chose my
high-visibility 1999 PMC jersey for a ride in the mountains.
My plan was to
start at my fire station, go to Santa Cruz and back, the long way.
Getting to Santa Cruz is mostly downhill, with various short
climbs along Skyline and Summit. One of the Summit rollers launches you into
a descent where it's easy to coast at 45 mph!
For the return trip from
Santa Cruz, I had picked 2 major climbs: Empire Grade and
Zayante. I've done both of these climbs several times before.
Sunday was hotter than
Saturday, and both of these climbs are mostly exposed. I made sure to
keep hydrated. Empire Grade climbs up past University of California Santa
Cruz (Go Banana Slugs!) and pitches up just outside the city limits.
There's one section about 1/3 of a mile with about a 14% grade.
It's the only shady climb,
but what it lacked in exposure, it made up for in steep. Very steep.
After each climb, you descend a bit, then climb again. You lose count of the climbs. There must be 6 or 7 total.
1800' later, I
turned down Felton-Empire, the road we climbed in my 2005 V-PMC. This
is a totally shaded, nicely paved descent, but at 8% average, I kept
the speed down. At the crossroads in Felton, I tanked up with water and Gu and prepared for Zayante.
I did a test-climb of Zayante the week before when the temperature was
around 80. This time, it was well into the 90's.
The beginning is mostly flat, but when it goes up, it can be very
steep. With about 2 miles to go, there is one short climb - the wall - which is 18% on the outside of the corner (probably 24% on the inside).
No complaints on this day, though I
did mutter "Man, it's hot" a few times. 1700' above Felton, I was at
the top of Zayante. But not done yet. Though it's only about 8.5 miles
back to the fire station, it's another 1000' of elevation gain. One of my
fire buddies was available to get a few pictures of me on the final
climb to the Las Cumbres Fire Station (thanks, Eric!). We call this "the bonus climb" as it's a pretty steep bit to end your ride.
The ride was
about 65 miles, just about 6000', giving me a total of 103 miles and
10500 feet for the weekend. That's a challenge.
|
