Big Basin, Counter-clockwise

A few weeks ago I rode my bike through Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It was very pretty, so I decided to do it again. To give the ride some minimal novelty, I decided to ride the opposite direction.

View Big Basin, Counter-clockwise in a larger map

I left the house just after 9 AM, and headed over Shannon to Los Gatos and then to Saratoga. Despite the perfect weather, I was seeing relatively few riders until a huge group ride passed by on Los Gatos Boulevard, going the other direction. In Saratoga there was another large group of riders, this one on motorcycles, hanging out at the coffee shop. Must be a good day for group rides, of all sorts.

I ambled up Route 9, feeling pretty good about my condition despite being passed by several other riders (and of course I passed no one). Route 9 always has a lot of traffic, but it seemed especially busy today.

At Saratoga Gap there was another gathering of motorcyclists, or quite likely the same gathering I saw in Saratoga, group rides being a particularly movable feast. I must say that the gear worn by motorcyclists is, on average, no less ludicrous than that worn by bicyclists. And that's saying something.

I was considering buying some food from the hot dog vendor, but he wasn't there today. So I just continued down the west side of Route 9. As it turns out, I've never descended this road on a bike. It's a great ride, straight and smooth enough to comfortably carry a lot of speed.

Big Basin Redwoods

As soon as you reach the intersection with 236 you start heading back up, through one of the prettiest areas around. Route 9 is lovely, but 236 has virtually no traffic as it winds through woods. It's quite possibly the prettiest road I know. Near the intersection with China Grade a half a dozen pheasants crossed the road just in front of me.

A hollow tree in
Big Basin Redwoods State Park

The park itself was busy, with lots of cars in the lot and at least one more big group, this one composed of hikers. They were crossing the road like pheasants.

I rode toward Boulder Creek with increasing traffic. I had a truly great hamburger at Foster's Freeze, then headed down Route 9 toward Felton, where I started up Zayante Road. There were lots of Sheriff's cars out, with lights flashing and one deputy carrying around an assault rifle. I moved along. (Update: it looks like they were apprehending a fugitive. I rode through perhaps 20 minutes later).

Zayante has some terribly steep pitches, and I was happy to be able to endure them so late in the ride. I slowly made my way to Summit, and then very quickly descended Bear Creek Road to Los Gatos. I took Kennedy across the hill and home.

Elevation profile. See a note about data for details.

In total it was over 72 miles, with some 6400 feet of climbing. I was out over 8 hours again, with 7 hours moving. That's one of my longer rides, both in distance and time, which I suspect is partly due to improving condition but mostly due to lengthening daylight.

Corralitos

Inspired largely by Ray Hosler's Photo of the Week from a few weeks ago, I decided to revisit a ride from nearly a year ago, visiting Corralitos on the way up Eureka Canyon Road. As it turns out, this exposed a little selective amnesia on my part.

View Corralitos in a larger map

The ride started in the normal way: I got out at about 9:30, and headed into Los Gatos via Kennedy Road. I was feeling especially sluggish, to the extent that I was wondering whether my rear tire had enough pressure. It was fine; the engine was lacking. I headed down the Los Gatos Creek Trail and up the two preposterously steep bits at the end to the Lexington Reservoir. Then it was around the reservoir on Alma Bridge Road, and up the Old Santa Cruz Highway to Summit.

It was nearing lunchtime as I approached the Summit Store, but I rode on past because I had a sausage sandwich in Corralitos in mind instead. I zipped down the Soquel-San Jose Road into Capitola, then took Park Ave to my obligatory view of the ocean.

New Brighton State Beach, from Park Ave

From here I took a route new to me. First I took McGregor Drive, which parallels Route 1, over to State Park Drive, and then continued east on Center Avenue. This runs through a quirky little area that includes the Mad Molecule Science Store, which looked like fun. This leads under Route 1 and then meets up with Soquel Drive. A few hundred feet later I took a left on Trout Gulch Road, and after a short run through a little retail area I took a right on Valencia Road, which heads into familiar rural terrain.

Valencia runs through a pretty, wooded area along Valencia Creek. There are lots of roads back there, and no cell phone coverage. It turns out that my brief glance at the map a little earlier didn't stick in the mind, and as a result I took a brief trip up Cox Road before I found my bearings and my target, Day Valley Road.

Day Valley Road meets up with Freedom Boulevard just short of the intersection with Hames, which after two steep ramps led to Corralitos, and lunch. At 2 PM it seemed a little late for lunch, yet the meat market was busy, both inside the store and out at the picnic tables. I enjoyed my sandwich at the foot of a tree.

Corralitos Creek

Man, that was a lot of sandwich. When I started north on Eureka Canyon Road, it was pretty heavy in the belly. No matter, though, I trudged up the hill through lush woods. As usual there was almost no one else on this part of the road, so I enjoyed the peaceful ride. Eureka Canyon Road climbs through shady woods next to Corralitos Creek, until it finally emerges into the sunlight near the intersection Ormsby Trail, where it turns into Highland Way.

Highland Way goes by an entrance to the Soquel Demonstration Forest popular with mountain bikers, which was quite busy on Saturday. As I passed SUV after SUV, all I could think was that all these guys were going to pass me on this tiny road a little later on.

I stopped at the Summit Store to replenish my water bottles, then headed back down Old Santa Cruz Highway. I retraced my steps, except I headed around the west side of the reservoir on Highway 17, then crossed back home on Shannon rather than Kennedy.

Elevation profile

I got in just before Sunset, having been out a little over 8 hours (7 hours moving). It looks like it's just about 77 miles, with almost 5600 feet of climbing. And that, it turns out, was my little bit of amnesia. I thought I had done this ride before, but since I've never done anything like a 77 mile ride in this direction before, I must have conflated last year's two attempts. That's a good long ride for me, and a great day out.

Mount Hamilton via Quimby

Some rides are just snake-bit. I've tried to climb Quimby Road before, the long steep western side, but due to various hardware and software failures, never quite managed it. Saturday was the latest false start. It was raining pretty hard, and it was looking like a long, cold day. When I got a flat just a mile or so from home, then made a mess of myself fixing it, I decided to bag it. But Sunday was dry and clear, so I tried again. Fifth time's a charm.

View Hamilton via Quimby in a larger map

I set off on Sunday a little before 10 AM, and took Blossom Hill toward the eastern hills. After warming up the legs on the surprisingly steep hill at the end of Blossom Hill Road, I arrived at the foot of Quimby in good order.

The Santa Clara Valley, from Quimby Road

Quimby starts off steep, and then gets steeper. The bottom portion has something like a 10% grade. When that eases to merely 6%, you feel like you're on flat ground. But then the last few hundred meters run at something over 12%.

The Stanford cycling page says that Quimby Road is 5.1 miles at 7.7%, for a total of 2100 feet of climbing. I don't know where they start measuring. I started at the intersection of Murillo and Quimby, and recorded 3.2 miles at 10.1%, for a total of 1700 feet.

On Sunday it was nice and cool, but much of the climb (including the entire final portion) is in the sun, and must be murder on hot days.

Not that I'm checking climbs off a list or anything, but climbing up Quimby means that I've tackled all the really intimidating climbs in the eastern hills this winter -- Metcalf, Sierra, and now Quimby. Those are the ones I know about, anyway. I know that's not a big deal for most riders, but I'm pretty happy about it.

Deer and the Lick Observatory

The rest of the ride up Hamilton was uneventful. I felt pretty good the whole way up, possibly just because it wasn't as steep.

When you're climbing Mount Hamilton Road, you're working hard and it's nice and warm. As you get near the top you leave the shelter of the hills, and start feeling the wind. But you're still working hard, so it's fine. Finally, you get to the top, stop riding, and start freezing. It's hard to want to start the long, cold ride down. As you may imagine, I hadn't brought warm enough clothes. Plenty for the climb, not enough for the descent.

Cloud gathering over Lick Observatory

Looking southwest from Mount Hamilton

 After a long cold ride down to Halls Valley, I thought about how to return home. I could take Quimby, but I thought it would be nice to get a little variety, so I stayed on Mount Hamilton Road. That's what I told myself, anyway. The truth was that I was pretty zonked, largely because I was feeling so cold, and couldn't face the steep Quimby climb.

When I got to Alum Rock Road I didn't really have a plan, so I just stayed on the road and pedaled through San Jose, enjoying a little city riding. I zigged around toward Lincoln, which led to the Almaden Expressway and home.

On Monday it rained here in the valley, but snowed on Mount Hamilton. I just missed it. There hasn't been much moisture this year, but maybe I'll get another chance this season to see some snow up there.

In all it was just short of 65 miles, with about 5900 feet of climbing. I'm pretty happy that I broke the curse of Quimby, although I'm not sure I'll rush to climb it again.

Elevation profile

Montebello and Skyline

I've been on a pretty regular schedule of riding every Saturday, but was out of town last weekend and unable to ride. So this weekend I was glad to get back on the bike, and decided to ride up Montebello Road. I've done that once before, but last time was in July on the hottest day of the year, so I was hoping to enjoy this ride a little more.

View Montebello and Skyline in a larger map

I got out a little after 9 AM, and took Kennedy over to Los Gatos, and then the Los Gatos-Saratoga road into Saratoga. I took Congress Springs up to Pierce, then Mt. Eden toward the Stevens Creek Reservoir. Mt. Eden has a short (half mile) but steep (9%) climb, with little ramps of 12% or more. Wakes up the legs, to say the least.

Like all the local reservoirs, the water level at Stevens Creek is very low. That's partly just the time of year, but it's been a very dry winter, so the reservoirs aren't refilling. Last year we had good rains, so the reservoirs were full. Hard to imagine what it'll look like a year from now.

Stevens Creek Reservoir in July 2011

Same area, February 2012

The bottom part of Montebello is pretty steep, with lots of short stretches of 10% or more. These are a lot easier to take in 60 F weather than they were at 95 F. At the Montebello School, the road becomes single-lane and flattens out for a while. But then it resumes its climb up to the vineyards at the top of the road, at about 2600 feet. The climb as a whole is about 5.5 miles and 7%.

At that 2600 foot level the road turns to dirt and enters the Montebello Open Space Preserve. It climbs up to the antenna farm on top of Black Mountain, culminating with one last steep, rocky ramp.

Montebello Trail, near Black Mountain, looking northwest

After that the trail drops to Page Mill Road. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to get back home, but I figured that I'd rather ride through the hills rather than the flats, so I took a left toward Skyline. At Skyline I took a left, heading generally south.

When I got to Saratoga Gap I rested a bit, thinking about where to go next. I could have headed south toward Boulder Creek, but in retrospect that would have increased the length and climb of the ride beyond my abilities. I could have headed down to Saratoga, but I wasn't really ready to head home just yet. So I continued on Skyline.

I had the same thought process as I passed Black and Bear Creek roads. That section of Skyline/Summit is much more enjoyable to ride in any case, so I continued down to Old Santa Cruz Highway, then on home.

Elevation profile

When I got home, I was wiped out. The ride didn't seem all that difficult, so I thought it was due to my week off. As it turns out, I may have been underestimating the ride; it turned out to be over 5700 feet of climbing over 64 miles, which isn't peanuts. So maybe my form doesn't disappear in a week after all.

Big Basin Redwoods

Well, the rainy season has finally arrived. I know I said that before, but this time... well, it has rained a couple of days, anyway. For all I know that might be it.

This morning, near my house, it rained steadily, and then briefly stopped. That was enough for me; I got dressed and was on my bike at about 10 AM. Somehow I had decided that I would ride through Boulder Creek and up to Saratoga Gap, which I've done before, but this time go through Big Basin Redwoods State park.

View Big Basin in a larger map

I went over Kennedy to Los Gatos and up the Los Gatos Creek trail. The last couple of days of rain left puddles, but the trail remains firm free of mud despite the rain. I made my way up to the Leniham Dam, and then made a mistake. I wanted to ride up Bear Creek Road, and rather than ride all the way around the reservoir, I decided to take the dirt path that parallels Highway 17. The Los Gatos Creek trail had been pretty good, so why not? Well, that dirt path was deep with mud. My tires and shoes were caked with mud, and I ended up walking half of it. So, a lesson for myself: avoid that dirt path after rains.

As I rode up Bear Creek Road the rain was intermittent, and never heavy enough to soak me. I think I got pretty lucky. Nonetheless that dampness froze me on the other side of the hill, coasting into Boulder Creek. I stopped at the grocery store for a coffee, which helped a lot.

Having finished the coffee, I started up Route 236, the Big Basin Highway. This was a new road for me; I had never even driven on it. The road winds up through a rural neighborhood, then through woods. Although it gains 1000 feet, it is always a gentle grade. The woods back here are so tall, thick and covered with moss that one can't imagine a shaft of sunlight hitting the ground. It must be permanently damp.

On this stretch of road I passed by Jamison Creek Road and China Grade, notorious climbs that I have yet to try. But they will have to wait.

A huge hollow tree in Big Basin

After that first hill the road descends into the park itself, and right down to a cluster of buildings that apparently includes the ranger station. Today there were lots of cars and a fair number of people, although very few bike riders.

Immediately after the ranger station the road becomes single-lane, and winds up through giant trees like a garden path.

By this time I hadn't been rained on for quite a while, and in fact I was seeing patches of blue sky. I'm very glad that I got out today; one never knows what tomorrow holds.

This part of the road climbs up to about 2000 feet, again very gradually, before descending to about 1300 feet at the intersection with Highway 9. After that, it's just a six-mile slog up the road to Saratoga Gap, where I zipped up and headed down into Saratoga. I don't particularly enjoy descents, and on cold damp days I like them even less. Route 9 is a great descent, as they go, but today it was very long and very cold. When I got near the bottom I felt like I had to re-learn how to pedal.

After that it was over to Los Gatos, then across Shannon and back home.

Elevation profile

Overall it was just over 62 miles, so pretty close to my 100km goal. I think it was about 6000 feet of climbing, which might be a record for me. And perhaps more importantly I got to see a new road, which doesn't happen every day. A good day out in the rain.

Umunhum

Since I had MLK day off again (for the second year in a row!), I decided to get in a short second ride this weekend. I wanted to see how my body would react to a substantial climb just two days since the previous ride, and I wanted to check my form. So I took a quick ride to the closest hill near me: Mount Umunhum.

View Umunhum in a larger map

As usual I got moving at 9 AM. With the temperature near 40 F, I was wearing just about all the bike clothes I own. I slowly pedaled up Hicks Road, trying to generate some heat on the shaded road. I felt pretty good, and when I got to the hairpin turn on Hicks that marks the beginning of the climb, I settled in for a long slow climb.

Hicks climbs for just a mile, but it's quite steep. As you can see on the diagram below, it sustains a 13% grade most of the way up, with little respite until it nears the junction with Umunhum Road.

San Jose from Mount Umunhum Road

Mount Umunhum Road takes up where Hicks left off, with unrelenting 10% pitches climbing away from the junction. But after that difficult start, it gradually eases as it approaches the gate mid-way up the climb. After the gate, however, there's a steep section of a few hundred yards with a grade above 12%. But by now you're used to it, so it's not so bad.

The weather dome, observation stand and
monolith on Mount Umunhum

Although there were some cars at the gate, I hadn't seen a soul on the whole climb. And that includes rangers. Nonetheless, at the signs announcing the end of the preserve I dutifully stopped and turned around. The MROSD has announced an intention to be more strict about keeping the open area near Umunhum closed (temporarily, during the permanent construction period), and I didn't feel the need to test their resolve today.

I may be imagining this, but on the descent the road surface seemed substantially worse than it has been in years past. In many sections I was having trouble finding a smooth line at all, and had to keep my speed down. And needless to say, the descent was awfully cold.

I descended the south side of Hicks to Almaden Reservoir. At one point I was thinking of taking McKean Road south for a bit to extend the ride, but my mission was accomplished and I decided I could be useful around the house. So I just headed back home on Almaden Expressway.

Elevation profile

I noticed no effect from my ride on Saturday -- no lingering soreness or lack of energy. So that's good. I got up Umunhum without drama, albeit very slowly. So that's good too. After all, it's a 4.5 mile climb that averages 9.5%, so it's a substantial climb. Today's ride was just 23 miles with 2680 feet of climbing, which is short but points out how lucky I am to live so close to a great hill. And, after all, today was just a bonus anyway.

Santa Cruz

Yesterday's ride took me down through Capitola and Santa Cruz, then back via Mountain Charlie Road.

View Santa Cruz in a larger map

Yesterday was a standard fall-in-winter day, starting cool and getting up near 70 F by mid-afternoon. As usual I got started at about 9 AM, heading over Kennedy into Los Gatos, and then around the Lexington Reservoir and up Old Santa Cruz Highway.

I went down the San Jose-Soquel Road into Capitola, which was thick with cars. I went along the beach roads, enjoying the January surfers, odd bikes and various other sights.

Capitola Pier

In Santa Cruz I got a burger at the very convenient Betty Burger, then rode up the San Lorenzo River trail to Graham Hill Road. This was the first time I've ridden this part of Graham Hill Road, and I was surprised that it climbs pretty steeply, pretty much immediately. My intention was to cut over to Scotts Valley and return home on Mountain Charlie Road. To do that, I intended to use a road called Lockewood Lane. After riding a couple of miles I was convinced that I had missed it, and would return on Zayante instead, so I was surprised when the road finally showed up.

A chalk ridge on Bean Creek Road

This time I avoided Scotts Valley Road by taking Bean Creek Road, which was new to me. Bean Creek Road wanders through a valley, then climbs quite steeply to meet Glenwood Drive. Quite Steeply indeed. But in that same area it's one of those one-lane wooded roads I enjoy so much, so I guess there's a trade-off.

I have a new Garmin 500 bike computer, and on the climbs on this ride I was looking at its reported grade. On the Forerunner 305, using only GPS elevation, the grade was a joke, often reporting a drop while you're climbing. With the barometric elevation, the 500 is much more realistic, in the sense that the reported grades match what I'm experiencing on the road. Having said that, I don't know if it is accurately reporting the absolute grade. On the final section of Bean Creek Road, for example, it reported grades of up to 20%. My 100-meter calculations didn't show such steep grades, but of course they are measuring something slightly different, even if they are using the same data.

From Bean Creek Road, I headed north on Glenwood Road to Mountain Charlie Road, then up toward Summit. At that point, I opted for a direct route home, so I went down the northern part of Mountain Charlie Road, then took Old Santa Cruz Highway down, onto Highway 17, through Los Gatos, then over Shannon and home.

Elevation profile. See a note about data for details

Yesterday's ride was a little over 68 miles, with almost 5100 feet of climbing. That's not an especially long ride, but for me the total climb was pretty good.