New Route, New Riding Buddy

I usually do my long rides alone. It is not often that people have the time and energy (and interest) to spend half a day or more on a bicycle. But this last weekend I had some company.

About a month ago, as I was finishing a ride, I passed a cyclist going down Highway 9, and he later caught me on the flat local roads near home. We chatted a bit, exchanging names and talking about recent rides and favorite rides. Then we split about a mile from home.

Later in the week, I received an email from Ravi, in response to a message I posted in a local bicycling forum asking about bike routes to/from Coalinga. Since he only knew my first name, he asked "are you the Murali I met last weekend"?

He sent me a link to his online ride reports, and I got to read about some of his cycle adventures (Yosemite, Seqouia and Kings Canyon Parks). He was clearly at a level above me, so would make a great riding partner. We decided to try to ride together, and it took a couple weekends for our schedules to synchronize.

My original plan was to do a route shorter but more difficult than last week's. It would include two significant climbs -- Highway 9 (an old standard) and Montevina Road in Los Gatos (a new one for me). We met a mile from home and started.

Click for interactive map.

I kept a faster pace up Highway 9 than what I usually do. I was keeping up with Ravi, but also wanted to push myself for a better workout. As we ascended, the cool air turned to mist, then to drizzle. As we paused to at the rest area at the Highway 9 / Skyline Blvd junction, the drizzle turned into a light rain. I had some concerns whether our ride would be washed out, but we decided to continue.

The ride south on Skyline contained many small ascents and descents. The further we progressed, the clearer the sky became, so our planned route was in no jeopardy from the weather. We descended on Old Santa Cruz Hwy to Lexington Reservoir. After a short water break at the school there, we headed to Montevina which starts near the dam.

I was not certain that I would make it to the top without stopping. I had kept a stronger pace than usual, and my usual post-work training ride (Page Mill Road, 34 miles, 2000 feet) was only two days ago so I was not 100% recovered. As we started the 3.5 mile steep road, my legs felt better than expected.

We kept a slow pace, so it looked like I would make it all the way. But as we neared the top, the road became significantly steeper. Although it looked like we were around one quarter mile or less from the end, my legs were almost out of energy. Disappointedly, I stopped for a minute and let them recover.

I started again and made the last turn before the road ends. I saw Ravi standing at the gate, but the road was pitched even steeper there. I put all my effort into it, while Ravi shouted encouragement. My legs were so weak now that I felt that I might stall. After zigzagging a short distance I finally reached the end. However, a combination of loose gravel, slow-speed instability, and light-headedness caused me to lose my balance and fall over as I tried to dismount.

It was the hill's final indignity towards me. Exhausted, I laid there for a while and we both laughed about it. Ravi picked up my bike and I eventually got up and we rested a while.

The view from the top of Montevina Road.

From the top of Montevina, there is a dirt path that connects to the top of (the infamous) Bohlman Road. We took the path, biking on the flatter sections and walking on the slopes and loose ground. The descent on Bohlman was fast and steep. I was completely exhausted, but the rest of the ride was flat. We split at the usual place.

The whole ride was 52 miles, nearly 6000 feet elevation gain, and over 5 hours total. The Death Ride is almost exactly 2.5 times this route. I have more work to do to improve my conditioning.

Back to the Coast

My training schedule was interrupted by a surprise party. I was able to ride this past weekend, but for the one before, I was in Illinois. A bunch of relatives went there to attend a surprise birthday party for my mother in law. Although I could not train, I had a great time.

I have not mentioned it so far, but I actually have a specific goal for all this training. The main century I want to do this year is scheduled for July 12. It called the Death Ride. It is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and it is 129 miles long with 15,000 feet total elevation gain. Although most people focus on the distance, it is really the total climbing plus the fact that it is at elevation (between 4000 and 9000 feet) that give it its name.

Nothing I have done so far is as difficult as this, so that is why I am determined to improve my conditioning so quickly. I will write more about the Death Ride in future entries.

Click for interactive map.

So this weekend I wanted to be sure to do a challenging ride. Last week, I was able to do Page Mill Road to Skyline Blvd after work as a warmup. My goal for this weekend was to ride to the ocean and back (which requires going over the mountains in each direction). The total distance for this route would be 71 miles.

The first ride up the mountains was on Old La Honda Road because I wanted something only moderately difficult. Since I have not done a ride this long for a while, I wanted to make sure to pace myself accordingly. Strangely, I saw very few cyclists. This is one of the more popular roads for weekend cycling. It was a beautiful day, but it was unusually cold (probably 40's and 50's) which is what kept the roads empty.


I crossed Skyline Blvd and descended Old La Honda Road on the other side of the mountains. From here there are fantastic views of the ocean side of the mountains. This connects to Highway 84 which continues (at a relatively gradual grade) to the coast. The last few miles before the ocean are mostly flat, but a strong headwind made it more challenging than it should be.

Just before the coast, there is a small general store which is a popular bicycle destination. This area is relatively remote so there are few services. But since it is part of several popular bicycle routes, cyclist often break there. They have a bicycle rack outside in expectation of the visitors. I decided to eat an egg salad sandwich here since it had been 3 hours since I started, and about four hours since I had last eaten (a peanut butter jelly sandwich and a boiled egg).


I took the sandwich with me to the beach, which was one mile away. There were quite a few people here, as one would expect on a sunny spring Sunday, but a very cold breeze was blowing in from the ocean so most needed to bundle up.


I rode up the coast a few miles to connect to Tunitas Creek Road, which was my route back over the mountains. I had been on this road last fall with my friends Andy and Sarah, but we only went down. This would be my first time up. I expected it to be difficult, but it was less of a struggle than I thought it would be. By the time I reached the top, I was tired but not exhausted, which was a good sign.

I crossed Skyline Blvd and descended on Kings Mountain Road, which was the coldest part of the route today. From there it was the usual, mostly flat stretch back home. The total time for the ride was 7 hours. Minus all the breaks (I had to take on/off my jacket several times, took pictures, ate) the time was 6 hours. I need to be able to do this faster if I want to do the Death Ride.