Gilroy and Santa Clara Valley

Bill Bushnell — Sunday, February 21, 1993

Jude Katsch and I started from my house in Palo Alto at 8:35 in a light drizzle. The sky was heavy with clouds; maybe it would rain all day. We headed south on Central Expressway, but by the time we reached Wolfe Rd. where Brent was waiting, the drizzle had stopped.

The three of us continued south past the San Jose Airport and made our first extended stop at the Market Street circle in downtown San Jose. We ate snacks and then watched balls run the course of the contraption in the window of the Hi-Tech Museum.

Continuing south on Monterey Hwy we encountered stiff headwinds. Fortunately, the skies cleared somewhat, and the mixture of sun and clouds played beautifully against the backdrop of bright green fields and orchards accented with yellow wildflowers. We managed only 16 to 17 mph, but the ride was made somewhat easier for me because I took shelter behind Jude while he tirelessly led.

We took our second extended stop in Morgan Hill at the first Shell station at the north end of town. After continuing we turned right on Watsonville Rd. Just then a cloud passed over and sprinkled us for a few minutes. It was hardly a soaking; it would have been welcome on a hot day. Again, the fields on either side of the road were beautiful. When we got to CA-152 we turned left and enjoyed our first true tailwind of the day. We managed to cruise into Gilroy at about 25 mph.

We stopped for an hour lunch at a Togo’s where the service was very slow. Afterward we continued east to Monterey Hwy and turned left. Saint Mary’s Church on the corner has a road sign at the exit driveway of the church parking lot. The sign is located in such a way that it could be interpreted as labeling the driveway or the sanctuary. It reads, “Wrong Way”.

Riding north on Monterey Hwy we were helped by a quartering wind, but by the time we were on Hale Rd. heading north out of Morgan Hill, the wind blew steadily from the side.

Our goal of the day was to complete 100 miles, and in order to do this, we decided to return through downtown San Jose via Santa Teresa Blvd, Blossom Hill Rd. and Almaden Expressway. The traffic was a pain, but riding on the Expressway was fun because we had the wind at our backs again.

Our timing into downtown San Jose was coincident with the arrival of President Clinton at the Fairmont Hotel. When we arrived we stopped to eat our last snack, but by the time we wanted to leave, the police had closed off the roads and wouldn’t let us pass. So, when we tried to ride around the circle the wrong way, we nearly ran afoul of the President’s motorcade as it came barreling through. I managed to get a glimpse of the back of Mr. Clinton’s head as his limo rushed past. After the President had been whisked into the Fairmont, we managed to slip past the hotel (despite the protest of one motorcycle cop, who, I might add, was making an illegal U-turn on a one-way street) and north to Santa Clara Street and thence to Palo Alto, arriving home just after sunset.

We made our goal: 100.7 miles with 1100 feet of climbing. A flat century, but with a good 2000 feet of headwinds, I’d guess.

Ride stats:

distance: 100.7 miles

climbing: 1100 feet

total time: 9:18

riding time: 6:08

average speed: 16.4 mph

maximum speed: 27.5 mph

index: 105

irp: 11

mirp: 17

climbing density: 11

climbing ratio: 0.0021

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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