Down the Coast to Santa Cruz

Bill Bushnell — Sunday, September 12, 1993

At 7:00 I met Jim Haughey, Laura Stern, and Mark Cufford for a ride to Santa Cruz and back.

We started from Gunn High School in Palo Alto, rode north on Foothill Expressway, and then took Sand Hill Rd. to Portola Rd. and then CA-84 to Skyline. After a brief snack stop in front of Alice’s Restaurant, we rode swiftly down CA-84 toward San Gregorio.

Laura, Jim, and I formed a slowly-rotating paceline while Mark rode behind. We each took long pulls, cruising at 19-25 mph, peaking over 30 mph on some of the slight downhills. The sky was foggy at this hour, but the usual headwinds blowing off the ocean were absent. We arrived at the San Gregorio General Store a few minutes before it opened at 9:00, about 1:45 after we left Gunn High School.

After taking a 15-minute snack break we continued to CA-1 and then began the long trek south. With Laura and Mark leading most of the time and me taking a few long pulls, we reached Davenport at about 10:45 and stopped at the Whale City Bakery for a snack on the outdoor deck.

At 11:15, we continued to Santa Cruz. When we reached Western Drive at 11:45, I knew we would arrive at the Saturn Cafe before it opened at noon, so we rode up Western Drive into the UCSC campus and descended the bike path through campus. We arrived at the Saturn Cafe at 12:10.

Laura, a Furnace Creek 508 veteran and former RAAM participant, and her friend Mark are both fast riders. Jim and I found their pace a little fast for comfort, but we managed to keep up. In exchange for keeping a fast pace, I insisted on taking a nice, long, luxurious, lunch break, something Laura wasn’t accustomed to doing. Laura was amazed by how much food I ate and carried, and I was amazed at how little she ate and drank. Everyone’s different. Mark took a short nap, and while we relaxed after eating, Hildy Licht dropped by. Hildy was to have joined us for the ride, but she realized she’d be too slow, so she drove to her parents’ house in Bonny Doon and rode her bike down Empire Grade and through the UC campus to join us for lunch.

After lunch we continued through Santa Cruz to Soquel and began the long climb up Old San Jose Rd. Near the top of the grade, we turned left off the main road and descended the steep and bumpy Redwood Lodge Rd. Hah! Finally, I got ahead of the “dynamic duo”. Since I carry alot of weight on my bike I descend fast. We regrouped at Schultheis Rd. in the little community of Laurel before ascending to Old Santa Cruz Highway and Summit Rd. Having never ridden these roads before, I found them beautiful alternates, albeit with more climbing and poorer pavement, to the busy section of Summit Rd. between CA-17 and the Summit Store. We passed only two cars on this section.

At Summit Rd. Laura and Mark decided to return to Menlo Park on Summit, Skyline, and Page Mill, while Jim and I decided to continue down Old Santa Cruz Highway and return home on the flat route. I suggested to Laura and Mark that they follow us a ways down Old Santa Cruz Hwy and then climb to the CA-17 overcrossing on Mountain Charlie Rd. rather than ride on Summit Rd.

I have become better at descending Old Santa Cruz Hwy fast, but the roadway downhill from Aldercroft Heights Rd. is very bumpy and rutted, especially around the turns. On one turn I did not prepare properly, and I found myself on the wrong side of the yellow stripe. Not good. [Old Santa Cruz Highway was given a new asphalt surface in 2002. Unfortunately, cracks aligned with the old concrete slabs are beginning to appear even in this new surface.]

The trip down CA-17 was slower than usual probably due to a headwind blowing uphill from the valley. I reached only 40.5 mph, where two weeks earlier I had managed nearly 50 mph. Every time I descend CA-17 to Los Gatos I get harassed by motorists who think it’s illegal to ride a bike here. This time was no exception. A car full of teenagers passed by; one of them imitated a siren.

Jim and I continued through Los Gatos and Saratoga, stopping briefly at the Chevron station at the corner of Prospect and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd. for a potty break. At Foothill Expressway and Homestead Jim headed home, and I continued north on the expressway at a somewhat slower pace than earlier in the day.

I met one fast young woman from Cupertino who complained she always has guys “jump on her tail” (not literally, of course!) but not be able to keep up. I joked that they probably can’t stand the idea of a woman passing them. We parted at Foothill Expressway and Page Mill Rd. I continued home down Stanford Avenue and through the side streets of Palo Alto.

Ride stats:

distance: 123.1 miles

climbing: 6450 feet

total time: 11:02

riding time: 7:07

average speed: 17.3 mph

maximum speed: 40.5 mph

index: 149

irp: 13

mirp: 21

climbing density: 52 ft/mi

climbing ratio: 0.0099

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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