Sequoia Century

Bill Bushnell — Sunday, June 4, 2000

 

Last June 4 was a Sunday I wish I could have been in two places at once.  The HPVA (Human Powered Vehicle Association) were having HPV races at the Hellyer Park Velodrome, and the Western Wheelers were holding their Sequoia Century.  Since I hadn’t ridden the Sequoia since 1992, the weather was promising to be cool and comfortable, and since I had worked on the ride this year and could ride for free, I opted to ride the Sequoia Century in spite of the fact that a couple recumbent-riding friends had opted to do the races that day.  Unfortunately, this meant that due to the dynamics of riding a recumbent, I would probably be riding alone most of the day.

At 5:50 I left home for the 2-mile ride to the VA Hospital and the start of the event.  After checking in and visiting the little blue box I started the official ride at 6:20.

I decided to improvise on the official 200k course, which itself was a compromise made necessary so that no additional rest stops would be needed over that for the 100-mile course.  The Bikeaholics rest stop at Saratoga Gap wasn’t on the 200k course, but I wanted to stop there on the way back before they closed down.  This meant that I could not dawdle at rest stops on the coast.  But, in order to keep the distance of the ride close to 200k I would have to add some distance.  I settled on a somewhat longer but flatter route before lunch that took CA-84 clear out to CA-1 and omitted the Bonny Doon detour.  The ride north along Summit and Skyline over Castle Rock would make up most of the climbing lost by missing Bonny Doon Rd.  Even so, I would still be a mile and about 850 feet of climbing short at the end.

The climb up Page Mill Rd. went slowly.  I was passed by about fifteen cyclists, though I managed to pass a couple slower climbers.  I decided not to try to keep up but to keep my heart rate low since it was early in the ride.  The steepest parts of the climb were in a cool damp fog that lifted, or rather, that I rose above just before the Montebello parking lot.  Above the fog, the temperature was quite warm.  At Skyline Blvd. I turned north and continued to CA-84 and at the same time descended back into the cool damp fog.  At Skylonda I stopped briefly to refill water bottles and to speak with the volunteers at what appeared to be a rest stop for a bike ride.  The rest stop was for the Tour de Cure ride out of Woodside.

The descent down CA-84 into La Honda went quickly—I managed to catch the green light at the one-way control.  I rode past Pescadero Rd., the turnoff point for the official 200k route, and continued out to the coast, not stopping until I reached CA-1.  The San Gregorio Beach parking lot had been turned into what appeared to be a three-ring circus in preparation for the SF-LA AIDS ride.  A couple volunteers at the stop beckoned me in, but I continued, leaving them with furrowed brows.

The ride south on the coast was invigorating, the fog ceiling high enough that the ocean was clearly visible.  Traffic was moderate, though it was punctuated more frequently than one might have expected at this relatively early hour by large semi trucks and tour buses that appeared to be associated with the AIDS ride.

My route did not rejoin the official 200k and 100-mile routes until I passed Gazos Creek Rd.  I waved at the traffic monitor as I passed by.  I was feeling like taking a quick stop just as I reached the Rossi Rd. turnoff a short distance south of Gazos Creek Rd.

The Costanoa resort is a new development, something I’m surprised had been allowed to be built (sometime in the last five years) given the sensitive nature of the coastline.  Nevertheless the development seems to have been planned in reasonably good taste unlike much of the late construction on the other side of the mountains.  The rest stop was situated in a parking lot about 0.4 miles up a short climb from CA-1 between a general store, which I did not visit, and the rest rooms across the access road, which I did visit and that offered hot water from its taps.  Yes, warm water on the hands did feel good after riding in the chilly morning air.

I learned with some satisfaction that I was the sixteenth cyclist to arrive at the stop that morning.  Before I left the stop 15 minutes later, at least another fifteen cyclists had come in.  Several people asked questions about my bike, whether it was harder on the hills (yes) and more aerodynamic (yes).  “How much does it weigh?”, someone asked impertinently.  “Forty-five pounds, give or take a few, when fully equipped for a day ride.”, I answered honestly.

This particular recumbent I ride, an Easy Racers Gold Rush with fairing and wraparound sock (yellow), is a nearly ideal vehicle for riding down CA-1.  On a road with long flat sections or rolling hills and no extended climbs, I cover quite a bit more ground than I would on my upright bike for the same level of effort.  With the slight tailwind present that morning I could maintain speeds between 25 and 28 mph on the level sections without my heart rate rising above 80% of maximum.  Generally I find I can ride at 24 mph on the recumbent for the same level of effort that would acheive 20mph on my upright bike.  At higher speeds the difference is greater; at slower speeds the difference is less.  The hardest kind of ride on a recumbent is one with many steep climbs and descents that must be ridden with liberal use of the brakes, where kinetic energy gained descending cannot be converted back into potential energy on the next uphill.

After passing the sandy cliffs marking the northern reach of the Santa Cruz County coastline and climbing the short hill past the Big Creek Lumber mill I turned left onto Swanton Rd., part of the official 200k route.  I had ridden Swanton Rd. a couple of times before, but I had never climbed it to its summit from north to south.

The climb went reasonably quickly.  As I descended into the Scott Creek drainage I thought what a beautiful road this was and that I should be sure to take it again should I find myself otherwise passing on the much busier coast highway.  Swanton Rd. rejoins CA-1 about 1 mile north of Davenport.  From here I stayed on CA-1 all the way into Santa Cruz passing several cyclists who themselves were managing a respectable pace in the low to mid 20 mph range.

Once in Santa Cruz I managed to squeeze past most of the motor traffic backed up along Mission St.  Unfortunately there is no easy way to get from the west side to the east side of Santa Cruz by bicycle without riding on Mission St. and Water St.  At Market St. I turned left and continued on Branciforte Drive to the lunch stop at De La Veaga Park.  A rough count of the number of cyclists already enjoying their lunches left me with the impression that I was somewhat further down the ordered list of arrivals than I was at the Costanoa Resort, no doubt due to my pleasant though time-consuming detour on Swanton Rd.

Lunch consisted of a hearty spread of sandwich fixings, fruit, cookies, and two salads.  The potato salad looked good, but before I dipped my spoon into the mix I learned that it contained bacon.  However, I did find curious the omission of any vegetables from the sandwich menu other than iceberg lettuce, which was self-served “Hugh Murphy style”.  The tone of the lunch stop may have been French due to the nearby boom-box punching out passionate French ballads.

Lunch with the early arrivals could be fairly characterized as an unsociable affair marked occasionally by grunts and murmurings to one’s riding companions.  Perhaps the cool overcast weather created a subdued atmosphere that frowned on conversation.

Fifty minutes later found me back on the bike heading up Branciforte Drive.  As the climb up Granite Creek Rd. steepened, I stopped to shed my long sleeve top.  I was suddenly passed by several more cyclists.  I managed to rejoin most of this group in Scotts Valley before they again pulled ahead on the climb up Glenwood Highway.

I felt slow climbing Mountain Charlie Rd.  The stairstep climbs that on previous occasions felt fairly easy seemed painfully slow today.  Even at 3 mph in my lowest gear my heart rate was approaching the 80% mark.  Maybe I was still digesting lunch.  At the top of the climb I came upon another cyclist who asked me which way to go.  I directed him to continue straight on Mountain Charlie.  “Don’t go the way I’m going.”, I said as I turned left onto Riva Ridge Rd. leaving him with a puzzled look on his face.

Riva Ridge cuts over to Hutchinson Rd., which in turn joins Summit Rd., but not before climbing a short but very steep and nasty hill that sent me over my 80% heart rate in my lowest gear.

Once on Summit Rd. I headed northwest toward Saratoga Gap.  Summit and Skyline are 1.5-lane wide roads with little traffic.  Riding northwest is mostly a climb, but there are several short downhill sections that allow one to rest and recover.  I seemed to regain my speed as I rode.  By the time Skyline became a two-lane road at Black Rd. I was feeling much better.  The ride up past Las Cumbres and Castle Rock seemed to go quickly, and the descent to Saratoga Gap was quicker yet.

I arrived with more fanfare than I had expected at Saratoga Gap at about 14:30 near the tail end of the 100k lunch arrivals.  Lunch food was still available, so I double-dipped and had a second lunch at this, the Bikeaholics lunch stop, set to a decidedly Hawaiian theme complete with ladies in grass skirts, men in loud Hawaiian shirts, Mai Tai cocktail, and a boom box belting out pop tunes and John Williams’ Star Wars soundtrack.

I lollygagged at Saratoga Gap until nearly 16:00 when the rest stop provisions had been packed into the truck.  I thought about which way to return to the start: Skyline to Page Mill or on the 100k course down CA-9.  After learning that Foothill Expressway was still torn up, I decided to return down Page Mill Rd.  Rest stop volunteers Elaine Astrue, Tom Lawrence, Sarah Beaver, and John Serafin, who had ridden their bikes to the rest stop, decided to go the same direction, so we all rode together.

The ride north on Skyline Blvd. is mostly downhill, but I rode slower than usual to allow the others to catch up.  I descended the same way down Page Mill and through Los Altos Hills as I had ascended earlier in the day: Page Mill, Altamont, Black Mountain, Natoma, Elena, Purissima, and Arastradero.

After checking in, grazing at the food table, and speaking with several folks at the finish area, I headed home.  Even though I didn’t experience quite as much climbing as I would have on the official 200k route, I still had a good time.  Many thanks are due to all of the volunteers who made this Sequoia Century an enjoyable experience for me.

Ride stats:

total distance: 123.29 miles (199 km)

climbing: 8800 feet (2680 m)

total time: 11:37:48

riding time: 8:00:10

average speed: 15.40 mph (25 kph)

maximum speed: 50.8 mph (82 kph)

HR(av): 110 bpm

 

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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