Sanborn and Soda Springs

Bill Bushnell — Friday, April 2, 1993

Since I had worked last Saturday, I took today off to do a weekday bike ride. I didn’t really know where to go, but I thought I’d start out easy by riding south on Foothill Expressway since I had had a cold earlier in the week. I had fat slicks on the bike and a vague plan of riding up Stevens Canyon and then up Charcoal Rd. maybe to explore Ward Rd. and Long Ridge.

As I ride up Stevens Canyon, there are few cars on the road. An advantage of riding in the hills on the weekdays is that there is much less traffic.

Beyond Redwood Gulch, Stevens Canyon Rd. crosses the creek several times before arriving at a gate. A makeshift sign on the gate says that the canyon trail is temporarily closed. Despite this I press on. A short distance later, the road actually fords the creek. With all the recent rains, Stevens Creek is flowing swiftly. Fortunately, the ford is wide, and the water is only about eight or nine inches deep. I scamper through the flood keeping my feet dry by placing the pedals at 9:00 and 3:00 and powering only through 8:00 to 10:00 (or 2:00 to 4:00, depending on your perspective).

Shortly after the ford the pavement ends and I continue for another half-mile on dirt until the trail ends at an impassable mudslide. Signs say, “Area Temporarily Closed”. I consider possible ways around the slide, but they all look rather messy and difficult. Even without a bike, I’d probably get covered with mud trying to scramble around the steep, muddy slope. I turn back, and while riding through the ford, I almost slip on what looks like a patch of algae clinging to the pavement under the water.

I consider other routes: Redwood Gulch to Skyline? No. I’ll be riding up there on Sunday. Maybe I’ll try riding a portion of a difficult century ride I’m planning to ride in May.

I ride down Stevens Canyon and turn right on Mt. Eden Rd. Then I take Mt. Eden to Pierce to CA-85 to Saratoga. I stop near the traffic light and eat lunch. I decide to ride up CA-9 and ride Sanborn Rd. as far as I can. From my topo map, I seem to remember a route that leads from the end of Sanborn Rd. and climbs to the top of Mt. Pleasant (top of Bohlman Rd.).

Sanborn Rd. is not very long, but it is quite steep between CA-9 and Sanborn-Skyline County Park. Once past the park the road levels off and after some ups and downs arrives at a dead end. A couple of hikers have just come from one of the several dirt roads that branch out in all directions.

“Excuse me. Do you know if one can get from here to the top of Bohlman Rd.?”, I ask one of the hikers.

“Yeah. I’ve done it before, but I couldn’t tell you. There are lots of turns you have to make. It’s easy to get lost, and it’s hard enough on foot, but it’s nearly impossible on a bike. Everything’s overgrown and the trails are all muddy.”, the man replies.

All the roads are posted with “Keep Out” signs. Some may argue that it’s bad to trespass, but I feel that if I’m going to ride through private land, I should at least know where I’m going and not get lost! Without a proper map, I decide to save the ride for another day.

On the way down Sanborn Rd., I stop at the county park and discover that biking is allowed on none of the trails, not even on the trail that seems to connect to Black Rd. Of course, hikers and horses are allowed.

Descending Sanborn Rd. from the park to CA-9 is a blast. It doesn’t take long, but the road is steep and straight enough to allow speeds in the 40’s. The stop sign at the bottom approaches quickly at the end before I jam on the brakes.

From here I ride down CA-9 into Saratoga and continue to Los Gatos and then up the Los Gatos Creek Trail to Alma Bridge Rd. The last time I rode up the dam I almost fainted at the top because I stopped quickly after the extreme effort. This time the gate at the top is open, so I ride through without stopping.

In a sight not seen in a long time, water flows down the spillway as Lexington Reservoir is completely full. I stop and take a picture near where I took a picture last August when the reservoir was nearly empty.

The final climb of the day is an up and down climb of Soda Springs Rd. About halfway between Lexington Dam and Aldercroft Heights, Soda Springs Rd. begins its long, arduous climb up into the Sierra Azul to the summit of Mt. Thayer. Unfortunately, the road never actually reaches the summit, but it does climb over 2300 feet at a nearly constant 8.2% grade. This is a tough climb, and on a hot day it could be miserable. Somehow I had expected the climb to be maybe 1400 feet, so I am not prepared for it. I climbed most of the way in a 34 inch gear.

Two thirds of the way up, two large Rottweilers come bounding and barking down to the road. I guess they don’t see many bicyclists riding up here. (I have noticed that I get harassed by rabidly territorial canines most frequently on remote roads that are infrequently traveled by bicyclists.) I continue without interrupting my pace. Once I settle into a steady climbing pace, I hate being interrupted! The dogs run along on either side of me barking furiously, their tails sticking straight up. As I fear they may nip at my heels, I downshift and spin a little faster. After about 100 yards, the dogs give up, satisfied that they have driven off the strange beast.

When I reach the end of the road, I stop and eat. While resting I notice that the temperature is much cooler here than it was down at the bottom. A few minutes later, I hear barks in the distance. Oh, great! More territorial dogs. Sometimes I wonder if these dogs merely reflect the personalities of their owners. I realize with dismay that I am upwind of the barking. The barks come closer until I see the snapping head and pricking ears of a large dog peering down at me from the top of the embankment. The animal continues to make a nuisance of itself, but to my relief it comes no closer.

It’s too bad one cannot easily continue to the top of Mt. Thayer and beyond to Mt. Umunhum. I’ve heard a variety of stories about the fiercely territorial people who live up there and how they’re determined to keep the public away despite the fact that the Air Force has long since abandoned its base atop Mt. Umunhum. What are these people are afraid of? I look forward to the day when a public right-of-way is established connecting Soda Springs and Loma Almaden Rds.

Descending Soda Springs Rd. is a good neck exercise—i.e. keeping your head up for the 20 minutes or so it takes to descend. The road is lightly coated with gravel, so the descent must be handled with care. When I get to the bottom I realize I have neither time nor energy to continue up through Redwood Estates to Summit Rd. and then back to Palo Alto.

I ride down through Los Gatos and then swiftly to Saratoga. In Saratoga, I break one of my unwritten rules: No repeating a road or section of road in the same direction on the same day. I ride up CA-9 to Pierce and then take Mt. Eden to Stevens Canyon Rd. and continue north on Foothill Expressway. After stopping briefly at work, I continue home.

Ride stats:

distance: 85.4 miles

climbing 6520 feet

total time: 9:39

riding time: 6:08

average Speed: 13.9 mph

maximum speed: 44.0 mph

index: 111

irp: 12

mirp: 18

climbing density: 76

climbing ratio: 0.0145

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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