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ZIASUS' RIDE REPORTS

Bike rides in the Bay area





SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2018


ZAYANTE


Today I went for a long ride through Santa Cruz, and back on Zayante Road.




Consider the rate of posts on this site, you might imagine that I'm doing all
sorts of rides and just not writing about them. Perhaps they're not sufficiently
noteworthy. And to a degree that's true -- I commute to work on the bike most
days, and those rides are clearly not memorable. But all other rides are
included here, because I have clearly have no standard for noteworthy-ness.



In this case, a long weekend means that I had time for a non-commute ride,
despite the heat. I decided to head through Santa Cruz as usual, but in a very
slight variation I decided to take Zayante Road back, since I hadn't done that
in a while (not that I've ridden anything else in the area recently).

I got started around 8 after watching the end of the opening stage of the Tour
de France. It was already a little warm. I felt pretty good on the ride past
Lexington Reservoir into Santa Cruz, despite not doing any climbing for a year
or so. San Jose-Soquel Road was very smooth on the descent.

I had planned to get lunch at Betty Burger, which is conveniently located and
has outdoor tables, which is I think is only fair to my fellow diners. In the
event I got there shortly before it opened at 11, so I dawdled. After lunch I
was noticeably more sluggish, but it was also much warmer.

Zayante was heavily damaged two winters ago, and frankly I didn't know whether
it had been repaired. But that was a long time ago, so I figured all was well.
Imagine my surprise when, after climbing much of the way up the road, I started
to see "Road Closed" signs. Turning around would have been very costly, and the
heat was beginning to sap my meager strength. But living in this area has
trained me to ignore most road signs, and this was no different. As it turns
out, it was tree trimming. I waved and rode through it.

Today's ride was 71 miles, with 5600 feet of climbing. The most difficult
kilometer was on the first part of the Zayante climb, just before the "Road
Closed" signs as it happens. That's also when the heat was really getting to me,
so it felt difficult, too.



Elevation Profile



Posted by Ziasus at 6:44 PM 1 comment:
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2017


DEVIL'S PEAK


Last week I got a chance to participate in a group mountain bike ride near
Yosemite, up to a lookout station called Devil's Peak.




The ride was organized by the Tenaya Lodge, and I rode a rented hardtail
mountain bike with worn out shocks on the front.



The view from the lookout tower

The ride was basically an up-and-back climb, riding up a road that starts paved
and gets gradually more primitive as it gains altitude. Almost all the way up
it's a comfortable fire road, but the last mile near the top gets a little
steeper and considerably more rocky. With my always-modest mountain bike
handling skills atrophied from years of disuse, that last mile was a bit of a
challenge.

The peak is at about 6900 feet, and has the panoramic view you would expect.
It's a suitable reward for the effort, and photographs just don't do it justice.
One of our guides was apparently a park ranger, and he gave us a combined
geographical and historical tour of the area by naming the neighboring peaks and
then explaining the history behind those names.

I was worried about descending that rocky bit near the top, but in the event it
wasn't too difficult, even with the traffic of my fellow riders. On the way down
we took the opportunity to try two sections of single-track, which was plenty of
fun but still well within my meager abilities. Near the end was a two-mile
climb, not particularly steep but seemingly never-ending.



Elevation Profile.
The sharp peak isn't real; the elevation drifted over lunch.

The whole ride was about 23 miles. The elevation on my Garmin drifted up about
200 feet while we ate lunch at the top, so while I recorded about 3000 feet of
climbing, I wouldn't swear to it. The most difficult kilometer was certainly the
one near the peak, not only because it was steeper, but also because of the
quality of the road, and of course the altitude.



Posted by Ziasus at 10:29 AM No comments:
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2017


MOUNT UMUNHUM, AGAIN


Today I took a second trip up to the top of Mount Umunhum, just because it's
there.




Today's trip was much like the one three weeks ago, including being awfully
difficult.




The view from the top, with the tower just behind me.

There wasn't much different with this ride, except that there was no difficulty
parking at the top, and hence no traffic control (this was around 15:00, for the
record). It was a perfect day, at what I would imagine was a peak time, so it
looks like the initial rush is over. Mount Umunhum apparently has enough
capacity to handle the crowds.



Elevation Profile

Just like in the recent ride, the whole thing was just under 30 miles, and the
most difficult kilometer was the start of the climb up hicks.  I'm tempted to
think that the most difficult 100 meters was, for me, the very last stretch to
the traffic circle at the top. It's not quite the last 100 meters of Mount
Diablo, but after a long steep climb it's tough.

For some reason my Garmin gave me 3400 feet of climbing today, whereas three
weeks ago it was 3300. I knew this ride was tougher!





Posted by Ziasus at 8:56 PM No comments:
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2017


MOUNT UMUNHUM, AT LAST


Yesterday I did something I thought I might never get to do: I rode my bike to
the very top of Mount Umunhum.




Mount Umunhum has been infamously inaccessible for years, but finally opened to
the public on September 18, 2017. I've been poking around Umunhum for a long
time -- my first post on this blog described a ride in 2010 from Loma Prieta to
near the top of Umunhum. According to everything I can piece together, my first
ride in the area was April of 2009, when I only made it up to Barlow Road. A
month later I made it all the way up to the yellow gates, past the "legal"
limit.



A perspective I've been waiting for.

In the years since I've ridden on and around Mount Umunhum several times (and
written about it: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), always stopping at the annoying signs.
Well, almost always.

When the opening was announced I was very excited, but last weekend I was out of
town, so yesterday was my first chance. I was concerned that there would be a
lot of traffic, which while true turned out not to be a problem.

As has been true for the last couple of years, most of the cycling I do these
days is just commuting, and these days I don't even have an excuse to pass
through the hills near Saratoga. I was sternly reminded of my lack of climbing
when Hicks turned upward.

When I got to the top of Hicks, the parking lot at the base of Mount Umunhum
Road was full and all the feasible parking along the road was occupied as well.
I've never seen more than one or two cars in that lot.

There were also a lot of cyclists on the road. I would guess that most of the
time I've spent on Mt. Umunhum Road has been entirely alone. In my numerous
trips I may have seen one or two other riders, but it's been rare. This time,
there were dozens.

At the Bald Mountain trailhead, previously the end of the line for cars, a park
ranger was turning cars back. Apparently the summit parking lot was full, so
they were only letting cars up as they came down, one for one. And of course the
Bald Mountain parking lot was full as well. I expect that this won't keep up;
Mount Umunhum will never be as isolated as it used to be, but it'll settle down
after the initial interest falls away through autumn.



November 2015

Same stretch, September 2017
Look how nice the road is!

Since they were turning around cars, there was very little traffic to deal with
on the last stretch of road. And what a road! What had been a pitted, crumbly
mess, where you had to pick your line on the climb as if it were a mountain bike
trail, is now a perfect surface.



My previous high point,
this time in February 2011.



The same stretch now.
So much more inviting!

It was a joy to pass by the road to Loma Prieta, after a recent report that even
that stretch could open in my lifetime. Maybe the popularity of Mount Umunhum
will lead to some momentum on that front?



I came around to where the gate used to be, reaching as far along this road as
I've ever been. I've skirted a few gates in my time, but this one had cameras,
and I assumed that my messing around here would at some point cause someone to
be dispatched to check it out. That seemed unfair to them, so this was a line I
had never crossed before.

As it happens, this point also marks the end of the main climb. From here the
road is flat or descending for almost a mile, before one final kick up to the
top.

The junction with the road that leads over to Mount Thayer comes just before
that final kick. It appears to be a ranger facility, with a parking lot where
the Air Force station housing used to be. I didn't look too closely, but I saw
no other trace of that little village remaining. That's the best outcome, of
course, but I still wish I had got a chance to see it as a ghost town before
they returned the area to nature.



At the top it's all about the tower, and the views. The whole valley was laid
out, under an unfortunately distinct layer of brown haze. On the other side you
can see over the mountains all the way to Monterey Bay. There is such an
advantage to reaching the very top of a mountain, compared to any spot lower
down. I'm so glad that Mount Umunhum joins the set of accessible peaks in the
area. Now it's time to work on Loma Prieta and Black Mountain.

The views are the enduring value, but it's the tower that demands your
attention. Even bigger in person than I had imagined, it provides a focal point
for the whole ride, and finally reaching it after all these years was wonderful.
In the past I've thought it might be best to let the tower go, but now after
seeing it in place, plus a photo in the shelter of what it looked like with a
bright red and white checkered radar dish on top, I can see what we need to do:
preserve the tower, and in fact rebuild the dish. Wouldn't a colorful hat be the
perfect decoration for that tower?



I spent quite a while at the top, soaking in all these new amenities, and then
finally started the long descent. I've noted before that the descent here was
unpleasant -- it was too steep, and the road was full of dangerous potholes that
could send you careening off the unguarded side of the road into a ravine. And
it used to be so isolated that it wasn't a question of whether you'd survive,
but whether you'd even be found. None of that is true anymore; the road is now a
pleasure to descend, with just a little traffic, both cars and bikes, to deal
with.

The rest of my ride was a descent through New Almaden, then home.

I've been waiting a long time for this. I'm so glad that Mount Umunhum is
finally accessible, and apparently quite popular. I'll be visiting again pretty
frequently, I think, and encourage you to do so as well. But there will only be
one first time I've seen all this, and that was today.



Elevation Profile

Yesterday's ride was just under 30 miles, with 3300 feet of climbing. The
toughest kilometer was that first kilometer after Hicks starts climbing, as
usual. That first half of the Hicks climb averages 14%. The whole 5-mile climb,
including both Hicks and Mt. Umunhum Road, averages very nearly 10%, despite the
brief flatter parts. That's one steep climb.

Posted by Ziasus at 7:38 AM No comments:
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TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017


BOULDER CREEK AND CRUMBLING SHOULDERS


It's been way too long. Too long since I've written here, and too long since I
had a ride worth writing about.





As it turns out we had a long weekend, so I decided to make time for a long
ride. I've been irregularly commuting, and through that I've been getting lots
of miles on the bike, but it's been far too long since I enjoyed the mountain
roads. So after watching the Tour de France stage this morning, I started off
just before 09:00.

I didn't have a fixed plan, but I did want to see what was happening at the
washout on Highway 35, which at the time looked impossible to repair. Toward
that end I headed up Black Road, then turned right on Summit until I saw the
"Road Closed" signs. As it turns out the construction crew also had a vacation
day, so it was quiet.



Construction at the Highway 35 washout... I think.

Looking at the original shots, it wasn't clear whether they would reconstruct
the road in place, or reroute since so much of the hill had disappeared. This
construction clearly rebuilds the road in place, but the area is so transformed
that it's hard to believe it's the same place. Where there two major
construction areas on 35? In this area there's already a single lane running
through, and major drainage improvements going on.



One of several washouts awaiting repair,
this one on Bear Creek Road.

I didn't expect to be able to pass through, and I stuck with the loose plan to
head down to Boulder Creek for lunch. Bear Creek Road had several areas in which
the road narrowed to a single lane, which obviously was going to be a theme for
this ride.

When I got down to Boulder Creek I learned that Foster's Freeze is closed on
Mondays, which was certainly a disappointment. I wanted to head up via either
Zayante or Mountain Charlie Road, so I headed down Route 9 in the company of
much traffic. I got a flat (steel belt wire) near Brookdale.

I stopped in Felton at Mountain Roasting for a very good consolation sandwich. I
decided to continue down to Mountain Charlie Road, in part because I had
recently looked up where the Laurel tunnel exits under Glenwood Drive, and
wanted to see that. I headed that way on Graham Hill Road, which until then I
hadn't known was a steep climb out of Felton. My commuter legs were definitely
feeling it.



The Laurel Tunnel entrance under Glenwood Drive.
It's just north of Eagle Road, for the record.

I enjoyed Bean Creek Road, then continued on Glenwood past Mountain Charlie Road
to see the tunnel entrance. Except, despite knowing what to look for, I rode
right past it. I ended up seeing much more of Glenwood Drive than I intended,
but that was interesting on two counts: first, the road surface became the twin
of Old Santa Cruz Highway just to the north, skinny and concrete. That's fitting
because this was indeed part of that path before Highway 17 was built. The other
thing I noticed was that there were lots of cyclists on this stretch of road.
That part I don't understand; to my knowledge this road, while quite pretty,
dead-ends at Highway 17. What's the attraction? What have I been missing all
these years?

I went back to Mountain Charlie Road and headed back toward home, the heat now
conspiring with the length of the ride to drain my already-meager energy. Among
all the damaged roads I had been riding all day, Mountain Charlie Road was a
survivor, with relatively little damage despite its many overhanging hills and
trees.


Ride profile

Today's ride was just over 70 miles, with 6100 feet of climbing. The most
difficult kilometer of the ride was in the second half of Black Road, which
averaged about 11%. The kilometer of Graham Hill Road, leaving Felton, was close
at nearly 10%, but felt worse due to the heat, the traffic, and the
recently-eaten lunch.

It was great to get back into the mountains, but what became clear to me is that
I'm not in the same kind of shape at all. First, I haven't done any climbs
recently, and no long climbs for ages. Second, my commute is less than two hours
of riding, so I can easily ride full-out. That's a lousy strategy for a longer
ride, and one with climbing. Pace is the key for old, slow rider.

Posted by Ziasus at 8:02 AM No comments:
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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2016


PROGRESS ON MT. UMUNHUM


Opening up access to the summit of Mt. Umunhum seems to be making progress,
however glacially. In a recent Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board
Meeting (minutes), the board addressed an issue that's been discussed on this
blog before: access to the road leading to the summit. Specifically, MROSD is
working on plans to re-pave and partially rebuild the road, and have initiated
proceedings to acquire rights to the road through eminent domain.



Planned work near the Bald Mountain Trail Head


The road passes through private land. That's not necessarily a problem; lots of
public roads do that. Normally the public holds an easement, a right to use the
road. That's a restriction on the landowner's rights, but in exchange they get
the use and maintenance of the road.

In the case of Mt. Umunhum Road, I'm under the impression that the road was
built to support the Almaden Air Force Station, and clearly the landowners
benefited from its construction. Five years ago I assumed that whatever easement
was in place was still in force, and the Open Space District may have agreed,
but the homeowners construed the easement to apply only to official use. The
Open Space District has been trying to negotiate with the owners but they
haven't budged, so the last resort is condemnation. Don't feel too sorry for
those landowners; they will get an improved and well-maintained road,
practically zero new traffic, and about $400k each.

The plan to pursue eminent domain was made late last year, and it was covered in
the Mercury News and by Ray Hosler, too. What's new (to me, anyway) is that the
process has actually begun. The agenda for the MROSD Board Meeting for May 25,
2016 reads, in part:


> > In order for the District to construct road improvements during the
> > 2016/2017 construction season, condemnation proceedings for Mount Umunhum
> > Road rights have been initiated with the Santa Clara County Superior Court
> > to obtain possession of the necessary rights.

Woohoo! I don't know much about law, but I'm pretty sure that in order to finish
a case you have to start it at some point, so that seems like a milestone. More
seriously, I'm sure it would go more quickly if the landowners would settle, but
if they were reasonable we'd have had access long ago.

The minutes linked above are a pretty interesting read, as meeting notes go. The
plan is not only to repave the road, but also to address drainage and stabilize
slopes along the road. The new road will also have pull-outs and improved guard
rails. The minutes include detailed drawings like the one included above for the
whole route, from Hicks to the summit.

When I started riding my bicycle up Mt. Umunhum I wanted to see the old Air
Force station in its "ghost town" state, before it was torn down. I guess that
ship has sailed, but perhaps the consolation prize will be a legal ride up to
the summit some time before I'm too old to make it.

Posted by Ziasus at 8:05 PM 5 comments:
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016


KONA, HAWAII


On December 30th I got a chance to go cycling on the Big Island of Hawaii. I
didn't reach my goal, but I had a great time not getting there.




We planned a week-long trip to Hawaii, staying on the Big Island, and it looked
like I might be able to get in a couple of days of riding. Then the plans
changed a little, and it turned out the bike shop was closed on New Year's Day,
so my time was becoming constrained. Nonetheless, I packed some bike gear along
with my swim trunks.

There are lots of pretty roads around Kona, but there's one unusual feature: a
road that goes up to 13,800 feet, starting at sea level. Mauna Kea is a dormant
volcano, and there's a road to an observatory at the top. After a little
investigation, I realized that the observatory was not going to be possible for
me, but the visitor's center, at 9,200 feet, might just be possible. So that was
the goal.



The starting point in Kona

One of my constraints was that I didn't have a full day; I had to pick up the
bike after the bike shop opened, then return it the next day before it closed.
Therefore, best case, I only had about 8 hours of riding available. That
wouldn't be enough to get me up and back, so the plan was for my wife to meet me
somewhere up the mountain as dusk fell.

I was at Bike Works Kona before it opened, and was on the bike by 9:30. I rode
down to the water, mostly to zero the elevation on my Garmin to zero. As it
turns out, I started right at the swim and run start of the Ironman triathlon.

The Garmin was already reading 90+ degrees, so I bought an extra bottle of water
and strapped it precariously under my seat. I had read that there was no water
on my chosen path, so I was hoping this would be enough.

The road out of Kona is immediately a climb, reaching about 1600 feet before
becoming more gradual. At that point the temperature also dropped into the high
70s, and I began to hope that my plan might be feasible after all. Unfortunately
the temperature quickly rose back into the 90s, and I was consuming water at
unsupportable rates.




Looking down toward Waikoloa

There are few roads on the Big Island, so those few roads tend to be pretty
busy. The Mamalahoa Highway that I was on had a serviceable shoulder and only
moderate traffic. Eventually I turned onto a highway that led across the island
-- two lanes in the uphill direction, and one on the downhill. The climb became
a little more pronounced, there was much more truck traffic, all signs of trees
or other potential shade disappeared, and the vast expanse of asphalt amplified
the heat noticeably.

Needless to say I was beginning to struggle a bit. I also realized that I had
entirely forgotten to put on sunscreen, so I was going to have a price to pay
for this climb. Eventually I realized that it just wasn't to be, and turned
around. The visitor's center could be a goal for another day.



Elevation profile

My ride ended up at just about 60 miles, with 4700 feet of climbing. The most
difficult kilometer was that last one, on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, but the
grade there was only about 7.3%.

If I were to make an attempt at this ride in the future, I would either need a
cloudy, cooler day, or more support -- there's no way for me to carry enough
water otherwise. Bike shops in the area recommend a number of climbs, but not
this one. I suspect that's just because this ride isn't particularly pretty or
otherwise rewarding, except in altitude. Next time I might be tempted to follow
their advice.



Posted by Ziasus at 8:55 AM No comments:
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