Tierra Bella

My husband and I rode the Tierra Bella in Gilroy today, put on by the Almaden Cycle Touring Club.

We stopped off at regstration to say hi to Snapdragen, whose newly red hair looked very nice. :)

We rode the 100K (there was also a 60K, a 100mi and a 200K). The first 40 mi or so, which overlapped with the 60K route, was pretty flat and took us around a couple of reserviors - very scenic. The wind started kicking up along a long flat open stretch, where I learned the joys of drafting :D

Then we started the climb up to Gilroy Hot Springs. Oy. I don't know how steep that climb was; the ride description said there was about 2000 feet total climbing and I think it was pretty much all right there. I couldn't do it all in one go; I made it about 2/3 of the way up but then had to take a breather (and I had plenty of company at that turn out, heh) and soon after that I had to stop again to get into the shade for a few minutes. But I made it (waaay ahead of my husband I may add :D).

Soon after that we had a much-appreciated rest stop. Right when we were leaving the rest stop I realized I had a flat front tire- my first! - but I picked a good place to have it , at least. And I'm very glad I found it then rather than further down the road, since further along we were rewarded for our climbing efforts with a spectacular downhill route that looked out onto the valley. Whee!

The rest of the ride, while mostly flat, was into a headwind :p. My legs were starting to feel like lead near the end! But there was a nice shallow downhill grade for the last mile or so which was a nice way to end the ride.

This was a very well-organized ride, great SAG support, lots of volunteers standing at remote corners making sure no-one made a wrong turn. Very well done!

Someone posted photos in a thread on the Bike Forums newsgroup:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=48988

The first photo shows the switchback where I had to take a rest going up to Gilroy Hot Springs (it was much more crowded when I was there :) ). There wasn't any shade there so I went a ways up and found a nice cool shady spot; I overheat very easily (does not bode well for the summer, I know...).

The next photo shows some of the spectacular views we were treated to on our way down.

You rode what is essentially the route we use for the graduation ride for the Bike Academy! I've never done Gilroy Hot Springs, I'm always driving the SAG vehicle.

Glad you had a good time!

Congrats, Jo. Tierra Bella is such a pretty ride. The last time I did the Gilroy Hot Springs climb it was near the beginning of the ride -- and verrry cold. I always liked hanging out on the lawn at the finish waiting for my BF, sitting in the sun enjoying the food and the music. Now I'm envious. Maybe next year.

Thanks for the write-up.

Here's some more photos of Tierra Bella. Also, the ride comments are interesting. There is one long article I enjoyed.

http://www.actc.org/tbphoto_04/