August 31st rides

[sundial]

I did a little ride today, 17 miles or so, and while on my journey saw a mother raccoon with 3 babies in tow.

[andtckrtoo]

I did my long ride today. 41 miles, with 3000 feet altitude gain. Similar to the ride I did last week, but I did it in reverse and did not take the short cut (which added 4 miles). The first 15 miles was easy. Nice rolling hills, nothing too steep, and with a nice wide bike lane!



Then came the climb. I turned left onto Page Mill, and stopped to get some water. Got to hang with this horse for a short bit:



The climb was 7 miles, but the difference between Page Mill and Hwy 9 is that Page Mill offers some breaks. But the breaks come with a price. While Hwy 9 is a fairly steady climb (to the point of being tedious), Page Mill has some very steep sections that forced me into my granny gear.  I even had to stop once to catch my breath. But I pedaled on, and eventually came to the top, and onto Skyline Blvd.



Skyline is also a series of rollers, but these are much more serious rollers! And the view is really incredible. I did take a quick restroom break at one of the local Open Space Preserves.



Then it was off past vineyards (sorry, I had I great down hill here and did not want to stop for photos), and miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Skyline runs across the top of the Santa Cruz mountains, and it’s usually cooler up there. The only real problem is the motorcyclists. They like the road because is curvy and windy and fun to ride (kind of like the reason I ride it), but it’s so quiet and peaceful up there that it’s almost an affront to have a really loud bike go by. I don’t mind the quieter ones, but why do people have to have the reallyh loud ones? It cannot be good for their ears!!! But, fortunately, they were not too numerous (too early for their crowd), so I enjoyed the ride. The breeze was very nice. I did take a quick break overlooking my favorite mountain bike trail!



Then it was off to the pay off – 11 easy miles, 7 of which are straight down hill. I passed a clipboard lying in the middle of the road (?) and a dead skunk (not so interesting). Then through the really cute town of Saratoga, and then home.

[ridenread]

Another perfect day in New England, although I could have done with a little less head wind. I did a beautiful 33.5 miles (another new record for me) along a new route, wonderful rolling hills with only a few short climbs. Past the harbor, along the ocean and through gorgeous farm lands. I felt like "one" with my bike, I think this was the best ride I have ever done. I just let my legs go and felt like the bike and I were one machine. The highlight of my ride was passing two people on a climb!! I've never passed anyone on a climb before!!

[Crankin]

Ditto for the beautiful New England day. We drove to West Gloucester with friends, about an hour away, parked the car and rode about 12 miles to Singing Beach in Manchester by the Sea. I have never been to this beach or done any rides in this part of the state. Beautiful farmlands, water views, homes. Going there, not too much traffic. I am always leery of riding in beach towns; too many people not paying attention. Many more cyclists than I expected. We changed into our bathing suits and ate lunch on the beach, which was crowded, but not packed. Very nice; clean and a well behaved crowd. The water was 63 degrees, though, definitely not for me. It really is gorgeous out today. We spent about 2 and half hours on the beach, then rode our way back, along the coast, lots of rollers. In fact, it was a bit hillier than I expected. Not really climbs, but not flat. There were a lot more cars on the way back and I had to yell at one one person who tired to squeeze by me as someone else was backing up and turning around in front of me. After we got back to the car, we drove a mile to an ice cream place, bought some cones and sat along the harbor, where the famous fisherman's statue is. We saw a wedding party taking pictures, which was cool and also discussed our bike tour with our friends and they told us about their bike trip to Nova Scotia. We are trying to figure out a possible trip to Sweden and Norway next summer.
22 miles 15.6 average
10 miles to hit 2,000 for the year

[Jiffer]

My August 31 ride resulted in a ride in an ambulance with my friend who crashed. Just posted "My friend crashed" if you want to read about it.

Only got 13 of a 55 mile training ride in. Was going to do 55 today and 45 tomorrow to prepare for Amtrak century next week. Now we'll do at least 65 tomorrow instead.

[Kalidurga]

The only real problem is the motorcyclists. They like the road because is curvy and windy and fun to ride (kind of like the reason I ride it), but it’s so quiet and peaceful up there that it’s almost an affront to have a really loud bike go by. I don’t mind the quieter ones, but why do people have to have the really loud ones?

My father's a motorcyclist and according to him loud pipes are used for the same reason bicyclists wear screaming neon yellow: To let auto drivers know they're there! I can certainly understand why you feel the way you do, though, the area where you ride looks so serene and peaceful. And that mtb trail looks awesome.

[Fredwina]

I rode out to fontana before going to church. But My a/c went out overnight(it's fixed now, and this caused my sinuses to act up)

[makbike]

A nice short and relaxing recovery ride today. I wanted to work some of the soreness/stiffness out of my legs after yesterday's tough century. It as a nice ride all 14 miles of it.

[redrhodie]

I had a nice 25 mile ride. Funny thing was having to stop to let a flock of turkeys cross the road. Boy, they sure take their time!

[sundial]

Lol!