Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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Today’s club ride is led by Joan, it’s her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOAN! We all meet in town of Woodside in front of the Town Hall for a 10 AM start. Water and restrooms are available at Robert’s Market on Woodside Rd. We head out on Woodside to Portola Rd.

We then continue on Old La Honda Rd. This climb is a little over 3 miles long with narrow switchbacks and lots of shade. It’s very beautiful and quiet on this road. The average gradient is around 7% with some sections ranging from 9-10%. The descent on Old La Honda to Hwy 84 is very narrow with many blind turns.

Hwy 84 is a fun and fast 4 mile stretch of road that will take us pass the small town of La Honda to Pescadero Creek Rd. Pescadero Creek is about a 4 mile climb with the average gradient being around 6%.

The descent on Pescadero Creek Rd to Pescadero is really fun with its sweeping turns; not much braking is required. There’s plenty of open farmland with ranches, horses and even a “pick your own” vegetable garden.

Lunch is at Arcangeli’s/Norm’s Market. They are renowned for their Garlic
Artichoke Bread. Their Chocolate Croissants, Chocolate Chip Cookies also taste great! Sandwiches and cold drinks are also available. There is a large picnic area in the back with porta-potties for public use. Joan is very generous to provide us all with birthday treats. THANK YOU JOAN!

We’re off to continue on to Stage Rd. Stage Rd is almost 10 miles long with a series of 3 climbs and wonderful downhills in between. The landscape is gorgeous on this back road. The average gradient is about 5%. This road takes us pass San Gregorio to Hwy 1.

We head north on Hwy 1 to Tunitas Creek Rd. It starts out pretty flat, passing
some farms and the red Bike Hut. It’s about a 6 mile climb once you pass the
intersection at Lobitos Creek Cutoff and you’ll notice that the grade starts to
increase. You’ll soon be under the cover of redwoods and it’s absolutely
beautiful! I would say the average gradient is 8% with a section of road maxing
out at 11%. As you climb, focus on the gorgeous setting around you and
hopefully that will distract you from noticing all the effort you’re putting
out. Choose to ride in silence; it’s very quiet and peaceful. The last few
miles flatten out quite a bit to about a 2% grade. The upper section of this
road has been recently redone and it’s fabulous to be able to roll on smooth
pavement.

The descent on King’s Mountain Rd is about 5 miles long. This road is very
narrow with many blind hairpin turns. It can be very dangerous if you’re
bombing down too fast. Proceed with caution on this downhill! We eventually
wind back down to Woodside Rd and back to the start.

Much thanks to Joan once again for leading this Birthday Ride!

30+ people in attendance with 3 tandems

51 miles with 5391′ of elevation gain.

Weather: Starting temp in the high 60’s with sunny skies temps dropping to the
mid 50’s with a heavy cover of fog on the climb up Old La Honda to Skyline. Wet
pavement from the mist on the descent to Hwy 84. Overcast and cloudy with temps in the high 50’s at Pescadero. Sunny skies at the top of Tunitas Creek all the way back to Woodside. Temps in the low 70’s.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>KEEP ACTIVE-HAVE FUN!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>