Our first Century of the year, and an old favorite- the Santa Cruz loop. Kevin and I haven’t ridden this far since at least last August, and we didn’t get off to the greatest start this morning when he suggested maybe a shorter ride so he and his sister could head down to pick up coffee and bagels for breakfast. But I know the routine; the first 15 miles or so Kevin isn’t, how shall I say this, the best company? But then he gets into the routine and things go smoothly.

The biggest challenge today was the wind! Yikes, it was crazy windy out there, but fortunately we had a tailwind down the coast, with slight headwinds elsewhere.

Our route took us over Old LaHonda (where Kevin was a bit disappointed with his 24:35 time), down the other side to Pescadero, then Cloverdale to the coast at Gazos Creek. We skipped the Gazos Creek Grill, choosing instead to grab some pastries at the Whaler Cafe in Davenport (don’t buy sandwiches there unless you can wait a very long time!). Check out the tree in the photo, on the climb just past Rancho del Oso (near the big lumber yard on the left). and then south to Santa Cruz & up Highway 9 with lunch in Boulder Creek (but not until first fixing a flat on Kevin’s bike). Kevin finished the ride very strongly, riding up Highway 9 much faster than he has in the past, and in the end we had 112 miles and an average speed of 15.7mph.