I figured it was going to be tough, doing the Santa Cruz loop, which Kevin and I hadn’t done in a while. When I looked it up on Strava though, I had no idea it had been… 3 years???!!! Yikes. My last 100 mile ride was probably the Sequoia Century two years ago. Nothing last year due to Covid-19 shutting things down. So yes, a bit of fear & trepidation when I discovered how long it had been.

Fortunately, there’s safety in numbers, and we had Colin coming along with us as well. Does that really make a difference? Mentally, somehow, yes it does. With three people, it’s likely that, at any given time, one of them is feeling pretty good, and on a long ride, that works great when you’re heading into the wind. And three is small enough that it’s not likely you’ll have a situation where you’re really held up by a straggler on the climbs either.

The toughest part might have been figuring out how to dress for the ride. The day started pretty cool but promised to warm up later. So leg warmers, base layer and long-fingered gloves at the start, which you put exactly where when you have to remove them later? Just one of those things you find a way to work with. Pretty stuffed jersey pockets. And being prepared for cooler temps did pay off as we saw it get down to 49 degrees once we got up over Skyline, via Old LaHonda.

Old LaHonda. Didn’t exactly start up; the hill very strongly, but for some reason things got better as the hill went on. Better enough that Kevin and Colin were having a bit of trouble keeping up with me towards the top. Haskins we all seemed pretty evenly matched.

The miles rolled by pretty nicely; I never had that feeling of, oh my, we’re just 30 miles into this, 80 to go! I know that feeling. Used to get it pretty frequently on centuries (100 milers) but as I’ve grown older that feeling seems to have completely gone away. In general, endurance isn’t much of an issue for me, just speed.

We rolled into Davenport for lunch, hoping to hit up the taco place, but it was take-out only, no place to eat! So back to the Whaler Bakery, which we’ve visited many times before, but never for pancakes. Pancakes? Seriously? We saw others having them and somehow it just made sense. Pancakes and a mocha fueled us through the Santa Cruz maze, up the San Lorenzo Valley all the way to Boulder Creek, our other traditional stop, at the last gas station in town. Snickers bar and a large Mtn Dew worked wonders for the long climb up Highway 9 to Skyline. Colin was fading a bit, but he hung in there.

It’s sad there’s no Mr. Mustard at Saratoga Gap anymore; no hot dogs, no cokes. But there is water at the Fire Station, where we picked up another source of power, Brian, long-time customer at the shop, who’d just ridden up Redwood Gulch. Together we made pretty good time to Sky Londa, but with a brief stop on the way when Kevin pulled over for a seizure. No problems; he was back on his bike in just a few minutes, stronger than ever.

112 miles, over 8000ft of climbing, and felt pretty good at the end. I’m still alive!

The plan. I think I’m growing to hate my plans. Well, most are pretty reasonable, but a few weeks ago I told Kevin we would be doing a Santa Cruz loop at the end of May, and, well, that’s next week. And if Colin isn’t of sound mind and body (meaning, he’ll have lost his mind if he still plans to ride with us), he’ll be joining us too. Hard to believe neither Kevin nor I rode a single century last year, but with Covid-19 there were no organized events, and Santa Cruz County was actually citing people from out of town. And with last year’s trip to France cancelled (again, Covid-19), it wasn’t like we had to get in shape for anything in particular either.

But that was then, this is now. In theory Kevin and I had for France July 8th, returning on the 19th, so it’s time to get some miles under the belt. Whatever “under the belt” means. So next Sunday we ride up Old LaHonda, over Haskins to Pescadero, Gazos Creek to Highway 1, early lunch in Davenport, continue to Santa Cruz and head up Highway 9. Stop at Boulder Creek for more food and Mtn Dew before tackling the Highway 9 climb, Skyline, then home. Back in the day, we’d always stop at Skyline where Mr. Mustard would have ice cold drinks and hot dogs, but there’s been no sign of Mr. Mustard in maybe two years???!!! Makes it quite a long haul back from Boulder Creek!

Today was hardly a warm-up to next week’s ride; up Page Mill (ok, that hurt), south on Skyline to 9, descend 9 & Redwood Gulch, and drop by the shopping center where our Los Altos store used to be to see if it’s still empty (it is, but it looks like something might finally be happening inside). Food and coffee at Peets, then ride through the Foothill back home. 56 miles (like most of our rides, no matter what route; the Sunday rides seem to always end up at 56 miles), reasonable pace, nice weather. Actually overdressed, but better that than getting too cold. Kevin definitely had the upper hand on Page Mill Road; I told him to take off and see what time he could get, but he kept waiting up for me. We’ll see how he does next week; in general, I do better later in the ride. But I’m going to make sure Becky’s got enough gas in her car just in case she has to pick up the pieces somewhere between Redwood City and Santa Cruz.