Tierra Bella 2008

Been somewhat busy and haven't been posting in a while (obviously). Several rides since the last posting including a ride to the coast that included a late night return home. I got a late start when I decided to head for Page Mill and head for Tunitas Creek via Pescadero and thus didn't get home till about 8:50 PM. The return ride consisted of a ton of bugs smacking me in the face and seriously limited visibility, but I made it. Total mileage was 87 for the day with better than 6k feet I think (I forget, will have to check it out later).

This past weekend on Saturday the 19th was the Tierra Bella. I had been waiting for my opportunity to attempt the century again after last year's monsoon ride. Though the route was changed somewhat with no ride up Metcalf, the change was to go up to Henry Coe (quite climb in itself). Started out around 7:10 AM and rode to the first rest stop with my friend Scott and his dad who were doing the 60 K (our routes were the same for the first 16 miles or so). The pace was a bit slow to the first stop ;), but that was perfectly ok as it was fun to get out and ride with them both once again. They had introduced me to this tour back in 2002.

It was pretty damned cold till I finally hit Thomas Grade (the first step in heading for the top of Henry Coe) and so I was actually quite welcoming the climb for a chance to warm up. Seemed like forever when climbing up that hill, but finally made it along with dozens of other cyclists. As the wind picked up while at the top, it was clear how cold it would be on the way down and what was in store for me eventually when riding back to the start.

The last climb of the day was up to Gilroy Hot Springs, which I remember as being quite short...I must have a short memory because it was anything but short (course I was a bit sore by this point too). The wind was to my back while heading there so not too bad. After finishing the loop and heading north on Franklin in Gilroy, the wind showed just what it could do. I was barely managing 6 MPH. Turning west I could maintain 14 MPH, but the wind was constantly knocking me off balance.

What was really fun, was shortly after crossing highway 101, I reached Santa Teresa once again. As I turned south, with the wind to my back, I started FLYING! Generally speaking I'm pretty slow compared to most riders, but on the flats I can hold my own. I was averaging 28 MPH (without any real effort) and for about a min was holding 30 MPH with just about average power output. It felt great to suddenly get the boost of speed after barely moving not long before that.

As I arrived back at the college, I felt really good to have finally completed another century! Considering I tried 4 centuries last year (not including the Death Ride) and was rained on for 3 of them (one being the Tahoe Sierra with the hail and snow combined with near freezing temps over most of my ride too) I was thrilled to finally get the chance to see if I could repeat my 2nd century. Best of all they still had pie and ice cream at the end ;).