Headed out at 7:00 AM sharp. 46 degrees and cloudy. It would warm up to a nice 65 - 70 when the sun came out. The usual aggressive commuters in BMW's on the climb over Pinehurst trying to shave a few seconds off their commute time by taking the back roads. Nobody on Redwood Rd. except for a few stragglers. First water stop was at the Willow Park golf course.
Thru Castro Valley where everyone seemed to be backed up at the light waiting to turn left on Bollinger Canyon Rd. Probably another commuter shortcut. Out to Palomares and another world.
Fixing the flat took 15 minutes. I carried 2 spare tubes and a patch kit and it would turn out I needed both spare tubes as I flatted again later in the day just 5 miles out of Santa Cruz. After a good climb up and over Palomares, it was a right on Niles Canyon Rd. That section has better shoulders than the section from Palomares to Sunol. The 2nd refreshment stop was at one of at least 3 7-11's in Fremont for a "Big Turkey and Cheese" sandwich. Then thru Fremont on Paseo Padre Parkway, a nice wide street with good bike lanes most of the way. Not much traffic either since by this time, everyone was either at work, in school, or somewhere other than on the roads. A right on Marshlands Rd and soon you're heading over the Dumbarton Bridge.
After the bridge, it was thru some nice sections of San Mateo and Palo Alto before heading out on Sand Hill Rd. Then over Old La Honda Rd, a very narrow hilly section with virtually no traffic.
After La Honda Rd, it was down to the town of La Honda for another refreshment stop at the La Honda market, and then to Pescadero Rd to Pescadero for some pastries at the Pescadero bakery. A couple of raisin snails later and it was off to connect to Highway 1 and head south. It was just 1 picture postcard scene after another from here down to Santa Cruz.
The shoulder was good pretty much all the way on this stretch of Highway 1 and traffic was light as it was a Thursday afternoon in mid October. On the weekends and in the peak summer tourist season, the traffic is much heavier.
A final refreshment stop at the Davenport market. By this time, I had done almost 110 miles and, although not bonking yet, I needed a little boost to make it into the Santa Cruz. Had my second flat tire just 5 miles outside of Santa Cruz. Stopped at a bike shop as soon as I got into town to pick up another spare tube in case I got yet another flat in the 2 miles left to the motel.
Made it to the lovely Travelodge on Ocean Ave in Santa Cruz by 5:30 PM with about an hour of daylight to spare. I'd played it safe and made reservations but I probably didn't need to. If it was the weekend or the summer, you should probably make a reservation unless you want to go motel shopping. Spent the evening in the motel room patching my 2 flat tubes in preparation for the next day's flats. I could now handle 3 flats without cracking open the patching kit on the road.
Made it to the lovely Travelodge on Ocean Ave in Santa Cruz by 5:30 PM with about an hour of daylight to spare. I'd played it safe and made reservations but I probably didn't need to. If it was the weekend or the summer, you should probably make a reservation unless you want to go motel shopping. Spent the evening in the motel room patching my 2 flat tubes in preparation for the next day's flats. I could now handle 3 flats without cracking open the patching kit on the road.
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