Month: November 2011

Suminder is back in town, although briefly. We met up for lunch at his place on Sunday and post-lunch rode down to Santa Cruz. On the way there we took the mountain roads: Page Mill, Skyline and Hwy 9. As usual, Page Mill and Skyline were a lot of fun. This was really the first time I rode Hwy 9 (all the way) and was a little disappointed. The initial sections of Hwy 9 (close to Skyline) were beautiful. Wide sweeping turns with great tarmac and very little traffic. However, after the Big Basin stop sign, the road turns left and the traffic picks up.  Hwy 9 then hits the towns of Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton, before getting into Santa Cruz. Traffic was pretty heavy and it wasn’t much fun cruising through the stop signs, traffic lights and such. The other issue was that a lot of sections of Hwy 9 were wet. Suminder almost lost control at one point, but recovered safely without a a fall.

On our way back we rode the freeway: Hwy 17 to I880. Boring but a quick and efficient return.

It’s been a few weeks since my long epic ride into the Sierras. While that was fun, it was also very tiring. In general, life has been very hectic off late, both personally and at work.

Anyway, I did find the time to squeeze in a couple of rides. Solo rides, ~50-60 miles each. Both rides were at dusk as the days are getting shorter.

This was my first time riding Redwood road and it turned out to be a nice surprise. The lanes are wider than Palomares or Calavares, and the turns are longer. It sure makes for fun riding. On my way up Redwood, I actually spotted deer at least three times. They were mostly at the side of the road minding their business, but one has to be extra careful when riding in these East Bay hills. I kept a steady (but mellow) pace and thankfully didn’t see any deer pull up in front of me.

Sometime during the Palomares/Foothill ride I lost the right side (muffler side) plastic panel. I had removed the panels and seat to install the new air filter, so I must not have tightened it up fully when putting it back. Anyway, it seems like a common problem and I found a used plastic panel in white on Advrider for $35. Dealer wanted $170 for the panel, heat shield, rubber bumper, etc.