A couple of good friends of mine, Jay and Matt, decided to organize a day bike ride to San Gregorio State Beach on Sunday, April 12, 1998. We live in Palo Alto, so this would be about a 60 mile ride up over some pretty gruesome mountains. Deeming it a good excuse to forget taxes for a bit, I decided to come along.
The night before was spent playing poker until 4:30 a.m., which does not make for a restful night. In the spirit of "sleep is for wimps", I got up at 8 am and hit the road by 9. Six of us met up in Menlo Park and started the ride at around 10 am:
The first bad omen was that about 30 seconds into the ride, we got stopped at a railroad crossing, and had to wait there several minutes for a train to come and then pass. This seldom happens, and we should have not taken the warning lightly.
We started with the familiar ride up to Stanford, up San Hill over Interstate 280, and into the hills. Winding up Sand Hill, we turned on to the gruesome 3.4 uphill ride of Old La Honda road. This is the road that seems to wind for a long time, continuously up-hill, and temps you with cross-street names like "Upenuf" to which you are obliged to answer "NO!" At the top, you are rewarded by peaking at the nice greenery at the intersection of Skyline boulevard. There is some waiting to be done at the top to regroup, and it was starting to get cold.
After everyone arrived at the top, we discovered that Jay, the instigator and safekeeper of the map, had forgotten it at home. None of us had done this ride before, and had only a vague idea of the route. We got advice from several other bicyclers nearby, and on their advice, we set off - more climbing up to the intersection of 84 and Skyline. This is the location of the famous motorcycle hangout, Alice's restaurant. True to its reputation, there were plenty of bikers there, and most of them with the powered vehicles.
Adam had planned to only come this far and return, so we expected his departure. Deedee, however, was going to go the whole way, but was not feeling quite up to it, so she left with Adam to head down the hill for home. After a bit of regrouping, the remaining 4 of us set off up Skyline once again.
About 5 minutes after our departure from Alice's, I heard a snap and an "Oh no" from behind me. Pulling over, it had turned out that Ed's read derailleur broke its cable, forcing Ed into the hardest gear. This was no way to tackle a hill. We tried to fix it to no avail, headed back to the grocery store at 84, and also struck out there. With dismay, Ed turned back and rode for home down 84.
...and then there were 3...
The next bad omen was that as we struggled up the hills on Skyline, it kept getting colder and now a lot wetter. Our hands were freezing (as was the rest of us), and rather than rain, the cold had turned much of it hail. As Jay put it so aptly, "if it's raining when we get to the turn-off, I'm heading home". I think Matt and I would have grudgingly gone with him if that had been the case. But due to the long time heading up the hills and the gained altitude, the clouds cleared up and the rain stopped. This was quite a surprise as it was raining buckets previously. I pulled off to a scenic overlook of the Peninsula on Skyline, and watched the sky lighten and the rain stop as I defrosted my hands in waiting for my companions.
Given the nice weather, we decided to brave it, and passed the point of no return, heading down the mountain to the beach at San Gregorio via Tunitas Creek Road. After a couple of miles of what Jay called a "gentle" descent, the grade got intense, and the downhill seemed to last forever. We saw a few brave bikers on their way up, and felt authentic pity for them. The prospect of coming back up the hill was daunting indeed. Just to give you a sense of the downhill involved, our hands were aching from the constant application of brakes in order to keep our spee in check, and this is the first time we had to stop on a downhill to rest (or, more precisely, defrost). It felt like we went through 3 climate zones from the cold and rainy top, through the forested middle section, and down to the warm and sunny beach. The hill went down for over 7 miles, and we were anticipating the trip up on a parallel hill with dread.
The sight of the ocean was welcome indeed when we encountered it. We rode a few miles along Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, to the San Gregorio State Beach Park. Matt had anticipated that the coast would be flat, however, Highway 1 is one large hill after another. Fortunately, we did not have to go too far, and arrived at the beach. This was a good time to rest, and I performed the celebratory splashing in the ocean. The sand was pleasantly warm, but the water was a cold that tour books call "refreshing".
We departed from the beach to grab lunch and listen to a live fiddling duo at a general store a mile or two up the road. Refilling the water bottles, it was time for the dreaded ascent up 84 to Skyline. I found the ride up to be much less steep than the road we had come down. However, it was longer. After a good deal of trudging, the sight of Alice's Restaurant at Skyline was welcome indeed! I could hardly believe that I was at the top already, but there it was. Matt and Jay eventually arrived to join in the glory.
From the top, there is a fast descent down Woodside Boulevard (84), a few small hills on Sand Hill Road, and then a flat ride back to Menlo Park, where we arrived around 6 pm. All that was left was storing the bikes and enjoying the celebration dinner...