Sunday A(u revoir) ride
Short version: Come to the Sunday A ride, even if it’s the day after the Pesky & Death Ride races! It’ll be my first (and last) time leading an AV A-ride.
Time? 8:00 am at Summit Bicycles, rolling out at 8:10 (8, not 9!)
Pace? Let’s call it 3–3.5 W/kg on the climbs. Careful in the descents.
Water? Yes, sure.
Stops? At least one on Highway 1 at a strawberry farm before Davenport, plus quick stops at the top of the climbs & at Big Basin.
Elevation? Plenty.
Fun? For sure.
Ride leader: Colin Vignon
Longer version:
This time, it will be my last AVA ride before flying back to France, so even if the timing isn’t ideal after Saturday’s races… come anyway!
I could tell the same story Vlado did a few weeks ago about discovering Alto Velo. It was February. After several months off the bike, I naively signed up for "a Sunday A ride," imagining something as mellow as a typical Sunday in France: a short spin to the bakery in the morning before the family lunch. I checked the route and saw there would be some climbing. I'm skinny. It'll be fine. I showed up at Summit Bicycles.
Oh f*ck. They're all skinny.
One Montebello, a few more climbs, and I gracefully allowed them to abandon me by the side of the road while they disappeared into the distance, focusing on my race with the banana slug on the shoulder.
Anyway, enough nostalgia. What's on the menu this Sunday?
It's only Thursday, but I can already hear the excuses:
"I raced yesterday." Congratulations! I'm still not seeing the problem.
Well, actually, I can't think of any other excuses, so I guess that means there aren't any.
Reasons to come: practice your “Paul Seixas” pronounciation.
There is a fun plan, so please show up. First, I'd like to apologize for such a long route. But if you wanted shorter double centuries, you should have adopted the metric system.
A double century?!
Up until now I was hoping nobody had opened the route link yet. Now I'm worried I'm about to lose a few brave souls. Please keep reading. There really is a friendly plan.
The strava route is more of a concept than a binding commitment. The idea is that there are plenty of opportunities to turn back whenever you want, so everyone can choose the version of the ride that suits them (well, not that many, but you don’t have that many roads, fellow Americans).
Main route: a double century, hopefully reaching the top of Ham around 6–7 PM for a beautiful sunset.
Starters: up OLH, down 84, up Haskins (yes, you probably rode it several times the day before, but if you've developed Haskins PTSD, the best cure is immediate exposure therapy), then descend toward Pesky. At that point, anyone wanting a shorter day can head home via the coastal classic route or back over 84.
With the more enthusiastic riders, we will continue south on Highway 1, with a relatively quick (~20 min) stop at a strawberry farm before Davenport to refuel. From there, anyone starting to fade can continue to Santa Cruz and come back via Highway 9 for roughly 100 miles and a perfectly respectable amount of climbing.
With the even more enthusiastic riders, we will take a small detour up Empire Grade on our way to Big Basin. Why? WHY?! Completely unnecessary... but I've never ridden it, so... please? We'll reach Big Basin, refill water there, cross Big Basin & finally reach the Skyline/Highway 9 intersection.
If I'm not alone by then, I'll already consider the ride a success. At that point we're only around 90 miles in with about 10,000 ft of climbing—at endurance pace it should be fine. There are several escape routes here: Skyline + Page Mill back toward Palo Alto, or down to Saratoga depending on where you live. As far as ride leader responsibilities go, I'll officially consider my AVA duties fulfilled at this point, since I don't expect many people to continue beyond here.
The extremely enthusiastic riders will follow me on a mysterious adventure through the hills above Saratoga, Los Gatos, and beyond, including Almaden Quicksilver County Park—a first for me too. Then we'll start heading north again. Anyone who's had enough can aim for the San Jose Caltrain, making it roughly 130 miles with around 12,000 ft of climbing, and save their legs before the grand final. Totally reasonable. Absolutely fine.
Riders who should probably start seeing a therapist will continue for the chef's surprise: Ham at sunset. You'll probably want lights for this part (I mean the way down & back home). I'm hoping to reach the summit around 6–7 PM so we have enough daylight to at least descend, and hopefully make it home before dark, although the schedule may slip earlier in the day (please make sure to top up sealant). After that, we'll enjoy an easy glide back toward San Jose with the feeling of having done someting: 1°dumb, 2°great.
By this point, bottom of Ham, the group should resemble a disaster zone. Some may decide to escape on the Caltrain. Others will insist on riding all the way back to Summit because the Strava file must be complete. I’m sorry it’s not ideal at this time of the day, so please be careful and take your lights.
Depending on which option you choose, bring enough food (makes sense) as well as water (genius!). For those tackling the longer versions, we'll have opportunities to refill along the way. (I'll miss you, random gas stations with your Gatorade and Haribo gummies.)
As you can see... there is some sort of a plan.
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3510492874814678916
Short version: Coastal Classic
Less short options: less short, obviously
Long version: ~200mi & 17,850ft
Regroup points: top of climbs, bottom of downhills - sun is sunny, bikes are biking.