A Sunday in Hell

Boulder Creek, 236, Jamison, Empire Grade, Alba, Hwy 9 ride 4.9.11

We'll call this the waterfall ride since there were at least 20 that could be seen from the road. Started out kinda late in the afternoon waiting for the weather to warm up but it never really did. Out the door down the hill into B.C. then up Hwy 236 for a bit and left on Jamison where a few really nice houses stood and then became another world, a world of water, creeks, falls everywhere. Wow - unexpected surprises my 1st time here. The beauty offset the suffering up this big climb, at least for me. It seems the rains are mostly over and now's time to start training for the season. What am I training for? Not really sure but know I feel physically better after a several weeks climbing and I guess it's mostly just for the challenge. The mental blocks are a hard hurdle the 1st time out on a new climbing route but it does get easier each time. After what seemed at least an hour of huffing & puffing I was happy just to make it to Empire Grade. This road is mostly flat and runs on a ridgeline with some great views of the San Lorenzo Valley poking through the trees. Was really cold up there around 4pm. After passing the Ben Lomond Conservation Camp I saw my Alba Rd. turnoff. Excited to see the 10% grade sign I was looking forward to less grunting and more coasting. Down we go and it's a bit twisty, narrow with not the best surface in some areas. As usual the scenery made up for the lack of road luxury. Passing Alba School and back into civilization Hwy 9 and the intense climb home came up too soon.

A few pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157626478262672/with/5611325166/

'til next time, "Have a Nice Ride"!

summer's coming - hang in there...