Back to the Hills

Friday morning, I decided that I wanted to go for a ride in the hills. So I combined parts of the Empire Grade ride and the Swanton Road ride. I rode up Empire Grade, over Smith Grade, down Bonny Doon Road, up Highway 1, about half way up Swanton Road and then back home. I did not ride all the way up Swanton Hill, that will have to wait for a later ride. I took a couple of detours that added about 2 miles to the route seen above. The ride totalled 38 miles with just over 3000 feet of climbing.

Recently, I have been trying a technique of relaxing my body while climbing. So far, I have been trying it on relatively short hills. On this ride, I would try it on a longer hills. I have also read that it is good to loosen up, by riding easily for 10-15 minutes, before climbing the first hill. On my Empire Grade route, the first hill is less than 1 mile from my house, so I usually only get 5 minutes of warm-up before the first climb. The technique of loosening up before climbing, not only makes the climb easier, it is good for preventing injuries.

So I started out by riding around the lower westside of Santa Cruz for a few miles before starting on the route seen above. The first climb is up Bay Street from the lower westside of Santa Cruz up to the University. I concentrated on relaxing my body during the climb. The climb seemed a little easier than before, but not hugely better. I will continue using these techniques because they do help, but I will not expect them to make a huge difference. I have found that other factors are more important to my climbing ability. I will list them below in order of importance:

1) Riding lots of miles - There is no substitute for spending alot of time on the bike.

2) Time since last ride - If I had a hard ride yesterday, climbing today is going to be tough. On the other hand, if I have not ridden in a week, then I will be fresh for the hills.

2) Rest - It is alot easier to climb the hills, if I have had a full nights sleep.

3) Meals - A good dinner the night before and a good breakfast in the morning helps on the ride. Especially something like pasta that is heavy on the carbohydrates.

4) Caffeine - I rarely drink caffinated drinks any more, but if I have a coffee before a bike ride, it is a big help. On the other hand, if I had a cup of coffee yesterday, then I will be in caffeine-deficit today and the ride will be harder than usual.

5) Relaxing during climb - Yes this helps, but the above factors are much more important.

Anyway, my point is that relaxing my body during a climb helps, but is well down the list of factors. I don't think "loosening up before the first climb" helps much, but it is a good technique for avoiding injuries, so I will keep doing it.


On several previous rides up Empire Grade, I have attempted to find a pipe that is sticking out of the hill. I have heard from several different people that it connects to a natural mineral spring. They assure me that the mineral water is safe to drink. Some people fill jugs for drinking water at home. Furthermore, I am told that bike riders often fill their water bottles from this pipe. On this trip, I was determined to find the pipe and try the water. As I climbed Empire Grade, I had planned to turn on Smith Grade. Instead, I continued on Empire Grade for a quarter mile or so, to the pipe location. I rode very slowly in the general area to make sure I found it and still I almost missed it.

Can you see the pipe in this picture? This was taken from just across the road. Go ahead double-click on the picture and try to find it. I can barely see it and I know exactly where it is in the picture.











This picture is from the same spot, but I zoomed in as far as my camera would let me. The pipe is a little more visible, but still hard to see.







This picture was taken from about 3 feet away. The pipe is a little white line in the middle of the picture. No wonder I missed it on previous rides! In all fairness, it is easier to see when you are there, since there is water dripping out of the pipe. It is the only motion and there is a trickling sound that draws your attention.




So I cupped my hands and drank a little of the water. The water tasted really good. I expected a strong mineral taste, but it had a very clean taste. It was very refreshing. So I emptied one of my water bottles and filled it from the pipe. It only took 30 seconds or so. I enjoyed sipping on the water for the rest of the ride. Note that when I got home, I found that my wife and son are not happy about this idea at all. They have made me promise to not do it again. Hmm, I have an auto-immune disease that affects my intestines. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all!

The weather was nice and it was a fun ride. A tough ride, but a fun ride. My legs are still sore today (Saturday), but I am sure that I will feel better soon.