Spring Springs

Spring is the season for Soda Springs. The sun was shining, the springs were flowing, and the late rains had coaxed some wildflowers into bloom.

Having spent Saturday as a Tierra Bella volunteer, Sunday was my day to ride. Before tackling Soda Springs Road, we headed up Aldercroft Heights—unexplored territory, for me. The public road ends at San Jose Water Company property, protected by the usual loops of razor wire atop a chain link fence festooned with the usual warning signs.

Inexplicably, there was also a streetlight planted among the trees (in the dense shade, illuminated). The base of Wrights Station is little more than a mile away, on the other side of the fence, but you can't get there from here. A security guard in a pickup truck headed down the road as I climbed back up. Did we trigger a camera somewhere? How disappointed he would be to find a bunch of brightly clad, middle-aged cyclists loitering at the end of the road.

The public portion of Soda Springs is another dead end. The top of Loma Almaden is little more than a mile away; you can't get there from here. The grade of this road is amazingly linear, essentially uninterrupted at 8.2% for a five and a half miles. The lower slopes offer the best vistas; the road ends in the trees at a surprising altitude of nearly 3,100 feet.

With few landmarks, Soda Springs feels like the climb that will never end. Trees, blind corners, more trees ... repeat. I was ready to be done long before I reached the "500 feet to end of road" sign. With less than 200 feet to go, I discovered that I had unintentionally completed the climb without shifting into my lowest gear. Incredible!

The ascent is a test of willpower; the descent is a test of braking power (and nerve). For the day, 21.1 miles, with 3,575 feet of climbing.