The more I thought about joining today's hilly ride, the less sense it made. Get up early, load the bike into the car, drive to the starting point ... and then bike back toward home? A posse of renegades formed instead, with a plan to link up with the rest of the riders en route.It was a day for ice cream (the hard stuff). And that, of course, calls for a hard ride.
The main group would be climbing the easier [cough, cough] side of Hicks, followed by a trek up Mt. Umunhum. To meet them, why not take the most direct route? In other words, the steeper side of Hicks. Then, descend the "easier" side and climb it with the group. On the face of it, this is a ridiculous plan. Climb both sides of Hicks on the same ride? I had no intention of following that with a spin up Mt. Umunhum.
Deer have no regard for right of way; as we approached, two scampered up the steep hillside while a third stared us down before turning tail and trotting up the road ahead of us. There was a kindred spirit, averse to a steep climb!
When I reached the top of Hicks for the second time, I felt ... fine?! Evidently the key to enjoying the "easy" side of Hicks is to suffer the steeper side first.Mt. Umunhum beckoned. Three hard hills, three scoops?
The end of the public road is well-marked with No Trespassing signs. Today, we would find our own welcoming committee—one sour-looking guy glaring at us from the cab of his pick-up truck, parked in the DMZ between the signs and the colloquial "white line of death." What a sad way to pass the time on a beautiful summer day. What will he do in a few years when the public gets access to the summit?
Befitting the road surface on the upper portion of Mt. Umunhum, I celebrated with a double scoop of Rocky Road, topped with Cookies 'n Cream.Up on Umunhum, one of the renegades had turned to me for confirmation of the distance we had traveled. When she heard my reply, her jaw dropped. Since our route included a few descents, we had just climbed some 3,660 feet in less than 15 miles.
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My recorder logged about 5600', which I guess is more or less believable since I went up Kennedy on the way back. At any rate, it was a lot of climbing!
ReplyDeleteSounds a bit high. My barometric altimeter is pretty accurate, and I had 4000' for the day; Kennedy doesn't add 1600' - but then, you were doing hill repeats coming back to chat with me!
ReplyDeleteVery impressive! I've only ridden up what I'm guessing is the easier side and then down into New Almaden. So major props to you for the triple sundae.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you turned around at the end of the public road rather than engage with the sour faced man, right?
We don't venture past the "No Trespassing" signs. We have heard that there are cameras up there, and the Open Space District gets a call if you cross the line.
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