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04-27-09, 02:22 PM
Or a ride to a dam...Anderson Dam in Morgan Hill to be specific. :D
I started from my home in San Jose and rode to the meeting spot. After riding my commuter bike during the week, getting on my road bike was a dream - I just felt fast and light. Maintaining 20 mph where I usually do 16 was no problem. I wonder if the pros train on heavy bikes...they should... Anyway, I got to the local Starbucks and met up with my friend around 9 AM. It turned out that it was going to just be the two of us, so we set out for the Coyote Creek trailhead about 3 miles away.
It was a little on the chilly side, but ultimately it ended up being a beautiful day for a ride. Coyote Creek trail starts in central San Jose and heads south to Morgan Hill just a little over 18 miles away. It's a pretty flat run, but there are a couple of little hills and a few interesting sites to see along the way, including the Velodrome and a model plane airport. Once we got to the end of the trail, we decided to climb to the top of the Anderson Lake Dam. It's a short climb, but it seemed pretty steep to me. You get from the floor of the valley to the top in less than half a mile. I think I preferred climbing though to the decent - getting back down through the switchbacks without going over the edge felt a little hairy. lol
After catching our breath for a few minutes and getting some pictures we headed back into Morgan Hill to get some lunch and head home. We rode back part of the way on the trail, but then decided to get back on the streets to visit a friend on the way. Unfortunately I discovered I had a slow leak in my rear tire about 4 miles from home. The leak was slow enough that we just decided to blow up the tire and try and get home instead of having to change the tube on the side of the road. I was able to make it with only having to inflate the tire once and I finished the day with just a little under 50 miles (49.3).
Here are a few of the pictures we took.
Here's a view of the valley from the road at the top of the dam:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0622.jpg
Yours truly with Anderson Lake behind me:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0626.jpg
My skinny friend who I beat to the top of the hill :p :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0628.jpg
Another view of the valley looking north:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0631.jpg
I started from my home in San Jose and rode to the meeting spot. After riding my commuter bike during the week, getting on my road bike was a dream - I just felt fast and light. Maintaining 20 mph where I usually do 16 was no problem. I wonder if the pros train on heavy bikes...they should... Anyway, I got to the local Starbucks and met up with my friend around 9 AM. It turned out that it was going to just be the two of us, so we set out for the Coyote Creek trailhead about 3 miles away.
It was a little on the chilly side, but ultimately it ended up being a beautiful day for a ride. Coyote Creek trail starts in central San Jose and heads south to Morgan Hill just a little over 18 miles away. It's a pretty flat run, but there are a couple of little hills and a few interesting sites to see along the way, including the Velodrome and a model plane airport. Once we got to the end of the trail, we decided to climb to the top of the Anderson Lake Dam. It's a short climb, but it seemed pretty steep to me. You get from the floor of the valley to the top in less than half a mile. I think I preferred climbing though to the decent - getting back down through the switchbacks without going over the edge felt a little hairy. lol
After catching our breath for a few minutes and getting some pictures we headed back into Morgan Hill to get some lunch and head home. We rode back part of the way on the trail, but then decided to get back on the streets to visit a friend on the way. Unfortunately I discovered I had a slow leak in my rear tire about 4 miles from home. The leak was slow enough that we just decided to blow up the tire and try and get home instead of having to change the tube on the side of the road. I was able to make it with only having to inflate the tire once and I finished the day with just a little under 50 miles (49.3).
Here are a few of the pictures we took.
Here's a view of the valley from the road at the top of the dam:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0622.jpg
Yours truly with Anderson Lake behind me:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0626.jpg
My skinny friend who I beat to the top of the hill :p :
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0628.jpg
Another view of the valley looking north:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/gotls1/IMG_0631.jpg