New Brighton State Park
Camp Review:
I camped at New Brighton State Beach Campground.
The bike camping area was a nicely space circular area with 4 bear lockers, 4 picnic tables, and 4 bbq grills. Although it’s made to look it it supports 4 groups of bike campers, it could have fit 30+ tents if it needed to.
New Brighton State Beach is right next to Highway 1, so there was a constant drone of cars throughout the night.
The campsite was busy even after 10pm. There were cars coming and going, one which parked with their hazards on for 10+ minutes.
I got lucky with the weather and there was no fog, which meant the sun warmed me up in the morning; which was appreciated since it was in the mid-40s in the morning.
The bathrooms were very clean.
There were two other bike camper groups. One was an Asian couple (Andrew and Lily; more in “Friends” section) and another group who were these two women. They were all cordial.
Bike Trail Review:
On the first day, I biked from San Jose to Capitola via the Los Gatos Creek Trail, Old Santa Cruz Highway, Summit Road, and Soquel San Jose Road.
Los Gatos Creek Trail (and the street riding required to get there) was a nice warm up for the things to come. There were a few muddy spots where the bike sunk a bit deeper than I’d liked, but it was fine. My water bottle did get a bit muddy though.
Old Santa Cruz Highway was a nice way to gain elevation in a not-too-steep way—it was constantly uphill, but never too much. I just kept my head down and slowly kept going. Although it was on a road, there weren’t too many cars, and the cars that were there gave me a wide berth.
Summit Road was uneventful, except for the Summit Store. It was awesome to stop by and get a late lunch, which was surprisingly yummy sushi and a can of coke.
Soquel San Jose Road was literally a blur. It was a blur because it was all downhill, and I was cold. The sustained 20+ mph speeds for almost 10 miles in ~50℉ made my hands very, very cold. The road was also pretty busy with cars and most cars gave me plenty of room, except for one car which seemed to come within 3 ft. With all those complaints, I’d love to ride this road again, as it was beautiful.
On the second day, I biked from Capitola to San Jose via Freedom Blvd, Mount Madonna Road, Redwood Retreat Road, and Coyote Creek Trail.
Freedom Blvd was a fully paved road where the scenery went from suburban neighborhoods to farm lands. In the latter parts of the road, the views were absolutely serene.
Mount Madonna Road was a slog. The 10+% grade is sustained throughout the entire road (except for the final quarter mile) and it was super tiring. I think the road was only like 2 miles, but it took me forever to climb this road as I stopped every quarter mile to rest.
Redwood Retreat Road was how I went down to Morgan Hill and it was a dirt/gravel fire road that was also pretty steep, which meant that I couldn’t really enjoy the downhill. Rather, I rode down pressing both the front and back brakes almost the entire way down. Still, my legs were happy to get some rest.
Coyote Creek Trail was supposed to be the easy ride home, with everything being flat and nicely paved. What I failed to account was the headwind that rises up almost every afternoon, with this day being no exception. I rode into 9+mph headwinds almost the entire way. While it wasn’t ideal, my legs preferred this to Mount Madonna Road. :)
What I Learned:
I wasn’t sure how my leg knee would feel, since that knee had given me problems on every ride over 30 miles this year. What I found out was that my legs have gotten stronger and can handle it without pain! It was pretty awesome getting off the bike on the second day, with 55+ miles under my belt, and not feeling pain on my knees. The only part that did hurt was my butt being a little sore from so much sitting.
I had trouble in previous rides in getting up on my bike on steep inclines, but I didn’t have an issue on this trip. Maybe I’m just practiced at it.
The second day’s ride took much, much longer than I was hoping for. I just need more practice to get faster!
I barely prepped for this ride as my confidence in cycling is at an all time high. I spent the first day’s morning getting things ready, and left at 11am, which is exactly when I meant to start.
I tested my insulated windbreaker that I bought from REI a few weeks ago and it worked perfectly. It kept me warm on the bike and around the campsite.
The Summit Store, the Four Corners Market in Corralitos, and McDonalds were perfectly located and stocked for what I needed. I was able to pick up lunch (or second lunch) and my favorite beverages without going off the planned route.
Media Consumed:
Mythos—finished!
Heroes—finished!
Friends:
Geoff—On the first day, I stopped by my friend’s Geoff’s house as it was on the way over. It was awesome seeing him and all his house projects that he’s working on. He’s a cyclist too, so it was also fun talking about my route and making plans with him for future rides.
Kyle—For dinner on the first day, Kyle cooked brisket to perfection. I am trying to eat a vegetarian diet when I can, but this mouth water brisket was something I could not pass over.
Andrew and Lily—This was an asian couple that I met at the campground who were also bike packing. It was really funny that they arrived at the check-in gate just a minute or so ahead of me, so it was the three of us trying to check-in with no other cars in sight. They are from Half Moon Bay and are biking to Los Angeles! That’s something I’d also love to do in the future!
Glen—I met Glen while I stopped for lunch at the top of Mount Madonna Road. We chatted about how we’d love to ride Summit Road from Mount Madonna all the way to Highway 17 (there are some public roads that some house owners think are private roads, and thus they have gated shut). He was from Scotts Valley and was camping at Mount Madonna for a night or two.
Three Asian Cycling Dudes—These dudes came up Redwood Retreat Road after Glen left and I was chomping into the 2nd half of my ham sandwich. They seemed to be in their late 40s to 50s, and were biking the loop that I was biking, except in a single day! Hopefully, with more practice, I’ll be as badass as these dudes.
Day 1 — 32.5 miles, 4 hrs and 42 mins, 2567 ft of ascent
Day 2 — 55.3 miles, 7 hrs and 22 mins, 2763 ft of ascent
What Happened?
I wanted to go on a short bike packing trip, so I rode over to New Brighton State Beach, then took the long way back so that I wouldn’t have to repeat any roads. Because of my previous bike packing trip and my other bike rides, I felt really confident in myself and really enjoyed this ride without anxiety, which was amazing.
The unique thing about this ride, compared to my previous bike rides, were the fact that I got to meet up with two of my long time friends, and the fact that I got to meet so many new, cool people.
On the downside, around the 35 mile mark at the second day, I was a bit tired of the ride. I had expected the last 25+ miles to be easy, but with headwinds, I was feeling disappointed. But after 30-45 minutes of feeling down, I felt a surge of energy and finished strong. I was pretty happy about that. If the malaise continued, I think I might have considered this entire ride a failure.
This trip really drilled home to me that unlike most other people that I know, my comfort zone are these quick weekend trips that I can take without much preparation, and it has me excited about doing more of them in the future. I mean, if I can handle ~90 miles over two days, why not 150 miles over three days? Why not more?