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Ride Pictures: Old Haul and Gazos Creek Roads, November 2005



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 22nd 05, 08:28 AM posted to ba.bicycles,rec.bicycles.rides
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Default Ride Pictures: Old Haul and Gazos Creek Roads, November 2005

November 13, 2005

I started this ride as usual in downtown Sunnyvale, California and took
the quickest route I knew to the top of Page Mill Rd., one of the
popular local climbs (and descents).

The climb up Moody and Page Mill Roads went without incident. I
continued across Skyline Blvd. without stopping and continued climbing a
short distance on Alpine Rd. before it begins a swift and scenic descent
toward Butano Ridge.

At Portola State Park Rd. I continued left and descended quickly into
the cool, damp redwoods of Portola State Park. I had the road to myself
all the way.

I continued past the park headquarters building, crossed Slate Creek and
continued on the service road past the maintenance buildings and
ranger's residence. The climb up the short steep hill to Old Haul Rd.
was slippery on a partially-paved road covered with wet redwood needles.

At Old Haul Rd. I turned right and continued to its end at Wurr Rd. The
road surface was damp and occasionally slippery with mud, but the parts
that get really muddy and gummy in the winter were still firm.
Everything looked and smelled different than it had earlier in the
summer. Fall was in the air.

At Wurr Rd. I turned left and continued around the south side of
Memorial Park before coming out on Pescadero Rd. in Loma Mar. I
continued west on Pescadero Rd., then left on Butano Cutoff and left
again on Cloverdale Rd.

At Gazos Creek Rd. I turned left and began the long climb up into Big
Basin Redwoods on a gently rolling climb alongside Gazos Creek under the
brilliant turning color of the big leaf maples that line the creek. At
the gate where the road turns to dirt I noticed that the road to the old
Mountain Camp now had a new arch over it proclaiming "Gazos Creek
Mountain Camp". (www.gazos.org) I recall spending a couple weeks one
summer at Chuck Taylor's Mountain Camp back in the mid-1970's where I
had the opportunity to explore many of the old logging roads in the
hills nearby. The climb alongside the upper part of the south fork of
Gazos Creek is one of the prettiest roads through a deep and narrow
canyon of old growth redwoods.

At the top of the climb I found myself at the Sandy Point Junction where
a couple of other roads join Gazos Creek Rd.: Whitehouse Canyon Rd. and
Johansen Rd.

Also at Sandy Point was some new development. Gone were the old
foundations of the guard shacks and the rotting sofas of the occasional
squatters. Instead I saw the Sandy Point Line Shack, complete with
corral, log cabin, a short section of rail and a truck, a platform, and
a teepee. Was this a re-creation by the state park for the edification
of the visiting public or the realization of a nostalgic fantasy by the
owner of an inholding?

I continued east on Gazos Creek Rd. and enjoyed the sun a few times
where the road went through cuts in the hillside on solid standstone. I
took care at one right-hand bend where on an earlier trip I had washed
out on deep sand that I mistook for hard sandstone.

After a gradual descent into the West Waddell Creek watershed the road
began a long climb back up to Middle Ridge before dropping into Big
Basin and back onto pavement.

I turned left at North Escape Rd. and continued up along Opal Creek and
then steeply uphill to the junction with CA236 where I met up with some
cycling friends for the ride to Waterman Gap and up CA9 to Saratoga Gap.
I continued down CA9 into Saratoga and then took the straight road home.

(85 miles; 7500 feet climbing)

http://tinyurl.com/d4bct

--
Bill Bushnell
http://pobox.com/~bushnell/
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  #2  
Old November 22nd 05, 09:21 AM posted to ba.bicycles,rec.bicycles.rides
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Posts: n/a
Default Ride Pictures: Old Haul and Gazos Creek Roads, November 2005

What a cool ride.

I haven't ridden that area very many times, I'm wondering if you could help
me visualize some of that route. When I've come down Alpine (I can't
remember where Portola State park is) I come out to a fork and go left.
That leads me to a climb that eventually brings me to Pescadero road. Where
is Slate Creek and Old Haul Road in relation to that? Does that bit add
much distance and/or climbing?

What width tires did you have on? I've ridden Gazos creek road one time and
it was from the park towards the ocean. Before I came to the paved part I
remember a downhill section that was so steep and rutted that I was close to
having to dismount on my df road bike (23mm tires). It's hard for me to
imagine climbing that on a recumbent. My memory of that section is a bit
hazy but I don't know if I could climb that on my road bike. Do you have
better rear wheel traction on a lwb bike?




"Bill Bushnell" wrote in message
...
November 13, 2005

I started this ride as usual in downtown Sunnyvale, California and took
the quickest route I knew to the top of Page Mill Rd., one of the
popular local climbs (and descents).

The climb up Moody and Page Mill Roads went without incident. I
continued across Skyline Blvd. without stopping and continued climbing a
short distance on Alpine Rd. before it begins a swift and scenic descent
toward Butano Ridge.

At Portola State Park Rd. I continued left and descended quickly into
the cool, damp redwoods of Portola State Park. I had the road to myself
all the way.

I continued past the park headquarters building, crossed Slate Creek and
continued on the service road past the maintenance buildings and
ranger's residence. The climb up the short steep hill to Old Haul Rd.
was slippery on a partially-paved road covered with wet redwood needles.

At Old Haul Rd. I turned right and continued to its end at Wurr Rd. The
road surface was damp and occasionally slippery with mud, but the parts
that get really muddy and gummy in the winter were still firm.
Everything looked and smelled different than it had earlier in the
summer. Fall was in the air.

At Wurr Rd. I turned left and continued around the south side of
Memorial Park before coming out on Pescadero Rd. in Loma Mar. I
continued west on Pescadero Rd., then left on Butano Cutoff and left
again on Cloverdale Rd.

At Gazos Creek Rd. I turned left and began the long climb up into Big
Basin Redwoods on a gently rolling climb alongside Gazos Creek under the
brilliant turning color of the big leaf maples that line the creek. At
the gate where the road turns to dirt I noticed that the road to the old
Mountain Camp now had a new arch over it proclaiming "Gazos Creek
Mountain Camp". (www.gazos.org) I recall spending a couple weeks one
summer at Chuck Taylor's Mountain Camp back in the mid-1970's where I
had the opportunity to explore many of the old logging roads in the
hills nearby. The climb alongside the upper part of the south fork of
Gazos Creek is one of the prettiest roads through a deep and narrow
canyon of old growth redwoods.

At the top of the climb I found myself at the Sandy Point Junction where
a couple of other roads join Gazos Creek Rd.: Whitehouse Canyon Rd. and
Johansen Rd.

Also at Sandy Point was some new development. Gone were the old
foundations of the guard shacks and the rotting sofas of the occasional
squatters. Instead I saw the Sandy Point Line Shack, complete with
corral, log cabin, a short section of rail and a truck, a platform, and
a teepee. Was this a re-creation by the state park for the edification
of the visiting public or the realization of a nostalgic fantasy by the
owner of an inholding?

I continued east on Gazos Creek Rd. and enjoyed the sun a few times
where the road went through cuts in the hillside on solid standstone. I
took care at one right-hand bend where on an earlier trip I had washed
out on deep sand that I mistook for hard sandstone.

After a gradual descent into the West Waddell Creek watershed the road
began a long climb back up to Middle Ridge before dropping into Big
Basin and back onto pavement.

I turned left at North Escape Rd. and continued up along Opal Creek and
then steeply uphill to the junction with CA236 where I met up with some
cycling friends for the ride to Waterman Gap and up CA9 to Saratoga Gap.
I continued down CA9 into Saratoga and then took the straight road home.

(85 miles; 7500 feet climbing)

http://tinyurl.com/d4bct

--
Bill Bushnell
http://pobox.com/~bushnell/



  #3  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:25 PM posted to ba.bicycles,rec.bicycles.rides
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ride Pictures: Old Haul and Gazos Creek Roads, November 2005

In article ,
"Human powered" wrote:

What a cool ride.

I haven't ridden that area very many times, I'm wondering if you could help
me visualize some of that route. When I've come down Alpine (I can't
remember where Portola State park is) I come out to a fork and go left.
That leads me to a climb that eventually brings me to Pescadero road.


The left turn off Alpine Rd. onto Portola State Park Rd. is really more
of a "going straight" where Alpine goes right and crosses the ridge and
descends into the trees. This is about 3.5 miles from Skyline Blvd.

Where is Slate Creek and Old Haul Road in relation to that? Does that
bit add much distance and/or climbing?


My mistake. I meant Peters Creek. Slate Creek is over the next ridge
to the east.

If you go through Portola State Park and take Old Haul Rd. it adds a
couple miles but no more climbing than taking Alpine and Pescadero Rd.
It takes a bit more time because when the distsance/climbing is close,
riding pavement is almost always quicker than taking a dirt road.

For less climbing but about the same distance as taking Alpine and
Pescadero Roads, one can take Camp Pomponio Rd., Bridge Trail, and Old
Haul. Again it probably takes a bit longer than the paved roads, but
the distance is about the same and the climbing is 200 feet less.

Frame 2 of the online album has a topo map of the area with the ride
route marked in red.

What width tires did you have on? I've ridden Gazos creek road one time and
it was from the park towards the ocean. Before I came to the paved part I
remember a downhill section that was so steep and rutted that I was close to
having to dismount on my df road bike (23mm tires). It's hard for me to
imagine climbing that on a recumbent. My memory of that section is a bit
hazy but I don't know if I could climb that on my road bike. Do you have
better rear wheel traction on a lwb bike?


Tires are (Primo Comet 406x37 front) and (Avocet City 26x1.5 rear), both
slick.

Climbing the really steep stuff on the recumbent is tricky. The longer
wheelbase makes low-speed balancing more difficult, the bike tending to
stall out around 1-2mph. The key when climbing slowly on loose surfaces
is to lean as far back as possible to keep the rear wheel from slipping
and to maintain a smooth pedal stroke. But, if the grade is very steep
(25%) and the surface slippery, it may not be possible to ride. I
walked up one short uphill (~30 feet) on Gazos when I couldn't get any
traction. Descending the steep stuff is much easier, and I usually try
to plan my rides that way. It's also easier to stop and take pictures
when I'm going downhill than when I'm going uphill.

The 2" gravel that now covers much of the road in the canyon is better
than riding through mud bogs, but it's also unkind to thin tires. Fat
tires may not be immune. I came down Gazos Creek Rd. a week later (last
weekend) and had a center of tread blowout that I suspect was aided by a
sharp rock. I'll post the picture album later.

--
Bill Bushnell
http://pobox.com/~bushnell/
 




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