San Jose to Hollister with the Club (116 miles)

This was my first long ride since November, too much time away.  This was an ACTC ride led by my good buddy Jon Kaplan.  After the first few miles I realized I wasn’t going to be able to hold the pace with the folks out front so stayed in the back and did my best to keep up with Sheila and Tina who were having a leisurely ride with lots of chit and chat.

Even at their casual pace I was struggling after about mile 40 but I trudged on.  One of my other good friends (Kryia Adams) dropped back to shepherd me for awhile and that was great for me but a slow go for him.

It was great to see the level of the Morgan Hill reservoirs up so high.  We’ve had lots of rain in the Bay Area lately so the creeks & streams are flowing well and the reservoirs are brimming which is rare.

At mile 50 Guy, Kryia, Sheila, Tina, and I stopped at the Dunneville Market for a re-fill on fluids and a bite to eat.  While we were there David and Christin rolled up and then Jon, Michael, and Nick came by.  The others had stopped a few miles back for a nature break and we passed them.  After a short stop the group of us took off for Hollister and the climb up Lone Tree.

At the start of the climb I let everyone take off ahead of me since I still had 60 miles to get back home and didn’t think I had the legs to keep up with them and still make it back home.  About three miles from the top I decided that was enough and headed back home.  I should have ridden to the top but just didn’t have the motivation.

On the way back I shoveled down a burrito at the Country Market then trudged back home.  It was miserable heading north to San Jose in the afternoon, as usual.  The winds were typically strong so the ride home alone was a struggle but I was glad to make it back and actually felt strong the last 20 miles.

My photos from the ride are here and my GPS results are here. .

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