New Years Day Ride - January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!!  I knew that I would not be able to do hill repeats on Sunday (1/2/11) so I decided to get out on the bike on New Years Day.  What better way to ring in the new year but to be on the bike!  I have a lot of hills in the area where I live in South San Jose so why not do some climbing.

I started out going up Hassler, which is close to the Ranch Golf Club.  It was an afternoon ride so I was worried that it could start raining, but it stayed dry.  I headed towards Bernal and Santa Teresa and started the climb up Bernal to the entrance to IBM.  Another tough climb, but it felt good.  It was still early so hmmm...ok, let's do it, let's go for Metcalf!  Metcalf is a steep hill, even though it's not that long. 

The View From the Bottom of Metcalf

I started the climb at around 4:45pm so I knew it would be getting dark soon.  I got to the top in about 25 minutes and it was already dark.  I had to still get to San Felipe and one more small hill to get up...but going through there was a little tough and a bit nerve-racking! I learned on this ride that I don't like riding in the dark!  :)

I got home after 35 miles and about 3,800 feet of climbing.  Like I said earlier, what better way to ring in the new year!!

H