Putting the 4th of July holiday to good use I rode my bike to the beach yesterday via Lexington reservoir and the old Santa Cruz-San Jose highway. I met Kathy there where we had a nice espresso, walked the beach where I learned to surf, and enjoyed lunch at Betty's Burgers. On the ride I was reminded how fickle our coastal weather can be. I left the house in full sun wearing nothing but shorts, a light jersey and PI's "Sun Sleeves". Nearing the summit I got the first taste of the wet, cold wind that was waiting on the other side. The heavy fog at the summit became a cold rain as the trees filtered the water from the air and dropped it on my already cold back. Where was the warm sun I left just a few miles ago?, I wondered. As the "tree-rain" continued, the temp dropped to the mid-50s I began to shiver. Taking a que from the Tour riders I began to look for a newspaper to stuff under my jersey for a little insulation and respite from the wind until I could reach the Summit Store a few miles ahead and wondered wether they would have warm clothing for sale. Then I spied it, a plastic dry-cleaning bag tangled in the weeds just off the roadway. It was clean as though it was placed there moments before and torn a little by the hasty removal of hanger and cloth. It was perfect. I smoothed it out and stuffed it under my jersey where it did an awesome job blocking the wind and cold during the 16 mile, 40+ MPH descent from summit to the beach where Kathy was waiting with a warm sweatshirt. I didn't even think to stop at the summit store. The ride would have been much different without my little roadside find. Here is the ride on Strava.com.
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