We had intended to do a loaded ride leaving straight from home today, but didn’t get our act together with getting bags and my front rack ready. So we decided to take advantage of our laziness and do another ride a bit further from home.

We’ve done a version of this ride as the supported Tierra Bella ride. In fact, it was the capstone of our training for the West Coast tour. So it was nice to revisit it.

Anne moved the start point north a few miles, shaving off some relatively boring from the beginning and end. It still took the form of a pair of loops in the east and west hills that makes the valley Gilroy sits in. First off was to the west.

The climb along Roop was challenging but not too bad. We stopped for a quick snack near the top, and ended up walking the bikes a bit further up to find a flatter bit of road to launch on. Near the top is a series of switchbacks. I had hoped the last one would mark the top, but no such luck.

After a false summit there was more climbing, though much shallower. The road narrowed and mostly had heavy woods to our right and overlooking canyon on the left. Traffic was very light, making for a lovely ride.

Near the (real) top, we stopped and switched Max over to Anne. By now the terrain shifted to meadows and rolling hills. We got our reward for the earlier climb with a swift descent back to the valley floor and started heading for the western hills.

We stopped for lunch in a pullout that formed part of a driveway for one of the many farms and vineyards. As we were getting ready to roll out again the proprietor came out to chat and offer us some bottles of wine. Evidently he had bought the place recently and was getting all the paperwork and licensing in order. The wine he had could not be legally sold, but it could be gifted. Unfortunately we had no place to put it, so had to decline. But I can certify the folks at L&M Winery as very friendly.

We swapped positions so Max rode on the tandem and Ruth rode in the trailer. The tandem is easy to adjust for size (quick releases on the seatpost). The Hase is harder though, so we didn’t. Ruth is quite a bit taller than Max, so she couldn’t comfortably pedal. But she did it anyways.

Our route to the western edge of Gilroy took us up Mantelli, a housing development with unreasonably sized houses on a straight steep hill. Anne and the kids ended up stopping to walk pretty early. Without a trailer I was lighter and could keep going for a while. But then when there finally was a curve I could see it kept going for too far and I lost the drive to continue. I stopped to catch my breath, and when the other bike caught up I walked with them.

After the descent, we had a different unpleasant ride along Watsonville Road. The road was busy and with very little shoulder. Most drivers were courteous, though.

The climb along Uvas Road was easier than Roop. Traffic was higher than Roop, but much lighter than on Watsonville. One we got up along the edge of the reservoir it changed into rolling hills generally up. We stopped at a state park parking lot to use the restroom, and I took the trailer back, along with Max. We continued around, eventually hitting the final major summit for the day.

Looping back around and then south to the car went pretty quickly. The last ten miles of most rides can drag. But this one came with a slight downslope and a tailwind. Those combined for a 19 mph cruising speed, quite fast for us with trailers and gear and such. I was starting to wear out pretty good, but the road carried me through.

We parked along a playground, so once the kids helped get the tandem in the car, we let them go play while finishing loading the car. We stopped at a gas station for some snacks (and gas), then headed home.

Overall a nice ride, though the first half was definitely nicer than the second half. Maybe next week we’ll get our ducks in a row and do a fully loaded ride.