3/22/2016, Mountain View---Marina, 72.4 miles, 7h30m, Cloudy, 60°F
The road is flat from Mountain View to Los Gatos, then it is elevated abruptly after the Lexington reservoir, reaching the peak at Lexington hills to about 1631 feet. The climbing is through the old Santa Cruz road, and the falling is through the Soquel San Jose road, which takes a long time. After Soquel, the road is flat till Marina.
I had light breakfast (pancake, coffee, milk), and bring with me 1 litter water, and a backpack of 10 pounds carrying with emergency tools and some changing clothes, though the tools were never used on the way. I had to walk my vintage bike without speed gears to climb the hills. Walking in the redwood forests was a meditation with doubts, which reminded me of Dante's Devine comedies, where in the beginning he said, "In the middle of the journey of our life, I found myself lost in the dark forest..." And true the sunlight from the top of the mountain led me walking on with efforts, until I reach the top of the mountain. Then, a huge release, a free fall like flying in the heaven, with wind passing and wheels rolling, the moment of freedom and happiness after the painful responsibility, the total energy remains constant.
After 4 hours' riding, I had lunch (Mongolian beef and soup) in a Chinese restaurant (Golden Fu Wah) in Soquel, not too bad. Then I continued to ride to the end of the trip, the Motel 6 Monterey in Marina, where I found only one soap for bathing. I met a very open guy named Mark, who invited me to have a slice of pizza together with his mother. Then at night, I invited Mark for a beer in the only local bar Kula Ranch Marina. I ate some nuts before going to bed, then I started to have hiccup, which will torture my stomach for the next 2 days.
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