I Care Classic, May 13, Fourth of Five

Saturday took me back to a ride that I used to do in Los Gatos. There is a ride called "I Care Classic" that I started doing back in the 2002/3 timeframe.  The accountant that I used back then, Greg Snow, was a Lions member and had told me about the ride all so many years ago; the ride is sponsored by the Almaden Super Lions. 

It originally had a reputation as a flat and easy ride. It started in south San Jose or Morgan Hill, and often was as far south as Hollister or east to San Juan Batista. It was fun to go south of Santa Clara County into new territory. But this year, they stuck to Santa Clara County, with much of it along canyons that I had never entered in 20 years of biking in the area.  You can see them as the little legs on the side of the map below. 

Speaking of those canyons I had never been up before, this is a bend of coyote creek on the road up to Gilroy Hot Springs. It was beautiful.

Near the end of the ride, before the Little Uvas Canyon, was Uvas Reservoir. Like most other reservoirs in California, it was full to the top.  The picture below is from me in front of a boat ramp in a parking areas.

Contrast this with some pictures of the same reservoir in 2014.  It's taken from almost the same place: I was about 15 feet to the right in 2014 and 25 feet inland. The difference in water level is certainly noticeable. The third picture down shows some of the original fences and bridges that went up the road by the creek before it was dammed in 1957.

Just to prove that there are Redwoods on the ride as we went up canyons, here's one of the redwoods along the way.  Yes, I intentionally had the trash cans in the picture so you'd have a sense of scale.

I love seeing the California flora and fauna.  The favorite animals are California quail and rabbits. I've also become "good friends" with the Coyote who live in my nearby park, as well as bobcast down in Los Gatos. My wildflowers are the California poppies, pictured  below, as well as the lupine that are often intermingled. I smile every time I see these in the wild.