"Feet on the pedals, head in the pillowy cumulus clouds, brisk temperatures and a beautiful rainbow."
My son-in-law Kyle invited me to join him and his brother Chip on a bike ride on Montebello Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains. “Montebello”(Italian and Spanish for 'beautiful mountain') rises 2,000 feet above Silicon Valley, a few miles from the new Apple Spaceship campus. The road is just off Stevens Canyon Road, just past the Stevens Creek Reservoir and the old rock quarry. There are some terrific views of Santa Clara Valley below. The cloud formations, intermittent showers, and a colorful rainbow (photo) added to nature’s spirited entertainment. There are a short series of switchbacks, zig-zags and stair-step climbs up the mountain. I made it a mile past Pichetti’s Winery when I noticed my battery power on my pedal assist Sondor’s eBike began to wane to the 25% mark. Having uneventfully made this climb to the top on a prior ride, I knew instinctively, I wouldn’t make all the way to the Ridge Winery. Though Kyle offered to accompany me back down, I insisted he and Chip continue the climb without me.
On the ride down I turned left on Steven’s Canyon Road alongside the Steven’s Creek Reservoir and continued my descent to the McClellan Ranch Preserve in the Monta Vista neighborhood of Cupertino that still retains its rural ranch look and was one of the favorite sites our watercolor group, Saratoga Community Painters set up our easels back in the day.
It is also a famous bird-watching site and houses the headquarters of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. There is a nature preserve in the middle of the park with walking paths.
I then continued on and circled the McClellan Groundwater Recharge Pond (also known as a percolation pond) which is part of the Valley’s water district. The water is derived from a portion of the Steven’s Creek Reservoir, percolates in the ground, naturally filtered as it slowly moves through the aquifer, and is pumped out to use as high-quality drinking water. The pond has a circular shaped island that looks like an abandoned ancient UFO covered by vegetation which birds love to congregate and sing (Photo).
I then hopped on a dirt and gravel path alongside the railroad tracks on the National Historic Juan Bautista De Anza Trail in Cupertino. It has become part of a five-mile pedestrian and cycling path that has been used for decades and is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and other utility companies.
I barely made it to our driveway, before my battery ran completely out of power. Five minutes later, Kyle made it back to our home for a late 2 PM vegetarian and a steak felafel lunch and a story to tell.
