"Keep challenging yourself, challenges keep you alive."
—Anurag Srivastava
This was the most challenging climb for Bill Rottenberg and me as we biked toward Mount Umunhum (Ohlone, meaning resting place of the hummingbird) which is four miles to the top and the fourth-highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The keyword here is “toward.” We only made it halfway or two miles up the steep hill to Guadelupe Reservoir which is five miles south of San Jose, CA., along Hicks road on Guadalupe Creek, a tributary of the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River was named after Rio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (River of our Lady of Guadalupe) on March 30, 1776, by the Anza expedition, in honor of the Mexican Saint who was the patron saint of the expedition. The Guadalupe dam and reservoir were constructed in 1935.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe and La Morenita (The Brown Lady), a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is a venerated image enshrined within the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. It is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world and the world’s third most-visited sacred site. It has special significance to me since I had purchased a three-foot tall hand-carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe for my parents when my late dad and I took an Amtrak train from NJ to our namesake city, St. Augustine, Fla. (See Photo of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City).
At the halfway point, we made a U-turn off Mount Umunhum Trail and made a few stops to stretch. I couldn’t resist doing some yoga poses (triangle pose and Squat pose) on top of some pink and cream-colored boulders. I took some photos of about 20 pairs of sneakers some people flung over the wires above us that spanned the width of the paved trail, a creek bed and when we made our way down, up and back Shannon & Kennedy Roads, some lush greenery, vineyards, deer, and an elegant chateau.
After our 15-mile ride was completed we loaded our bikes on the bike rack and went to the House of Pho for lunch and headed home. Along the way, we spotted a cool guy driving an Ecurie Ecosse (French: “Scotland Stable”) sports car with the number 19 painted on it. Ecurie Ecosse (photo) was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. The team raced three Formula One races. Boy, would I like to have had a beer with the distinguished-looking driver who looked so contented in his rare, sleek, automotive pride, and joy.
