“Riding a bicycle is the closest you can get to flying.”— Robin Williams
Bill and I took a 25-mile mid-morning bike ride (round trip) to the Lexington Reservoir (an artificial lake) via the Los Gatos Creek Trail to beat the heat that was forecasted for the mid-afternoon the other day. Once reaching the Lexington Dam in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, we took a clockwise road loop which placed us on the side of the road closer to the water allowing us to catch respectable views of the lake thanks to the series of rain storms awhile back that made it more full. The only real climb along the ride occurs as we approach the farthest point of the reservoir. There is a half-mile climb that averages 8% grade. It’s a nice rollercoaster-like ride with a high number of turns and curves that goes around the reservoir in about 45 minutes. However, during the last quarter of the ride, the road continuing on was blocked due to construction crews repairing sections of the road that had collapsed due to the heavy rains according to one of the crew members. No problem, we simply circled back and were able to complete our ride, none to worse for the experience. We saw three paddle boarders a few hundred feet below us and noticed that the previously dried out lake bed leading to an arch was now full compared to previous rides during the draught conditions (photo).
Lexington Reservoir is the third-largest reservoir in Santa Clara County. The reservoir is contained in Lexington Reservoir County park which includes hiking trails and great views of the reservoir and Silicon Valley. The towns of Lexington and Alma are submerged ghost towns under the reservoir. Lexington used to be the halfway stop for stagecoaches running between San Jose and Santa Cruz.
