Morgan Hill’s Canals and Other Dirt

Yesterday was hard upper body day so I did that workout first at home. Then I went for an easy spin on my e-bike which has fat tires, so I went looking for off-road trails. I proceeded up Main street east of town and used its dirt and gravel shoulder, which runs past Guglielmo Winery. Next I headed over to the canal trails next to US 101. This is a cooperation with Morgan Hill and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, who owns the canals and adjacent right-of way. The city developed trails, some paved, the rest packed gravel. The budget wasn’t enough to make underpasses at highway bridges so you have to make your way back to an adjacent frontage road (Condit Ave), cross the street, and then reenter the trail. This would be awkward if you were doing this for commuting but is fine for recreation purposes, especially at times of light traffic. I got off the canal trail at Cochrane Ave and rode some dirt trails on some undeveloped land before heading home after a bit under 90 minutes. The ride is posted on Strava here.

Guglielmo winery, established 1925. I assume they’ll be throwing a nice shindig next year.
This is the unpaved path next to the canal, on the stretch between East Dunne and Main. It’s pleasant riding except for some highway noise, which isn’t bad unless it’s rush hour
This is the path between Main and Cochrane. It has a paved section but I rode the gravel for fun.
This is the Paseo de Los Padres path which runs between Peet Road and Mission View Ave. It was put in when by the developer of the houses to the right. Los Padres refers the Spanish missionaries who established the Missions in what is now the the Southwest of the US. I took this path on my way home from Cochrane road. Very pleasant.

Strava notified me that my friend Carol Ann had joined the 600K challenge and the Gran Fondo Challenge for March. You get a “digital finisher’s badge” for your Strava trophy case for completing these. The 600K is to ride at least that many kilometers in March, and the Gran Fondo is to complete a ride of at least 100K in March. These both fit well for me as I am ramping up my mileage anyway. I hadn’t looked into Strava challenges, they have various ongoing ones in multiple sports and at various levels of ability, they look fun for motivation.

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