Bob suggested going to Gayle's (Bakery) today because it was one of the few routes that didn't have road closures. He checked. I checked. It looked like it was all clear even though I knew there were closures around Demo Forest. Well the joke was definitely on us! Santa Cruz County's road closure site pranked us REAL BAD! More on the pranking later. It was supposed to be warm today so I was surprised by all the layers Bob and Sonny had on at the start of the ride. It was a little chilly at the start but not bad really. The roads were fairly quiet after we got away from Lexington Reservoir where the lack of parking meant cars were going up and down the road searching. Gayle's was also not too busy when we got there but they must have had a big morning rush as stuff was already sold out. When we got to Seacliff, I asked the guys if they'd ever been and wanted to go. So many times passing by and we never stopped to check out the view of the ocean. It was pretty. By the time we got to Corralitos, it was pretty warm and I was glad I didn't have a base layer for Eureka Canyon. We rode passed the closed parking lot for Demo Forest and then less than a mile later we hit the road closure. there was a construction crew fully blocking the whole way working on rebuilding the road. Bob wanted to ask if they'd let us by. I couldn't see any way through unless they either moved the equipment entirely or they let us scoot through the cab. It was 3p so we had 4 1/2 hours of daylight with no lights. We had gone 45 miles already with just under 5 hours elapsed which included lunch at Gayle's. So if we had to turn around and go back the way we came, we should've been able to do it safely. One problem was, as I rode away from my car, I realized I hadn't brought my battery for the Garmin. I kept riding since I figured we weren't going to be doing a long enough ride for me to need it. I had 37% battery left. I needed the battery. I immediately turned on Battery Saver Mode but it never actually turned off the screen. I was very annoyed. I had turned it on at lunch knowing I forgot my battery and it worked then. We backtracked back to the intersection of Buzzard Lagoon and Ormsby Cutoff. We didn't have reception so we were unsure where to go. Years ago, Doug took Ormsby and met a locally who politely told him to go on his way but never to come back unless he wanted to get shot. So we weren't looking forward to it but we went. It was a pretty steady climb and the road was pretty nice. The views were pretty nice too. About 2/3's of the way up a local was driving down. I was leading and they pulled over towards me and told me the road was private and they didn't want cyclists around. I told this older white couple that we were lost. He started to ask where we came from and where we were trying to go when Bob rolled up looking destroyed. The guy immediately softened and felt sorry for Bob. When we told him about the road closure below and where we were trying to go, he seemed fine with letting us past. I gotta say, I really don't like when people claim access roads as their own. For being so unfriendly about it, I wouldn't feel bad if they're area slide off the mountain or burned to the ground. 🤬 And I find it ridiculous to target cyclists when there were clearly dirt bikes and drivers that weren't locals on the road with us. Anyway, the last 1/4 of the climb was dirt. It was actually fine on the road bikes but Bob was tired and not happy about it. I was kind of in hurry because I didn't know how long my Garmin was going to last so I was pushing the pace more than I normally would. I didn't know where Ormsby Cutoff took us but it went up to Dirt Summit! Yay more dirt and #roadbikesoffroad!!! I was waiting for the guys on Summit and taking pictures of them on the way up when Bob yelled, "STOP!" I was like, is he okay? Is he having a medical emergency? Turns out, he wanted me to stop taking pictures because he was about to walk up the hill. 🤣 Thanks to the roadclosure, we did Ormsby, which we'll probably never do again, and Dirt Summit. I'd call that a great day. 🥳 The rest of the way, I pushed. At one point, I thought the Garmin said I only had 2% battery left but I actually had 20%. I guess it did better than I thought even though the display never turned off. We all made it back without getting shot so jokes on you Santa Cruz County! 😜