Basically, since I haven't had much to do in my free time (no job) I needed something to be getting on with. I decided to start making these weekly videos documenting the great driving roads around the bay area.
Week - 1: San Jose Soquel Rd.
This road is a beautiful piece of tarmac snaking up the side of the Santa Cruz mountains. It runs from Capitola to Summit Rd, it's not exactly a slow ride. It is a fine alternative to 17 on those busy beach days (luckily though, not many beach-goers know about it :)). With no slower traffic (some locals go 30mph for some bizzar reason) then you can haul your car from start to finish in 12 minutes flat. As you can see in the video, there are no off-camber corners, and they flow together like an endless piece of string. At the speed limit, there is no need to brake for any corner you come across (but if you know what you're doing this road has much more potential). Some straights you can wind the motor well into the 5krpm range in 3rd gear and still have room to spare.
I highly recommend this road to anyone visiting the area and looking for some fun, or if you just want to go to the beach. A quick detour from 17 brings you right to the mouth of this fantastic road. Here is the road in question shown in google maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Old+San+Jose+Rd%2FSoquel+San+Jose+Rd&hl=en&geocode=FbpiNgIdGpG7-A%3BFe8RNQIdoT27-A&gl=us&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=18&sll=37.033107,-121.946805&sspn=0.003276,0.004286&ie=UTF8&ll=37.033107,-121.946805&spn=0.003276,0.004286&t=h&z=18
Now, in the video I start at point B, a very nice little cafe handy for picking up a drink before the drive, and end before point A which is on summit road. For some reason I didn't do the whole road.
Stay tuned for info on this weeks road, Old Santa Cruz Hwy.