our ride reports

[H.Frank Beshear]

Since Too Tall is away at camp :banana: :D what have our rides been like? I got in my first fall century today. 101 miles,4956 feet climbed winds at 10-15 and gusting to 25 and the route was a set of 4 rectangles with a head wind or cross wind for too much of it. All of which is a great excuse for why my timed s.. :crap: I rode my first Fall century today a little hilly and the wind wouldn't cooperate, but the weather was perfect high 70's low 80's plenty of sun and the view from the top of the hills was excellent. We wound up with 101 miles slighty over 15mph ave, not great but we weren't racing. This was a new ride for me the old mill century in Oregon IL, nice ride well supported. I am signed up for 4 organized centuries this year and hope to get a couple more if time allows. Any one from StLouis or Chicago doing the Capital City century in Springfield IL? A realy nice ride and the natives complain if there are too many overpasses :D Very flat well supported and the coolest T-Shirts. I'll be there. Hope to see a few of you there. Take care Frank

[Ray]

I did my first, and possibly only, century of the year yesterday. PERFECT day in the mid-Atlantic yesterday - high 70s, not more than one or two clouds in the sky, dry as a bone. Planned to stay out a while, and somewhere around 55-60 miles, it turned into a century. Loosly based on one of the organized fall club centuries that will happen in September. That one has almost 9,000 feet of climbing. I improvised on the route a bit yesterday but I don't think I made it much easier. Maybe 7,000 or 7,500. I don't tend to average more than about 15-16 on long rides in the hills around here and yesterday was actually a couple of tenths below 15, but with the amount of climbing and several miles of bad dirt road that I crept along at about 6-7 mph on, I felt pretty good.

Metrics come real easily to me, but full centuries are always something of a challenge. A nice lesson in resource management pretty much every time - I usually end up out of gas at some point and have to figure out how to deal with it. Yesterday it was between 60 and about 75 miles. Lots of steep climbs and no legs to help me over them. Had to rely on low gearing and steady rhythm until my energy stores caught back up. You know you can't go into the red because you don't have any red left to go into. I took it easy enough and ate and drank enough to recover well, though, and felt great for the last 25 miles.

I leave in a couple of weeks for two weeks of riding dirt roads through the mountains of Colorado and desert of Utah. Getting a century in before a tour always helps my confidence that I can handle whatever I run into.

-Ray

[MallyG]

You know, after training so hard for the first seven months of the year, and getting to a stage where every Sunday meant at least a century (no matter what the weather - and, believe me, most of the time it was crap!); where each ride had to be against both Average Speed and Average Heart Rate; and where every ride was ridden with a kind of blind intensity and concentration of pacelines and 'through-and-offs' (conversation was almost non-existant), all culminating in l'etape du tour, yesterday was an absolute joy. The weather was georgeous, we rode 50 miles, we chatted as we rode, we broke for coffee and croissants, we left our HR monitors at home, and we were back with our families by lunchtime.
Yesterday, I rediscovered the pleasure of cycling for the sake of cycling!

[Kahuna]

This was the last Sunday chance to do a summit ride before next weekend's big race, a 36 mile uphill time trial that climbs from sea level to the 10,030' summit of Haleakala on Maui. I figured many people would be training on the hill today and I was right.

Woke up at 6am and the weather was nothing but crystal clear blue skies (ah, Maui..) over the mountain - a very good sign. On my way up, I noticed a faint wisp of high cirrus cloud had formed over the summit. This can sometimes be a bad sign.

I hooked up with 3 riders at the 3,000' Kula Lodge level and we continue up as a group. One guy Mike (riding a gorgeous Seven Odonata) was a helluva good climber. He kept my heart rate high as he set pace.

By the time we reach the crater road we notice the usual inversion layer of clouds had formed at about 5,500'. We enter the clouds and the rain begins. And it rains...

My 3 companions decide to bail and head back down. No fun descending in the rain. Having been there done that enough times to know, before setting out I had stuffed about 2 pounds worth of rain and cold weather gear inside my jersey pockets, so with confidence, I decide to continue the climb alone.

At about 6,500', just before the National Park entrance, there's a place called Hosmer's Grove. This is a large forest with tall trees that seem oddly out of place on the mountain. The forest appears on an otherwise barren hillside but it grows there for a reason - the forest resides at an elevation and exposure that sees a lot of "moisture".

When I approached Hosmers, the wind and rain had picked up to the extent that it sounded like a freight train moving through the trees. We're talking about a steady wind of over 40mph with gusts that must have been near gale force. The rain was going sideways, temps were down into the 50s but because my body heat was high from the constant climbing, windchill wasn't a problem.

The Ranger at the park entrance told me it was raining on the summit and advised not going up due to bad visibility. I continued up a little further to the Visitor Center at 7'000 feet where the bad weather was confirmed by another ranger. In the indoor comfort of the center I decide to put my cool weather gear on and head back down.

On my person was an Assos base layer undershirt, jersey, Assos Prosline vest, Assos arm warmers, Louis Garneau rain cape, and these nifty full fingered neoprene gloves I got in Europe. Even though I was wearing shorts and lacked shoe covers and headband, I felt sufficiently dressed for the occaision and began the descent with confidence. Until the shivering started.

Never in my life have I experienced shivering so bad while riding a bike that it threatened to cause a crash. This happened to me on the descent and while it didn't take long to get out of the nasty weather, I shook the whole way down and had to fight to hold back the really violent shakes so they wouldn't affect my steering. Nevertheless, they did as I would go through waves of violent uncontrolled shaking. I was chilled to the core and was still cold even after I reached sea level. I would not be surprised if I experienced a touch of hypothermnia today.

On my way down below the rain layer I passed many cyclists going up, mostly solitary climbers who would give me the usual smile, nod or wave as I went by. I tried my best to acknowledge them but my teeth were chattering so bad and I was afraid to take my hands off the bars to wave. If I could it would have been to warn these poor souls to beware of what they were getting themselves into.


-K

[Dr. Doofus]

Sat -- 2 hours, 3 x 20 min threshold intervals on 10 min rest

Sun -- 4.5 hours, rain, rain, rain

[Tom]

Sunday: Worked the overnight Saturday, 32 around the river and I can't remember anything about the ride.
Monday: Water pouring in a hole by the chimney. Tried patching in the morning, got up on the roof in the afternoon thunderstorm to try and patch more.
Tuesday: 32 around the river.
Wed.: 40 up to Mariaville. The Newt On the Road Day, I believe.
Thu.: 42, Crawford - Ennis - Rynex Corners. How To Drift at 45 in the Corners day.
Fri.: Nothing. Slept in.
Sat.: 30 around the river before going to a wedding and freezing in the rain. Got paged about 10 miles from home, no big deal except the cell phone was dead. Bug eye run back home to find out it was just an informational page.
Sun.: Worked the overnight. Paged again in the morning. Slept in. Worked on bike, put tar on roof, cut and baled the lawn. Gave up on the ride. It was a bluebird, dead calm 75 degree day. Ah, well.

[SteveE]

Wednesday: Did the "Hiils R Us" ride out of Los Altos. This was my memorial ride for Jim Mills who died recently in a cycling accident. Jim was a very nice guy, a dedicated cyclist, and all-around gentleman. Jim led this ride every other week, so I though it was fitting. We went up Old La Honda, down 84, and back up W. Old La Honda. Then we headed south on Skyline and descended Page Mill Rd.

Friday: I decided to try the "Noon Ride" on one of the easy days. Since the next day would be the Patterson Pass RR (formerly known as Corral Hollow) I figured the racer types would be taking it easy. Either the pace was pretty sedate or I was in good form. I averaged 20 mph for 40 miles, 20 of which were with the group.

Saturday: I led the group out to Woodside, up King's Mtn, north on Skyline, dropping down 92E to Canada Rd. and back home via Woodside, Portola Valley, and Los Altos. Hit 49 mph somewhere on Skyline trying to hang on the wheel of a tandem. I think I need more than 52x13. This was two weeks in a row where I was spinning furiously trying to keep up on a long descent. ~62 miles at 16.5 mph and 4,000 ft of climbing.

Sunday: The A-ride went out to the coast by way of Portola Valley, Old La Honda, 84W, and Stage Rd. Returned via Hwy 1, Tunitas Creek, King's Mtn., and back through Portola Valley the way we came. ~74 miles at 18.3 mph. and 6,000 ft of climbing.

[Spectrum Bob]

Saturday – could only get in a Spinervals tape had to go to a wedding :(
Sunday – 70 miles to Poolesville and the long way home ;) - started early and was home by 12:30 – hung out at the pool in the afternoon with my daughter while Beth rode.

[M_A_Martin]

*Last* Sunday: First century of the year with a newbie rider/First century since my accident. Had a good ride with a 15.3mph average, and got lots of hugs from a bunch of my tourist buddies who I haven't seen in ages. Spent some time sprinting for stop signs around mile 70, rest of the ride was uneventful.

Monday: Recovery ride with newbie rider - 18 miles. Newbie rider is getting a complex 'cause I ran into ride buddies out at the park too...had a little fun with the Kirk out on some trails with the road tires on...fun stuff.

Thursday: Rode 18 miles near dark in a local linear park with a bad rep. They've cleaned it up a lot since I rode there 7 years ago. First thought when getting the bike off the truck: That's too far to ride...

Saturday: 3 hours of trail maintenance then 5 miles riding my mtb on a tech trail. I rode just about everything that I haven't been able to ride in years. Its sad to know that I've been off the mtb long enough that some of my favorite logs have rotted away to dirt since I rode them last. (there are new obstacles, but some of the old old ones were a lot of fun!

Sunday: Got a late start. Went out to the farm and rode from there. I forgot my seat bag so I wasn't going to ride. Rummaged around in the truck and found my Alien. Still didn't have any air for the ride "just in case". I mentioned to dad that I wasn't going 'cause I had no air. "You have a cell phone don't you?" "Yeah" "If you get a flat, call me, I'll come pick you up."
What a concept! Yay! (I normally don't have anyone who would come pick my sorry self up on a ride, so I just don't think of that as an option...)
Got in 30 miles (including 6 miles of dirt) before dark, out and back with only one stop sign on the pavement. No flats. Wished I had started earlier.

Today: Looks like rain, but I plan on 30 after work...

[sam.g]

Just returned home form the Northern Cascades tour run by Cycle America. This was my first time visiting/cycling the Cascades and my first experience with Cycle America but will not be my last. The original 6 day 432 mile route from Anacortes was scheduled to take Hwy 2 to Newhalem then up over Rainey and Washington passes the second day and proceed clockwise to Winthrop, south to Wenatchee and then east to Skykomish finally climbing west over Stevens pass to Lake Stevens and returning to Anacortes.

However the second evening of the tour, a severe hail storm and mud slide closed the hwy 2 for 300 yards with over 3' of mud and rock. There was no way over the Cascades except to head south. In mid tour, Cycle America re-routed us south in the hopes of completing the tour counterclockwise. This was a tremendous logistical challange for Cycle America considering the re-scheduling of campgrounds, schools, caterers and hotels, not to mention monitoring the weather and re-marking the route. They pulled it off with hardly a hitch to everyone's satisfaction.

Other than a mid day rain shower descending past Diablo dam on our final day, we enjoyed beautiful dry weather. Actually it might be characterized as being too warm, reaching 100 degrees between Leavenworth and Wenatchee, prompting us to start early every morning. Including our pre-tour day of riding in the San Juan islands, our group covered 516 miles in 7 days but didn't keep track of the climbing. Oh, and I have to compliment Cycle America on their food, not withstanding a few caterer snafus, it was great and plentiful.

Now if only I could find the perfect chamois/saddle combo to eleviate my saddle soreness..............

Sam G

[bcm119]

Visited my old stomping grounds in Santa Barbara this past weekend for a wedding. Borrowed a friend's Kona cross bike and got 45 miles in before the wedding on Saturday. Was surprised to run into the Cool Breeze century on Foothill road, so I hopped into a paceline for a few miles. Then I climbed up to Mountain drive and took in the views. Damn, Santa Barbara is beautiful, but for the 6 years I spent there I worked way too hard to pay the rent. Sunday was a hungover waste of a day, and I got sunburned too.