Stick a fork in me, I think I am done. Well, A1, A2, and Tayler came out to the house today for a nice casual ride. I planned on taking them out to do the Chalk Hill loop, and I promised them an easy ride since it was to be A2’s longest ride yet. We set off from the house at a little after 11, and we dropped A2 one block into the ride. Actually, A2 was still trying to figure out those pesky clipless pedals. Anyway, we crossed the bridge, and then turned right on Westside Road. After coasting down the first hill, I was ready to spin along, when A1 decides that he wanted to go faster. That was the end of the “easy spin”. To make a long story short, we ended up averaging a bit over 19 mph for the 57 mile loop. Everyone worked great together, which was a lot of fun for me. Nobody increased the pace when it was their turn to pull, and nobody pulled for so long that they couldn’t get back on. We had a quick stop in Jimtown for some water and a bathroom break, and then we headed over to Chalk Hill. It is a great experience getting to show new cyclist some of my favorite roads and to hear how much they enjoy them. By the time we got back home, we were all feeling quite worked over. Tayler had actually brought along his running shoes in case I wanted to go for a run after the ride, but we both agreed that a hot tub would be better. I was super impressed by A2 considering that he has only been riding for a couple of months. I know from experience how hard it can be to ride that fast and never take it easy, and A2 never complained and was right there at the front pulling when it was his turn. We missed having Jimmy Neutron along, but sometimes school work comes before a bike ride, even if you put off that school work the whole spring break and have to do it the night before it is due. A1 and A2 agreed that if Jimmy Neutron was along, it would have been easier because that guy love to go fast on the flats.
Monthly Archives: March 2008
A Sunday Ride
I went out today with Eric the Fireman. We had a terrific ride. He has been itching to do Sweetwater Road for a while, so, after adding in Mays Canyon Road, we went up the Guerneville side of Sweetwater. Here is a map of our loop. I haven’t ridden with Eric in quite a while, and I forgot how fast he likes to go on the flats. I was joking with him about 2 miles into the ride because he was pushing the pace already. He accused me of setting the pace, but I pointed out that his front wheel was slightly ahead of mine. The total loop was 86 km, and we averaged 25 kph. I’m sorry about that metric stuff, but I can’t figure out how to set my new cyclometer to miles. Actually, I know how to switch it, but I am enjoying the larger numbers. It is fun to climb at 12 kph instead of 7 or 8 mph. Tomorrow A1 and A2 are coming out and I am going to introduce them to the Chalk Hill loop. I also have been feeding my sourdough sponge for the last 2 days, and need to make some bread. I went to Andy’s Market today and picked out some special flours and some stuff for my Killer Granola. The granola is not low fat food. The recipe originally came from the Cheeseboard in Berkeley.
A Good, Tough Ride
I went out today and rode 120 km. That is about 75 miles. It was quite a ride. I tried to make a map of it, and maybe I will try again, but I think it is too complicated for Google Maps. Anyway, I headed out over every hill I could think of from Forestville to Cotati. It took me about 2 hours to get to the shop where I got some more water and some more energy food. I then did the wrong thing by heading back out towards Valley Ford via Middle Road. There was, of course, a terrible headwind, and it was slow going. I ended up riding up Bohemian Hwy. into Occidental, where, instead of heading over Graton Road and home, I had to go over Morelli and back down Harrison Grade and back over Green Valley. It was just under 5 hours on the bike. Tomorrow I will be going out with Eric the Fireman to do Sweetwater and some other hills. It was cloudy all day and I got sprinkled on a bit when I was out on Jonive and Barnett Valley. I had a big bowl of pasta when I got home and some buttered popcorn. I also poured myself the perfect “black and tan”, I had to take a picture of it. The secret is using a spoon to pour the Guinness over. Here is a map of the ride from Forestville to Cotati.
A week away from the shop
Claire and I just got back from 5 nights of camping in the Santa Cruz area. We camped for two nights at New Brighton Beach, two nights in Big Basin, and the last night in Butano State Park. We took our bikes, Mathilda, and Mathilda’s trailer. Of course we packed plenty of firewood on the top of the Hub Bus. What does this all have to do with training, well, not a lot, but we did ride into Santa Cruz each day and did about 40 km of riding each day with Mathilda in tow. The first day we piled up the trailer with beach chairs, dog, and a picnic lunch and rode down to one of our favorite beaches in Santa Cruz. We sat on the beach, and I even jumped in the water for one wave.
Commute home with Mathilda
Mathilda and I rode home together last night. It was one of our tougher commutes since we had a good headwind the whole way and Mathilda refused to do any pulling. It took almost 2 hours instead of the usual 1.5 hours. I need to talk with Mathilda about doing her share of the work. She complains that she doesn’t have thumbs, so she can’t shift gears, but I think that is just an excuse. The least she could do is keep her ears down to reduce the wind resistance. Anyway, it is 59 days till The World’s Toughest Half, and I haven’t been running at all. Oh well, I will be well rested.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Claire and I took the Burley tandem out today for a 36 mile ride. We parked in Duncans Mills, and then headed out to Highway 1 via 116. We had quite a tailwind heading down the coast. We were usually cruising at around 30 mph, which made some of those hairpin corners fun. It was a bit chilly, but we both warmed up quickly as we climbed Bay Hill Road, which is one of Claire’s favorites. It is quite steep, and the down hill isn’t much fun since it is so bumpy, but the views from the top are incredible. We then headed past the town of Bodega, where we rode thru town at 7 mph over the speed limit. We stopped at the Wild Flour Bread Bakery in Freestone. We had a sticky bun that was incredible and a cup of coffee. We talked with the owner for a couple of minutes about surfing and bike rides. We then headed thru Occidental and down Bohemian Hwy. into Monte Rio before taking Moscow Road back to the car. Both of us were a little tired from a late night the night before, but we were glad we did the ride.
Claire’s B-day Ride
We drove to Graton, where we parked our car and went for a ride over Cherry Ridge and into Occidental. We added a bit extra by heading out Bitner and then back down Coleman Valley. We then rode back over Graton Road and back to our car. It was only about 20 miles, but quite hilly. The weather was beautiful and very dramatic with big clouds drifting through the sky.
Duncans Mills and Scenic Loop
Claire and I went out on Monday for a nice casual loop. We took it pretty easy and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It got a little windy as we headed out to Duncan’s Mills. We stopped for a couple of Americanos and a pastry at the coffee shop in Duncan’s Mills. We sat out on the patio where we ran in to Steve from West County Bike Shop in Sebastopol. We chatted a bit about life and the bike business before we headed on our way up towards Occidental.
All work and no play
It is Friday, and the shop is going crazy. This does not help my training at all. I have been coming in at seven the last couple of mornings and working until six. Like Claire always says, “We need to make hay while the sun is shining.” I did get out on Monday and did the Sweetwater Loop from my house, and then went out for an hour long run over the Scenic Loop. I rode my cross bike with my 700×37 Acrobat tires. They make the bike weigh almost 27 pounds. Sweetwater was not so fun considering I was riding a 36×23 low gear. It took 1 hour and 34 minutes. My run took exactly 59 minutes and 50 seconds. I had to hustle at the end to keep it under an hour. I think I was still a little tired from the Grasshopper on Saturday.
I went out On Wednesday morning with A2 and did the RD’s Loop. It has been years since I have done that ride. I was on my fixed, but was feeling pretty good. A2 is still riding along in his Converse High Tops. It is going to be scary when he gets some real shoes. I was planning a run later that day, but, as A1 like to say, “The Hub happened.”
I have 72 days till The World’s Toughest Half, and 148 days till the Vineman. I had better get some more running in. I don’t know what kind of time I will have for swimming before The World’s Toughest, but I can probably fake my way through that part of the race. Anyway, I had better get back to the shop.
Grasshopper #1
Well, the first Grasshopper race was yesterday and it went better than expected. I didn’t get home from Sack-of-Tomatoes until 1 am the night before, but I didn’t feel tired the next morning. I rode to Occidental for the start of the ride, which was a nice way to loosen my legs up. There was a bigger crowd there than usual, probably around 200 or so. I think the nice weather really brings the racers out. Last year there were probably only a little more than half of that many there. Last year was pouring rain the whole way. A1 met me in Occidental for the race. He did this race last year in the pouring rain, and was enjoying the warmer weather this year. We both agreed that it would have been better if it was raining and windy, but you can’t have everything.