Lee's Life Adventure

Introducing Thomas

2011-08-19T07:07:00.001-07:00

I think the time has come for everyone to meet my new cycling partner. So, I am pleased to introduce all of you to Thomas. I picked him up at NorCal Bike Sport last Friday and I have to admit it was love at first site. When they wheeled him out from the back room I think my jaw actually dropped. Even Sherry called him sexy.

In case you missed the last post, I got a new bike because Paolo, my 2005 Specialized Roubaix Comp, had to go to bike heaven (also known as the Specialized returns department). The short story is that I heard a noise coming out of the bottom bracket and upon inspection, NorCal found a defect that made the bike un-ridable. With one quick phone call, NorCal had a brand new, 2011 Specialized SL2 Roubaix Comp frame on the way. And, it was fully covered under warranty.

I need to add a quick side note. As usual, NorCal was simply superb to work with. I remember the call from Matt explaining the problem and thinking I had to buy a new bike. Then he said it was all covered by Specialized. Awesome! Then there was Frank who patiently answered a thousand questions as I thought about upgrading everything. Glenn, who just happened to be Levi Leipheimer’s mechanic in the 2010 Tour de France, did a masterful job on the rebuild. And finally, Jeff, master bike fitter extraordinaire, made sure Thomas and I were a great fit. These guys are all awesome and I see some beer in their future.

Now, back to the bike. You may be wondering, “Why Thomas?” Well, I always name my bikes after pro riders I really like. I also like to have a touch of European flare so I usually select names like Paolo or Phillipe. Not this time. I choose to name the bike after Thomas Voeckler because I believe he is the poster boy for all things good about cycling. Like a lot of the cycling world, I’ve been a Thomas fan since the first time he wore, and defended, the yellow jersey in Tour de France. He is also one of Sherry’s favorite riders as well.

During the bike fitting, Jeff was going over all the improvements on the bike since my 2005 edition. The bottom bracket area is larger and stiffer which allows for greater power transfer with each pedal stroke. The front tube is also stiffer and this will allow for greater steering control. The bottom line? I should be able to go up and down hills faster. I liked the sound of that.

Thomas and I have already been out for three rides. They were all awesome. The first was a short and sweet ride the day I got him. I wanted test all these new features so I headed for the hills where I snuck in 15 miles with 1,200 feet of climbing. It was all that Jeff said it would be and perhaps more.

The second ride was a nice little recovery ride where I made the route up as I went along. I was really just introducing Thomas to the scenery he would be riding in the most. The third was with Coach Tim but I’ll save that report for a future blog.

If the first few rides are any indication, I can’t wait to see what the future holds in store. While I miss Paolo, I will always be able to fondly reminisce about our 21,000 miles together as Thomas and I start creating stories and adventures of our own.

Ciao!

No chance to say good-bye!

2011-08-05T06:36:00.001-07:00

You know those moments in life when routine events become extraordinary (or at least blog worthy)? I had just such an event yesterday. On Sunday, I dropped Paolo, my road bike, at NorCal Bike Sport for a simple tune up. I also mentioned there was a little noise coming from the bottom bracket. Yesterday, I got the call that I would never ride my dear Paolo again.

Here’s the story! As they pulled the bottom bracket to find the noise, they discovered the aluminum threads on one side had basically disintegrated. Apparently, these are fused into the carbon frame so they cannot be replaced. The bottom line is that there is no way to attach the crank, and therefore pedals, to the bike. You don’t' have to be a pro cyclists to know that the pedals are kind of important.

Of course, as they are explaining this all to me I’m thinking, “Shit! Now I have to buy a new bike!!!” But wait! They had already called Specialized and everyone agreed this was a manufacturer’s defect, which is covered for the life of the frame. So, there is a brand new 2011 frame and fork on its way. Sadly, my old fork and frame are already in a box and on their way to Specialized. I never even got to say good-bye.

I’m not usually overly sentimental but I had some great times on that bike. Since I bought it at NorCal back in July 2005, I’ve logged just over 21,000 miles of saddle time with Paolo. It’s the bike I rode in both of the Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran Fondo events. It took me to the top of Mt Palomar in SoCal. He was an awesome partner as I trained for the Terrible Two (a two hundred mile ride with 16,000 feet of climbing).

We took many, many road trips together. Perhaps the greatest road trip in the history of road trips was when we went to Colorado to ride the 3-day Courage Classic and through in the climb up Mt Evans for fun. However, there were also shorter trips to San Diego, Solvang, Lake Tahoe, the central Sierra Mountains and Yosemite. Yes, Paolo was well traveled. He also helped me prepare for my greatest cycling adventure – riding Mt Ventoux in France.

I still remember buying Paolo. I spent months doing research. You see, while Paolo wasn’t the most expensive bike on the market, it was more then I had ever paid. It was during this time that Coach Tim gave me my I “heart” bike porn cycling socks due to the late nights hunched over the laptop and fantasizing about bikes. Finally, I narrowed my search down between the Specialized Roubaix Elite and a Trek. I went down to NorCal, for the hundredth time, to make my final decision. I test rode the Specialized first. I never got on the Trek.

I loved that bike from the minute I first climbed in the saddle. It was just as awesome then as it was last Sunday when I rode it, unknowingly for the last time, with some friends. It was a great companion to this weekend warrior.

Still, although it’s fun to reminisce, you can’t dwell on the past. I mean, in essence I have a brand new bike on the way. I can’t wait to see what adventures we have in the years to come. If it’s anything like the last six years, it’s going to be awesome.

Now, I just need to come up with a new name . . .

Ciao!

Time for a cliché

2011-08-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

There’s nothing quite like a perfect cliché to make a point. I know, they are dramatically over used but sometimes they convey just the right meaning. In fact, sometimes they are so perfect that they start to become more of a daily mantra. So, what’s the cliché that’s about to become my mantra? No pain, no gain! Yep, it’s time to crank it up a notch or two.

It’s time to quit messing around and ride. I need to break out of this negative cycle and spend more time on the bike. Due to all the reasons I mention in my last post, the riding just hasn’t happened this year. Of course, fewer miles means less strength which means you go fewer miles and so on an so on. Basically, if you let it go on too long, an easy 45 mile ride quickly becomes a challenging 35 mile ride. Plus, the longer you let it go the harder it is to get it turned around.

This is the result of a lack of motivation. I am not pushing myself at all this year. (On a side note, three my cycling friends have told me they are feeling the same way.) Instead, I have stayed in my comfort zone on most rides. I let myself get dropped when the pace picks up. I look for bail out points if the ride is too long. I skip my weekday interval sessions. And, I’ve avoided rides with monster climbs, which I really do enjoy. Why? I’m simply not at the correct riding strength at the moment.

Just how far off pace has this year been? Here’s a break down, based on the number of rides and total mileage, through August 1st. (As a side, see if you can guess the year I was training for a 200 mile ride.)

2008 – 3,648 miles in 81 rides
2009 – 2,846 miles in 73 rides
2010 – 2,547 miles in 69 rides
2011 – 1,327 miles in 39 rides

How do I turn this around? Well, you can’t do it without a little pain and discomfort hence the cliché/mantra. Now, I’m not talking that ultra serious, can’t walk, want to puke at the end pain. But, I do need to climb out of my comfort zone. Unfortunately, the phrase “go outside your comfort zone to get stronger” just doesn’t have the same ring as no pain, no gain. So, for now, I’ll stick with that.

This weekend got things off to a good start. My Saturday ride included a decent climb and I absolutely attacked the first half of it. Then, when I found myself wanting to shorten the ride and head for coffee I didn’t. Instead, I added more little hills and kept riding. This was in part thanks to my riding partner who is also trying to re-energize her training. Sunday was more of the same and I finished the ride very fatigued. But, I finished and that’s what counts. All-in-all, I cranked out nearly 80 miles this weekend for the first time in 2-3 months.

The next few weeks are going to be tough but I think I’m ready for them. I’ll work closely with my coach, ride hard but smart, and continue to use the strength of others to push myself just that little bit extra. If I do it right, I’ll be up to my old tricks in no time.

After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Ciao!

A lack of consistency

2011-07-26T07:14:00.001-07:00

So far this year, my cycling activities can best be described as inconsistent. That is also true when it comes writing new stories for this blog. I guess that makes sense because this is primarily a cycling blog after all. Still, there is an internal pressure building that I should feel more motivated to both ride and write.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve definitely had my moments this year. However, I seem to get going and then let it fade. Then I get it restarted only to let it fade again. Then I get restarted and . . . well, you get the picture. So, what’s going on? I think there are multiple reasons with some being more critical then others.

Part of my inconsistency is easily explained. I had a terrible cold in February, which was right in the middle of my half-marathon training. Oh yeah, I also trained for, and ran, a half-marathon in May and that put a huge dent in my free time normally reserved for cycling. Of course, no cycling meant no writing. I mean, with all due respect to runners, the stories from running are not nearly as adventurous as the ones from cycling. How can I compare bombing down a descent at 40+ miles an hour with running by the same houses as the day before. It just doesn’t have the same adventurous ring to it.

Another issue is work. We went through a small merger this year (we absorbed a smaller company). For a lot of different reasons this merger needed to be completed quickly so it was all hands on deck. And while the projects I was involved with were quite rewarding, there were a lot of early mornings, late nights and the occasional Saturday spent in the office. Once again this translated to time off the bike and a lack of adventurous stories to share with you. At one point I was going to try and compare changing the toner in my printer with fixing a flat but that felt like a stretch.

Both of those are good solid reasons for lack of consistency. Sadly, they aren’t the real reason. You see, for whatever reason, I simply have not been motivated to ride this year. There have been numerous rides where I felt like I was riding because I had to and not because I wanted to. There have been many mornings when I planned on riding and didn’t. It seems any excuse will work and that’s not a good sign.

What’s the solution? Well, I know myself pretty well and I think this is just a phase. After 8 years and over 25,000 miles on the bike, I think I just needed a little break. The half-marathon actually helped in this regard by providing a nice distraction. Typically in these situations, I just roll with it (pun intended) and let things sort themselves out on their own. That’s my plan this time as well.

I know it’s down there somewhere. That spark of excitement I usually get when I’m getting ready to ride. I just need to let it re-ignite on its own and not force the issue. If I do it right, I will soon enough be rolling down the roads with the wind in my face and good friends by my side and knowing that, in hindsight, what seemed like inconsistency was really a re-awakening.

Ciao!

The SAG Wagon

2011-06-27T06:54:00.001-07:00

I believe one of the most important things in life is the act of giving back. There are thousands of ways to do this but it usually consists of giving time, money or both. With that in mind, I spent a good chunk of last Saturday giving back to the cycling world that has brought me so much joy.

Carmen, my good friend and fellow cyclist, convinced me to help out with the Steven Cozza - Giro Bello Classic charity ride last Saturday. It wasn’t very hard. I’ve ridden in numerous fun rides over the years so I am happy to step off the bike and volunteer my services so other riders can enjoy the day. My role was to provide SAG coverage throughout all three routes – the fun ride of 29 miles, a metric century of 68 miles, and a full century of 102 miles. Needless to say, that’s a lot of road to cover.

I was actually on the road with Coach Tim as my co-pilot. This was primarily due to my complete ineptness as a bike mechanic. So, Tim and met up at the registration area at 5:30 am to begin our day. Initially, we drove the route and place a few sandwich boards warning drivers and asking riders to stay in single file. Then, we went to the first two rest stops to ensure they were open for business.

Now it was time to SAG. As we drove the course, very slowly, making sure riders where doing great, we were also constantly on the phones talking or texting away. I’ll never know what’s it like to be the Director Sportif of a real race but I think I got a taste of it on Saturday. At numerous times we were on both phones and I’m sure if we had a third phone we would have been on that also.

Fortunately, all of the calls and texts were about pretty simple things. We had SAG vehicles starting between 7:00 and 9:00 am. As each driver checked in at registration they would give me a call to see what part of the course they should support. It was all pretty routine thanks to some outstanding ride management by Carmen and her team of volunteers.

However, there were a few interesting instances that kept the lines buzzing. My good friend Jeff called to say that a tractor-trailer, that was over 8-feet wide, was coming up the single lane road on the Geysers that our riders needed to go down. So, we immediately start getting the word out to all SAGs and rest stops to pass the word along to riders to use caution.

There were the metal road panels on Chalk Hill Road (the ones they put down over holes and trenches when there still working on it). Not only did they take up the whole road, they were at the bottom of a descent. Although we did our best to warn people, numerous riders blew tires by hitting them to fast. So, we left one SAG vehicle there just to help all those folks.

Of course, we finished the day by driving a few people back to the start. There was one humorous incident in this regard. We picked up a rider at the last rest stop and then we heard there was rider with a blown tire 2-3 miles back. So off we go. Well, we never found them (we learned later that another rider got them going again). Just as we were turning around we heard the desperate shout of SAG!!! behind us. We looked back and saw a woman waiving her arms. I drove a couple of yards to park and she thought we didn’t hear her. She told us in the car that her tears of sadness as we looked like we were driving away became tears of joy when she saw us park.

All in all, it was an awesome day. The weather was perfect, Tim and I had a blast driving around and helping out, and most importantly, I think all the riders had a great day. In the end, I logged 170 miles and countless laughs and that’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Ciao!

Friends on Mont Ventoux

2011-06-20T07:20:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, it’s okay to live vicariously through others. I say this because three of my best friends just climbed the famous Mt Ventoux in France and I was with them in spirit on every pedal stroke. I believe that living through others is okay as long as you don’t make a habit of it and also spend time living your own life.

Actually, since I have climbed Mont Ventoux twice (2007 and 2009), it feels more like reminiscing. I can imagine every thing they went through from their preparations to the actual climb and down a thrilling descent. I’m sure they spent hours analyzing the profile and reading ride reports. They worried about their conditioning and the wind. (The French word for wind is vent so Mont Ventoux roughly translates into windy mountain.)

I haven’t had the chance to really chat with them yet as they are still in France. However, here is my version of how I think things went.

It all starts in the town of Bédoin. There are three routes to the top of Ventoux but the route from Bédoin is the one used in pro races such as the Tour de France. They drove through town, found the bike shop, and got everything ready to go. If they followed my plan, they then rode 9 kilometer round-trip to Crillon-le-Brave. This is a perched village with a 1k climb that allows you to test the shifting on the way up and the brakes on the way down. This village also has a hotel with a terrace bar that has the best view of Mont Ventoux period and is a great place to have drink once the ride is over.

It’s then back through town, stopping at the bike shop if they needed adjustments, and unto the task at hand. They started on a very busy road but after 2k they made a left hand turn and started to climb. And climb. And climb some more. Mont Ventoux is a 23k (13 mile) climb that doesn’t have any ultra-hard grades but it consistently stays in the 7 – 10% range and feels relentless.

During the first 19k you are in the forest and only get occasion glimpses of the summit. In many cases, it doesn’t feel like it’s getting closer. Finally, you pass Chalet Reynard, which consists of a café and cycling shop (it’s also the skiing HQ in winter). In 2007, on my first climb, I was struggling due the wind and Sherry ran into the café and pass me an Orangina as I was riding. I’m sure that’s what got me to the top.

Now, you only have 4k remaining. Unfortunately, it consists of the highest average grade and now you are totally exposed to the wind. The summit is now in constant view and it’s hard not to become fixated on the fact that still looks very far away. Then it’s done. You’re at the summit taking in drinks, laughing and talking about the climb, enjoying the views and planning for the descent, which you know is going to rock!

On the way down, they stopped on the cycling shop, which only has clothes and accessories, to buy a bunch of Mont Ventoux commemoratives to ride on the local group rides when you finally get home (at least, that’s what I did in 2009). You then scream down the descent, passing cars and watching for sheep in the road. In 2007, it took me nearly 2.5 hours to reach the summit and only 34 minutes to come down.

I did text them and ask how the climb went. The only response I got back was “it was damn hard but we made it”. And that’s all that counts. My three good friends can now sit around in local coffee houses and while everyone else talks about the hard climbs in the local area, they can talk about the time they climb Mont Ventoux.

Ciao!

Fun on a single speed

2011-06-11T06:27:00.001-07:00

Warning! This post contains flights of fantasy, delusions of grandeur and strong profanity (words like damn and hell).

Thursday, I raced home from work, changed into my kit and hit the road on the single speed. That’s the bike I grab when I just want to go out and have fun. The plan was to just cruise along various bike paths and get in a solid 90-minutes of riding so I could justify having pizza for dinner. As an added bonus, it was a beautiful warm evening, which felt wonderful. It seems that summer is finally arriving to Northern California.

To be honest, the ride started out in a frustrating way. I caught every light between my house and the bike path yellow. However, I told myself to forget about it and soon I was rolling along and enjoying the ride. Then my phone rang. I take a look and the number is blocked. This means it’s Sherry calling about the pizza or Carmen calling about Steven Cozza’s Giro Bello Classic. (BTW – If your a cyclist living in the San Francisco Bay Area, you really should come out for this ride.) Both are important so I answer it. It was Carmen.

I’m now rolling down the path and trying to carry on a conversation with Carmen. It was me talking and her hearing a bunch of wind (feel free to enter snide remark here). Remember, I’m on the bike path so occasionally Carmen here’s me shout “on your left!” as I pass people along the way. Then I hear “on your left” from behind me. What? I’m being passed. That’s right! A guy in a full kit and a very smug look on his face passes me. I immediately start to chide Carmen with phrases like “see what’ve done, you’re making me get passed”.

Finally, Carmen gives up on trying to hear me and tells me to enjoy my ride. As I put the phone away I noticed that on-your-left guy isn’t that far ahead so I decided his smugness needed a lesson in getting dropped. I reach down to shift into the big ring and . . . wait, I don’t have a big ring because I’m on the single speed. Even better. Now, I plan to drop his ass on a single speed.

I come out of the saddle and start to hammer. As a result, I am gaining quickly and thinking to myself how great this is going to feel. As I get a little closer, I notice he is in his big ring, which is just perfect. Then he sees me and accelerates. Damn! It doesn’t matter because come hell or high water I’m dropping this dude. I push harder and can see he’s starting to fade. As I get ready to pass, I’m afraid I’m going to fast. After all, I want him to see it’s me and not just a blur of color flashing by. I need to pass him with enough speed to raise my testosterone level and his estrogen level. I shout “On, Your, Left” in my smuggest voice and blow past him without even a glance in his direction. About a minute later I look back and he’s gone. I can only imagine he’s sitting on a rock by the creek posting his bike on Craig’s List or calling his wife to come give him a ride home.

At least that’s how the whole scenario played out in my mind. In reality, he turned and went a different direction right after my call with Carmen. That’s was good because I needed an excuse as to why I didn’t have to chase him down.

Of course, if he hadn’t turned then that whole drop scenario would have totally happened. And, since we’ll never know, I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.

I told you riding the single speed was fun.

Ciao!

Dodging the Rain

2011-06-07T06:55:00.001-07:00

June is a beautiful month for cycling, or just about anything, in the Sonoma Wine Country. As the temps start to go up you can finally put away all of your winter training gear. June is the typically the month when we transition from arm warmers to sun screen but not this year. A new word has been created by our local weather peeps. There all saying it’s Junuary!

Our first June weekend got off to a very wet start that is very, very unusual for this area at this time of year. You know you’re in for an unusual weather weekend when it makes the headlines of various weather web sites. For example, weather.com did a big article on how San Francisco historically receives 0.13 inches of rain in June. Last Saturday, they received 1.07 inches of rain in 24 hours. It’s all because this low pressure system was sitting just of the coast and spinning storm after storm our way.

So, what’s a guy supposed to do. Well, I actually like running in the rain so that was the plan. After sleeping in a little on Saturday (which means getting up at 6:30 instead of 5:00), I get up, make coffee and settle in to goof around on the computer a bit. I figured I would hit the road around 7:30. It didn’t happen. Not only was it pouring but the rain was coming down sideways due to very strong winds. Fine! If the weather was going to produce a winter storm then I was going to follow my winter routine by refilling my coffee and staying inside.

Sunday was a little more promising. It was still raining but the winds had died down dramatically. I arose at my normal time and started hitting the weather sites. The chance of rain was down from 60% to 30%. The only issue was when it was raining, it was pouring. These were not nice little misty rains. These were deluges from the heavens that still made riding a bit sketchy.

Around 7:30 I threw on my running gear and hit the road. With the threat of rain still very real, I started off at a nice pace. I never slowed down. In the end, I managed to get in a 3-mile run, at an 8:30 pace, without rain. Now, I am normally a 9:00 minute mile kind of guy so I guess that one of the upsides to rain is that it makes you run faster.

Later in the day, Sherry had to go to the office for about 3-hours so I decided “rain be damned” I’m going for a ride. It actually hadn’t rained for several hours but the threat was ever present. I decided to ride straight up Old Redwood Hwy, which would allow me to turn around and head home if the skies opened up. They didn’t. I managed to get all the way to The Flying Goat in Healdsburg 100% rain free.

After a quick cappuccino, I head for home. This is when I got adventurous. You see, I was dressed for rain and since it hadn’t found me, I went looking for it. I rode towards every dark cloud in the sky. This took me into the surrounding vineyards and I began to really appreciate just how beautiful and green everything was because of all the rain. And, if you add in the lovely grey skies and clouds as a back drop, then it becomes stunning.

Ultimately, I managed to make it home without any rain. Not bad, eh? A 3-mile run and 43-mile ride under dark heavy skies and I stayed dry on both. Still, I’m ready for the sun, which is scheduled to arrive later today. I’m looking forward to a weekend of basking in the sun’s warmth and riding under blue skies.

Of course, we humans are never happy with the weather for very long, so how long will it be before I start complaining that it’s too hot?

Until then . . . I’ll just keep riding.

Ciao!

My First Cycling Trophy

2011-06-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

I finally have my first cycling trophy!!! It took a while since I don’t race. It’s amazing how not racing really limits your ability to get trophies. Oh well, obviously there’s a story behind all of this but first we need a little historical perspective.

Last year, Coach Tim introduced his Wine Country Cols & Pavé rides. These rides were meant to be a nod to the European spring classics and follow the mantra “it doesn’t have to be paved to be a road” Here’s his recap of the three rides that completed the series in 2010. (You can read my blog about the first ride here.)

Ride #1 - River Snake: 48 miles with 9 climbs and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. Oh, did I mention the 10 miles of dirt and trails.

Ride #2 - Calistoga Delight: 58 miles with 2 Cat 1 climbs and 7,200 feet of elevation gain and 3 miles of jeep road in 95+ degree heat.

Ride #3 - Ocean View "the hard way": 41 miles with 2 Cat 1 climbs and 6,200 feet of elevation gain. We also threw in 5 miles of dirt and single track and a river crossing.

All three of these rides were a blast. Even the hot one. I choose to participate for lots of reasons. The rides were by invitation and the group that was invited were some of my best friends and people I thoroughly enjoy hanging around. There was also the challenge of the actual rides, especially considering I was the only rider who does not mountain bike. But mostly, it was for the t-shirt.

That’s right a t-shirt. Tim has promised that everyone who completed (not started) all three rides would get a t-shirt. I almost wrote a blog titled The Stupid Things We Will Do for a T-shirt. Well, the rest of 2010 came and went and still no t-shirt. Since I also work with Tim, and see him every day, I was relentless in my harassment and threatened to boycott all future Cols & Pavé rides.

Now, flash forward to 2011 and Coach Tim is ready to start the series again. As the date approached for the first ride, I held firm with my boycott. I told Tim flat out that I would not participate until I got my 2010 t-shirt. (Ok, the real reason I didn’t ride was due to my half-marathon training but I still called it a boycott.)

Then he asked if could at least meet for coffee before the ride to receive my hardware. WTF??? Hardware? Intrigued, I agreed and after my morning run I met him and the 2011 Cols & Pavé riders for coffee. Then, just before the ride was ready roll, Coach Tim handed out our trophies. That’s right! We each got a trophy and not a silly t-shirt.

The trophy was friggin’ awesome. It is actually modeled after the trophy presented to the winner of that classic of classics, Paris-Roubaix, which is one of the cobbles the race goes over. I don’t know how much work Tim put into these but I can tell how much we all really appreciated his effort.

So there you have it. My first ever (and probably last) cycling trophy. And, I didn’t even have to race to get it. I just had to go over the hills, through the river, through the woods, climb through fallen trees, go over more hills, and have my body bounced all over hell and creation as I rode along on what used to be a road.

You can bet that if Tim does these rides again next year I will be there. After all, I finally got my reward even if it wasn’t a t-shirt.

Ciao!

The cyclist is back!!!

2011-05-31T07:14:00.001-07:00

Some time last year, a colleague of Sherry’s asked if she was married to Lee Alderman, the cyclist. While we both still get a laugh out of this from time to time, I can honestly say that description did not fit this year as I prepared to run my first half marathon in over 25 years. I was more like Lee, the runner.

Now, with the half marathon behind me, it was time to reconnect with the bike. I intended to use the Memorial Day Weekend as the platform for re-launching my riding. My plan was quite simple. Ride all three days and if possible log at least 100 miles in the saddle. I am happy to say I was successful on both counts. Although these distances do not seem very long by normal standards, I was very happy with how quickly my form returned.

To help the plan along I chose routes over some of my favorite, and most beautiful, roads in Sonoma County. If these routes can’t get you inspired then it may be time to hang up the bike.

Knights Valley (33.2 miles) – My adventures started on Saturday as I led the Team Revolution ride. As ride leader, I got to select the route so we headed to Knights Valley. I hope that every cyclists gets the chance to ride through a place as lovely as Knights Valley at some point. It is simply stunning. The only reason we don’t ride it more often is that it is an out and back route (we usually prefer loops).

As the ride began, I immediately felt the effects of my time off the bike. However, as we rode along, I continued to feel better. By the return trip, I was driving a solid pace on the front and holding my own on the small climbs. Plus, in addition to the great people I was riding with, I also ran into many other friends on the road. It was the perfect re-entry to the world of cycling.

Boho Hwy/Pocket Canyon (37.6 miles) – On Sunday, Jeff and I joined the first part of Coach Tim’s Cols & Pavé ride. We headed out Bohemian Hwy towards Monte Rio and returned via Hwy 116 through Pocket Canyon. Once again the scenery was stunning as we rolled through the redwoods and along streams flush with spring rains. And, while this was supposed to be a recovery ride, Jeff and I managed to hammer out a pretty respectable pace instead. It was two days and two great rides where I felt like I just kept getting stronger.

Martinelli Road (40.1 miles) – Memorial Day was overcast, gray, and cold. It was the kind of morning that makes you reach for your coffee cup and not the bike. It was such a blah morning that everyone bailed on the morning ride. So, Carmen and I headed out later in the day. My plan was to take the single speed and really focus on recovery. However, the wind was blowing pretty damn hard so I changed my mind. When the wind is blowing that hard I want gears. Once again, my plan to take it easy and recover changed once I started rolling. I felt very good so we maintained a healthy pace through the redwoods and vineyards of the Russian River Valley. It was another beautiful day on the bike that included Martinelli Road, which may be my favorite road of all.

There you have it. I managed to cycle all three days and felt much better then anticipated. And, what about my other goal? Well, I made that as well as I totaled 110 miles in those three days. More importantly, each ride was slightly longer then the one before it and I felt stronger as each day passed.

Now that my cycling has been jump started back into action, I can’t wait to see what adventures await as I roll into summer.

Ciao!

A Longing for (the) Vegas

2011-05-27T08:04:00.001-07:00

Last year was not ideal for me it terms of cycling. It wasn’t the people I rode with since they are all awesome. It was the style of riding. I got into cycling primarily because of the social aspect of it. The miles and hours of riding with friends is beyond appealing and a big part of why I ride. Somehow, in 2010 that didn’t happen.

Instead, I spent a lot of time on rides that I like to call the “race to regroup”. This means that the rides were hard and fast to a planned regroup spot. Then, once everyone arrived, we would take off at a blistering pace to see who could get to next regroup the fastest. I enjoy doing these rides occasionally but I do not want them to be the norm. Add to this that I am right in the middle it terms of strength so I spent a lot of time riding solo – behind the faster riders and ahead of the slower ones.

The end result? I finished the year very fatigued and needing a little break from the bike. That was the catalyst for bringing running back into my fitness plan this year. Of course, if I was going to run more, I needed a goal and that’s how I ended up participating in the Windsor Town Green Half Marathon last Sunday.

My original plan was to make sure my running did not interfere with cycling. However, after getting a pretty nasty cold in February that put my training behind schedule, I was forced to cut way back on cycling in April and May as I played catch up. How far did I cut back on cycling? By this time last year I had ridden just over 1,700 miles. This year I have a grand total of 860.

Surprisingly, there is a huge silver lining to what seems like a dark cloud. Throughout April and May, I found myself wanting to get on the bike but not having the time. I would be sitting at my desk thinking about how great it would be to ride after work. Then, on the way home, I would realize I really needed to get in a run instead. So, I would get home and cast a glance towards the garage where the bikes were patiently waiting my return. Then I would put on my running shoes and hit the road.

This happened on numerous occasions and it started to create a real longing to ride that has been missing for a few months. I actually found myself getting upset that I couldn’t find the time to ride. I’m sure at one point I was wondering why the hell I decided to run a half-marathon in the first place.

Finally, one day after work I decided “half marathon be damned,” I going out for a ride. Still concerned about the upcoming run, I decided to take The Vegas (my name for my single speed road bike) so I could do a nice easy ride with a high pedaling cadence. It was awesome!!!

I did my best bike path pokey as I rolled along. The longer I rode the more I wanted to ride. I was reminded of how much I love cycling and it re-ignited a desire to do much more of it in the weeks to come. I can honestly say that Lee Alderman, the cyclist, is back.

Now, with the half marathon in the bank, I plan on putting in some serious miles on the bike. I plan on jump starting my “more cycling miles” plan by riding all three days of the Memorial Day Weekend. Plus, our cycling group has shifted back to those of us who want to ride strong but also want to stay together and ride as a group, which is music to my ears.

All I need to do now is clean the bikes, find my kits, and join the fun.

Ciao!

I am the tortoise!

2011-05-23T07:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I did something for the first time since 1984. I participated in a half marathon. The Windsor Town Green Half Marathon to be exact. Now, just to prove how statements of fact can be misleading, I did run a half marathon in 2003. It just happen to come after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike ride as I was participating in the Half Vineman triathlon.

Going into yesterday I was very happy with my form and how I felt. The route was rolling terrain with only one small hill, which is a great course for me. I trained well and felt up to the challenge both physically and mentally. My goal was 2:15:00 although I was secretly harboring the thought of putting in a sub 2-hour effort. My plan is to run a relaxed, steady pace. In other words, I would be the tortoise.

I get to the race bright and early and find a good parking spot. Is this an early omen? As I am hanging around waiting for the start my biggest concern is what to wear. I have my tri sleeveless jersey and an ultra lightweight long sleeve shirt. I’ll spare you the suspense and tell you I decided to go sleeveless (at the last minute). Plus, my cycling buddy, Jeff, showed up to wish me luck (he also took the photos).

At 7:15 on-the-dot, about 650 of us are off and running. My biggest concern was starting too fast. So, I settle into what felt like a good tempo and started watching as numerous people came around me. That’s when I started my mantra – I am the tortoise! As I run along, I am paying attention to those passing me. I anticipate catching some of them before the end with my tortoise-like tempo. Sure enough, some of these folks are walking before we hit the 3-mile mark.

I found my rhythm within the first two miles. I was feeling very good and the 3, 4, and 5 mile markers all caught me by surprise by coming up faster then anticipated. The small hill was just after the 5 mile mark and I caught a lot of people on this climb simply by keeping my steady pace. As we came down the hill and start the next roller, a guy who has passed me numerous times only to fade back says “Man, your steady!” That was all I needed to hear.

The middle part of the race went exactly as I anticipated. I found myself starting to look for mile markers at the 9-mile point as each mile started to feel longer then the last. From the 9 to 11-mile markers I really had to stay strong mentally as I was finally starting to feel the efforts although I still had good form and a nice tempo. However, once I hit 11-miles I knew the run was in the bank and I was confident of finishing strong.

Just past 12-miles, another cycling friend, Carmen, appears and rides with me to the end. I really kicked up the pace for the final half mile and came across the finish line looking and feeling great. My time? A very respectable 2:01:53, well within my goal. And, what about my goal to be the tortoise. Well, my Garmin is set to cycling so it measures laps in 5-mile increments. I ran the first 5-miles in46:44 and the next 5 in 47:26. If you look at MPH then the first 5 miles was 6.4, the second lap was 6.3 and the final 3 miles was 5.9. I was indeed the tortoise!

In the end, it was a great event. Although I missed cycling with my friends, it was nice to change things up a bit. Now that I have this running base, I will keep running a couple of times of week so I can be ready for occasional 10k and I might even consider another half marathon before the end of the year. But for now, I need to go reacquaint myself with my bike.

Ciao!

(Half) Century Man

2011-04-22T07:26:00.001-07:00

Today, I hit the big 5-0!!! That’s right. I have now been around for half a century. (How many of you cyclists out there thought the title referred to a cycling event?) The funny thing is I don’t feel 50. Mentally, emotionally, and even physically, I feel like I stopped getting older at some point in my early 40’s. To put it the words of Jimmy Buffett, I’m growing older but not up!

I am sure cycling is a big part of that, especially when you consider I started cycling at the age of 42. I discovered a passion for riding my bike and that quickly turned into a love of all things cycling. I love to ride bikes, talk about riding bikes, watch other people ride bikes, and so forth and so on. It is amazing that something like this could have such a large impact on who I am today.

When you start to break it down, it’s pretty easy to figure out. I feel like a kid when I’m on my bike and that helps me feel young. The sheer freedom of being able to hop on my bike and simply roll around for hours is exhilarating. I also tend to act like a kid on my bike as you can guess from the photo.

I am a firm believer that stress and a lack of physical activity has the biggest impact on “aging” and cycling fixes both of those. It doesn’t matter how stressful the workday was, I can make it all go away by getting on my bike. Plus, when I am riding with friends we tend to talk about cycling and not work and that helps provide another mental escape from the daily grind.

I think another big part is that I do ride with a lot of people younger then me. Most of my cycling friends are in their early 30’s or 40’s. It may seem silly, but hanging with them and participating in their conversations goes a long way to warding off the fuddy-duddy factor so many of us fall into. Yes, for me, hanging with young people makes me feel young.

Speaking of friends, they have this nasty tendency to want to make you feel better. They’ll make you laugh when you’re down. They’ll stand by when times are tough. And, listen to your stories no matter how many times you’ve told them before. How could anyone feel old with that kind of positive energy surrounding them on a continual basis.

There’s one last thing. As a fairly dedicated cyclist, I typically ride between 4,000 – 5,000 miles a year. I have to admit that I get tremendous satisfaction when some 20-something hears this and looks my way with complete admiration. That or they think I’m crazy. I am okay with either look (I think I prefer crazy). Or, when you’re standing around the coffee bar at work saying you rode 125 miles that weekend and they say they didn’t drive that far. Or even better is when you hear this conversation - “Can you believe Lee is 50?” “Yes, but I wouldn’t want to keep up with him on a bike.”

So there you have it. Cycling is a big part of why I still feel young and why I am ready to face the next half-century with the same je ne sais quoi that got me to this point. I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Ciao!

(Half) Marathon Man

2011-04-18T07:02:00.001-07:00

As 2010 came to a close I began to consider my goals for 2011. You see, I am the type of guy who needs goals. Otherwise, I will let the comfort of my chair and a good cup of coffee keep me from heading out into the cold to train. So without the hard-driving internal motivation that so many athletes possess, I have to rely on upcoming events to keep my mojo on track.

From a cycling perspective, it’s pretty easy to find local events to ride so this is not a problem. Plus, I am always up for riding with friends whether I have a pending goal or not. However, I have be honest and say I ended last year a little burnt out on cycling and very, very tired. I was beginning to feel like it was time for a slight change of scenery.

So, I started running again this year. Running was my exercise of choice many years ago until I broke my ankle trail running in Annadel State Park. (BTW –This accident led me to road cycling but that’s a story for another day). My original goal was to use running for a little cross training and to provide a kind of mental break from cycling.

Of course, as I sat in my chair with my coffee and listened to the rain this winter, running became an excuse not to ride on the trainer in my garage, which I detest. I wouldn’t get on the trainer because I was going to “go for a run”. I needed a goal if I had any hope of turning this around.

I half-heartedly decided to run a half-marathon. I’ve participated in hundreds of 10k runs so that didn’t seem long enough to be a good goal. I say half-heartedly because while I did choose a distance I didn’t actually choose an event so I don’t think that qualifies as a real goal.

That’s when I discovered that about 15 people from work were all running the Windsor Green Half Marathon on May 22nd. It did not take much convincing for me to jump on board. Now that I finally have an event, let the training begin.

My original plan was to ensure running didn’t interfere with cycling. What was I thinking? With no major cycling events on the horizon running is my main focus right now. I usually ride between 4,000 – 5,000 miles a year, which translates to 1,000+ miles a quarter. I finished March with just over 600 miles of pedaling and nearly 100 miles of running.

As to the running plan, well so far, so good. It was sidetracked just a bit as I worked my way through a nasty cold in February but otherwise, it’s going smoothly. I already reached the 7-mile point and with 5 weeks remaining I am confident I will be ready. The really cool part is running with friends in Annadel again. I forgot just how beautiful it was up there (running in Annadel will be featured in a future post).

Will I keep running after my half-marathon? Probably! However, it will be relegated back down to my secondary activity that helps with a little cross-training. Still, it will be nice to have that running base just in case another cool opportunity arises in the future. And when it does, all I’ll have to do is make it a goal and I’ll be ready.

Ciao!

And, he’s back!!!

2011-04-11T06:56:00.001-07:00

January 24, 2011. That was the last time I posted a blog on Lee’s Life Adventure. This is definitely the longest unplanned break but as many of you know, life happens! It’s been a crazy busy year so far but it’s finally starting to return to normal, whatever that is. Here’s a recap to get you caught up.

The biggest issue has been work. As some of you know, I was selected to attend Western CUNA Management School last year (think of a mini-MBA program for credit unions). This is quite an honor but it also comes with a bit of a price tag. Between classes, held in July at Pomona College, there is a significant project that must be completed. How significant? Well, let’s just say that 250 (or more) hours and 170 pages after starting it, I managed to get it shipped off on March 29th to meet the April 1st deadline for receiving honors or high honors from my reviewer. Of course, it also has to be damn good to receive to received such accolades. I am confident it is a respectable effort but won’t know the result until our next class in July.

Now, all that school work might have hindered my blogging but it did not interfere with riding. No, it was Mother Nature that filled that role. We had a very cold and wet winter this year and getting out on the bike was a bit of challenge (March was the second wettest month on record). Still, I’ve already had some great rides with friends and the season is just starting so I know there will be many more.

From the cycling perspective, perhaps the most interesting thing is my new unofficial team role with Team Revolution presented by Fitness Journal. Last year, I was one of the B ride leaders however we never really got on track as a group. This year, there were three of us that took charge as it were and we now have the B rides rolling along nicely. During this time, I somehow became an unofficial leader. It’s a role I enjoy so no complaints here. However, it does mean I’ve spent a fair amount of time creating and leading rides, posting rides through email and on Facebook, and trying to provide post-ride comments on Facebook as well. All of this was designed to re-energize the B riders and it seems to be working if I do say so myself.

I am also training for a half-marathon in May but I will save that for another blog.

So, there’s a quick update on my world. It is returning to normal so the adventures should start to occur with more frequency. Hopefully, I will also have the time and energy to write about them.

Until then . . .

Ciao!

Smart riding as the weakest link

2011-01-24T07:11:00.001-08:00

I frequently ride with people who are stronger then I am. This doesn't mean I am a weak rider. I am just not as strong as the others in my group. There are all sorts of reasons for this. Some are younger. Many of them have been riding for a lot longer then I. And, others have more time, or more dedication, to train during the week.

For the most part, this isn’t a big deal. I can hold my own and we have ended many, many rides together with the only difference being I am perhaps more fatigued, which I can live with. However, over the last two years I have slipped into a bad habit that is making it an issue. Some of my fellow cyclists ride hard on Saturday and some on Sunday. I’ve been doing both and it is wearing me out.

I vowed to change that this year and this weekend provided the perfect opportunity to test my resolve.

On Saturday, I rode with Team Revolution presented by Fitness Journal. There were six of us setting out for a social ride at our B pace. I knew immediately that I was the weakest link in this group and it would be interesting to see if they stuck to the plan. Plus, I had gone over the route with Coach Tim and had a plan for riding specific intervals on the small hills we would cover.

The smart riding began before we started rolling when I announced my plans for the hills. This means they knew I would drop behind as I worked on my drills but I would catch up on the descents. It worked perfectly! I was never that far behind them over the top and I never felt the need to over exert myself to keep up.

After some nice rolling hills at a pleasant pace with lots of chit-chat and laughter, we hit a road where I knew a paceline would form. So, what’s the smart move for the weakest link at this juncture? That’s right. I took the front, started the paceline, and controlled the pace. The secret here is to set a pace you can maintain without killing yourself that is hopefully fast enough for your stronger friends. If you succeed, they will enjoy the pull and not feel compelled to come around and lift the pace. It was another smart move that worked out great.

The rest of Saturday’s ride was more of a social affair that offered a few last opportunities for pacelines and hill intervals. When it was all said and done, I got in a beautiful 52-mile ride that left me feeling perfectly exhausted. Now, the next smart decision for this weekend would be to ensure Sunday’s ride focused on active recovery versus pushing the pace yet again.

As I sat around drinking coffee with three other friends on Sunday morning, I knew that once again I was the weakest link and there was a good chance this ride would not be as social as it was billed. Soon, we are off at brisk pace and immediately my heart rate is higher then it should be for a recovery ride. I should be in zone L2 and instead I am pushing an L4. I spent the first have of the ride fighting an internal battle with myself. Should I go hard to stay with them, repeating my mistakes of the past two years, or should I let them go?

Finally, I made the smart decision for me and let them go. Then, something amazing happened. My heart rate came down over 10 beats even though I was pushing the same pace. I was much more relaxed and really began to enjoy the ride. I’m not a doctor, but I think that internal battle was stressing me out and once it was removed the stress went away with it and left me to enjoy spending time on the bike.

Was it worth it? You betcha! As I sit here typing this blog I am feeling fresh, relaxed and I am very much looking forward to Coach Tim’s SPINN Fitness class tomorrow night. And, wasn’t that the purpose in the first place?

Ciao!

Flexibility on a cold winter ride

2011-01-10T07:41:00.001-08:00

As I spent the week thinking about Saturday’s ride, one thing was crystal clear. It was going to be very foggy and very cold, at least by Sonoma County standards. Still, a couple of us brave souls were heading out anyway. At least it wasn’t raining.

The plan was to head out with Coach Tim and do what he calls “riding with a purpose”. He is quite good at setting up these early season rides that are designed to build power, strength and endurance in a very calculated way. In essence, we are going to do his SPINN Fitness Class on the road.

So, I bundle up first thing Saturday and head out to the West County Revolution Bike Shop where we are starting. And I mean bundled up complete with my thermal jacket! We meet at the shop but before rolling it’s over to Coffee Catz to try and warm the soul one last time before we hit the road.

There were eight us of rolling along and having a good time chatting as we “warmed” up. The plan was to practice pace lines with 10-30 second pulls on front followed by some hill work on a couple of small climbs. The pace line drills worked beautifully until someone flatted. When I saw him turn the bike upside down I knew we would be there a while

A few minutes later the flat was fixed and on it was on to the hills. We practiced high cadence drills for spinning and low cadence intervals for power. As we topped the largest of the small hills we would climb, I noticed that we had split up for the first time. Those of us on the front began to soft pedal so the others could catch up.

After a few minutes I knew something was wrong. They should have joined us by now. Many minutes later we see them coming and learned that one of them cracked his frame and he is not going to make it to the end since we were only half way through the ride at this point.

Here’s where the flexibility part kicks in. Tim and I decide that Cary will lead the group for the rest of ride on the scheduled route. I am going to time trial back to my SUV so I can come get Jim and Tim is going to ride with Jim and his cracked frame. We explain to everyone what’s going on, put the plan into place and off I go.

After only a few minutes I noticed that the group has decided to skip the rest of the ride and is chasing me. Cool! Now, I’ll have help getting to my car. So, off we go at a spirited pace, which was my max since I am just starting to build my base for this year. This lasted for about 10 minutes. Then one of the riders launched an attack and every followed but me. Remember, I was at my max. I also needed to ride smart. I couldn’t afford to blow up and needed to maintain a strong but steady pace. So I watched them disappear. A short five minutes later they were out of site and I was riding alone.

As I rolled along I thought to myself, “This is just like 2010 when I start with a group and finish alone!” This is exactly what I planned on avoiding in 2011. Oh well, I just keep pedaling. After a while, I see Carmen coming back my way. She told me the pace got too high for her as well so she came back and we rode in together.

I got back to the car in great time, loaded the bike and headed out. I got a text that Jim was at a Starbucks so off I go. When I get there I learn that his cousin Vince, one of the riders, had his car keys and was one the way. So, with Jim taken care of I headed for home.

All-in-all it was a great ride. I did a little pace line work, rode a few small hills and practiced my time trial. And, all of this was done with purpose. I know these rides will continue to make me stronger and I can’t wait for the longer, and warmer, rides of Summer.

Ciao!

Looking in both directions

2011-01-03T07:01:00.001-08:00

Well, the first ride for 2011 is already in the books. So is the first run of the year. The ride was a short 21 mile affair under the threat of rain. The run was a 3.7 mile torture fest that still has me walking funny as a result of very sore legs since this was first run in over a year. I’ll let you decide which one of these activities I enjoyed the most.

As I was riding along, enjoying the beautiful winter day, I couldn’t help but to reflect on the 2010 cycling year. I was also wondering what excitement 2011 has in store. I really do enjoy reflecting on what was and what’s to come, so as I slowly rolled along I allowed my mind to go with the flow as well.

In hindsight, 2010 was a very unique year for me. I was more involved with the cycling community then ever before. I helped with the Tour of California, I did a lot of work putting together and leading rides for Team Revolution presented by Fitness Journal, I marshalled Levi Leipheimer’s Gran Fondo, and I joined forces with my friend Carmen who is putting together the first Steven Cozza’s Giro Bella Classic starting in 2011. Yes, it was a very busy year.

The one thing that was slightly off in 2010 was my riding. Not only did I not get in the number of miles I am used to, they were a different kind of miles. In 2008, while training for the Terrible Two, I rode 5,707 miles. In 2009, I was back down to my norm at 4,771 miles (I usually ride just under 5,000 miles a year). However, in 2010 I only managed to get in 3,617 miles. This was mostly due to battling a few colds and an exceptionally cold summer but I also struggled to find my mojo in 2010.

The lack of mojo in 2010 can be summed up in one line. I did not do enough social rides. Instead, I found myself in full-on hammerfests or rides where the goal seemed to be racing to the next regroup. The bottom line – I spent a lot miles chasing the group while riding alone which left me with very tired legs and very little desire to join the next ride.

Fortunately, Coach Tim put me on an off-season plan that has completely turned my mojo around. Perhaps that explains why I was out braving the rain on Sunday versus hanging with my friends in the spin class at the Airport Club.

With all that as a back drop, my plan for 2011 can also be summed up in one line – more social rides. For me the joy of cycling is rolling along, laughing with friends, and enjoying the feeling of being alive. I need to do more of that. Scratch that! I will be doing more of that in 2011.

Now, on to the grand plans for 2011. To begin with, I am once again off to France in June to climb Mont Ventoux for the third time. This time however I will have company on the bike. Some of my friends are making the trip with me and we will be doing the climb together. It’s kind of a 50th birthday ride celebration for yours truly.

I am also going to try and do a few events that I always meant to do but never got around to such as the Tour of the Unknown Coast. There are still a few mountains within easy driving distance, like Atlas Peak, Mount Tamalpais, and Mount Diablo, that I still need to conquer. Finally, my Gran Fondo Marshall partner Jeff has already informed me we are marshalling the 100 mile route versus the 65 mile route in 2011.

There you have it. A 2010 cycling year that I am glad to have behind me and a 2011 year full of promise. As I plan my various rides you can count on one thing. There will be someone with me laughing and telling stories as we roll along on our next adventure.

Ciao!

Time for a break

2010-12-10T06:17:00.001-08:00

Well, it’s still my off season from cycling and I am enjoying taking a break from the hard riding of summer. However, I feel I need to also take a mental break from writing as well. So, I am taking some time off this December. However, I fully intend to have fresh adventures for your reading pleasure starting the first of the year.

Happy holidays and we’ll see you in 2011.

Ciao!

Marshalling the GranFondo

2010-11-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, I got to spend some time hanging out with a couple hundred fine folks from our cycling community. The occasion? It was the party honoring the nearly 900 volunteers it took to run Levi’s GranFondo. That’s right! Just under a thousand people were needed to ensure the 6,000 riders had a pleasant experience. And, I was proud to be one of them since I volunteered to ride the MedioFondo as a on-bike Marshall.

That wasn’t my original plan. In fact, I actually paid to ride the GranFondo almost the same day that registration opened. However, on a ride with my good friend Jeff, he went on and on about how much fun he had at the bike expo at the first Fondo last year. After riding over 100 of Sonoma County’s toughest miles, I did not explore the expo at all. I was too tired so I simply ate and went home. So, Jeff got me to thinking it might be nice to do something different this year.

A couple of rides later, Jeff also mentioned they were still looking for on-bike Marshalls and this year we would get special jerseys. That iced it! A couple of emails later I was a volunteer as an on-bike Marshall and Jeff and I were paired to ride and work together.

Over the next few months there were several emails to read about our role. A couple of weeks before the event we all met at a local pizza place to learn more about our day. It was pretty straight forward. We were the eyes and ears on the road since the motorbikes couldn’t be everywhere at once. Our rules were simply to be social, ask folks to follow the rules of the road, find emergency help if someone crashed, and offer advice for mechanicals (for liability purposes we were not allowed to help fix mechanicals, even flats). We met once more the night before the event to go over our final instructions and learn how they wanted us to roll the next morning.

The day of the ride dawned bright and beautiful. It was going to be a spectacular day. At 7:00 am we started mingling with the forming crowds just to say good morning. At 7:30, we lined up in front of the official start. The plan was to send us out 2-by-2 every 10 minutes or so. The ride started right on time. Jeff and I watched in amazement at the sheer volume of cyclists that rode by as we waited our signal to go.

Then we were released to start our ride. Now we are riding along with the crowd, saying hello to the riders around us, explaining what a Marshall is, and really having fun with the social nature of our roles. We checked on people who were stopped to make sure they were fine. We talked a few people through changing a flat. We asked a few folks to stay right of the yellow line. We encouraged people as they slowly climbed the biggest hill they’ve ever encountered. We loaned tools to a tandem team so they could fix a very jammed chain. We rode at a very steady pace, talked to people right to the very end, and fulfilled our role admirably (if I do say so myself).

After our ride, we grabbed a beer and some paella and began to relax, all while being thanked by other riders for helping out. After a short stroll through the bike expo, which was very cool, it was time to call it a day and head for home.

This may have been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had on the bike. It was definitely the most rewarding event I have participated in. Jeff and I are already planning to Marshall again next year. However, this time he says we are doing the GranFondo for the ultimate marshalling experience. I can’t wait.

I know there are a lot of cyclists out there who do not volunteer at events because you want to “ride your ride”. I was one of them. However, this experienced has changed my perspective and now I know just how rewarding it can be to support an event like this and I was proud to be part of it. By the way, I also had a great ride.

Ciao!

Feeling strong and other observations

2010-10-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

This post is going to be about a lot of little things mostly dealing with recent observations both on and off the bike. I’d like to say these are solid Zen-like, life changing observations but alas, it is nothing like that at all. It’s mostly a bunch of little things that I’ve noticed that aren’t big enough to fill an entire blog post. So, I am combining them into one by taking full advantage of my poetic license.

If you read my last post, you know that I was absolutely hammered by a cold. I had the high fever, body aches, constant coughing, etc. And while I recovered from most of the symptoms relatively quickly, I am still not back to full strength. One of the cool things about being sick is that you find out your ultra supportive friends are even more supportive then you thought. I had all kinds of people offering to bring me soup, medicine, and other feel-good items. I also learned that everyone in the world must have a different recipe for how to get over a cold.

On Saturday I managed to get out for a ride with Carmen before the weekend rain got too bad. I actually enjoy riding in a light rain. It kinda makes me feel like a badass knowing all my fair weather cycling friends are tucked away safely indoors. You just have to be a little more careful and really pay attention to the paint on the street and all manhole covers. Carmen and I did just fine and managed to get in a staggering 18-miles before we were done.

The second nice thing about Saturday’s ride was that I was finally feeling normal again on the bike. Of course, we were not pushing the pace. This was more of a social let’s-go-play-in-the-rain ride. Still, as we rolled along at 16 mph, my heart rate was right were it should be unlike my last ride were it was at least 20 bpm higher then normal. Bottom line, I am feeling stronger again and that’s a good sign.

Of course, no rain ride is complete without a flat or two (or three). After all, our rainy season is our flat season (see Beware of Bibendum as to why). There’s nothing like standing around in the rain, fixing a flat, to immediately distinguish that badass feeling you had while riding. So, in the spirit of the day, Carmen had a flat about 4 miles into the ride. Then the replacement tube she used had a hole in it so it went flat. Just for fun, she decided to flat again 5 miles later. At this point we were out of spare tubes and decided to turn for home. And, this was the reason our ride only lasted 18 miles.

On the way home I got to observe a new cyclist safety measure in action. On Montgomery Drive, heading west into Santa Rosa, there is a new bike warning signal, called a bike beacon. There is a section of road that is narrow and curvy for 1.5 miles making cyclists hard to see. If you are heading west on your bike you will trip this signal. The signal continues to flash and warn motorist that a cyclist is up ahead for 4 minutes. They are trying to find the money to put one in the east-bound direction as well. I hope they are successful.

There you have it. Great friends helping out during a time of need, feeling stronger, riding in the rain, fixing flats in the rain, and tripping our new bike beacon. How’s that for an adventuresome little ride? I can’t wait to see what observations this off season will continue to bring.

Until then . . .

Ciao!

A tough couple of weeks

2010-10-18T07:04:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe today is the 18th and I am just now posting my first blog in October. Where did this month go? There is a reason for my non-writing and for a change it has nothing to do with a lack of motivation. It was a lack of energy and that’s slightly different. I was hammered a couple of weeks ago by a serious cold that moved into my chest and I’ve been trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to recover ever since.

Of course, all of this started just days before Levi Leipheimer’s GranFondo where I volunteered to be a on-bike Marshall for the Medio course. This meant going to a couple of meetings prior to the ride and then helping to serve as the “eyes and ears” along the course. (There will be a separate post on how cool being a Marshall was.) If it wasn’t for being a Marshall, I would have skipped the entire event. Yep!!! I was feeling that bad. However, as a Marshall you have a partner and since my partner was my good friend Jeff, I couldn’t let him down.

It all started Monday night when I started feeling cold-ish. By Tuesday morning I was not feeling well at all and only managed to hang in at work until around 10:30. I stayed home completely on Wednesday to deal with a high fever and constant coughing. By Thursday morning the fever broke and I was starting to feel a tad better. This was good since the ride was Saturday.

Saturday was a beautiful day that promised everyone of the 6,000 riders a great time. Well, perhaps everyone except me. I was still feeling weak although I thought my symptoms were gone. So, after standing around freezing, coughing, and telling everyone I was “fine”, Jeff and I were given the green light to roll and we joined the masses on the open road.

Things were going well. I knew I was weakened by my cold so the plan was to stay easy and consistent. When we climbed our first hill I quickly discovered what my biggest issue was going to be on this ride. I couldn’t take deep breaths. So, I adjusted my gearing and cadence as I rolled along and enjoyed the excitement of the day.

The rest of the day was ok. I stayed true to my plan to ride easy. The climb up Coleman Valley was challenging but I, well everyone, was rewarded with stunning views of the California coast and Pacific Ocean. In addition, we also hung out with McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey from Gray’s Anatomy) who was joining the ride after a personal invite from Levi.

As we continued on, Jeff and Pete, another Marshall, stayed with me to make sure all was well. During the ride I did not push the descents, join pace lines, push the big ring or any other activity that would waste precious energy. The result? I crossed the finish line 62 miles later. And although I was very tired, I still had decent power and enough energy to enjoy the bike expo. It wasn’t my strongest ride ever but I survived. Actually, I it was probably one of the smartest rides I’ve completed.

After the Fondo, I took the week off to continue recuperating. Although I continued to feel a little better, I still had a full mucus factory in my sinuses and the inability to breath deep. I tired riding with friends this Saturday but turned for home after just 18 miles. My heart rate was 20-25 beats higher then it should be so I know I am still feeling the effects.

I am definitely on the mend however, I think I need to realistic about my strength. This cold hit me hard. It usually doesn’t take me more then a couple of days to bounce back and it’s been two weeks this time. I am sure this is just another sign of aging process as I stare down turning 50 next April.

Still, I need to create a plan to get my strength back. But, since it is the off season I don’t have to go crazy. I will probably stay nice and easy until the first week of December. That’s when Coach Tim will resume his garage rides and start getting us ready for 2011. Until then, I am going to recover, relax, and hope for better weeks to come.

Ciao!

A great start to the off-season

2010-09-28T07:16:00.001-07:00

The off-season! This really is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only is it fall, which I love, but my cycling takes on a whole new dimension. Gone are the hammerfests of summer where the name of the game is racing to the next regroup point. Gone are the mid-week hill repeats. And gone are the rides where heart rate average is more important then scenery.

The funny thing is that there is no official start to my off-season. For my friends who race it’s easy. The off-season starts after the last race of the year. For me, well, it kind of starts when I want it to and that’s typically once the days become too short to ride after work. Yeah, nothing says off-season to me more then climbing on the trainer for my mid-week workouts.

There is one more key indicator to the start of my off-season. I completely lose almost all motivation to ride. I typically log over 3,000 miles on the road by fall, with many additional hours on the trainer, so I am mentally ready for a break. This makes it hard to find my mojo for wet conditions, high heat, big climbs, or long rides. I simply don’t feel the need to push it this time of year and so far, my off-season is off to a great start.

It started 2 Saturdays ago with the West County Revolution Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride. We all headed out to climb Pine Flat as high as we wanted to go. I was feeling very good but instead of pushing a lifted pace I settled into a very gentle rhythm that took me all the way to the top. I also refrained from all of the pace lines on the way out and simply enjoyed the ride and chatting with friends.

On Sunday, I woke up to the first rain of the season. It was a very light, and warm, rain so it really wasn’t a big deal. In the spring or summer, I would have easily cranked out 40 or more miles in those conditions. However, on Sunday I simply reached for my coffee cup and settled in for a nice relaxing day. That was the first day of an impromptu break where I was off the bike for eight days. I just didn’t feel the need to get on the bike and that’s got off-season written all over it.

Last Sunday I was finally back on the bike to ride with friends. We were supposed to climb to the second peak on the Geysers and then climb Pine Flat. It was a beautiful day but it was also going to be very hot. We roll from The Flying Goat in Healdsburg and head straight to the Geysers and once got there I headed straight for my triple ring. I took it slow and steady with my friend Carmen, who raced the day before, and we chatted all the way to the first summit.

As we reached the top of the first summit it was already pushing 90 degrees. That’s too toasty for me so I bid my friends good bye and headed back to town. As they continued climbing to the second summit I did my own version of a second Geysers stop. I stopped at the Geyserville Mud Cafe for a quick espresso before heading home. The ride should have been around 50 miles and instead I got in a grand total of 31.

There you have it. In the span of 8 days I started the off-season, wimp out on a ride in the rain, bailed early on a ride in the heat, and my trainer has a slight coating of dust on the seat. I am supposed to head to the trainer right now but somehow I already know that I won’t get any further then the coffee pot.

Ciao!

A cyclist’s signs of Fall

2010-09-17T07:01:00.001-07:00

Fall is coming. Although the calendar says it’s not official until next Wednesday, the early warning signs have already arrived. The shorter days, a coolness in the air, trees just starting to turn colors, our first potential rain forecast, and the start of the grape harvest are sure signs a change is taking place. However, if you are a cyclist, there are even more indicators that Fall is near.

The cycling “season” in Northern California is a long one. We start having perfect riding weather as early as March and it continues on into October. This makes for a lot of rides, a lot of miles, and in the end, a lot of tired cyclists. So, just as the weather seasons change so does the cycling seasons and you don’t need to be Daniel Boone to read the signs.

Let’s start with FB. In racing season, all through Spring and Summer, my cycling friends are always posting comments about their races. You know, things like where they finished, how team mates did, and how they can’t wait unit the next race. Now, the posts are different. There’s a lot of comments like not being sure of having the legs for the next race or thanking their sponsors and friends for a great year. This is definitely a sign of easier riding days ahead.

Ride descriptions are also starting to change. Instead of long rides full of hills and pace lines, you are seeing more descriptions with the words easy, mellow, relaxed, and social in them. This is another sure sign that the racing season is complete and the more relaxed riding of Fall is just around the corner.

There are also the post-ride descriptions. This time of year you still have some people posting big rides like climbing Pine Flat or the Geysers. Then, on Monday, when you ask how the climbing went, they pause and explain how they just weren’t feeling it so they skipped the climb and just went for a easy mellow ride. And these are people who seek out hills with the same intensity that most of us seek out pastries.

There is one sign for me that stands above all others. Trainer rides! I loathe riding on the trainer but I understand the need to do it. So, now that the days are shorter and I don’t have enough time to ride after work I have already completed my first trainer work out of the off season. It was boring as hell but I got through it.

None of these changes mean we quit riding. Not at all. We still plan, post, and text about the upcoming weekend rides. We just ride differently. We don’t shift to the big ring quite as fast. Some of us leave our heart rate monitors at home. We are much more likely to pass on climbing a big hill in favor of stopping for coffee. In fact some of our rides are designed to go from one coffee shop to the next.

For many of you out there, me included, Fall is our favorite time of the year. This is when a lot of us get back to the simple joy of riding. We get back the joy of rolling along with friends chatting, laughing, and telling (perhaps re-telling) stories about our cycling adventures for the year. We also sit up and enjoy the view. I look forward to this change every year because these are my favorite rides.

Yes, Fall is here. And we know that Winter, with all its rainy, cold, nasty weather can’t be far behind. That’s ok. Until it gets here I will simply enjoy the cool days and beautiful color-change in the vineyards as I ride along laughing with friends and trying to decide what I’m going to order when we get to the coffee shop.

Ciao!

Smartly pushing the pace

2010-09-13T07:19:00.001-07:00

This was a great weekend of cycling. Not only did I have two great rides but I had friends who performed very well in their various races this weekend in events ranging from mountain biking in Annadel to a 3-day stage race in Folsom. Everyone seemed to have a blast and that’s what cycling is all about.

What made my rides this weekend so special? Well, it was a combination of pushing the pace and riding smart. I was planning to ride "Sonoma County's Finest" Bike Tour with Brian and a few members of his Blue Line Cycling Team. This was the inaugural ride benefitting the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service, which I think is a great cause. These people do so much to help others cope with terrible circumstances.

Saturday morning dawns crystal clear and you just know it’s going to be a great day for a nice relaxing bike tour through the Wine County. Alas, that is not what happened. You see, I ended up riding with just Brian and his coach Fran. At this point I need to mention that Fran is a Cat 3 rider and Brian, who I used to be able to hang with, has become an animal on the bike. At this point I decide to ride smart and hang with them as long as I can.

At 8:30 we’re off. The pace was solid and lifted from the beginning. The course was what we call Sonoma County flat. This means it was a lot of rollers and the occasional small hill. As Fran settled into a rhythm, I settled in behind him. Then Brian take the front for a while as I simply drafted to save energy and continued to hang on.

We reached the first rest stop, at the 20 mile mark, in basically one hour. That is fast for me. At the rest stop I told them that if I drop to keep going. They are still training and I am not. Besides, I knew the way the home.

As we left the rest stop the pace started lifting again and we were cruising at 20+ mph at this point. Fran got things going with a very long pull. Then Brian held the front with me on his wheel. Then he pulled over and I was on the front. Decision time. They knew I was slower and had basically said it was ok to draft to the end. However, I felt I needed to take the front at least once.

Brian came off the front at the perfect time. We were on a short rise that was followed by about 2 miles of flat. So, I used this section of road to take a decent pull then got back into my draft position. This is where I stayed for the next 10 miles until I dropped back on a small climb. By the time I got to the top they were gone.

From there, I settled into my own slightly-lifted pace and finished the ride. I am very happy with my efforts for how long I stayed with them and that I was never passed once I was on my own. In looking at the post-ride data on the Garmin, I can see that we averaged 20 mph from mile 10 to mile 35 (they managed it to the end). I have never held that speed for that long (my average for long rides is typically around 17 mph) so of course I am pretty excited about it.

Sunday was supposed to be an easy recovery ride. However, some of us were riding to the start and a flat tire from a fellow rider at the very beginning put us behind meant we had to kick it. This is not what I needed but I managed to dig deep and take some big pulls on the front at 20+ mph once again. Was I still being smart? I pushed hard to get us there on time then back off the pace dramatically. So in essence, I did a 10 mile interval followed by 30 miles of recovery and it worked out just fine.

There you have it. Two great rides where I pushed the pace but in a smart way. Apparently, it’s not just my legs getting stronger and that’s a very good thing.

Ciao!

Ode to Riviera Ristorante

2010-09-05T17:04:00.001-07:00

I have mentioned Riviera Ristorante numerous times in this blog. It is a great Italian restaurant that is one of the favorites of the cycling community. It is a fabulous little place owned and run by Giampaolo, Luca and Rita. After all these years, I decided it was time to let the rest of you know just how great these people really are.

Let’s start by saying all three of them are great riders. Some of the stories about them have become legendary. There is the time Giampaolo dropped half the Astana team on a local climb or the story of him riding the Terrible Two every year in about 11 hours and then working in the restaurant the rest of the night. Luca has been heard to cook all through lunch and then get in a “quick” 75 mile ride before coming back to prepare for the dinner crowd. Rita once ask friends if they wanted to join her for a short ride that turned into a 90-mile adventure on nothing but one water bottle and two pieces of focaccia. I happen to know that at least two of these stories are true (I’ll let you decide which two). The point is, these folks are strong riders.

Maybe it’s not so surprising that their restaurant would become a gathering place for cyclists. And, I’m not just talking about the locals. Of course we all eat there often but so does some of the greatest cyclists in the world. We have our local pros Levi, Scott and Steve as well as local Teams BMC and Bissell who are all there on a regular basis. However, we also get to see pro teams from around the world as they come to Wine Country for training camps. I’ll be there waiting for an order to go and Giampaolo might tell me, in his Italian accent, something like Team HTC-Columbia called for dinner reservations. I also know that Team Radio Shack and Team Astana have held dinners there are well.

This close connection to the international cycling community means that they have an impressive collection of signed jerseys, photos and other memorabilia. So, while the food is definitely Italian, the decor is cycling. There are enough framed signed jerseys on the walls to make the US Cycling Hall of Fame jealous.

However, here’s the real deal. You could replace each and every jersey with fine needle point “art” from Ben Franklin Crafts and I would still eat there just as often as I do today. Why? Because their food is just that good. It takes more then a few jerseys and the occasional mention of Dura Ace to attract food savvy Wine Country cyclists. It takes great food with good wine and Riviera has both. While I have my favorite dishes I always have to hear the specials first. There are a few specials that appear regularly and some of these are simply too good to pass up. (I wonder when they will have the spaghetti and crab pasta special again?)

Now, here’s where it all comes together. A few months ago Riviera was closed for remodeling the garden patio. And, while they were only closed for two weeks, the patio was out-of-commission for a while reducing their capacity by about 20 diners. They also closed for lunch completely until the patio was complete. If you’ve ever run a business then you know that when you are not open you are not making money.

That’s when the cycling community rallied to help jump start Riviera with its new and improved patio. Jonathan Lee, team director for the Red Peloton, send out emails, tweets, FB invitations, and any thing else you can think of to invite cyclist to the Jump Start Riviera dinner on August 30th. The 78 available seats sold out in about two days. So, there is a second one on September 6th. I was at the first one and you can bet I will be there tomorrow as well.

After all, it’s the least I (we) can do for a group of people who have done so much for our cycling community. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to place my order.

Ciao!

Mountain biking, Roadie style

2010-08-30T07:21:00.001-07:00

I do not ride mountain bikes anymore. That’s because I am more of you what you would call a mountain bike crasher. I simply cannot stay upright and off the ground. Every significant cycling scar I have is from my feeble attempts at mountain biking. Now, I know that the dirt rats see these scars as badges of honor but I do not. So, when I say I am going mountain biking that only means one thing. I am heading for the Sierra Mountains with the road bike.

Sherry and I have a friend with a cabin, near Pinecrest Lake, in the Stanislaus National Forest. (This is on Hwy 108 about 30 miles west of Sonora.) Every year a group of us head that way for a long weekend of eating, drinking, laughing, and relaxing. For me, this weekend also means cycling.

I absolutely love cycling in the Sierra Mountains. The long climbs, the gorgeous views, killer descents, gorgeous views, fairly smooth roads, and gorgeous views create magical rides. Did I mention the gorgeous views?

After our 5 hour drive it was time to unpack and then hit the road on two wheels. Since it was already 3:30 pm, I opted for a short loop I do each year that takes me up to the Dodge Ridge Ski Resort. It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperature was hovering around 80 degrees. Absolutely perfect “mountain biking” weather!

As I start to roll along, I can feel myself begin to relax immediately and then my mind began to wander. As my mind wanders, especially while riding at 7 mph up some long climb, I always ask myself the same question, “How fast can bears and mountain lions run?” I don’t know for sure but I am pretty sure it’s faster then 7 mph. Still, on Friday’s ride there were no such sightings. Only birds, butterflies, ground squirrels, and one snake who I damn near ran over. There were also many, many beautiful lakes and streams.

The highlight of the ride was actually when I missed my turn. As I kept climbing I started to realize that the road no longer looked familiar. Fortunately, a Forest Service truck came my way and I was able to ask the rangers how to reach Dodge Ridge. Sure enough, I had climbed about a mile and a half further then I needed to. Oh well! At least I got to hear one of the rangers say that they admired my tenacity. I finally reached the resort, which was followed by an awesome descent most of the way back to the cabin.

Saturday’s weather was a different story. It was overcast, a little windy, and very cold. Still, I came up here to ride so off I went. The plan was to ride Highway 108 up to Kennedy Meadows and back. The only trouble is the start. I roll from the cabin down a short hill (less then half a mile) and then begin climbing immediately. It took me quite a while to find a rhythm and I actually considered cutting the ride short numerous times.

Instead, I persevered and made it to my original goal. There are three real reasons this was necessary. First, I wanted to take this picture so it could explain why I do not go pass Kennedy Meadows. Secondly, I needed a good double espresso to perk me up. And finally, I really look forward to all of the looks I get as the campers and RV’ers look at me like I’m crazy.

On the ride back home, which has just as much climbing, I started to feel the altitude and was unable to take deep breaths. Of course, this meant not as much oxygen and I began to fatigue, quickly. The last climb before I reached the cabin felt brutal but once again I persevered and made it back. I was both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.

I choose to skip riding on Sunday and instead we lazed around the cabin for a few hours before heading home. As always, it was a most excellent adventure and I can’t wait until my next opportunity to go mountain biking.

Ciao!

Hammer time

2010-08-25T07:08:00.001-07:00

Saturday was our last Riviera ride of the year, supposedly (more on that later). You may recall these rides started almost two years ago and were a big part of catapulting me deeper into the Sonoma County cycling community. They are fun, social, and end with a great lunch at Riviera Restorante. They are also hammerfests.

These rides always draw a decent crowd and Saturday was no exception. In addition to my Team Revolution mates, there were riders from the Red Peloton and Team Colavita/Baci. We had at least a handful of Cat 3 riders or higher in our mix. Add to that a fairly flat course and the boys and girls can’t help themselves so up and up goes the pace.

We all gather at West County Revolution and after announcements and a lunch count we are off. The pace was a little brisker then normal straight out of the blocks so I knew we were in for a treat. And by treat, I mean you would be wiped out if you tried to hold on for too long.

As we rolled along the bike path to Forestville, the B riders were already splintering pretty badly as some tried to keep up with our A group and some did their own thing. In Forestville, I noticed just how strung out we were. So I told Jon, our main team leader, that I would hang back and see how everyone was doing. It was then we heard that a rider went into a ditch but everyone thought he was ok.

After a few more minutes Adam, a teammate and very strong rider, and I decided to ride back to see what was happening. Long story short, one guy did fall and he was fine but threw a spoke and his back tire wasn’t true. He was with a group of three others and just trying to make it through the day. A few miles later, he and his friend decided to go into Windsor and get the tire fixed, which left me with three riding partners and I immediately knew I was in trouble.

It was a B ride leader’s worse nightmare. I was now in a group with myself, a Team Colavita rider, a Red Peloton Rider, and Adam (I think the Colavita and Red Peloton guys are both Cat 3s). As soon as we started rolling the Colavita rider went to the front and hammered the pace. I was watching my cyclometer was we reached 24, 25, 26, and then 27 mph. I was fourth in line and just barely hanging on. Then we hit a small hill that they charged up at 20+ mph. About half way up the climb I completely popped and watched them ride away. However, I was pretty happy that I held on as long as I did.

At this point we also caught some of the slower B riders so I spent the next few miles leapfrogging from one group to the next and making sure everyone was doing ok. At Hop Kiln Winery I picked up Miriam and we picked up the pace and managed a respectable 20+ average for the next 5 miles to our regroup. There, the A group continued on and the B group headed for food. We picked a casual route back and the ride became much more social as everyone had already put in big efforts.

Back at Riviera, the lunch was awesome as is always the case. We ate, drank, laughed, and chatted with friends with just a touch of sadness knowing this was the last one of the year. However, as I was leaving Steve (from WCR) said that Riviera wanted to host one more in October so we get to do this all again in a few months.

There is one last connection to the title from the day’s events. After lunch I posted on FB that after a great ride and lunch it was hammock time. One of my cycling friends made a reference to hammer time. That’s all it took. Next thing you know I am performing in Oakland and have my Halloween costume all set. I really do love this aspect of cycling.

Hopefully, they can all join me on the October Riviera ride where I will do the best impression of hammer time that I can. Until then, I better start practicing.

Ciao!

The ups and downs of cycling

2010-08-18T19:19:00.001-07:00

Cycling is full of ups and downs. Of course, I mean this both figuratively and literally. If you cycle in the Wine Country then you are going to climb some hills. Or if you prefer, you can climb a mountain or two. Cycling also seems to generate emotional ups and downs. Last night’s Tuesday Night Hill Repeats with Coach Tim offered a snapshot of a few of the ups and downs offered by this great sport.

It all started on my ride out. As I was rolling down Montgomery Drive this Suburban lays on the horn and gives a WTF look as they drive past. I fight the urge to flip them off and keep rolling. At the next intersection my Suburban is stuck at the light. I roll up to his open window fully prepared to go on a rant that’s worthy of Mr. Dithers, Dr. Cox, and Dennis Miller all rolled into one. Instead, I politely ask what he thought I was doing wrong. He presented his side and I mine. He started with not liking me on the road because it slowed him down and moved to he did not want to hit me. I agreed that I did not want him to hit me either. As the light finally turned green, we parted ways with him telling me to have a nice day. Not bad. A little bit of emotional up and down in that one.

As I continue on, I am still a little miffed that I was honked at in the first place when I look down and notice I cruising much faster then normal. There’s nothing like a little riding angry to increase your average speed. Then I notice I am gaining on another bike. And not just any bike but a motorized bike. I am sorry to admit I felt pretty damn good as I caught, then dropped him without even raising my heart rate.

Finally, I reach the starting point. As we cruise along, we are chatting away and enjoying the easy part of the ride. As we enter Oakmont, I noticed we were joined by another rider. He asks me about our plans and since they are pretty much the same as his he decides to tag along. As we wait for a final friend to finish getting ready I get a good look at the stranger among us. Of course, as I look at him, he’s looking at me. “Lee?” he asks. “Mike?” I reply. That’s right! We’ve ridden together 2-3 times before. I simply love this aspect of cycling.

Now we are really headed for the hills to some of the more literal up and down parts of cycling. We start up Sugar Loaf, which is about a 1.5 mile climb. I hit the climb pretty hard and have a really good pace going. However, about half way up my legs inform me that if I do not back off the pace they will cramp up so bad I will wish I was dead. So, I listened and slowed down to ease my way to the top. Initially I was disappointed but then I realized that I have climbed over 11,000 feet in my last five rides so it’s okay to be a little fatigued.

The next hill was Pythian and Coach Tim tells me to climb the entire 1.0 mile route out of the saddle. So I get on his wheel and hang on. We passed four other riders out doing hill repeats which made me feel pretty good even in my tired state. Then I noticed I was slipping off Tim’s wheel. So I accelerate and get back on. Then I am off again. Not by much, maybe half a bike length at the most. So I accelerate again only to get slightly dropped again. This continues all the way to the top. I then asked him if he was intentionally staying just ahead of me and he simply smiles and says “That’s what makes me a good coach.” (Of course, my thought is “Yeah, that or it makes you a complete ass!” I decided to go with good coach.)

With the Pythian climb done, we headed back home.

There you have it. A great training ride that included both the literal and figurative ups and downs of cycling.

Ciao!

I am a cycleholic

2010-08-11T07:32:00.001-07:00

Hello! My name is Lee and I am a cycleholic. It’s been less then 12 hours since my last bike ride. This addiction to cycling started about eight years ago when I started training for my first triathlon and it has grown every year since then.

I have a pair of socks that say I heart bike porn. When I bought my new bike about 4 years ago, I spent hours salivating over various models. I would only buy a brand that was ridden in the Tour de France. I went to site after site drooling over the beauty of the bikes and discussed gearing rations like they were chest sizes. I read Bicycle Magazine for the pictures. I can’t say the word Pinarello without drifting into some cycling fantasy world in my mind.

Sherry is aware of this addiction and her response ranges from ignoring me to being a codependent. Once, as we were driving, we went past a beautiful blond all kitted out and cruising along for her ride. As we passed, I found myself staring. After we passed, I noticed that Sherry noticed me staring and as she looked at me with a frown she simply said - “you were looking at her bike weren’t you?” If she catches me humped over the laptop late at night she just assumes I looking at the newest bike models hitting the streets.

When I first starting riding, anything pair of bike shorts and jersey would do. Then they had to be somewhat coordinated. Now, I only ride in full kits. This is easy for me since I own so many. I currently own matching kits for Fitness Journal, ESP Fitness Training (Coach Tim’s company), Team Revolution, 53x11 Coffee and Mont Ventoux. And there are about a dozen other kits I would love to have but I am too busy spending money on the bikes to buy any more.

I have 4 bikes and each serves a different purpose. I have my road bike, the single speed, my old road bike that is mostly used on the trainer, and my mountain bike. I “need” at least two more. I need a true cross bike and a time trial bike. Why? Because that’s just the way a cycleholic thinks. What if I get invited to a team time trial event. I can’t show up with a road bike. Not even one with clip on aero bars. In our minds, you can never have too many bikes.

You would think that being out on the bike with friends would be enough of a fix but not for the cycleholic. While I am riding along with friends I always make sure the conversation stays mostly on cycling. Yes! I have the strong need to talk about cycling while cycling. When I am riding solo I can hear the words of Phil and Paul providing commentary about my ride.

I will get up at up at 3:30 am to watch the Tour de France. You heard me! I gladly get up in the wee hours of the morning to watch cycling as it is being taped on the DVR. Why? Once again, it’s what us cycleholics do. Why wait until later in the morning to watch the taped version when you can sit in your dark TV room and watch it live. Of course, I will watch it again later in the morning. And then again that night before I go to bed early so I can get up at 3:30 the next day.

As my cycling addiction grew stronger I began to wonder if there is a program out there that might help people like me. I finally decided ef-it!!! I am proud of my cycleholic nature and wouldn’t want it any other way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to put on my socks and go say good morning to my bikes.

Ciao!

Speed drills with just a touch of weirdness

2010-08-06T07:38:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday, Coach Tim put together a speed interval workout in Oakmont. This was going to be fun since we usually do hill repeats on Tuesdays so I was looking forward to the change. I just needed to get out of work in time to make it.

The plan was to make three loops around Oakmont with each loop being almost 5 miles. We will practice speed intervals in a pace line for the first two laps and then have a little fun that would involve some chasing on the last lap.

As expected, I get out of work just a touch late and the rest of the team is already on the first lap. So, I ride in the opposite direction until I catch them coming my way. After a quick U-turn I am in the group and riding along. They were basically done and just cruising to the start of the second lap and this gave me plenty of time to chat and say hi to everyone before things got serious.

As we start the second lap, Coach Tim is barking out orders. “Hold the speed!” “Don’t accelerate!” “No more then thirty seconds! “Get off the front!” “Lee, get your head out of your ass and pay attention!” (Okay, he didn’t really say that last one.)

Now, as much as I love a serious pace line, pace lines with newbies make me nervous. They don’t always react properly just like I didn’t know how to react when I first started riding pace lines. It’s not about how long you’ve been riding. Pace lines are a separate skill that needs practice. So as we rolled along, my focus was 100% on the riders in front of me.

The third lap consisted of a chase. I would start with the two newer riders and after a head start Coach Tim’s group would try and catch us. Early on we drop one of our riders and as I am looking to see if she is back on my wheel I hear a rubbing sound. I look up and notice that I have drifted right while the lead rider drifted left and now my front tire is rubbing his back tire. This is a very dangerous situation that could have put both of us on the ground while riding at 20mph. Instead, neither of us panicked and we drifted back in the opposite direction and kept rolling. However, it was a little weird since I didn’t we were nearly that close to each other.

Back at the starting point more weirdness ensued. After waiting nearly a minute for Coach Tim’s team, which means we were not caught, a car came from behind and I decide to move a little further out of the road. As I start to move, my back tire sticks in a crack in the road and I simply fall over still clipped to my pedals. Really! I have dead bugged before but that was just weird.

While Coach Tim takes some of the group to do hill repeats, another group of us head home. As we approach the bike path from Oakmont to Channel Drive, the last rider in our group missed the pole in the middle that stops cars from using the path. And by “misses the pole” I mean she doesn’t see it and plows right into it. That could have been another serious accident but fortunately she was left with only a bruised quad and small cut on her leg. What’s weird is that we have ridden this path hundreds of times so you would think this simply wouldn’t happen.

There you have it. A great night of speed drills, a silly guy falling over on his bike, and a couple of situations that could have been much more serious. In the end, it was a reminder of the need for constant focus and attention when riding and you cannot take any situation for granted. Personally, that’s one lesson I do not want to learn the hard way.

Ciao!

So good it hurts

2010-08-02T07:27:00.001-07:00

It seems like it’s been a while since I went out on a serious ride. I’ve been on many rides and logged some decent miles but most of my rides lately have been more social in nature. Don’t get me wrong, I love these rides. For me, riding along and chatting with friends is one of cycling’s biggest rewards. But every now and then you just feel the urge to kick it and that’s what happened on Saturday.

There were 3 factors that lead to Saturday’s awesome ride. First, there’s the afore mentioned need to kick it up a notch (BTW – I didn’t realize this until the ride started). Next, I created a route that went over the Marshall Wall, which is a challenging ride, because one of my good friends had never done that climb. And finally, I had to work all day Sunday, which meant no riding, so I felt justified in putting in a harder effort on Saturday.

We all met at the appointed time and headed out. As we were rolling along I was waiting for the pace to pick up. It wasn’t happening. Instead we were cruising along chatting and taking it easy. This is when I decided I needed something a little more serious. So, I simply went to the front and lifted the pace ever so slightly until we were in a nice pace line and the chatting had stopped. Once we reached that point, everyone kind of knew what was happening and our serious ride was on.

We rolled along at our nice pace, pushing the little hills and rollers, until we reach our real destination as we make the left hand turn onto the Wall. Although I had been on the front quite a bit, I was feeling very strong Saturday so I decided to push myself on the climb. I also decided that meant pushing bigger gears so I stayed in the middle ring all the way to the top. I was quite proud of myself for pushing a 42 x 25 gear. At least that’s what I thought at the time but more on this later.

After the Wall, we had one more significant climb, where once again I held the middle ring, and then rollers all the way back. The pace was still lifted and I finally found myself wearing out just a bit after my long pulls in front and pushing big gears on the climbs. On the drive home I was already starting to feel the efforts of 60 miles and over 3,600 feet of climbing. Once I got home I discovered just how tired I was as I struggled to find the energy to get some yard work completed.

When I rolled out of bed on Sunday morning I created the title for this blog because every muscle in my body seemed to be sore. My back was the tightest but the legs weren’t far behind. It’s has been quite a while since a ride did that to me and it felt really good in a sick kind of way. As I spent most of the day working at our company picnic, I definitely felt the efforts from the previous day and by the time I got home I could only collapse in my favorite chair and wait for dinner.

What about the gearing issue? Well, on Sunday prior to heading to the picnic, I was goofing around in the garage and I saw the box for my new cassette. I thought it was a 12x27 but it turns out that I bought a 12x25. This means I was pushing a 42x23 all the way up the Wall. Somehow, this made me feel prouder and tireder (I so enjoy creating new words) at the same time.

So there you have it! A fabulous ride with good friends at an elevated pace. Add to that the beauty of Sonoma and Marin counties and the accomplishment of pushing the biggest gear ever over the Wall and you can see why it was worth every aching muscle. The soreness will go away but the memory of this ride will last quite a while.

Ciao!

It’s good to be back

2010-07-27T07:16:00.001-07:00

After living the college dorm life for the last two weeks, it felt really great to be back home this weekend. Back to my old routines. Back to riding my bike. Back to writing. And, while I really enjoyed everything about the experience, I think Dorothy said it best as she closed her eyes and repeated, “There’s no place like home.”

Before going any further, I guess I should say a little bit about Western CUNA Management School (WCMS), which is where I have been. Here’s a partial description of the program from their website.

“It prepares today's and tomorrow's credit union people with the depth and breadth they need to contribute to their credit union's success and their own personal career goals -- depth of knowledge to help them do their jobs better -- breadth of background to make them more well-rounded and valuable members of management. In addition to receiving solid academic training and practical background, students at Western CUNA Management School establish strong professional networks throughout the credit union movement that benefit both themselves and their credit unions.”

Basically, it’s a miniature MBA program for people who work in the credit union industry. It is a three year commitment with two weeks of college living at Pomona College (which is a beautiful campus) each July where you learn and study and network. I have already forged deep bonds with many of my 87 classmates was we start our journey. I am also proud to say that I passed the first exam with High Honors (I scored a 92) as did many others in our class. Now, it’s time to start my first project, which is due April 1st. They told us we should plan on the project taking 200-250 hours to complete so if anyone out there has some spare time I could have that would be great.

I got home Friday night and was ready to settle in. Unfortunately, I had to work most of Saturday so my routine was still a little whacked. It wasn’t until Sunday that my “normal” life got back on track. I woke up, watched part of the Tour de France and then headed out for a ride.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I rode to the Flying Goat to meet Carmen and David. After all, I had not been on the bike for two weeks. Just to complicate things even more, I was testing out a new saddle. In the end, I felt great. The only real signs of fatigue where in the upper body and my back side. It’s amazing how quickly my ass forgets what it feels like to sit on the saddle for three hours. I ended the day with just under 50 miles of easy tempo on some of my favorite roads with just a few hills. It was the perfect ride for easing back into the groove.

Another routine I missed was writing this blog. I have actually been contemplating taking a long break but I discovered I missed this creative outlet more then I thought I would. I guess the phrase “absence makes the heart grow stronger” isn’t limited to romance. So, the blog shall continue as I record my adventures, and misadventures, on and off the bike.

When you think about it, it has been an awesome two weeks. I am honored to be selected to attend WCMS. I already miss my new friends that I met at school and my FB friend number is growing rapidly. Upon returning, I was immediately reminded about the great friends I already have as we rolled and laughed our way around Sonoma County on our bikes.

Over the next year, I am looking forward to getting to know my classmates better even if I have to do it electronically. As always, I am looking forward to many, many miles on the bike riding with close friends who I have gotten to know personally. Throw in the occasional french toast breakfast and that’s a routine I can live with.

Ciao!

Taking a little break

2010-07-10T18:19:00.001-07:00

Life has been a little hectic this week and the next two weeks will be even worse in terms of free time. It’s for all positive reasons but it has left little time for writing. So to take the pressure off myself, I’ve decided it’s time to take a little break.

For the next two weeks I will be attending a very challenging program for credit union management. It is a great opportunity but I will be basically back to college life for two weeks. You know, living in the dorm with no amenities and spending all of my free time studying for the test which comes at the end. This is actually my first year of a three year program.

Of course, that meant I had to complete three weeks worth of work this week to get ready. Add to the that hours spent watching the Tour de France each day and you see that there is just not enough time.

So . . . reread some of your favorites and watch for new posts starting the week of July 26th. Until then, Vive le Tour!!!

Ciao!

Grateful for it all

2010-07-05T19:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I had one of those days that reminded me of how lucky I am. It started with being grateful for Sherry and quickly accelerated into being grateful for all that I have. I have a great wife, a good life, good health, and a job that doesn’t completely suck so you can understand the reasons for my gratitude.

The day started the same as most do in July, with Sherry and I up watching the Tour de France at 5:30 AM (or earlier). I just love that Sherry is such a huge cycling fan (read Cycling fans like Sherry for more on this). A lot of the cyclists I know have significant others who do not share their passion for all things lycra on two wheels.

Next up was a nice recovery ride. I was supposed to meet a few friends down at Flying Goat (simply called The Goat) at 7:30 and roll at 8:00. For various reasons they couldn’t make it so I was on my own. Still, I sat down and enjoyed my pre-ride cappuccino and the beauty of the morning. I’m not sure why but whenever I sip a cappuccino outside The Goat on a beautiful sunny morning I cannot help but reflect on life.

This was my mindset as I rolled along doing the Bike Path Pokey and saying good morning to anyone who would listen (and some who wouldn’t). I am happy to say most of them said hello back and I was feeling too good to really care about the ones who didn’t.

I discovered that the new portion of the bike path was open. While I miss the gravel I have to admit rolling along on new asphalt was quite enjoyable. Steve, from West County Revolution Bike Shop, also rode it yesterday and said it was like riding on carpet. For the time being, it is the smoothest 2 miles in Sonoma County.

As I was enjoying my “carpet” ride, the vineyard views, the distant coastal mountains, and the blue sky, I thought to myself, “How friggin lucky am I to have ended up living in a place like this?” As you can see, my thoughts of gratefulness were rolling right along with me.

I continued along and came across an act of generosity that I found amazing. There is a section on Guerneville Road where a bridge crosses Laguna de Santa Rosa. The trees from the laguna grow up and spill over into the emergency lane where us cyclist ride to avoid the 50+ mph traffic. When you reach this section you need to actually move into the lane of traffic to get around it. On Sunday, there was a cyclist who rode out there with large pruners and was clearing our path. He told me he does it every year. That is just awesome!

I took the bike path back to The Goat where I enjoyed a post-ride cappuccino to reward myself for keeping to a nice, relaxed recovery ride. There were two more interesting things on my ride back. First, I rode up next to a guy who was carrying a huge antenna. So I slowed to inquire and discover he had radio-tagged numerous Western Pond Turtles and was currently tracking them. I don’t know why but I found that very cool.

I also came up behind two elderly ladies who were dressed very similarly including the wearing of identical Gilligan hats. When I said “on the left” the both raised their hands to acknowledge they heard me. Except it was synchronized. I’m serious. They both raised their left hands to the exact some height and the exact same time. Their elbows were also the same height and at perfect 90 degree angles. Chinese synchronized divers have nothing on these gals.

Finally, it was back home where Sherry made french toast for breakfast.

I know I ask everyone to stop from time to time and acknowledge what they are grateful for. On Sunday, it seems I took my own advice. I started out being grateful for something as simple as Sherry enjoying cycling and before long I was grateful for it all. I hope everyone else feels the same about their own life.

Ciao!

The Bike Path Pokey

2010-06-30T20:22:00.001-07:00

This blog was supposed to be about how strong I’ve been feeling since I restarted my season. I’ve had some great rides and done good workouts that are paying off. Yep, the plan was to write about how my strength is coming on faster then those stupid cyclist tan lines that we all know and love. And then, I went for a ride last night that changed everything.

Don’t get me wrong. I am feeling very strong these days. I am back to my old climbing habits. Even better, I seem to have my descending mojo again. For instance, Saturday’s ride had 12 miles of climbing that totaled almost 4,000 feet in elevation gain. I actually did the first 7 miles of climbing in the middle ring and felt great. Then we got to come down. I felt I was in complete control as I bombed down the descent. In the end, I waited nearly two minutes for the rest of my group to arrive (to be fair, they tend not to bomb descents).

With that as a backdrop, I started out last night to ride speed intervals. Leave it to a great coach, like Coach Tim, to change things up just when you’re feeling good. After weeks of hill repeats where I was feeling nice and comfortable, he throws in speed intervals. No worries other then I do expect feel the difference when I am done.

I get home and get ready to roll. My first issue is that I am absolutely brain dead. I spent the day working on a rather tedious project that just seem to suck the life out of me. I was in definite need of Miracle Max but since he wasn’t around a ride would have to do. The other issue was heat. It was 91 when I headed out and I do not like the heat. I choose to head out along the bike path since it is nice and shaded. My plan? The path would provide a nice 20-minute warm up and once out of town I would start my speed intervals.

It never happened. I think somewhere in my mind I always knew it wouldn’t. The longer I was on the path, the more I settled into a nice scenic easy ride. As I neared the end of the first path and starting rolling to the second path I realize that I was doing the Bike Path Pokey.

The Bike Path Pokey is the kind of ride where you purposely stay on as many bike paths as possible. Why? Well, they’re called bike paths but the truth is there are a lot of other things on them. Things like joggers, walkers, kids on bikes, kids on skateboards, commute riders, dogs on and off a leash (sometimes with or without people), etc. This means you can’t ride hard and remain a courteous cyclist. So in essence, riding the bike path forces me to stay slow while allowing me to blame my slowness on the other people using the path.

As I was meandering along, I decided if I was going to call this ride The Bike Path Pokey, I needed to create new lyrics to that childhood tune we all know and enjoy. Here they are.

You turn your Gamin off
You throw your plan out
You clip your shoes in and you slowly move it out
You do the bike path pokey as you slowly roll along
That’s what it’s all about.

I could go on but I won’t. I think you get the idea. I also created a dance that focuses mostly on moving your shoulders around since your legs are busy. Now, I never expect The Bike Path Pokey dance to get air time on MTV or reach the level of popularity as the shoulder rolls from the Palmer Girls in the Addicted to Love video but it’s still fun to do.

When it was all said and done I finish with a good 21-mile tempo ride. It was perfect! Not only was it a good workout but it also gave me the opportunity to enjoy another beautiful evening. And that’s worth singing about.

Ciao!

The ramblings of a writer’s blocked cyclist

2010-06-22T06:40:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. It’s been over a week since my last post. I wish I had a good excuse. You know something like my computer died or I was vacationing in the south of France or that I had been in a french toast coma. But alas, it’s nothing like that at all. I just can’t seem to get started. I have things to write about. I’ve been riding, spending time with Sherry, hanging with friends and work doesn’t completely suck so life is good. I’ve got about 15 blog titles created there’s just nothing inside them. Damn I hate writer’s block.

So I am trying something new. It’s my I-haven’t-posted-in-a-while-so-I-guess-I-better-get-off-my-ass-and-write plan. Too long? Ok, how about the just write dammit plan? Hmmm. . .I can already see this isn’t going to work.

I’ve got it! I’ll think about all of the great riding I’ve been doing lately. That’s it. I’ll write about how much stronger I’m feeling these days or how I went on Coach Tim’s second Wine Country Cols and Pavé ride, which was a 60-mile heat fest. That was adventurous, and beautiful, but I wouldn’t call it fun so nothing to really write about. I climbed Sonoma Mountain on Saturday pushing a 42x27 (that’s a pretty tough gear for you non-cyclist out there) which is a huge accomplishment for me. And although that really got the blood flowing as my heart rate climbed, it did not unleash my writing.

Maybe I should take a scientific approach. You know, analyze the situation, create a hypothesis about the cause, and then develop a plan of action. I actually Googled writer’s block and found some interesting stuff. There’s even a Wikipedia entry devoted to it. Here’s their definition - Writer's block is a condition, associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work.

Well, that’s problematic. Writing is not my profession. Can you get writer’s block if you are not a professional? If the answer is no, then what do you call it when a non-professional is stuck? Poser’s block? Wanna-be writer’s block? Blogger’s block? Do professionals with writer’s block roll their eyes and sigh when they overhear a blogger talking about being stuck.

However, there may be something to this. You see while I am not a professional writer today, I do harbor visions of making money from my writing in the future. My goal is to have my writing supplement my income after I retire. This blog is part of that grand plan and that creates pressure, which in turn leads to blocks.

The pressure comes from within. For some odd reason, I feel that each blog needs to be better then the last. Not only is that unreasonable, it’s unnecessary. To begin with, I already know that this series of posts has not been one long crescendo which each post being better. I also know that people have different tastes so that a post that I particularly like and feel is clearly better then the last one is not seen that way by others. In many cases I have received more comments on what I would consider my more mundane blogs.

I am also aware that a blog needs to be consistent to attract followers. That’s more pressure. Everyday I go without writing makes it even harder to get started. Somehow, I’ve got to find a way to quit putting so much pressure on myself and go back to writing for the fun of it. Hey, maybe that’s what I should call my plan.

Whatever it is I hope it goes away soon. I enjoy telling stories, in writing and otherwise, and I would like to get back to it. For now, I’ll just keep plugging along and trying to come up with a real post for your reading, and my writing, pleasure.

Until then . . .

Ciao!

Cycling fans like Sherry

2010-06-11T07:05:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I posted this FB status - “You've got to love a wife whose idea of a romantic dinner is eating carbonara from Riviera in front of the big screen and watching the Giro as the pre-show for the ToC (Tour of California).” I got a lot of comments about what a great wife she is and that “she’s a keeper”. What I don’t think most people realize is that she would have done that whether I was there or not.

You see, my wife is a huge cycling fan! Strike that! I think crazed is a bit more descriptive. She likes everything about it. Watching it on TV. Going to races in all kinds of weather. Meeting the riders, directors, commentators, etc. Seeking out photo opportunities. She will sag and support me and my cycling group any time I ask including helping me twice up Mont Ventoux. In fact, the only aspect of cycling she doesn’t participate in is actual riding and I think this makes her somewhat unique.

It all started of course when I started cycling on the road to do my first triathlon. I was immediately reminded that I really don’t like swimming but this cycling thing was something I could get into. While on my rides with Coach Tim, he would talk about races like the Tour de France and could spout off names and stats like crazy. So that year we planned to pay attention but didn’t really plan to watch the race per se. We were immediately hooked, by both the race and the beauty of France, and now watching cycling is one of our favorite things to do together. Well, that and eating french toast for breakfast.

How dedicated is she? Well, this might give you a hint. On July 22nd, I already know where she will be and what she will be doing at 3:30 a.m. That’s right! She’ll be watching live coverage of the Tour de France Stage 17, from Pau to Col de Tourmalet. And yes, you read that correctly. She will be getting up well before dawn to watch cycling. Hell, I won’t even be up until 5:00. But she already knows this is an important stage with huge implications in the final GC.

We are also lucky enough to live very close to Riviera Ristorante where Giampaolo, Rita, and Luca have an outstanding Italian restaurant. They are also very good riders and well connected in the cycling community with Team BMC, Levi Leipheimer, and others. This means that anytime a pro team comes to town they eat at Riviera. And so do we. We will be deciding what to have for dinner and Sherry will suggest we drive by Riviera and look for team cars. If they are there, then the dinner issue is resolved. I can’t tell you how many pro-cyclist she has met there.

Last year during the Tour of California, I received an email about a fund-raising event for Bicycles for Humanity. The famous commentator, Paul Sherwen, would be in attendance and you just knew that Phil Liggett would be there also. To add to the ambience, it was at Sonoma Cellars, which was a new wine bar in town. The problem? It was on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. So I casually mention it to Sherry and her response was simply - “Why haven’t you bought tickets yet?”

However, our finest cycling moment was 4 years ago at the Tour of California when Santa Rosa was lucky enough to have both a stage finish and start. We went down the start and were amazed at how relaxed and accommodating the riders were. I became the official photographer and Sherry got a photo of herself with Bob Roll, Chris Horner, Bobby Julich, Ivan Basso, Thor Hushovd, Johan Bruyneel, and a few others. She was in heaven.

So there you have it. She may not ride but she is absolutely crazy about the sport of cycling. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Ciao!

I’m okay with that

2010-06-07T07:13:00.001-07:00

Last week was a great week. After taking some time off the bike I was back at it. You know, routinely getting in my core and strength workouts, riding speed intervals or hill repeats on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and planning big weekend rides with friends. The question was did my recovery week help. The answer is an emphatic yes! And, although I don’t have the form I would normally have in June, I’m okay with that.

Yet I feel the need to explain my recovery week one last time. It dawned on me during my rides this weekend that many of you cyclists out there may be thinking – so you took a week to recover, what’s the big deal? Normally, you would be right. Coach Tim always builds recovery weeks into my training every 6 - 8 weeks. He definitely believes in the power of recovery and what happens if you push too hard for too long.

However, this was not a well place break in a progressive training plan. It was more of a complete stop and restart. Now, I have the mental challenge of convincing myself it’s February from a training perspective. So, how did I do?

On Memorial Day I broke out the single speed to ease back into things. My group was doing our Goat-to-Goat ride, which is a 35-mile round trip route from the Flying Goat in Santa Rosa to the Flying Goat in Healdsburg and back. It is always done as a social fun ride but it does get fast at times. I figured the easiest way to ensure I didn’t get caught in the same mistakes that caused my fatigue in the first place was to not have gears. Sure enough, at one of the city limit signs the group put down the hammer and attacked from about a mile away. I simply kept pedaling my one gear and watched them ride away knowing I couldn’t participate even it I wanted to. And I was okay with that.

On Tuesday, my training focused on endurance while Thursday’s efforts were all about hill repeats. I did the hill repeats on Pythian Road, which is my new favorite. It’s just about a mile in length with some decent pitches thrown in for fun. And the descent is a blast. I managed to get up it three times, which resulted in climbing just over 1,400 feet in 25 miles. It felt very good to be out working on a plan again.

Saturday had Coach Tim and I climbing over Sonoma Mountain to meet good friends and then climbing back over the mountain with them. My legs were actually very tired but it was a good tired. It was not the general fatigue I had been feeling but more of a “hey, you rode really hard on Thursday” feeling. Because I was trying to stay within myself, remember it’s February from a training perspective, I was dropped numerous times. And I was okay with that since it meant I was sticking to my plan. The cool things was that my friends were okay with that also and simply waited for me.

Another friend and I did an active recovery ride on Sunday. I was going to break out the single speed again but decided that since our route included some rollers I wanted gears. That was a good call. On a few of the rollers I was pushing a 42x27 versus the 42x16 on the single speed. It was just one of the great rides where you never push the pace and spend most of the time side-by-side chatting up a storm.

How am I feeling? Great!!! I feel like I am on track and I know the form will develop quickly. Coach Tim has me totally planned out through October so all I have to do is follow the plan. I have already looked at this week’s plan and it looks a lot like last week. And you know what, I okay with . . . well, you know.

Ciao!

PS. For anyone riding the 65-mile route at Levi’s Gran Fondo, check out Coach Tim’s special Medio Fondo Training Plan.

Enjoying some down time

2010-05-31T12:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, I was sitting around drinking coffee and watching the Giro on Universal Sports. To make this more surprising, it was simply a gorgeous morning that followed a similarly beautiful Saturday morning. After one of our wettest month’s of May on record, the weather was perfect for riding. Still, there I was drinking coffee, watching TV, and hanging out with Sherry on both days versus putting air in my tires and suiting up to go ride. And I’m ok with that.

I mentioned in my last post that I needed to take some time to recover. The 2010 season started strong but then some colds, a small crash, work issues, and a lack of mojo really impacted my form. I found myself trying to “ride into shape” like someone at the Tour de France. As a result, I was also starting to feel very fatigued overall.

It was time to take some time to recover so I decided to take 8 days off and get things restarted on June 1st. This is turning out to be a great decision. Taking a little time off the bike had more benefits than I expected. Of course, I knew the body would recover. What surprised me a little was how my mind and spirit also rebounded.

It’s funny how stressful trying to get in rides after work can be. I typically don’t get off until 6:00 pm, which leaves precious little time for getting in a ride. My goal is to try and get in an intense 60-75 minute work out before dinner. If I leave even 15-minutes late the timing is shot. The days I plan to leave early can actually be even more stressful as I spend the day hoping that nothing gets in the way.

I also took the week off from writing. Since this blog is about cycling I thought I should take a break from it also. In fact, my only connection to cycling this week was watching the Giro (I wasn’t going to miss that). I really enjoy writing and this blog has been a fun creative outlet but every now and then it feels like work. So taking a break from it also helped my mind relax and think about other things for a while.

How it the break improve my spirit? Well, I think it was mainly the change in mentality. Usually, when I’m watching the Giro on a weekend morning I am also trying to calculate how to get a ride in later that day. This weekend there were no such worries, which allowed me to totally relax and enjoy the race.

What did I do on my short break? A little bit of everything and nothing. I started my core exercises and weight training (no leg workouts) again. I spent the weekend cleaning out the garage and having fun in our garden. I drank wine for dinner and had waffles and french toast for breakfast. I read, watched TV, barbequed all kinds of stuff for dinner, and just basically enjoyed living.

I was so relaxed that on Saturday night as I was reading Facebook posts of all the great rides my friends had that day I wasn’t even jealous. Instead I was thinking about the great day I had just hanging out in the back yard.

However, everything comes to an end sometime and so it goes for my break. I am actually coming out of it a day early since my friends have put together one of our famous coffee-chat social rides. It is the perfect ride to check the legs and see how I’m feeling. And just to be sure that I don’t get caught up in any city limit sign sprints I will be rocking it on the single speed.

After today? I already have my new plan from Coach Tim that I will start to follow tomorrow so it’s back to the routine. After all, Levi’s Gran Fondo will be here before you know it and I want to make sure I am ready.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go put air in my tires.

Ciao!

Toast!!!

2010-05-24T06:57:00.001-07:00

Right now my cycling friends who read this blog are letting out a collective groan. Why? They know what this word means in our world. They also know the feeling associated with it because each of us have been there at least once, but probably more, during our cycling adventures.

Toast is cycling vernacular for riding yourself to exhaustion on a ride that was harder, longer, or faster then you expected. It’s that feeling at the end of the ride (hopefully it’s at the end) where even the slightest breeze feels like a brutal head wind, freeway overpasses feel like King-of-the-Mountain climbs, and you can’t decide between reaching for a Gu or reaching for your cell phone. It’s at these moments you are almost pleading with the cycling Gods for someone to get a flat, although preferably not you.

In case you haven’t already figured this out, I was toast after my rides from this weekend.

On Saturday, I went out with four other riders from Team Revolution. We were leaving from Cotati where the B ride was planning a 42 mile ride and the A folks were going 50. I always face a dilemma on these rides. I want to go the A distance but I cannot maintain an A pace. In this case, it was perfect since Cotati is 10 miles from the house. I would simply ride to and from the start for extra miles.

The ride itself was uneventful. I was riding some roads I haven’t been on in a while and was really enjoying the scenery, the company and just being on the bike. However, there was a strong wind building up. As you can see from the profile, there were not any major climbs but we were constantly going up and down.

As we were coming back to Cotati I was starting to get that toasted feeling as a result of the terrain and wind. Finally, we only had about a mile to go and I was feeling good. That didn’t last because I suddenly remembered I rode to Cotati. Damn! This means I still have 10 miles to go directly into a head wind. Needless to say, I was very much toast by the time I rolled into the drive way.

I should have bailed on Sunday’s ride. Instead, I decided to head out with three close friends on their L2 recovery ride. Although the pace was going to be slow, we were aiming for 50 miles and climbing Sonoma Mountain. Initially, my legs were mush on every little hill we crossed but I was actually feeling very good by the time we reached the big climb.

That’s where it fell apart. I almost stopped two different times on the climb because I was loosing the strength, and will, to continue. Finally, it was up and over and I discovered that being toast didn’t impact my descending mojo as I flew down the hill. After one more small climb, we headed for home against another head wind where the team basically had to pull my tired ass all the way back with the promise of coffee from the Flying Goat.

These rides were tough but they should not have been that tough. This meant it was time for a little perspective and I discovered two things. The first was that I am slipping into weekend warrior mode where I don’t do a thing during the week and then hammer on the weekends. I am also not very good at assessing my current form. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to where I should be in May and not recognizing this is an off year.

The solution? It’s time to regroup. I am now staying completely off the bike to recover until June 1st. Then I will relaunch the 2010 season by dutifullyfollowing Coach Tim’s plan to get me ready for Levi Leipheimer’s Gran Fondo in October.

This means I will not be riding over the Memorial Day weekend and will get to enjoy three days of sleeping in and relaxing. Sherry is quite excited about this. My reward for being smart and not continuing to push myself. The recovery will help my riding and Sherry has already promised to make french toast.

Ciao!

A little cycling heaven

2010-05-19T07:06:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was almost a little piece of cycling heaven for me. Between events on and off the bike I got the chance to support my brother-in-law Mike, ride with great friends, and watch the pros sprint to the finish in downtown Santa Rosa. Yes, it has been a great three days.

Saturday started things off with Sherry and I supporting her brother Mike in his effort to run 40 miles on his 40th birthday. Mike did great (read Milestones & accomplishments for the full report) and I had a blast riding SAG. Of course, you might think my workout was not all that great since I was spending the morning on the bike riding next to a runner. You would be wrong.

I actually got in a great workout. It started with a time trial since I started almost an hour after Mike. So once I hit the road I warmed up a little and then started to hammer the pedals to catch up. Then I made an incorrect assumption about the course and didn’t know if I was ahead of him or behind him. I continued my time trial pace for almost 9 miles and when I didn’t see him I decided he was behind me. I turn around and start riding an active recovery pace. Three miles later I decide I am wrong again and he has to be ahead of me. So back into time trial mode until I finally make the catch. I also did a few climbs and then time trialed from Mike’s house back home. In the end, I had covered 60 miles in just about 4 and half hours of saddle time with some decent interval efforts thrown in for fun.

On Sunday, six of us headed out to some of my favorite roads. This was an L2 ride for the ride leader, which left us plenty of time to chat. While we did form the occasional pace line, it was mostly a quiet affair. The best part was that I was feeling great. I have not had great form this year and Sunday was the first time I felt like it was coming back. I was on the front quite a bit riding tempo and I just felt good.

After riding it was time to fulfill my final Tour of California committee duties. I headed up one of the fundraising activities. Basically, AEG allowed host cities like Santa Rosa the opportunity to become a Amgen Tour of California merchandise wholesaler. We would provide tour stuff to the local bike shops, they would sell it, and we would split the profits. It was an fundraising effort to help pay the costs of bringing the race to town.

Monday was our big race day and of course it rained. If you live in Northern California you know that it rarely rains this late in May. Still, it didn’t dampen our spirits and we were looking forward to a great race.

I arrive downtown around 10:00 to drop off the unsold merchandise. There I got to meet the two AEG staff members who I have been emailing over the last four months. I then ran a few errands for my friend David, who was the Chair of the local committee. In the process, I ran into many, many of my cycling friends and even met a few new ones.

As the race was drawing near, it was time for my reward for all the work I did with the merchandise. I took my little VIP pass and headed for my VIP tent, which was on the finish line. I won’t say how but I also got Sherry a pass. With the riders out on course burning up the miles we are eating delicious foods and drinking wine. Then we moved over to the barriers and enjoyed an unobstructed view of the final sprint for the finish.

There you have it. A weekend of supporting family, riding with friends, watching the pros and enjoying a little VIP treatment for my efforts. No wonder it feels a little like cycling heaven.

Ciao!

Milestones and accomplishments

2010-05-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

Today’s installment is dedicated to my brother-in-law Mike. I have written about Mike before, particularly his role in why I am such a cycling fanatic today (My ride with Mike). Saturday was a milestone birthday for Mike, and his twin sister Robin, as they turned 40. This is big, right? And while some people piss and groan about getting older, others plan big events. Mike is definitely a planner.

Mike has participated in triathlons and enjoys cycling. However, his passion is running. He has completed numerous marathons and can kick out a wicked pace when he chooses to. So Mike’s big 4-0 planned called for running 40 miles on his 4oth birthday. (I think drinking a 40 oz beer was also in there somewhere.) To help him out, he asked if I would ride in support. My response was a quick and simple “hell yeah!”.

As the magical day got closer, Sherry decided she also wanted to help out. Then we discovered that Mike’s daughter Kylie also wanted to join in the fun. Now we have a game plan. Sherry and Kylie would support from the car and I would provide support on the bike. It was going to be a fun day.

Saturday arrives and it’s go time. Sherry and I leave our house at 5:30 a.m. and head to Mike’s. He is already on the road as planned. Sherry loads his cooler and Kylie into the SUV as I unload the bike. Then we are off.

I start following the planned route but I made one wrong assumption, which put me in a position of not knowing if I was ahead of them or behind. Then I realized I didn’t know exactly when he left and that made the calculation for where he was even harder. So I spent some time riding the route and circling back. Eventually, I called Sherry and discovered I was about a half mile back. I finally make contact with them at around the 9 mile mark.

At 10 miles Mike was looking great. He was using his GPS to run a nice even pace, which he is very good at doing. As we enter Geyserville, there is a coffee shop open so Sherry, Kylie and I grab espressos and hot chocolates and watch Mike run by. Just outside Geyserville, I decide to take a detour and climb Canyon Road. When I caught back up, Pat, a good friend of ours, had joined us on the bike.

A very short while later, Mike hits the 20 mile mark and starts the journey home. He his still looking strong, running smooth and smiling. Soon his wife Jamie comes along with his son Lance. We now have 2 support cars and 2 cyclists providing support and companionship. Before the run ended, his mom and dad also joined the caravan for a while. Pat and I did another quick loop and then rode with or very near to Mike for the rest of the run.

After another stop in the Geyserville coffee shop on the way back, you can start to feel that he’s going to make it. That’s when his hip flexors started to bother him. That’s understandable since he has covered 32 miles at this point. With about 5 miles to go I asked if he wanted a coke. He had never done that before so Pat explained how a little sugar and caffeine can be just the ticket for finishing a long endurance event. He decided to try it and is now a believer.

The final miles were tough as expectd but he knew he was heading for home. On the last corner, I sped up to join the others waiting for him so that all of the glory was focused on him, as it should have been. There were pictures, hugs, and high-fives. His final time? How about 5:21 for 40.23 miles? In the end, his legs were tired and his hip flexors were starting to really hurt but otherwise you couldn’t even tell he had been running. He was thinking about doing a recovery run today but I hope he changed his mind.

I am so proud of him. Scratch that. The whole family is very proud of him. For me, there is just something awesome about anyone who sets such a monumental goal and goes for it. It just goes to show that if you put your mind to something and train (or practice) appropriately it is amazing what you can accomplish. And after that inspiring performance, I may just have to find my running shoes.

Ciao!

Wine Country Cols and Pavé – Ride 1

2010-05-10T07:11:00.001-07:00

In an ode to the Spring Classics in Belgium, Coach Tim put together his own version of a cols and pavé ride here in Sonoma County. His original plan called for one monster ride, however he decided not to kill us all at once and has now created a 3-ride series called Wine Country Cols and Pavé. Last Saturday was the first in the series.

There were indications that this was going to be an epic day long before we got on the bikes. First of all, Coach Tim can smell dirt so you know this ride will go off-road. Plus, Sonoma County pavé means riding some of the worse, beat up, pot-holed roads the county has to offer. This means we all converted our road bikes to cyclocross bikes as much as possible. For me, that meant riding on my older Mavic Open Pro rims with 28s (versus the 23s on the road) on my steel frame bike.

Finally, it’s Saturday and we all arrive bright and early at Howard’s Station Cafe in Occidental. After a lot of coffee and even more laughter we get ready to roll. We start down Bohemian Hwy, which is a beautiful road. This lasts less then half a mile before we turn onto some little dump of a “road”. Of course it’s still downhill and we are all freezing since it’s cold and we are not pedaling. That changed soon enough.

As we approached the turn for Morelli Lane, which Tim said we were not climbing, I saw him make the turn. I turned to my friend next to me and said “Find your triple, now!” About hundred yards later he thanked me. Morelli is just over 1 mile long and tops out at 18% grade. It was also the first of 11 climbs we would do that day.

We make our way to the Russian River where we continually turn left or right, go up into the hills and come back down. None of these climbs were long but they were all very steep in places. The most memorable was Scenic Drive. This was a 1 mile climb that maxed out over 20%. Plus, it was mostly a gravel fire road. This is were you could really feel the difference from road riding. You can climb steep pitches on pavement out of the saddle but not gravel. You need to keep your weight back to avoid spinning out. You still spun out occasionally and this starts to zap your strength.

This continued to Guerneville where we keep going after a quick water stop. The next col was Duncan Road. After another 0.8 mile climb with two 20% pitches, Coach Tim gave us an option. Down the road over a bridge and back to the river or through a locked gate onto another fire road. You know the answer. After passing through the gate we continued on the “road”, which at times was down to single track. Well, two flat tires and three bike portages over, or through, downed trees later, we were back on real pavement.

While we were at a coffee stop in Duncan Mills we realized it had taken us 40 minutes of ride time to cover the last five miles. Welcome to cyclocross. After refueling it was back on the bikes and out to the coast where our biggest climb of the day was waiting. Willow Creek.

Willow Creek is a five mile climb with back-to-back 20% pitches near the top. It is all fire road. By this time I was feeling the efforts so I just settled into my own pace. This was my first time and it was simply breath taking. The climb is long and those two pitches are tough but mostly I was able to find a rhythm and just keep going. Just as I was starting to loose my strength, I saw a woman pushing a stroller and I knew I was near the top. After Willow Creek, it’s a fast and smooth ride back down into Occidental where we enjoyed a lunch of burgers, beers and laughter on the patio of the Union Hotel.

In the end, it was the hardest 48-mile ride I have ridden. It was also one of the greatest adventures I’ve had on the bike. The challenges and camaraderie were awesome as we all rolled along waiting for the next climb.

This first ride was called River Snake. The next one is named Calistoga Delight and the third ride is Temple View. I cannot wait to see what challenges and adventure they have to offer.

Ciao!

Der Kaiser (via Copacabana)

2010-05-05T06:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, as I was looking for something on my computer, I ran across a file that immediately made me smile. You see, about 4 years ago I worked on a little project that was my re-entrance into creative writing involving Coach Tim. However, before I share it with you I need to provide two back stories.

To begin with, he wasn’t Coach Tim back in the day. He was der Kaiser. We all had nicknames in our little cycling group and Tim’s came from the fact he loved to taunt us with a German accent. Of course, Tim was stronger then the rest of us so that meant a lot of taunting. There was one short period when for many reasons Tim did not log a lot of bike time and he was not riding very strong. This was written during that time.

The second part of the back story involves Las Vegas. Sherry and I, along with Tim and his wife Marnie, were all heading to Vegas for a few days. Tim’s family has a timeshare so the room was free. To thank them, Sherry and I volunteered to arrange for us to see a show while we were there. When we saw that Barry Manilow was in town we immediately decided a practical joke was in order.

We plan to tell them about the fabulous Barry Manilow tickets we purchased over lunch a few weeks before the trip. But at the last minute something occurred me. What if Tim was a Fanilow? As we put the joke in play Tim’s eyes start to get big as we start talking about seeing Barry’s show. Sure enough, we discover that Tim loves himself some Barry and at the time had both Copacabana and Mandy on his iPod. While it created some great laughs at lunch, none of us were willing to spend $125 on tickets so there was no Barry Manilow for us in Vegas.

After dropping them off at home, Sherry and I kept laughing and chatting about our new discovery. It was during this chat that I came up with the line “He is der Kaiser, he is a cyclist” to the tune of Copacabana. Turns out that was just the beginning. After a few days of playing around, I wrote this. (Check out the video if you have forgotten how the song goes.)

He is der Kaiser, he is a cyclist
But he hadn’t ridden in so long now he wasn’t very strong
So he taunts riders to hide his suffering
And though he tries to pedal hard he isn’t getting very far
He plugs his iPod in and tunes to number 10
He hears Copacabana now he has strength once more

He hears Copa, Copacabana
He rides on with reckless abandon
He hears Copa, Copacabana
Sweating and grunting his pedals are pumping
When he hears Copa, he’s riding strong

He sees the leaders up in the distance
And while Copa is the song he’s still riding very strong
And so he’s gaining and riding faster
And then he gets his second wind as he really kicks it in
But now the next song’s on, Mandy’s such a sappy song
That der Kaiser comes in last and wonders what went wrong

He needs Copa, Copacabana
To ride on with reckless abandon
When he hears Mandy, he’s such a pansy
Weeping and crying there’s no use in trying
He needs Copa, to finish strong

His is der Kaiser and he was a cyclist
But now his cycling days are gone and his mind isn’t very strong
So he watches TV of others cycling
And he remembers sunny rides when his heart was full of pride
So he plugs his iPod in and tunes to number 10
Then he takes his brand new Lark out for a little spin

He hears Copa, Copacabana
He drives on with reckless abandon
He hears Copa, Copacabana
Yelling and cursing ‘cause his ass is still hurting
He hears Copa and rolls along

To make the ending to this story even better, a colleague at work is in a band and they have recording equipment. She actually recorded her husband playing the music and singing the new lyrics for us. It was awesome! Then as the 4 of us began our drive to Las Vegas, I asked Tim if he wanted to hear some music. His reaction was priceless.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a CD.

Ciao!

A talk with Paolo

2010-05-02T06:55:00.001-07:00

During yesterday’s windy, windy, windy ride with Team Revolution, I had to have numerous talks with Paolo. He just wasn’t being his usual carefree self that charges up hills, bombs the descents, and takes on the wind with a devil-may-care attitude. In fact, it seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all and he definitely was not interested in working with me to create an enjoyable ride.

Who is this Paolo character? Paolo is my bike! Yep, I name my bikes. My carbon Specialized Roubaix is named after Paolo Bettini because he was an awesome all around cyclist who won numerous races riding on a Specialized bike. My steel framed Jamis is named Phillipe, after Phillipe Gilbert who is a great rider on the cobbles of the spring classics and I just like saying his name. My single speed is simply The Vegas (it is a Specialized Langster with the Las Vegas paint scheme). Finally, there is the mountain bike, which I call the Sleeper because it mostly sits in the garage.

Yesterday, as usual, I was out on the road with Paolo. From the time the ride started I wasn’t feeling it. It seemed like I was working much harder then necessary to keep up with the group and get over even the smallest of hills. I am sure it was Paolo. I never caught him at it but I think he was closing his brakes ever so slightly. Or maybe he was deflating his tires just a bit. Either way, he was not rolling with the smoothness I that I know he is capable of.

When I asked him what’s wrong, he says “Nothing!”. But of course you can tell by his tone something’s up. I keep talking to him and begin to realize he is kind of pouting. Now I start to negotiate with him. You know offering things like new wheels, fresh chain lube, or a nice wash when we are done. I can’t even keep track of all the things I promised if he can just help me get home. Nothing except for some snide remark about having Phillipe help me get home!

Then it hits me. He saw me getting Phillipe ready for the road and he’s jealous. You see, in an ode to the spring classics, Coach Tim has planned a ride for next Saturday called Sonoma Cols and Pavé. We will be riding some of the worse piece of sh!t roads in Sonoma County so I am getting Phillipe ready to go. Apparently Paolo isn’t happy with this since he wants to go on this ride.

Now I start to remind Paolo that while I don’t have favorites, I do ride him the most. So far, he has seen over 1,300 miles of open road this year including trips to San Diego and Yosemite. What has Phillipe seen so far this year? The inside of our garage while sitting on the trainer. And Phillipe’s big adventure was going to see the inside of Coach Tim’s garage.

This seemed to do the trick. Just before one of our favorite climbs, and descents, I felt Paolo’s demeanor change and he was back to his old self. We climbed smoothly to the top and then bombed our way back down. He was awesome as he helped me fight the 9 miles of cross winds to get back home.

Of course, you may be wondering why I am putting my hard ride all on Paolo. It’s simple. I woke feeling really good and it was a beautiful day to ride. So the natural assumption has to be that my two colds, one crash, boat load of work, and overall lack of mojo so far this year had nothing to do with me not riding well. I am also quite sure that all of the flat routes I have been riding should have perfectly prepared me for Saturday's hilly ride. And if it wasn’t me then it had to be Paolo right?

Yet, even as I write this, the song Margaritaville keeps creeping into my mind. Hmmm! How does that last line go? Oh, that’s right - “And I know, it’s my own damn fault”.

Ciao!

PS. Sorry Paolo! Can you forgive me?

Flog, recover, repeat

2010-04-30T07:15:00.001-07:00

I will freely admit that occasionally I flog myself. It’s not often but it does happen on a regular basis. However, more frequently I am flogged by other people. It could be men, women, groups, younger people, older people, you name it. They all have their own rewards but pretty much leave you feeling the same way. Now, I was trying to figure out how to work chamois cream into this but since I just remembered my mother-in-law reads my blog I decided it’s time to drop the double speak and get on with it.

Of course, those of you who cycle know exactly what I am talking about. That flogged feeling we know so well comes from riding harder, faster, further or higher than you ever have before. It’s the kind of ride that when you finish you simply lean the bike against the garage, find your couch and curl up in the fetal position. As you slip into your “flogged coma” your last thoughts are “I hope whatever Sherry made for dinner can be blended and drank through a straw”.

The whole idea behind this is that pushing yourself makes you stronger. It’s that simple. But you still need to be smart about it. With flogging you need recovery if you are going to get the true benefits. As someone who started cycling a little later in life, recovery is an incredibly important aspect of my routine and fortunately, I have a coach that recognizes that.

Let’s start with the flogging bit. As mentioned earlier, you can flog yourself in many ways. It could be the first time you climbed that monster hill in your area or hung on to the back of a pace line going 28 mph when your average is closer to 18. It could be the first time you rode a century. The bottom line is that you are exhausted at the end and believe it or not that’s a good thing especially since it is frequently combined with a sense of accomplishment.

After a monster ride you obviously need to recover but that shouldn’t mean staying off the bike for the next couple of weeks. While rest is important, recovery rides are also an important part of the process. This is the step I think a lot of people miss. They have a “go hard or stay home” mentality with no recovery steps in between.

Here’s my normal weekly routine on the bike. Mondays are rest days, so I only ride when it’s a holiday. Tuesdays are when the floggings commence. I will normally do speed or hill intervals, push monster gears, and squeeze out every ounce of energy I have into one intense 90-minute workout. Thursdays are for active recovery rides. These rides are all about just enjoying the bike and cruising around at a good, but not intense, pace. Wednesdays and Fridays are also rest days.

What’s the difference between the rides? On flogging days my average heart rate will be 150 or higher and max HR will top over 180. On recovery rides, I don’t allow my HR to exceed 150 and usually end with a 125 average. I may raise the pace for a few minutes on my recovery rides but nothing drastic and I still stay below a 150 HR. Plus, as these two contrasting photos indicate, there is difference in how you look.

I apply the same principles to the weekend rides. Saturday is normally my go hard day. I push myself up big, big climbs, try to hang with faster riders for a little longer, or push longer distances. In the end, I am usually feeling the efforts but “I’m not dead”. That will be followed on Sunday with more active recovery riding that includes a lot of pre and post ride coffee chat with friends.

There you have it. My little secret for getting stronger and having fun on the bike. I am not espousing that this works for everyone but it works for me. I make the most of only riding four days a week with plenty of time for rest and recovery.

Now if you’ll excuse me, since it’s Friday I think it’s time for another cup of coffee.

Ciao!

Here’s to friends

2010-04-22T07:11:00.001-07:00

Well, today starts my final year in my 40s. That’s right! I turn 49 today and life couldn’t be better. Ok, if I was honest I would have to admit I might make a tweak or two but in the grand scheme of things life is good.

One of the reasons life is so good is my cycling and the circle of friends it includes. For family reasons I won’t go into, I did not make a lot of close friends growing up. I was on FB the other day and it suggested that I see who else from my graduating high school class was on FB. There are 204 classmates on FB and I only recognize about 5 names. I guess that’s why there are not a lot, or any, reunion invitations coming my way but I am really ok with that.

From high school it was off to see the world with the US Coast Guard. Of course I met a lot of people during my 10-year hitch but only had 3 close friends who I stay in touch with today. This was really more to do with people transferring in and out of your life and less to do about making friends. This was in the 80’s and I think I might have stayed more in touch with many of them if FB had been around in those days.

It was during this time that I met, and married, my best friend. After nearly 24 years of marriage I can honestly say to this day that I would rather spend time with Sherry then anyone else. Still, every couple needs that one thing they do apart to help them appreciate time together and that’s where cycling enters the picture.

I did not start cycling until I was 42. In the short 7-years since then I have met some wonderful people. I have developed some deep and lasting friendships and had some truly amazing adventures and experiences. I’ve logged close to 20,000 miles and most of time I was with one or more friends. And, I’m not done.

While I love pushing the pace, practicing pace lines and trying ever harder climbs, my favorite ride is still one where I am riding side-by-side with friends. The kind of ride where laughter is more important then heart rate. Rides where reliving shared adventures takes the place of interval training. You know, just riding for the joy of cycling.

And don’t even get me started on the pre or post ride coffee chats. These are just as important to me as the rides themselves. We go out of our way to make sure every ride starts at or near coffee. Hell, I’ll even drink Starbucks if it means laughing with friends for a few minutes before we roll on to our next adventure. In winter, it’s not unusual for us to design a ride around multiple coffee stops. For recovery rides, there’s always Coach Tim’s Big Ring Coffee Ride, which means the first person who goes to the big ring buys coffee for everyone.

Now it’s time to admit to one of the tweaks I would like to make in my otherwise great life. I want to do more of those types of rides. Over the last couple of years it seems my riding is taking on a much more serious nature and that needs to change a little. I mean, come on! I just turned 49 so I don’t think racing in the Tour of California is anywhere in my future. No, I need to remember the real reason I ride and that it’s really about hanging with friends.

Being a man of action means I need to make this happen. And happen it will! Soon! Until then, I will make the most of my big day today and wait to see what adventure awaits me on this Saturday’s ride. If my friends are there, I’m sure it will be great.

Ciao!

The “joy” of aging

2010-04-17T07:40:00.001-07:00

I seem to be having trouble getting 2010 on track from a cycling perspective. A unique mixture of no motivation, work (lots of work), health issues, and even a crash is taking its toll. As I write this I am recovering from my second cold of 2010, which kept me off the bike again this week.

Part of the issue is that I am getting older. Not old, just older. I was actually thinking about this the other day and decided that in my mind I am still in my mid-30’s. In reality, I turn 49 next week. Still, I am in some of the best shape of my life so I can’t really complain. Plus, there are 20-year olds at work who have no desire to ride with me because their afraid they can’t match my pace or distance. That helps me feel younger and always adds a bounce to my step.

However the signs of aging cannot be ignored. For me, this has nothing to do with gray hair and wrinkles. It’s not even my overall health, which I feel is excellent. No, it’s the changes in how the body responds that I am noticing the most.

Let’s start with overall fitness. I took less time off in this off-season then in years past. I participated in Coach Tim’s indoor training clinics from November through February. And still, I did not enter this season feeling as strong. WTF? So I am noticing that my fitness falls off just a touch faster and takes just a tad longer to regain.

I’ve already mentioned I am on my second cold of the season. I used to have 2 years between colds, not 2 months. I can’t ever remember a time when I had 2 colds so close together. Once again, it’s the impact on fitness that is the most damaging. I am recovering quickly from the symptoms but I can tell my strength is not there yet. All of this means I will now have to work harder to get back to where I was before the cold. Can you see the theme?

Three weeks ago I had a minor crash. It really was no biggie. I went down on my left hip and bounced more then slid. This left me with a decent bruise but no real road rash. I was even able to ride home. When I got home, I started the recovery process. Still, the next day I could hardly walk. Not because of pain but because of stiffness. The whole left side of my body just didn’t want to warm up. There is still some black-and-blue left from the bruise today, 3 weeks later. In my younger days that would be long gone by now.

Surprisingly, aging is also impacting my motivation. When I was younger and running the trails of Annadel the harder it rained the happier I was. There was something about going head-to-head with Mother Nature that made me feel alive. Now, not so much. If the weather is bad I am much more incline to reach for the coffee pot for a refill.

Don’t even get me started on how I dress. A few years back, wet weather Annadel runs called for shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Today, if the temperature is below 50 I am in tights. If it’s below 45 I’m looking for my sweat shirt. On any given winter ride you can bet I have on at least one more layer of clothing then everyone else.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not whining about getting older. Hey, it happens! There’s nothing any of us can do to stop it. I am just trying to be realistic about the effects and it’s impact on my life. I am guessing if I manage it correctly, I may continue to get older but I won’t slow down.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go ride my bike.

Ciao!

Cycling Therapy

2010-04-07T07:53:00.001-07:00

The first 3 months of 2010 seems to be a complete blur. This is especially true about work. Work has been solid crazy so far this year and that’s resulted in a fair amount of stress to deal with. Usually, I let the bike take care of that but the weather seems to be taking work’s side this year so that’s been a challenge as well.

Just like all of you, my work like can be quite challenging. It’s not a time thing. I rarely work more then 45 hours or so a week, which is a far cry from people working 60 or more. I don’t have a commute to speak of. I am less then 5 miles from the office and even with my morning cappuccino stop it only takes about 15 minutes to get there. I would actually ride there except I have to wear the whole “coat and tie kit” and I frequently have meetings around town.

It’s really more about the pressure and intensity, which is partly the result of the current economic situation. My job is much more taxing mentally then physically so I frequently have that “brain dead” feeling at the end of the day. Even with all that said, I do recognize that my issues are small compared to many others across this nation and I remain grateful for that.

I have 3 very successful ways of coping with the daily grind and refreshing my mind. I have my wonderful wife, a great (and expanding) circle of friends, and cycling. The first 2 are as strong as ever, however the cycling seems to be a little off. Last night, it all started to come around.

Last night was the first time this year I managed to ride, on the road, after work. This is where my short commute really helps out. I left the office at 6:02 and rolled out of the driveway at 6:30. Not too bad! It wasn’t going to dark until 7:40ish and it was a beautiful 71 degrees with just a bit of a wind. The perfect spring evening to ride.

The ride itself was fine. I did some hill work in Fountain Grove that allowed me to really work hard. I also came screaming down a few descents at 40+ mph. (By the way, don’t you just love riding by one of those police speed monitoring contraptions and noticing that you’re speeding?) In the end, it was only a 60-minute ride but at least that was 6o minutes I didn’t have to spend on the trainer. But it wasn’t the workout that mattered.

No, the real benefit last night was mental. I was enjoying being on the bike with the blooms and bouquets of spring all around. Birds were singing, creeks were running, and there was this shared feeling of happiness to be alive. That’s the feeling I can’t replicate when I am riding the trainer in the garage. I can mimic the physical nature of the ride but not the psychological (or dare I say, metaphysical) part.

I felt my mind begin to free up immediately. I changed to hill work from my original plan of just cruising around town. As I put in big efforts on the climbs, I thought of my many friends racing at the first Tuesday Night Twilights of the year and I was thankful they had such a beautiful night for racing. As I bombed back down the hill I thought of . . . well, nothing really because when you’re traveling at 44 mph you’d better be focused on staying upright. I thought of my Team Revolution mates learning new skills from our team director and hoping one night this year I can join them. By the time I got home I was feeling exhilarated.

Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps not. It’s more of an important reminder that we all need some form of escape. I know the next time I’m feeling stressed I will be reaching for the bike and not the aspirin.

Ciao!

Coding, not cycling

2010-04-04T17:16:00.001-07:00

Before you even started reading you probably noticed that things have changed just a little. Welcome to my new look. I’ve been thinking about making a change for while now but just haven’t found the time or motivation. Somehow, that all changed this week and I found both. I think it was partly due to the new logo.

Over the last 12 months I’ve felt there was too much wasted space around the outside of the blog. I started researching other blogs and quickly decided I liked the 3-column look much better. So, I began searching for a 3-column template but never found one to my liking. Not even close and I have probably looked at a couple of hundred templates by now. Then, I found a blog post explaining how to change the HTML code to create my own 3-column template. Did I really want to try that? I read through the instructions and it seemed pretty straight forward so I decide that I will give it a try when I have some free time.

What made today the day? Well, just take a look at the picture to the right. As you can see, it is another cold, wet, and windy day here so I decided to spend the morning coding, not cycling.

It was actually kind of fun. I was able to make the initial changes and, after fixing few mistakes, I had the basic 3-column template complete. Of course, the template I started with was different then my original so while I achieved the overall layout I was hoping for it did not have the right look and feel. At least, not yet.

I then continued on to learn about creating code for enhancing color schemes, adding padding (some technical term) for the right spacing, playing with column widths, and other odds and ends until I ended up with what you see here. Of course, since the columns are set up differently, I also spent some time deciding what was going where. I have to say that once the template was re-designed all of the other work was just drag-and-drop kind of stuff that was very easy. Lastly, I called on the powers of Sherry’s creative eye for colors to make everything sync just right.

I also decided it was time to update and refresh some of the photos including the title. That’s Chris, Mr. Fitness Journal, and I riding in Monument National Park outside Boulder, Colorado. I think it’s only fitting that Lee’s Life Adventure pay homage to one of my greatest cycling adventures ever.

You may see more enhancements in the future but for now I hope you enjoy the new look!

Ciao!

Lee, meet Karma

2010-03-29T07:00:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I was given two pretty blatant reminders about what happens when you start to think to highly of yourself. So, let me tell you a little story so that perhaps you can learn from my mistakes.

Last Saturday, I was heading out on my second Team Revolution ride. Our options were a 51 mile route with some significant hill climbing or a more moderate 35 mile ride with rollers. As Saturday approached, the weather was offering a picture perfect spring day in Sonoma County. I should have been very excited except I wasn’t.

The problem was time. As in, not enough of it. Sherry and I have an unspoken rule that I am always home by noonish on weekend rides so that we can spend time together. That was going to be challenging since the ride started at 8:30. As I am running the numbers, such as distance, speed, feet of climbing, etc., I have a concern about when we will be done and opt for the shorter ride. To be honest, I am a little bummed that I won’t get to do the climbs.

Still, I want to go further then 35 miles because, to be honest, that doesn’t sound like much of a challenge (big mental faux pas). That’s when I created my new plan. I would ride to and from the start. This added 20 miles and would get he home by 12:30. Cool! I am still bummed to miss the climb but at least I am getting in a decent ride.

Let’s cut to Friday night when Sherry asked what time I would be home on Saturday. I explain that since we have appointments at 2:30 my goal is to be back by 12:30. Then she reminds me about our eye exams at noon. Damn!!! I completely forgot all about them. Now I need to be done by 11:30. Long story short, it doesn’t matter how I run the numbers I realistically only have one option – drive to Windsor and ride 35 miles. Now, I am down right pissy about the ride. I even e-mailed Coach Tim a profanity-laced rant about how short my ride would be the next day.

Saturday dawns as the perfect day to be on a bike, for any distance, but still I was stewing about only going 35 miles. I hung with friends during the pre-ride coffee and although it helped I am still in a mood. As the ride starts, I am continued to focused on the “lack” of miles instead of enjoying the day, the scenery, and the time spent with friends.

You know what happened. At around mile 16, Karma climbed out of my jersey pocket up to my shoulder. Upon arrival she bitch slapped me so hard I couldn’t keep up with the group and got dropped. She then spent the next few miles throwing out anchors and basically making me work my ass off while continuing to fall further behind. When the 35 miles were done I was totally flogged.

You might think that was the end of it but no. Once you get on Karma’s bad side, she lets you know it for a while. She rode with me again on Sunday where she took the form of exhausted legs from my “short” ride the day before. As a parting gift, she bounced me off the pavement (that means I crashed for my non-cycling readers) at around mile 16 so I turned around for a long, painful ride home. And the total mileage for the day – 30 miles.

The bottom line is that I started taking rides for granted. I started to think a little too highly of myself and my cycling abilities. I started thinking that I was too strong to only ride 35 miles. The result? I was either struggling or in pain after my respective 35 and 30 mile rides.

I am actually feeling fine this morning so I think she is done with for now. However, you know she’s not far away. I will do my best to ensure I don’t get on her bad side again and can’t until the next ride, no matter how long it is.

Ciao!

A mishmash of cycling stuff

2010-03-21T08:32:00.001-07:00

Thanks to recent trips to San Diego and Yosemite, all of my latest blogs have basically been ride reports. That’s fine because they were some really, really great rides. However, there are a few more interesting things that have happened as well. Since none of them are really long enough to have its own blog, I offer you this collection of random stories. Are you ready?

Let me start by pointing out my new logo for Lee’s Life Adventure. If you are one of my FB friends, you have already seen it or you may have noticed it just appeared not to long ago. The logo came about after a conversation Coach Tim and I had one night after a training class that went like this.

Tim - “Do you have a logo for your blog?”
Me - “No! Why?”
Tim - “If you did I would put it on the ESP Fitness Training jersey.”
Me - “I guess I’m getting a logo.”

So that’s what I did. I am proud to say that I came up with the concept. However, it took the efforts of a very talented graphic artists to bring it to life. So far it seems most people think it’s pretty cool.

On Monday, after my drive back from San Diego, I got the chance to head out on the West County Revolution Old Pros ride. What made this ride kinda of cool was that we rode many of my favorite roads. As much as I love riding in new places, I have to say I live in one of the best cycling areas in the world. It’s nice to be reminded of that from time to time.

There is one other antidote from the Old Pros ride. After topping a steep, steep little grunt of a hill, I was breathing very heavy. Next thing I know, I have Steve’s hand in the small of my back pushing me along. He tells me to stop pedaling and just take deep breaths. It was awesome! Nothing like having the team sponsor looking after you on a ride.

Speaking of our new team, the Team Revolution kits are done and I think they look freaking great and I can’t wait to start rolling around Wine Country flying the new team colors. It will be an interesting change from our current rides where we resemble a race peloton with all of our mismatched kits.

Returning to riding, yesterday was the first day of Spring so you would think I would be out riding all over the place. But alas, it was not to be. Coach Tim has me doing back-to-back recovery rides. As much as I hated missing out on the beautiful Spring weather, I was very fatigued at the end of last season because I did not spend enough time recovering. I don’t want to make that mistake again.

The shorter recovery rides gave me time to get some yard work done and start seriously planning the next big cycling adventure, which will be France in 2011. I will turn 50 next year so Sherry and I, along with 4 other couples, are heading to France. As part of the trip, all of the cyclists in the group will climb Mont Ventoux. I can’t wait.

As to my more immediate future (I mean like in an hour or so), well that involves our new stove. Now, I can already hear the question. Why is Lee talking about a new stove in his cycling blog? Well, it’s like this. The new stove has a central oval burner with a griddle over it, which is perfect for making what? You guessed it. French toast!

It’s quite funny to me how a joke about french toast that I made over a year ago continues to hang around. People will actually ask me about it if I go too long without some form of french toast reference. I guess there are worse lots in life then having to eat Sherry’s fantastic french toast on a regular basis.

There you have it. A mishmash of thoughts and stories all somehow connected to the great sport of cycling. Now if you excuse me, I smell french toast cooking.

Ciao!

Cycling in Yosemite

2010-03-19T07:35:00.001-07:00

It’s not often that I get the opportunity for back-to-back cycling adventures so I try and make the most of it when I do. After an awesome 4 days of cycling in San Diego, Sherry and I went to Yosemite National Park for a few days. Among the items all neatly pack on the SUV was my road bike.

Sherry and I have visited Yosemite many, many times. I have driven through the park, cross country skied on the valley floor, hiked to the top of Half Dome, and tooled around on a comfort bike, however this was the first time I was planning on doing any extensive cycling. You could say I was a little excited.

The plan was to speed down to Yosemite and enter the park via the central entrance on Hwy 140. However, it has been a few years and somehow we ended up entering through the northern entrance on Hwy 120 (and by “somehow” I mean I took the wrong route). No biggie! This is actually our favorite route to Yosemite so we just rolled with it.

The silver lining to taking Hwy 120 was it afforded me the opportunity to preview the road. My riding plan for the next day was to cycle Hwy 120 from the valley floor to the turn off for Tioga Pass. Our route would take us down this road so I would get a good idea of its ridability. As soon as we pass the road to Tioga Pass I knew my riding prospects were slim. There was still a fair amount of snow and ice on the road. The road was also very narrow, more so then I remembered, and had people flying by in cars, trucks, and RVs. Then I reached the longest of 3 tunnels, which is about ½ mile in length, very dark and has no shoulder. As this point, Sherry expressed real concerns about me riding this particular road. I agreed.

We spent Monday relaxing and checking out the sights. We also changed hotels from the Yosemite Lodge to the Ahwahnee Hotel. One of the sights we visited was Tunnel View, which is a scenic vista that gives you a view of the entire valley. The road to Tunnel View goes all the way to the Badger Pass ski resort, however the vista is only one and a half miles from the valley floor and the road is in pretty good shape. I decide that I can make it there safely and now I have a plan.

I need to deviate from my story for just a minute. I have an amazing wife who allows me to have these little cycling adventures on our trips. And by that, I mean she is ok with me spending time away from her on our vacations to cycle. After seeing the road, she even volunteered to follow me in the car instead of spending her time reading in the Ahwahnee’s great room like she originally planned. How cool is that?

Tuesday is another crystal clear sunny day. After sleeping in and eating breakfast in the Ahwahnee’s magnificent dining room, I finally hit the road. As I cycled along the valley floor I am in awe of what surrounds me. I immediately slow down to enjoy the ride and the scenery. This was cyclotourism at its finest. I completed my short climb to Tunnel View followed by a kick ass little descent. Once I got back near the Ahwahnee, I had only ridded 18 miles so I decided to ride the entire valley floor loop again. This time I rode with one hand, or no hands, as I was taking pictures. When all was said and done, I rode a very easy 30 miles in spectacular scenery.

As you can imagine, it was not the effort, or the climb, or the challenge that made this a great ride. After all, it was only 30 miles with less then 1,000 feet of climbing that took nearly 2 hours. No, it wasn’t the ride but the setting that made this such a memorable cycling adventure.

Ciao!

Mont Palomar – awesome!!!

2010-03-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite cycling adventures is going to a new location and riding its most infamous climb. When cyclists visit Sonoma County we ride King Ridge. In San Diego, they take you up Mt. Palomar.

Climbing Mt. Palomar was very exciting to me. I learned about it watching Stage 8 of the Tour of California last year. As I watched the pro riders work their way up the switchbacks of the l’Alpe d’Huez of California I became infatuated. I also knew that one day I would have to climb this mountain for myself.

As a result of my infatuation, Mt. Palomar became a focal point of the San Diego road trip. However, it was going to come after two hard days of riding and I was concerned about how well my legs would hold up this early in the season. The original plan called for climbing Mt. Figueroa on Thursday, Mt. Wilson on Friday and finally, Mt. Palomar on Saturday. Each one of these climbs included 4,500 feet of climbing so you can see my concern.

Then our plans changed. After dealing with the epicness (I love poetic license) of Mt. Figueroa, we headed towards Mt. Wilson. On the way, Brian started checking the weather. Friday was looking very nice for Mt. Wilson however Saturday’s forecast for Mt. Palomar was rain, snow and high winds. We made the unanimous decision to climb Mt. Palomar on Friday.

There was one order of business to be conducted on the way to our hotel. You see, the bikes were covered in mud and dirt from the Mt. Figueroa climb with its two miles of non-pavement. Then Brian came up with the brilliant idea going to a coin-operated car wash. He consulted his connection to life (his Blackberry) and found just such a place about a mile from the hotel. We found it with no problems and $2.50 in quarters later the bikes were clean. We never even took them off the car.

Finally, we checked into the hotel, found an awesome Italian restaurant for dinner, and then kicked back and relaxed. Brian once again called on the powers of his Blackberry and started reading us stats. Surprisingly, they helped. Yes, it was a 13-mile climb but it never goes above 10% and averages 7.5%. On Mt. Figueroa we dealt with long grades of 10% or more and topped out at 18%. The bottom line, Mt. Palomar was beginning to sound like a climb where you could find a rhythm.

Friday morning brought more beautiful blue skies and soon we were in the car and on the road. After a couple of hours, we pulled into the Indian Casino where we were staying and got ready to head out.

For us, the climbing began 400 yards after we left the parking lot. Then we each settled into our rhythm and started what would be two hours of climbing. And climbing. And climbing. After 6 miles we turned left onto a smaller road with less traffic and climbed some more. I was feeling great and any concerns about my strength vanished as I floated my way up the climb.

With a mile an a half to go, I finally started to feel the fatigue of two hard days in the saddle. Still, I kept turning the pedals in a steady rhythm. Finally, I looked up to the right and saw Tim’s Fitness Journal kit shining like a beacon from the top. A few minutes later, I was there.

We all headed over to the restaurant and quickly consumed hot chocolates. Then it was time to head back down. Of course, it’s freezing so we put on every article of clothing we have, stuff newspapers into our jerseys, and start the descent. A mere 30-minutes later we were once again enjoying our favorite recovery drink in the parking lot of our hotel.

There you have it. Another great climb in the books. To be honest, after the mud, wind and snow of Mt. Figueroa, Mt. Palomar was a fairly routine climb. However, it absolutely lived up to all of my expectations and makes we want to find more mountains to climb. In the meantime, I’ll remember the awesome day I spent on Mt. Palomar with friends.

Ciao!

PS. For those friends who know I am currently in Yosemite, I promise stories about that adventure next.

Mt Figueroa – an epic ride

2010-03-11T08:13:00.001-08:00

The first ride, and by ride I mean climb, on our recent San Diego road trip was Mt Figueroa. This route started in the quaint town of Solvang so that was the destination on our first night of driving. A very long 6 hours after we started, we arrived in Solvang in a pouring rain. In fact, it had rained for most of the drive down.

After the heavy rain of the night before, we were pleasantly surprised to wake up to brilliant sunshine. After a quick breakfast, we got ourselves and the bikes ready to head out. Although there was a very strong wind, we were still grateful to be riding in the sun for a change.

The lead out to Mt Figueroa was gorgeous. We quickly left the town behind as we rolled along the same roads used in the Tour of California time trials in years past. There were open pastures with spring flowers, vineyards showing new growth, and numerous horse ranches. However, Mt Figueroa was always visible in the distance, covered in snow, just beckoning our arrival.

We turned on to Happy Canyon Road and knew the easy part was over. In our experience, any road with the name “Happy” isn’t. Still, we rolled along for a few more miles and then started the climb. Just as we get started Tim flatted. So Brian kept going as I waited for Tim. As soon as we restart, Tim pulls away (he’s a stronger climber) and I find myself climbing alone.

I managed to find a good rhythm, even though the grade was constantly changing. After a few miles, I passed some firefighters clearing brush from the side of the road and was reminded that no matter how hard I was working on the climb, I was out there for the fun of it.

Then I came around a corner to see Brian and Tim stopped. Then I notice the pavement ends and the road turns into a soupy mixture of mud with firm patches of ground here and there. Brian tried to make it but his tires became caked with mud. After I arrive, Tim hesitates long enough to say “Get a picture!” and off he goes. As we watch him climb out of site we wait just a few minutes before we realize he’s not coming back.

Now it’s our turn. I hit the dirt section in a low gear and try my best to find a firm line. I was not always successful so the tires and frame is collecting enough mud that I can feel the weight difference. At one point, I spun out and had to unclip and put my foot down. Great! Now my cleat is covered in mud. So I walked to a firmer section, clean out my cleat and started climbing again. This happened twice before I made it through this 2-mile section of “road”.

With the mud behind us, we started a short descent that included two stream crossings, one that was fairly deep and running fast. Next thing you know we are climbing once more. At this point we are only half way through the climb and the second half is harder. We dealt with miles of sustained grades in excess of 10%. To add insult to injury, we were frequently riding into a strong headwind.

Finally, after 12 miles and 4500 feet of climbing we reach the summit. Now we get to fly down the descent. At least that’s what we thought. As we start the descent, we follow a curve from the sun into the shade and onto a road covered in snow and ice. So, we gently make our way through about a mile of very dicey road before we are back in the sun and on dry pavement once more. However, the very gusty crosswinds still made the descent tricky so we all took our time and made it down safely.

With the climbing done, we made our way back to town aided with a 1% downgrade and an awesome tailwind. This really allowed us to spin out our legs to get ready for the next day’s climb. Finally, we reach the hotel and begin drinking our “recovery” drink before heading to lunch.

This climb definitely redefines epic for me. Long climbs, mud, stream crossings, snow, ice, and gusty crosswinds all made it quite an adventure. However, it is an adventure I would highly recommend to everyone.

Ciao!

San Diego road trip

2010-03-08T07:44:00.001-08:00

There is nothing like a good old-fashion road trip to break up your routine and I just got back from a fantastic one. The plan called for Tim, Brian and I to drive and cycle our way down the coast from Sonoma County to San Diego where the trip would culminate with us riding the Gran Fondo San Diego. This trip has the word “epic” written all over it and it did not disappoint.

After months of planning, we were ready to debark. With bags and bikes packed, Tim and I rolled from my house around 5:30 pm. After a quick trip to Sonoma to get Brian we are southward bound and full of that special excitement and energy that you can only get from hanging with the boys. As we rolled towards the Golden Gate Bridge we were already imagining the adventures that awaited us. The only slight issue that dampened our spirits was the heavy rain.

After a quick dinner in San Francisco at Rubio’s, we kept heading south. About an hour later our road trip enthusiasm started to fade. Our goal was to reach Solvang, which would be a 6-hour drive. What in the hell made a bunch of 40+ year old guys think we could work all day and then drive 6-hours in the pouring rain like a bunch of college frat boys? We finally reach Solvang just after 1:00 am and we were totally wiped out.

Thursday morning we were pleasantly surprised to discover there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. So after breakfast we hit the road. Our destination? Mt Figueroa. This ride will get its own blog post so for now let me just say it was epic. Nearly 50 miles and 5000 feet of climbing.

After the ride, we ate lunch in Solvang and then hit the road again. Our destination this time was Woodland Hills where we would rest up for our climb up Mt Wilson on Friday. However, as we made the 3 hour drive, Brian checked the weather and discovered that Mt Palomar, Saturday’s destination, had predictions of rain, snow and high wind. Well, we were all more interested in climbing Mt Palomar then Mt Wilson so we changed our plans.

Friday morning had us back in the car on the way to Mt Palomar. We arrived around noon and got ready for another epic climb. I have to say however we were still a little flogged from Mt Figueroa and numerous hours in the car. After another adjustment, we decided to simply climb Mt Palomar as an up and back route. Once again, this ride will get its own story but I will say it was basically a 13 mile climb with 4400 feet of climbing followed by a matching descent.

On Saturday, we finally arrived in San Diego. After checking into the hotel, we went out for a short, easy recovery ride that was awesome. From the downtown harbor, we rode out to the end of Pt Loma and back. On this day we were playing the role of cyclo-tourist. We pedaled lightly and rode with our heads up soaking in the views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean.

On the way back, we stopped to check in for the Gran Fondo. We then grabbed lunch (at a brew pub of course) and settled in to relax. As we did the storm promised by the weather people began to arrive. Soon it was raining sideways. However, it was supposed to be gone by morning and Sunday was going to be scattered showers.

That’s not the way it turned out. Sunday morning was still pouring. After waiting at the start for almost an hour, I was already squeezing water out of my gloves. Knowing we still had an 8 hour drive ahead of us, we finally decided that riding for 4 hours in the pouring rain wasn’t going to be fun so we turned in our timing chips and headed for home.

Now, you may think the trip was a disappointment since we didn’t ride the Gran Fondo. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although we were a little bummed to miss that ride, it did not take way from a great trip.

We may try it again next year. Who knows, maybe the weather will be more cooperative. In the meantime, we will keep riding together in Sonoma County and share stories about our awesome road trip to San Diego.

Ciao!

A glimpse of days to come

2010-03-02T07:02:00.001-08:00

I just assumed that after my full blown rant about the weather in Saturday’s post that Mother Nature would get even on Sunday in a big way. It didn’t happen. Instead, she provided us with a glorious day on Sunday and I think everyone in Sonoma County was outside. Yes, it was just that nice and just a glimpse of the days to come.

I was a little concerned at first. I could see the heavy fog bank to the west. I kept waiting for it to roll in and take away the early morning sunshine. That didn’t happen either. It was a little chilly, a balmy 38, but I’ll take cold sunshine over warm rain any day, so just before 8:00 I was on the bike and heading out.

I was meeting a group of folks in Larkfield for some easy hill climbing. On the way, I was joined by 2 friends who were also coming along on the ride. For some reason I felt like we were running late. So as we started the 5.5 mile ride to meet the group I got into my TT position and lifted the pace. Nothing crazy. I wanted to add a touch of speed but still be comfortable. Then I looked down and saw I was cruising at 22 mph. My friends were still with me so I just kept going and we didn’t stop until we arrived at Larkfield 10 minutes early.

Although it was just the beginning of the ride, I was feeling very strong. I was surprised at how smoothly and almost effortlessly I was holding that pace. I’m really starting to see the benefits of those indoor trainer workouts I despise so much. It’s also a sign that I will be ready for the harder rides I know this summer will bring.

The ride was promoted as a “no stop” ride with the exception of fixing flats. That means if you stop, the group keeps riding and you have to chase back on. We held a nice steady tempo all the way through Healdsburg and out to Mill Creek Road, which would be our first climb of the day. The route also called for climbing Pine Flat later in the ride. Since I leave for San Diego tomorrow, I was self-imposing a time limit that meant I would not get to ride Pine Flat so I decided to test my strength and conditioning on Mill Creek.

Of course, I don’t want to be an ass and look like I am attacking off the front. I also did not want to take the time to tell everyone why I was going to ride hard. Instead, I took advantage of the “no stop” rule. Just before Mill Creek I did stop to peel off one layer of clothing before the climb. As advertised, the group kept riding. By the time I was done they were quite a ways ahead of me.

Now it’s time to push the pace. However, I need to ride smart because this my first time on Mill Creek so I don’t know to expect. When I made the turn, I could see the group ahead already starting to string out on the climb as everyone settled into their own tempo. One by one I pulled them back over the next couple of miles. I was not going flat out. Instead I selected a “lifted” pace and held it to the top. In the end I caught 5 of the 8 people in front and was feeling incredibly strong.

By the way, Mill Creek is now one of my favorite roads, and climbs, in Sonoma County. It is an out and back so their is very little traffic. The road follows Mill Creek, which was simply stunning on Sunday, fresh with all that rain I was complaining about on Saturday. It is a beautiful route that climbs through redwoods, vineyards and meadows. On most days you’re much more likely to hear the cry of a hawk versus the sound of a car. I will definitely being riding this road again. A lot!

So there you have it. A glimpse of the beautiful weather, strong riding, and new climbs that await me in the days ahead all wrapped into one awesome ride. I can hardly wait.

Ciao!

Our first (non) ride

2010-02-27T17:32:00.001-08:00

Damn rain!!! We were supposed to have our very first official Team Revolution Presented by Fitness Journal ride this morning. All week long there was supposed to be a big storm on Friday with only a few lingering scattered showers remaining Saturday morning. HA!!! I get up this morning at 5:00 am as usual and it is raining. Strike that, it’s pouring. To add insult to potential injury, there is also gusty winds swirling about. It was almost as if Mother Nature was daring us to ride our bikes today.

It was time for action. Not the good kind of action like pulling your bike out of the garage and rolling down the street. No, this action was pounding the keyboard versus pounding the pedals in a desperate attempt to find some weather web site or satellite image that would give us hope. It was not to be.

Image after image, site after site, told the same story. It was going to keep raining. Damn rain!!!

Really, my problem isn’t with the rain. We need water to survive. I get that. I love my green hills and the lovely spring flowers. I enjoy the beautiful streams and cascading waterfalls that form after a rainy winter. No, my problem has more to do with scheduling and accountability.

We have already had some gorgeous spring-like weather in Sonoma County. However, it has been improperly scheduled for Monday through Friday. I want to know who the hell thought that was a good idea. Why would you ever put the nice weather during the work week and then have it rain on the weekends? Haven’t these people heard of Camelot?

So day after day I sit in my office and watch white fluffy clouds float by against the backdrop of a beautiful blue sky. And while this may help the whole work-stress issue, it doesn’t help my cycling. Then Saturday rolls around and the clouds turn dark and mean and nasty. They bear down on you like you’re some little middle-Earther with a ring and a mission.

How do you know it’s been raining a lot during the prime riding times? When you have more hours logged cleaning your bike then riding it, that’s how. I mean, really! Even on the days it wasn’t raining, it hasn’t been that nice. We have started a few rides already this year with clear skies above while we rode in the cold, wet, soupy fog below.

Now, let’s change gears and talk about the weather people. I purposely did not use the word meteorologist because that might imply there was some science behind their daily version of truth or dare. You know what I mean. This is when they tell you the forecast and dare you to believe it’s the truth.

What happens when these soothsayers are wildly wrong? Where’s their accountability? I realize that predicting the weather is not an exact science. I know Mother Nature has the best curve ball in the business and is not afraid to use it. But at 5:30 in the morning when I am looking at a web site icon that shows the sun while it’s pouring down rain outside I can’t help but think it’s time to bring back public floggings.

If you haven’t already guessed, we ultimately cancelled this morning’s ride. As excited as we were to get the first official ride on the books it just wasn’t worth it. One of the hallmarks of Team Revolution is having fun on the bike. I haven’t met the entire team yet, but I feel safe in saying that none of them would say 3-hours of sucking down road spray from the tire in front of them is fun.

Ok, I’m better now. I just needed to get that out of my system. Before long, Wine Country will be bathed in that special brand of bright sunshine, gorgeous skies, and gentle breezes that makes our houses cost so much. I’m sure I can hold out until then.

In the meantime, I leave for San Diego on Wednesday for 4-days of riding in sunny Southern California. But I swear, if it rains while I’m down there someone’s getting flogged.

Ciao!

It’s not for the exercise

2010-02-24T07:08:00.001-08:00

Right now I should be out on the trainer. I don’t mean figuratively, I mean that literally as I am typing this I should be on the bike. A very long work day made me miss Coach Tim’s class last night and I need to get back on track this morning since I have dinner plans tonight. And yet, here I sit drinking coffee and writing a blog instead.

There’s a very good reason for this. The one thing I’ve concluded over the last few years is that I hate to exercise!!!

Now, I can already hear the wheels turning in your head. You’re asking how in the heck can a guy who averages 5,000 miles a year on the bike not like to exercise? The answer is quite simple. Riding my bike is not exercise. After all, the name of this blog is Lee’s Life Adventure and not Lee Exercises on a Bike.

Maybe it would help if I provided my definition of exercise. For me, exercise is any activity designed to inflict pain without the benefit of socializing or even post-event coffee. Where’s the fun in that? I don’t want to exercise. I want to do things, go places, and laugh with friends. That’s why I ride. It’s not for the exercise.

Let me put just how much I loathe exercise in perspective. Last week, I was going with the A-team on the Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride. These guys and gals are strong. We were only riding 45 miles but it would be fast. I knew I would have trouble hanging on. I knew that I would probably be dropped. I knew it could be 3 hours of pain and that I will be exhausted when we arrived at lunch. And I could hardly wait.

Let’s compare that to riding the trainer. Let’s say it’s Thursday and Coach Tim’s plan calls for a 45 minute L2 recovery ride with a few L3 efforts thrown in to mix things up. I see that on the training plan and my first thought is that he’s insane. How am I ever going to last for 45-minutes. I mean, really! That’s almost an hour. There’s no way I can last that long without losing it mentally.

That’s when the anti-exercise Lee shows up on my shoulder dressed as the devil from the Tour de France. “You don’t have to ride the trainer today” he says. “You don’t have any big rides coming up soon so why not sit down, relax, and have another cup of coffee.” I only need to hear this little voice once and I am reaching for the coffee pot.

This is not just a cycling thing. If you’ve read this blog in the past you know I can’t stand core workouts. There is no way to do a core routine without calling it exercise. It’s the same with running and swimming. Put me in a pool with a group of people engaged in a rowdy game of keep away and I’ll swim all day. But after 10-minutes of swimming laps in that same pool I’m ready to shoot myself (or the person who suggested swimming laps).

Now, before all you exercise nuts out there get started, let me tell you that I totally understand the benefits of exercising. It makes me stronger. It can help me ride faster and blah, blah, blah. I know all of that but I still don’t have to like it. And since I am adult, at least in terms of age, I get to make my own decision, which this morning is coffee 1 – trainer 0.

There is good news on the horizon. The days are getting longer and soon my “exercise” routine will take me out of the garage and onto the open road. That’s when I can leave the anti-exercise Lee sitting in a comfortable chair as I go do 90-minutes of power intervals, speed drills, or hill repeats.

Until then, I think I’ll just pour another cup of coffee and hit the publish button.

Ciao!

Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks

2010-02-22T07:01:00.001-08:00

For me, there is nothing quite like clipping into the pedals and starting a ride with 40 or 50 other riders. To me, the sound of all those shoes clipping in says it’s time to go have fun. Yep, there’s nothing better. That is unless you know that the ride is going to end with a 3-course meal at one of our finest restaurants.

That is the concept behind the Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks rides. A group of like-minded cyclist all get together for a little riding, a little chit-chat, some great food and a lot of laughs. It’s hard for me to imagine a better way to spend a Saturday.

The latest rendition of this monthly ride was last Saturday. We were starting in downtown Santa Rosa since lunch would be at Bistro 29. As we gathered at Peets Coffee, you got the feeling this was going to be a great day. By the time we rolled at the appointed 9:15, there were close to 50 cyclists of varying degrees heading out to enjoy a beautiful morning on the bike.

We roll out of the city along the bike path on our way to West County, which by the way is the same name of the bike shop that host these rides. Ok, it’s really the West County Revolution Bike Shop but let’s not get caught up in the details.

We roll along chatting, laughing and enjoying the ride until we hit our first climb of the day on Graton Road. Everyone settles into their own pace and starts to climb. Since I know we are regrouping at the top, I feel there is no need to get there quickly. I am actually riding with Coach Tim so we decide to do low-cadence power intervals up the climb and that worked out quite well.

Side note – I tried to hold Tim’s wheel to the top but he has been mountain biking a lot lately and that always makes him a kick-ass hill climber.

At the top, we are splitting into 2 groups. As we are waiting for others to finish their climb, I notice my rear wheel is very soft. Just then our SAG wagon appears. So as everyone else heads out, I am pumping up the back tire. Then Tim and I chase down the group to start the next big climb.

I was about a half mile up the climb when I notice the rear wheel going soft again. Damn! I tell everyone to keep going and start to change the tire. Once again, just as I was starting to pump it up, a cyclist in a car stopped and offered his floor pump. Sweet!

Then things turned ugly. As I was remounting the rear wheel I noticed the chain had a loop in it. WTF!!! Ok, don’t panic. I solved that problem and try remounting the tire again. Now the tire will not completely slip into place. No matter what I try, the tire is sitting at an angle and rubs the frame with very revolution.

Eventually, I walk the half mile back down the hill to Occidental. I get there just as the group is finishing their loop and Tim heads over to see what’s up. Embarrassingly, the spring on the skewer is backwards but since I have had the tire on and off numerous times, I never thought to check that.

So tire fixed and humble pie consumed, I get to head out with the group once more. The rest of the ride was awesome. We powered back up over Graton and then bombed down Harrison Grade. The lead-outs and attacks for the city limit sign started early and resulted in all of us pushing a solid pace to the end.

Then we got our just reward. A scrumptious 3-course meal prepared specifically for our group by Brian Anderson, an accomplished cyclist himself, of Bistro 29. Although the main course was simply divine, I think the real winner was the salty frites already on the table when we arrived.

So there you have it. Another Saturday of cycling and eating my way through the best Sonoma County has to offer.

Ciao!

PS. Once again I would like to thank Carmen who is becoming the semi-official photographer for this blog. Thanks for the pictures Carmen!

Better then sitting on the couch

2010-02-17T06:41:00.001-08:00

Last night was my weekly trainer ride in Coach Tim’s ESP Fitness Training Studio. Ok, it’s really his garage but fitness studio sounds so much better. Anyway, I have written before about how I enjoy the social aspect of these weekly workouts. Last night promised to be a great time, with a great workout and I didn’t want to go.

Yesterday was one of those hard work days. You know, nothing out of the ordinary, it just seemed harder then most. Mentally, I was fried and wanted nothing more then to sip a little wine while trying to become one with the couch. Fortunately, I decided that the idea of chatting with friends while getting stronger on the bike as a better option. So no matter how much I tried to convince myself to go home, I found myself driving to Tim’s studio.

Even on the drive my mind kept creating scenarios that allowed me to skip the workout. Maybe there wouldn’t be enough room for me even though Tim can handle up to 8 riders and we typically only have 4 or so. Or, even better, maybe no one else would show up and I could convince Tim to skip the workout and open wine.

Alas, as I pulled up, I see the other three regulars already setting up. Damn! As I walked up they all said hello and I think I grunted back some response. Then they start teasing me about my cycling attire. I have to go to Tim’s straight from work so I was still in my business suit. Some of the comments were pretty funny but I don’t remember laughing. During all of the this my mind was telling me that since the bike wasn’t set up yet it wasn’t too late to head home.

Less then 10 minutes later I was changed and on the bike warming up. We start the intervals Tim has planned and I do not have it. Physically, I am fine, maybe better then fine. These weekly workouts have made a much stronger rider. Mentally, well that’s a whole different issue. Normally I can easily spin away all of day’s stress and grind but not last night. I just couldn’t shut down the work side of my brain. Plus, this is shaping up to be a tough week so I can expect more of the same.

It’s time to make a command decision. Either get off the bike and go home or man-up and get on with it. I choose the latter without ignoring that I wasn’t mentally into the workout. Ultimately, I decided to keep going but drop everything down a notch.

This meant riding at a lower cadence and heart rate then everyone else. Tim would tell everyone they should be at L3 and I was at L2. Next we would hear go up to a cadence of 90-95 and I would stay at my comfortable 85. I started to bonk thanks to a healthy dose of dark chocolate hearts consumed earlier in the day (another indicator of stress) but I was able to ride through it and persevere.

Finally, the cycling part was complete and we started our strength and core workout. Honestly, I was still looking for excuses to leave but at least I know we are almost done. I am also finally starting to feel a little better. During the core workout we were joking that there is not as much chit chat now as there was in November, which is directly related to increasing toughness of Coach Tim’s plan.

Once we were finished, Tim and I were chatting about the adjustments I had to make to get through the routine. In the end, it was decent, but not great, workout. However, although it may not have been the workout I had originally planned, it was better then sitting on the couch.

Ciao!

Ouch, this is going to hurt

2010-02-14T11:16:00.001-08:00

Let me start by saying that yesterday’s ride kicked my ass. It was a combination of monster climbs, big pace lines, and a little too much testosterone that got to me.

Yesterday, 15 of us headed out from Freestone for a 60 mile ride that started at the Wild Flour Bakery. The plan was to ride part of the Grasshopper Adventure Series road course. Next Saturday is a road race from this series and I have few friends who will be riding and wanted to scope it out.

While this ride was not particularly long by our standards it was by no means going to be easy. You see, we would be climbing the strong side of the Marshall Wall. If you don’t cycle, let me just say that the slang “wall” simply stands for one long, steep, bad-ass hill climb. For a glimpse into our day, here is the profile of our route. The Marshall Wall is the section that goes straight up at mile 20.

As we start rolling, I immediately get the impression this will not be the moderate pace ride as described. There are just too many people who can hammer the pedals. Still, as we head off at a brisk pace, I am feeling very strong and relaxed. At this point I’m thinking it’s going to be a good day.

We hit the first little climb, which is short but steep. I go over 4th or 5th which is a little unusual. As we head for the coast, we start our second climb and things changed. I was not feeling good at all. My stomach was getting upset and I started to overheat. I backed way of the pace, dropped of the back and tried to recover.

I stayed this way all the way to the town of Tomales. A couple of folks starting asking how I was doing because they could tell I wasn’t quite myself. Out of Tomales, we followed Tomales Bay until we turned onto the Wall. The pace was very brisk on the road to the Wall so once again I hung back and did my own thing.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. I was riding with Carmen who was being very disciplined with her training. Her coach wanted her to stay at L2 for the entire ride. So between her discipline and my stomach we managed to hang together and just chat away.

The climb up the Wall actually went very well. Carmen and I dropped to our lowest gears and just spun our way to the top. Surprisingly, the more I climbed the better I felt. We bombed down the descent and once again the lead pack takes off and this time I purposely choose to let them go.

Finally, we finish the major climbs and start back towards the bakery. There were 4 riders off the front so some of us went after them. As we caught them I stayed at the same speed and simply went around them. Now the race was on as the group started to chase me down.

Honestly, my intent was to start a nice pace line. Instead I inadvertently instigated a series of attacks. There was some hard riding as people attacked and others tried to grab wheels. After a couple of miles I looked down and we were doing 29 mph. That’s when my lights went out. So I sat up, watched them ride away, and waited for Carmen, who was still sticking to her plan.

Carmen and I basically rode the rest of the way back to the bakery together. The true hammerheads had quit regrouping and the rest of the riders where going further. Although tired, the vision of freshly baked scones kept us going.

Everyone made it back to the bakery where we enjoyed scones, coffee and laughs. I think my stomach problem resulted from too much effort up the first climb and once I recovered I was fine although, some of my fellow cyclist didn’t buy that excuse and suggested I should be tested for doping.

How do I feel today. I actually feel great. I was going to go out for a 2-hour recovery ride but it is all wet and foggy so I decided not to. Besides, Sherry made french toast and that’s all the recovery I need.

Ciao!

PS – Thanks to Carmen for the photos.

Not your normal day on a bike

2010-02-11T07:14:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday’s ride actually turned into an event for me. It was the first day in weeks without rain, I was riding with one of my good friends to watch another friend race, and it had that “your crazy” factor I look for when telling non-cyclists about my plans. It also ended up being similar to the week before in that it occurred in three parts and ended with me time trialing home. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The plan? Brian and I were going to ride from his house in Sonoma over to Napa to watch another friend race in the Cherry Pie Criterium and then ride back. It’s only 25 miles each way but to non-cyclists it seems like an impossible distance.

We take off bright and early from Brian’s. The sun is out and even though it was quite chilly at 34 degrees, we didn’t really notice. We left early which meant we could ride at a sensible pace through the vineyards of Carneros where the mustard plants are in full bloom. About half way there another rider from our group, Adam, caught up with us and we finished the ride together.

We arrive at the race just before 9:00, which is perfect since Scott races at 9:20. While Brian was calling to find out where he was warming up, I watched the juniors who were racing. It was awesome and our local team, Team Swift, was performing very well.

On the way to meet Scott, I saw many of my cycling friends such as Dan, Kashy, Michael and others who had already raced of were racing later. We find Scott and just start chatting away while he is warming up on the trainer. Then we pack everything into his car while he heads to the start line.

At 9:20 exactly the Elite Cat 4 race is off. Scott has a simple goal. He wants to stay in the lead group for the first 20-30 minutes to get an intense workout and get into the racing season. However, as they start counting down laps to the finish, Scott is with the lead group. On the final lap, Scott is sitting 6th wheel and has a legitimate chance at a top 3 finish.

The peloton comes across the finish line about 30 strong. Scott wasn’t in the top 3 unfortunately. In fact, we didn’t see him cross the finish line at all but with a big pack it’s hard to pick out individual riders. So Brian and I head back to the car since Brian has his car keys.

This is were things got interesting. We get to the car but no Scott. No worries, he’s probably just cooling down. So we wait. And we wait. I ride back to the start line and still no Scott. It’s now 30 minutes after the race and he’s still not around and Brian and I need to start heading for home.

We asked the announcer if there was a crash and he says no. As we are pulling away he then calls Brian’s name over the microphone. Uh oh! He tells Brian to go see the guy at the start line with a white truck. As we roll up I see Scott’s bike in the back. That is definitely not a good sign. Long story short, Scott crashed on the final lap, broke his clavicle and was in route to the local hospital.

We go back to Scott’s car and load both his bike and Brian’s into it. Brian then drives to the hospital and I head for home. My ride home was going to be another sensibly paced ride but now I am running late. I had called Sherry and she was completely understanding but I still wanted to get home as soon as possible. So just like the Sunday before, I was back in the time trial position and hammering the pace. It was a strong ride that felt really good so I know my interval training is really paying off.

The update on Scott is that he is in good spirits and recovering. I actually have never known Scott not to be in a great mood. He is also planning his next race and asking when he can start spinning on the trainer. I know he will be back soon stronger then ever.

The rest of my fellow cyclists survived their races just fine. In fact Soda, who I ride with regularly, took third in her race.

There you have it. I am so glad we rode over to watch Scott race. His crash was unfortunate, but it was great that we were there to help out. Brian also got some great stories about what a crazy guy like Scott says when he’s feeling no pain.

I hope everyone had a chance to get out and ride last weekend with perhaps just a little less adventure.

Ciao!

Beware of Bibendum

2010-02-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

There are a lot of opinions in the world of cycling but only a few truths. For example, a Roadie and a Dirt Rat can argue all day about their opinions on whether road cycling is better then mountain biking but at the end of the day they both agree to the truth that it’s harder to go uphill then downhill. And here’s another truth. If you ride a bike at some point you are going to get a flat.

Here in Sonoma County it’s flat season. This is when Bibendum, the official name of the Michelin Tire mascot and God of Flat Tires, is at his busiest. Don’t get me wrong, I deal with flats all year but it’s always a little worse in winter. I once heard Paul explain why to Phil during the Tour de France. Paul explained that when it rains “all of the bits of stuff from the road actually stick to your tire like flies to paper. . .” (you should have read that with a British accent).

Cyclists who think they will never get a flat are a lot like people on their way to catch a flight and hoping they won’t have to go through security. That’s not going to happen and neither is riding without the occasional flat. It’s kind of funny in a way. They’ve seen other riders flat and still don’t think it will happen the them. Then one day they hear that unmistakable pffffff. The expression on their face tells you they just saw the security line.

I have many, many stories about flats. There was the time I rode through thorns and my rear tire flatted and as I was changing it I heard the front tire go pffffff. Are you kidding me? A twofer? I flatted a third time less then 2 miles down the road and Mr. Fitness Journal, Chris, gave me his spare tube. Just to show us that Bibendum has a sense of humor, Chris flatted a week later and that’s when he remember giving me his spare tube, which he never replaced.

I have run over thorns, glass, nails, you name it. Perhaps my most interesting flat was when I ran over a utility knife razor blade one day on the single speed. There was no pffffff. The blade sliced open the entire rear wheel and the air was gone in a second. In this case, just to show he can be merciful, Bibendum allowed this to happen close to home.

I’ve even had flats when riding the trainer in the garage. If it happens to the front tire who cares, unless you are on rollers. If it happens on the rear wheel then you have to deal with it. My method always involves giving up on the training session and going back inside for a cup of coffee. I just assume it’s Bibendum’s way of saying he doesn’t want me on the trainer that day.

Can you avoid flats? No! However, you can minimize them somewhat by paying attention to your tires. It cracks me up when people complain about always getting flats and then you look at their tires and wonder how they even get out of the parking lot. I mean really, if your tires have so many deep nicks and gouges that you get flats rolling your bike from the garage to your car then for Bibendum’s sake buy some new ones.

Like all Gods, Bibendum requires that you pay homage. The cool thing is he gives you a choice. You can either spend a little money replacing your tires when necessary or you can pay the equivalent sum in tubes and CO2 cartridges. Being preventative also means you get to choose between replacing your tires in your warm garage with a cup of coffee nearby or changing a flat on the side of the road while cars go flying by and your fellow cyclists stand around taking deep breaths and telling you it’s ok that your flat just broke up the best pace line of the season. The choice is yours.

Now, go out and inspect your tires before your next ride. After all, if you decide to chance it, Bibendum will be happy to join you on the ride and say hello. It sounds a lot like pffffff!

Ciao!

A tale of 3 rides

2010-01-31T18:43:00.001-08:00

Well, here is the first semi-serious ride report for 2010. And not just any ride report but one that talks about three different rides. The funny thing is that all three of the “rides” I am going to write about happened on a single ride on the road. If you read further, I promise it will all make sense.

This weekend was shaping up as something special because my new best friend NOAA was saying that there was no rain in our forecast. We’ve been dealing with a ton of rain and everyone was anxious to get off their trainers and out on to the open road. They weren’t wrong and I think every cyclist in Sonoma County must have been on the road.

On Saturday, we dealt with a lot of fog, some overcast clouds, and just a little sunshine but no rain! It also warmed up and at one point on the climb, which was the second “ride”, I was able to push down the arm warmers and enjoy the warmth.

So how did I end up doing three different rides in the same day? Well, it was one part feeling great on the bike, one part monster climb, and one part completely misjudging when I would be home.

Enough chit-chat! Let’s talk about the ride.

The “No Chain” ride
We started with pre-ride coffee in Windsor. There were five of us heading out to ride the Geysers followed by Pine Flat. These are both big climbs. We took off at a moderate pace and I realized very quickly that I was having a “no chain” ride.

If you are not familiar with the term, it refers to turning the pedals so easily that you feel like you don’t have a chain on the bike. I can also tell you it doesn’t happen very often for me. As we rode along, I actually lifted the pace a bit too strong and dropped one of our riders. So we regrouped and settled into a pace that allowed for plenty of socializing along the way.

At this point, I was comfortably cruising along at a nice L3 heart rate level but that all changed when we hit The Geysers.

The Climb
As soon as we turned onto The Geysers climb I knew my no chain pedal turns were done. Since the season is just starting I decided not to push this climb since there was a second climb coming. So when it got steep I went straight to the triple up front and the 27 on the back, found a rhythm and just kept rolling.

I was enjoying the climb when I started having trouble with the back cog. The chain kept dropping off the 27 and into the spokes. Finally, I decided to stay in the 25 and deal with it when I got home. Now, the difference between the 27 and 25 from a physical strength standpoint is not that great. I should easily have the strength to turn the pedals even in the 25.

However, the psychological difference was huge. Of course, this happened in the steepest part of the climb so I quickly found my L5 heart rate. I felt myself really struggling with the bike to get up the hill. Ultimately, I told myself to man up and ride. So I found a new rhythm and continued to the summit.

The Time Trial
At the top, I realized it was 11:00. I told Sherry I expected to home around noon. What the hell was I thinking? After we go bombing down the descent, I decided to skip the second climb and head home. After all, husband points are more important then miles at this point in the season.

After saying my goodbyes, I got into the time trial position and start hammering. I managed to mostly hold a strong time trial pace and cadence all the way back to the car. It was a pretty intense work out and by the time I reached the car, I was toast.

There you have it! On just a single rode without a chain, worked my way up a monster climb, and then time trialed to the car. Not too bad for an early season training ride. Of course, the rain is scheduled to return this week. Hopefully, it will be clear by next weekend and we can do it all over again.

Ciao!

Things are getting serious

2010-01-27T21:55:00.001-08:00

Things are starting to get pretty serious around here. At least in regards to the role that cycling is starting to play in my life. Seven years ago when I first started cycling I never imagined it would come to this. I just thought I would be this dude who went out on the bike now and then and did things like half ironman distance triathlons that made all his couch potato friends think he’s crazy.

I am not sure what qualifies someone as a serious cyclist but I am going to assume that cycling over 10,000 miles in the last two years counts. I now have 4 bikes and have to wear matching kits on all rides. When Sherry catches me alone late at night with my laptop she assumes I am looking at new bikes. I have socks that say I “heart’ bike porn. Yes, you could safely say I am consumed by this sport of cycling and all it has to offer.

So, where’s the serious part?

Let me start with riding. I am coming out of the off season and starting to ramp things up a bit. Nothing crazy. A little higher intensity and a little more climbing. But the real indicator is that I have switched back to my sports drink versus just drinking water. I am also “practicing’ eating on the bike so it becomes second nature on harder rides. Like robins returning in spring, this means the season has changed and it’s go time.

I also have my writing. In addition to this blog, which I am committed to updating more frequently, I am seriously contemplating writing a book. I have had some tremendous adventures and it might be interesting to get them recorded in a single place. Coming back the blog, I have set an unofficial goal of at least 6 or 7 posts per month. I am also creating a logo for the blog that Coach Tim is putting on the cycling kit he is designing. This might pose quite a challenge but with a little extra sports drink I think I can do it.

I am also a guest contributor to the West County Revolution Bike Shop’s newsletter Power to the Pedals. My final bit of “writing” is helping Coach Tim with his FB fan page and his website.

I am thrilled that Santa Rosa will once again host a finishing stage of the Amgen Tour of California. My friend David, who works for the city of Santa Rosa, is the Chair of the committee making this go smoothly. I have agreed to Chair the sub-committee on merchandising and I am busy contacting local merchants to place Tour of Calendar stuff in their shops for sale. So basically, I am contacting every bike shop in Sonoma and Marin county.

Wow! That all sounds like a lot of work so let’s get back to riding. As I mention recently, West County Revolution is starting a new cycling team, Team Revolution. I will be on that team not only as a rider but as a ride leader, sponsor-getter, route finder, and just about anything else they need help with to get his team up and running. It sounds like a lot of work, but they hooked me by holding the team meetings at Flying Goat Coffee.

This will be a great group of guys and gals to ride with and I can’t wait until we hit the open road. Our first official ride is scheduled for February 27th but many of us have ridden together before. I am getting so serious about this team that yesterday I officially became a licensed cyclist by the US Cycling Federation. Now don’t get too excited. This was really just a $60 charitable contribution to the cycling federation with the option that allows me to race. Surprisingly, the only qualification necessary to be a licensed Cat 5 racer is the ability to navigate PayPal.

So there you have it. As you can see, cycling is keeping me very busy. And it’s not just riding. Although it may seem like a lot of work I am having a blast with it all. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll even make my living connected to cycling in some fashion.

Until then, I have to go write my article about the last Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride.

Ciao!

Water is child’s play

2010-01-25T07:14:00.001-08:00

Editor’s note: This was reposted with the picture.

Last week, all of my fellow cyclists in California were trying their best to ride before the forecasted storms. The weather people had been trying to scare us for days with talk of a storm track that was going to bring heavy rain and high winds to most of California. They didn’t lie. We were pounded by torrents of rain that at times seemed to be coming down sideways.

Santa Rosa averages 6.25 inches of rain in January. Last week we received over 7.5 inches in 5 days. This was enough to cause some minor flooding in local creeks and roads. Cyclists out braving these conditions were constantly posting FB pictures of these flooded areas with warnings to avoid those roads for a while.

With all of this water falling to ground, you just had to know that if you chose to ride last weekend you were going to get wet. Still, there was supposed to be a little break in the action so many of us were out riding while we could.

For a lot of reasons, Saturday had me only riding with Dennis from our little cycling group. It was supposed to be partly sunny but as we rolled out of my driveway it was starting to rain. No worries. We were dressed for it and decided to just keep rolling. We headed down to the bike path to follow Santa Rosa Creek out of town. We did this to not only avoid cars but we were interested in how much water was there. It was a lot. At one point, the path goes under a road and you could tell that whole section was recently underwater.

We continued to ride out towards Laguna de Santa Rosa, which almost always floods. Sure enough, as we approached we saw the “Road closed due to flooding” sign. However, we both know the road here drains quickly so we kept going. As anticipated, the road was clear but there was water everywhere and once again you could tell there was flooding in that area.

We then headed out to Occidental. The plan was to take Bohemian Highway into Monte Rio. This is a beautiful road that follows a creek that is nearly dry in the summer but on Saturday it was roaring along its path towards the Russian River. The flowing water, the green hills, and the dozens of small waterfalls flowing into the creek made for a magical journey.

By this time, it had quit raining and we were mostly just dirty from road spray. In Monte Rio, we decided enough was enough and it was time to head home. We followed the Russian River back to Martinelli Road and into Forestville. From there, we followed the West County Trail back towards home.

It was on the bike path that things got interesting. We ignored another sign warning us of flooding. I mean, it’s a bike path so how deep could it be? Of course, the flooded sections were all in the only section of the path that is not paved. We hit the flooded section and rolled on through with the water barely reaching the bottom bracket. As we scoffed at the flooded sign we came around a corner and had an “Oh Sh!t” moment.

The second flooded section looked deep. Still, we decided to “man up” and keep going. With each pedal turn the water got deeper and deeper. At one point, our water bottles were under water. With each turn of the pedals your foot never cleared the surface. But it was short and we were able to power through it laughing like school kids the whole time.

We went through one last flooded section on a small wooden bridge and as we looked back Dennis mentioned we should have a taken a picture. So, I went back through the water to the other side and returned slowly as Dennis snapped away with his phone. As I cleared this flooded section a second time I heard Dennis say that it didn’t take. So, back through for a third time. Man, the things we do for pictures.

In the end, it was more of a playful adventure then a serious bike ride. We saw both the power and beauty of Mother Nature while pedaling our bikes through water like a couple of 10-year olds. There’s nothing like a little water to bring out the inner child in all of us and I can’t wait to go “play” again next weekend.

Ciao!

P.S. There will be some serious bike cleaning going on this week.

Viva la Revolution!

2010-01-17T21:53:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I went out on the Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride. This is a new monthly ride sponsored by West County Revolution Bike Shop, which is one of my favorite bike shops ever. Surprisingly, this is not a write-up about that ride. If you want to read about the ride, you will have to wait until it’s published in the WCR newsletter. Instead, this blog is about the shop.

I discovered West County Revolution (WCR as we call it) just over a year ago at the first ever Viva la Revolution at Riviera ride. This is where I got the opportunity to ride with Team BMC cycling pro Scott Nydam (read My ride with a pro cyclist for more about this ride). This is also the first time I met Steve, one of the owners at WCR.

So what makes a bike shop so great? Well, in my mind, it starts with great people who share a passion for cycling. In fact, the passion for cycling is so strong it overrides the desire to make “easy” money. We all know, or have been a victim of, the "up sale” bike shop. You know what I mean. The shop that will sell people, especially newbies, much more expensive gear then they need. WCR is not like that.

The owners of WCR, Steve and Bradley, have both ridden and raced bicycles for years. Bradley also started OrganicAthlete, a community of athletes dedicated to promoting an organic, vegan lifestyle, and provided some nutrition tips to help my vegan friend David participate in Ironman Arizona last year. So yes, you could say these boys have a passion for cycling.

That brings to the next thing – relationships. It is evident to me that WCR believes in the concept that helping people enjoy cycling to the fullest makes good business sense. Their business model appears to put making relationships ahead of making money. It seems they feel that if you treat people right, the rest will take care of itself. In today’s world of depressing business headlines, I find this approach quite refreshing and one I can easily support.

There is one more critical attribute a shop must have to be great. It has to support the cycling community. And not just the local hammerheads but everyone from the weekend warrior to the family out for their weekly Sunday fun ride. WCR has this covered.

I’ve already mentioned the Riviera ride. I also mentioned their new Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride. This is a monthly ride that starts and finishes at one of Sonoma County’s fine restaurants. There are always at least three courses, one the fast guys and gals, one for more intermediate riders and a route designed just for families. Yesterday, we had all three routes and finished with an awesome lunch at Rosso Pizzeria. Next month we will be lunching at Bistro 29.

WCR recently launched their new periodic newsletter Power to the Pedals to which yours truly has provided an article. If you follow the link to the latest addition you can read about the Soup Spoons & Carbon Fork philosophy. You can also read about WCR’s new cycling team being formed. Of course, in true WCR fashion, this is not just another bike shop team. This team will be about much, much more then racing. It will be all about having fun on the bike. And I want to be part of that fun.

Just to drive the point home, let me tell about this morning. I went out for a short 30 mile recovery ride that took me near the shop. So I decided to roll by and see what was happening. As I got there, Team Swift was just leaving for their training ride. So I was chatting with Laura about Team Swift and Team BMC when Steve walked over. After some more chatting about cycling, I casually mentioned that I would be coming by later for new cleats. Steve promptly walks into the shop, comes out with my cleats and simply says “Stop by and pay whenever you get the chance.”

There you have it. A cool guy, supporting a local development team, and trusting a loyal customer to pay him later for gear he gave me today. This is what WCR is all about.

I hope that each cyclist out there is lucky enough to have a local bike shop like West County Revolution to keep you riding. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go put on my new cleats.

Ciao!

2010 is finally on the road

2010-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

As you can probably guess from the title, I finally got out of the garage and out on the road. However, last night I was back in the garage but what the hell. That’s winter for you. And even though I can now say I’ve entered the open road, it was a very gentle entrance. More like turning into an elementary school driveway and less like entering the freeway.

My first road activity was actually a run. Last Friday I went out for a short little 3-mile effort. It was my first run since the horrible cold and sinus infection that took me out for most of December. In the six weeks since then, my focus has been getting strength back on the bike. Still, I wanted to bring back the cross training. How did it feel? In the end, the best I can say was it fell into the it-hurt-but-was-worth-it category.

Saturday was the first road ride of 2010. I met friends Sarah and Soda at Flying Goat, where we chatted and drank coffee for a bit before heading out. The plan was to head towards Healdsburg, ride part of Sweetwater, and head back. I think we all assumed the ride would end with more coffee at Flying Goat.

Once we got going however the plans changed a little. Sarah was racing the Early Bird Criterium the next day and so we did not want to push it too hard. So we skipped Sweetwater and it’s very hard climb altogether and rode on to Healdsburg. We were actually having a great time riding even though it was very cold and grey. Fortunately, our conversation and laughter help ward off the cold as we rode back to Santa Rosa.

As we neared the end of the ride we realized that none of us drove to Flying Goat so we really didn’t need to go back there. We decided to add one more little climb and finish with coffee at Centro Espresso. You gotta love a ride that starts at one of your two favorite cafes and ends at the other one.

The plan on Sunday was to sleep in, eat Belgian waffles, and then take The Vegas (my single speed sled) out for a spin. The plan worked perfectly until I started down the street on The Vegas and heard a really weird noise coming from the rear hub. So back home to grab my other bike and I’m off again. This was a recovery ride and fairly routine. I did do two time trial intervals for the fun of it. Well, that’s not entirely true. One of the intervals was to stop from getting caught from behind. I was originally planning on 40 miles or so but it was yet another cold and grey winter day so I settled on 27 miles instead.

As I was heading home I considered calling Sherry to see she wanted to meet for coffee. I ultimately decided against it and instead decided to just head home, change out of the bike gear, and then go out for coffee. Of course, in thinking about all this I now wanted coffee. It was then I saw the little drive-thru coffee stand, Highway Espresso. Sherry had a cup from there recently and spoke very highly of it. So I roll up, order a double espresso, and drink it right there at the window all without ever clipping out of the pedals or getting out of the saddle. It must have been a pretty funny sight.

Last night it was back to Coach Tim’s garage for another episode of cycliste de garage. I still love the social aspect of riding on the trainer with a group of people. We are supposed to ride this weekend but it looks like rain. If it does, a bunch of us will again set up in one of the garages for 2-hours of riding and chatting.

There you have it. A little running, some easy riding, and Belgian waffles on a Sunday morning. You could definitely argue that I’m not in the fast lane yet but I at least I am now heading in the right direction.

Ciao!

Le cycliste de garage

2010-01-07T08:00:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know, my other passion is wine. In particular, I am a fan of big red wines from California, Tuscany, and Bordeaux. It was in Bordeaux, in the early 1980’s, that a new wine making technique came into fashion. People would plant vineyards on very small plots of land and then make great wine that was sold at ridiculous prices. In many cases, these wines were made in the garage and therefore became known as vin de garage or garage wine.

That’s how I am feeling these days. I am a cycliste de garage. For the past couple weeks every “ride” has been in a garage. Now granted, it is winter so it’s cold and wet outside. There is also the issue of not enough daylight before or after work. But mostly, I think I just miss the open road.

I know I am not alone in feeling this way. There are a few of my fellow cyclists who don’t mind riding on their trainers. They have Facebook debates about fluid trainers versus rollers, post how long they rode, and some even track mileage. But most of my cycling group simply tolerates the indoor trainer as an evil necessity at best. I definitely fall into the latter category.

The question is – Can being a cycliste de garage make you a better cyclist in general? Wait, that can’t be the question. Cycling pros log hundreds of hours on indoor trainers in the off season to stay strong for upcoming races. So the answer is obviously yes. No, the real question is – Can I become a better cyclist? Damn, that’s not the right question either. Of course, that answer is yes also. But am I motivated to use the indoor trainer to become a stronger rider? Bingo! That’s the real question!

Enter Coach Tim and his Tuesday Night Indoor Training classes. In November, Tim started running these classes in his garage. These are not spin classes. There is no music, just Tim constantly telling you what gear to push, what heart rate zone to be in, and where your cadence should be. And they are very challenging especially since you don’t know what’s coming next.

It is amazing to me how Tim can replicate a road ride with the way he structures the class. We have practiced endurance rides, pace lines, and hill climbs. In our class this week we did a 20-minute hill climb with another 10-minutes of rollers when we reached the top. I don’t want to give away his secrets but it he accomplishes this through a very strategic mixture of gearing, heart rate and cadence.

The riding portion of the class last about an hour but don’t relax yet because you’re not done. Next comes strength training followed by core work and stretching. If you did it right, you are one tired puppy when it’s over. You also can’t wait until the next class.

For the me, there are two reasons Tim’s classes are effective. To begin with, it really helps with motivation. It is a great group of people who take these classes so there is always plenty of banter and joking. That is until Tim tells us to increase our efforts and we have to focus on breathing, keeping the rhythm, and not pushing ourselves to point of wanting to puke.

This leads me to the second reason these classes work for me. It’s all about the effort. I work much harder at these session then I would ever push myself alone in my own garage. Even tonight, as I do my best to cycle in Hawaii, I know that I will not go as hard as I did last Tuesday.

Is it working? You betch ya! This week I was feeling very strong on the bike. It was the best I have felt since getting over my horrendous cold. My core and upper body are also getting stronger.

When it’s all said and done, I really enjoy the classes because it brings back the social aspect of cycling that I enjoy so much. Now, I’m not saying I’m going to turn into a fine Bordeaux wine but I will be stronger as a result of starting my year as a cycliste de garage.

Ciao!

2010 off to a slow start

2010-01-05T06:28:00.001-08:00

Hello. My name is Lee and I haven’t ridden my bike yet this year.

Yes, 2010 is off to a very slow start but I’m ok with that. Even though the year started off with a 3-day weekend, the planets just didn’t align for my bike and I.

On New Year’s Day it was supposed to be storming so I slept in. Of course it wasn’t and a lot of my friends got out and rode. By the time I decided to head out it was storming but c’est la vie. I did try the trainer for about 30-minutes but I really don’t count that as a ride. Plus, it was supposed to be 60 minutes on the trainer but my pre-workout consumption of hot chocolate made that quite impossible.

On Saturday we hosted a dinner party for 9, including ourselves, who would all be staying over until Sunday morning. Between prepping the meal and getting the house ready, there was no time left for a ride. However, the good food, outstanding wines, and great friends where worth every second I didn’t spend pedaling. (You can head over to my other blog, C’est la belle vie if you want to read more about the dinner.)

Sunday morning was cold and foggy so I spent the morning eating freshly baked chocolate croissants and drinking mimosas with our house guests. By around 9:30, all of our guests had headed home so we began the clean up. To be honest, we finished around 1:00, which gave me time to sneak in a ride but at that point I was setting a record for most days in the new year without riding so I rolled with it, so to speak.

So I was thinking about what I should post and I realized that I have not shared my 2010 goals yet. But first, how did I do in 2009? Well, to be honest, just ok. I did reduce my mileage by 1,000 miles but that is only a 20% reduction and not the 30% I originally planned. I did spend much more time riding with groups but not enough time on other activities like hiking and kayaking. I definitely slept in more days and ate plenty of Sherry’s french toast and Belgian waffles. Most importantly in 2009, I just had fun riding my bike and was constantly reminded about why I will continue to ride.

That brings me to 2010. What does this year have in store. Well, I’m not sure yet. How’s that for honesty. I know I am doing some big rides this year. I am already registered for Levi’s Gran Fondo in October. I have at least 4 century rides planned and 3 of those happen before June. I may try the Terrible Two again. I may even try a few local road races (although probably not crits).

This means that as I say good-bye to 2009, I guess it’s also time to say good-bye to my off-season. My first 100 miler is in March, and it includes significant climbing, so I’ve got to get down to business. I received my training plan from Coach Tim yesterday so it’s go time.

There is one thing from 2009 I want to keep – going on great rides with great people. I want 2010 to continue my string of big group rides. There should be plenty of opportunities. There’s the monthly Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride offered by West County Revolution Bike Shop, the NorCal Cycling Thanksgiving Day ride, Pedro’s Winter Hills training camp and Cycling with Champions to name a few.

I also want to keeping riding with friends. Since I don’t race, compete in triathlons, or run marathons, I may be the one who needs to adjust to everyone else’s schedule. That’s fine by me. As long as I get to hang around afterwards at the local coffee shop all is good.

I hope everyone has a similar goal for 2010. Plan your events, train hard, drool over new gear, and never forget that we do this because it’s fun.

Ciao!

2009’s final ride

2009-12-30T07:16:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, I rode my final ride of 2009. Well, at least on the road. I did participate in Coach Tim’s indoor trainer class last night, but the next time I hit the open road it will be 2010. This most likely will be my final blog of 2009 as well so I better mix in a little reflection.

Before I talk about the ride, I want to discuss two of my 2009 goals, which were to spend less time riding alone and ending more rides with coffee and friends. I definitely accomplished that. I’ve ridden on more group rides that ended with coffee this year then ever.

That leads me to Sunday. I was meeting Carmen, David, and Pat at Flying Goat for coffee followed by a ride. There might have been a few more of us but the threat of rain kept some members of our group safely tucked into their beds. I was the last to arrive and when I did I could see them already laughing through the window. This was going to be a great day.

The only serious discussion of the day was just before we rolled. I had picked out a 45 mile route and Carmen (who’s new nickname is Ms. Type A) was hoping for 60. We settled on 50 miles at an easy pace. With that settled, we were off.

It had rained hard during the night, although not during our ride. We decided to take the bike path out of town, which follows a lovely creek. As we followed the creek, now full with water, we simply rolled along, chatting about everything and trying not to get to wet and dirty from the road spray.

Now remember, this is supposed to be the off season so this should be an easy ride. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t goof around. For instance, going for the KOM (king of the mountain) on a hill that is about half a mile in length and gains less then 200 feet in elevation.

It was Pat and Carmen that started it. We hit this small hill, I mean really small, and Pat and Carmen took off. David also grabbed Pat’s wheel but he didn’t know it. At the last minute Pat noticed David and sprinted to the top. As Pat went over the top, he threw his arms up in victory and did the whole “rocking the baby motion” like he had just won a Tour de France stage. It was hilarious.

We continued the ride and decided to sprint for the Healdsburg city limit sign. Pat and I lifted the pace but David and Carmen decided not to play. As Pat and I rode, we kept looking for the sign to launch our attack. We didn’t see it so finally we assumed there wasn’t one. Just as we sat up and relaxed, I looked to the right and there’s the sign. Since my wheel was about 2 inches ahead of Pat’s, I immediately threw my arms up in victory.

This is how the ride continued. We where simply having fun. There was the time Pat and I decided to chase down two riders in front of us and after working really hard they stopped just as we were about to pass. At another point, Pat and I were having a very nice chat when he said “Excuse me for a moment” and took off. I thought “what the hell,” until I looked up and saw the Windsor city limit sign just ahead. Earlier in the ride, Pat and David rode ahead of us, hid as Carmen and I passed, and then caught us from behind.

Finally, it was back to Flying Goat for the post-ride coffees, more laughs, and home made cinnamon rolls (thanks David).

In the end, I have to say that I accomplished my most important goal in 2009, which was remembering why I love cycling in the first place. Between the great rides and even greater people, it was my best cycling year yet.

I can’t wait to see what 2010 has to offer.

Ciao!

My Christmas cheer

2009-12-27T06:18:00.001-08:00

There were a lot of things that contributed to my holiday cheer this season. Of course there’s Sherry, my lovely and supportive wife, who brings me year round happiness. I took a couple of days off from work to make a 5-day weekend. That always cheers me up. Over the last couple of days, I have had lunch and coffee with numerous friends. And finally, I am starting to feel like myself on the bike again.

If you read the last blog, then you already know I am getting over a sinus infection that kicked my butt. The weekend before Christmas was the first time I went riding in almost three weeks. They were both slow, tiring rides but I made it. Now I just need to focus on regaining my strength.

The plan was to ride a lot over the last 5 days although I also needed to ride smart and not over do it. My original plan was to ride Wednesday and Thursday, take Christmas off, and then ride both days of the weekend. And although it didn’t quite work out that way, I have ridden 3 of the last 4 days and I am happy to say the body is starting to come around. I am also heading out this morning.

Wednesday started out very cold but developed into a beautiful winter day. So after lunch with friends, I went out for a short 30 mile ride. Since I am not myself just yet I am still keeping things short. I was joined by Kelli, one of the many cool people I have met this year. We basically just rolled along chatting about the holidays and keeping things at a nice even tempo. It was on this ride that I could feel my strength returning.

Thursday came and went without a ride. It was 28 when I woke up so I decided to ride later in the day. But, Sherry had the day off, so we ran errands to get ready for the big day and long story short – the ride didn’t happen. No worries, I still have the weekend coming up even if there is the threat of rain.

Christmas Day was another cold, bright, beautiful day. Sherry and I don’t have children, which means we get to sleep in. We spent the morning meeting friends for coffee, having french toast for breakfast and relaxing. Finally, around noon, I couldn’t take it anymore, so while Sherry started to watch a movie, I got ready to head out on the bike.

Riding alone on Christmas Day was great. It was gorgeous, there wasn’t any traffic, and I had plenty of time to reflect on the day and my life. At some point in the past, Santa gave me the perfect life for Christmas and I haven’t asked for anything else since. This was very apparent to me as I rode along. The ride itself was fine and I was feeling stronger. Still, the real joy in the ride was simply remembering how lucky I am.

One of the things I am grateful for is cycling. There’s more to it then just riding a bike. First of all, it is my primary way of maintaining my health and fitness. Cycling has led to some great adventures, like the 7-day trip to Colorado. More importantly, it has allowed me to meet some great people and develop some strong friendships that will surely last for years to come.

That brings me back to my Christmas cheer. When you have a wife like Sherry, the health to cycle for hours on end, and a great circle of friends, how could you not be happy. The trick is to be thankful for these things every minute of every day.

I truly hope that everyone finds their own holiday cheer each and every day of the year.

Ciao!

Being smart in the off season

2009-12-23T11:16:00.001-08:00

Wow! It has been a while since I managed to update my little blog. There’s actually a couple of different reasons why I have been quiet lately. To begin with, I’ve not been riding very much. And since this is now a blog about my cycling adventures, no riding means there is not a lot to write about. However, the real reason for my absence has been a little thing called a sinus infection that really wore me out.

The weekend before the sinus trouble I did manage to get in a couple of good rides. I took a vacation day one Friday and rode on the first day of Pedro’s Winter Happy Hills Training Camp. That’s us in the photo after reaching the top of Sonoma Mountain. The next day, I went out with another large group on Sarah’s birthday ride, which was also the first edition of the Soup Spoons & Carbon Forks ride.

While both rides were fantastic, I just could not convince myself to write about them. I was having trouble finding the right angle. Looking back, I now realize the importance of these rides. It really wasn’t the actual rides but the circumstances. After spending much of 2008 riding alone, 2009 has been the year of big group rides for me. I have met a lot of really cool cyclists this year on these rides and I can’t wait to ride with these folks more in 2010.

Another important aspect of these rides was that I rode smart. I was the last person up Sonoma Mountain and I was perfectly ok with that. It is still the off season so there was no reason for me to try and ride beyond my means. It was tough watching the group ride away but I did keep 3 or 4 folks in sight so it wasn’t like they had to wait for me for days.

I decided to take the following week off as my last big rest before I start to get serious for 2010. Of course, that’s when I got sick. What’s up with getting sick the week you are resting? So my one week recovery turned in three weeks of no exercise. No riding. No running. No core workouts (ok, I didn’t miss them). Nothing! The symptoms came and went relatively quickly but I was completely wiped out from an energy standpoint.

This weekend I finally got back on the bike for some recovery rides. Once again, the situation called for riding smart. While I was positive that a couple of hours of easy riding and fresh air would help, I was just as aware of the danger of over doing it.

On Saturday, I decided to pass on all of the group rides. I just needed to do my own thing and not try and keep up with a group. So I waited for the morning chill to pass and headed out. Since I was still feeling the effects of the sinus infection I dressed warmly. You should have seen me. Here I was riding in 50 degree weather bundled up like I was preparing to ride in a New Hampshire snowstorm. Once I got started I quickly settled into a nice gentle pace and ended up with the perfect 26 mile ride.

Sunday found me riding with friends but still not pushing the pace. I choose a level of exertion I was happy with and I refused to go above it. On the only hill of the day I was once again last. Coach Tim came back down to ride up with me and was very happy with my pacing and the fact I was riding smart. When it was all said and done I managed to tick off another 48 miles for the year and was still feeling good.

As I write this I am feeling much better and my strength is slowly returning. That’s good because after lunch with friends I am heading out for another ride. (In case you couldn’t tell, I have the day off.) I am actually riding 4 of the next 5 days if the weather cooperates and that’s not a bad way to end the year.

So hopefully I am back to both riding and writing a little more regularly. I really do enjoy writing these little stories and I look forward to continuing them for anyone who cares to follow along.

Until the next adventure. . .

Ciao!

My Thanksgiving Day ride

2009-11-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and that means a it is a time for traditions. You have the tradition of spending time with your friends and family to give thanks. The tradition of eating way too much even though last year you promised yourself you would never eat that much again. Of course, we can’t forget football, whether it’s watching or playing. For me, you have to add the tradition of cycling.

This was the second year I joined the NorCal Annual Thanksgiving Day Ride. Last year I got the chance to participate thanks to a heads-up from my cycling buddy Jeff. This year my invite came via Facebook. I must be moving up in the world.

There was one big difference for me this year. Last year I recognized about 10 people and personally only knew 4 of them. This year, I knew 30 or more of the 100+ riders. That’s the kind of year it’s been. I have made it to some great rides and met a tremendous number of local riders this year. I even met a new friend on Thursday after he realized the coffee was not free. As he started to his car to see if he had cash I simply said, “It’s on me” as I paid for both of us.

At 9:10, we roll out. Last year, we stayed fairly mellow until we hit the hill on Pine Flat. What would this year bring? Well, once again we started out at a mellow pace. As we head out town I noticed a young lad (he was 8) riding with his father. He was holding the pace well and I was impressed with his determination. I also enjoyed listening to dad give advice on how to move within the peloton. Then someone up front yelled “car up!’ and we began to bunch up.

As we were slowing, I let the young lad in front of me as his father guided him to the right. Just as his back wheel cleared my front wheel something happened and he simply went down. I am now heading straight for the small of his back as he lays on the road and thinking, “Sh!t!, I cannot run over this kid!” Fortunately, I was already breaking because of the slowing pack and managed to stop literally (not an exaggeration) inches from his back. So, first I breathed a sigh of relief and then I braced for impact.

The first bike from behind collided with the rear derailleur while the handle bar and brakes from a second bike struck my leg with decent force. Everyone else managed to stop so it wasn’t too bad. The lad was fine and no one was upset because in cycling accidents happen. I fixed the dropped chain and the rubbing back brake and headed out. Then I noticed the front brake was also rubbing. By the time I fixed all of this the peloton was nowhere in sight. Even my little guy that crashed had already gotten back on the bike and was once again pedaling down the road.

So the chase was on. There’s only one problem. I’ve spent the last 5 weeks doing nice easy rides and now I want my body to crank out the watts at maximum effort. It said no. Also, the pack I am chasing is faster then me anyway so, really, what’s the point? So, I settle into a good rhythm, meet up with some friends at a regroup spot and then form a nice train the rest of the way to Pine Flat.

I managed to climb very well Thursday. I decided to lift my cadence about 10 RPMs above what I originally planned. I was able to hold this pace to the pond where I decided to stop. Actually, many of the day’s riders planned on stopping there so we regrouped and got ready to head home. Just then, some of the big guns, led by Odessa Gunn, came screaming down the descent. We joined the fun and for the next 10-minutes enjoyed the roller coaster descent that only Pine Flat can offer.

This same group of riders stayed together all the way to the finish. As we rolled along, people began to peel off and pedal towards the rest of their day. Me, I got home right on time, ate left over cassoulet as a recovery meal and watched a little football before going to dinner with the family. It was yet another great day for which to give thanks.

Lastly, I always end my T-day blogs with a reminder to not wait until the 4th Thursday of November to give thanks. Take a minute everyday to be thankful and to thank those around you who make your world a better place. Hopefully, they’ll do the same for you.

Ciao!

The Big Ring Coffee Ride

2009-11-22T07:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I got to head out on the bike with two of my best friends, Coach Tim and Brian. The riding plan was an easy loop out of Sausalito, around Tiburon, over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marina, and back. The real plan was to spend 3+ hours chit-chatting followed by lunch.

This day came about in a rather unique way. It starts with the fact that Brian’s family owns a small cabin in Lake Tahoe. A couple of weeks ago Brian asked Tim and I if we wanted to go up to the cabin with him to secure it for the winter. The original plan was to make it a “guys day.” We would drive up (almost 4 hours), go a quick ride in the mountains, secure the cabin and come home. Earlier this week Brian discovered the cabin was already secured so we moved our “guys day” to Sausalito (about an hour away).

Starting in Sausalito turned out to be the right call. It was 31 degrees in Santa Rosa when I got up. The high yesterday in Lake Tahoe was 36. When we arrived in Sausalito it was a balmy 46. And there was not a cloud in the sky. Just another gorgeous fall day in Northern California.

Now, we think that Sonoma County is quite the Mecca for cycling. However, when we rolled into the parking lot there were cyclists everywhere. There wasn’t a single cafe or coffee shop that did not have a large group getting ready to ride. We had already seen 2 or 3 large groups on the road. There had to literally be hundreds of cyclist either riding or getting ready to hit the road.

We find a place to park, get the bikes ready, and join the masses. Here’s the other reason we chose Sausalito. Are plan from the very beginning was to go for a very easy ride that allowed for ample talking. So the bike path out of Sausalito was perfect. We could ride side-by-side and chat to our heart’s content without worrying about traffic. Plus, all of the other cyclists, walkers, joggers, strollers, and dogs forced us to keep the pace nice and slow. That was important since the rule for the day was the first person to shift to the big ring had to buy coffee (hence the name of the ride and this blog’s title).

We make our way around the point of Tiburon where our view shifts from the San Francisco skyline to the hills of the East Bay. We rode along Paradise Drive, which I have only driven, and decide it may be the best cycling road within driving distance of home. Then it was back to the bike path and back into Sausalito. The total distance so far was 22 miles.

Now it was time to head for the City across the Golden Gate Bridge. I have driven over the bridge hundreds of times and I have walked across it twice but I have never ridden over it. So we followed the same route as this year’s Tour of California out of Sausalito and we are on the bridge. The views of the City and Pacific Ocean were simply stunning. In the summer, the bridge is usually covered in fog. In the fall, it is spectacular.

We rode through Crissy Field to the Marina where we stop at the Chestnut Street Coffee Roastery, which was yet another great new discovery. Tim also bought pastries from the bakery next door. While sipping our mid-ride coffee and eating pastries, we decided that so far it was the perfect cycling adventure.

Finally, it was back across the bridge to Sausalito. Once we were back we reloaded the bikes, changed and enjoyed lunch at a locally famous pizzeria.

There you have it. Just another outstanding day on the bikes with great friends. So, did we stay nice and slow as planned? Well, the final numbers were 35.5 miles in a time of 2:41 and an average MPH of a 13.5 so I think I’ll let you decide.

Ciao