The “newbie” ride

One of the many things I like about the off season are newbie rides.  This is when my cycling friends and I hit the open road with folks who are just starting their journey into the world of cycling.  Newbies are always welcome to join us but they usually don’t because of concerns about the pace, distance, the amount of climbing, etc.  However, in the off season we are happy to cruise at their speed and help them become better cyclists.  That’s exactly what I did this Saturday. 

Pat, Mike and I, all experienced cyclists, are heading out with Rich, Dan and Dan’s son Brett. Rich and Dan have been riding for a while but it is only Brett’s 4th ride ever so I am anticipating a fairly mellow pace and route. Since it was Dan’s birthday ride he choose the route.

Of course, to become a better rider you need to push yourself.  The route Dan choose – Pine Flat.  Holy sh!t!  Are you kidding me?  Pine Flat scares most experienced riders and is legendary here in Sonoma County.  It is a 12-mile climb with a 20% wall at mile 11.  And Brett doesn’t even have a bike.  He’s borrowing Pat’s older road bike and is wearing running shoes to turn over the flat pedals. 

We meet at Pat’s and after a lot of fun banter we are off.  In Healdsburg, Dan gets a flat.  This is were the other joy of a newbie ride comes into play.  Watching them change a flat.  Dan starts by turning the bike upside down and of course his water bottles fall out and roll away.  Then, he starts to remove the tire while the wheel is still on the bike.  So Pat steps in and helps.  Dan pulls out the new tube, still in the box, from a huge saddle bag. After some fun with CO2 we are on the way.  A mile later, Dan flats again.  This time the change goes much more smoothly.  See, he’s learning already.

(Editor’s note:  I only poke fun at Dan’s tire changing experience because I did the exact same thing on my first rides and I am sure someone was around to poke a little fun at me.)

We are now seriously rolling in a nice little group.  The pace was nice and allowed for plenty of chit chat.  It also gave us time to educate them along the way.  How to ride a pace line.  Techniques for better shifting. And so on.

Finally, we reach the start of the climb.  Rich and Dan are both planning to go further then their previous attempt but do not anticipate making the top.  Brett, being the 15-year confident stud he is, has no doubt he’s making it all the way. Pat and I just smile knowing he has no idea what a 20% grade looks like.

Up and up we go.  At one point, Pat accelerates and Brett tries to go with him.  Pat sits up and lets Brett catch up and I lift my pace slowly so now it is the 3 of us.  Brett is riding very strong and is listening intently as Pat coaches him up the climb. We reach the meadow where it flattens out for a mile or so.  Now it’s time for the final push to the summit.

I had stopped to take some photos but I can see them up ahead.  Brett is still riding strong and Pat teaches him to weave in the 20% grade sections.  When I reach the top just behind them, Brett is ecstatic.  Not only did he make it, he passed 2 other cyclist on the way.  Remember, this is his 4th ride.

We teach him how to feather his brakes for the descent and keep things nice and slow.  On the way down we pick up Dan and we catch back up with Rich at the bottom.  They both met their goal of making it further up Pine Flat then before.  They are are both stunned that Brett made the summit.  We then ride back to Windsor at a relaxed pace and hit the local coffee shop.

The joy in Brett’s experience is the real reason I like newbie rides.  It is the perfect reminder of why I enjoy cycling so much.  Sometimes it takes seeing a ride through the eyes of a newbie to open my own eyes to the joy cycling beings to my life.

One final note.  It was also very cool to hear a rider calling out “Dad” from time to time.  This was my first father-son ride and I found that very cool.  I also know that on Sunday, Brett and Dan went shopping for a new bike.

Ciao!

A time to relax

It’s finally here!  The off season.  That time of the year when I ride my bike because it’s something I love to do.  This is always an interesting transition for me.  One week you are rushing home after work to get in one more hill repeat workout before dark and the next you’re reaching for that book you haven’t quite had time to finish.

It’s not just me who is entering the off season.  My Facebook updates are chock full of a new type of post.  In September, it was all “I finished 3rd in this race” or “I set a personal best in the local TT”.  Now it’s posts like “my average heart rate was 102” or “my coach said no hard rides for 3 weeks”.  Of course, there are those rare athletes who do not seem to need time off.  One friend got off her bike after the Gran Fondo and started training for her marathon in December. 

For me, it’s as much a mental break as a physical one.  Yes, it’s been a long year and I am certainly feeling the effects physically.  But I am also tired of following a regimented workout schedule.  Of riding the next hill harder then the last.  Of always lifting the pace.  I need, and want, time to sit up and enjoy the world around me from the unique perspective of a bike seat.

This e-mail to my Wine Country Velo group for our first ride after the Gran Fondo kind of sums it all up.

“For most of us it is officially the off season for cycling.  So I would like to propose we spend the rest of the year riding for the joy of riding.  Where "no-drop" means we ride as a group and not race to the next regroup.  Where the average mph comes back down and we are more concerned with talking trash then heart rates.  Where riding side-by-side and enjoying the company of friends replaces pace lines with 30-second pulls. We can restart all that serious stuff in January.”

One of my favorite off season rides is what I call the unknown route.  Coach Tim and I do this from time to time.  We pick a meeting spot and start riding with no specific route in mind.  As we roll along, we may approach a road we’ve passed several times before on training rides but never taken and we immediately turn onto it.  While this has led to a lot of out-and-backs, it has also led to many pleasant surprises as well.

While I want to use the off season to reinvigorate my joy of cycling, I also do not want to become a sloth.  So let the cross training begin.  It’s time to bring weights back into my routine (I know, I really should do weights and core work year round).  Next week I will start jogging again.  And maybe, just maybe, I will try yoga since a good friend just open her own studio called Three Dog Yoga.

Mostly, I want to relax and enjoy Fall in Wine Country.  After all, I can restart all that serious stuff in January.

Ciao!

My Gran Fondo

If you are a regular visitor to my humble little blog, then you've been "hearing" about Levi's Gran Fondo for months. Well, on Saturday it was finally here. Now was the time to quit talking about it, quit training for it and just enjoy the pleasure of riding it with 3,500 other crazy cyclist from across the United States and around the world.

Training for the Gran Fondo was interesting to say the least because I provided Coach Tim with a bit of a challenge. You see, I was in France from September 10th through the 28th. This should have been a time when I was doing my final hard rides and then starting my taper. Instead, I was gorging myself with French wine, cheese and croissants. It would be interesting to see how well this particular training plan worked in the end.

Friday night was registration so I head down to the festivities. I cannot say enough about how smoothly the organizers and volunteers ran this event. Registration was quick and easy. Everything that I pre-ordered was in my packet along with all kinds of cool swag. As I wondered around the tents checking out all of the bike stuff, I ran into many friends. Eventually, a group of us decided to cough up $10 for the pasta feed and ate while the Triplets of Belleville was showing on the big screen.

Saturday, the big day, dawns bright and clear. It is going to be a very windy but a near perfect day for this ride. A couple of friends meet at my house and we ride over to the start while picking up a few more friends along the way. As soon as we arrive you can feel the excitement. Once again, we hang around, this time hoping to spot the pro riders joining us, and then it is off to the starting line.

We decide to start a little closer to the front hoping to hit open road a little faster. As we are waiting and chatting more riders start to arrive. And then more. And then even more. I am not sure how to describe 3,500 people all waiting to start the ride. As they were making the final announcements, which no-one could hear because of the helicopter overhead, everyone was relaxed and focused.

Then we're off. The Fitness Journal team set up a double line and rode at a decent clip along the closed roads of Santa Rosa. After a few miles, cyclists were stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. We rode strong as a group through Occidental, then Monte Rio and finally to the rest stop in Cazadero. This is just before the turn onto King Ridge Road where the climbing really started. We all climbed within ourselves and reached the first summit with little difficulties.

The rest of King Ridge was simply gorgeous. I've talked about it before but it still amazes me on every ride. On Saturday, it was miles and miles of vistas being enjoyed by miles and miles of cyclists. The descent down Myers Grade and the ride along the coast was breath-taking. From the coast it was up and over Coleman Valley, a road featured in the 2006 Tour of California, and then we retraced wheels back home.

It was an awesome ride. Even the strong cross winds did not detract from the day. I did have to deal with some serious, and I mean serious, cramping issues between miles 60 - 85, which included the Coleman Valley climb. However, I proudly persevered, eventually caught up with my fellow FJ-ers (a special thanks to Pat for flatting), and we all came across the finish line together. The post ride meal and festivities were scrumptious. I am already looking forward to next year.

So there you have it. A phenomenal event that lived up to the hype. And what about my "wine and cheese" training plan? Well, while the cramps did detract from the ride for a short time I'll gladly trade 2 weeks in France for a couple hours of painful riding any day. In the end, I think I still came out ahead.

Ciao!

Mont Ventoux - Encore!

Well, Sherry and I are back from our wonderful 2-week vacation in France where I once again got the opportunity to climb the fabled Mont Ventoux. To be honest, I tried to post this blog while we were still in France but have you ever tried to type on a European keyboard? After a frustrating few minutes at a cyber cafe I decided to go to the real cafe across the street and drink wine instead.

I was blessed with the opportunity to climb Mont Venoux in May of 2007. While thrilled, I absolutely stressed over making it to the top. Here's why. I was climbing from the town of Bedoin (pictured above) because that is the route featured in the Tour de France. It is a 13.1 mile continuous climb the gains 5,200 feet in elevation. And while the average grade is 7.6%, there is a 5-mile stretch, between 3.7 and 8.7, that averages 9.6% while the final mile tops out at 10.4%. Plus the winds can be (and were) fierce. All in all I did fine and finished in around 2 and a half hours.

I wonder what this year would bring? Once again I was climbing from Bedoin. However, since my last climb I have train for the Terrible Two, Levi's Gran Fondo and I am now working with a coach. The difference should be interesting.

When we arrived on Saturday, we picked up the rental bike on the way to our house in Loumarin where we staying. On Sunday afternoon I went for a short 25 mile ride to get a feel for the bike. As I headed out down the narrow streets of a Provencal village I was almost giddy with delight. With all systems on the bike a go, I was ready for the Giant of Provence.

Monday morning had us leave bright and early for Bedoin. We arrived to discover it was their market day. So as I started out, Sherry went shopping. Her plan was to catch up with me 2 hours into the climb. It almost didn't work out right.

Once I hit the base of the climb I found my rhythm almost immediately and settled in for a great ride. There were a lot of cyclists on the road and I managed to pass a few while only being passed twice. It was really cool reading all the writing on the road from the Tour de France. If paint can used as an indicator then the Schleck brothers were the most popular riders in this year's peloton. About 8 miles in I passed the point where I started weaving last time. This year I was still cruising comfortably along in the saddle.

The wind at the top was strong but not nearly as bad as 2007. However it was very cold and I had to put the arm warmers back on for the final 4 miles. When Sherry caught with me 2 hours later she was shocked at where I was. At that point I was less then a mile from the summit, still looking strong and feeling great. My time this year - just over 2 hours (thanks Coach Tim). After a rocking descent, where I passed several cars and more cyclists, it was time for a post ride coffee and quiet reflection in the town cafe.

There was one really cool difference this year as well. About 3 miles from the top, I came around a turn to see a guy with very professional looking camera. I wondered who was lucky enough to have this guy recording their climb. Then he started taking pictures of me. I just thought he was practicing. But as I passed him he ran along beside me and handed me a business card and a special number. He in fact worked for a company, Griffe Photos, that photos crazy cyclists like me and puts the pictures on the web for purchase. This actually happened a second time from a different guy, Blablaprod Photoventoux, just before the summit. (The links for these companies will take you to my photos. You need the number B10956 for Griffe Photos.)

I simply cannot talk about climbing Mont Ventoux enough. Any cyclist who comes to Provence needs to devote some time to climb the Giant of Provence. I know I will.

Ciao!

A crazy 2 weeks (highlights)

Life in the Alderman household has been a little crazy to say the least. But it's the good kind of crazy. You know, the kind of crazy that always occurs before you leave for France for 18 glorious days. However, if your jobs are anything like ours, you know that the 2-weeks leading up to vacation can be hell.

Despite putting in massive hours at work, I have continued with some very strong training for the Gran Fondo. It is now completely sold out. This means on October 3rd, 3,500 of us will all clip in semi-simultaneously and hit the road. I cannot wait. Coach Tim's adjustments to my training plan have me feeling strong again. I feel like I am ready. I just need to maintain my fitness level while on vacation.

My plan? I rented a bike for 5-days and plan on cycling in Provence. This will be mostly easy rides of around 2-hours. The exception will the climb up Mont Ventoux. This is 13 mile, 5000+ gain climb that is feature from time to time in the Tour de France. I actually climbed it 2-years ago. It is very challenging but doable and will be the perfect final touch on my Gran Fondo preparations.

As if work and cycling didn't keep me busy enough, it was also our 23rd wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. It was on a Sunday but we ended up making a weekend out of it (just like Sherry's birthday weekend). Friday night was dinner with friends at their house. Saturday night was dinner with different friends at the Applewood Inn Restaurant where we discover an amazing new Napa Cabernet. On Sunday we just relaxed, had a wonderful Provencal-style lunch in the back yard (see photo) and then went to dinner.

Finally, because I have so much spare time (you need to find the sarcasm in that), I am launching a second blog - C'est la belle vie! (This is the good life). I will have help from Sherry as we post stories of our adventures in travel, wine, food and friends.

Now you're all caught up. I will try to post updates during our travels in France.

Until then . . .

Au revoir!