Looking in both directions

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

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

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

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

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!