OUCH!!!

Stick a fork in me, I think I am done.  Well, A1, A2, and Tayler came out to the house today for a nice casual ride.  I planned on taking them out to do the Chalk Hill loop, and I promised them an easy ride since it was to be A2's longest ride yet.  We set off from the house at a little after 11, and we dropped A2 one block into the ride.  Actually, A2 was still trying to figure out those pesky clipless pedals.  Anyway, we crossed the bridge, and then turned right on Westside Road.  After coasting down the first hill, I was ready to spin along, when A1 decides that he wanted to go faster. That was the end of the "easy spin".  To make a long story short, we ended up averaging a bit over 19 mph for the 57 mile loop.  Everyone worked great together, which was a lot of fun for me.  Nobody increased the pace when it was their turn to pull, and nobody pulled for so long that they couldn't get back on.  We had a quick stop in Jimtown for some water and a bathroom break, and then we headed over to Chalk Hill.  It is a great experience getting to show new cyclist some of my favorite roads and to hear how much they enjoy them.  By the time we got back home, we were all feeling quite worked over.  Tayler had actually brought along his running shoes in case I wanted to go for a run after the ride, but we both agreed that a hot tub would be better.  I was super impressed by A2 considering that he has only been riding for a couple of months.  I know from experience how hard it can be to ride that fast and never take it easy, and A2 never complained and was right there at the front pulling when it was his turn.  We missed having Jimmy Neutron along, but sometimes school work comes before a bike ride, even if you put off that school work the whole spring break and have to do it the night before it is due.  A1 and A2 agreed that if Jimmy Neutron was along, it would have been easier because that guy love to go fast on the flats.

A Sunday Ride

I went out today with Eric the Fireman.  We had a terrific ride.  He has been itching to do Sweetwater Road for a while, so, after adding in Mays Canyon Road, we went up the Guerneville side of Sweetwater.  Here is a map of our loop.  I haven't ridden with Eric in quite a while, and I forgot how fast he likes to go on the flats.  I was joking with him about 2 miles into the ride because he was pushing the pace already.  He accused me of setting the pace, but I pointed out that his front wheel was slightly ahead of mine.  The total loop was 86 km, and we averaged 25 kph.  I'm sorry about that metric stuff, but I can't figure out how to set my new cyclometer to miles.  Actually, I know how to switch it, but I am enjoying the larger numbers.  It is fun to climb at 12 kph instead of 7 or 8 mph.  Tomorrow A1 and A2 are coming out and I am going to introduce them to the Chalk Hill loop.  I also have been feeding my sourdough sponge for the last 2 days, and need to make some bread.  I went to Andy's Market today and picked out some special flours and some stuff for my Killer Granola. The granola is not low fat food.  The recipe originally came from the Cheeseboard in Berkeley.

A Good, Tough Ride

I went out today and rode 120 km.  That is about 75 miles.  It was quite a ride.  I tried to make a map of it, and maybe I will try again, but I think it is too complicated for Google Maps.  Anyway, I headed out over every hill I could think of from Forestville to Cotati.  It took me about 2 hours to get to the shop where I got some more water and some more energy food.  I then did the wrong thing by heading back out towards Valley Ford via Middle Road.  There was, of course, a terrible headwind, and it was slow going.  I ended up riding up Bohemian Hwy. into Occidental, where, instead of heading over Graton Road and home, I had to go over Morelli and back down Harrison Grade and back over Green Valley.  It was just under 5 hours on the bike.  Tomorrow I will be going out with Eric the Fireman to do Sweetwater and some other hills.  It was cloudy all day and I got sprinkled on a bit when I was out on Jonive and Barnett Valley.  I had a big bowl of pasta when I got home and some buttered popcorn.  I also poured myself the perfect "black and tan", I had to take a picture of it.  The secret is using a spoon to pour the Guinness over.  Here is a map of the ride from Forestville to Cotati.

Here is a map of the ride home from The Hub Cyclery, in Cotati.

A week away from the shop

Claire and I just got back from 5 nights of camping in the Santa Cruz area.  We camped for two nights at New Brighton Beach, two nights in Big Basin, and the last night in Butano State Park.  We took our bikes, Mathilda, and Mathilda's trailer.  Of course we packed plenty of firewood on the top of the Hub Bus.  What does this all have to do with training, well, not a lot, but we did ride into Santa Cruz each day and did about 40 km of riding each day with Mathilda in tow.  The first day we piled up the trailer with beach chairs, dog, and a picnic lunch and rode down to one of our favorite beaches in Santa Cruz.  We sat on the beach, and I even jumped in the water for one wave.  

I ran for an hour on Monday, part on the beach and part on some trails on the cliffs above.  On Wednesday I did my longest run in a long time.  I ran for a little over 3 hours around Big Basin.  Claire hiked and I did little loops back and forth.  We went out to the waterfall in Big Basin.  It was about a 12 mile loop from our campsite.  I figured I ran about 18 or 20 miles while Claire hiked.  I felt really good the whole time.  My Average heart rate was 144.  I only tripped and fell once, but I managed to roll through the fall.  The only problem with that was that I had a water bottle on my back, and when I rolled, I popped the top on the bottle and lost all of my water.  I had to bum some off of some hikers a while later.   We were both pretty knackered when we got back to the campground.  

Today is the third Grasshopper race.  It is the only one that I have never done, but I just didn't have the energy to drive out to Point Reyes for the start.  The next one isn't for a while.  I am getting ready right now to head out for a bike ride and then hopefully a short run.  It is only 50 days until The World's Toughest.

Commute home with Mathilda

Mathilda and I rode home together last night. It was one of our tougher commutes since we had a good headwind the whole way and Mathilda refused to do any pulling. It took almost 2 hours instead of the usual 1.5 hours. I need to talk with Mathilda about doing her share of the work. She complains that she doesn't have thumbs, so she can't shift gears, but I think that is just an excuse. The least she could do is keep her ears down to reduce the wind resistance. Anyway, it is 59 days till The World's Toughest Half, and I haven't been running at all. Oh well, I will be well rested.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Claire and I took the Burley tandem out today for a 36 mile ride.  We parked in Duncans Mills, and then headed out to Highway 1 via 116.  We had quite a tailwind heading down the coast.  We were usually cruising at around 30 mph, which made some of those hairpin corners fun.  It was a bit chilly, but we both warmed up quickly as we climbed Bay Hill Road, which is one of Claire's favorites.  It is quite steep, and the down hill isn't much fun since it is so bumpy, but the views from the top are incredible.  We then headed past the town of Bodega, where we rode thru town at 7 mph over the speed limit.  We stopped at the Wild Flour Bread Bakery in Freestone.  We had a sticky bun that was incredible and a cup of coffee.  We talked with the owner for a couple of minutes about surfing and bike rides.  We then headed thru Occidental and down Bohemian Hwy. into Monte Rio before taking Moscow Road back to the car.  Both of us were a little tired from a late night the night before, but we were glad we did the ride.

I washed the top of the Hub Bus after the ride.  That is the third washing in 18 years.  It made quite a difference.  I even washed the rest of the bus the day before which was only about the 8th time in 18 years.  We are taking it camping next week down to Santa Cruz and Big Basin where we will be doing lots of riding and exploring.

Claire's B-day Ride

We drove to Graton, where we parked our car and went for a ride over Cherry Ridge and into Occidental.  We added a bit extra by heading out Bitner and then back down Coleman Valley.  We then rode back over Graton Road and back to our car.  It was only about 20 miles, but quite hilly.  The weather was beautiful and very dramatic with big clouds drifting through the sky.  

Both Claire and I got into the Death Ride this year, which we are excited about.

Duncans Mills and Scenic Loop

Claire and I went out on Monday for a nice casual loop.  We took it pretty easy and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  It got a little windy as we headed out to Duncan's Mills.  We stopped for a couple of Americanos and a pastry at the coffee shop in Duncan's Mills.  We sat out on the patio where we ran in to Steve from West County Bike Shop in Sebastopol.  We chatted a bit about life and the bike business before we headed on our way up towards Occidental.  

After getting home, I quickly changed clothes and headed out on a run.  I did the Scenic loop, with an extra Canyon loop added in.  I set the world's second fastest time of 49:50.  Only the second time in history that the 50 minute barrier has been broken.  I felt great.  I had a high heart rate of 193 and averaged 174 beats per minute for the entire run.  Except for some pain from a tendon in my left calf, I felt really good.  

It was back to work on Tuesday, where it was as busy as usual.  A person's job can really get in the way of there training.

All work and no play

It is Friday, and the shop is going crazy. This does not help my training at all. I have been coming in at seven the last couple of mornings and working until six. Like Claire always says, "We need to make hay while the sun is shining." I did get out on Monday and did the Sweetwater Loop from my house, and then went out for an hour long run over the Scenic Loop. I rode my cross bike with my 700x37 Acrobat tires. They make the bike weigh almost 27 pounds. Sweetwater was not so fun considering I was riding a 36x23 low gear. It took 1 hour and 34 minutes. My run took exactly 59 minutes and 50 seconds. I had to hustle at the end to keep it under an hour. I think I was still a little tired from the Grasshopper on Saturday.
I went out On Wednesday morning with A2 and did the RD's Loop. It has been years since I have done that ride. I was on my fixed, but was feeling pretty good. A2 is still riding along in his Converse High Tops. It is going to be scary when he gets some real shoes. I was planning a run later that day, but, as A1 like to say, "The Hub happened."
I have 72 days till The World's Toughest Half, and 148 days till the Vineman. I had better get some more running in. I don't know what kind of time I will have for swimming before The World's Toughest, but I can probably fake my way through that part of the race. Anyway, I had better get back to the shop.

Grasshopper #1

Well, the first Grasshopper race was yesterday and it went better than expected.  I didn't get home from Sack-of-Tomatoes until 1 am the night before, but I didn't feel tired the next morning. I rode to Occidental for the start of the ride, which was a nice way to loosen  my legs up.  There was a bigger crowd there than usual, probably around 200 or so.  I think the nice weather really brings the racers out.  Last year there were probably only a little more than half of that many there.  Last year was pouring rain the whole way.  A1 met me in Occidental for the race.  He did this race last year in the pouring rain, and was enjoying the warmer weather this year.  We both agreed that it would have been better if it was raining and windy, but you can't have everything.

The race starts behind the Union Hotel in Occidental and then is considered neutral until we get to the bottom of Duncan Road.   We started by coasting down Bohemian Highway towards Monte Rio.  It is always a thrill heading down that road, and with 200 other cyclist around you, it is even better.  There was the usual close calls here and there, but I didn't hear anyone go down.  It was sort of nostalgic running into some of the folks I used to race with years ago.  I even ran into two guys I raced with at SSU in the late 80's.  After turning on Moscow Road and heading towards Duncan's Mills, I was happy to have A1 riding along right next to me.  A1's BB was creaking so bad, I could pretty much always tell where he was in the pack.  When we ran back into Hwy. 116, we turned right and headed towards Duncan Road.  The turn on to Duncan Road is probably the scariest part of the race.  The whole pack had to make its way across the road for a left hand turn as we were approaching a blind corner on 116.  Like usual, it went without incident.  When you turn onto Duncan, the road pitches upwards quite steeply.  It also becomes quite narrow.  That is where my heart rate went from 120 to 196 beat per minute.  There is a locked gate about a quarter of a mile up Duncan, and everyone wants to be in the front to get through and around the gate.  Most of Duncan is basically a dirt fire trail.  There are gates at each end to keep out the cars, so there are no worries when you are up there.  Okay, maybe you need to worry a bit about off camber turns in the mud and for some tree limbs across the trail, and maybe a washout or two.  But otherwise it is quite a thrill ride.  After descending almost all of the way back down to Hwy. 116,  we turned on Cherry Street and headed towards Old Cazadero Road.  This is a beautiful paved climb that takes you to the top of the ridge over Guerneville.  There is also a locked gate there, so after throwing one's bike over the gate, it is a fast descent down an old fire trail.  Again, there were plenty of washouts to keep you on your toes.  At the bottom of Old Caz, you get to hop off your bike and wade across Austin Creek.  This year is wasn't even up to your knees, but in some years past it has been deeper.  After Austin Creek, there is another dirt climb up to the ridge over Cazadero.  A nice quick descent down a gravel/paved road drops you into the town of Cazadero.  I always feel pretty confident with my descending on my cross bike, and was able to catch plenty of riders flying down the fire trails.  I made sure I was with a group of riders as we cruised past the Cazadero Market and heading right up into the neighborhoods above Cazadero.  Knowing that we had the long trek out to the coast on 116, it is important that you find some folks to ride with.  I got into a group of about 10 cyclist.  We did an okay job of working together.  Not the most organized pace line I have ever been in, but for the most part everyone was happy to do their share.  Heading out to Jenner, we turned left on Hwy. 1 and then right on Willow Creek Road.  Willow Creek has always been a favorite climb of Claire and mine, and for years we took our Hub Labor Day Ride over Willow Creek.  Since then, it has become part of a state park, so it is even better, with locked gates at the top and bottom.  In years past, the Grasshopper has just climbed the 1200 feet up the dirt road, but this year, the organizers threw in a beautiful and beastly loop up through Willow Creek State Park.  After making a short loop up and up and up and then down through some thick mud, we dropped back out onto Willow Creek right before the two steepest parts of the climb.  It was perfect.  I had run out of water a short time earlier, and was lucky enough to run in to a couple of folks at the top of Willow Creek who gave me a full bottle.  It is a short descent down Coleman Valley to the finish.  I ended up around 33rd, which I was happy with considering that I have not done any hard training so far this year.   I didn't hang around the finish, but just kept riding on to Forestville for a hot lunch of homemade stew.  The race itself was about 50 miles, and with another 25 or so added on for the trip there and back, I got in a couple of good miles.  I still felt good when I got home.  I drank plenty of water, and a couple of beers to rehydrate, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.

The entire race took me around 3 hours and 10 minutes.  My max heart rate was 196, and my average was 170.  Sorry about the long, long post, but you didn't have to read the whole thing.