A couple of good rides

Well, I got out on Friday with Claire and A2 for a little lunch ride.  We did the Roblar-Valley Ford loop.  It was very pleasant out there.  I think A2 had a good time.  He is a jack-rabbit on those uphills.  We had to be back at the shop for a meeting with our C-dale rep.  We are real excited because we have a bunch of the 2009 bikes on the way.

Yesterday I went out and hurt myself pretty good doing my Willow Creek Loop.  I raced my last time on the loop and beat it by around 5 minutes.  I have my time down to around 2:36 or so.  I think my goal will be to go under 2:30.  The conditions were fantastic with Willow Creek State Park being very tacky and not too muddy.  I ran into another cyclist right at the beginning of the ride on Martinelli road.  He was also on a cross bike with his Gianni Jersey on.  It turned out that he lived right up the hill from me.  He was on his way out to meet some friends before doing a very similar loop to mine.  I felt really good the entire ride.  My average heart rate was 168 and I hit 193 on my way up Duncan Road.  I did get some minor cramps in my thighs at the very end.  I am looking forward to the Grasshopper race next Saturday.  It is too bad they have to charge for it, but I understand, with all of the legal crap in the world, it is important to cover your butt sometimes.

Riding the rollers

Claire and I went down the basement and rode our bikes in the yesterday morning.  We did a Chris Carmichael workout that we had on tape.  These videos are a great way to stay on the trainer for an hour without going crazy.  You can purchase these on DVD at The Hub Cyclery.  I rode the rollers while Claire rode her Cyclops Fluid trainer, which is available at The Hub Cyclery.  We did the time trial workout, which I think is one of the harder ones.  Here is a graph of my heartrate.The workout consisted of some 5 minute intervals with 5 minutes of rest in between each, with a final 12 minute interval at a little bit lower intensity.  Today we hope to get out with A2 for a lunch time ride.  A2 is really getting into mountain biking, and doesn't get out on the road all too often.  Now that he has a new Cannondale 29er singlespeed, he wants to spend all of his waking moments in the dirt.

Willow Creek Loop Take Three

Yesterday I went out on my cross bike and did my favorite loop.  Actually, that was not a link to my ride yesterday since my Garmin decided that it would not let me download my info.  I decided to race my last time over the same loop using the courses feature of my Garmin.  That was pretty cool and I was able to keep up with myself except for heading through Willow Creek State Park where it was a lot muddier that it had been last time.  I also had some trouble at the very end since the wind was right in my face on the way home on River Road.  My average heart rate was higher than the last couple of times.  I think I averaged 167 beats per minute instead of 150ish the last couple of times.  I got poured on a couple of times during the ride, but except for very cold feet, I was quite comfortable.  I finished 2 minutes slower than last time.

Today I tried to go out for a run, but after not warming up at all, my leg really hurt.  I definitely need to do some more stretching.  I was pretty bummed out.  

Remember, if you are interested in a Garmin, we can get you one at the Hub Cyclery.  

Back to weekly rides

Well, it was great having the time off in January and riding a bunch, but now it seems that we are back to our once a week rides.  The shop has been way too busy for February.  Anyway, last Monday Claire and I rode with A1 and Melinda.  We were on tandems and we did the Dillon Beach loop.  It has been a while since Claire and I had done this loop.  It used to be a weekly ritual, or so it seemed.  The wind was in the totally opposite direction as usual, so it was interesting riding out Fallon-Two Rock Road and being pushed along.  A1 and Melinda were real troopers as usual.

Yesterday Claire and I went out to Occidental for breakfast at Howard Station and started our ride from there.  As we left Occidental, it was drizzling pretty good, and we were both wondering if the ride was such a good idea.  Eventually it stopped drizzling and there were actually patches of sunshine as we rode along.  We had planned on doing the Old Caz loop which is the first race of the Grasshopper Series.  Claire was the person that first introduced me to Old Cazadero Road years and years ago.  Since we hadn't ridden all week, we tried to just take it easy, but climbing up Duncan Road and then Old Caz, it is hard to take it easy without falling over.  We were on our Ibis tandem.  I had put some Paul Retro Brakes on the bike a while back, and those are the coolest looking brakes, but they don't slow you down very well.  That made for some interesting descending of Old Caz.  Claire and I both thought about Rich and Paula and how much they would enjoy that ride.  When we got back to Duncans Mills for the second time, we stopped for some coffee at Gold Coast Coffee Company and noticed that some weather was moving in, so we chose to just head back Bohemian Highway instead of going out to Willow Creek Road.  It was a good choice since it started pouring rain about 2 minutes from the finish for us.  Here is a link to the loop.  I forgot to start my Garmin right away, so it starts down by Camp Meeker.  Oh yea, when we crossed Austin Creek at the bottom of Old Caz, the water was only up to my shins.  Being the gentleman that I am, I pushed the tandem across the creek with Claire sitting on the back so only one of us had to get our feet wet.

A Couple of hills take two

I went out today and did the exact same loop that I did a little over a week ago.  I think this could become one of my favorite loops.  I tried using my Garmin to race my last time, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.  Anyway, I was 6 minutes faster over the entire course, but my average heart rate was the exact same.  There was a little less of a head wind on Hwy. 116 coming out of Duncans Mills and I think that could have been a little of a factor.  Here is a link to the loop.  I would like to share this loop with A1, I think he would get a kick out of it.  I'm sure he would want to add Sweetwater at the end, which I have been thinking about doing.  I think it would also be a blast with Claire on the Ibis tandem.  We did Box Springs Road on our last loop out there.  I don't think I saw any other cyclist out there at all today.  Tomorrow it is back to the bike shop after almost 3 weeks away.  I am looking forward to getting the grease back under my fingernails.

Willow Creek Loop

Well, I had a great ride this afternoon.  It started out a little tough since I had been planning on going over Duncan Road on my way out to Duncans Mills to meet Claire.  They were doing some construction on Old Monte Rio Road, so I tried a little detour up Summit Road.  I think that is the steepest road I have ever come across in Sonoma County.  If you are ever out on a ride with me and I suggest going up Summit Road, please say no.  I actually had to get off my bike with about 15 meters to go and walk.  I was pushing a 36x25, so it was a decent gear, but to no avail.  Anyway, when I got to the top I realized that it didn't go through, so I turned around and plummeted back down. 

I met Claire out in Duncans Mills and we road out Hwy. 116 to the coast and then turned up Willow Creek Road.  We both talked about all of the memories we have had on that road.  We used to lead the Labor Day Ride up there every year.  I think I can even remember the very first time we rode up it.  It was, of course, Claire's suggestion since she loves dirt roads and will go out of her way to find them.  When she used to lead the Hub rides, people would say that if it didn't have some dirt, then Claire wasn't happy.  Anyway, when we got to  the top, we went off road along the ridge and dropped down into Willow Creek State Park.  We went down Box Springs Road for the second time.

I dropped Claire off in Duncans Mills and then headed back Moscow Road and Bohemian Hwy. up into Camp Meeker.  From there I climbed up Morelli Road.  I had a hard time keeping my rear wheel from spinning on the way up.  I dropped down Harrison Grade and made my way home from there.  Here is a link to the ride.

A busted Dream Ride

Well, it was not a total bust.  We drove over to Bolinas with A1, A2, Jimmy Neutron, and Mel (A1's girlfriend), to do one of our favorite rides.  Claire and I were on the Burley tandem while A1 and Mel rode our Ibis tandem.  The fact that they were up for this ride on one of their first ever tandem ride says a bunch for A1 and Mel.  A2 and Jimmy Neutron were on their own bikes and feeling quite frisky on the uphills.  Anyway, part way up the first climb past Stinson Beach, Claire and I had a flat.  During the process of fixing it, we noticed that you could almost see through the tire in a couple of places.  We put a boot in, but we still didn't trust it.  We turned around there while the other folks headed on over to Muir Woods and so on.  Claire and I made it back to the Hub Bus and found another tire to use.  It was an Acrobat 700x37, so it rubbed a bit on the brake noodle, but worked otherwise.  We rode up Bolinas road, which is a 1500 foot climb to the top before climbing up Bolinas Ridge road for another 500 feet or so.  We met those guys right at the junction of Bolinas Ridge and Pan Toll Road.  We turned around there and had a nice ride back to the Bus.  Claire and I actually ended up with a couple more miles than the rest of the guys, but they ended up with a little more climbing.  We stopped for sandwiches in Point Reyes Station before heading back to Cotati.  Here is a link to our loop.