Diablo Century 2010

Tricia and I rode the Diablo Century Sunday. One hundred of the slowest miles I've ridden. I started feeling low, and finished lower. Every once in a while I'd push myself up to slow, then drop back to barely moving. I'm not sure if it was last weekends double, a week off the bike letting me knee recover, the extra glass of wine at dinner, or the alignment of the stars. But I was dog meat all day. But I grunted through it. I didn't even bail at the metric point turn off.

A shame, because Tricia was in great form. She held back a lot, but I still didn't see much of her. She just couldn't ride slowly enough. She'd have enjoyed rocking this ride, but I didn't give her a chance.

On the up side, my knee was fine after I warmed up, so I think I'll be OK for the Davis Double. Here's hoping I don't ride there like I did today. And I made it. I can ride an ugly 100 miles even feeling like crap. That's got to be some kind of accomplishment, even if it's the sort of thing that doesn't usually get written up in magazines. No medals were awarded, but still...

The ride it itself was fine. Good support, and a nice route that included Morgan Territory, Sunol, Redwood Road and Pinehurst Rd and Canyon. Even really nice folks at the stops. Sure, I've done this on my own, but it was nice to support a good local effort by the Walnut Creek Jewish Community Center.

No photos. I carried a camera, but was too beat to use it. Plus, without Tricia near enough to photograph, what would be the point?

Performance enhancing drugs for me

I keep reading about performance enhancing drugs, and I thought "Why are they just for professionals?" After all, we get to ride the same bikes they do, and wear the same clothes they do. So when my knee started hurting to the point it was affecting my riding I did what I assume the pros do: I went to the apothecary seeking help.

Indeed they had exactly what I needed. Magic redish pills called Ibuprofen and a stinky concoction named "Tiger Balm."

Humming "Eye of the Tiger" for good luck I applied the balm and ate a couple of ibuprofen and, shazam, I was rolling again.

I guess it isn't really fair, as it does give me an advantage over the competition. Later that day I was able to blast away from a stop light and drop a hybrid rider who had bragged about his "eighteen-mile ride" while we waited for the light to change.

There is a downside I understand. The reek of Tiger Balm is enough to send friends and family running. And if you use ibuprofen you run the risk of getting used to not being in pain. But at the level I ride at I guess I just have to be willing to make a few sacrifices. So it goes.

Hemet Double Century 2010

If you appreciate the environment of Bakersfield, the culture of Fresno or the city planning of Oakley, you’ll enjoy Hemet California, the starting point for the Hemet Double Century.

Fellow BikeForums.net poster LanceOldStrong and I launched from Northern California on Friday morning. Mr. LanceOldStrong commented that his Garmin only noted “Here be dragons” once we got south of central California. But we were on our quest for leg two of our attempt for the California Triple Crown jersey and would not be deterred. After a seemingly endless drive we finally arrived in Hemet, where we checked in and were informed that, “No, the route is not marked at all,” but we could leave as early as we wanted.

Bikes in order, clothes set out, we got to bed early and I promptly had dreams of trying to start, but not being able to find my arm warmer. I unpacked my seat bag and pulled out jackets, tires, cantaloupe and all kinds of impossible stuff, but no arm warmer. I had a two-foot tall stack on the sidewalk. What a dream. But I woke up and it was time to go. Oh, wait, no it was only 9:30 pm. And that’s how my night went.

Eventually it was really time to leave. We rolled over to the start and signed in and were on our way, with lights, in the total darkness of 4:30 am.

The first few miles were a preview of my entire day. I sat on LanceOldStrong’s wheel and hung on for dear life. Darkness? Ha! Bumpy road? Ha! Traffic? Ha! We just screamed through the night, him leading, me worried I’d lose his wheel and never see him again.

As strong a rider as Mr. LanceOldStrong is, he is not a climber (thank God.) Usually climbing is where all the work is. For me, the only rest I got was on the few hills when he slowed down. I often found myself praying for more hills. I didn’t get many.

There is one area I’m quick at: Rest/check points. Early in a ride I hate to stop for longer than it takes to fill my bottle. I’m so old I feel like my engine just seizes up if I stop for long. Mr. LanceOldStrong is more methodical at the stops. I found myself circling the parking lot enough that it showed in my mileage total.

But I can’t complain. Thanks to OldStrong’s big pulls we ended up with a rolling speed average of 15.9 for the first 100 miles.

A unique feature of this double is that it loops back to the start at 100 miles, so we were able to drop by our hotel, shed some clothes and restock energy stuff before we started our second half.

I’m not used to astroturf lawns, but if I lived in Hemet I sure would be. Our route took us through the mobile home zone where they seem to be a requirement.

At last we got to a decent hill. It’s really only 1000 feet over eight miles or so, but to hear people talk you’d have thought it was Mt. Diablo. It was the only real bump the entire day, and it was also by far the most attractive part of the ride.

We had a rest stop/check point at a winery where I caused some small amusement by buying four bottles and asking for them to be sagged back to the start. (It worked!)

After that it was just trying to hang onto OldStrong’s wheel again.

Right at dusk as the light started to fade and we started up a hill we rode past a stock yard ripe with the aroma of urine and manure and into a swarm of small bugs. It was really a low point. But after cresting that last bump we kicked on the lights and both got a burst of “horse and barn” and managed to light it up for the last few miles. It turns out that 203 miles feels a lot farther than the 195 of Solvang.

After the ride we managed to have another adventure trying to find a restaurant without a drive-through that stays open after 9pm in Hemet. We eventually ended up at what OldStrong called a “gringo mexican” place next to the ride start. I got the margarita I craved and all was good.

Final stats via Garmin 305:
203.65 total miles
6912 climbing (Ascent smoothed)
15.3 average moving speed
15:38 total time

Damage: Right knee really hurts. Enough I skipped riding to work today. I’m hoping to ride the Diablo Century on Sunday, so I’m doing lots of voodoo.

Best stat: 15.9 moving average for the first 100 miles

Special awards:
LanceOldStrong for the big pulls, and great navigation
Nick and Melgarpoe, who we hooked up with on the ride and were just plain fun to roll with.

Library Scraper Bikes

Bonus photo: Los Medanos College doesn't allow bikes inside campus buildings, but these cool scraper bikes made it into the library entrance anyway. I'm glad. They kind of class up the place.

Party Pardee ride

Joyce in the yellow and Tricia in the white cruise the California foothills.

The Party Pardee ride out of Ione CA put on by the Sacramento Bike Hikers was a blast. Every year they have a theme. This year's was baseball. They had baseball trivia questions lining the walls at the post ride dinner. Servers wore ball uniforms. They even served hot dogs at the rest stops.

The ride itself is 65 miles through the absolutely beautiful springtime California foothills. This years rain produced ponds and filled the creeks along the rides. The wildflowers were out in force. Minimal climbing made for a fast and delightful ride, but we still had time to enjoy the views.

The day started a bit on the cold side, and instead of warming up it just got colder. Still, there were just enough hills to keep us warm. The Bike Hikers insisted on a rest (read food) stop every 15 miles, so I dutifully stopped and stuffed my face at every one. I may have gained weight on the ride. If the ride food didn't do it the stops at two local wineries put me over the top. All in all, a very good day.

Solvang Double in the bag

I'm like a kid who knows he has to go to the dentist, but it's his birthday, and Christmas too. He's been called to the principal's office, and there's a bully lurking, but the girl he has a crush on just smiled at him. That was me the night before and morning of the Solvang Double Century.

Just getting all my junk together was a chore. I was so afraid I'd forget something I organized myself into disorganization. When we got to the motel I was sure I'd left my cycling clothes behind and started to panic. Tricia had brought them into the room and I was too wound up to see the big box they were in. It went on like that.

But shortly after 5 am I rolled out with my crew, with all the crap that makes a pretty bike look like a skid row trash pile: Lights, GPS, route sheet clipped on the cables, two water bottles and a huge ugly (but necessary) seat bag.
The morning ride out of Solvang in the dark was amazing. We looked like an endless trail of ants marching with candles in a religious procession as we wound our way through the hills.

I had a cold start, but used a tip I'd read somewhere. I wore an old sweatshirt I planned to abandon. It kept me warm even though my fingers froze. I dumped it at rest stop 2 and stopped looking like a total fred.

Here are a few of my disconnected memories of the ride

• The 3:30 AM call from my riding partner LanceOldStrong (Daniel) telling me he checked with the desk and that since I gave him a ride I was clear to park in the hotel lot, thereby saving me from obsessing over where to park.
• The amazing dawn as we rode through... I have no idea where we were, but it was amazing.
  
• Riding with "Big Georges." I was so beat I kept thinking I was with Big George Hincapie and maybe he'd give me some bike clothes.
• Almost missing a turn in the dark and thinking the change in road color was a cliff.
• The speed run pace line that ran at 22-24 for quite a while. I'm not used to that and it was a blast.
• Getting way too much info about LanceOldStrong's last check point break (ask him, or better yet, don't.)
• Riding behind LanceOldStrong after Pismo Beach for miles and miles at an amazing speed. That guy can crank.
• Being thrilled that the alleged 8-mile climb at the end was really only 2. What a deal.
• Telling Dan to "Light it up" with about 3 miles to go and watching him explode downhill.
• Seeing the cool poster Dan's kid's made him at the finish. Way sweet.
• Having MyLilPony sneak up behind me and rub my aching neck at the ride finish.

The best part might have been after the last rest stop. There was a climb, and we'd heard it was the big climb of the day. It was 2, 4 or 8 miles, depending on who I asked. It was steap, and over a really bad road. I was thinking it was going to get really old if it went on for 8 miles. But suddenly we were at the top. It was actually really short, and the summit that was marked on our cue sheet was really just a small rise near the finish.

Finishing stats via the Garmin and Assent:
Moving speed: 15.1 mph
Average speed with stops: 13.4 mph
Rolling time: 12:47
Total time out: 14:20
Climbing: 8020 feet
Pain: Monday, a tired neck and a tight right calf. Could be worse.

Elevation profile. Click map for large version

Map. Click map for really large version

Solvang "training" report and jerk encounter

Deborah and LanceOldStrong climb Morgan Territory Road

I've been negligent in reporting my recent rides, so I'll toss in three in this post.
What with the Solvang Double just two weeks away I've been concerned — not really worried — but concerned about the lack of major mileage I've put in this year. The big problem is that it's been wet most weekends. I do have my daily bike commute that I never miss, and that helps, but it isn't exactly long distance. Over the last three weekends I've at least put in some mileage, though not the kind that really gets one ready for 200.

Feb 28, 80 miles guided by LanceOldStrong and accompanied by the usual Bike Forums gang. The route included a good climb up Morgan Territory on the back of Diablo followed by a climb up Redwood Rd in the Berkeley Hills. It was the first good weather day in ages.

March 6 Tricia and I rode Morgan Territory for 50 miles. That gal can climb. It was a beautiful day until we hit the summit and dropped into the clouds and cold. That ride back toward Danville can be demoralizing. A slight invisible uphill with a headwind made us feel really weak for a bit. But eventually we got back to the sun, and a downhill and all was well again. And it's Spring again, so all is right with the world.

BlastRadius of Bike Forums was our Daylight Savings Time leader for the day

March 13 I rode with the Bike Forums gang from SF over the Golden Gate and out to Point Reyes Station for 75. The pace was leisurely, with frequent stops, but it was fun and 75 miles is 75 miles. The ride was to celebrate daylight savings time, and encourage Pete Taxi777 to ride with us. Daylight Savings Time worked out well, but Pete didn't make it. We were sad.

Jerk Report
While we were having lunch at Point Reyes Station we all leaned our bikes on a wall. A moment later another cyclist got his bike from the wall and in the process knocked over three of our bikes, including mine. When my bike fell it broke my water bottle cage. I pointed it out to him, and he just shrugged it off and walked away. Nice guy. My riding mates insist karma will get him.

Photo of Curtis by BlastRadius

Valentines Day on Diablo

It wasn't epic. Just a 35 mile ride up the South side of Mt. Diablo to the junction and back through Danville. But what a nice day! It's been wet and cloudy lately, and even raining. It's cut down our weekend miles dramatically. This was one of those California clear sky days that makes you happy to be alive. Valentines day with my sweetheart on the mountain — it just doesn't get much better.

As a side note, there is a move by an East County religious crank wing nut to change the name of Mt. Diablo to Mt. Regan. Amazingly it has been getting a little traction, and press coverage as well. The Board of Supervisors said "no" so hopefully that will end it. There is a Facebook group opposed, but has a Facebook group ever carried any weight in any issue?

Small thought hardly worth posting

The perception of distance
I often ride a 20-25 mile loop near my house. It doesn't feel that far, and I'm never far away from home. Yesterday I started at home and did a long ride in a less usual direction. At 25 miles I was thing "This is a long way." I had a similar experience driving to Northstar ski area. It's a long drive. When we got there I told my daughter "We just drove 180 miles. I've ridden my bike farther than this in a day." I'm not sure that she was impressed after I did the Davis Double, but our ski trip drive put 200 miles in a different perspective.

Photos
I took my camera on my 70 mile ride yesterday and didn't make one photo. I realized that it's because I wore full finger gloves. I need to take them off to fish my camera out of my jersey and use it. I like to shoot on the bike and the gloves make it impossible. I was also on a solo ride, so I didn't have Tricia to photograph.

Wet roads
I spent a lot of time on wet roads in the drizzle yesterday. I'm always amazed how much I dislike wet on my road bike, and how it doesn't bother me at all on when I'm commuting. Maybe it's that the commute is shorter, or that on the road bike I'm constantly thinking how much road gunk I'm sending into my finely-tuned drive train. Those skinny tires sure get exciting riding over wet metal grates too.

Chains and clothing
Is it just me, or have chains become a lot more expensive over the last two years?
And what about cycling clothes? A reasonable cycling jacket costs almost $200 new. If it wasn't for eBay, BonkTown and closeouts I'd be riding in sweatshirts jeans. I'd love to try some CapoForma bibs, but they are so out of my price range. I'm not even bring up Assos.

Cables
The Gore shifter cables I ordered came today. In theory (and product marketing) they a slicker than... something really slick. They will make my shifting so smooth the bike will shift when I just think of shifting. We'll see. Film at 11.
UPDATE: Doh! I clicked the wrong button and bought pricey brake cables instead of shifter cables.

Specialized Roubaix
I'm still looking for a great deal 2009 or 2010 Roubaix Expert. I want the white one with Ultegra and a triple in 52cm. You'd think one would show up on eBay or Craigslist, but I guess I have too specific requirements. I haven't seen one anywhere. The search continues.

The wind and rain

We've got some serious rain and wind this week in the SF Bay Area, but it doesn't stop Tricia from bike commuting. Wednesday is supposed to be the big day in the series of storms, and it sure is windy already. I'm glad she has lots of lights on her bike.


This video used to play. I have no idea what happened. I think it was a flash video linked from Facebook....

Almost New Years Day on Diablo

We missed our 1.1.10 ride to the summit of Mt. Diablo. We did manage to make it on the day after, so it still counts, right?

It was mighty foggy on the way up, but when we broke through the clouds it was like being on top of the world.

Even though there are bus loads of riders on the mountain, and many of them passing us at warp 9, I always feel like I've done something epic when I reach the summit. Maybe it's just that little kicker at the end, but merely making it to the top seems like a big deal, even though it's only about 13 miles from where we start. I guess it could be the 3770 feet of climbing...

2009 year end totals

7912 miles
For the record
Commuter bike starting odo: 5818, ending: 7815, total: 1997 commuter miles
Road bike starting odo: 8457, ending: 13791, total: 5334 roadie miles
Fixed gear bike 247 (normal ODO) 234 (garmin) 100 (est unrecorded commuting miles) 581 miles

Disclaimers:
I sometimes ride the commuter as a mountain bike, or on errands, so those miles are not strictly "going to work" miles.
I ride the fixed gear/single speed for fun, and commuting. The light I use interfeared with wireless odometer, so I guessed 100 miles unrecorded. I'm sure there were really more.

I'm a bit disappointed. Had I known I was so close to 8000 I could have made it by just adding a few a day, or taking one good ride. Of course, I find I'm also thinking "Perhaps I really did 180 unrecorded miles on the single speed." But that would be cheating, wouldn't it?

I want this... or this.

Specialized Roubaix Expert Triple 2009


Specialized Roubaix Expert Triple 2010

I know it isn't about the bike. I don't care. Bike lust has no rational component. So here, I publicly announce my bicycle desires. Ever since Tricia got her Ruby I have looked upon it with a greedy eye. It's light, it's pretty, and it seems to work really well. I have therefore determined that a Robaiux would work just fine for me.

Part of it is that, even though I like my Kestrel RT-700 a bunch, I am getting a might older. I'm starting to think a triple might be a good idea. I'm planning to attempt a few really long rides with a bunch of climbing and perhaps some really low gears will make it more likely that I finish.

The Specialized Roubaix Expert has an all-Ultegra drive train and seems like a reasonable level to shoot for. I'd take an 09 or 10, new or used. I'm picky about the color — black white or black gray, and I need a 52 cm version.

If you know of a great deal on this bike, new or used, please post a reply or email me!

Winter Solstice lights

Here on the west coast in California the 2009 Winter Solstice will occur at 9:47 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 2009. Even though that's the shortest day the sunrise will get later and later here until about Jan 7. The good news is that sunset is already getting later.

In any event, we are ready for Solstice with celebratory lights on the commuter bikes. Here's Tricia with hers.

Now famous in the USA too

Our Adventure Cycling 2010 tour catalog came in the mail. I knew they were using a couple of photos, but I didn't know exactly how. I was excited to see Tricia on the back cover, looking all tough and fine. The inside photo of me might not have the marketing appeal they were hoping for , but I'm still happy to have them use it.

Almost famous in Europe

I recently got email from the German "Endorphinum" magazine asking if they could use a photo they saw on my Flickr page. "Sure" I wrote back. It seems they actually did it! I'm on page 30 and 31 of the 9/12 issue (zipped PDF).

Velo Wonderland and Art Murmur

Velo Wonderland was a wonderful cycling event put on by EBBC at — of all places — the Uptown Body and Fender shop, that in addition to being a body shop is also a very nice art and preformance space. It was part of Oakland's Art Murmur first Friday art walk. I have no idea why it exists, or what it all means, but it is without doubt way cool. The Velo Wonderland part had handmade cycling clothes, bicycle arts and such, as well as indoor bike parking. The Art Murmur part included lots of open studio and gallery events complete with a blocked off street, wild projected videos, and all sorts of fun. We walked about and basked in the glow of creative people making fun stuff without boundaries. Coming from the distant burbs I was amazed to see so many bicycles. We kept thinking we must live in the wrong place.

Solvang Double signup

Yep. I've done it. I'm all signed up for this monster, the Solvang Double Century. I know it's early, but I'm hoping that signing up, and knowing I've got to be ready, will provide me with even more motivation. There's a rough of the route on Bikley. I've at least got months to decide the larger question: What jersey should I wear?

California Triple Crown 2010

I've envied my friend Ron's California Triple Crown jersey (awarded by the folks over at caltriplecrown.com) for a long time now. I want one, but apparently you have to actually ride the three double centuries in one year to get one.

I'm thinking about going for it in 2010. I guess I think posting the possibility may be a first step in making it a reality. I'm pretty much a non-athlete, and my biological clock it ticking loudly. If I'm going to ever do this stuff I better do it soon, as in next year.

I've done the Davis Double the last two years, which I'm proud of. Over 130 DNFed this year, so I'm not at complete bottom of the pack. Just close. I think if I focus maybe I can pull this off.

Here's what I'm looking at:
Solvang Double in March
Davis Double in May

After that I'm not sure. I don't want to drive to LA for the weekend, though there are rides that look do-able there. And I freely admit I'm trying to pick rides I might be able to actually finish. That leaves out the Devil Mountain Double, as well as many others.

So I'm thinking number 3 should be
Eastern Sierra (though this year the weather was brutal) in June
or
Bass Lake Power House, in October.
UPDATE 10.10.09:
I'm adding the possibility of Knoxville to the list. It seems like a lot of climbing, but you do get 19 hours to complete it. I do like that it's close to home. If the weather isn't a problem it sounds possible!

The questions at hand:
1: Good idea?
2. Right ride picks?
3: Any one else thinking doubles next year?
4. Any one else thinking Triple Crown?
5. Thoughts, snarky comments or cheap shots?

Kenitic Road Machine fluid trainer

Tricia had been talking about getting a trainer. I thought I'd get her one for Christmas and started researching them. I'd decieded on fluid rather than wind or magnetic, and the Kinetic got the the best reviews. It also appears to have earned the "least likely to leak" award.

Then I found an ad on Craigslist for this Road Machine at a reasonable price. Heck with waiting for Christmas. I bought it.

It set up easily, and we just finished installing Tricia's first road bike (her Trek 1500) on it.

I haven't tried it with my Kestrel yet. I don't know if I'll turn out to be much of an indoor cycling guy, but I'll give it a shot. Rumor has it that indoor riding can be good for short suffer-fests that result in increased strength on the road, so it may be worth it.

The geek in me is looking forward to trying out Coach Troy, Chris Carmichael and Graham Street DVDs.