Inquiring Cyclists Need to Know

While the book writing is in a bit of a lull right now my riding is going strong.  Yesterday, I put in my first big ride of the year at 67 miles.  I’m not sure I rode that far at all last year.  Since we were increasing the distance, Coach Tim and I decided to get a very early start.  We would leave from his house at 7:15, which meant I was rolling from home at 6:45.

As you can imagine the city streets are pretty quiet at 6:45 on a Saturday morning.  At least they are here in Santa Rosa.   In fact, for the first mile or so I didn’t see a single car.  However, what happened when I did eventually see that first car on the road generated a litany of questions in my mind as I rode to Tim’s.

Here’s what happened.  I was cruising along enjoying the quiet ride.  The traffic light ahead of me was green and since there were no cars around I expected to roll right on through.  However, before I got to the light, a car (the first of the day) came in from the left just in time to change my light to red and make me stop.  This happened two more times before I got to Tim’s.  After the third time I was thinking, “how in the hell do these cars always seem to time it perfectly so my light changes and I have to stop?”

As I finished the ride to meet Tim I couldn’t help but think of other questions that inquiring cycling minds need to know and I pose them to you here.  Feel free to comment if you think you know the answer.

Q – What is it about the smell of cinnamon buns coming from the bakery that makes your legs go weak?  (This same question applies to the morning aroma of chorizo and frijoles cooking at the little taqueria stands in Roseland.)

Q – How can 40 riders, who have their bikes pointed in 40 different directions, start the ride as a picture-perfect definition of grace, harmony and unison as we clip in and start to roll?

Q – How is that these same 40 riders, who are now going in the same direction, turn into the police from a Charlie Chaplin movie on the road when someone yells “Car Back!”?

Q – How come young stupid guys in pick up trucks only know how to shout one word (it always seems to be faggot) as they drive by?

Q – Why do so many century rides place the lunch stop at the base of a big climb?

Q – If I haven’t had a flat in over 4-months should I change the tubes as preventive maintenance or keep making daily sacrifices to Bibendum?

Q – Will Westside Road ever be repaved?

I’m sure there are more but that’s all I can think of for right now.  So while you sip your coffee and give these questions some very studious thought I’m going to get back to the book.

Ciao!

A Time for Reflection

I’ve decided that I need to start blogging again even though I’m in the middle of writing a book.  There are just too many good things to talk about.  To be honest, it’s really this felt need I have to share my experiences and feelings with others.

The real catalyst for this revival happened a couple of weeks ago.  I had one of those weekends just makes you realize how great life was and how those occasional periods of chaos shouldn’t drown out the good stuff.

It actually started with working on the book, which will be about my adventures in cycling.  I was working on the first section where I talked about how I got into cycling in the first place and some of the great, great people I’ve met along the way.  This started my period of reflection.  It was so nice to sit back and remember the people I’ve met who have made such a positive impact on my life.  It was also fun to relive some of the great rides from my earlier days as a neo-cyclist and how much has changed since then.

After a great morning of writing, reflecting and drinking coffee, it was time to stop writing about cycling and go for a ride.  I’m feeling much stronger this year so I wanted to do a kind of pre-season test to see how the legs were really feeling.  This meant it was time to climb.

I was thinking about a climb called Sweetwater, which is a true bitch of a climb.  However, it’s in the middle of nowhere without cell coverage so Sherry would prefer I not tackle that alone.  So she says, “Why not climb Los Alamos?”  This is another brutal climb that’s a mere 5 miles from the house.  As I started to roll I couldn’t help but think about how great Sherry is and how when lucky I am to have her in my life.

As I start the climb up Los Alamos I am immediately reminded of why I don’t climb it all that often.  It is brutal with sustained pitches of 15% or more.  Still, on this day I was feeling stronger then ever as I climbed.  Part of this was due to my form but I think another part was something much larger.

You see, this was the first time I climbed Los Alamos since a young man of 23, who was adored by the local cycling community, died at the summit.  As I understand it this was his favorite climb.  I couldn’t help but think of Matt with each turn of the pedal.  The sadness of losing him at such a young age mixed with knowing that he died doing what he loved the most on his favorite ride was a very powerful moment for me.

I believe it was Matt’s spirit calling me to the summit (yes, I do believe in such things).  When I reached the summit I took a few minutes to pause next to the small memorial in his honor.  As I stood there looking out over the valleys and hills under a grey and cloudy sky, I couldn’t help but be reminded that I have a great life.

I truly hope that everyone finds these moments in life where you can take the time to stop and reflect on how great life can truly be.

Ciao!

A Good Excuse

Wow, it’s been a really really long time since I posted anything on the blog.  However, this time I think I have a good excuse.  I’m in the process of writing a book.  And while it’s been a lot of fun it is definitely using up the little bit of creative energy that I possess.

I’ve toyed with the idea of this book for years.  I actually started this blog in part to develop my writing style.  Then, about 3 months ago, the whole book seemed to unfold for me while I was on a solo ride and I knew the time was now or never.

The book will be about my cycling adventures.  It’s not about racing, doping, the life of a pro, the fall of a pro or any of the other usual topics.  This about a weekend warrior who rides his bike a lot and has had many a great adventure with friends.  My goal is to get people excited about living their life even if that does not include cycling.

I floated this idea past a couple of friends, who I knew would provide honest feedback, and they both encouraged me to go for it.  I don’t know if it will ever be published but I’m going to have fun writing it.

So for now, the blog will remain silent.  But fear not!  Once I get passed the writing stage for the book I’ll be back at it.

Until then . . .  thanks for following along and sharing my adventures.

Ciao!

Faux Pas Fashion Show

I was treated to the most unusual fashion show at the end of my ride on Saturday.  I left the group a little early and was riding back to Healdsburg solo.  As I rode along Dry Creek Valley Road, there were many, many cyclists coming from the opposite direction.  You could tell from the somewhat matching  jerseys (more on this later)and aero bars that they were all practicing for the upcoming Vineman triathlon.

Before I describe the show, let me describe the progression most semi-serious cyclists go through with regards to clothing.  Since buying your first bike can be an expensive endeavor, you decide that you don’t need all that fancy clothing when you have a drawer full of shorts and t-shirts at home. 

When you come back from your first ride, chaffed in all the wrong places, you realize that bike shorts may not be such a bad idea.  And, since your buying shorts, you should get at least one jersey because those back pockets might come in handy.  Now, you have a pair of black bike shorts and a sales rack jersey.

As you ride more, you begin to pick up more jerseys.  Then you buy a wind vest, which has to color coordinate with your jerseys.  You don’t know it yet but this is the beginning of the end for your black shorts.  You see, not long after that you buy your first matching kit.  Now you’re hooked.  A few short years later you now refuse to wear anything but matching kits and all your original black shorts and multi-colored jerseys are relegated to trainer rides in the garage.

There is one exception to this rule and that’s guys who kick ass on the bike.  I have friend, who happens to own a great Italian restaurant (don’t worry GP, I won’t tell them it’s you) and his philosophy on what to wear is “I wear what’s clean”.  You may be lucky enough to ride with him one day as he rolls up in red & black shorts and a lime green Liquigas jersey.  If you decide to tease him about this on the ride he will simply drop you. Hard!!!  He may then come back and drop you again just for fun.

With that as a base, let’s get to the faux pas fashion show from Saturday.  All of these folks were from a team that raises money for a devastating disease by completing a triathlon, marathon, or century.  While they may get coaching on how to ride, I’m guessing they missed the class on how to dress.  Here’s just a sampling of the awesomeness I saw on the road.  (BTW, their team gear is purple.)

• Team singlet (no sleeves) with white arm warmers.
• Team singlet with knee-high black compression socks.
• Team singlet with white arm warmers AND knee-high black compression socks.
• Team jersey (with sleeves) tucked into black shorts.
• Black shorts worn over team shorts with just the team name showing underneath.
• Team singlet with baggy shorts.

I could go on but you get the point.  While I’m very proud of all these good people for raising money and improving their fitness, I can’t help but to poke a little fun at them for their fashion choices.  After all, when I first started riding, people couldn’t help but poke a little fun at the way I was dressed.

Ciao!

It’s time to climb!

In my last 5 rides, not including recovery rides, I’ve climbed nearly 12,000 feet.   The rides themselves have not been all that long with most of them in the 40 mile range.  They’ve just had a lot of up and down to them.  Yeah, you could say I’m focused on climbing right now.

This all started a few weeks ago when the Saturday club ride included a little climbing.  Frankly, I did not do well.  I was laboring up hills I usually get up with no problems.  As I slowly climbed it gave lots of time to analyze what was going on and then it hit me.  I’m not climbing well because I haven’t been climbing (duh!!!).  For whatever reason, our club rides have been on the flatter side so far this year.  It was time for a change.

Harrison-Coleman Valley-Bittner

This is one of my all time favorite routes so I could not think of a better way to get back into the climbing groove.  This was a club ride so I also had great company.  Well, I had great company until we reached each climb.  Then I was by myself.  This route brought out some of our better riders who simply dropped me on every climb.  But I didn’t care.  I had a plan and I was sticking to it.  If it worked, I would be staying on their wheel soon enough.  Beside, like I said before, this is one of favorite routes so I also took the time to enjoy the scenery.  This would not be the case in the next ride.

Sonoma Mountain – Roberts Road

I found myself riding solo on the Memorial Day Weekend so I chose to continue my climbing.  This time it was more serious.  I chose to climb Sonoma Mountain, which is not one of my favorites (because of the road condition) but it is a great climb for building strength.  Although the scenery on this route is very beautiful I was more interested in gearing, cadence and heart rate.  It was on this ride that I felt my climbing strength was beginning to come back.

Crane Canyon-Lichau-Roberts-Fountain Grove

The next day I decided to tackle every major hill near the house.  This included riding Lichau Road for the first time, which is that second spike on the profile.  Lichau Road will get its own post here soon so let me just say this was an awesome ride.  I was toast as I approached the last climb but I held the course and completed the ride I started.  

Hill Work in Fountain Grove

For my Wednesday after-work ride, I decided to continue with the climbing strategy.  The hills of Fountain Grove are less then 3-miles from my house and even closer to work.  The first 5-miles of this route was the ride to work so the hill work is really miles 5 through 20.  The coolest thing about this ride was that it was completely done in the middle ring, which told me I was getting stronger quickly.

Half of Rockpile

Saturday’s club ride was going to the top of Rockpile, which is a very famous climb in Sonoma County and one of my favorites.  However, as soon as we began to climb I realized that my hill all the hill work was catching up with me.  I turned around about half way up with one of my fellow riders.  After a screaming descent, I was back at the car ready to call it a day.

Now, it’s time to recover.  I spent the last 3-weeks improving on the climbs and I am really feeling it.  That’s ok.  I know all this hard work will pay off in the end and I look forward to more climbing in the very near future.

Until then, bring on the recovery rides.

Ciao!