Wednesday, December 12, 2007

El Tour de Tucson





Wow, have I ever been slacking off on keeping this blog updated!  Well - here it is - a full update on what I've been up to since the Grizzly Century.  

Last time I posted, I was worried that I was actually losing fitness.  Well, it got worse - much worse.  I started suffering from a nasty sinus infection - one that just wouldn't go away.  Needless to say, this got in the way of my training.  Then, my son's soccer coach asked for some help since he would be out of the country for a couple of weeks - that killed several team rides, and complicated riding during the week.  
As a result, I went into the Tucson ride hardly having ridden in more than a month.  Not good.


However, some great teammates and coaching helped pull me through.  Based on my early season fitness, I was riding with our fast group - yikes!  I had started the season hoping to pull off a sub-6 hour century.  With a better final month of the season, I probably could have pulled it off - during the event I was on my bike for 6 hours 15 minutes and finished in 7 hours 45 minutes.  This included a bunch of stops to work a persistent (and very painful) cramp out of one of my calves.  The cramp basically hit at about mile 25 (at which point I let the fast group pace line pedal off into the distance) and didn't really ease up until about mile 80.  As near as I can tell, the cramp was caused by a combo of dehydration and poor conditioning.  So I was actually pretty happy with these results, all things considered.  I may do this ride (nice and flat - good for really fast times) again next year to see if I can crack that 6 hour time barrier.

My teammates did even better.  2 broke 6 hours easily, and  2 others  just missed the 6 hour mark (including one rider who was new to the sport!).  This was despite the sea lion stuffed animals that someone thought would be cute on all of our helmets.
  
Everyone finished, except for one teammate who had her crank fall off just after mile 100 (Tucson is a 109 mile ride).  What a horrible feeling to put in all that work and effort, and to be that close to the finish line and have that happen!  Marci was a trooper, though, and kept smiling through it all.

As a team we raised more than $75,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Combined with the Death Ride team, that makes almost $250,000 raised by the teams I was involved with this year, with almost $8,000 of that raised by me.  Pretty good!

Here's a link to a u-tube video of the Tucson event put together by the son of one of my teammates: Tucson Video

Since then, I've been trying to keep riding, but life keeps getting in the way.  I'm still fighting that sinus infection, and I've moved, which took a lot of time and energy.  Plus, Sheryl Garrett, founder of The Garrett Planning Network, Inc. (yes, I'm a member) and author of several books, including the just-released "Personal Finance Workbook for Dummies", was in town promoting the new book just after Thanksgiving.  We put on a comedy night/fund-raiser for The Leukemia Society, and had a great time while raising some money.

Despite everything, I have been getting some riding in, including a revisit to Morgan Territory with a large group - organized through BikeForums.net.  Lots of fun - I already knew about half the people, and met the rest for the first time during the ride.
The weather's been cold, but there's been surprisingly little rain for this time of the year (not good, actually - one more dry winter and we'll probably have another drought around here).   I can keep riding as long as I carry lights (it's not really light until almost 7 am, and is dark before 6 pm right now).  Either that or just blow off work entirely....

A special thanks to all the donors who sponsored me this year in the two Team in Training rides.  Plus a very special thanks to Valerie and Michael, and to Anne and Kris, who watched my children during many of the training rides this year.  I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help!

JB

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Grizzly Century


OK, I've gotten a good week of riding in - starting with last Sunday's ride partway up Diablo then up Morgan Territory, several good rides during the week and then a great ride doing the Grizzly Century with some other TnT alumni. Lots of great scenery, like this photo. Yes, that's Yosemite Valley we're looking down on in the background. As always, click on the picture to see a full-resolution version.

This was a cold day - as in 35 degrees at 7:00 in the morning, when we met to start the ride. The organizers decided to not use one of the roads due to snow and ice! Not to fear - they had a backup plan. We still rode 100 miles (and then some), but lost some of the climbing. We did about 9,500 feet of climbing instead of the advertised 10,000. Still enough to leave me leg-sore and tired at the end of the day.

It was cold enough that I started second-guessing how warm my layers would be - I had a base layer (aka t-shirt made out of the same material as a cycling jersey), the cycling jersey and a wind vest (aka a sleeve-less windbreaker). I also used knee and arm warmers and long-fingered gloves (and comfy wool socks - sometimes the old-fashioned stuff works best). The temperature briefly got above 60 degrees - but we spent most of the day riding in very chilly temperatures. There were patches of snow on the side of the road for a while, and even a bit of slush on the road.

I was riding with a great goup of folks, all from the last Team in Training Death Ride Season. I'm still the slowest climber of the group, but I'm still working at it! I still manage to make up some of the lost ground when we start going downhill.

The hills were not horribly steep - just long, really long. Basically it was the kind of ride that if you weren't climbing, you were going downhill. I felt a bit bad - everyone was nice enough to wait for me at the top of the climbs, and then each time there was a descent I'd take off (knowing that they'd pass me again on the next climb).

Overall, just a nice ride with great scenery. It could have been warmer, but you never know what you're going to get this time of year in the mountains.

JB

PS - I'm still fund raising for Team in Training! Please visit my fund-raising website.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Mount Diablo and Morgan Territory

Hey, everyone,

Well, I'm still not riding as much as I want to - life keeps getting in the way. I'm now an assistant coach for one son's soccer team, business has been busy and I'm buying a new townhouse. All of this has conspired to keep me very busy.

I did manage to get in one good, long ride on Sunday, Sept. 30th. We went up to the junction of Mt. Diablo (about halfway up), then continued on a long, hilly ride that culminated with climbing Morgan Territory Rd. This road is very remote (yet still only 20 miles or so from Oakland as the crow flies). It circles around the backside of Mt. Diablo, and is basically one lane (as in if someone is coming the other way, both cars have to get over on the shoulder to squeeze by) with really, really bad pavement. It is also a good, tough climb. Some sections hit 20% (or more). After that is the real treat - one of my favorite descents in the area. It's fast, not too technical and wide open enough that you can see if a car is coming several turns ahead. We ended up riding just under 70 miles, although I'm not sure how much climbing we did. My riding partner had an altimeter, and he had it pegged at more than 6,500 feet.

Here's a picture of me climbing the rollers just south of Morgan Territory Regional Park:Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

I did the ride with an acquaintance from bikeforums.net - we were pretty well matched and had a really nice ride. I took it easy since I'm doing the Grizzly Century next weekend, which promises to be very tough - especially since I really haven't been riding that much. We'll see how that goes.

I'm still training with the Team in Training Tucson team, but I haven't been able to make a team ride in a few weeks. Now that my new home is closing I should be able to make some more of those, and do a better job of sticking to the weekday training schedule as well. Otherwise, if I'm not careful, I'll start losing fitness as the event approaches - not good!

Team in Training is a fund raising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - as always, donations are for a good cause! Jon's TnT donations page

I've been asked a few times about the jersey I'm wearing - it's a Peet's Coffee jersey, and the net proceeds (aka profits) from the jerseys are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can get one at the Peet's Coffee website.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Tour of Tucson Training Update

Well, this has been a pretty frustrating month or so. I'm riding a fair amount, but not as much as I want to - I keep having problems with my bicycle. I feel like I've bought a brand new bike - one piece at a time. My latest problem came on Saturday's team training ride - I was struggling up a hill that was a bit steeper and longer than I expected, and when I went to shift into my granny gear, it wouldn't go! Talk about demoralizing. For the last climb of the day (and the only other one I needed the granny gear on), I actually stopped and moved my chain by hand. At least that got me up the hill, but I really shouldn't have to do that. I took the bike into the shop, and the limit stops on the front derailleur had somehow gotten worn out (they aren't normally something that wears out).

In the last 7 months and more than 6,000 miles of riding, I've replaced the following on the bike:

- 4 chains (2 due to normal wear and tear, one broke during the death ride, and one was replaced by the shop looking for another problem)
- rear cassette (although not because of wear and tear, but rather to get better climbing gears)
- wheels (the original equipment wheels wouldn't stay true)
- 3 sets of tires (normal wear items)
- 8 inner tubes (it would be less if I had the patience to patch them)
- 1 set of brake pads (normal wear items)
- saddle (comfort issues)
- frame and fork (the frame broke during the Death Ride)
- rear derailleur (broke during the death ride)
- cables - all replaced when the new frame was built up
- left brake and shifter lever (aka brifter) (trashed when I fell once)
- handle bars (comfort issue - the new ones have a flat top which I find more comfy)
- stem (the piece that connects the handle bars to the steering tube - another comfort issue - this moved the handle bars a bit closer to the saddle)
- middle chain ring - replaced looking for the source of a strange creaking noise
- and now the front derailleur - worn out but for no apparent reason

Yup - I've replaced almost the entire bike, piece by piece. The only things I haven't replace are the seat post, the right brifter, the cranks/bottom bracket, the brake calipers, the pedals and 2 chain rings. I can be hard on stuff, but this is ridiculous!

Anyway, the training for the Tucson ride is not as intense as the Death Ride training. We still go on long rides - last weekend we did a 40 miler - and do a fair amount of climbing (I suspect that's just because it is tough to find a ride that long with out climbing something!). It's a great team, and as always we're raising money for a great cause. My fund raising website is at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfJBucley

Anyway, no great pictures yet so I'll spare you that.

Keep on pedalling (to steal someone else's tag line!).

JB

Friday, August 31, 2007

Tioga Pass!


Click on a picture to see the full resolution version!

Well, after the abbreviated Death Ride, I finally got around to doing a ride (on 8/23) that felt, well, monumental (and the Tour of Napa, as nice as it was, just didn't do it). I found myself with reservations for Yosemite, but without the family. I was going to cancel the reservations, but instead I took the bike. You see, ever since I had first seen the road, and then read about some people riding it on the Chain Reaction website (http://www.chainreaction.com/tiogapass.htm), I'd thought it would be neat to ride up to Tioga Pass.
I learned a few things:

- Don't do long hard hikes the day before going on a long hard bike ride (duh!). I'd gone up the Upper Yosemite Falls trail, then on to Eagle Peak the day before starting the bike ride. My legs hurt before I started pedalling.

-Bring water and food - the only place to buy anything, or to refill your water, is at Tuolemne Meadows, 36 miles and something like 5,000 feet of climbing up the road (OK, it's only a 3,000 foot change in elevation to that point - but on the way up, you get to go down several long descents, and therefore get some extra credit climbs. Plus, you'll get to do some climbing on the way back, when it's all supposed to be downhill!). Sunscreen is a really good idea, too.

-Bring good sunglasses. I was riding into the sun all the way to Tuolemne, and then for the whole way back down.

- Like most roads in Yosemite, there's not much of a shoulder. Most drivers were very polite and safe, but there's always a few bozos (you're on vacation! Where are you in such a hurry to get to?!!)

-The scenery is spectacular (duh!)

- I was a bit worried because I often struggle on the first hill of the day - and this had the potential to be a 46 mile long "first hill". Not to worry - within 4 miles I was into the first set of rollers.

- For some reason, the old Talking Heads tune "We're on the Road to Nowhere" kept playing in my head (beautiful scenery, but not a lot else going on. Unless you count the tourists).

- The only time I felt like the altitude really affected me was during the last slog from Tuolemne Meadows up the summit. It's only 8 miles and 1,000 feet or so of climbing - how hard could it be? Pretty tough, it turns out - I stopped more to catch my breath on this section than on the whole rest of the ride put together. I guess the air does get thin above 9,000 feet!

And of course I have a few pictures:

I passed the 8,000 foot elevation sign after only 12 miles. I was feeling good and thinking about how easy this ride seemed to be! Not for long.












That's Half Dome in the background - an incredible sight from any angle.













That's Tenaya Lake in the background. I got a tourist to take this for me - she didn't speak English very well, so we understood each just fine.
















Tenaya Lake - a beautiful Alpine lake.
















This may have been my favorite spot all day. A pretty little meadow and pond just past the 9,000 foot elevation sign - hardly any tourists or cars, because they all stopped at Tuolemne Meadows. This was a great place to stop and catch my breath.









What a great ride! It is a great feeling to be able to just go and do a ride like this without worrying about if I'm in shape, do I have the right equipment, food, etc. Team in Training got me into this shape, and now I'm determined to stay in shape to keep exploring California (and beyond?) by bike.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Death Ride and the Tour of Tucson


OK, I've been remiss in letting you all know how things went, but the Death Ride did not go well. I rode about 7 miles out of the 130 total, and my bike broke. Specifically, the chain - not a great thing, but ordinarily something that can be fixed. However, I managed to also mangle my rear derailleur (the gizmo that moves the chain between different gears) and even ruined part of the frame. My day was done - and I hadn't even climbed the first hill yet. The picture at the left shows how it looked - and this is not how it's supposed to look!

Anyway, that ruined my day, but the rest of the team was still riding and still in good spirits, so I stuck around and cheered for them as they finished. I had mixed feelings, but was happy to see so many people that I trained with doing so well. As the day went on, I realized that it wasn't so bad - I had gotten into great shape, trained with a great bunch of people, raised some money for a great cause - and there will be another Death Ride next year.

On the way home, I ran into a Leukemia Society employee who rode with us (and did great), and she convinced me to sign up for my next cycling adventure - the Tour of Tucson. This ride is a bit different - 109 miles and flat. It is also timed, so I'm looking forward to a training season with a completely different emphasis (ok, it's still on a bicycle). Of course, fund raising is part of this as well. I'm off to a great start already, and will be trying to use special events to raise the remaining funds. Everyone was so generous for the Death Ride season already, so I will try to make this a much lower-key fund raising season.

In the meantime, I had my bike repaired and I rode in the Tour of Napa, a 100 mile ride that had some climbing. This felt really good, and it was nice to ride with some friends and teammates from the Death Ride season. The ride felt great, and got me interested again in riding longer and harder rides.

See you on the road soon!