Training Ride 6/13 San Mateo-Woodside-Pescadero-Half Moon Bay-return

The training group for the Arthritis Foundation rides met at Canada Rd and highway 92.  That spot is on a bit of a ridge, so you can really feel the wind blowing and since it was about 8 am, it was kind of cold.  We continued into Woodside where it was quite a lot warmer and I had to stop and take off my extra layer of clothes I put on when the wind was blowing at the start.  
 

Here I am with Mary Arnone near the beginning of the ride.  She will be riding the California Coast Classic this year shortly after I finish the People's Coast Classic.

It felt even warmer when we started climbing Old La Honda Road (well known to cyclists).  Old La Honda is a fairly quiet road that winds up from about 350 feet where it splits off from Portola Rd. to about 1,780 feet where it meets Skyline, a distance of about 3 miles.  An enterprising young resident of the street had set up a "rest stop," selling cold water (and other items) to hot cyclists.  

Not being a climber by nature, I don't really enjoy difficult climbs and often have to occupy my mind on the way up to prevent myself from getting too cranky.  One thing that helps is knowing when I'm getting close to the top.  On Old La Honda, I know I'm getting close when I see Upenuf Rd.  It is a semi-circle, so you'll actually see it twice.  I don't know who picked the street name, but I think they must have ridden a bike up it a time or two and thought "up enough!"

Upenuf road sign.

One way I cajole myself while going up hill is thinking about how great the down hill will be.  Although the pavement isn't that good once you cross Skyline, it is a great down hill which continues on to highway 84.  Highway 84 has a wide bike lane and is well paved.  You can really go fast! (25 mph or more)

We were heading for the coast by way of Pescadero, so we took Pescadero Road, however, you could continue on highway 84 all the way to highway 1 (and the coast) if you want.  Pescadero Rd. has some rolling hills and then climbs, but not too bad, and then a nice long down hill!  Lots of shade during the climbing kept the temperature reasonable.

We had a regroup and lunch stop at Arcangeli's (AKA Norm's Market) in Pescadero on Stage Road.  It is a popular place and there are always a lot of cyclists.  The food is good and picnic tables in the back make an excellent place to enjoy your food.  Try the artichoke garlic bread!

As good as the food is, it is best to share a sandwich or order a half sand because when lunch is done, it will be time to climb again.  I feel much better climbing if my stomach isn't too full.  Since we were near the coast the temperature was marine influenced, which also makes the climbing more comfortable.  There are 3 main hills on Stage Road that are all in the 412-430 feet range before you reach the top at highway 1.

Lots of great scenery and cool breezes for the downhill ride on highway 1.  It is only about a mile and a half from Stage Rd. to the right turn on Tunitas Creek Road.  Tunitas Creek is a has a number of farms and ranches on the western end.  We had a short stop/regroup at the Bike Hut's facilities and then continued.

PortaPotty at the Bike Hut.  Thanks to the folks at Potrero Nuevo Farm who make this place possible.

Are you wondering about that the Bike Hut is?  Here's a quote from another cyclist, "They have everything a cyclist needs, from snacks and water to bike parts and tools, all in this little hut in the middle of nowhere.  The honor system cash box took this little gem over the top."

Here's a picture of the Bike Hut.  It has its own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheBikeHut

A little way from the Bike Hut, the road starts to clilmb.  The Pescadero fog was gone, but we had plenty of shade and a nice breeze.  The climbing gets serious once you pass the bridge and stays that way for about 1.5 miles.  If there is ever a climb where I wonder if I'm going to make it, it is during this part of Tunitas Creek.  I know I can do it, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it.  According to Ride with GPS, the grade goes up to 22% at the highest, but most of the hard part is between 10 and 18%.  Following that, the grade becomes less intense but the climbing continues for several more miles.  It is a beautiful road with extremely little car traffic.

Tunitas Creek Road summits at Skyline Blvd. (AKA highway 35).  After crossing Skyline, the road becomes Kings Mountain Road and it is another great decent.  There is more traffic on this road, but not too much.

After the descent and a couple of turns, we returned to Canada Road.  The temperature was quite warm in Woodside until the intersection with Edgewood.  After that, the headwinds kicked up and the breeze dropped the temperature noticeably. Headwinds can be hard on spirit as well as the body, especially after a long day of climbing, but knowing the end was near was helpful.

Stats:
64.61 miles
6,158 feet elevation gain (says Garmin)

Mountain Biking 6/7 China Camp

On June 7 John and I did a mountain bike ride around the front side of China Camp State Park as a preparation for leading this same ride for the California Deaf Wheelers a few weeks in the future.  There has been some trail work going in at China Camp so we found that some of the Shoreline Trail has been "improved."  It is a much flatter, harder packed trail, making it more like a paved road than a dirt trail.  It was a disappointment to John, but he reflected that it is probably easier for beginners with the new harder pack.

Our goal was to make sure that nothing had changed since the last time I had been there and to think about how to manage a group, especially if there were widely varying skill levels.

John on the trail.

Stats:
9.3 off road miles
1,127 feet elevation gain

Ride with GPS route:  http://ridewithgps.com/routes/9142057

Training Ride: 6/6 San Mateo-Pacifica-Half Moon Bay-Woodside

We started in the Crystal Springs area in San Mateo with sunny and warm weather.  We got on highway 35 and went to Pacifica .  Weather was cooler but still nice when we got on highway 1. 

The beach in Pacifica

 At Devil's Slide we took the scenic bypass of the tunnel.  Weather started to fog over and get very windy.

The view along the scenic bypass of the Devil's Slide tunnel.

We continued south on highway 1 until Half Moon Bay when we stopped for a break to get out of the wind.  After the break, we returned to highway 1 and continued to Tunitas Creek Road.  Shortly after turning inland at Tunitas Creek, the sun came out again and the temperature went up, but was still manageable due to all the shade.

Taking off a layer of clothing now that the sun is out.

At the top of Tunitas Creek, we continued down King's Mountain Rd and then over to Canada Road in Woodside.  The head wind was up along Canada and I ended up accepting a ride back to the start from some friends who had parked along Canada.

Stats:
56.37 miles
4,210 elevation gain (about half just on Tunitas Creek)

Ladies Wine Country Get Away

May 28-31.  Thanks to Leticia and Gail for organizing a group of women to have a long cycling weekend around the wine country.  We were centered first in Healdsburg and then Guerneville.  The weather was warm to nice in Healdsburg and a little cooler in Guerneville.

5/28: To manage the logistics, several of us rode from Domain Chandon in Yountville to Healdsburg while others drove the cars to Healdsburg and then saddled up and rode back toward the first group.  I drove.  I had hoped to have enough time to get to Calistoga before turning back, but I think I ended up about 6 miles outside of town.  Once we were all together, we returned to Healdsburg with a snack stop at the Jimtown store on the way.

Both groups meeting on the highway.

5/29:  From our hotel we rode through town to Westside Rd., across Wohler bridge, and out to Windsor. We headed up Chalk Hill Rd (the reverse direction of the Wine Country Century) to highway 128, Alexander Valley, and then to the intersection of Lytton Station and Lytton Springs where we stopped for lunch at an excellent taco truck. Getting back on the bike after a large sized lunch and sitting down for a while was challenging, but not very long.  We continued on Lytton Springs Rd back to Dry Creek and the hotel.

At the taco truck.

5/30:  We did one more ride before leaving Healdsburg.  From the hotel to Westside Rd., W. Dry Creek to Yoakim Bridge (part of the Wine Country Century), continue on Dry Creek to Canyon to highway 128 through Geyserville, Geyers Rd, Red Winery Rd., Pine Flat Rd. back to highway 128 (all from the century). At 128 we headed back toward town but first a quick stop at the Jimtown store. We followed yesterday's route of Lytton Station and Lytton Springs, but then took a turn onto Chiquita Rd., then Grove to downtown Healdsburg. We all had lunch together at market (where one of the other patrons was heard to remark when she saw us that there must be a "lesbian bike group" in town.) then rode back to hotel and departed to Guerneville by car.

Group at the Jimtown Store.

 5/31:  The route four of us started on was dubbed "A Taste of the 200K," referring to the 200 kilometer route offered during the Wine Country Century. From our rental house in Guerneville we rode to highway 116 and took that to Green Valley Rd (hill climb).  We continued through vineyards and ranches and them climbed up Graton Rd.  At the stop sign at the end of Graton, we took a left, were briefly on Bohemian Hwy., and then quickly turned on to Coleman Valley Rd. The weather here was cool and damp enough that it felt like rain was falling.  Quite a change from the sunshine the previous days. 

Vineyard scenery from the ride.

Part way up the first climb of Coleman Valley Rd., Debra and I got a call that the other two were turning back.  Thinking that we were almost at the top, we continued on.  It was a top, but not the top.  We went up and down on Coleman for a while.  Some of it was quite steep and much of it was wet and dripping from the mist. Eventually, we got to the final rise and had quite a view down to the ocean. There was a fast down hill descent to highway 1 and the coast.  

Old Barn on Coleman Valley Rd.

We stopped at the Schoolhouse Beach turnout to take in the view of the ocean, then returned to highway 1 to go north to Jenner.  We had a close shave with a truck towing a trailer; it got extremely close in a curve where there was no shoulder, just a ditch.  We were fine, but that incident that was enough to put some pep in our tired legs to get over the rolling hills and on to highway 116.

Gopher at Schoolhouse Beach turnout.

 

Schoolhouse Beach

Schoolhouse Beach

 We had a lunch stop in Duncan's Mills where we relaxed on the patio at the bakery. We met two people from my cycling club (Grizzly Peak Cyclists). After lunch we continued east on 116 to Mays Canyon Rd and our rental house. There was a long walk up the steep and winding driveway, but we had planned ahead and left our regular shoes in a bag at the bottom of the driveway for the walk up.  This was the most challenging of the four rides and also covered some different territory.  Stats for this ride: 52.9 miles and 4,063 feet of elevation gain.

On the patio at the bakery in Duncan's Mills.

Training Ride: 5/24/15 Redwood & Joaquin Miller Parks

With the short ride on Saturday, John and I decided to go mountain biking on Sunday in Oakland at Redwood and Joaquin Miller parks.  For this loop, we start at the main parking lot for Redwood Regional Park on Skyline and take the West Ridge trail.  At the Chabot science center, we leave the trail, cross Skyline and drop into Joaquin Miller park. We spend quite a bit of time in Joaquin Miller return to almost the spot where we left and continue through Redwood. The end involves going up Canyon Trail, which is quite steep and returning to the parking lot via East Ridge trail.  Although the distance up Canyon Trail is about 0.3 of a mile, in that distance it climbs approximately 350 feet and has a grade which ranges between 10 and 24%!  That is some serious work and I always feel good when I can make it up without stopping.  Great training.  The climbing continues on East Ride, but in a gentler, more rolling fashion.

I don't know many of the trail names, but here is the route plotted on a map for those interested:  http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8862746

It was another cool and grey day, especially on the ridges.

Not sure if you can tell what this is.  It is drops on the windshield of my car.  It started to rain just as we were done riding.

Stats:
12.1 miles (definitely feels like more)
1,705 feet elevation gain

Training Ride 5/23/15: Orinda-Pinehurst-Skyline-Wildcat

The training group for the People's Coast Classic bike tour (the one I will do in September) met at the Orinda BART station for a group ride.  There were only a handful of us, perhaps because it was a holiday weekend.  It was cool and windy at the BART station, but I resisted the urge to put too many layers on.

Our route was Camino Pablo, Moraga Rd, Pinehurst, Skyline, Grizzly Peak, Golf Club, Tilden park/Wildcat to Dam Rd and back to BART.   It because quite cold and grey, especially on Skyline and Grizzly Peak where the density of fog made things so damp that it felt like it was raining. The roads were wet and water was dripping down from all the trees overhead.

Parking lot for the steam trains at Tilden.  Brrrr.

Things cleared up by the time we reached San Pablo Dam Rd, but by then people wanted to pack it in, so we returned to BART from there.  My hands especially got cold enough that I had a hot chocolate when I got home.

Stats:
25.3 miles
2,242 feet of elevation gain (if you can believe Ride with GPS, it seems to consistently read higher that Garmin.)

Where has the time gone?

5/25/15:  I've been meaning to get back to this blog for a long time, but you know how it gets.  I thought I should re-start it with a bang and my mountain bike ride on 5/16 provided that opportunity:

Aftermath of my ride at Tamarancho.  Damn those ruts!

How could I pass up sharing this bit of trail rash?  It looks terrible, but it wasn't that bad.  Nothing serious happened.  The scab is already less that half that size now.  Thanks to Antonio for his advice on scar reduction.

But let's back up a bit...the fall was busy after the tour, culminating in the annual Fremont to Santa Cruz ride with the Deaf Wheelers and Foxy's Fall Century, another 100 mile ride, that I did with Eden and Anton.  My riding schedule went back to once a week on the weekend. Everything was going fine, if a bit relaxed, but just before Thanksgiving I started having problems along the side of one of my legs, centered near the knee.

I started going to the physical therapist because it got really painful.  Through time and exercises from the PT it has improved a great deal, but is not 100% yet.  Most of the winter I did little to no riding.  I was able to gradually increase the distance and climbing after some time, so I was able to be ready for the Wine Country Century the first weekend of May.

One of the earliest rides I tried was at the end of December and was somewhat of a failure.  It was too soon to be out mountain biking, even for a relatively flat route on fire trail type terrain in Samuel P. Taylor State Park. 

At Taylor State Park.

Following that, I tried a road ride from home in El Cerrito out to Pt. Molate in Richmond.  The flat parts were fine the limited amounts of climbing were challenging on my leg.  It was a very clear day with good views,  but very cold and windy.  It is an interesting ride with a lot of unusual industrial and military scenes.  Also, there is about a block's worth of riding on the freeway (580) on the way over.  I think there is a plan to redo that area and include a section that does not route cyclists on to the freeway, but I'm sure that it will be years from now.

 

View toward East Brother Lighthouse.

The first really successful ride where my leg felt pretty good the whole time was on the almost flat Alameda Creek bike trail in January.  We got out there a bit late for the time of year and were coming back to the car in the dark.

At the end of the Alameda Creek Trail, near twilight.

John waiting for me to finish taking pictures.

Things started improving more significantly.  In February I joined the training group for a recreational ride around San Francisco, taking in many of the tourist sites.

View from Twin Peaks.

View from Twin Peaks.  Yes, we climbed up on that road.

Taking at break at the top of Twin Peaks.  Are we all in orange?

I tried a short mountain bike ride in March, which went really well.  Sadly, I left the house with a terrible headache, which did not get better on the drive over to Woodside.  I figured the ride would either make it feel better or I'd have a stroke and need to be helicopered out of El Corte de Madera (AKA Skeggs).  Fortunately, the headache did get better immediately.  It was a short ride with a lot of single track, but to get to the end there is a fire road that climbs 1,000 feet in about one mile.  I know I'm having a good day if I can climb the whole thing without stopping (no matter how bad I feel like it).  At the top of the climb we found some earth moving equipment for trail work that was taking a break for the weekend.

A second career for me?

 At the end of March I was feeling better enough that I knew I needed to step things up if I wanted to be in shape for the Wine Country Century, which I'd already signed up for.  It was going to be an unseasonably warm day, so we decided to ride in West Marin.  We went from Nicasio to Drakes Beach and back.  Mostly rolling hills and about 52 miles.  It was too late for a treat at Bovine Bakery on the way back.

A beautiful day at Drakes Beach.

John and me in front of the ranger station.

Mid-April I went with some of the training group folks for a climb up Mines Road.  It was a 60 mile out and back from Robertson Park in Livermore to "The Junction."  Bicyclists and motorcyclists know this area.  Otherwise, it isn't very well-traveled.  If you continue far enough you can get to Mt. Hamilton.

At The Junction, a bar/restaurant at the junction of two road.  I'm not sure what town this is.  It is a bit in the middle of nowhere, but I do know it is in Santa Clara County.

 My last training ride before the century was a 75-mile loop in and around Napa from the Grizzly Peak Cyclists route sheet library.  It is basically a 52 mile loop with 10 miles of climbing for the sake of climbing and back again.  If you notice that 52 + 10 + 10 does not equal 75, that's because there were a few extra miles from missing a few turns along the way.  It was a fun day (except the climbing on Mt. Atlas Rd.).  It was all new to me.  Sage Canyon Road was my favorite part.  It was both scenic and mostly free of traffic.  It had some climbing, but not the relentless kind.

Do I look happy?  It's because we finally got to the top of Mt. Atlas Road.  It is literally all down hill from here.  If only the road was in better condition, it would be great to whip down it in nothing flat.

 The Wine Country Century went well.  Like all my rides since my leg pain started to get better, it still takes a long time for my left leg to feel warmed up.  It was a cold day in Santa Rosa and the clouds and dampness stayed with us for much longer that in the previous two times I've done this ride.  The sun was coming out a little before rest stop #2 at Wohler Bridge (I think its in Windsor).  Had some great riding along West Side and Dry Creek Roads with their rolling hills.  By lunch at Warm Springs Dam (at Lake Sonoma) it was pretty warm (about mile 70).  That was the best I've felt at mile 70, but it took a while for my legs to get started again after the lunch break.   I made a wrong turn before the final rest stop at mile 85 at the Alexander Valley School, but fortunately, I was not far off the track.  I think I was on a parallel road.  I also felt really good at mile 85, that's often the point where I wonder why I've decided to ride 100 miles.  It was good riding with some of the training group gang this year:  Leticia, Debra, Bill & Gail on the tandem.  Rita, thanks for not running into me when I made an unplanned stop.  I finished 10 minutes slower than last year, but not bad given the injury.

Since the century I've been doing a mix of road and mountain biking.  I plan to keep up the mix.  My current physical therapist thinks that mountain biking will help my leg getting stronger.

The next installment will be pretty soon.