Another chance for Westridge/Altamont

Did you miss our Saturday ride because of the weather? Looks like some of the other ride leaders are organizing a rerun for this coming Saturday the 13th. And it's being scheduled as a Cat-2 ride, which means that you only need to have a pace of 10 mph or greater to qualify ... so, even with all the tough hills, you'll have no problem with the pace.

It's running half an hour earlier: meet time at 9 a.m., ride-out at 9:30 a.m., from our usual place in downtown Mountain View. Everything else is the same.

If you're interested, RSVP to Ellen Goldstein, who's facilitating this ride. RSVP even if you were scheduled to ride this past Saturday, so she knows about how many people to expect.

This was a fantastic training ride with some hills that are probably new to you ... and as I said in my ride report, it's an important simulation of the endurance conditions you'll encounter in June.

What a training ride looks like

This won't come as any big shock to those of you who are already part of ALC. But for the rest of you, here's seven minutes of video (sped up from about 35 minutes in real time) from today's Sunnyvale training ride. Now you can see -- from the vantage point on my handlebars -- some scenes of a typical midwinter day in the Bay Area.

This is all from my $19 video camera, which unfortunately seems to have a habit of stopping at unpredictable times ... which led me to miss capturing the most challenging climb of today's ride. Sorry!

Ride report: Cat-3 Distance Training #3 (2/6/2010)

Go, riders!

Again this week, I didn't think we were going to ride. And again, I was proven wrong. Although scattered rain fell across the Bay Area all day long, our intrepid group of nine riders somehow managed to avoid almost all of the precipitation and even enjoyed some intermittent warm, sunny skies. And although we had a bit of attrition on today's ride (only five of us finished the full 50 miles), every one of you is to be commended for taking the chance and for listening to your body and doing what was right for you.

Also, extra-special thanks are again due for our super SAG driver, Al. Even though he didn't have a lot of incidents to take care of (not a single flat on today's entire ride!), his presence throughout the day was a welcome sight on more than one of those nasty hills that your facilitator jammed into the second half of the ride.

Yeah, and what was the deal with all those hills, anyway? Today's ride was an attempt to simulate what happens to many riders on Day 3 of the event in June. We ride nearly 200 miles on the first two days, but most riders don't have much trouble with that because most of us include two consecutive long-mileage days at least once as part of our training. But very few of us have the opportunity or the time to attempt three long days in a row before June. So when Day 3 begins with Quadbuster, more than a few riders don't know what hit them.

Today, you were treated to about 25 miles of nearly flat terrain (made just a little more difficult than usual today because of the wet pavement) followed by a few miles of very gentle climbing, and then whoomp! it's time to climb Westridge. And sure enough, in the words of one rider today, "Westridge hurts." It's a fairly good simulation of Quadbuster, perhaps just a little bit shorter, but still quite a workout. I took a few breaks on the way up, some folks walked part of it, and some just bore down and went for the whole enchilada. Any one of those strategies is perfectly OK, not just on a training ride but also on the event in June. It's not a race, and there's no special certificate for riding Every Friendly Inch of the route. Your health and safety always come first ... always try to practice the philosophy of "no permanent damage."

And as if Westridge wasn't enough, then there were more hills ... and then even more hills. Fortunately, there are very few parts of the route from San Francisco to Los Angeles that have so much climbing in such a short distance -- the new Day 5 route between Buellton and Lompoc probably comes closest. (I found that part of the route surprisingly difficult, although others might disagree.)

Again, today's lesson: When you encounter easy terrain in June, don't necessarily consider it to be permission to crank up the dial to 11 and go all-out. You can if you want, but remember that ALC is an endurance event, not a quick sprint. Ride at a pace that's comfortable for you ... and one that you can maintain essentially forever, given proper nutrition and hydration. That's one of the biggest secrets to happiness on the ride.

What's next? We're back on schedule now, so it's two weeks until our next ride. On Saturday, Feb. 20, we increase the mileage to 60, and we head up the Peninsula to the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Although there's about 50% more more climbing than we did today, I think the overall ride is a bit easier. There's only one big hill on this ride: the climb up Polhemus, followed by the steep descent on Ralston. (Check your brakes before the ride!) The second half of the ride is entirely in populated areas (but still a bit hilly), so bailouts will be easier for anyone who needs them. Details and RSVP are here.

One important note: Beginning with our next ride, the meet times start getting earlier with almost every ride. We're half an hour earlier (at 9 a.m.) next time, which means that the southbound Caltrain no longer runs early enough for our rides. (Sorry about that!) Get used to the earlier times ... by ride #10, our meet time will be a truly insane 5:15 a.m.

Thank you for riding today, and thank you for being part of AIDS/LifeCycle.

P.S.: If you skipped today's ride and want to try it on your own sometime, here is the route sheet, and here is a custom-drawn map that might help you avoid making any wrong turns on this complex route.

We will try to ride today

This is a tough call. Heavy rain has moved through overnight, but the radar currently suggests that only a couple small bands of rain are left off the coast and set to move through in the next few hours. Since this ride is "heavy rain cancels," and since heavy rain appears unlikely at the moment, we'll try to do the ride, or at least some part of it. Everyone seems to agree that the chances of rain decrease as the day goes on.

But conditions might change in the next three hours, so we will see what happens when we gather. Here are the possibilities:
-- We delay our ride-out if it's raining at 10 a.m. but appears to be short-lived.
-- We ride only part of our scheduled route.
-- We get to Mountain View and decide things have turned sour, so we cancel.

See you in Mountain View at 9:30. Dress appropriately, and bring a change of clothes with you so that you won't need to drive home wet.

Distance Training #3 weather update (9 p.m. Friday)

One last check with the nerdy forecasters at the National Weather Service before I head to bed. And it's a tiny bit more interesting than the last outlook:

Unlike the Thursday evening frontal passage with its steady rain... this system to be marked by shower activity and varying amounts of rain due to the convective nature of the precipitation. Instability showers lingering a little longer by recent forecast solutions than previous forecast package so much of Saturday to have shower activity and not tapering off until Saturday night.

What they're saying is that tomorrow might be more like today ... yes, it's fairly certain that any one area will receive some precipitation, but it will be scattered throughout the day, making it tough to predict how heavily impacted any particular location will be. But also, the earlier prediction that things might start clearing out in the afternoon now seems to be not so likely.

AccuWeather still calls for seven hours of rain tomorrow, with a precipitation total of a hefty 0.46 inch, with a 30% chance of thunderstorms. A reminder: Thunderstorms in the ride area mean an instant cancellation.

So, with all that said, I'll check things early in the morning and post a decision here. And remember, if we don't do the entire scheduled route on Saturday, we'll try it again on February 13. Ride leaders: Let me know if you can make it that day.

In slightly more positive news, Sunday looks more favorable. Why not consider the 30-mile Cat-2 ride in Sunnyvale? And here's a protip: If you park at our usual spot in Mountain View and commute to and from the meeting point, the ride becomes a quite respectable 41 miles.

Slippery when wet

This morning's Sacramento Bee has a well-written report on bicycling in the rain. Although it's written mainly for a mainstream audience, it does make several good points that bear repeating, especially this:

Winter cycling starts with adapting to the season's changing conditions. The most important rule is "slippery when wet." In addition to branches and other debris, major hazards include leaves and road paint, such as the thick white lines at intersections. Riding over either when wet can be like rolling over ice, especially while cornering.

And if you encounter any of these things while going downhill, that calls for even more caution ... or even walking if you're the least bit unsure about your safety.

Ride report: Cat-3 Distance Training #2.5 (1/30/2010)

Go, riders!

Life sometimes throws us surprises, and today we had a whole giant heaping big bunch of surprise. On the plus side, we had beautiful sunny skies and seasonably warm temperatures, despite the forecasts of scattered showers. On the minus side, however, we had several incidents during today's ride, and many of the 24 of us who rode today (myself included) have some interesting stories from the road.

Most importantly, we had a crash early in the ride. One rider went down in a solo incident along McClellan Road in front of the school at about mile 7. Fortunately, some nasty bruises and pain appear to be the extent of the injuries, and the rider got a ride home. Also fortunately, because the incident occurred on a popular cycling route, other non-ALC riders were on hand to stay with our rider until help arrived.

The second failure of the day turned out to be mine. As I rode in to Rest Stop 2 in Los Gatos, I noticed that my rear wheel was sticking somewhat seriously. I hadn't noticed anything before, so I'm guessing it happened right there or in the small pothole that I had hit just a little bit earlier on Blossom Hill Road. At first, it looked like my rear wheel had somehow gone seriously out of alignment, but after a few minutes, we discovered something much more serious: One of the spokes had essentially drilled right through the wheel, ripping a hole out the other side!

Needless to say, this made my bicycle unsafe to ride so much as another 6 inches, let alone the 4 miles to the nearest light rail station. I was able to get a ride back to Mountain View, but this was the first time in my five years of ALC training rides, both as a rider and a leader, that mechanical failure prevented me from finishing a ride. Yes, that's somewhat disappointing, but I'm also quite lucky that nothing serious happened while I was riding, and that it occurred in an urban area where I had a relatively easy way back home.

That said, I'll apologize to everyone for not having a SAG (Support And Gear) vehicle on today's ride. I usually try to have one, but because today's ride was rescheduled from last week, many of our usual suspects weren't available. And, wouldn't you know it, the one day that we really, really needed a SAG vehicle, we didn't have one. I can't promise one on every ride, but I'll be redoubling my efforts to get as many rides covered as I can. (Ride leaders: Anyone want to switch from ride to SAG on an upcoming ride, like next week? Let me know.)

Other things happened today as well. We had several flats, most likely because of the wet pavement and (apparently) a lack of recent street-cleaning due to the storms, leading to lots of glass along the shoulders and in bike lanes. And a few folks ended up riding bonus miles after missing a turn. If you're not already doing so, please take a few minutes when possible to study the route sheet before every ride -- along with a map if possible. I'll always send out route sheets in advance, but other rides might not make this information available in advance, so do the best that you can. These rides are plenty long without bonus miles!

The most common thing that happened today, however, was that the ride was simply just too long for a few folks. Between the storms and other life events, it's been a tough season for a lot of us to get into training. Many of us decided to chop a few miles out of the middle and take a shortcut to Rest Stop 2. I commend you for doing so, because that means you were listening to your body and acting appropriately. (I also commend you for letting a ride leader know you were doing this, because we always need to know whenever someone goes off the designated route.)

Don't be discouraged; it's still only January. (OK, not for much longer.) Also, don't forget the Sunday Cat-2 training rides that run every week out of Sunnyvale. You'll find many of the same smiling faces from our rides, and the distances are a little bit shorter (but usually have a few more hills than we do). Tomorrow morning's ride is 25 miles; if you're reading this on Saturday night, it's not too late to RSVP. (If the bike shop somehow gets my wheel rebuilt in the next two hours, I hope to be there.)

A few folks apparently didn't eat enough, and they ran into trouble during the ride. The body can bicycle on stored energy only for about two hours before you run the risk of bonking; you need to eat and drink properly at rest stops to provide enough fuel to make it through the longer rides. And you need to have a good breakfast before riding ... those bagels before the ride aren't just decorative; they are, just like air pumps and tire irons, a tool for you to use, especially if you're showing up on an empty stomach.

There's information about nutrition and hydration on the ALC website; check it out, either for the first time or as a refresher. Better yet, there's a free workshop coming up this Thursday night in San Francisco. "Nutrition for Endurance Cycling" will be presented by the same professional nutritionist who teaches training ride leaders, and you might be surprised at some of what you'll learn. You'll never look at a muffin the same way again. The workshop takes place 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday at the main office of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation on Market Street; details and RSVP are here.

ALC World HQ also wants me to remind you about the refer-a-friend promotion to get more folks signed up for ALC9. Through the end of February, it's a chance for one of you to possibly win a new Cannondale Synapse road bike. Find out more here.

What's next? Weather permitting, we have an interesting and challenging ride scheduled for next Saturday, as I try to get us back on our schedule of riding every other Saturday. It's only a little bit longer (50 miles) and has only a little more climbing (about 2,000 feet), but it's much more challenging. Why? The first half of the ride is nearly flat, and all of the climbing is packed into the second half of the ride -- including some climbs steeper than what we did today. The purpose? To help train you to pace yourself through the easy parts of the ride so that you're not all worn out when you reach the difficult parts. I've offered a version of this ride the past two years, and every time, there's at least one normally strong rider who rides all-out on the flat part but has difficulty in the hills. This year, we're tackling a hill that, as far as I know, never has been part of any ALC training ride: Westridge Drive in Portola Valley. (Experienced cyclists might be familiar with this one.) It's got a climb that's very similar to Quadbuster, so it will be good exposure for first-year riders ... and a good refresher for the rest of us. Details and RSVP are here. If we get rained out next Saturday, we'll try to ride on Saturday, Feb. 13 instead.

Thanks to everyone for staying in good spirits in today's challenging circumstances, and I look forward to riding again with you soon. Thank you for being part of AIDS/LifeCycle.