August was a pretty good month, thanks mostly to the Bike Against the Odds ride on the 23rd. I missed one weekend of riding which accounts for the slightly lower total mileage.
In other news, my Dahon Tournado has still not arrived, but the bike shop expects it to arrive in their Tuesday shipment. Whee!
Total mileage for August: 333
Hours in the saddle: 29.7 hours
Total climbing: 18,500 feet
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Mt Tam loop (47 miles)
Yesterday pmk and I did the Mt Tam loop, starting and finishing in Sausalito. Weather was pretty close to perfect: cool and overcast in the morning, with the sun breaking through by 10 so that we had some nice views along the ridge line and from the peak.
The climb up from Alpine Dam Bridge to Ridgecrest was a bit easier this time than last, although I was still creeping along at just under 4 mph. And the rollers along Ridgecrest are still a pain (it always seems like they’ll never end), but the views almost make up for it.
Up at the Tam visitors’ center, they’re doing a bunch of construction and walkway improvement, so the main area is a bit of a mess. The concession stand vendor said that they’re using labor from the Sonoma county correctional facilities, and that they only do work on the weekends. So I guess that may take a while to complete.
After the ride, we had lunch in downtown Mill Valley at a place called Small Shed Flatbreads, where the flatbreads feature local organic ingredients. Tasty! Then back to Sausalito for mojitos, cfg-style, and a post-ride dinner courtesy of pmk: salmon with roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts. Good stuff.
For the past few weeks pmk has been staying at this house up in the hills above Sausalito. The house belongs to the parents of the girlfriend of one of his employees, or some such thing. Everything about this house is pretty much perfect, and the views from the back patio are spectacular. Check it out:
Total Distance: 47 miles
Animules: lots of deer
Elevation gain: 4000 feet
Time in the Saddle: 5 hours
Update: pmk's garmin data shows a total elevation gain of 6400 feet, way more than what I estimated from my KLIMB software.
The climb up from Alpine Dam Bridge to Ridgecrest was a bit easier this time than last, although I was still creeping along at just under 4 mph. And the rollers along Ridgecrest are still a pain (it always seems like they’ll never end), but the views almost make up for it.
Up at the Tam visitors’ center, they’re doing a bunch of construction and walkway improvement, so the main area is a bit of a mess. The concession stand vendor said that they’re using labor from the Sonoma county correctional facilities, and that they only do work on the weekends. So I guess that may take a while to complete.After the ride, we had lunch in downtown Mill Valley at a place called Small Shed Flatbreads, where the flatbreads feature local organic ingredients. Tasty! Then back to Sausalito for mojitos, cfg-style, and a post-ride dinner courtesy of pmk: salmon with roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts. Good stuff.
For the past few weeks pmk has been staying at this house up in the hills above Sausalito. The house belongs to the parents of the girlfriend of one of his employees, or some such thing. Everything about this house is pretty much perfect, and the views from the back patio are spectacular. Check it out:
Total Distance: 47 miles
Animules: lots of deer
Elevation gain: 4000 feet
Time in the Saddle: 5 hours
Update: pmk's garmin data shows a total elevation gain of 6400 feet, way more than what I estimated from my KLIMB software.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Harvest Ride century
Next big event coming up: the Harvest Ride in Hopland (Mendocino County) the first weekend in October. I've signed up to do the full century, but have no idea what the route profile looks like. Mysterious!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Bike Against the Odds (70 mile route)
This Saturday was the Bike Against the Odds charity ride, to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund. I reached my goal of raising $1000 in donations; thanks guys! Here's the official cfg ride report.
I began my Saturday morning by missing the BART train that I had wanted to take from my house to downtown Oakland. Not wanting to wait 20 minutes for the next train, I decided to go ahead and ride down to Lake Merritt. I took my usual commuting route so it felt almost like I was riding into work. On a Saturday. Yay! Anyway, I arrived at the lake, got checked in, and was on the road by 7:30. The weather was overcast and on the cool side, but that was fine with me. I had been hoping for nice cool weather for this ride. The east side of the Oakland hills can really heat up this time of year, and I was hoping to avoid climbing "the bears" in 90 degree heat.
First climb of the morning was up Old Tunnel Road to Skyline. This is my usual route into the Oakland hills, so it was a piece of cake. Up on Skyline (elevation about 1400 ft), the fog was hugging the hills and visibility was very low. Once I started zipping along the Skyline ridge (past first rest stop at Sibley park), I briefly wished I had brought some of my winter gear along. It was cold, people.
From Skyline, the route took us up and over the Oakland hills into Moraga, then a few miles north to Orinda. For the local cyclists: Skyline > Redwood > up Pinehurst > Canyon > Moraga Way. I arrived at the next rest stop, at the intersection of Bear Creek and San Pablo Dam Road, at 10:15am. At this point the folks doing the 50 mile option turned up Wildcat Canyon to climb back into the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. I was doing the extra loop around the reservoirs, so I continued straight down San Pablo Dam Road.
The loop around the San Pablo and Briones Reservoirs is a popular cycling route and is often referred to as "the three bears loop", because there are (at least) three main hills to climb on Bear Creek Road. I usually ride this loop counterclockwise, so this was a little different hitting the climbs in the opposite direction. There were very few cyclists out on the road at this point in the ride. Maybe most riders did the shorter 50 mile option. Losers! At any rate, I was back at the intersection of San Pablo Dam and Bear Creek a little after noon for more snacks and a water refill. At this point I had done about 50 miles and still felt strong.
The route then crossed San Pablo Dam for a climb up Wildcat Canyon to Inspiration Point. I figured this would be the toughest climb of the day for me, being a bit steeper and coming 50 miles into the ride. Luckily the temperature was still comfortable and the road is relatively shaded, so I made it up that climb without any problems. Then I quickly zipped through Tilden to the other side of the hills, overlooking Berkeley. Then it was up Grizzly Peak for the last climb of the day. At this point fatigue was starting to set in, but fortunately Grizzly Peak is a relatively gentle climb. And I knew that once I got to the top, it was going to be all downhill for the last 12 miles back to Lake Merritt. There was one cyclist on this final climb, let's call her "Anna", who had a bit of hard time and came very close to climbing in the SAG car about 1/4 mile shy of the top of the hill. She held on though and made it to the water stop at the top where her Team in Training cohorts were waiting to cheer her on. Good job Anna!
From the top of Grizzly, route back was Skyline > Shepard Canyon > Snake > Mountain > Park, etc. I pulled into the start/finish point just before 3pm. Pretty good ride!
Total distance: 74 miles
Total time in the saddle: 6.5 hours
Total elevation: 6000 feet
Animules: one deer and one wild turkey along Bear Creek Road
I began my Saturday morning by missing the BART train that I had wanted to take from my house to downtown Oakland. Not wanting to wait 20 minutes for the next train, I decided to go ahead and ride down to Lake Merritt. I took my usual commuting route so it felt almost like I was riding into work. On a Saturday. Yay! Anyway, I arrived at the lake, got checked in, and was on the road by 7:30. The weather was overcast and on the cool side, but that was fine with me. I had been hoping for nice cool weather for this ride. The east side of the Oakland hills can really heat up this time of year, and I was hoping to avoid climbing "the bears" in 90 degree heat.
First climb of the morning was up Old Tunnel Road to Skyline. This is my usual route into the Oakland hills, so it was a piece of cake. Up on Skyline (elevation about 1400 ft), the fog was hugging the hills and visibility was very low. Once I started zipping along the Skyline ridge (past first rest stop at Sibley park), I briefly wished I had brought some of my winter gear along. It was cold, people.
From Skyline, the route took us up and over the Oakland hills into Moraga, then a few miles north to Orinda. For the local cyclists: Skyline > Redwood > up Pinehurst > Canyon > Moraga Way. I arrived at the next rest stop, at the intersection of Bear Creek and San Pablo Dam Road, at 10:15am. At this point the folks doing the 50 mile option turned up Wildcat Canyon to climb back into the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. I was doing the extra loop around the reservoirs, so I continued straight down San Pablo Dam Road.
The loop around the San Pablo and Briones Reservoirs is a popular cycling route and is often referred to as "the three bears loop", because there are (at least) three main hills to climb on Bear Creek Road. I usually ride this loop counterclockwise, so this was a little different hitting the climbs in the opposite direction. There were very few cyclists out on the road at this point in the ride. Maybe most riders did the shorter 50 mile option. Losers! At any rate, I was back at the intersection of San Pablo Dam and Bear Creek a little after noon for more snacks and a water refill. At this point I had done about 50 miles and still felt strong. The route then crossed San Pablo Dam for a climb up Wildcat Canyon to Inspiration Point. I figured this would be the toughest climb of the day for me, being a bit steeper and coming 50 miles into the ride. Luckily the temperature was still comfortable and the road is relatively shaded, so I made it up that climb without any problems. Then I quickly zipped through Tilden to the other side of the hills, overlooking Berkeley. Then it was up Grizzly Peak for the last climb of the day. At this point fatigue was starting to set in, but fortunately Grizzly Peak is a relatively gentle climb. And I knew that once I got to the top, it was going to be all downhill for the last 12 miles back to Lake Merritt. There was one cyclist on this final climb, let's call her "Anna", who had a bit of hard time and came very close to climbing in the SAG car about 1/4 mile shy of the top of the hill. She held on though and made it to the water stop at the top where her Team in Training cohorts were waiting to cheer her on. Good job Anna!
From the top of Grizzly, route back was Skyline > Shepard Canyon > Snake > Mountain > Park, etc. I pulled into the start/finish point just before 3pm. Pretty good ride!
Total distance: 74 miles
Total time in the saddle: 6.5 hours
Total elevation: 6000 feet
Animules: one deer and one wild turkey along Bear Creek Road
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Training ride: Bike Against the Odds (45 miles)
This weekend I did a relatively short training ride for an event I signed up to do on August 23, called the Bike Against the Odds ride. It’s a charity ride to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and some local cancer support services. Plus it begins and ends in downtown Oakland and pretty much goes all over the Oakland/Berkeley hills where I do so much of my riding. So it seemed silly not to do it.
They have several different routes available, including a full century with 10,000 feet of climbing. That seemed a little much for me, in the middle of the summer, so I’ve opted to do the 72 mile route. For training purposes, I rode the itinerary for the 50 mile route today (the 72 route is the 50 miler with a “bears” loop tacked on).
The weather was nice for climbing today: it was overcast in the morning on the bay side of the hills, so no chance of overheating. Even on the Moraga/Orinda side where it was sunny, the temp was still mild, probably just in the mid 70s.
Riding up Old Tunnel to get to Skyline a guy passed me on a French grey Saluki. I yelled out, “hey it’s a Rivendell”, so he slowed down a bit and we chatted a bit about bikes. I noted that it was a different color combination from what I had seen before, and he said they had this frame in his size and offered a custom paint job for a big discount. I wonder if this is because they’re trying to get rid of inventory as they phase out the Saluki model? At any rate, it was a lovely bike, he had gotten the bar end friction shifters, and had put a 34 teeth cassette on for lots of low gears. That’s what I’m talking about.
After that initial climb up Old Tunnel (which I do all the time so it’s no biggie), the next climbs were a short climb up Redwood/Pinehurst (easy), a very gentle incline from Moraga to Orinda, a climb up Wildcat Canyon (kinda hard), and then a pretty easy climb up Grizzly Peak to return to Skyline. That climb up Wildcat is the only one that’s challenging, and the steeper parts are in the first mile. After that it evens out. The test next weekend will be to tack on the bears loop to this ride. I really don’t like the ride up the bears that much; there’s hardly any traffic but it’s really exposed and can get really warm in the heat of the day. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for fog on the day of the event.
Animules: deer, in Tilden Park
Rivendell sightings: 1 Saluki, custom paint
Total Distance: 45 miles
Elevation gain: about 4000 feet
Time in the Saddle: 4 hours 20 minutes
They have several different routes available, including a full century with 10,000 feet of climbing. That seemed a little much for me, in the middle of the summer, so I’ve opted to do the 72 mile route. For training purposes, I rode the itinerary for the 50 mile route today (the 72 route is the 50 miler with a “bears” loop tacked on).
The weather was nice for climbing today: it was overcast in the morning on the bay side of the hills, so no chance of overheating. Even on the Moraga/Orinda side where it was sunny, the temp was still mild, probably just in the mid 70s.
Riding up Old Tunnel to get to Skyline a guy passed me on a French grey Saluki. I yelled out, “hey it’s a Rivendell”, so he slowed down a bit and we chatted a bit about bikes. I noted that it was a different color combination from what I had seen before, and he said they had this frame in his size and offered a custom paint job for a big discount. I wonder if this is because they’re trying to get rid of inventory as they phase out the Saluki model? At any rate, it was a lovely bike, he had gotten the bar end friction shifters, and had put a 34 teeth cassette on for lots of low gears. That’s what I’m talking about.
After that initial climb up Old Tunnel (which I do all the time so it’s no biggie), the next climbs were a short climb up Redwood/Pinehurst (easy), a very gentle incline from Moraga to Orinda, a climb up Wildcat Canyon (kinda hard), and then a pretty easy climb up Grizzly Peak to return to Skyline. That climb up Wildcat is the only one that’s challenging, and the steeper parts are in the first mile. After that it evens out. The test next weekend will be to tack on the bears loop to this ride. I really don’t like the ride up the bears that much; there’s hardly any traffic but it’s really exposed and can get really warm in the heat of the day. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for fog on the day of the event.
Animules: deer, in Tilden Park
Rivendell sightings: 1 Saluki, custom paint
Total Distance: 45 miles
Elevation gain: about 4000 feet
Time in the Saddle: 4 hours 20 minutes
July mileage stats
I almost forgot to post my monthly stats!
Total mileage for July: 408
Hours in the saddle: 40 hours
Total climbing: about 20,000 feet
Rawk on.
Total mileage for July: 408
Hours in the saddle: 40 hours
Total climbing: about 20,000 feet
Rawk on.
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