Lane’s Notes and Snaps

After completing three 100+ mile rides over the past three week-ends I felt ready to tackle the first brevet of the 2010 season.  I’ve ridden on the roads north of the Golden Gate Bridge a few times and was a little concerned about Highway 1 with its narrow shoulders but I felt safe all day although a few drivers did come a bit close during the course of the ride.

The day started too early with an alarming sound from my Blackberry at 4:15.  And then an even more alarming sound, rain pounding on the house.  I hate riding in the rain and my bike seems to hate it more than I do.  But, I was committed and my buddy Clyde would be riding with me so I couldn’t bail out.

It rained most of the way up to the Golden Gate Bridge but it stopped shortly before we arrived.  Thankfully.  Clyde and I unloaded our bikes then rode the short trip up to the start point at the Joseph Strauss Statue.  That guy designed the bridge!  It was great to see some good friends from my ride club (ACTC), other riders I’ve seen before, and others who are just crazy enough to ride 126 miles in January.  After some speechifying by Rob Hawks we headed out across the Golden Gate Bridge on time at 7AM, still a bit dark.

Check out my photos but Brian Chun took even more and better snaps as usual.

My goal was to feel good all day so I started at a much slower pace I normally do and it paid off.  My first mistake of the day was losing track of Clyde.  I thought he was behind me so I slowed even more as many of the 119 riders passed me.  Fortunately, he stopped to make a few adjustments about five miles from the start so we were able to stick together most of the way out to the first check point at Pt Reyes Lighthouse where Bobbe cheerfully greeted us and I was able to have a quick chat with Steve and Ken before they took off toward the Marshall Store for check point 2.

After the brief respite at the lighthouse I took off ahead of Clyde to see if I could catch up to Ken and Steve.  On the way to Marshall I passed the tandemaniacs (Russ & Sheila and Dave & Deb) for the second time and by then they were probably an hour ahead of me and they were taking it easy, oh well.

I wasn’t able to catch up to Ken & Steve on the road but they were still chowing down when I pulled in for my favorite ride meal: clam chowder and it was great!  Ken and Steve waited around for me but when Clyde arrived I decided to ride back with him.  As they left the store I could hear them muttering about “waiting on the bum” and wishing they had taken off with Jason who had already rolled out on his fixie.

Clyde and I stuck together most of the way back to the Bridge, the temperature warmed up a bit, there were a few sprinkles but most of the climbing was done so it was a nice ride back to the start.  I was climbing strong so attacked most of the hills and Clyde who usually outclimbs me took it easy to reduce the knee pain he was having.  We rolled in a few minutes apart and we both felt good with more miles in our legs but glad to be off the bikes.

I’m really looking forward to the next 200K on February 6th.  Brevets are fun, especially the short ones.  The San Francisco Randonneurs are great folks and Rob Hawks is The Man!

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Russ and Sheila, outstanding members of the Almaden Cycle Touring Club, lead a 2-day ride around the San Francisco Bay at least once every year.  Since I was riding Levi’s Gran Fondo on day 1, I met them in Novato to ride with them and 25 other club members down to San Jose on Sunday, day 2.  The group of us had dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel and I had my favorite pre-ride meal again: spaghetti & meatballs.

After another restless night at the luxurious EconoLodge of Novato, we had a great breakfast thanks to Russ.  The night before he bought various cereals, milk, bread, yogurt, breakfast pastries, and other tasty goodies.  Joanne, the queen of rider support, said to meet at 6:15 in her room so my roomate, Ben, and I were there at 6:13.  I’m sure she appreciated the promptness.

Following breakfast we hit the road at 7:15 to see some beautiful California scenery while we churned out 100 miles back home in the South Bay.  The ride was casual which was good for me after the 100 miles the day before.  Joanne did a great job supporting the ride and swapping off with other riders driving her fully stocked truck so she could put in some miles on her bike, too.

As usual, Russ and Sheila ensured that everyone had a fun ride and made it home safely.  There were mechanical problems here and there with loose lights and flat tires but all were resolved quickly so we could keep working our way south. 

By the time we made it to mile 80, my legs were feeling the 180 miles and we were hitting the toughest part of the ride: the 10-mile climb up Calaveras.  Russ and Sheila kept me company as I suffered through every stroke of my pedals.  I was so glad to see the top of that climb.  My knees were both hurting more than normal for some reason.  Ouch.

At about mile 95 I parted ways with the remaining crew as they headed back to Russ’s and Sheila’s house for sundaes and their cars.  I gingerly pedaled the remaining 10 miles home and was glad to finally make it back.

A few photos from the ride here.

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Levi decided it would be a good idea to stage a ride similar to an Italian Gran Fondo.  I’ve ridden in two Gran Fondos in Italy and for the most part he and his crew did a decent job.  It’s pretty much impossible to replicate a Gran Fondo in a U.S. town since nearly the entire population of the Italian town gets involved one way or another.   Besides the mass involvement of the local populace, Gran Fondos are hardcore one-day races.  Levi’s Gran Fondo was a bike ride and not a race.  But it was a lot of fun.

One of my good friends, Ken (Mr Fixie) Emerson, drove another good friend Steve (Mr GPS) Saeedi and me up to Santa Rosa the afternoon before the ride so we could register and get a good night’s sleep.  At the registration area the similarities to a Gran Fondo became evident with several tents with good deals on bikes, biking gear, and nutrition items.

After a nice meal at Luigi’s (I had my favorite spaghetti & meatballs), we headed back to the hotel for another restless night before a big ride; I can never sleep well before a ride.  That morning we biked the two miles over the ride start where Ken met up with at least 50 people who know him from hither and yon.  That guy knows more people than I’ll ever meet.

Next came more Gran Fondofication: a mass start of 3500 riders through the streets of Santa Rosa.  The Gran Fondo (135 miles), Medio Fondo (60 miles), and Piccolo Fondo (35 miles) riders were all launched at the same time which led to massive traffic jams on the streets of that fair city.  I looked for letters to the editor in the local paper Sunday and Monday but noone complained.

I was glad to be riding the Medio Fondo since I had another 140 miles planned the rest of the week-end.  It was a great ride from Santa Rosa along the Russian River, out to the coast, and back to the city.  Levi does train on some beautiful roads.  Ken and Steve rode the Gran Fondo with the big boys and girls so I didn’t see them after the start.

Back at race central there were hundreds of people, food galore, a band, along with rows and rows of tents with even more goodies for sale than the night before.  At an Italian Gran Fondo that kind of activity goes on all week prior to the race but not much English is spoken.  Saturday, I didn’t hear a word of Italian besides Gran, Medio, Piccolo, and Fondo.

After my “free” lunch I hopped on my bike to ride 40 miles down to Novato to meet up with some folks for a Sunday ride down to San Jose, only another 105 miles.  A fun week-end on the bike.  Photos here.

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