Lane’s Notes and Snaps

My 52 centuries a year quest was stopped by an injury to my left leg so I was only able to complete 46 centuries this year.   Hopefully, I’ll be back on the bike soon.

On nearly all my rides I capture the route on my GPS (currently an Edge 705) and I take pictures of the participants and a few scenery shots.  Most of the albums are at my Picasa albums page but some are in the Almaden Cycle Touring club gallery on SmugMug.

Below is a brief summary of each of my 2010 centuries with the most recent ride at the top:

#46 on 14-Nov – Part of the Hollister Permanent with Ken Emerson.  Photos of this 119-mile ride at this link.

#45 on 30-Oct – Old Tierra Bella – 105 miles led by yours truly.  Photos at this link.

# 44 on 23-Oct – Skyline Ramble 200K – 125 miles with my good buddy, Ken Emerson.  This is the 11th month in a row where Ken is riding a randonneuring event toward his R-12 Award.  I’m happy I was able to accompany him on part of his journey.  And this only represents about 25% of his riding for the year.  This ride started in Santa Cruz went to Freedom up to Los Gatos through Corralitos then up to Skylonda for lunch followed by a screaming descent down Hwy 84 to San Gregorio.  From there it rained all the way back south to Santa Cruz as we rode through Pescadero and Davenport.  There weren’t many other cyclists out there but we did run into Andrea Symons as she was heading north just outside Pescadero on the Pizza Century.  I only took a few photos due to all the rain.

# 43 on 16-Oct – Reverse Mt Hamilton – 123 miles led by yours truly with photos here This was one of the toughest of the year with 10,500 feet of climbing.  On top of that I’ve gotten into a bad habit of not doing a lot on my bike between the centuries so conditioning is not where it should be.  By the time I got to the back side of Mt Hamilton I was gassed but had to trudge my way to the top.  Paul Metz had been with me for the prior 30 miles but I told him not to wait on me since my legs were feelin’ it.  I was really happy to make it to the Lick Observatory at the top to take some photos and grab a candy bar and a coke. 

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After a great Solvang Century in 2008 I thought I could make an even better go of it.  In 2008 I completed the ride in 6 hours, 30 minutes; 5:50 in the saddle.  A combination of less power in my legs this year and strong headwinds it took me over 7 hours total time and 6:18 in the saddle.  Shows I need to rev up the training rides as much as I have the distance rides.

Millie and I drove to Lompoc Friday afternoon for a night’s stay in the Day’s Inn.  The hotels in Solvang were nearly fully booked several months ago with the only rooms being much more expensive than they were worth.  After arriving in Lompoc I drove the 20 miles to Solvang to pick up my registration packet.  The crowds were huge with at least 3000 of the 4000 people arriving at about the same time.  However, it was very smooth and fast.  I spent a few minutes checking out all the booths of the cycle stores, health food vendors, and a variety of other interesting cycle-related businesses. 

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After I failed to complete the Devil Mountain Double back in 2007 I decided that super long rides were not for me.  So, the 300K (188 miles) seemed out of the question but I’ve been doing so well this year with distances up to 150 miles that I felt like the 300K would be tough but doable.  And there’s something different about the brevets, at least for me.  There seems to be so much comradarie among the riders than on other organized rides.  In the past, I would start getting frustrated after about mile 120 and mad at myself after about mile 150 for signing up for such a distance.  Saturday, I never felt that way.  It was a great day.

Now for the 300K.  My good buddy Ken Emerson picked me up at 4:20 and it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge for a pep talk from Rob Hawks followed by 188 miles in the saddle.  Sometimes I wonder what the hell I’m doing on a bicycle at 6AM.  It had been raining most of the night but by the time we rolled we just had wet roads and, as usual, I forgot something important: this time it was my fenders.  I’m sure the people following me like Russ & Sheila Stevens weren’t too happy about that.  Sorry. 

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This was almost a no-go for me since it had been raining all night and most of the drive up to the Golden Gate Bridge.  (I hate riding in the rain).  The rain subsided just long enough for the 83 riders to register.  And then it rained for the next few hours, all the way up to Petaluma.  We were soaked by the time we arrived at the first check point on the road.  I hate that!

Back to the beginning…as usual I didn’t sleep well the night before a big ride and the sleep was disturbed by rain pounding on our house.  I couldn’t stop imagining myself soaking wet on the bike.  Time finally came for me to drive over  to Ken’s house so we could load the bikes into his big white van…at 5AM!!  We parked at Crissy Field at 6:15 in time for registration at 6:45 and launch at 7:00.

While waiting for launch, Ken checked out Barley’s fancy little fixie.  I can’t believe he can ride something like that and keep up with people on real bikes.  Barley is the man.

Rob Hawks gave his usual inspiring speech and imploring us yet again not to do anything stupid.  I did some stupid things during the ride but I don’t think anyone noticed, thankfully.  After the invocation, we were off to points north just as the rain picked up again. 

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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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It took several months but I’m starting to get myself back in riding shape again.  I’ve ridden the 100 mile version of the Tour of Napa Valley four years in a row and didn’t want to break the streak.  I didn’t feel like I had 100 miles in my legs so I rode the 68 mile version with my good friend Ken (Mr Fixie) Emerson.  He rode his silver fixed gear bike and I was chasing after him all day.  Fortunately, he waited on me several times so we finished together.   It was a fun day and a quick ride, about five hours on the road.

My ride photos and GPS output are here.

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This is one of my favorite centuries and it travels through some of the most scenic areas of Northern California.  This year the ride director was my good friend Maura who did a great job putting the ride together.  It was nearly cancelled until she stepped in to save the day.  As usual, the ride was well supported and lots of fun but challenging.

I definitely found this year’s ride to be a challenge.  Steve stopped by my house and rode down to Scotts Valley with me.  It turned out to be the only time I could keep up with him all day.  Steve and I met up with Ken & Barry at the high school and after a couple of photos we took off for the first of 11,000 feet of climbing.

Ken, Steve, and Barry were strong as usual and I struggled to keep them in sight riding up Mountain Charlie.  They were kind enough to wait for me at the rest stops even though I encouraged them to roll on and not stay out all day with me.  When I hit Jamison Creek Road for the time trial, the heat was really getting to me so I struggled to get to the top.  Then I hit Zayante and that really took it out of me.  A very tough day for yours truly.

Of the other rides I’ve repeated I’ve gone faster each year.  This was my fourth time on this one and I’ve been getting faster each year until this one.  I was 15 minutes slower this year than last, kinda disappointing.  Better luck next time.

Click on the map above to get to my photos or this link.  This was my 16th century of 2008 so I’m still a little bit behind my pace of 33 in 2007.

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