Larry's training log... T-N-T Death Ride

This summer I'll cycle in the California Death Ride - Tour of the California Alps. I’ll be riding in memory of my mother, Claire L’Italien (multiple myeloma) and in honor of my cousin Connie (B-cell lymphoma). It will be one day of pure pain, taking me over 5 mountain passes, 129 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing, and innumerable heartache. I'll be riding to help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These funds help to provide services, education, and to support important research.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

In memory of...

Norm and his sweet gentle heart,

Don who looked fabulous in drag, NOT (I hope I'm just as trashy on Thursday) and his motto '...it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad person...',

Larry who blazed a trail for others to follow,

Bob and poker and UU and friends.

I ride, in part, so that I won't forget them.

Many, Many, Many thanks to all of you who helped me raise

~~$3,893.00~~ $4,093.00

for the SF AIDS Foundation. See you when I return. Big Hugs and Big Sloppy Kisses.

ALC Day 0 - I must finish packing

It's time!!!!

Bicycle parking line at ~9 am.

Registration lines after Safety video.

Safety video = orange arm band, Registration = red (No-vegetarian)

L'Italien means 'La-Me'.

Above: just because.

Above: Line for Safety video after I've been all through the lines.

Below: Joel and others attaching their numbers to bikes.

Above: That's me, #1004

Below: Trevor would love this recumbant (christmas?)

Week ending Saturday May 31, 2008

spin classes: 0

commute miles: 42.84
training miles: 0

weekly miles: 42.84

2008 year to date: 2,596.21 miles, 21 spin classes

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Week ending Saturday May 24, 2008

spin classes: 1 (Tue 6:15 am)

commute miles: 47.61

training miles: 0 (resting up for the ride in a week)

weekly miles: 47.61

2008 year to date: 2,553.37, 21 spin classes

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Week ending Saturday May 17, 2008

spin classes: 1 (Tue 6:30 pm)
commute miles: 122.58

training miles: 151.67
weekly miles: 274.25

2008 year-to-date: 2,505.76 miles, 20 spin classes, three flat tires, one broken frame,
and one stolen bike.

Tiltiing at Windmills - Double Metric: May 17, 2008

I should be riding to Marshal and climbing Marshal's Wall, but I'm not. Trevor is off running Bay2Breakers with Diane and I'm getting ready to do some maintenance to my bike that is sorely needed. With the temperatures so hot yesterday, the rubber on my tires became so pliable that I blew a tube. While changing it I looked more closely to my tire and I could clearly see some threads, not treads, threads. Hairy little protrusions. So I must change out my tires today. While I'm at it I need to swap out my break pads for new ones and change my cleats on my shoes. So instead of riding the 100-mile training ride today, I'm working on the bike and drinking wine as I do it.

Yesterday's ride was HOT!!!! 130 miles out to Livermore and the Altamot Pass and back. Quite a flat ride Norris Canyon the only significant climb of the day, which is less than a mile. Feeling good and strong.

Below: A smaller group of us at the next to last Rest Stop (mile 91). David (ernie and bert) rescued me from my flat with his CO2 cartridge. My new pump with it's fancy pressure gauge is a piece of crap. I was struggling with it for a half hour before he caught up. He broke his chain earlier in the day, so I was surprised to see him pass by but really glad he did.

Above: Mary

Below: David and David

Above and Below: Julie and David high fiving at the top of Norris Canyon

Above: Mary cresting Norris

Above and Below: getting ready for the 6:30 am ride out

route and data:

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Total Time (h:m:s) 12:24:59, 5:42 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 8:30:06, 3:54 pace
Distance (mi ) 130.35
Moving Speed (mph) 15.3 avg., 38.7 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)+/-3,836

Heart Rate Data Avg, Low, High
Heart Rate (%max) 72, 42, 95
Heart Rate (bpm) 132, 78, 176

Temperature (°F) 76.6°F avg., 86°F high
Wind Speed (mph) NW 8.5 avg., NW 14.9 max.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Ride2Work Day; May 15, 2008

Early Thursday morning Alfred and I left Peet's coffee on Market and started our way to Palo Alto. Brisk pace, down Valencia and out Skyline to Canada and Sand Hill. Ran into a fellow SF train rider who also rode from SF at the Sand Hill Energizer station. Gorgeous morning. HOT HOT HOT afternoon. Since the trains were going to be more of a zoo than normal I decided to try riding home. When I hit San Carlos, I decided that it was too hot to attempt, but one of the trains had broken down. Back on the bike I followed the tracks, more or less, towards SF. The first train didn't pass till I was between San Mateo and Millbrae. Decided to ride all the way.

Above and Below: Dubuce Bikeway PM Energizer station with a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence.

Above: Brisbane Lagoon looking towards the city.
Below: Alfred at a short rest stop near Edgecomb.
route and data:

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Total Time (h:m:s) 13:07:57, 9:46 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 5:44:51, 4:16 pace
Distance (mi )80.56
Moving Speed (mph) 14.0 avg., 34.6 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)+3,915 / -3,903

Heart Rate Data Avg, Low, High
Heart Rate (%max) 65, 36, 97
Heart Rate (bpm) 121, 67, 180

Temperature (°F) 82.6°F avg., 93.2°F high
Wind Speed (mph) SSE 7.7 avg., SSE 19.5 max.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

VeloGirls Climbing&Descending Clinic

This chicken little needs practice descending badly. Lori Lee Lown and another spent the day giving us tips and critiques on our climbing and descending techniques. Like I said my descending, especially around the corners, needs some work. Great clinic.

Above: Lee, Nancy, and David, on the inside with Lori showing us her finish line technique.

Below: Chit Chatting at the top of Alpine.

Distance: 21.52 miles
Elevation gain: +/-1982 feet

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Week ending Saturday May 10, 2008

This is my replacement folding commuter bike for the one that got stolen earlier in the week. Isn't it so cute? It's Bike Friday's 'Tikit2ride' model and folds up all nice and snug that I shall never ever be bumped from Caltrain because of all the fair weather bicyclists (which is really really good, more people should ride [but baseball fans going to the SF Giants games are just a pain in the ass]). I need to make two modifications to the Tikit: 1. Swap out the current pedals for metal SPD combination pedals because these plastic ones will just not do in the rain as my feet will slide all over the place and 2. Swap out the shorter stem for a longer one to give a more horizontal ride as it currently rides quite vertical. I'm just not used to that. Alas Trevor hates the bike, says it looks funny. Since he refuses to let me get a Smart Car, which would make me happy as a clam, this geeky looking thing will have to do.

spin classes: 0
commute miles: 32.07
training miles: 174.90
weekly miles: 206.97

2008 year-to-date: 2,231.51 miles, 19 spin classes,
two flat tires, one broken frame,

one stolen Dahon Zero G folding Mountain Bike (the thieves best not ever ride CalTrain),

and a partridge in a pear tree.

DSSF Jersey Ride: 5-10-2008

Nice relaxing stress less day of riding with DSSF. Raymond, Joseph, Michael, and I, broke off from the larger group to do the Conzelman loop followed by the Tiburon/Paradise Loop. Arrived at Shark's Deli as the others were finishing lunch. David, Joseph, Chris, and I, did an extra Conzelman loop at the end.

Below: David, Joseph, and Chris, still happy.

Cool skull on, if I remember right, what Joseph said was once a Lepers hospital on 15th Ave. Soon to be condos, but building needs a ton of work.

route and data:

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Total Time (h:m:s) 6:54:54, 6:42 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 5:15:23, 5:05 pace
Distance (mi ) 61.86
Moving Speed (mph) 11.8 avg., 38.8 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)+4,978 / -4,961

Heart Rate Data Avg, Low, High
Heart Rate (%max) 71, 40, 103
Heart Rate (bpm) 131, 74, 190

Temperature (°F) 60.2°F avg., 62.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)WSW 13.8 avg., WSW 23.0 max.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

G'd damn it...

Okay, I know there isn't a chance in hell, but does anyone know where my commuting bike went? My commuter was stolen from my place of employment in Palo Alto today sometime between 8 am and 4:30 pm. It was locked at our bike racks towards an entrance. There is not much non-employee foot traffic, it's not like I work downtown. It was locked with a heavy cable, but it was a combination lock. I never figured I would need a heavy lock with all the employee traffic and security cameras all over the place. The lock is gone too. So I'm a bit bummed about losing my bike today :-( It looks like the one's pictured below but with mud flaps, bike computer, lights, SFBike Coalition stickers, commuting tires (not knoby). I'd love to have it back.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Grizzly Peak Century - May 4, 2008

Friday night when I got home from work I had every intention of riding Chris' 108-mile Mountain View to Gilroy ALC training ride on Saturday, but I ended up changing plans. Two weeks ago I hemmed and hawed all week about whether I wanted to attempt the Grizzly Peak Century yesterday that by the time I decided I wanted to the Century registration was full. I'm learning that if you snooze, you loose, on some of these rides. I must plan ahead even better. So when I checked my email Friday evening to find that Jerome, who had successfully registered, was not able to go and could transfer his registration, I jumped at the chance. Actually I waited a half hour to see if anyone else on the DSSF list wanted to claim it first, but then realized most would be doing the Wine Country Century on Saturday.

I don't have many pictures to share because I didn't stop to dawdle. I had never done a ride of this length combined with an ascent climb of this magnitude before and was nervous about how I would do. I shouldn't have feared. The ride was a phenomenal ride. Started off the morning in cool fog at 6:45 am and quickly climbed Grizzly Peak. Wish I could say the view was awesome, but with the fog, and the 'redwood rain' (large ass drops of water from the tall redwoods) I was only hoping that my tires would stay inflated as I passed biker after biker stopping to change their flats. My least favorite part of the entire ride was the riding between Tilden Park (1st rest stop - mile 20) and the Port Costa rest stop (mile 44). That section was mostly flat and the part going directly through the gas refineries was just hideous. Immediately after the Port Costa rest stop was what I think was the most difficult hill of the day, McEwan. McEwan is basically 600 feet of climbing in one mile. After McEwan there was Pig Farm Hill and Mama Bear before the third rest stop, Briones (mile 61). The picture below is of the Briones rest stop.

After Briones, I wished I had stopped to take a picture because the line of bicyclists climbing Papa Bear looked like ants on a hill. Lunch was at mile 73, back where we started at Campolindo High School in Moraga. After 73 miles my legs and energy felt good, but the wind picked up, and the temperatures dropped a bit (or at least if felt like it). Before heading out for the second part of the ride, the south loop, I put on my vest and armbands. Now I sort of psyched myself out for the second part of the ride. All the ride information says that the second part is much hillier than the first (which is technically correct), but all morning I'm thinking the biggest climb in the afternoon is Skyline. I've never ridden in the East Bay and I'm thinking of Skyline in San Mateo and Woodside, between Highway 92 and 84, on the Peninsula, and that Skyline is one mean hill. So I'm climbing some road called Redwood, which is fairly tough, to get to Skyline. Once I turn on Skyline I stop to take some Double Shot Energy gel and get my mind set to climb Skyline. Well the climbing didn't last long, and then it was descending a bit, then a lot. I guess I was so worried about the mean hill that I ended up climbing it without realizing it. But the next picture is from somewhere on the descent, can't remember exactly where.

The last and final rest stop was at mile 97. As you can see from all the lying about on the lawn, in the pictures below, that the mileage was starting to take its toll.

There were still two more significant climbs after this rest stop, RedWood and Pinehurst. I ended up back at the High School a little after four in the afternoon for nearly 10 hours total (riding + rest stops + lunch) and a little more than 8 hours moving. I was tired, muscles sore, but a good sore. I felt good. The ride was mostly beautiful, not too cold, not too hot, with Mama and Papa Bear thrown in for good measure. I'll be riding this one again. THANKS JEROME!!!