Team In Training :: Training for Tour de Tuscon

calaveras-palomeros ride :: 58 miles

today I rode 58 miles. on the bike for 7 hours. up lots of hills.

we met in milpitas and rode out calaveras/237 and turned towards fremont. We rode through milpitas, up some hills and through a bunch of neighborhoods. we rode by the Mission San Jose in fremont and one of our group got a flat so we all stopped and waited for that to be fixed.

elevation diagram of our ride

it was quite chilly and foggy and we were crazy cold. we stretched to try to stay warm and finally the folks fixing the flat tire joined us. I think we were waiting for about 45 minutes. Really slowed us down.

we rode on until we hit alvarado-niles rode. We did take a little bit of a detour in order to hit a park parking lot with a porta-pottie. at the point we got back on the rode, we split into two groups. up to this point we were practicing pacelining, but from this point on, the roads were narrow and there would be lots of hills. we rode down niles until we hit palomeros at which point we all dropped down in gears and began climbing. this is a 5 mile (4.7) climb up a twisty, turning road. the first portion was difficult (steep) and I had to stop once to use my inhaler. After that point, it was much better, not as steep. Gorgeous twists, side canyons, tree covered stretches. I was riding with Maria and we left Carol and Peggy behind. All the other groups were way ahead of us.

About halfway up, our awesome SAG - Louise - followed us for awhile in the car with music blaring. What a boost! We finally reached the top and stopped in the shade, only to look up and 25 feet ahead, just over the crest, was the rest stop. The view was awesome (pic coming).

After eating some of my pbj and some of the bananas, Maria and I headed off. The other half of our team left just after we arrived and we left just after Carol and Peggy arrived. The best part of the uphill is the cool downhill after. Long downhill, over 30 miles per hour. Exhilarating!

Once we got down the mountain and through some more neighborhoods - farms into subdivisions, and we were in pleasanton. My lord - pleasanton is far away and we just rode there. the worst part of the ride was next. not hard hills, not tough climbs, just a 14 mile stretch of road fronting 580. slight rise and elevation making it difficult - looks flat but isn't so you have to work and boring ugly. finally we finished that section and turned towards sunol. we rode through some more neighborhoods and then along the park that is near sunol - where we had another rest stop. this time with porta-potties - Yay!

The support crew also had potatos for us and bananas and yellow watermelons. gatorade, water and pretzels rounded out the fare. These folks are awesome! Sheila was there with coach jim - she had had a blowout and broke a spoke but it was fixed enough to ride on. Also the first half of our group was there - only 5 minutes ahead of us.

we ate, bio breaked, rested a bit and then headed out again. Down, around curves and finally into Sunol and through the street fair they were having. Crossing the road, past entrances and exits to 680 and onto Calaveras.

The road was pretty straight for quite awhile, a few rollers. Beautiful between the hill ranges. I wish we had stopped a few times for me to take some pics but by this time my butt was hurting and I really just wanted to keep going. The road eventually starts to rise and then we really started climbing again. For the most part I was able to keep a pace near or over 6mph - which is slow for experienced riders - but faster than I have been previously. We kept a steady pace and I needed to stop once - about 2.5 miles into the climb. I really had to stretch and fix some bunchy shorts. The climb follows a road that turns into a single lane hugging the side of the hill. We saw several motorcyclists, lots of bicyclists and few cars going in the opposite direction and even fewer going ours. We were totally alone and Maria was great at keeping me focused. I kept my breathing in check and didn't need the inhaler. When we finally got to the rest stop it was awesome. We were sort of at the top and surrounded by beautiful golden hills dotted with california oaks.

I was so focused on eating and getting water - and ice - I forgot to take pictures. We hit the rest stop at about mile 50.

After a few minutes we took off and started to get some downhills. But this section was not the easiest - fake out downhills only to be confronted with more climbing. Hard to predict which gear to be in and tiring. Butt hurts. We passed the Calaveras reservoir - awesome - and finally hit the downhill out of the canyon. We were going pretty fast - so feathering the brakes and holding on tight we had to stop at a stop sign at the bottom of what is referred to as the "wall" by folks taking this road the other direction - so it is pretty steep.

After the stop sign it was cake, 34 mph downhill into downtown Milpitas and finally after a couple of lights, back into the parking lot.

7 hours on the bike! - I had no idea of time on this ride - I don't ride with a watch and my cell phone was in the case under my seat. I just pedal and eat and drink and go where they tell me. the bike computer recorded 5:17 of actual riding time.

58 miles.

Pretty awesome!

week of September 20

tried to plan this week in preparation for the team rided on saturday. I did intervals on the precor at the gym at work on Tuesday. I did squats and lunges on Thursday and rested some this week.

windy coyote

Rode the full length of Coyote. Went out late in the afternoon after a morning of rain. Very windy going from the south end to the north end but the wind at died down a bit coming back so I didn't get the benefit of the speed from a strong tailwind. Bummer. It was slightly hard because of the wind and because of being tired from the ride on Saturday - but we got the mileage in.

almaden valley :: buddy ride

Did the Almaden Valley and Uvas, Chesbro and Calero Reservoir loop again today as a buddy ride. Met a few folks, coaches Karen and Matt. We all started together and then as we moved into our own speeds, most of us rode alone most of the way. I cut a few minutes off my time and tried to do better on the hills.

My asthma kicked in on the first hill and the second, really long climb, I had to stop and use my inhaler. I need to figure out the technique where I don't let my breathing get out of control and away from me. Other than the first couple of hills, the rest of the ride was great. It was cold and I never really warmed up—except for the hills. Had to wear my jacket the whole time.

traveling this week

traveling most of this week so no cycling until saturday. due to late planes, layovers, delayed flights, sitting on the runway for hours, canceled flights and not getting into my destination until the middle of the night, the one day I have to catch up and do some exercise in the hotel is gone. oh well....

26 miles around town

Rode out from the house, down into Santa Clara and around on Market street, then backtrack to Monroe and over to Bowers then across 101 onto Great America out to Alviso and then back on the San Tomas Aquino trail to Lafayette and home where I promptly fell over on the bike before I could get unclipped.

I have a few scratches and bruises from falling into the bushes and on the driveway but otherwise unscathed.

Before I went out on my ride, I took the bike back to the shop and had the handlebar stem replaced. The one on the bike was too long and I was having to reach and twist to shift or use my dropped brakes. The fit is much better. I practiced riding low while I was out.

44 miler :: almaden valley team ride

Almaden valley, down past Calero Resevoir, Uvas Resevoir and Chesbro resevoir. We did the same loop Sheila and I did on Monday, only the other way round, which was much easier. This ride is really beautiful.

There are a few hills that go for awhile and were tough, but the majority of the ride was rolling. Several sections I rode alone with a coach or mentor—like having a private coach. Pretty cool. Felt pretty good at the end too.

shoreline with kiersten

Easy 1 hour ride - 14 miles. Focused on keeping my speed up close to 15mph. Rode with Kiersten and then she left me at the 10 mile mark. The last 4 miles back were into the wind as the sun went down.

yoga for athletes

Worked out with a new Yoga DVD. Yoga for athletes with tons of emphasis on poses for cyclists. Good way to counter all the hunching and motions from the bike. Did that section then the whole regular strength building workout.

uvas reservoir :: 20 miles

Rode out in Morgan Hill today and did a beautiful loop that swept around Uvas Canyon, Uvas reservoir and Chesbro reservoir. Mostly rolling hills, although at mile 3 there is a steep, sorta long hill. Anyway it seemed long. It was hot, at 100 degrees by noon, but there were shady spots and it went fairly quickly. This is a nice loop that I bet is better earlier in the morning or later in the year after it gets cooler and greener.

Coyote plus Anderson Lake hill

view of the reservoir from the top of the hill

view of the valley at the edge of morgan hill, from the top of the hill at anderson lake

Rode the full length of Coyote Creek trail. Added on the extension out and up the killer, twisty, steep hill to Anderson Lake. I had to stop a couple of times to get my breathing under control. Hy..per..venti...lating. Dizzy. But beautiful at the top. Then back the whole length of Coyote and then added on a 4 more miles. Almost made it to 40 but had a hair appointment as a hard stop to get home for. I ended up doing 37.5 miles.

Friday after work

Ride from home down to the 87 bike trail to Santa Teresa. Turn around and come back. Light, easy even if it was full of exhaust and views of the highway. Reminder: don't do this route again.

Quick after work

Rode the rolling hills of Foothill from Bicycle Outfitters at Loyola Corners to Alpine and back. Nice ride, good workout, not too long. Rode with Kiersten and then off to grab dinner.