31 May, 2010

A busy week...

It was a busy week with meetings or planning sessions every night which unfortunately meant zero training during the week. However, there is lots of news to report with the first being that we have been officially accepted for the Furnace Creek 508 and the check went out in the mail to cover entry fees on Thursday.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of riding with Nicholas and his best friend Spencer and we rode a new variation of the Iron Horse Trail leaving Pleasanton for San Ramon and then back. The boys both did great and logged just over 11 miles! I am still looking for an event that I can ride with them this summer (prefer less than 20 miles and mainly bike paths or low traffic routes), let me know if you have any ideas.

Sunday morning I headed out with the Cherry City Cyclists to ride Mines Road and climb Mt. Hamilton. The day was perfect and Cheryl Hopkins (the queen of SAG) did a fantastic job supporting a crew of hungry cyclists. Total miles covered on Sunday was about 96 (I turned the Garmin on late so it only showed 90) and about 7,600 ft of climbing. I had a great day on the bike and for those of you that are familiar with Hamilton, I covered the main climb (just past the bridge) in just over 48 mins for an AVG speed of 6 mph (in the Garmin link below it's Split 2). All the stats can be found here: Mt Hamilton

With the nice 3-day weekend I was able to wrap up some chores around the house on Monday and we took our lab Bruno for his first swim at Shadow Cliffs reservoir. With only two weeks till the Alta Alpina, I am anxiously awaiting to see how the weather fares as last year this same event had a fairly decent storm roll through that same weekend in June.
Enjoy the ride,
Steve

One Tough Ride 2010 v4 0

Updated ontoughride slide deck, check it out!
Enjoy the ride,
Steve

23 May, 2010

Training and got to see the pros this week...

No official events this week but I did get some miles in as well as a bit of cross training on the mountain bike on Friday night and last, we got some great news this week that I'll share later in this post. I started out the week with what I first thought to be a strong dose of allergies following some serious gardening on Sunday but later appeared to be a cold. Despite feeling bad on Monday and Tuesday I had planned to take Wednesday off and ride out to the Junction and catch Stage 4 of the Tour of California.

I woke up on Wednesday morning and the weather looked perfect in spite of the fact that the forecast was for a 20% chance of showers in the afternoon. Even though I initially suited up with arm and leg warmers as well as a vest, as I popped the garage door to head out I contemplated leaving the vest, arm, and leg warmers at home but in the end just shed the leg warmers.

Without a cloud in the sky and not even the slightest breeze, I headed out to Livermore to meet some friends on Mines Road with the plan to roll from the intersection at Del Valle well ahead of the ToC that would come through a couple of hours later. As I arrived I'd find that my friend Jonathan was there but would not be able to ride with us as he had some back issues that had gotten worse the night before. Although it was definitely a disappointment that Jon could not join us, Roger (another friend from one of my cycling clubs, Central Valley Wheelers) and I headed off at a fairly leisurely pace. Arriving around noon we were well ahead of the race and I grabbed a chicken sandwich and a water before we'd head another couple of miles up the road to watch the pros come by as they headed through Del Puerto Canyon and out toward Modesto.

As we waited for the race to come through, the weather was definitely starting to change and was starting to look more like winter than the summer day we started with. And and the peloton was only minutes away we started feeling the raindrops falling although clearly nothing serious at this point. Around 2:14 the chase group off the front of the peloton came through. With the peloton right behind we'd see one of the members of the Columbia HCL squad right behind with Garmin and Radio Shack quads following at the front of the peloton. I managed to catch shots of Lance and Andy Schleck among others .

As the boys literally blasted past in what seemed like (and probably was) just seconds it was now time to head back and the rain appeared to be picking up now. As we rolled back to Mines and then back into Livermore it really never appeared to amount to much and I was dry by the time I got back home (and logged a total of 85 miles that day). While it was great to actually ride ahead of the race, should I have the chance to do this again next year I'll probably try to drive out to various parts of the course and then also catch the pros at the start and finish of the stage.

As I wrapped up my week "at the office" I had the chance to do some mountain biking with friends from the office on Friday afternoon on Pleasanton Ridge.
It was great to get a couple of hours in "off the road" and about 1400 ft of climbing over our 10 mile ride. I concluded my training this week by participating in a 24hr spin-a-thon benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This was a personal fund-raising event being led by one of the Central Valley Wheelers Cycling Club members. When I arrived to participate in the 10-11PM session (at the In Shape Health Club in Tracy, CA) I found that a number of the participants had been on the bike for ten hours already and had 200 to 250 miles logged since they started...VERY IMPRESSIVE! After a spinning for an hour and 15 mins or so I headed back home. This was a great event for a great cause and one that is personal to Russ who had coordinated it as his daughter lives with diabetes every day.

Last, we got some great news this week as we received notification that we have been "officially accepted" to participate as a 4-man relay team in the Furnace Creek 508. While this has ALWAYS been a prestigious race, this year there will be even more exposure as the Furnace Creek 508 has been reinstated as a RAAM qualifier. I will share more on this last event of the onetoughride project in the weeks ahead as well as promotional opportunities for companies that may wish to make a significant tax deductible donation to this onetoughride project. If you are the owner of such a company or know someone that might be interested, please have them contact me directly.

It was a busy week and Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away, it is only a matter of weeks before the double century double header (Alta Alpina and Terrible Two) is upon me. This is going to be two tough weeks with two of the toughest double centuries on the calendar back to back over two successive weekends. Till next time, enjoy the ride and please consider donating to the cause by using the Donate Now buttons on my blog or on my Facebook fan page.
Best,
Steve

16 May, 2010

Tour de Starbucks ride report - AN AWESOME DAY ON THE BIKE!

After a later than expected arrival in Brentwood, Nicholas and I rolled from the start of the Tour de Starbucks riding the "Tall" course for his first official organized cycling event. Weather conditions were great as we rolled out of the start at 10:54 AM with just 6 minutes before the cutoff window closed. Riding "unofficially" as "team Mellow Johnny's" we were looking sharp in our matching jerseys but we'd have to make up some serious time to catch the Peloton.

While we'd be the last to sign in and roll, another group had delayed their start and was right behind us at the first traffic light. Nicholas dropped the hammer as the light turned green and he headed for the first climb. With dad trying to keep up (also doubling as the team photographer) we were making great time and Nick keep telling me that we had to make sure that the group that we had dropped didn't catch us.

As we rolled toward mile 4 we were looking forward to rest stop 1 (and the only one on the course) but as we got closer, we found out that the course had been changed and that there would be no rest stop today. About mile 5.5 I suggested that we make a quick stop for Nick to have some water since there would be no stops until the finish at about 8 miles.

As we rolled I noticed that Nick's front tire was completely flat. With the team car nowhere to be found (Lance, we rode for free and you couldn't even send the team car?) it looked like dad was also going to be filling in as the team mechanic. After a quick inspection of the tire I noticed that it was one of those notorious Goat Head thorns that was the culprit. Ready to remove the wheel the next thing I realized was that I had forgotten a wrench as Nick's bike didn't have quick releases. OK I thought, not a problem as I know where the hole is I'll leave the wheel on and just pop the bead on one side. Next, I applied the patch and "thought" we'd air it up with C02 and be on our way. Oops, next I realized that the C02 head only had a Presta Valve fitting.

With another couple of miles left on the course it looked like it was going to be a DNF on Nick's first ride. Disappointed but appreciating the great time that we had shared so far we started the walk back. In less than 60 seconds we'd find another group coming up and they had a pump...awesome, we are back in the race. After pumping the tire we were back on the course and heading for the finish.

As we crossed into the finish, we had covered just under 7 miles and Nicholas did a great job. This was a great day and I was so proud of Nicholas wanting to do his best right from the start with the same spirit he showed all the way back into the finish.

After putting the bikes back in the car and a quick change, we enjoyed a pizza for lunch and then closed out the day with a trip back over to Starbucks for a hot chocolate and a coffee for dad. What a perfect end to a great day and we're already planning to do at least one more event before the end of the season together.
Enjoy the ride...
-Steve

GPS and ride stats
Additional ride photos


Video of Nicholas from the course!

05 May, 2010

New ride added to the onetoughride project...Tour de Starbucks with a guest rider appearance!

I am excited to share that Nicholas and I will ride the Tour de Starbucks ride together on Saturday, May 15th. Photos and updates will be posted from the event!
Enjoy the ride...
Steve

04 May, 2010

CTC Stage Race Series...Stage II, Devil Mountain Double results posted!

It was an off week following the Devil Mountain Double but a great opportunity to get a recovery ride in Mountain Biking with my friend Gordon (that's me on the right). With the Quack's posting the times for the Devil Mountain Double, it is confirmed that my final time was 17:19 and in position 120 out of 186. I was right on target with my personal goal of shaving 2-3 hours off of last years time knocking off 2:24...okay, 6 more mins would be exact but hey over 206 miles, that was pretty darn close.

CTC Stage Race Series positions have not yet been posted but I will update as they are.
Best,
Steve