August 1-15: The Clock is Ticking!

I can't believe that the ride is only 6 weeks away! While both Joyce and I have made lots of progress since we first bought Pinkie and Tumbles in February, I must admit that I am not sure we will make all of the climbs without the help of the SAG wagon. We will certainly try our best and keep on training until the end.

The first half of August was not the most productive for training since I was at camp for several days and was petsitting for Gypsy, the beautiful cockatoo on my shoulder in one of my earlier blogs. Also, I was feeling quite tired from the early mornings, all the activities and watching over 30 campers so I bailed on a ride planned with Joyce August 4th, the day camp ended. We were also supposed to do a pretty tough ride with Jerry on August 5th, but I woke up feeling quite sore and tired. Joyce and I convinced ourselves that we could sleep in and do a ride on our own later that day. It was really cold and foggy so I am lucky Joyce motivated me to ride. As we left for the start site it was raining a bit and I would have rather climbed under the covers and watch a movie or take a nap! In any case, we did ride and I felt better for doing it although the Three Bears Loop is still quite a challenge.

Unfortunately I ran ove some glass and had a slow leak in my rear tire that I noticed when I went to load my bike onto the car rack on August 7. I brought the bike to work with plans to fix the flat and go for a ride later that day. HOWEVER, my super-thick tires that I had put on to resist flats (that didn't work so well) are very tight and I struggled with my tire levers for an hour before getting the tube out. I managed to find the piece of glass burried in the tire and it left a hole that worried me. Given my struggles with the tire, my worries about its integrity, and the fact that it was too late to go for a ride, Joyce and I decided to stop by Chain Reaction (where we bought the bikes) and get some advice. I felt a little better when they agreed that the tire was quite challenging. They also gave us some pointers to make changing flats a bit easier and we were on our way. Since we couldn't ride in the dark, we did the other thing we love to do....EAT! Afterall, we needed to carb-load for the ride we would definitely do the next day!

We did ride the next day but the carb-loading wasn't enough to help us get up the hills that Joyce suggested we ride. Joyce had mapped out a new route for us to try from the top of Alpine. Instead of going back down Alpine after climbing to its end, we turned up this road Joaquin that was incredibly steep. At one point I stopped to take a break and I could not get back on the bike and move forward. I decided that was a good point to walk Pinkie for a little bit! Joyce kept cycling slowly up the hill for a while and then she also decided to walk for a bit. At one point my cyclometer measured the grade at 24%. I think it should be illegal to make such steep hills, who in their right mind would enjoy riding their bike at a 24% grade? We eventually found our way along the route Joyce had mapped out although I did start to wonder if this was part of Joyce's plan to take over my office space (by leaving me where nobody would ever find me). I must say the views were amazing but for the most part I was so short of breath I wasn't looking up very much. Then there was the descent, after all what goes up must come down! That was recorded as 30% grade. Again, who builds these roads? In any case, when we got back to the office Joyce promptly threw the map away. If I never see Joaquin again, it will be too soon.

The next day we did manage to get out for another ride after I was done with clinic. We decided to ride one of our usual loops from campus to Alpine, Portola and Woodside. I convinced Joyce to ride to the end of Canada to increase our miles. We were both pretty tired from the day before but we did it. It was actually a pretty nice ride, lots of deer were out grazing in the meadows as we rushed back for me to make our summer students presentations and award ceremony. I was looking forward to the food and wine offered at the gathering but unfortunately all the food was gone. Needless to say, the wine went straight to my head and I had to hang around the office for a while before I thought I could drive home!

On August 11 we did a ride with the most amount of climbing we have ever done, 3000 feet!! (Jerry measured 2800 but I am sticking with my cyclometer :) It was great to finally have a chance to ride with Dwight and Evelyn, who have been traveling for the last month or so. This ride also gave us a chance to experience Devil's Slide to Half Moon Bay, something we will face on the first day of the CCC. It was pretty nerve-wracking but we made it. At one point I was riding behind Evelyn and a car hit her mirror. My heart was in my throat as I looked on. Fortunately she swerved a little but didn't fall! I don't think I would have been able to stay upright if it were me. After getting to Half Moon Bay we took 92 back to San Mateo. By the end, every little climb was a challenge. The only thing that kept me going was thinking about what I was going to eat when we finished (patty melt, fries, and a diet coke!).

This is the map of the ride:

This ride is about 1/2 the miles and 2/3 the feet of climbing of the first ride! I went home and took a nap, will I be able to nap during the CCC?

Here is the table with all the stats for the rides through August 15:


That's it for now. I have started the table for the 2nd half of August so stay tuned.

Summary of 2nd half of July: Slow but steady

It has been quite some time since I have blogged and I have not been great about keeping track of our miles. I have this habit of writing the stats on little pads of stickies scattered around my house and sometimes I lose them or don't keep the dates straight. If I am not careful I might lose my job as keeper of the stats! Here is a table of our rides from the 2nd half of July. Unfortunately I didn't always record the route and I managed to miss one ride altogether so there are a lot of question marks. (sorry Joyce).

As Joyce mentioned in her blog, we have had lots of adventures throughout the bay and have found some great places to train. We really enjoy riding to the end of Alpine Rd. since it has very little traffic and is great practice going up and down hills. The Three Bears is also quite enjoyable although challenging. My favorite part of the rides is seeing all the wildlife and farm animals, although I have to wonder if the cows hanging out in the pastures staring at us as we ride by think we are crazy (I certainly do!). The Tour of San Francisco including Twin Peaks was quite a challenge. I cannot say I really enjoyed it, especially with the fog and wind, but I was proud of our accomplishment. I can say for a fact that 3 months ago I would not have been able to finish that ride. While I was consistently the last rider up the hill, I made it up every one without having to walk up any part. The last time I rode in San Francisco, I walked almost as much as I rode (that may be a little exageration).

This is a map that outlines the Three Bears Loop (the upper orange highlighted route) as well as the ride we did from Tilden Park on July 15 (lower orange and green loop).



I know Joyce posted some pictures from these rides in her blog, since I don't have any to post I will continue with the animal theme. Here is a picture of one of my cats, Emma (when she was younger and much lighter) hanging out on my shoulder.



You might notice (most people do) that she is a little cross-eyed. Despite this handicap :) she has no problem seeing her food and has grown into a plump kittie who loves to hang out under the blankets when I am not home. I have more to say about our August rides but will save that, and some more animal pictures, for another blog.

Our very first team ride together!! :)

On August 11, our little Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom team was finally able to get together and ride! The four of us! And what a ride it was!! It was one of Jerry's training rides, so a group of us went out from San Mateo, north up to the Sawyer Camp Trail, across over on Sharp Park Road to wind up in Pacifica and down Highway 1, where we will be riding soon in 6 weeks time for the CCC! We went from Devil's Slide all the way down to Half Moon Bay on the PCH, before crossing east again on Highway 92 to get back across the ridge to our own neck of the woods on Canada Road. It was our most climbing in feet: 2800-3000 feet, and we rode about 40 miles!

Here's the four of us shortly after getting on Highway 1 for our first pit stop. It was a foggy, cold day, but we were still happy to be by the beach and see the ocean, who will be our companion for 8 days on the CCC. This is right before we started Devil's Slide...(see how happy and innocent we are, unknowing of the upcoming turmoil...)

Here's us with Jerry!
And here's Evelyn and Mel...
So, we climbed up Devil's Slide, which was not too bad of a climb, but precarious because it was on the side of the road with fast-moving cars on our left, and a cliff and the Pacific Ocean on our right! The cars would come in bursts, and there was also some construction in the area, so everyone had to accomodate each other. It's hard enough to concentrate when we are struggling up the hills, but the fear of getting hit by a car at least makes you climb quickly! Here, there were no stops for a quick breath or leisurely climbing. It was get up the hill and do it as quickly as possible, or you will be hit by a car!! Going down was gorgeous...one of the most spectacular sights I've seen since starting to ride my bike...even though a car got close enough to Evelyn's bike that it brushed against her side mirror! Ay! Everything turned out okay, but that sure was scary! Going down Devil's Slide was exhilarating: you could see the waves crashing against the cliffs and rocks down on the beaches below. It was just beautiful! Of course I couldn't take any pictures, but the views made the climb up Devil's Slide definitely worth it!

Devil's Slide really was nothing in comparison to roadbiking on Highway 92 starting from Half Moon Bay. After the Slide, we had nice, flat riding through the agricultural fields of that area...seeing lots of vegetables like Brussel sprouts and artichokes...before arriving in foggy Half Moon Bay. I have never seen HMB sunny before! I think a sunny day in HMB is an event such as a lunar eclipse or the passing of a comet or something, it is so rare. Now, driving in a car on Highway 92 is twisting-turny enough...and I couldn't believe now I was going to do it by bicycle! Lots of cars zooming by close, and the climbing...oy! The climbing seemed to go on forever! I tried not to look up, but there just seemed to be more and more road up ahead of me! However, it was a great, great feeling to reach the top, and pretty fun to reach the bottom of the other side too! I'm getting more comfortable on the downhill descents, still scared, but going a bit faster now. After we reached Canada Road, we turned around back to San Mateo, where we had a satisfying lunch! Here's us after eating lots of food...
Dwight and Evelyn are really good on their bikes, despite being away traveling around for a while. Mel and I were happy to finish the ride in one piece!! All in all, it was a happy day!

More adventures all over the Bay area!

Well, since my last post, things have continued to be very busy, with lots of very good training rides. On July 20, Mel and I were able to climb up on highway 84/ Woodside Road all the windy way up to reach Skyline Blvd! It did seem to go uphill forever, and I had forgotten how long it was, but we kept going up and finally reached the summit at Skyline with our bikes! It definitely felt good (after the climb, not during).

Then, on July 26, Mel and I were just cycling along our usual, familiar loop from the Stanford campus, including Junipero Serra, then to Alpine Road. We usually turn on to Portola, but we had heard that Alpine does continue on for a little bit before the road ends. So, we decided to get a little more climbing in since that part of Alpine looked steep, and we continued on straight on Alpine. After the steep part, came a nice little downhill, and we passed many hiking trails as well as Willowbrook Road, which is a road I knew previously from another ride with Jerry. However, instead of turning back on to Willowbrook, Mel and I saw that Alpine turned into a narrower road that curved enticingly into the distance. So we kept going...we were able to ride a few more miles at a nice steady incline. It was a great road, with practically no cars, alongside a forested bubbly brook. We didn't know where we would end up, but we saw several cyclists on mountain bikes (passing us by, of course), so we knew there would be a popular mountain bike trail somewhere. We finally reached Joaquin road, which was pretty far down from where we thought Alpine would end. Alpine did eventually end into a dirt route where people do lots of scary mountain biking. What I love most about biking are the new routes and scenery we discover along the way...roads that I thought were familiar to me suddenly becoming a completely new ride with extensions, loops, and outreaches beyond the usual. New little discoveries in a place I thought I knew. Or roads that I usually zoom along on in the car that suddenly look completely different and foreign to me once I'm on the bike. Definitely get to see more on a bike and at a different pace. Love the different pace. Beyond all that, there's the fact that just biking on these new trails exposes me to lots of new places all around the Bay area that I've never been to, especially roads around the East Bay.

Anyways, here's the two of us on the backroads of Alpine...



It has become one of my favorite rides and I'm looking forward to doing it again. However, as Mel puts it, it's a fine line between a ride that is my favorite and a ride that is my nemesis (#1: Arastadero, #2: Sand Hill, and of course, the Mountain of Shame, Pinehurst, which stands alone with no rank).

On Saturday, July 28, we went on another training ride with Jerry and the rest of the CCC gang. It was a tour of San Francisco, riding from Lake Merced, along the Great Highway, into Golden Gate park, across the Golden Gate bridge, then up to Twin Peaks and finally San Bruno Mountain. It was a pretty foggy day, however, so we didn't see many views...

Here's Mel and me on top of Twin Peaks. (ooh, I have some bad helmet hair here in the photo!)
We brought our new first year fellow, Reuven, along for the ride too. Unfortunately, besides the foggy weather, our group also suffered two flat tires, which caused us some delay, so we didn't have enough time to go to the summit of San Bruno mountain (good thing too, because I was pretty wiped out after Twin Peaks). It was a good ride for the climbing and the practice of riding in the city traffic.

The next day, Sunday, July 29, Mel and I were in the East Bay, so we checked out a route called the 3 Bears near Orinda, on the other side of the peak from Berkeley. This time we drove through Tilden Park to get to the other side and started out on San Pablo Dam Road, turning on Castro Ranch, staying on Alhambra and then turning on to Bear Creek Road, where we were to meet Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear. Here's Mel biking up to the summit of Mama Bear...

...and here she is eating at the summit of Mama.
After Mama Bear, the road did a little down and up, and we were wondering if the up part was Papa Bear. However, it became obvious that it definitely was not, because when we reached the actual Papa, it was totally clear that we were riding up a Papa Bear hill! No question compared to Mama! We passed by horse stables and ranches, riding around San Pablo Reservoir and Briones Reservoir. Baby Bear came up and when I thought I could not climb any longer, we saw the car waiting for us at the top of Baby Bear! Such a happy moment! Going down Papa before Baby was quite a scary experience though, as it was rather windy and a steep downhill. All in all, a great ride (another favorite) and one that I'll do again!

That's it for the riding thus far. This week is a quiet week as Mel, our nurse Jeanette, and some of our fellows are off at Valley of the Moon for this year's Arthritis Camp. While they are out there chasing the kids around, I'm supposed to be productive working on writing my paper. Of course, I'm writing the blog instead, but it is still writing! Mel thinks that I will go the gym to cross train, but I haven't been going. At least I've had lots of cross training with sitting in front of the computer trying to write! We'll do more riding this weekend after camp is over.