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.