Another great ride!!

On Saturday, June 16, 2007, Mel and I were able to bike around Marin with Jerry and his crew for another beautiful ride. Mel and I got up early (funny how easy it is to get up early for a bike ride, than for something like, say, work) to drive up to the city and we all met up at Crissy Field. There we were joined by Gerson (an adult rheumatologist), Mary, and Greg. All six of us set off across the incredibly windy Golden Gate Bridge and did 1/3 of the Marin headlands climb.
We didn't climb the entire headlands loop as shown in the map above, but cut across at one point. It was pretty foggy, chilly and windy, but here's the view we had...
We then went through a scary tunnel, and rode through the quaint little city of Sausalito. We continued the ride, along with tons of other weekend cyclists, along Richardson Bay, close to the water. It was really pretty and a nice, leisurely ride. The really gorgeous part of the ride came after lunch at Shark's Deli in Tiburon, when we went around Paradise Cove to Corte Madera. The sun was starting to shine, it was warming up, and the views of the bay were lovely. The ride was a nice series of little ups-and-downs, totally manageable, and we were all happy and well-fed after lunch. That definitely was my favorite part of the day. We reached Corte Madera and had two major climbs ahead of us...Chapman Avenue, which was actually shady and agreeable to get back to Sausalito. Getting back up to the Golden Gate Bridge was the second challenge, since we were all the way beneath it:

Here we are, taking in the view before the arduous climb to the top. I had it already in my mind that I would stop and walk for a little bit, especially since it was at the end of our ride, around the 40 mile point. By then, pretty much everything was hurting--back, shoulders, arms, hands, thighs--oh, and my knees as well from my new bruises after a little collision I had with a bush when I failed to make a sharp right turn (that was soooo embarrassing!). However, we just took it slow and kept winding up and up until we finally made it! I had to stop a couple of times, and Mel didn't have to at all (great progress on her part!).

Here's Mel and me with our CCC coach and trainer, Jerry! We are all so happy in this photo because we had just finished our big ride! Overall, it was 44.5 miles and 2300 feet of climbing.

This week is back to basics for me, as I adjust to my new clipless pedals. I've fallen a few times, once on my head, but I'm getting more accustomed to the fancy pedals. Next Saturday, Jerry is doing a killer ride in Big Basin that Mel and I can't do, so we'll figure something out for us to do for training instead.

I've been exposed to a whole new level of cycling!! (and it scared me...)

While Mel and and the rest of the peds rheum team were away at the CARRA conference in Denver, I was busy on-service, tending the shop. Although everyone had deserted me to go to the conference, they couldn't escape from me, especially since I called them every day with questions. Mel and Dwight were able to get in several gym workouts at the hotel, and Mel went for a great bike ride in Marin with Jerry over Memorial Day while I was back in LA visiting my family. So while Mel was getting buff, unfortunately, I had a week off from training.

After I went off-service, Mel and I were able to walk the Stanford Dish on June 5, and on June 6th, we went for a morning ride leaving from Mountain View to Arastradero, over on Foothill, and back home. At one point, we made a traffic error and were caught in oncoming traffic on El Camino! Mel stuck out her arm with her hand up to stop traffic while we ran across the streeet. Just when I was getting a bit more comfortable...

Then Mel had to go away for an immunology conference in San Diego, so I was left to improvise my training. I worked out in the Stanford gym with all the young ones on June 7, took a day off from exercise June 8, and went on a scheduled ride with Jerry and the gang on June 9. I met up with Jerry early on Saturday at the intersection of 92 and Canada Road. Here's the route we took:

The map is hard to read, but we started where the blue and red lines meet at the top. (Mel and I usually bike the little green loop.) I was just going to do part of the ride, since the entire loop was around 62 miles with 5000+ feet of climbing! However, when I arrived, Jerry enticed me with a proposal...how about riding all the way to Pescadero (where the blue and red lines meet at the bottom), and getting a ride back to the car! That way I only had to do half the loop (plus only half the climbing!). Apparently, another rider had left his van in a Pescadero parking lot the night before in anticipation of biking to Pescadero and driving back- brilliant!! So off we went, the first part being same old, happily familiar Canada Road to Woodside. Then, that's when things turned...we climbed up to Skyline on Woodside, which is the easiest way to get up to Skyline. I stopped several times, mentally willing my way up and up. Just when I thought I could go no further, we reached Skyline! I was thrilled that I had finally made it to the top after our near attempt on Old La Honda weeks before. We took a water and power bar break, and got ready for the downhill part. I put on my new arm warmers, got into the hardest gear and off we went! Luckily, there weren't many switchbacks and that made it definitely more manageable, so I was able to keep up with the group. Just when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when all of a sudden, the road beneath me began to change...we were starting to go uphill again! No worries, it was soon followed by some downhill. It was like that for a bit, and I was changing gears from big chainring to granny in the front like crazy, until I realized, there were more and more uphills! We had another climb to do! This one was painful- several times I thought I would have to give up and turn around. What made matters worse was the fact that there was a cycling race on the same route at the same time! Yup! I would be barely moving up the hill, and then there would be a big group of cyclists (or peloton, I should say) whizzing past me at an alarming rate! It was really an amazing thing to see and feel up close: several cyclists, close together, pedalling like mad UP AN INCLINE! There would be a lead motorbike before them to announce their approach: "Get out of the way, you silly recreational cyclists, clogging up this road. Here comes the real cyclists..." I would move to the right to let them pass. No doubt they were working hard too- lots of huffing and puffing, but the difference was that they were actually moving fast. Next to me huffing and puffing, I felt like I was barely moving. Then the peloton would pass and the SAG wagon would follow with a rear motorbike at the end. I think they were doing circles or they were staggered somehow, because this happened several times with several pelotons. Some supporters would occasionally think we were also racers and take our picture or hand us water before they realized what a grave error they had made and confusedly look away. Jerry would shout out, "Just passing through!!" because it was OBVIOUS that we were MUCH SLOWER than the racers. Still, they clapped when we crossed the finish line!

After that, I was just pooped out and was nearing the end of all my reserves...but that second and final summit was followed by another nice downhill, which took us through beautiful forested areas. There was very little car traffic, and tons of cyclists. Besides the racers, there were the club cyclists, all wearing the same jersey, passing us in tight formation. Jerry explained to me how the formations worked with everyone taking turns being the lead rider. There were so many cyclists...I had never seen so many! They were a different breed from the leisurely Canada Road cyclists. Many of them were sponsored riders and the pace was much faster. They were kicking butt! They were much more muscular than any other cyclist I had ever seen before, and ate standing up during breaks (no wasting time here).

We finally reached a level terrain through some flatter land, but even with the flat land, I felt like I was still climbing...my legs were so tired and weak! I was really starting to lag behind, but Jerry kept encouraging me to keep going. It's at these moments when the negative thoughts creep in: what am I doing here? I can't keep going. I'm going to pass out. I need to stop soon. This is not fun anymore. These people are crazy. I'm never gonna make it. Sure it's beautiful here, but I'm dying. My legs have never hurt so badly. And so on, and so on for about the last 5 miles.

When the little town of Pescadero appeared, I thought I would kiss the ground, I was so happy. Waves of relief washed through me, plus I really had to pee. I had finished my entire Camelback full of water, had 2 Gu's, 1 Luna bar, and 2 sports drinks. All that, and I still was a bit dizzy at the end. The van group met us, and I gratefully handed the driver my bike to put on the bike rack. A quick bathroom break and a stop at the deli later, and we were off heading back to our cars. Jerry and the 2 other cyclists I had been riding with decided to have lunch and then keep going with the loop (the blue part back towards the 92 freeway)...I'm astounded and dumbfounded! I cannot even imagine cycling any more that day. There were several more climbs to do, as well as 32 more miles!! As for me, I cried uncle and gleefully went into the van. All in all, I did 32.6 miles (my most ever), and did 2230 feet of climbing (also my most ever). So, it was definitely a milestone day for me in terms of miles and feet of climbing, but I was also shown a whole new level of cycling...and it frightened me, quite honestly. I don't know how to feel about these people...I'm impressed, amazed, yet also I think they are totally nuts.

Cross-training Works

Well, once again I have gotten behind in my blogging. I really meant to write sooner about my ride with Jerry across the Golden Gate on May 26 but things were a little hectic last week. So here it is 9 days later and I am finally getting to it! This was my longest and most amount of climbing to date, so it was a momentous day for me.

The plan was to meet at Crissy Field at 8:30 AM. Of course, getting to the city always takes longer than I expect so I was a little late but not as late as some of the other riders. As I was getting ready I realized I left my helmet at home. Fortunately another rider had a spare so I was ok! I met a few of the riders, including a 78 year old rheumatologist (!!!!) who had done the CCC last year. We were discussing how we were both a little slow so we decided to start riding rather than wait for the riders that were running late. So, we took off for the Golden Gate. The weather was less than ideal, it was cold, overcast, and a bit windy. I wished I had my leg warmers, next time I will know better. We rode across the bridge and stopped for a quick break in Sausalito. Then we continued on to Tiburon. We stopped at Shark's deli for lunch and I waited there for Jerry. We then rode along Paradise Drive and then headed back to Crissy Field. The views were spectacular and it was a great ride. The sun even came out briefly and I warmed up a bit before heading back to San Francisco, where the fog, wind and cold was still hanging on. Getting back up to the Golden Gate was the most challenging part of the ride. It was steep and the wind made it feel like you were pedaling in place. I thought I might need to walk part of it but stopped briefly and then continued on. I was thrilled to make it to the top! Getting back over the bridge was also a bit challenging. There were tons of tourists on rented bikes to manuever around and the wind was intense. We got back to the cars and I was smiling from ear to ear! I had successfully completed the ride and didn't feel too bad. Also, for the first time ever, I wasn't the last rider up the hills :)

Here are the stats for the ride: 41.6 miles over 3 hours 46 minutes (not including the hour or so for lunch). Average speed 10.9, max 28.8 mph. Altitude, max 300, trip +2144, -2039. Max grade -28% (at one point earlier in the trip the altimeter had recorded the grade as 14% so that is probably the high point), average 1%.

The next day (May 27) I managed to ride again and didn't feel too bad, although my right knee was a bit sore after a little bit of climbing. I rode from Mountain View to Arastradero around Stanford's Campus then over to the Baylands and back home for a total of 28.15 miles over 2 hours 14 minutes. Average speed 12.5, max 35.3 mph. Altitude max 351, trip +787, -731, max grade 15%, average 0%.

I took Memorial Day as a day of rest and enjoyed a bbq at David's. Unfortunately, while driving home that night I developed a severe headache and vomiting. It was so bad that at 2 AM I called Joyce to bring me to the ER. That was an adventure itself. I got my first bolus of IV fluids and some meds for nausea and pain. I spent the next day at home sleeping, recovering, and getting ready for my trip to Denver. I packed lots of workout clothes and actually used them while I was away! I went to the hotel gym Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I did about 35 minutes of eliptical and then lifted weights. I also did some crunches for the first time and my abs hurt to laugh :)

All of this cross training is paying off (or I was riding with the wind today). After getting back to CA this evening I decided to go for a ride instead of doing the work I needed to do. I did a similar loop as described above along Arastradero, through Stanford, along the baylands, and back home. I rode 30.1 miles over 2 hours 9 minutes. Average speed 13.9!!!!!!! (MY FASTEST SPEED EVER), max 31 mph. Altitude max +242, trip +808, -729. Max grade 12%, average 0%. I was not excited about riding today but decided to do it after talking to my sister who encouraged me to get out and do it. I am glad I did because I could really see improvement. I have ridden along Arastradero 3 times now and this was the first time that I didn't need to stop during the climb!! In fact, I didn't stop once during the ride. I also picked up the pace along the flats significantly. Hopefully I can keep up the exercise over the next week while I am in San Diego.