Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom

Our original promo video for the CCC

2007-10-24T00:39:00.001-07:00

I never put this video on the blog, but here's the video we created to raise money for the CCC...

It has clips from Christiana's last year of life :)

The long-awaited videos

2007-10-23T22:49:00.001-07:00

So I did a lot of video on the tour... and I compiled them into little videos (which basically needed to be separated by day because uploading would take very long and watching a 50-minute video in one sitting could get boring).

Here they are...

Day 0

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 (Part 1)

Day 3 (Part 2)

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Well, it's over. And we did it!!!

2007-10-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Again, hello.

It's been about 2 weeks since our ride of a lifetime adventure concluded. Since I've been back, many people have been asking me, "So, how was it?" And it has been hard for me to truthfully or completely answer this question without a terse, curt 1-sentence answer, or without spending the next 2 to 3 hours responding. I think I'm still in a bit of culture shock of the ride being over, and me being back...did it really happen? What did I just do to myself?

The ride was definitely all those things I have said to people in the past two weeks: It was great! It was fabulous and beautiful! We had great weather! It was fun! IT WAS HARD!! I did it! I was really tired! My legs really do hurt a lot! It was an amazing experience! Mel did great! Dwight and Evelyn rocked! Our team is the best!!

Mel and I were really busy the last week heading into the ride...we basically had one last training ride with Jerry and crew to Point Reyes on September 23. After that, there was no more time for biking. I basically bought a new bike thing every day to get ready. We were wrapping stuff up at work, trying to tie loose ends before we left. It was exhausting! Mel and I stayed late in the office on Thursday night and then had to pull an all-nighter on Thursday night/ Friday morning to pack our gear. On Thursday, Peter took our bikes up with him to the city. On Friday afternoon, we gave Peter our first duffel bags for him to take to the city. Then, Mel and I with our second duffel bags (we each had two) took VTA, CalTrains, and Bart (in that order) from Mountain View to SF and walked the rest of the way to the hotel for registration and check-in. Peter and Casey were nice enough to transport the rest of our stuff from their house to the hotel. Then, once we checked in and put on our new biking outfits...we ceased to be our normal, regular selves, and became cyclists!!

We became this sea of green, unidentifiable people...all wearing the same uniform of helmet, sunglasses, Arthritis Foundation biking jerseys and shorts...all with the same goal of riding down the coast of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles on our bikes on behalf of a single cause. We could not be recognizable from our individual selves and became a mass, a herd, a colony. Our bikes became inseparable from us. Life was different. I was different. Simple things mattered. Water never tasted so good. A sandwich was never more nourishing. A little breeze was sent from heaven on long, hot climbs. Small words of encouragement, a smile, a downhill were never so welcome. Life's daily rhythms changed...get up, eat, ride, eat, ride, eat, ride, eat, shower, sleep. Our lives' rhythm started to match the flow of the ocean waves and breezes alongside us, the big blue Pacific being our constant companion for eight days. It became the tempo of the bike's wheels turning in a smooth constant cadence...whoosh whoosh whoosh. Ocean waves, pedaling, sea breeze, heart rate, breathing...all became our internal beat.

Every morning we would wake up (unfortunately in a cold, wet tent), and go into a flurry of action: dress as quickly as possible, pack up tent and gear, eat breakfast (I had eggs and potatoes every day- decadant!) and ride. It would take a few miles to get the morning stiffness out, to warm up and settle into the day on our bikes. Practically every mid morning we would stop in some cafe on some coastal town for coffee and pastries. Riding became our only job...looking on the Daily Route Guides for directions, rest stops, check-ins (many of which I missed or was practically the last rider in), frequent pauses to enjoy scenery and take pictures. I was never one to spontaneously speak to strangers, but I'm glad other people do talk to strangers, because there were so many people who just stopped and asked us questions: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" I guess being an anonymous Greenie wearing tight fitting clothes, smeared with sunscreen, and stuffing down energy bars makes us more approachable than usual. Plus, we were one of many idling down the coast with nothing better to do, either by car or by bike. Everyone was in a good mood...enjoying the perfect weather, gorgeous scenery, nature in absolute perfection. We met many locals and tourists who were just so friendly and happy. "We're riding for the Arthritis Foundation," we'd say, "We're going from SF to LA and have raised 1.4 million dollars! Come join us next year!!"

I definitely could not have this adventure of a lifetime without the help of so many:
1) All the people who donated to me and our team- basically they paid for my experience, so THANK YOU!! Basically these include my wonderful family, friends, co-workers, and patients and their families. These are donations not just of money, but of time, and of support and good wishes. Thank you's just aren't enough for all that you have given me.
2) Of course, my office mates, co-workers and boss, who put up with hours of our bike talk/bike gripes, who had to step over or trip over our greasy bikes in the office, and who "let" us or at least understood when we left work early to go on a bike ride. Don't worry everyone, it's over!
3) Jerry Kruse- my biking hero and savior!! I will always remember his support, pedalling close by, helping me up the hill by simply being there and believing in me. You're the best! One story: we were all resting at the top of a tough climb when we noticed there was still one person left who hadn't made it up yet. Jerry went back downhill, and then did that climb AGAIN to bike with that other person. He voluntarily did a killer climb TWICE!
4) Peter Chira!! I luuuuv yooouuuu!! You pack-muled all of our stuff to your house, ate rubbery chicken with us during dinner, let us stay at your gorgeous place, woke up at 5 in the morning in the freezing cold the next day to take us to the start line
and put up with our frantics when we were about to leave and were panicked!! You called in to check on us, followed our progress and believed in us! You are a superstar!
5) Mel Balboni: thank you for introducing me to a great new sport, and I will definitely keep on biking! It's hard for me now to bike with anyone else, so reliant I've become on you and Pinkie in front of me, setting the pace, guiding me through traffic, signalling, pointing out road hazards...hope your back heals so we can ride again soon!
6) The Powerys: I'm in such Powery withdrawal right now. I've become accustomed to seeing Dwight and Evelyn every day.
7) New biking friends and Jerry's bike crew...we had so much fun together!!

Here are some selected photos if anyone is interested. I'll upload more to a photo sharing site soon too. There are also photos on the CA Coast Classic website itself (including a picture of me in a bathing suit....aack! you've been warned.)

Here's Jerry leading Team Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom!

Yes, it's true. We're actually on the freeway. I know, I couldn't believe it either.

(It was really windy, in case you're wondering what we are doing here.)

See, Mel really did listen to her doctor's orders and did her physical therapy exercises!

Can you believe it? Mel had FOUR flat tires!! Here she is at her first one...note she is wearing surgical gloves for this operation.

This is us at the kick-off dinner.

That's it for now. I need to get to bed soon because I'm on service again. This has been a long week, being on service, and I've been upset. Angry and tired and frustrated at the ravages and the chronicity of lupus and arthritis on young lives. We need better medicines and more understanding. More research. Someone put me out of business so I can go ride my bike again.

To finish up...here's Day 8: The End

2007-10-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone again!

We have re-emerged after resting up from the bike tour. I wanted to put in Evelyn and Dwight's running comments from when we were on the tour to finish up our day-to day summaries. Each night, Evelyn and Dwight would call Maria, and she would update the two blogs: The Ride of a Lifetime and Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom for all 8 days. The last day was put in by Evelyn and can also be seen at http://biking4christiana.blogspot.com/... I just put in Evelyn's text into this blog; there are also photos of each day that can be seen on her other blog. Without further ado, here goes:

The Ride of a Lifetime
Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Day 8: The End
Hello everyone... (this is Evelyn) sorry we left you hanging for a couple days after we finished the race. It's been crazy busy with moving me in back to school, catching up with school and getting everything finalized for Hoops for Hope.

Anyway

Day 8: I fell a couple times today... just didn't clip out off the bike in time. I think I was a little too anxious to get there. Plus I wanted to have some wounds when I got to the finish line. We were on Highway 1 and passed through Malibu for half the ride (it was exciting to see that Los Angeles was less than 50 miles away!!).

Day 8 was very flat. I loved it. Just some rolling hills only 200 ft high (nothing like the 1500 ft climb we'd mastered on some other days). As we approached our destination, we stopped off at a seafood restaurant that was tradition (I actually forget the name at the moment) and just ordered drinks and a few appetizers. We wanted to make it quick because we were 8 miles away and I had some school friends waiting for me at the finish line.

When we continued, we rode along the Santa Monica pier (the path was literally paved on the beach with sand on both sides) and we followed Jerry to a different path than the guide so we could skip the final hill. Little did we know skipping this hill would also skip the lovely fans waiting for us at the finish line. We came to the finish line from the opposite direction and started looking earnestly for the friends who were supposed to be there. Suddenly they came running out of nowhere saying they had been lined up the other side of the street where "everyone else had come." Oops.

I was blessed to have about 12 friends from UCLA come and see me at the finish line, and we enjoyed food and the closing ceremony and got medals! Now that I'm at school, I'm putting my bike back in the garage. I think I've biked enough to last me the rest of the year.

Posted by Evelyn at 11:15 PM

Day Seven - The Well Deserved Massage!

2007-10-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

Today we rode from Solvang to Ventura. It was a total of 82 miles and 2800 ft. of climbing. It was one of the longer days but an easy ride. The view of the countryside was amazing. We rode on Hwy 101 for about 20 miles. They actually had a bike lane. We rode by Santa Barbara and the choppy ocean as the sun was starting to go down. It was beautiful. It got a little windy when we were putting up our tent. In fact, our tent almost blew away. A biking team from Jamaica noticed our team and decided that they wanted to interview us and hear Christiana’s story. It can be viewed soon at www.c62007.blogspot.com. They have a recording of our interview. When we arrived into Ventura, we ended our day with a wonderful massage

Day Six - Can you say, "Farms"?

2007-10-04T22:46:00.001-07:00

We rode 66 miles today averaging 16 miles/hour. While Evelyn was “drafting” today, she fell and got a little bruised. Not too bad though. She did get back up and ride again. Today’s ride was more agricultural, not too coastal. We went through strawberry, cabbage, broccoli, cilantro, rosemary and parsley farms. It smelled real good. The pace was a little slower . We went through a town called Guadalupe (population 200) and stopped in a coffee shop for Chocolate Chai. Doesn’t that sound good? For lunch we went to a countryside store in the middle of nowhere and got some grilled corn (Mmmmm)! They wouldn’t let us use the bathroom at the store though so we had to bike a mile to use one of the porta potties some workers were using. We had to tackle a hill called “the wall”. It shoots straight up and was a mile long. Evelyn beat Dwight on the first hill and Dwight beat Evelyn on the second one. Dr. Balboni rode the whole way today despite her back problems. Dr. Hsu was “drafting” Dwight without even know it. When we finally approached Solvang, we were able to do our laundry. Yes!

Day Five - Hot Springs!

2007-10-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Total mileage today was 63 miles today at an average of 14.1 miles/hr. It was a pretty easy ride. We stopped at a bakery called Lili’s Coffee and they had the best cherry pie ever! We went to downtown San Luis Obispo and visited bubble gum alley. Gum goes all along the wall and down the alley. One of our riders went to Cal Poly in the 80’s and it existed then. We even saw a whale by Cayucos. At mile 55 miles we went swimming at a regular pool then jumped into the hot springs. It was 104 degrees of natural heat. Now we are at Pismo Beach.

Day Four - Hundreds of Sea Lions

2007-10-02T23:39:00.001-07:00

Today was clearer than all the other days and hotter. The day started with a 1.7 mile climb from Big Sur. It wasn’t too bad. After 40 miles we approached Twin Peaks which had a 3.7 mile climb. It was followed by a 2 mile down hill then a 2 mile uphill again. The rolling hills and the flat land followed. It was beautiful. After every turn there was a photo opportunity. We came across a beach with hundreds of sea lions lying on top of each other. Today wasn’t as hard as the first day but it was the most climbing, 4600 feet total. We rode a total of 64.2 miles.

We came across a couple on vacations driving a car with the license plate HELVSME The husband asked us what we thought it said. One of us said “hell vs. me”. The husband said, that’s how he read it. The wife said it was supposed to be “he loves me”. So, how did you read it?

Anyway, tonight we are camping out by a beach in San Simeon. We can hear the ocean. Time to snooze and get ready for Pismo Beach tomorrow. Supposedly, hot springs await our arrival!

Day Three - In the Moment

2007-10-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today was another beautiful day. Mostly clear until we got closer to Big Sur then it got foggy and cool. The Daily Route Guide had us scheduled to ride 37 miles but we did 43. We started in Monterey and detoured through 17 Mile Drive (a scenic route). We saw the most beautiful beach with one big sand dune which went up almost 15 feet high. We passed by Pebble Beach too. The deer and houses looked like a fairy tale. We then went to Carmel. fifteen of us found a coffee shop and took a well deserved break. We mostly rode along the coast. Lots of pictures were taken. There was one long climb and getting to the top made it all worth it. The view of the Pacific Ocean was crystal clear. Then on the way down, the wind was blowing 55 miles/hour on our faces. Today was quite easy and relaxed. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be one of the hardest days. One guy approached Dwight and thanked him for being so open about Christiana because he lost his daughter 12 years ago and has had a hard time talking about her. Please pray for us.

We wanted to take a moment to share what Dwight and Dr. Balboni talked about at the opening ceremonies on Friday evening. Dr. Balboni gave a brief description of the medical side of things. She explained when Christiana was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and when she was diagnosed with Juvenile Dermatomyositis. She then mentioned how she had to call us in the middle of the night to tell us that we had to bring her to the hospital immediately. Dwight then talked about how Christiana felt the last time she was able to go outside. After weeks of not being able to go outside due to her time in ICU and overall medical instability, we were finally given the okay to wheel her outside. We wrapped her up in warm blankets and went on our way to the third floor outdoor patio. As we walked out, Christiana commented on how good it smelled. Someone was baking cookies. When we got outside, she closed her eyes and said, “Listen to that!” We couldn’t hear what she heard until a few seconds later and noticed an airplane approaching at a distance. She then said, “Do you see that?” We looked in the distance and saw traffic lights and thought that was what she was talking about. But it wasn’t. She was pointing to Christmas lights in the distance and was just fascinated by them. Shortly after that she said, “Do you feel that?” She closed her eyes and felt the cold breeze brushing up against her cheeks. Our time at the patio was the most incredible ten minutes and without realizing it, Christiana talked about most of her senses. It just shows you how we take life for granted and we must stop to enjoy the moment. Dwight mentioned to the bikers that as they drive from SF to LA, they should take the time to be “in the moment” and appreciate all their surroundings.

Day One and Day Two

2007-09-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the second day of our adventure and what a wonderful time it’s been so far. We found out that Evelyn is the youngest cyclist this year! Go Evelyn! Many cyclists decided they wanted to race through the event, not us! When we started yesterday, we were the last ones to leave (busy taking pictures of the moment) but not the last ones to arrive. Close, but not the last. It was clear and sunny in San Francisco. It was the most beautiful day. There was not a cloud in the sky and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge was spectacular. We rode 85 miles to Santa Cruz and arrived at 5pm. (The first cyclist arrived at 1:30!) We saw over 100 people at a parasailing event and stopped at every vista point to take pictures. Christiana taught us a lot about not taking life for granted so we’re taking the time to enjoy God’s beauty. After we arrived at our destination, we pitched our tents, showered, ate a wonderful prepared meal and then went right to bed!

Today, we detoured a bit here and there to get a better view of the sites. In fact, we rode with 15 others and detoured an extra 15 miles. Our Daily Route Guide had us riding 52 miles to Pacific Grove (near Monterey) but we rode 65 miles. We had a snack at a nice place called The Farm in Aptos. We rode through a strawberry farm and it smelled so good. We had lunch at a place called Phil’s in Moss Landing. Good seafood! We ate dinner at Bubba Gump. The portions were really small so we went searching for Ghirardelli to have some icecream. Unfortunately everything closed by 8pm so we searched high and low for a Baskin Robbins. Found it! Can’t help but think about food after such a long day of biking. When we went back to the campground, the sprinklers came on soaking all our tents. So much adventure!

Counting down the days...

2007-09-24T19:58:00.001-07:00

So we have 5 days until the big ride begins. This week will officially be the best week of training ever. We're supposed to be going at an easy pace for no more than 1 hour (basically only 10-11 miles). I've been feeling pretty tired lately on the bike, so hopefully I'll be rested enough before Saturday.

Here's the layout of miles and climbs per day:
Saturday - 82.9 mi and 4,270 ft of climbing
Sunday - 52.6 mi and 1,770 ft
Monday - 38.0 mi and 2,220 ft
Tuesday - 64 mi and 4,530 ft
Wednesday - 55.6 mi and 1,270 ft
Thursday - 63.8 mi and 2,400 ft
Friday - 86.5 mi and 2,410 ft
Saturday - 63.3 mi and 1,430 ft

As you can see, days 1 and 4 are the hardest (day 7 seems pretty tough too). When I say they're tough, I'm speaking relatively because obviously all of the days will be hard. Like one of the doctors who are riding with us says, take it one rest stop at a time (hahha).

Oh! We got our jerseys in the mail... here they are!
The first is the front; the second is the back.

Tour de Tahoe video

2007-09-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I put together for the Tour de Tahoe.

So. The Tahoe ride.

2007-09-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

We rode 72 miles around Lake Tahoe on Sunday. Needless to say, I was nervous. Weather.com said that in the morning when our ride started it would be a little over 40 degrees (wow). We started the morning off with arm warmers, leg warmers, a jacket and full-fingered gloves. By the first stop (after 13 miles and one of the big climbs) we were ready to strip it all off.

The first 10 miles were flat, and we were probably averaging 17 mph. Hardcore racer people still passed us, and they would comment on the little SpongeBob attached to my bike bag or on the AMGEN jacket I was wearing. Then the climb started, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It zigzagged up, and it was funny to see so many bikers going so slow. At one point a truck went by and there was a guy drafting the truck flying up the hill. Some ambulances passed us about 10 miles in because a lady broke her arm. Mel went into the sag wagon before the first hill because of her back, and we passed her on the way up the hill. At the first rest stop, there were a lot of people. We stayed there for awhile (that's probably how we got to the back of the pack) to relax, get some food, take off our extra clothes, and take pictures.

When we finally got going again, it was about 10 more miles before the next rest stop. It was fairly flat. At the next stop, I saw a little girl (probably 12 or so) who was doing the ride too. That amazed me. She had her little biking gear and muscular legs like she'd been riding for awhile. At that rest stop they had potatoes. Oh. At mile 16 I got stung by a bee. We were going downhill and a bee (wasp?) nearly flew into my mouth. For a split second it was stuck to my mouth until I spit/blew it off. Then, sting! and it was gone. I kept spitting because I felt some remnant in my mouth (a leg or something, gross, I know). And it stung. I've never gotten stung before, so I bit my lip to keep it from stinging and swelling. A couple minutes later when my dad and I pulled over, it was swollen. Mel gave me some medicine at the rest stop (I forget that they're doctors) and it was just sore for the rest of the day.

We kept going. Lunch was at 42 miles. It was a beach, and that's where we started to see the pattern of people leaving when we barely got to the rest stop. We had turkey sandwiches, peanut butter with bananas, powerbars, brownies, etc. It was pretty comforting that we were more than halfway done, except for the fact that there was a 7-mile climb looming ahead.

That climb took FOREVER. It wasn't steep, but it was annoying to be gradually climbing for so long. You'd wind around the corner and still be going uphill. On one of the stops during the hill, we met this group of ladies who made their own jerseys for this ride. They were so sweet! They kept taking a ton of pictures and laughing... since Papi had the same camera, he took pictures of them. They loved it. Then we saw them at every stop after that and we all yayed each other for finishing the next leg of it.

After the loooong climb we got to go downhill for 7 miles and then had rolling hills for the remaining 5 miles. The rolling hills were even hard. Finally we got to the end. (There was even an uphill to the finish line. That was cruel of them.)

THEN we had a pasta buffet. It was awesome. By that time most of the riders had made their rounds through the party because we were probably within the last 50 people. Once we ate, we were stuffed. So we went to the hotel room, watched TV and fell asleep. I was tempted when my dad suggested using a "Buy one get one free" Coldstone coupon, but once I was in bed, I couldn't get up.

It was hard. It was beautiful, but it was hard. I feel a little better about our ability for the CCC.

The Last Two Weeks of August: Just the stats, sort of

2007-09-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while and I have no excuse. Well, except that I lost some of my stats and had to get some data from Jerry to fill in my table for August 18th. Unfortunately that means I don't have my ride time, MPH stats, or max grade for the Pescadaro ride. I recalled the average grade but that was about it! I had two firsts with this ride- first time I made it to the top of Old La Honda and first time riding four days in a row (Aug 15-18). I was supposed to ride the next day with Joyce but I bailed on her after the big Pescadaro ride.

I rode the Pescadaro ride without Joyce because she was on call. We started at Canada Road at 92. Towards the end of Canada I found myself riding by myself. I could see a few riders far off but none of the others. I didn't notice that many had stopped at the bakery on Woodside so I pushed on without a break. As I kept going I thought it was odd that nobody was passing me (which is my usual M.O.). Turns out most people had stopped at the bakery and were waiting for me! Finally, they decided I must have gone on ahead so they took off again. I was suffering through Old La Honda with my music and my thoughts. Taking my time, stopping about every mile. Suddenly I saw some of the CCC green jerseys coming up the hill. I was about 2/3 up when everyone had passed me. That's more like it :) Of course Jerry stayed with me to the top and I was greeted by the rest of the group with lots of congratulations. It is so great to ride with such a supportive group, don't know how I would have made it through the training without them. Also, thank goodness for Weldon who had parked his van in Pescadaro the night before so I didn't have to try and do the whole ride, which is 62 miles with 5200 feet of climbing. Here is a map showing the route, I did the red line (up Old La Honda not Woodside):

Here is a table of my rides for the last two weeks of August.

The training took a hit during the last week because I was on service and busy with my clinical responsibilities. I wanted to try to get out at least once midweek but I was working until after dark each day. Joyce and I had left Pinkie and Tumbles in our office in case we could get away but it didn't happen until Saturday August 25. I think we worked out at the gym one day but can't recall which day.

That Sunday, August 26, we conquered Old La Honda together and we were celebrating our accomplishments. Well, we were celebrating until it turns out Old La Honda had conquered me! I woke up August 27 with a bad back spasm. I have had these before over the years and a couple mild ones since training. However, this one was pretty bad. I decided to get a sports massage that afternoon, which seemed like a good idea, but it turned out to be BAD. I had a 75 minute massage focusing on all the spasm that had taken over my back such that I couldn't stand up straight. It was one of the most painful massages I have ever had but when I got up I could stand up straight and felt less pain. I then had dinner with my friend Jessie who was in town for a few days and when I got up from the booth after dinner I had severe spasm and could hardly move due to the pain! I had to head home and take a muscle relaxant (flexeril) and ibuprofen. I spent the next day in bed essentially in a flexeril coma. When I still had significant pain the next morning I had a novel idea - maybe I should go to my doctor! :)

I knew something wasn't quite right when I couldn't lift my right leg off of the examining table without excruciating pain. For those people not in the medical field, that is not a good sign. So, an MRI was ordered, I got referred to a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, increased my ibuprofen from 600 mg to 800 mg, and used some heat and rest. Over the week my back improved but never got back to normal. The MRI was done August 30 but I had to wait until September 4th to know the results. In the meantime, we had a big ride scheduled with Jerry for September 1st so Joyce and I decided to do a slow and relatively easy ride Friday August 31st to see if I would even attempt the ride Saturday (Crissy Field, Marin Headlands, Tiburon). The 8/31 ride went ok so we decided to go for it the next day. Of course, that is for another blog since this entry is about August. Can you stand the suspense?

Many new victories...some defeats....

2007-09-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hey, there's a new video feature to blogger! I'm going to test it out by putting on this little clip of Mel climbing up to the summit of Devil's Slide during our Half Moon Bay bike ride on August 11...

(Good thing the video is so small that you can't really see which finger she is pointing at me!)

Well, we've been busy in the last 3 weeks. I was on service after our Half Moon Bay ride, and Mel was able to go on a Jerry training ride when I was busy working. She successfully climbed up Old La Honda! Then, they went on to ride half of the Pescadero loop that I had done a while back. After I was done on service, then it was Mel's turn on service, so we didn't get out much during that time.

Finally, we were able to get out on August 26, 2007 to really get a great ride in. I wanted to try Old La Honda again since I was green with envy that Mel had reached that milestone without me. We set out from campus, out to Alpine and Portola, which was a good warmup to Old La Honda. Finally, we started climbing. We did stop a few times, took a break, talked on the phone, had some Gu, and slowly but surely, we were inching our way to the top...close to the summit, this is what we saw...
Somebody on Old La Honda has a sense of humor! By car or by bike, Old La Honda is a steep, windy, treacherous road. My favorite part of the ride was seeing a biker dad climb up Old La Honda with his toddler in a bicycle side-carrier, much like a sidecar. Of course, they were able to pass me and Mel (actually twice passing us...once going uphill and once going downhill). Little kids are faster than us!

But, 45 minutes of riding time later (not counting all the stops we had made along the way), we reached the top...a great feeling! We reached Skyline and proceeded on another new route that we had never tried before. Here's Mel in some inspirational-looking biking photos on Skyline...

It was really gorgeous- - a quiet, forested area with little traffic, just lots of trees, the way it should be.

Unfortunately, the victory of climbing up Old La Honda was soon marred by a severe back spasm in Mel that required a variety of prescription drugs, a hobble to her internist and a trip to the MRI scanner. Fortunately, her back muscles did eventually calm down with just some residual twitches and soreness. Good thing, because yesterday, September 1, we had a big ride with Jerry and the gang...
I've posted this map of Marin county before, but this time, not only did we ride around Richardson Bay, Sausalito, Tiburon and (my favorite) Paradise Cove, we also conquered the Marin Headlands! It started off really steep, which really sapped all my climbing confidence, but did eventually get a bit easier. You know it's steep when runners pass us cyclists struggling up the incline. The day was sunnier and clearer than our first time up to Marin, so we were able to see a lot more. Here's the view from the top of the Marin Headlands; you can see the fog shrouded Golden Gate.

The descent from the Headlands was the scariest downhill ride I've ever taken! It was steep and so twisty! One bad turn and off the cliff you go...

After the climbing, we were able to relax and enjoy Marin...we rode through tourist and cyclist packed Sausalito, which was having an art festival that day, so it was even more crowded than usual. We were rounding Richardson Bay, with great views of the water and Angel Island, when I met for the second time, my Right Turn of Shame. The first time I did this turn, I could not turn sharply enough and fell into the hedge bordering the turn. This time, I felt ready--I had the energy surge of finishing the Marin Headlands, it was a gorgeous day, and I hadn't fallen for quite some time now, so I was in really good mental shape. However, as I got closer I did a little wimp-out. I will blame Mel, who was in front of me, for turning too slowly, forcing me to lose momentum, and scrape the wooden rail with my arm, necessitating me to stop and walk the bike through the turn. Yet again, I was defeated by the Right Turn of Shame! At least I didn't fall over into the surrounding hedge, but I do have a little road rash on my arm as a reminder. Next time...I will make it!!

After lunch at Shark's Deli, we rode on my all-time favorite route around Paradise Cove. It was breath-taking...blue green water dotted with lots of sailboats, the view of the Bay and the city beyond. So beautiful! After the eye-candy, my legs, however, started to poop out. My climbing legs were gone, and I was left with legs of jelly. We had two more momentous climbs ahead of us, and I was really worried about my jelly-legs, as well as Mel's back, which was acting up again. Fortunately, Chapman Ave was not as bad as we feared and had remembered (are we making progress somehow??), and then I lost Mel altogether going down from Chapman back to Sausalito! She was swept up, bad back and all, with the faster group of riders! I hung back with the not-as-fast group, barely keeping up with them, back through Sausalito. By early afternoon, it was packed with cars and we actually had to weave around some of them to get through the streets! Mayhem indeed! Well, the last climb was tough, but by then I think I was numb to the pain. We climbed back up to the Golden Gate bridge through Fort Baker, then had to fight the tourist surge crossing the bridge (hazardous!). It was a gorgeous day...really sunny, clear for the most part except for a stubborn cloud on part of the Golden Gate, and just perfect for biking. See?

Today, both Mel and I are tired and sore. We were supposed to go out riding this afternoon, but my achey legs protested, so I am blogging instead. Tomorrow, we will get out for a long ride...I can't believe it is September already! Next week, we have our Tour de Tahoe ride!! Then in 4 weeks starts the CCC! This is it--the last month of training!!!

August 1-15: The Clock is Ticking!

2007-08-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

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!! :)

2007-08-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Introducing Tumbles!

2007-07-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I can't believe how long it has been since I've last updated the blog! There has been a lot of biking activity going on, so it's not like we haven't been training. In the past month, I have finally named my gray Trek 5200 bike...his name is Tumbles and he is friends with Mel's bike Pinkie (or Pepto). Anyways, all of us, Mel, Pinkie, Tumbles and I, have been working very hard at getting in lots of riding this past month.

Here are the various poses of Mel and Pinkie during our adventures:

Here's Mel recovering after a bad fall on to a rock in Huddart Park, Woodside. This is when the stranger with the dog put a bandage on Mel's leg. Despite the fall, we were still able to climb up to the entrance of Huddart Park and feel pretty good about it too.

Ahh...here's another typical pose of Mel and Pinkie...at a food stop in front of Robert's Market in Woodside. We have lunch, refuel with another bottle of Gatorade, and re-apply sunblock during these pit stops.

Although it may look like all we are doing is sitting and lounging around, this is actually the only time that Mel will let me take pictures while we are outside riding. Especially since I haven't mastered the skill of one-handed riding yet (both hands must still be firmly affixed to the handlebars at all times!), I'm not able to capture a lot of action photos. There have been many scenic overlooks and pretty views during our climbs, but I am usually trying to oxygenate heavily during those moments, and so, I cannot take pictures. This particular day (where we are both wearing short sleeves) came after a brutally hot day on the 4th of July, when we were just drenched completely in sweat. So, we thought we would be wise and wear short sleeves on July 7th. Although it turned out to be cold and misty, that day was a momentous day because we were able to ride 50 miles, our most ever in terms of mileage!! It was from Mountain View to Foothill, to Arastradero, to Woodside, Canada Road and back...our biggest loop ever!

Here's me at the turnaround point:

And here's Mel at the turnaround point...
After that 50 miler, the next weekend we tried to do two consecutive days of hard riding...in an effort to see what back-to-back days of being in the saddle would be like (after all, during the CCC, we'll have 8 continuous days on our bikes). The first day, July 14, we were in the East Bay at Niles Canyon in the Fremont area. We took Calaveras Road and rode all the way down to Milpitas. That was a gorgeous ride (unfortuately, no pictures), with a very decent climb. I felt rather good about it, was able to complete the climbing, and didn't feel too badly afterwards. We were able to complete 38 miles of riding, with about 2200 feet of climbing.

However, the next day, July 15, we met up with Jerry, Eileen, Greg and several other women in Tilden Park at Inspiration Point. We rode downhill Wildcat Canyon, wound up in Orinda. We went through the area surrounding Redwood Regional Park, which was really cool and beautiful...

However, after this beautiful stop, I met my Mountain of Shame on Pinehurst...I really hit a wall climbing up that hill, and felt so discouraged. I actually had to get off of the bike and walk up the rest of the climb, because I felt there was no way I could get to the summit otherwise. My legs were already tired from the ride before and I was just pooped out! I felt mentally drained as well, and as we were riding back "undulating hills" around Grizzly Peak after Pinehurst back to Inspiration Point, every single incline was a major challenge. All I was concentrating on was each stroke of the pedal that would bring me closer back to the car. In my head, I felt there was no way I could survive the CCC, given that on those two days, we had done the same amount of climbing and with fewer miles than the FIRST DAY of the CCC! That Sunday, we did 28 miles of riding with 2200 feet of climbing. (The first day of the CCC is 85 miles with 4000 feet of climbing.) I really was feeling down and at odds with my bike that afternoon after getting back to Inspiration Point...
That's Mel and me after the ride at Inspiration Point in Tilden. That was the day I named my Trek bike Tumbles, and was really quite upset at him for letting me down. In fact, he stayed over at Mel's place for the next week because we were not on speaking terms after that East Bay ride. He finally made it back home this weekend, and we are becoming better friends again, but it is still a tenuous relationship, especially after I fell into a prickly bush at Mel's place after failing to make a sharp left turn. We're going day by day at this point.

So, we have been getting in several rides (as documented in Mel's tables), and getting in some back-to-back days of climbing and some miles in. There's still, obviously, much more work to get done, and I need to get over last week's feelings of discouragement with Tumbles and my progress. Right now, I have to stop thinking about how daunting the first day of the CCC is, and just try to increase the miles and climbing. Mel and I have been working out at the gym, using the quad machines to improve our strength in our legs...I hope it helps! I weighed myself yesterday, and since February when I started my training, I have lost a grand total of ONE POUND!! After that, Mel and I went to McDonald's to celebrate my achievement (plus to get a Hello Kitty Happy Meal). We'll keep at it...

First Two Weeks of July-Making Progress

2007-07-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I am trying to be better about blogging our rides so I am multitasking (hopefully my colleagues won't notice that I am blogging while sitting through our Tuesday meeting :)

We definitely have logged more miles for the first two weeks of July compared to June and we are improving but it has been slow. Both Joyce and I were a bit discouraged with Sunday July 15's ride. We were tired and sore from the day before and struggled with the climbs. We both had to walk up part of a steep hill, but we did it!!!!! Here is a table of our rides so far this month.

As we increase our miles and have come into the heat of the summer I am beginning to appreciate the early morning rides. I think both Joyce and I got a little over heated on July Fourth after starting our ride at 9 AM. It was almost 100 degrees out by the end of our ride. The next ride (July 7) we motivated a bit earlier and it was much more pleasant, AND WE RODE THE MOST MILES EVER IN ONE RIDE----50 MILES!!!!! See, we are making progress.

Hopefully Joyce will blog soon because she has some pictures from several of our rides. One of my nieces complained that our blog was boring so I am going to throw in a few pictures even though they have nothing to do with our ride!

Summary of Mel's June Rides

2007-07-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. It has been quite some time since I last posted anything. Talk about disorganization, I had been writing the stats down after each ride on scraps of paper but didn't always date them. Needless to say when I went to write them in my training calendar and get ready to blog, there was a ride I didn't know exactly when or where it took place so I had to guess based on miles and climbing. Also, I must admit I am still having issues with the cyclometer, the altitudes are definitely off compared toGreg's GPS readings and Jerry's cyclometer. For the rides over 2000 feet I am off at least 200-300 feet. I have asked Chain Reaction about this but they haven't gotten back to me. Also, a couple of times the max MPH is off, likely due to interference from something. I decided to put all of June's rides (doesn't include rides Joyce did without me) in a table for ease of reading. This is not as easy as I thought it would be. I tried converting the table into jpg, gif, bmp, and png files (the only types of files you can import into the blog) but the resolution was horrible and the table was blurry. I spent way too much time trying to improve the resolution without success. Then I tried to cut and paste the tables directly, again without success. Finally, I printed the table, scanned it in on someone else's computer and emailed it to myself. I hope that worked- lets see:

UUGGHH, it still isn't readable!!! But if you click on the table it is fine. So please, click on the table to see how hard we worked in June. FYI the exclamation marks in the max MPH row indicate the reading was off (not that you would believe we could reach 143 MPH!). Also, I am not certain which day I actually rode for the ride listed June 18. For the max grade, the ones without a +/- are positive.

I think Joyce may have some pictures from these rides and I don't have too much else to say except that I was very excited to change my cassette to a 12-27 (whatever that means). I did this on June 16 (the same day Joyce got her clipless pedals). The next couple of rides my chain was making strange noises and on June 23 my chain fell off, my pedals got stuck and I fell. We were riding up to Huddard Park and I fell over onto some brush and ROCKS!! It wouldn't have been a big deal if my knee and elbow hadn't been impailed by the rocks. I sat there in severe pain for a few minutes before getting up to inspect the damage. My bike was fine, my knee not so much. I had a large abrasion with dirt ground into it and blood dripping down my leg. Joyce proceeded to rinse my wounds with water and I was using a not-so wet "wet-wipe" when a man in a truck stopped to ask if we needed help. He offered to bring us a bandage and we wondered if he was really some psycho about to throw us in his truck and keep us captive for life. Then Joyce realized he had a dog with him so he must be ok :) He brought back some bandage and tape, and we were back on our way. We continued our ride up Huddard and while it was tough, it was easier than the last time. In fact, we got to the entrance of the park and were surprised to be done already. My knee was quite swollen and I couldn't ride for a few days (I could barely walk the next day). Then I got poison oak again! What is it with me and poison oak? I even looked when I fell and didn't notice any. Oh well, at least it wasn't as bad as the last time, although I still took some prednisone for a few days. It turns out part of the knee wound was pretty deep and will likely leave an ugly scar. It continued to ooze for more than a week and took a couple of weeks to stop being painful to touch. Now it is just itchy! Fortunately I had a flesh-colored bandaid to cover it for my nephew's wedding on June 30.

The month of June was tough for training because I was gone 14 days and my niece was here for 3 days. I tried to get some cross-training in, mostly using the elliptical at hotel gyms. There was a fire at the Stanford Dish and it has been closed since then so we can't walk the dish for now. Hopefully July will be a better month for rides. I promise more stats for our July rides soon.

Another great ride!!

2007-06-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

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...)

2007-06-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

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.

What a beautiful ride!

2007-05-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well as promised, I'm posting more often. This past week I was able to get out 5 times for a total of 85 miles; the longest one was about 25 miles.

On Sunday, I went out in the evening for a longer ride down to Uvas Dam and Chesbro Dam... the same ride I did last weekend, but in reverse. It is amazing what views you see when you go in the opposite direction. This time I paced myself and did not get the urge to ride along some of those that are training for the Tour de San Jose (or California). It felt great the whole way and encountered some great hills along the way (in fact, there was one that was 14% grade and boy were my thighs burning, but they felt good on the way down). That's my motto... Just wait until you get to the top! All in all, this was my longest ride yet. I finished 44.2 miles in just under 3 hours (2:57:30 for those analytical ones out there) with an average 14.9 mph and a max of 35.2 mph.

As I was riding along the dams I was just imagining how beautiful it's going to be when we are along the coast and seeing the Pacific Ocean.

So, I will not be posting for at least a week since I am heading to Denver on business and then to the CARRA business meeting at the end of the week, where I'll see Mel (or Dr. Balboni). We'll get in some cross-training while we are there.

Talk to you soon and happy cycling.

Dwight

RECAP of June 19-20 Adventures and weekday training

2007-05-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted and the data from our rides are piling up on sheets of scrap paper. So first let me recap last weekend's numbers. Joyce already described our humbling attempt at Old La Honda on June 19, here are the stats from my gadget: 10.6 miles over 1 hr 14 min, avg 8.8, max 25.6 mph. Max altitude 1236, trip +1299, -1304, (total climb to date 8823), max grade 18%!!!!!! avg grade 2% - this has been zero for every trip we have done so far, so you can see Old La Honda is steep!

The next day (June 20) we had a training ride with Jerry. I was a bit nervous my muscles wouldn't work after Old La Honda (and they were still sore from climbing the dish). Joyce and I made plans to go to the farmer's market before the ride and we bought some delicious strawberries and other locally grown produce, then we headed for Canada Road. We rode a new route this time from Edgewood Road up Canada to the Sawyer Camp Trail. We rode that trail, which we have done twice before, and we could see our progress. It is mostly flat but then has a somewhat steep climb over the last mile or so. The first time we tried it I had to walk part of it, the second time I made it but stopped a few times. Well, this time we had already ridden 12 miles or so and I made it to the top without stopping and didn't feel like I was about to die! Then we had our adventure for last weekend, we RODE OUR BIKES ON THE FREEWAY!!!! Jerry says this is legal but is was very scary. (I heard from some other riders this weekend that he has taken others on this route as well, maybe he knows what he is doing :) He had a method to his madness. Apparently some of our CCC ride includes riding on freeways in Southern California. Good thing he told me this after I signed up, I don't even like LA freeways in a car! In any case, we survived the brief ride on the freeway (only went to the next exit). Then we rode through places like Belmont, San Mateo, and Redwood City to get back to our cars on Canada Rd. It was a beautiful day and the scenery and company was great, overall an excellent ride, and Jerry even commented on our smiles at the end of it all. We rode 25.3 miles over 2 hrs 22 min, avg 10.6, max 34.4 mph. Trip altitude +1875, -1765 (MOST CLIMBING TO DATE!!!!), max grade 18%, average 1%.

Although I feel that my progress is slow, I can definitely see that I am improving and that is very encouraging. Joyce is also making progress and she continues to zip right by me on the uphill climbs then I speed by her on the downhills trying to make up for my snail's pace and gain some momentum for the next hill!

Since we are serious athletes now, or at least posing as them, we did a bit of training during the week as well. We did take June 21 off and then hit the gym on June 22 for our first attempt at weight training. What were we thinking? Here we were at the new Stanford gym with all these fit, young Stanford students. We stuck out like a sore thumb. Of course the fits of laughter when Joyce couldn't get the crunch machine to move or when I couldn't even figure out which way to sit on the machine didn't help. Oh, and I never realized how bad my balance is until I tried to do lunges and couldn't do it without falling over! My labmate and friend, Mike, had volunteered to show us how to use the different machines, hopefully he can still show his face there :) Even though we had the machines set to the lowest possible weight for most (10 pounds) it was still a struggle to do 2-3 sets of 10 reps. The next day my legs and back were quite sore and remained so for a few days.

Wednesday June 23 was my cat Li'l Bit's first chemotherapy treatment and I decided to work from home so that I could keep an eye on her. Joyce and I had a ride planned from campus so I decided I would ride there from home to meet her in the evening. That ride is essentially flat and should have been a warm up for me. However, I really struggled with the rest of the ride. We took off from the parking garage and did the Alpine-Portola loop. It is typical for me to lag behind Joyce but today I was so far behind she would stop and wait for me. I felt like my legs were made of lead. I think it was from the work out the day before, which tells me I need to keep working out at the gym! After we did the loop Joyce was begging for more miles so we went around campus instead of back to the car. If it weren't flat I would have committed mutiny! Overall the ride from campus was 20.41 miles over 1 hr 44 minutes, avg 11.7, max 38.4 mph (Joyce yelled at me that I was going ot fast as I zipped by but I was afraid I wouldn't get up the hill if I didn't maximize the downhill before it). Altitude max 559, trip +902, -908, max grade 7%, avg 0%. Add 7 miles for my total since I rode in from home. Fortunately I hitched a ride home from Joyce, otherwise I might have slept in the office that night.

For our final weekday exercise adventure we had the choice of going back to the gym or walking the dish. Although it was quite warm during the day Thursday but it cooled off nicely. The last thing I wanted to do was use those damn machines again, especially since I didn't want to be too sore for my big ride Saturday, so I convinced Joyce to walk the dish. It seemed a bit easier than our past attempts so again we can see the progress.

That's it for now. My next post will describe this weekend's adventures! (are you on the edge of your seat?)

Wow! It's been almost 3 weeks since my 1st post!

2007-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can tell from the title, I'm not as diligent as posting as my fellow cyclists are. I have great intentions and tell them I'm going to do it, but then something always comes up (ie. like email). I'm making a commitment to post at least once a week, probably on Sunday, about my previous week of riding...

So, last week I got in a total of 113 miles over 5 days. I was pretty excited to get in 5 days of riding since I was in Toronto to see my brother graduate with his doctorate in Theology (that's a story for another blog).

My long ride on Saturday was 38 miles down in the South Bay (Almaden Valley to Morgan Hill). I went from my house to Uvas Dam and made a large loop back to Chesbro Dam and then past Calero Reservoir. Time-wise it was 2hr 38mins with an average of 14.3mph. I don't an altimeter like Dr. Gadget (hi Mel), but there is a website called MapMyRide, that I will go and checkout. There were a couple of long climbs (not like Old La Honda), but good enough. On the way out, I was feeling good and riding with a group I met. In fact, I was feeling too good and went out too fast (about 1:10) ... On the way back, I did not feel too bad, but the wind... Oh the wind... Let's say it took me a while to get back and to keep mentally motivated to finish! But I did it..

It is a beautiful area down in the back hills of South San Jose and Morgan Hill.... One lane road with cyclists going both ways all day long... Very nice... I do it again!

Well, until next week... keep cycling!

A humbling and momentous day!

2007-05-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Well, unlike two weeks ago, Mel and I were able to train 5 out of 7 days this week! That's a first for us, especially with work, so we did pretty well in terms of keeping a few hours a day committed to exercise. As Mel blogged earlier, last Saturday, May 12, we had a leisurely, flat ride around Shoreline on the Steven's Creek Trail and then further north to the Palo Alto Baylands. It was a relaxing change of pace. On Sunday, May 13, we went directly from Stanford campus to do a nice loop around Palo Alto, Woodside and ending up in Redwood City!! We went through many new areas and made up the route as we rode along. It was a bit more challenging as compared to the previous ride, and we were rewarded with dinner at Tzielan's house for grilled meats and veggies! Then we played with the kids and Mel happily signed out to Tzielan after a long week on-service.

A HUGE motivating factor for training this week, which pushed me to really work hard, was brought about because I finally sent out my first batch of announcement emails, telling family and friends of the bike event. I had been keeping it quiet for some time, just testing the waters to see if I could carry through with the biking before I decided to really participate in the bike ride. After the committment of buying the bike and the weekend warrior type bike rides that Mel and I were already doing, I finally decided to sign up and register for the California Coast Classic last month. Now, with the emails out there and the fundraising started, it is definitely a reality now, and we have to TRAIN! I received a lot of encouraging and supportive emails from friends and family, which was really heart-warming. :) Thanks everyone! Don't worry, I'll keep at it!

During the work week, we went out for a late afternoon ride on Tuesday, May 15. I left a little bit early (accidently leaving behind some clinical responsibilities in the wind, as I carelessly left the first year fellow alone with a new patient and didn't even bring my pager along...sorry Michal! Must work on this work-life balance thing. Anyways, Michal, our soon-to-be second year fellow, did great without me.) On that day, we had quite an adventure through the streets of Mountain View and Palo Alto as we rode through streets that are familiar to me only by driving! We were in traffic and bike lanes, one with the happy motorists who loved the sight of two slow, timid bikers in their lane during the rush hour commute. It was indeed an experience. It was also the first time I had ridden when it was semi-dark, and I got to use my little headlight! Needless to say, I think I went pretty fast for once when it got dark and I was pedaling home as quick as I could! Mel did a great job leading us through traffic though, and it made me nervous at the thought of future riding with the clipless pedals. I was already making precarious starts and stops in traffic since it was more pressured on the road than when we ride on trails.

We then walked the Stanford Dish on Wednesday, May 16. (I should make it sound more athletic by saying we HIKED the Dish.) It was the first time we went up there and the views were pretty. I did break a sweat a little bit, but it wasn't like the crazy bike rides that we had been doing before, so I was really surprised the next day that I was so sore! And in different places than usual! So, the cross-training is a good thing. Now instead of the thighs hurting, I have shin splints and soreness everywhere from the waist down! The other little kicker here is that Mel had to leave for a vet appointment, so I decided to walk back to the office from the Dish through the lovely Stanford campus. That was not a good idea, since the lovely Stanford campus is quite huge and I walked for another hour just getting back to the medical center. I saw the residential areas of Palo Alto, the frat houses, the dorms, the quad, the law area, until finally the nerdy science area came into view and I was so happy. At the end of the day, I could barely hobble back to my car on my blistered feet and had to use the elevator in the parking garage. I'm not sure if this experience is leaving me feeling physically stronger or what, because I feel like an achy old lady most days.

We went out to the Dish again on Friday, May 18:

Initially, I thought that we should run, or at least, jog to the Dish, but I was lucky I wasn't crawling on my hands and knees! We were both so sore and the downhill steps really hurt! We only made it back to the entrance because it was getting dark, the trail was closing, and we didn't want to be the last people on the hill.

On Saturday, May 19, an exhausted and sleepy Mel picked me up from home and we went off to Woodside, determined to do a little piece of the infamous Old La Honda Road. Everyone who bikes in this area is always talking about Old La Honda...an old windy road that brings you up to Skyline. When Mel and I say that we are beginner cyclists, people keep bringing up this ride: "Have you tried Old La Honda yet?" It has become a goal, an aspiration, an objective that would someday mark the pinnacle, the summit I dare say, of our biking dreams. Mel had pooh-poohed the thought of trying it so early, but we wanted to do something new. After pointing out that we could turn around and go back at any time, she reluctantly agreed. We went out from Woodside through Old Mountain Road to reach Portola and Old La Honda. I would say we were in the granny gear within 10 feet of starting the climb. We were in the easiest gear a quarter into our trip. But we kept going! It was actually very beautiful...peaceful, tall Redwoods, quiet, very woodsy...interrupted by the gasping sounds of painful inhalation and exhalation as we pushed ourselves up. I was drippy with sweat and it was getting in my eyes (gross!). We had initially stated we would go 800 feet up, but we were quite good and made it to 1000 feet, with several stops and a shot of Gu on the way.

We had decided to reach our turnaround point when we saw this thin, wiry man, in his 60s, passing us (of course, we had seen probably 10 other cyclists pass us by already). He shouted out words of encouragement and said we were 2/3 of the way there and that we had completed the hardest part already! We were quite happy and pleased with ourselves since it was our first time on Old La Honda, but decided not to go the entire distance since we were already tired and still have a training ride with Jerry on Sunday.

Of course, the downhill descents are my biggest fear at this point, so I took time to get into the hardest gear with the largest chainring in the front, and off we went! It took 10 minutes to go down what took us 1.5 hours to go up. I was so scared--my legs were shaking uncontrollably, my hands squeezing the brakes were cramping up, and I still felt I could tumble over and fall at any second. I hated it, and could not be happier when we made it to the bottom. I guess I'm not into the speed of going downhill, which seems to be everyone else's favorite thing. When we went downhill, we were elated (first, at being alive and second, of the big accomplishment). I put my head down on the handlebars and hunched over, glad to be alive, and waiting for my legs to stop quivering, when a friendly voice shouts out, "Did you make it to the top?" We look, and its that same guy we met halfway up the mountain, who had already gone all the way up the mountain, across a ways on Skyline and down on 84, making a complete huge loop and then going off again in the opposite direction on Portola! Behind him, we saw another cyclist finishing the loop who we also saw climbing up on Old La Honda. These were people practically twice our age! Not only did we not go all the way to the top, we did our out-and-back so slowly that these two middle aged men were passing us again for the second time that same day! I just couldn't believe it! Mel and I were saying that we need to move to the Midwest or something so we could be the skinny athletic ones there, because people are just way too buff here. Needless to say, our elation of our first trip to Old La Honda quickly turned into awe and disbelief. Mel has the exact numbers, but we only rode around 10 miles, but most of it was climbing. I'm still shaking my head over the thought of that old dude. It was a day of highs...and lows...literally, figuratively, physically, mentally...it made me want to go home and nap under the covers as I should be doing on a Saturday afternoon!!

Biking and Scratching

2007-05-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very good about blogging and keeping track of our training. Joyce and I are getting a bit nervous about training, will we really be able to do this? We are trying to get more rides in and hopefully we will see a difference soon.

We rode Saturday May 12 along the Steven's Creek Trail and the Palo Alto Baylands. Joyce woke me from a nap and I really wasn't motivated to ride but I managed to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and meet her at the Steven's Creek Trail. Joyce put a few extra miles in going to the southern end of the trail while waiting for me to get myself together and to the trail. It was a bit windy but generally flat. I didn't record the numbers but we rode about 20 miles, average ~11.9 MPH, max was in the mid-20s, altitude ~ +200, -200 (I really need to start recording these numbers before the next ride, what good is a gadget if you can't quote it?)
I was glad that Joyce motivated me to get out and ride, if it weren't for her I am sure I would have continued napping. Plus it was a pleasant ride, no big struggles, some nice scenery (although the dump and waste treatment area are a bit stinky).

I left my bike at Joyce's that night so she could bring it to campus for a ride on Sunday after I was done rounding. We rode from the Stockfarm parking lot up Alpine to Portola and Sand Hill. We then took Whiskey Hill to Woodside Road and then headed back to campus on Alameda de las Pulgas to Junipero Serra. At the entrance to the dish we headed back through campus to our cars. We would have kept riding but we had dinner plans at Tzielan's. We rode 22 miles in 1 hour 46 minutes. Our average speed was 12.4 MPH, max 33.4 MPH. Our max altitude was 467 feet, the trip altitudes were +987, -977. The average grade was 0% (as with all of our trips so far), the max +8%.

After a quick shower I headed to Tzielan's and enjoyed the BEST kabobs ever (Joyce and I have learned that everything is the best after biking). We then played with Vienna and Tyler until it was bedtime. We slept well too!

Today I finally went to my doctor to discuss my poison oak. It has continued to spread and is driving me crazy. I can't stop scratching, and I know it is bad to scratch. My doctor thinks I need more prednisone, I didn't take enough last week. I decided to try it, hopefully I won't get too psychotic. Joyce took a picture May 12, here it is:

Joyce says it looks like lichen on rocks. Thanks Joyce :) I do have to wonder if people see me and worry I have some contagious skin disease. I think they are safe, so far only David got the rash and he pulled pinkie and me out of the bush so that is not too surprising.

This evening we went for another ride. We wanted to try something other than the Baylands, especially since there is not much climbing. We rode south on Steven's Creek Trail, up Grant -->Cuesta-->Foothill Expressway-->Arastradero-->Page Mill-->Foothill-->Arastradero-->Charleston-->Middlefield (after a few u-turns trying to figure out which way to go) and then home. After all that, we only rode 19 miles over 1 hour 35 minutes, with an average speed of 11.9 MPH, max 29.3 MPH. Max altitude +218, trip altitudes +542, -546. Max grade 12%. I think our speed was decreased a bit because of all the starts and stops at lights and stop signs.

That is it for now. Not much but numbers. Hopefully Joyce's blogging will be more entertaining.

Itchy and Scratchy

2007-05-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hello, as I sit here waiting for Joyce to go have dinner I thought I would blog. I never did record our numbers from last week's ride but I don't have them with me. It was something like 22.5 miles, ~11 MPH, and ~1100 feet of climbing. Not great but at least we got out. That is more than I can say for the rest of the week. We had plans to hike and bike but I had a crazy week on service and was at the hospital late every night. Hopefully we will get rides in both days this weekend after I round.

Unfortunately I am suffering from a major case of poison oak. It has been almost two weeks since my fall and I continue to have new lesions every day. They are so itchy I can't stop scratching!!! Maybe if Joyce brings her camera on one of our rides we can take another picture.

This is a pretty lame effort at blogging. I promise more after I am done being on service.

I'll post too!

2007-05-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hey all...
I haven't had a chance to post on this yet either, but I am also reallllly excited about the bike ride in the fall. My bike riding up until now has consisted of spinning class twice a week, but I'll get a bike next time I go home and start training when I go home for summer. A minor setback to spinning classes is a sprained ankle that has left me on crutches. I have a doctor's appointment for it in an hour, so we'll see what he says, but I'm planning on a quick recovery. Plus, you can start biking before running because it's not as strenuous on the ankle (thank God). As soon as I get my bike and start biking I'll get to put on here what rides I did and such... I know my dad just signed us up for a race in September to get ready... it's so exciting!!

Talk to you soon :)

finally, back to biking...

2007-05-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well, after 3 weeks of no real bike riding, I finally got on the bike again yesterday. It's been a bit busy at work--so no riding, and I only managed a few times on the indoor trainer which really isn't the same as getting out there and biking in the real outdoors!

We have been trying to cross-train however, and this last Saturday (May 5), we went to the Arthritis Walk in San Jose:

That's Vienna giving Mel a work-out.

And look here...here's the next generation of CA Coast Classic riders! Maybe I can get some pointers from Tyler:

We did not make much progress today, unfortunately, since it was the first ride for me in such a long time and the first one for Mel after her big bike crash down the cliff (she had her bike checked out and it is okay, although just missing the magnet for the cadence meter). She had to work with some itchy legs throughout the ride...

That's some nasty poison oak!

In fact, I think we took a few steps backwards in our progress. We were slow and it didn't help things much that it was such a hot day today! I think I got a bit dehydrated, despite drinking up my entire Camelbak, which was about half full (so 1 Liter). We got too much sun today and we finished up tired and hungry. The climbs felt harder even though we had done them before and we just felt sluggish overall. We were again on Canada road, riding out past Filoli to the closed area of the road, then back again into Woodside, where we took a long break. Then, we rode into Huddart Park again, but could not make it all the way up to the entrance as we had done before. Well, something is better than nothing! We definitely need to catch up and will try to get in a mid-week ride this week.

At least I will have some new biking clothes to wear since Mel and I visited the Pearl Izumi outlet store today in Milpitas (we went after the ride: we chose between going shopping or taking a long nap, so we went shopping). This upcoming week:
writing and riding!

Finally... Dwight's Posting :-)

2007-05-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hi all... Yes, it is finally time for me to post something... It has been weeks since I got the address from Joyce, so I guess I should post something about getting ready for the California Coast Classic.

First of all, I am thankful to Dr. Balboni (Mel) and Dr. Hsu (Joyce) for getting me involved in doing this ride in memory of Christiana. Words cannot begin to express how I feel about doing this in her honor! I know that we all will finish and have a great time and at the same time, raise money for a worthy cause.

So, not sure what to post or how long to write... but...

Today, I went out on my longest ride yet. I have been riding about 4-5x per week and averaging about 80 miles. Today I went out with a friend of mine, Virendra, and we did 36 miles (average 14.4 mph) in the Los Gatos / Saratoga / Cupertino area. We went up over Stevens Creek Canyon Road to Pierce road. I don't have the gagdets like Mel has to tell me how much I climbed or what the grade was, but I can tell you that my legs are sore. I will definitely take a day of rest tomorrow. Just to think that the 1st leg of the CCC is 85 miles (only 50 more to go :-)

Until the next posting ...

On the road to recovery

2007-04-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning feeling quite sore and stiff. Especially my neck, back and ribs, but basically everything hurts. The scrapes and scratches don't look too bad and no blisters yet. Maybe I will avoid the poison oak. I am struggling a bit to get my work done, I am a bit distracted and tired but I am thankful that I wasn't seriously hurt.

Mel & Pinkie's Weekend Adventure. AKA how the Chaparral Bush saved my life!

2007-04-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, you can probably guess from the title that I had a little mishap this weekend. I was in the east bay this weekend visiting David and Gypsy. We had planned a bike ride for Saturday but instead did some crosstraining. Peter, Casey and Callie came over and we went for a hike in Tilden Regional Park. It was pretty warm but much of the hike was in the shade so it wasn't too bad. Callie enjoyed getting into water every chance she got. We hiked about two hours and then went back to David's for some refreshments. We chilled out for the afternoon enjoying David's famous mojitos and chips and salsa. Then I enjoyed a nice nap. Needless to say, the abstract didn't get worked on.

Sunday we went for our planned ride at the Carquinez Strait Loop in Martinez and Crockett. This is a two waterbottle ride that is 18.5 miles with 1200 feet elevation gain according to the book. We parked at the Bull Valley Staging Area and took off for our ride. It was a bit windy and cool but the scenery was nice. We rode along the Carquinez Strait on Carquinez Scenic Drive. Part of this road is closed to car traffic due to damage from slides or something. There are barricades you have to go around at 3 spots, and one side of the road is basically a cliff. We came upon the 2nd barricade at mile 4 and I thought I could ride around it rather than get off the bike (mistake number one). As I tried to maneuver around the barricade on the cliff side (mistake number two) I realized I wasn't going to make the turn and my shoes were stuck in my clips. I fell over my handlebars into some shrubs. I fell about 8 feet and was just lying there on my back practically upside down. I was holding on to the branches of the bush to avoid sliding further down. I didn't have a camera but googled an image of the plant that broke my fall and kept me from falling further down the cliff

Unfortunately, it was cohabitating with this plant

In a flash David was there to see if I was ok. I told him I was, and to get the bike first and then help me. The bike was stuck in the bush so he had to yank it out and then came to help me. It was pretty steep and my shoes didn't give me any traction. Fortunately David was able to reach down, grab my hand and pull me up (despite his reluctance to touch my poison oak-covered body :)

Amazingly I came through the fall with a few scrapes on my legs, a sore neck and back, and a slight headache. I will have to wait to see how much I react to the poison oak! I had to pull pieces of it out of my chain and handle bars. Later, when I showered , I had plant material in my clothing as well.

After a few sips of water and checking out my bike to be sure it was ok, we got back to the ride. It was a bit tough as I seemed to get more sore as we rode and even felt a bit sick to my stomach for a while. I am not sure if it was the fall or the climb! Overall, we rode 18.5 miles, average 10.4, max 34.8 mph (that was fun but a bit scary after the fall). The altitude readings were +1578, -1497. The maximum grade was +11%, average 1%. That is the most climbing I have done to date.

As the day went on it really hit me that I was very lucky, and if it weren't for that bush breaking my fall I could have tumbled to my death or been seriously injured. Needless to say I won't try to ride around difficult obstacles again!

I will let you know how I feel in the morning.

Arthritis Foundation

2007-04-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Unfortunately, I have not much in regards to biking to report. I've been busy trying to get together two abstracts for the American College of Rheumatology meeting later this year, and then will have to write a paper. I will keep up the training with some indoor biking on the trainer, so hopefully I won't get too far behind. I had about an hour of training last week in the garage and will do some more this weekend.

Anyways, I wanted to show a picture from Juvenile Arthritis Day last week:

Good job Peter! This photo shows our little pediatric rheum group.

Our rheum division also finally signed up for the Arthritis Walk 2007 in San Jose. We'll save our big fundraising for the bike tour itself, but some of us will walk the 5K next weekend in support of Arthritis Foundation and our patients. Since we are such creative, artistic people, our team name for the walk is...Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom! Yup, exactly the same name for the walk and bike tour.
Click here for the link.

This link goes to the Arthritis Walk San Jose, then follow the teams to our team's group webpage.

I know this is our biking blog, but since there was not much biking going on for me, I thought I turn it into a general Arthritis Foundation events blog, leading up to the ultimate CA Coast Classic event!!

Philosophy 101

2007-04-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

I know this is a blog about our training and bike tour down the California coast, but as I was thinking about this entry I realized that life is all about the choices we make and I thought I would ramble a little about the choices I was faced with today.

First, I left work early today for an appointment with my endodontist to follow up on my root canal done last summer. While there I asked him about this other tooth that had had a root canal over 4 years ago and still causes me pain, especially when riding my bike on particularly bumpy roads. Apparently I have three choices: exploratory surgery to see if they can find the source of the problem, remove the tooth and have an implant put in, or live with the pain. For now, I guess I will just live with it.

As I headed home from appointment I was planning on getting on my bike and going for a nice long ride since I had a few hours of daylight left. However, when I sat on the couch and Li'l Bit jumped on my lap, I realized I could spend some "quality time" with Bit while she is still around, or ride my bike. So, we took a nap :)

When I woke up I was faced with another choice. Get out on the bike for a ride before dark or start working on my abstract for a meeting that is due next week. I guess another option would have been to roll over and go back to sleep but I excluded that immediately. I went for the lesser of two evils and headed out for a ride.

The ride was pretty mellow and the weather was perfect. I rode to Shoreline Park, up to the Palo Alto Baylands, and back. I saw lots of red-winged blackbirds, ducks, herons, and other shore birds. Then it got dark and I had to use my lights, safety first :) Here are the stats: 20 miles over 1 hour 30 minutes, average speed 13.4 mph, max 22.4. Not bad, that is probably the fastest average I have ever had. However, I must reveal the rest of the stats (it was a very flat ride!) trip altitude +185, -95, max -42 (not sure what that actually represents) and total climb to date 3118. Also, maximum grade +4%, average 0.

Finally, after returning home I was faced with the choice of blogging or working on the abstract (the pesky thing just won't write itself). Obviously, I decided to blog because Joyce complains when we don't blog enough :) Then my blogging got delayed due to a phone call and before I knew it my evening had turned into night.

It is 11 PM and I have clinic in the morning. I could go to bed or work on the abstract. Can you guess what my next choice will be?

Update from Mel, AKA Dr. Gadget

2007-04-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it is a little over due but as I promised Joyce here are the stats from some of our recent rides.

April 7, 2007: rode 22 miles over 1 hr 53 minutes with an average speed of 11.8 mph and max of 102.7 mph (I guess the wireless thing is still getting its signals crossed!). The trip altitudes +1187, -1169, max 2296.

April 8, 2007: rode 13 miles over 1 hour 10 minutes, avg speed 10.9, max 24.6. Trip altitudes +529, -529, max 554, total climb to date 1717 feet. Please note this ride should have been worth more because it followed the ride on April 7, which practically killed us!

April 15, 2007: rode 21.6 miles, 1 hr 51 minutes, average 11.6 mph and max 29.7. Trip altitudes +1212, -1158, max 529, total climb to date 2929.

Since then we have both been lame although I did go for a short ride last friday (april 20) while away at my Arthritis Foundation Research Meeting. We were at Stone Mountain, outside of Atlanta, at this conference center. Turns out they had some mountain bikes you could sign a waver to ride. They are smart to have you sign a waver because those bikes were pretty shabby. I certainly got a new appreciation of Pinkie! These bikes were rusty and has issues with shifting. Plus my bike squeeked continuously with peddling! After a few minutes I was able to stop laughing at the squeek, then I thought I would die when I was stuck in an easy gear and all I could do was spin! The park was beautiful although we only rode for about 20 or 25 minutes before heading to the resorts gym where I finished off my workout with about 25 minutes on the eliptical!

Everyone said we should cross train and I tried to hike up stone mountain the next day but the Tour de Georgia bike race was going on and we would have missed the afternoon session if we had gone for the hike so instead we took a leisurely walk around the park. I did get to see lots of cyclists, including someone with a pink Trek just like mine!

So, what is my excuse for not riding since returning? Well, I was a bit "jet lagged" yesterday and today would have been perfect if my poor kitty Li'l Bit didn't go into cardiac arrest while getting anesthesia for her surgery. Fortunately the CPR was successful so she is home resting comfortably today but I didn't want to leave her so I took a nap instead of riding my bike. Tomorrow I promise......

Seriously, I have to pick up the training pace, especially since I solicited lots of donations at the AF meeting. I can't let everyone down!

Not much progress this week...

2007-04-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well, since my two fellow bloggers are recovering from last minute income tax preparations (thanks for doing mine, Mom!), I will pitch in and cover our latest tales of cycling. Last Sunday, April 15, Dwight, Mel and I were able to meet up with Jerry and another CCC cyclist, Leticia. We went from Canada Road in Woodside to Mountain Hill, Alpine Road and Sand Hill Road...basically the opposite loop of what we had done last week with Jerry. It was a busy work week, so Mel did not have any chance at all to bike, and all I did was a short hour session on the bike trainer indoors in the garage while reading a magazine. Obviously, it was not enough, because Mel and I were begging for mercy at the end of the ride. The crazy thing is that Jerry had just done a century (a 100-mile ride!) the day before!!! It's unbelievable! (what's unbelievable? how strong Jerry is? or how wimpy Mel and I are?) Anyways, we had some uphill stretches and some more practice riding with traffic in the middle of the road. I don't know how I will ever handle the little clippy bike shoe pedal things, because I can barely start and stop now with regular pedals! I had one little fall while attempting to dismount, but nothing major. All in all, we were able to bike 21.3 miles and had 1000 feet of climbing. It was good just getting out there on the sunny day in pretty Woodside and nice to see Dwight again. Dwight did great! However, I could definitely feel the difference of not training midweek because I felt rather tired and sore afterwards. I'll have to try to get some more workouts in in the middle of the week, even if it is just indoors on the trainer- it'll be better than nothing. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Mel's leaving for a scientific meeting for the Arthritis Foundation tomorrow, so she'll have no biking in this weekend. This Saturday morning, we have our Juvenile Arthritis Day at the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose, so no biking for me either. I need to work on a paper, so things will be tight, but I'll try to get some indoor cycling in at least.

It's official!!

2007-04-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

Eeeks! I just signed up for the California Coast Classic under our team name, Stanford Pedi Rheum Zoom Zoom! Now, I really have to do it! It's official, no turning back now....

achy legs, sore thumbs, and a sweaty camelbak

2007-04-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well, this week we have been tackling more hills. I will never look at an incline, a slope, a hill, a bump, even a driveway, the same way again. Last Sunday (April Fools), we had a good introduction to hill climbing with Jerry, our CCC coach. We were able to make it partway up the hill in Huddart Park, Woodside. It was curvy, steep, and not too long, but we were still in agony. We did 1000 feet of climbing from Canada Road to Huddart Park. So, what do we do on our midweek ride? The same thing! We went back to the scene of the crime and got even further up the hill in Huddart Park, which made us happy and sore. My problem and new fear are actually the downhill descents. I can't seem to be able to control my speed and am deathly afraid for my life and others who may be passing by in a car. I've done some reading and have a few new ideas on how to tackle this. Today, I tried the largest chainring in the front, which slowed things down a bit. I can also sit more upright (causes more air resistance, less aerodynamic), scoot my tush to the back more, and grip the drops of the handlebars to brake (makes it easier to squeeze). I need to be careful not to squeeze the brakes the entire way down, which is essentially what I was doing, because the tires could blow! Eeks! My life was hanging on to the teensy strength of my thumbs, which had to squeeze the brakes or die!

This new foray into hill climbing reminded me of the time Mel and I were studying for our pediatric rheumatology boards and confused ourselves silly with the whole red muscle fiber vs. white muscle fiber, anaerobic vs. aerobic, glycolysis vs. oxygen transport, endurance vs sprinting myofibers, lots vs. little mitochondria. Remember Mel? It's really not too difficult and I should look it up again.....once I can pull myself up with my legs, I'll get up and look it up in the text.

Yesterday, April 7, 2007, we went with Jerry again and did a Canada Road, Sand Hill, Alpine Road, Portola Valley loop. It was about 24 miles around the Woodside/ Palo Alto area. It included some gradual, longish, uphill inclines, which gave us a different experience from the Huddart Park hill. This time, it wasn't as steep, but it seemed to go on forever! It wasn't like you could muscle yourself up a little steep hill because you could see the top. It was more like a long ramp up that wasn't particularly steep if you looked at it, but just constantly going up. I also had my first experience riding with moderate traffic. I'm getting better at using my little side mirror, but still depend on Jerry and Mel to guide me through traffic and yelling out "Car front," "Rider back," as well as pointing out potholes and such to avoid. It was also my first day with my new camelbak, which caused me great achiness in my back and shoulders, but at least I was well hydrated! I definitely need more practice with all of this!

We had lunch at the Woodside Bakery Cafe at the bottom of Canada Road after our ride and then decided to check out more uphill climbs that Jerry had casually mentioned to us, including 84 to Skyline, Kings Mtn to Skyline, Old La Honda to Skyline and Page Mill to Skyline, with 84 being the easiest climb up and Page Mill the most challenging. Well, that really stunned and terrified me, because going up 84 to Skyline and downhill on Page Mill IN THE CAR was really really scary! I can't imagine ever being able to ride A BIKE up those windy, curvy, narrow, steep, long inclines! It was both steep and went up for miles! There's no way, NO WAY!!, I kept thinking, but we did indeed see bicyclists huffing and puffing up the road. Maybe in another life, in another body...

Today, I felt rather wimpy. We went out again to Hillsborough to one of our first rides, the Sawyer Camp Trail. There were still some people around, but not too crowded, and we practiced up the hill again. It's a respectable hill. We definitely did better than the first time- we were faster and stopped less. So that's a good sign. It was only 12 miles, but any time there was a bit of uphill, my legs were burning, so we took it easy today and didn't push the mileage. It was a beautiful day, so I finally whipped out the camera again and got some action shots of Mel:

This upcoming week is a bit busy work-wise for both of us (can you tell I'm totally procrastinating right now writing this lengthy, wordy blog?). It's also going to rain, so we might have to workout indoors in the gym on the trainers again. Tomorrow is a day of rest.

The Little Engine That Could: April 4, 2007

2007-04-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

This post is a little overdue but I wanted to get it in before blogging about more recent rides.

On Wednesday April 4th Joyce and I left work early (~4:15 PM) to try the climb we did with Jerry on April 1st. We parked at Canada and Edgewood and rode our bikes down Canada to Woodside. We then ventured up to Huddart Park. We managed not to get lost and found our way along the same route Jerry had taken us.

Sadly my legs were feeling tired even before we started the real climb! We stopped for a nutrition bar and a swig of Cytomax and then went for it. It was torture but Joyce gave me lots of encouragement and after several stops along the way and lots of huffing and puffing, I made it to the top. Well, not the actual top, but the entrance of Huddart Park. Apparently from there you can go another 2 miles of steep climbing. WHO WOULD DO THAT?

And of course, what goes up must go down! That was another adventure. We didn't go back the way we came because a cyclist at the top said it was steep and the better way to go was down a different road (Kings Mountain Rd. I think). So we did. I managed to almost break the speed limit, reaching 29.7 MPH, and that was with braking. The rode was pretty winding and there was no bike lane so it was a little scary. Joyce said her legs were shaking at the bottom. She also learned later that it is not a good idea to ride your brakes down a steep hill because you can heat up the tire and get a blow out! Phew, glad that didn't happen.

After all of that we only logged 13 miles for this ride. But we made it to the top, something we couldn't do 3 days before. All it takes is willpower: "I think I can, I think I can". Although while I was doing it I was more likely thinking "there is no way I can go any further"

After the ride I brought Pinkie to the bike shop for an upgrade. I replaced my defective cyclometer with one that has an altimeter (plus cadance and heart rate monitor). Now we will be keeping track of our climbs. We'll see if it has issues with picking up random signals like the old one did.

April Fools Day!

2007-04-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the CCC is no joke and today was a reminder of that. We had our first training ride with Jerry Kruse and we learned just how far we have to go. We rode ~20 miles along Canada Road and into Huddart Park. Our average speed was 10 MPH with a max of 29.8. Like yesterday, it was quite breezy today. At first we were riding along leisurely, getting some pointers from Jerry. After riding on Canada from Edgewood Rd. to Route 92 and back, we headed down to Woodside Rd. and tried a little climb in Huddart Park. It was a beautiful place to ride but I was struggling. We didn't make it all the way to the point Jerry had planned to go because I was begging for mercy! Needless to say I was humbled. I cannot imagine 4000 plus feet of climbing, what have we gotten into? Oh well, as Jerry said, now we have a reference point. To total climb for today's ride was 1000 feet. I really want a new computer with an altimeter, I think that will help us in our training. Joyce did great keeping up going up hill and would lag behind going down because she would ride her brakes. I think we will even out on the CCC. She will pass me going up the hill and I will zip by her going down the hill :) This week we will try the climb again and hopefully get a little farther (if we don't get lost trying to find the route).

After our torture, I mean, lovely tour through the beautiful countryside, Joyce and I did something we don't need to train for- we ate. I was craving Korean BBQ and we had it at a Korean BBQ Buffet in Sunnyvale. It tasted great, especially the short ribs. I might have eaten just a little more than I should have ;) No more buffets this week, right Joyce? We also stopped at the bike shop and bought some Cliff Shot energy gel and Cytomax powder to mix in our water. Now I am sure we will do those climbs without breaking a sweat :)

Now for a quick note on my other rides over the week. On Thursday March 29 I rode 20 miles along the Stevens Creek Trail/Shoreline/Baylands. My average speed was 11.6 MPH, the max got messed up by interference, it read >30 but I didn't go down any hills so I know it can't be right (another justification for a new computer with an altimeter). As Joyce mentioned, we also rode Saturday March 31. She rode ~20 miles and I rode 22 miles with an average of 11.6 MPH. The breeze was quite challenging, and we obviously need to work on our cycling maneuvers & etiquette (see Joyce's entry).

In addition to working on climbs we also have to work on building the miles each week. For the week of March 25-31 I rode 72 miles. Let's see what this week holds (got 20 in today). I definitely need a break tomorrow but hope to get some rides in later this week.

Enough rambling for now, check back later this week for an update.

back to biking and another first for Joyce

2007-03-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this last week was not a great biking week for me. I was on-service for the first time in months, so it was a bit busy work-wise. The only biking I managed to get in last week was on the trainer in my garage on Sunday. I tried to be efficient and multitask. Since I'm a not-very-good subscriber to Netflix (I simply don't watch enough movies) and have had this new DVD for the last 2 weeks, I decided to watch my movie on my laptop while cycling on the trainer. Sounds like a great idea, right? The movie would distract me from the boredom of cycling in place for the next two hours. The laptop was some distance away from the trainer and the screen was small, but no problem. Then I started my workout and realized that I could not hear the dialogue with the whirly-whoosh of the bike's tires on the trainer. Still, not a problem: I put the subtitles on feature on the DVD and was reading the movie while biking. The problem came with the movie itself...I guess it wasn't a very good idea to watch "Hotel Rwanda" while attempting to bike. It was such a sad movie at times that I was crying, sweating, reading subtitles and cycling all at the same time. A few times I was just sitting there, motionless, engrossed in the movie. I just couldn't believe what had happened over there in Rwanda! It was also amazing that I hadn't heard very much about the genocide over there, which makes me realize the power our news agencies have over us. The news can really control what we see and understand in our world just by deciding the content it releases. Instead of hearing about Britney or Anna Nicole, let's learn about more important things in the world! Okay, sorry, this is a biking blog...

The good thing about taking a break from biking last week was that I was able to heal somewhat. The bruises on my legs are so much better, and the muscle that I pulled in my left popliteal area finally stopped hurting. It was nice to actually walk around without achy soreness for a couple of days.

Finally came off-service last night, so today Mel and I were able to get in some outdoor cycling. We rode about 20 miles (me, more like 19 miles) and even though it was a level ground at the Shoreline/ Bayland's Trail, the headwind we faced was incredible! We pedalled rather hard and went pretty slowly because of the strong breeze. When the wind came from the side of our trail, we had to grip strongly to our handlebars just to keep straight! I think my shoulders and arms will be sore tomorrow.

A not-so-momentous first also happened today: I hit my first people on the bike! Whoops! There was a couple stopped on the trail ahead and another set of bikers coming the other way. Mel was able to squeeze through the middle, but I panicked and did the very thing I was avoiding...falling over ON TO the couple themselves!! Amazing how it didn't hurt as much falling on to people than the hard ground. I think I mostly hit the girl, which was bad, because I was taller than her and fell on her pretty hard. It was a hard enough fall that it knocked my water bottle and bikeseat askew. I can't believe that happened! Oh well, the couple were nice enough, but I still feel badly.

I'll need to put that behind me tomorrow, when we go riding on Canada Road with Jerry, the coach for the California Coast Classic. I'll try not to embarrass myself too much!! (Or Mel for that matter!)

East Bay Adventures: March 25, 2007

2007-03-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

First let me say that I am a bit disappointed that there have been no blog entries since my last entry 1 week ago! What's up Joyce and Dwight? :) I guess I should also admit that I am a bit disappointed in myself since the haven't ridden much in the past week. My original plan had been to ride 2 or 3 times during the week and then both Saturday and Sunday. Due to other commitments such as meetings and my paper I hardly did any riding.

I finally did go for a ride Sunday March 25. My original plan had been to go back to the Tilden Regional Park and do the ride that I had struggled with a few weeks ago. However, the weather didn't cooperate. Both Saturday and Sunday the park was fogged in and did not look very inviting. Despite the clouds and breeze I managed to get on my bike Sunday. I can't tell you exactly how far or how fast I rode due to more cyclometer trouble. I rode along the Ohlone Greenway from El Cerrito to Berkeley, through the streets of Berkeley, over the bike bridge to the Emeryville Marina. At that point, I stopped for a break and my tripometer registered 11.9 miles. When I started back again, the computer when crazy. It was reading MPH much faster than I was going and suddenly the miles were increasing more than I was riding. I stopped, readjusted things and it seemed to return to normal. I rode for 2 hours 45 minutes including a couple decent hills. The cyclometer read 33.3 miles, avg 11.9 mph, max 72.2 mph (man I am fast!!!!!). I think I rode about 30 miles at about 11 MPH.

I brought the bike to the bike shop to discuss this. They say that electromagnetic things like power lines can interfere with the computer. I guess I have a magnetic personality! Actually my ipod was part of the problem. I will have to be careful with puting electronics too close to the computer. I will keep close tabs on the computer for now but may need to replace it.

Hopefully this week will include more miles than last week. Next weekend we have our first ride with Jerry Kruse, our CCC trainer. Don't want to look TOO bad.

Steven's Creek/Shoreline Trail: March 18, 2007

2007-03-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

The thought of getting on the bike today after yesterday's long ride was not too appealing. I woke up stiff with sore shoulders, neck, and back. When I put my cycling shoes on my feet ached a bit. When I got on the bike, my butt was sore immediately. What were we thinking, riding 530 miles over 8 days? Thank goodness I have Joyce to motivate me, otherwise I might have rolled over and gone back to bed rather than get ready to ride.

We decided to take it easy today since yesterday was a bit strenuous, especially for Joyce who broke the 10% rule. I guess she needs a remedial class in math since she was off by more than a factor of 10! I rode over to Joyce's (2.3 miles away) and we headed for the trail. We rode at a leisurely pace, averaging ~11 MPH. Of course I can't vouch for the accuracy of my odometer since it flashed speeds of ~25 MPH for a few seconds a couple of times and somehow the max speed is recorded at 54.1 MPH. As Joyce pointed out, if we kept that pace up we would finish a century in less than 2 hours! Joyce rode 16 miles and I rode 20 miles today. The ride was pretty enjoyable except for the aches and pains that increased along the way. It was a bit breezy but sunny. We saw lots of shore birds, some ground squirrels and jack rabbits. Joyce didn't even fall when we got startled by a killer flock of pigeons :)

I don't know about Joyce, but I was pretty tired after the ride. I ate a somewhat more balanced lunch today (turkey, cheese, avocado sandwich) and then sat outside for a while letting Forrest enjoy the sunshine. Then came the nap. It makes me wonder, can I take a nap after every ride? That seems to be my pattern lately. Now it is time to work on my paper, we'll see how that goes.

Another goal reached! (and breaking all the rules!)

2007-03-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

Coyote Creek Trail

Today was a pretty big day for us! Mel and I headed down to San Jose and met Dwight at the San Jose velodrome. At first, I was only going to ride about 14 miles, keeping in line with the 10% mileage increase biking training "rule," since my most mileage previously had been around 12 miles. Well, the Coyote Creek Trail runs from Coyote Hellyer County Park in San Jose for a level 15 miles to Anderson Lake County Park in Morgan Hill. It is a nice, paved bike path that is listed as a 2 waterbottle ride (most likely for the amount miles, and not for any hills). It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and we started off at a nice pace, on a flat path, with very few distractions (such as tons of walkers or little kids to run over). So, the conditions were ideal! Well, we just decided to keep on going and going and going! We ended up cranking out around 31.5 miles round trip!! I am in serious violation of the 10% rule! I didn't fall, practiced my sharp turns, and the only mishap of the day was a near collision with some roller-bladers (whew, that was close!). I did have some eye issues (where are my soft contacts? note to self...must find, soon) and we also had a refresher course in flat tire changing! There was a little bit of glass or plastic in Dwight's rear wheel which caused a slow leak in the tube. Mel fixed it up, while I downed two Luna bars. I thought the worst part was the last 5 miles before the turnaround point as we headed towards the end of the forward trip towards Morgan Hill. After that, we cruised along at a good pace back to the velodrome parking lot, slightly coasting downhill and thinking about the good food we would treat ourselves to. We had the best post-bike lunch ever: 2 huge scoops of ice cream! Check it out...

So the major milestones of today were:
1) First bike ride with Dwight (yay!)
2) Most mileage ever for both me and Mel (31.5 miles, what were we thinking?!?!)...and our first 2 waterbottle ride!
3) Most amount of Luna bars I've ever consumed in 1 day (4 total bars: two before and two during) and most amount of bugs ingested (TNTC: too numerous to count)
4) First flat tire to be changed by Mel (strong work!)

After today, I also expect more blogs from Mel and Dwight, so I won't be accused of being a blog-hog. Okay?

Joyce vs. Nature!

2007-03-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 11, 2006: Canada Road

On this day, we were able to get out to Canada Road in Woodside for a bike ride. Because it was Bicycle Sunday, there were plenty of other cyclists around, even though by the time we arrived, the road had already been opened up to traffic. It was a nice ride, but I experienced my first bike malfunction when my gears got stuck...Mel's super-duper biking friend suggested lube for the chain.

That was only the beginning of my bicycling difficulties! First, here's Mel on Canada Road...

Tuesday, March 13, 2006: Steven's Creek Trail in Mountain View

Yesterday, we rushed home from work early to go on a little bike ride. Little it was indeed, since I was fighting against the natural elements! Both Mel and I were in a bit of a hurry since we wanted to get some mileage in before it became dark. I should have had something an energy bar and something to drink, because yesterday was just one fall after another. Not only were we in a rush, but it was breezy and getting dark. I took off my sunglasses and had so many contact lens issues! I'm going to have to wear my soft lenses from now on for the bike rides, that was horrible! I had a big crash in the middle of the ride- my bike and I slid off the trail and partly down the grassy slope. Grass and twigs were all tangled in my bike wheels and the chain fell off the gear things. Mel and I had to do some adjustments and the front tire also became a bit wonky (either it bent or the front brake got squished a little). Good thing I'm getting in the damage now because today is time for our 1 month baby check-ups at the bike shop. I would like to get my handlebars raised a little bit if possible, my chain fixed and for them to look at my front tire. We really need a bike repair/maintenance class after yesterday's experience! Good thing I'm taking my bike to the "doctor" this afternoon!

Canada Road: March 11, 2007

2007-03-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

I know this post is a bit late but I want to be sure to document every ride so you know how hard we are working. Today we rode on Canada Road. Lesson #1, if you want to take advantage of bicycle sundays on Canada Rd. you need to get there during the hours that the road is closed (9-3). Oh well, the traffic wasn't that bad and the day was beautiful. My "super-duper biking friend", aka Jessie, came with us. It was great to have her along to push me a little. We rode 18 miles into Woodside, the houses were amazing! Joyce did a great job, riding about 12 miles. Good thing it is time for her bike's 30-day checkup, it needs some lube! Remember, next time it is ok to accept help from strangers, especially if they are fit, cycling strangers :)

Sawyer Camp Trail

2007-03-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today was a warm and sunny day, perfect for a bike ride! We got up early (well, early for us), had coffee on the way, and went up to the Sawyer Camp Trail between Crystal Springs Dam (in Hillsborough) and San Andreas Dam (in Millbrae). According to the guidebook, it is a 1 waterbottle ride, running 12 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 250 feet. By the time we arrived, there were already lots of people (especially walkers and runners), but luckily they were concentrated mostly in the first few miles of the trail and not towards the end. It was a really pretty, shady/sunny, curvy ride. It was mostly flat in the beginning, but had one little hill at the end (at around mile 5) that really winded me. I'm still getting accustomed to the whole gear shifting thing, so it took me some time to figure that out. I'm sure we had a great advantage with our fancy road bikes, though, compared to the other bikers struggling up the hill. We took a snack and water break at the turnaround point and went back (with lots of downhill and me braking most of the way!). Along the way, we passed the Jepson laurel tree and the site where Captain Portola discovered the SF Bay. See, not only is this a physical experience, but we're also learning so much about the Bay area. It's educational. Not only that, we had an impromptu, casual scenic drive around the surrounding hillsides of Palo Alto while driving to and from the trail. (In other words, we got lost.) Unfortunately, the total driving distance was about 50 miles to earn our 12 miles of riding, so there's still some imbalance there. All in all, it was great...I achieved double digit mileage (better compared to last week's measly 6 miles), didn't hit any little kids, tried a hill, and only fell once! I even rode with a little boy for part of the trail when I was going slow...so he is my first bike buddy (unbeknownst to him, of course) besides Mel. Everyone seemed pretty fit and relaxed on the trail; some were nice and talked to Mel. So, this is what people do on a Saturday morning when I'm usually lying around in bed! Amazing!

See how pretty it was? The weather was great!

Here's us at the break during the turnaround point (mile 6)!

Tomorrow, we are biking again! It's good to keep practicing and Mel did great despite her recent cold. There's more pressure because Mel's super-duper biking friend is coming along with us. I think I will practice on a quiet stretch of the path while they do loops around me. Still not brave enough to tackle a 2 waterbottle ride, but I know someday in the future, we'll have to...

Finally, good weather!

2007-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

As Mel mentioned in her comment, we finally had a chance for a little bike ride yesterday. We went to a bike path in the East Bay, riding along the bay from around El Cerrito to Richmond. It was a nice, sunny day and the weather was perfect! It was really pretty along the path, but I was mostly concentrating on not falling and not hitting anybody. I was pretty nervous since it was my first time riding my new bike outside the garage, but luckily, no injuries! I need to practice getting on and getting off the bike, as well as stamina on the bike, since I feel the positioning is a bit uncomfortable (my back, shoulders and hands are sore today). I feel like such a poser with all my new stuff and I can barely ride! I'm amazed by all the little kids on their bikes, going fast without training wheels! I need a little courage from them. I must admit, I'm a bit daunted after the first ride! It's hard! Will I ever be able to ride 70-80 miles a day for 8 days straight?? I'm going to keep practicing though and we'll see how it goes. If not this year, maybe 2008?

Here are some photos of Mel and me with our bikes before the ride:

Doesn't Mel look cute with her pink bike?

Today, I rode for about an hour in an empty, large parking lot of an office building near my house. There were no people, no traffic, and no little kids to wander into my way. I practiced starting, stopping and turning. I then rode around for a while for aerobic activity. I still have a death grip on my handlebars, but feel a teensy more comfortable. I will keep at it...

Tilden Regional Park: March 4, 2007

2007-03-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

After yesterday's leisurely ride along the bay I thought I would check out a trail in my recently purchased book "Northern California Biking". This book rates the difficulty of the ride on the scale of 1 to 5 waterbottles, 1 being the easiest and described as "..suitable for families with young children, novice riders, or those wanting a casual, recreational ride..." Since I was closeby, I chose Nimitz Way and Wildcat Canyon in Tilden Regional Park. It is rated 1 waterbottle, is 7.8 miles and described as "mostly level with only one short hill right before the pavement ends at 3.9 miles. It is well-loved by every kind of rider, including those on tricycles and training wheels". I thought no problem, it will be a nice short ride on a beautiful afternoon. So I drive to Tilden, park at Inspiration Point and head off for my 1 waterbottle ride. I have the book with me in case I decide to convert it to a 3 waterbottle ride that joins another trail.

All I can say is that my definition of "mostly level" is obviously not the same as the authors. There were lots of ups and downs, and the "short hill" had me in my easiest gear going 5 MPH. I may have to ask the author if she has any 1/2 waterbottle rides! This was a humbling experience, and it made me wonder what I have gotten myself into. Perhaps it was payback for having teased Joyce about not breaking a sweat yesterday.

I guess its time to start working on the hills!

Joyce's first real ride

2007-02-28T16:11:00.000-08:00

This weekend I am planning a beautiful but easy ride along the bay for Joyce's first ride outside of her garage. If all goes well I am sure she will be hooked and ready to join the team for real.

Welcome!

2007-02-28T15:38:00.000-08:00

Hello! Welcome to our blog! We will be adding entries for the next several months chronicling our adventures (or misadventures) as we train for the California Coast Classic, which will be held from September 29-October 6 to support the Arthritis Foundation. I am a brand-new, beginning, novice, inexperienced, scared, out-of-shape, non-athletic, uncoordinated cyclist, who just bought my very first bike on February 6! I have a beautiful 2006 Trek 5200 road bike that is just begging for rides! My goals will be to get in shape and learn the basics of biking as we get ready for the CCC. The ultimate goal, of course, is to complete the CCC, which will be a journey of a lifetime, as we bike for 8 days down the coast of California on Highway 1. Although I am not a real cyclist, I am more of a gatherer-of-new-experiences, and look forward to prepare myself for this great trip.