tprevost

yup... got it

spingineer

You're going up Old La Honda, keeping a HR < 135? Man, you are superwoman! I think I read 135 just getting on my bike!

Hermes

No, I did not. I spent 3 seconds there looking for it and then read your "Fred" thread. You should post your report here as well. Are we not trying to generate more activity?

'nother

I thought we were too serious for that



To the point, my weekend:
- Saturday a.m.: went to Cat's Hill race in Los Gatos, watched a bunch of teammates race, and also my daughter do the kid's race.
- Saturday p.m.: power/time trial up Hwy 9
- Sunday: 60 mile "recovery" ride, San José up to Los Altos, Old La Honda (despite it being a recovery ride, I think my HR was well above 135 ) , West Old La Honda, descend 84 and home via the Portola loop, etc.

Hermes

Hey, weekend riding is SERIOUS. If we cannot do that...well were are...

Hermes

What was your power up Hwy 9? It would be very interesting to compare the results against https://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm. I think kreuzotter overstates power.

'nother

I was only testing for a portion of the climb, to obtain my 20-minute power...so I don't have numbers to compare to kreuzotter. I was doing a 20-minute effort, for use in calculating my FTP per Coggan/Allen's book. As for the results: let's just say, "cap'n, we need more power ".

spingineer

No pics??? Come on, this is prime opportunity for some pics.

spingineer

I did the Grizzly Peak Century today ... well, that's not entirely true. I did the first loop of the century, but today was not one of my best days. I barely rolled into the lunch stop at 71 miles, so I called it quits. Very demoralizing. Technically, I did not sag, because the century had a north and south loop. So when we finished the north loop, we were at lunch, and my car was just in the parking lot. Too easy to bail on this ride!

It all started out well. Registered a little before 6:30 am, and got going at around 6:45 am (long lines in the bathroom). It was a bit chilly. I had arm warmers, and my shell on, but I was wearing shorts and short fingered gloves. I knew we would be climbing almost from the beginning, so even though I was a bit nippy to start, they would come off (ME, control yourself! )

Best part of the ride was the first 20 miles (not only because I'm physically fresher, but because of the scenery).



Of course, there is the ever present redwood scenes too:



This was also my opportunity to experiment with my new digital camera. I think I'll need to get some cycling photography lessons from M.E. My shots don't turn out that well. Here are some more of the better ones I took:



2nd Rest Stop:



One thing I didn't like was on the way to the 2nd rest stop, they had some construction in the city of Rodeo, and had to ride on a one lane road that was the main drag in town. Terrain through there was pretty rough, so I had to contend with pavement and worrying if there were any cars on back of me, as I would be blocking traffic. Luckily, I got there when it was still early, and no traffic.

After the 2nd rest stop, that's what killed me. McKewen ... it was a killer climb. I have no idea what the grade was. I don't think it was as steep as Balcom, but it was about 3 times longer ... estimate 15-18% ... and this went on for a couple of miles. By this time, the sun was in full bloom, and it was about 90 degrees out. Heat and hill climbs ... not good for me. We then had mama bear and papa bear climbs to deal with. Although not as steep, it drains you, after the steep intense climbs of McKewen.

I was riding with one triathlete, and she was gracious enough to let me draft off of her. I hung on for dear life, even up to the last climb. By the time I got to lunch, all I wanted was food ... and it was good food. Too good I think. My body just didn't have the energy to get back on the road, so off I went to my car, and packed it in. Now, if the gang was there, it might have been a different story.

Stats:
Distance: 70.71 miles
Climbing: 6029 feet
Average Speed: 12.5 mph (ugh!)
Riding Time: 5:37
Total Time: ~ 7:30

BigSean

Are these races in Los Gatos every weekend? Where do they have them?

Pheard

Went out with a friend for a ride near me, LOVE my kikapu and probably going to go for a ride on tuesday to either demo or skeggs or something.

'nother

Yeah, good point. Unfortunately I was armed only with my phone-cam with crapilicious resolution and image quality. My wife, whose responsibility it was to capture the action, was unable to get anything decent (it was a mad house) at the finish either. But, here's what I have:

Elite 4's race, a few laps in, lead pack on the climb:


And here's my li'l racer munchkin ready for the start:

'nother

No, this is a once-a-year event.


Cat's Hill is a circuit, near the intersection of Saratoga-Los Gatos Road (Hwy 9) and Santa Cruz Ave (Winchester) in the residential area of Los Gatos.

tprevost

There's no way I'm going to be able to do that... I've been working on a program that has me building base at a HR of 135 or less.... and that day on my schedule is supposed to be a long slower ride... so I was JOKING!!!!

K&M

We left the tandem at home for a change and rode on our single bikes to Fremont Peak (near San Juan Bautista) with some friends. Fortunately, we were early enough to miss the hottest part of the day, but we saw lots of others grinding up the climb as we descended. The air was very clear and the view from the top was fantastic. Total miles: 106. Total climbing: 8,000 ft.

sammie

Saturday: mtn. biking in Wildcat/Tilden, about 18 miles.

Sunday: I fulfilled a long time ambition to do the Grizzly Peak Century. I rode for the first time last year and I was worn out after the first loop. I was determined to do both of them this year! We got to the lunch stop around 1:45 p.m. and I was feeling much stronger than I had last year, but I was still nervous about starting the second loop. My riding partner wasn't up to it, so I was on my own. It was definitely a challenge, but pulling up in front of the high school at the end was an amazing feeling and I'm still riding on it today!

bigbossman 

I rode the Delta Century yesterday, a more or less 100 mile loop from Lodi out through the Sacramento Delta and back. I didn't really want to do this ride as I've done it before and it is pretty flat and boring. But, I had gotten a co-worker hooked on cycling last year and he was intent on doing this ride as his first century. I felt kind of obligated to go along (and I can always use the miles), so I went out and met up with him at the ride start.

What is already a fairly boring ride was made even more tedious by 15-20mph winds. For most of the 50 miles going out we were into it, and usually straight into it. On top of that, since it was The Delta, we were riding on the tops of levees so we were up relatively high with no real protection. And on top of that, the roads are a bit rough - not so much that you notice right away, but the cumulative effect of the road buzz wears you down. Even on a comfortable bike with a good saddle, body parts go numb and/or get sore.

Coming back was a little bit faster, as we alternated between a cross wind and a tailwind most of the way. But there were still stretches that had us doubling back into the wind, and the road continued to buzz.

We ended up doing the ride in 6:48 minutes, but it was boring, tiresome, and very, very tedious. Amazingly enough, the Garmin showed a total climb accummulation of just over 2,000' - musta missed it....

Took a few pics along the way, just to pass the time:

Endless flat roads:


Life on The Delta:


Just coasting with a tailwind:


A quiet slough, out of the wind:


Chasing down some folks:


Stopping for Twinkies at mile 80:

gpelpel

I also rode the Grizzly Peak Century, my third in a row. The weather was the best it could be, the views over the Bay were stunning, no fog, no haze, just razor clear. I was riding with a friend who had been sick for the last 2 weeks so we kept a steady tempo averaging 13.5 miles per hour but with some stops for pictures and long breaks at the rest stops. The food, as always, was fantastic.
After a long (my friend was going back home) and late lunch at the end of the North Loop I went for additional miles along the South Loop at around 4pm. Not enough time to complete the loop before the 7pm deadline but I wanted to get close to a full century. I ended turning back at the top of Skyline for a total of 91 miles and 7250' of climbing.
As mentioned by spingineer the Rodeo crossing was very bad. The good thing is they are finally repaving the road so next year should be good.
I skipped the Briones rest stop last year, I am glad I didn't this time. Very nice place to rest with plenty of grass and a good mix of shade and sun.

slabby

also did the GPC. i'd done almost all of the route in parts previously - except skyline southward following redwood, then back up to lake chabot.

by that point, i was completely blasted. the heat. the wind. not enough sleep the night before. not enough coffee the morning of. not eating enough during the ride (ironic). mcewen. pig farm. the bears. rheem. i was done. i thought of calling it a day and coasting down to castro valley bart. plus, if i took bart back to orinda, i'd probably still break 100 miles riding back to the h.s.

but, i was close enough to the last rest stop. i rolled in, had a soda, ate a bit more and rested awhile longer. then busted out all the corny mental exercises to push on thru after hitting "the wall". got back on the saddle and wound up feeling better and more focused the last 15 miles than i had all day long.

spingineer

Great Slabby. You definitely did better than me. I'm not sure if my allergies also drained me, but I had nothing left in me by the time I finished the north loop. I kinda wished I hooked up with someone, as I think that's what would have made me finish the south loop. I just had no motivation at that point to continue. You had more will power than I did. Personally, I think it's McEwen that did me in.

slabby

thanks, spingineer. yeah, after mcewen, i definitely had to dial it down some and ride at an easier pace if i were to try the south loop. the GPC was also the only event on the calendar so far for me - not like i'm crushing centuries every other week like you, bro.

spingineer

I may be doing the centuries, but not breaking any speed records. I am slooooooooooooooow

tprevost

HUSH!!! That's my claim to fame.... nice try though

spingineer

I'm pokey on the hill

Hermes

On Saturday, we rode our tandem on the Alto Velo B ride which included a climb up Kings Mountain - 48 miles. Nice day and cool temperatures. Sunday, we rode road bikes from Canada and 92 to Peet's in Los Altos - 40 miles. We signed for up the Dunlap Time Trial - 6/3/07 in Winters, CA.