Random Musings

A few scattered thoughts that I have been harboring for the last week:

To counter balance my lazy ride on Thursday, I kicked some serious arse this morning on the climbs (at least kicked butt for my over sized arse).  New PRs both up and down Camino Alto. I worked hard for the up part. The down PR is strange because I actually got caught behind a car for the last quarter.  A PR from Golden Gate Market to South and an all-time second place on the full Sausalito to GGB climb.  I passed three guys and one girl this morning on Alexander ... and got passed by a guy.  Strange combo.

The Doyle Drive demo looked super cool this morning.  All the fallen concrete pillars looked like toppled dominos.  I guess the time critical piece was just getting them demolished.  However, it will probably take them another month to get all that concrete and rebar out of there.

This weekend is the Tour de Cure.  First 100 miles on the season - from Yountville to Guerneville and back over the Napa/Sonoma Ridge.  There are mixed reports whether we will be attempting a sub 5 1/2 hour race, or an 8 hour tour.  We shall see. 

Three flats last week ... two front (my first front flats ever) and a rear.  I still have to write about last Tuesday's ride (the first flat day).  Good story.

Monday StravaMo Tracker:  Him - 3,977 miles; Me - 3,213 miles.  I've got you in my sights, Big Boy.   Nice lunch ride to start off the week.

Mission Accomplished - 2012 Personal Record

I'm not much one for New Years Resolutions, but this morning I set a goal before my ride to work.  You see, folks, I am freaking tired.  After 70 miles on Sunday, two commutes to work on Monday and Tuesday, and a round trip yesterday, my legs just ain't worth a damn.  But knowing that today is my last ride of the week (I have to drive to work tomorrow, the horror), I had to get this fat butt ton the bike.  So I committed to myself and set a goal.  For this morning's ride, I would try to commute at the absolute slowest pace of the year.  I know this is a lofty endeavor.  But I felt that I was up to the task.

The ride started out well with my normal spin through Shady Lane.  By the bump at the Left Bank in Downtown Larkspur, I knew my legs just weren't there.  At the base of Camino Alto, I geared down and started whistling a tune.  This would surely keep me from pushing too hard.  According to Strava, my time up Camino Alto was 7 minutes and 53 seconds.  This is quite impressive compared to my record of 5 minutes 50 seconds (I had to work like a mad man to get sub 6 minutes).  I think I over-extended myself a bit on the Mill Valley Bike Trail as I hit 20 miles per hour more than a few times. But I made up for my exertion with a segment from Golden Gate Market in Sausalito to the Bridge of 8 minutes and 34 seconds.  Compare this to my record of 6 minutes 12 seconds which I set only two days ago.

Ominous clouds over Alcatraz and the Bay

My pace this morning rewarded me with a fine gift.  Upon hitting Fort Mason, it started to rain.  As I reached the top of the pitch looking over the piers, I got this --

If I would have been one minute later or earlier, I would have completely missed the rainbow.  The show lasted for all of thirty seconds.  But I happened to hit the top at the perfect moment.

Feeling at peace with my rainbow connection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFLZ-MzIhM) I was able to complete the commute in perfect crawling cadence.  The final stats are impressive.  Total commute time, 1 hour 36 minutes and 43 seconds of moving time.  Compare this to my previous record/low of 1:35.46 and an average through 69 commutes year to date of 1:23.11.  In short (or maybe long), I  achieved my goal and feel better for it.  I am ready to get this day going.  Happy riding.

Primavera Century

Today was my first organized ride of the year - at least the first one that I paid for.  The Primavera Century (we opted for the 100k route) is a ride through the East Bay Hills starting in Union City (of all places) through Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park basically to Dublin and then back.  We skipped the full 100 mile route with a climb up the Altamont pass - maybe next year.

The ride started at James Logan High School and headed south east to Fremont.  I was a bit concerned as the ride started as we were riding with cars on three lane streets.  For all I knew, we were in Bakersfield, with wide roads, retail centers and 55 MPH speed limits for the cars.  Then, to my pleasure, after a few miles, we made a turn through a residential neighborhood, and another turn towards the green hills.  Much better.  The rest of the ride was car-less and gorgeous.  We had two 1,000 foot climbs at >15% grades which made for tough riding for the Fat Guy.  If I have any complaint about the ride, it would be that the
service was a bit too good.  Every rest stop was chock full with sweet treats (oreos, banana bread, PB&J, bananas, etc) and lots of fluids (water and 3 flavors of electrolyte drinks).  They rest stops were so comfy that they encourages longer breaks.  And three rest stops on a 65 mile ride was actually one too many.  We could have saved 20-30 minutes by cutting the stops to only two.  All in all, however, it was very well done by the Fremont Freewheelers Bicycle Club.  I highly recommend the ride.  Next year, I am thinking the full 100 miles.

Angry cow.  This guy mooed at every bike that rode past.  I heard him from 100 yards away.

The pace of our ride was a bit of a struggle for me.  In our group of six, we had two guys that were much better climbers than me.  And we also had a group of three that were not as strong as the others.  I got caught somewhere in between.  My nature is to hit the flats as hard as I can to make up time for my crappy climbing.  But as I picked up the pace in the flats, our group would separate and, being a team player, I would slow to let the rest of the group rejoin.  But, of course, as soon as we got back together, a rolling hill would appear and the two stronger guys would then get ahead of me.  This only angered me and made me ride even harder to keep up.  So finally I opted to stay back with the group on the flats and hit the hills as hard as I could (not strong enough to keep up with the skinny guys).  Then, to spice things up a bit, after I reached the top of each climb, I would double back to the last person in our group and re-do the climb at the slower pace.  This strategy worked for me as I got a few hundred extra feet of climbing in and got to stay with the group all the same.  Mission accomplished.

Green hills and a big reservoir.  Really pretty.

We had bunny-hopped with a group of six women several times throughout the course.  These ladies were all decked out in their full kits and fancy bikes.  They got off about 3-5 minutes before we did from the last rest stop and, seeing them in the distance, I vowed to pass them one last time.  I hit it pretty hard by myself to catch their group about a mile before the last big climb (about 3 miles and 1,000 feet).  As I passed the group, the leader said in her Australian accent, "Why don't you ride with us?  No need to be in such a hurry."  I chatted her up for a few minutes, as I began to push the pace.  Soon thereafter, we had created a gap with the rest of her group and she decided to let me go it alone.  Fast forward about ten minutes as I was huffing up the climb, I heard her coming, the Australian, with one of her crew in tow.  I did my best to keep them behind me, but I couldn't keep it up.  Good for them.  I yelled in between panting, "That's not fair.  You lulled my in with your siren song, slowing me down in the  flats, only to pass me when it counts.  Well played."   

Impossible to see in this shot, but on the electrical tower on the right there is a Bald Eagle's nest.  We stopped at a telescope that was set up for a viewing.  I didn't actually know that we had Bald Eagles in the Bay Area.  But there he/she was.  A huge bird, white head, with an even huger nest.  Really cool.

My favorite picture of the ride.  I knew we were entering Alameda County when I saw this. 
Hoodrats and Hillbillys.  Sweet.

What a difference a week makes

You may recall my commute last Friday where I got slaughtered by rain after texting Johnny - see 4/13 blog post for more details).   For comparison's sake, and not truly intentionally, I took a picture this morning of about the same spot at just about the same time.

4/13/12 - Does this Bridge make my nose look big?

There are a few better shots, most notably without my ugly mug in the previous post.  Summer is here in the Bay Area.  And with the heat comes the fog.

4/20/12 - Fog rolling in.  70+ degees at 7.30am.  It's gonna be a hot one today.

Of course, I have my first metric century of the season this Sunday (if you don't count last weekend's 60 miles).  We are riding and East Bay course which will probably be in the low 90s before we finish the day.  Thank god for that second water bottle and the rest stops - or as my wife would call them - mid-ride Wine and Cheese Parties.

FOG Dweller's and my Marshall Maiden Voyage

This morning's FOG Dwellers ride marked my maiden voyage to Marshall and up the famed 'Mashall Wall'.  I have to be honest with you, I was a bit freaked out about this alleged massive climb that led through Marshall to Highway 1 (PCH for you SoCal folks).  This climb was, of course, at mile 35 of a 60 mile ride.  And this was my first ride more than fifty miles this year.  Add to that the fact that the FOGuys are all stronger riders than I am.  Basically, it was going to be a big day.  To prepare myself, I bought two packages of Clif Shots, borrowed a second water bottle and made oatmeal the night before to eat before I got on the bike.

The regular crew was assembled - Scott, Iron Mike, Jeff and myself.  But just as we were leaving Java Hut, at 6.30am, an unfamiliar face pulled up.  A FOG regular named Peter rode up on his nondescript white bike. As Jeff was wearing a full red white and blue Italian kit (see below), this Peter character did not stand out in his fluorescent green full Taleo kit.  After our first few climbs, however, Mr. Peter set himself apart a-plenty.  It seems that he rides/rode for a few pro/semi-pro teams and the man can climb.  He was kind enough, however, to topple each climb and then ride back down to pace me to the top.  Good fun.  http://taleoracing.com/teamtaleobios/peter-cook

Below is a video that Scott took at the top of the Wall.  Thankfully, it was not as crazy as I had made it out to be.  Note the lack of sun and rolling fog throughout the scene.  We really didn't see any sun until we got through Samuel P Taylor, probably 50 miles into the ride.  It was certainly work, and I was certainly last to the top, but I made it and it was worth the panting.

Besides the Strava data, the highlights of the ride were many.  We ran into a group (gaggle/flock/herd) of about 25 turkeys grazing in the middle of the road.  Thankfully for the turkeys, there are way more bikes than cars on these West Marin roads.  Unfortunately for me, the crew was way ahead of me on the hill where the turkeys stood.  So by the time I made it to the spot, the turkeys had all dispersed.  Second was the pace line for the ten miles from the bottom of the Marshall hill into Pt. Reyes.  Really fast rolling hills and I was so busy sucking rear wheel drafts that I didn't get to lead at all.

This was my view the majority of the day.  Beginning of the Marshall Wall.

Sometimes these posts just write themselves

Last night, Johnny and I were texting to see whether we would brave the weather for the Friday morning ride:

Jon, 7.31pm:  Whats your plan in the AM?
Me, 7.45pm:  Feeling like a slow roll, 6am at the corner, 3pm boat home.  Could be convinced to abort.
Jon, 7.46pm:  Yeah, you almost had me convinced to rise, but I think it will be really stormy.  Leaning towards ferry in the morning and ride home.
Me, 7.46pm:  #9, #5 (reference to the Rules)
Jon, 7.55pm:  Early ride home will work.  Abort in the am in probably the smart play.

Fast forward to 6.26am Friday morning:

Jon, 6.26am:  I'm sitting on the Ferry.  Blue skies, I can see the moon.  I am such a pu$$y.

I was putting my phone in my backpack as I got Jon's texts.

Me, 6.27am:  Just got on my kit.  You're missing out.
Jon, 6.29am:  Thanks for rubbing it in.  I am such a pu$$y

At 7.36am, I stopped to snap and send the following picture to Jon

Shot looking southwest from Warner's Point  

Jon, 7.40am:  F-U

Seconds after sending that shot to Jon, it started to drizzle.  As I was stuffing my phone back into the backpack, I turned around to find this ...

Rainbow over Conzumel Road and the Headlands

Karma caught up to me for teasing Jon about the perfect morning.  What started as a bluebird morning turned into a massive dump of raindrops the size of gumballs.  I got absolutely soaked to the bone riding from the Bridge to the office ... laughing the entire way.

Me and my OCD

As long as I can remember, I have been addicted to video games.  In junior high and high school, I often locked myself in my bedroom to play Mario or Zelda for days at a time.  My college roommate famously still cites a school day where he woke up for 8am class and I was already playing an RPG, only to have him return at about 5pm to find me in the same spot on the couch, still playing, having consumed an entire Halloween size bag of Rolos.  More recently, I was introduced to Mafia Wars, Mob Wars and other free social video games online.  For those of you that have never played these games, the strategy is basically to acquire things (weapons, real estate, crops - for the Farmville folks) which lead to further acquisition of other things.  And endless loop of acquiring worthless stuff.  All the while, you are gaining experience and levels and comparing yourself to other players in the game.

I now have a healthier way to tame this addiction.  In addition to the standard benefits of riding - exercise, fresh air, social aspect, etc. - coupling cycling with Strava (which is basically an online video game) has created my perfect monster.  Now, rather than collect virtual swords and flame throwers, I collect rides, segments, miles and feet of elevation.  With Strava, I can virtually compete with others in a multitude of categories.  Take, for example, my new buddy Strava Mo.  As of today, he has a total of 3,753 All Time miles logged into Strava compared to my 2,756 miles.  I won't hedge and say that his miles have been accumulated since 4/1/2011 where mine are only from 10/23/2011 (OK, I just did).  But in the back of my head (or maybe the front) I NEEEEEEED to catch him.  I'll pass him soon.  Although, with the good weather coming, I have a feeling he will be commuting more and doing his damnedest to stay ahead of me. 

This also reminds me of a ride that I took with the Fog Dwellers a few months ago.  We did the standard 40 mile Sunday ride from the Java Hut around Stafford Lake in Novato.  However, on the descent from Whites Hill, only a few miles into the ride, I hit a cell phone in the bike lane and it bounced and knocked my Garmin out of commission.  This bummed me out because a) I did not get credit for my miles and b) I was not able to chart my route and participate in the many Strava segments that we passed through.  All things taken into consideration, this was not a major tragedy.  But several times on the ride, I caught myself thinking that I was digitally missing out on a sweet set of data.

The genesis of this post was a set of emails by Strava Mo where he shared his Waves to Wine (a two-day 175+ mile ride) stories.  I asked if he had the data on Strava and he reported that he did not.  I then claimed that if the ride data was not posted online, then the ride did not exist.  Strava Mo, being indefinitely more technologically savvy than me, figured out a way to export some old Garmin Connect data into a format where it could be uploaded to Strava.  Problem solved.  He actually did make the Waves to Wine ride.

Now for my new OCD issue ... I bought my Garmin in August of 2011.  I have Garmin data online for August-October 2011 that is not yet loaded onto Strava. It takes probably 4-5 minutes per ride to convert each Garmin file into data that is functional with Strava.  That's about 80 rides that could be converted ... maybe 1,200 miles ... but it will take me 4-6 hours to get that data into Strava.  Like I said, I really, really, really want to catch Mo in total miles on Strava.  Should I invest the time uploading data?  Or should I just go ride for 6 hours?  Dilemma.