Climbing Club Feb results and March goals

[Trekhawk]

Well its nearly the end of Feb so I figured its time to tell all about Feb and set new goals for March.

Well Im afraid I didn't get anywhere near my goal for Feb (17000 feet). I only managed 13529.9 feet. Im not feeling too bad about it though as I had a week or so off in the middle of the month when the kids were sick (LOL see how easy I found that excuse).

So my goal for March will remain 17000 feet - LOL I will make it one of these months.

How did you all do??

[Veronica]

No mountains at all for me, unless i count my one mountain bike ride. There was a lot of climbing in it.. . but it wasn't a mountain. The weather has been kind of crummy on the weekends is my excuse.

I'm looking forward to the time change. It should give me enough time to do Diablo after work.


V.

[Starfish]

I have a little victory to report.

BACKGROUND: Last summer, I was working a couple of jobs and in a couple of school programs in 2 different cities at a distance. Then, my mom got ill and we nursed her at home until she passed away in November. Now my dad is bedridden, and we are nursing him. It is all OK, I am not a victim, and all these activities were my choice. But, it has been a tiring year.

Unfortunately, I responded to the past 8 months or so by stress eating, rather than working out. So, I am behind the 8-ball on weight and fitness. Still, I am excited about this year, and have set as my goal an event in August that will be my first hard-ish climbing event, knowing I might not make it.

VICTORY: On Sunday, I got on my bike for the 2nd time since last May, and I have only started back at the gym in the past 3 weeks. I did a little ride up a local hill I have never done. It was only a 13 mile R/T, and only 1200 feet. But, I was shocked at how good I felt, given my weight gain and lack of exercise this year. Now I am really encouraged to lose weight, climb lots, and get going. I thought I would feel the worst of my life on my bike, but no! I only stopped because I ran out of daylight. I felt great!!

Thanks for listening. I hope to have more climbing to report next week!

[jobob]

No mountains at all for me, unless i count my one mountain bike ride. There was a lot of climbing in it.. . but it wasn't a mountain. The weather has been kind of crummy on the weekends is my excuse.

Um, there was someone who looked a lot like you on our ride the first Saturday of this month !

I realize that Calaveras & Felter Roads are easy little jaunts for someone who climbs Diablo with her bike loaded down with rocks, but geeze ... ;)


I got in about 17,000 feet this month.

Ed. to add: Oh, were supposed to set a new goal ? OK, I'll make it 15,000 ft. and hope I pass it.

[jobob]

Good job Starfish !

1200 feet is plenty good, especially if you're just starting out again.

If you keep at it, you'll be surprised to find how quickly you'll improve !

[Veronica]

I know I climbed Felter, but it wasn't what I meant when I said mountain. I meant mountain in the title - Tam, Hamilton, Diablo.

I'll have to check bike journal when I get home and see how many footsies I got in. It's started to rain. I didn't bring my rain pants. I'll be soaked when I get home!

I'm still pondering March's goal.

V.

[maillotpois]

I only got 9645. if my chain hadn't broken Saturday and I'd been able to do the team Trinity Grade / Sonoma Mtn ride, I would have had another 3500 - 4000. oh well! I will aim for 15,000 for March.

[Veronica]

I'll have 11,500 feet or so after tomorrow. Maybe more if it's not raining after school.

I have two goals. I still want to climb at least one mountain. :p And climb more next month than I did this month.

V.

[GLC1968]

I think I win for worst results. :mad:

My goal: 12,000 ft
Actual: 0 ft
(unless I can ride at lunch tomorrow which will give me a whopping 500 ft or so).

February started out with some actual winter weather (we hadn't seen any yet by end of Jan) and then I was forced off even the trainer with a back problem. Wah. It's been a rough month with no real biking. My last outdoor ride was Jan 31st!!

For March, I'm keeping the same goal. 12,000 ft...but this time, I'll make it! :D

[Trekhawk]

I think I win for worst results. :mad:

My goal: 12,000 ft
Actual: 0 ft
(unless I can ride at lunch tomorrow which will give me a whopping 500 ft or so).

February started out with some actual winter weather (we hadn't seen any yet by end of Jan) and then I was forced off even the trainer with a back problem. Wah. It's been a rough month with no real biking. My last outdoor ride was Jan 31st!!

For March, I'm keeping the same goal. 12,000 ft...but this time, I'll make it! :D

Sorry to hear about your back GLC. Sometimes life has a little laugh at us and our plans. The good thing about this club is there is always next month (or for people like me maybe the one after) to reach those goals.:D

[Fredwina]

I came up with 23,000 feet for Feb. I think I had put myself down for 24,000(Missed a couple of days due to rain.)
March - i'm thinking 30,000:eek: I'm going to do a 300K that has 8,000 feet of climbing and a 21% grade in both directions (according to "coach" Homey). I told him that I would doing some hiking that day. He also suggested doing plenty of climbing between now and the 24th, and with the early time change, I might be able to do a Glendora Mountain/ Glendora Ridge/ Baldy Village trip on Sunday afternoons(50 miles w/ 4,500 feet);)

[mimitabby]

Fredwina, you are really something. I finally took a look at this thread when it occurred to me that you aren't talking about hiking up mountains, you are riding bikes. :rolleyes:
Do you all have GPS's is that how you can tell how much you are climbing?

[Veronica]

I have a GPS and my heart rate monitor also calculates ascent.

V.

[Trekhawk]

Fredwina, you are really something. I finally took a look at this thread when it occurred to me that you aren't talking about hiking up mountains, you are riding bikes. :rolleyes:
Do you all have GPS's is that how you can tell how much you are climbing?

Wow Fredwina you are a mountain goat (I mean that in a nice way).:D

Mimi - no I just have a computer with an altimeter. See link below.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=20547&estore_ID=1018

[kelownagirl]

I didn't set a goal but I thought I'd try to keep track of climbing to see how much I do. I do want to work on it this year. I have a 800' climb to get home after every ride so that's one way. In February, I only had 3 outdoor rides and two of them were mostly on the flats, only one was a little hilly.

So.... my total for the month was about 4000 feet. I don't have any way to calculate other than to use google earth or one of the online map things but I think it's reasonably accurate.

I so want a bike computer with that can measure climbing... How much are they? What's a good one?

[Trekhawk]

I didn't set a goal but I thought I'd try to keep track of climbing to see how much I do. I do want to work on it this year. I have a 800' climb to get home after every ride so that's one way. In February, I only had 3 outdoor rides and two of them were mostly on the flats, only one was a little hilly.

So.... my total for the month was about 4000 feet. I don't have any way to calculate other than to use google earth or one of the online map things but I think it's reasonably accurate.

I so want a bike computer with that can measure climbing... How much are they? What's a good one?

Check the link above (in my previous post). That is the one I have and I love it. Plenty of options out there though.

[Trekhawk]

Oh I forgot to add VDO have great customer service. At the end of a sixty mile ride (last year) I realized my computer was missing. Apparently the mount must have broken going over a bump or something somewhere along the way.

Well I was a really upset as this was a Xmas present from my husband. My husband rang the rep in the USA for VDO and he said no worries it must have been a faulty mount and sent me a brand new computer and mount . I didnt have to send the broken mount to them to prove what had happened. The new computer arrived a few days later - cant ask for better customer service than that. No problems with my new computer or mount - I am one happy VDO customer.:)

[Fredwina]

Fredwina, you are really something. I finally took a look at this thread when it occurred to me that you aren't talking about hiking up mountains, you are riding bikes. :rolleyes:
Do you all have GPS's is that how you can tell how much you are climbing?
What you get for living in the Shadow of several 10,000+ peaks.
Move down here! you can gain 1,500 feet by going from the south end of town(Rancho Cucamonga,CA) to the north, about 7 miles. I have problems find a ride without elevation, unless I want to drive to the Beach! The club's long saturday ride is 30 miles with 2,100 feet of gain.
I'm slow, but I get there:)
some wikipedia entries on my 'hood:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_San_Antonio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucamonga_Peak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Peak
and:
http://socalvelo.com/sub/onyx.htm
http://socalvelo.com/sub/mount_baldy_road.htm
http://socalvelo.com/sub/gmr.htm
http://socalvelo.com/sub/crystallake.html

[GLC1968]

OK...update for me. I was able to get out at lunch today (my first outside ride of the month!) so put me down for 450ft in Feb. :o

I swear that March will be better! :p

Kelownagirl - I have a polar HRM that is also a cyclocomputer with altitude. I love it because when I'm done with my rides, I just download the info via the IR port into my computer and it tracks everything for me. So much fun! I believe that most altimeters for cycing use barometric pressure, so it can be off if the weather is variable over the length of the ride. I've also found that (at least around me) the online climbing numbers can be significantly higher than what my computer gives me. Nothing worse than completing what should be a 6000ft ride only to find my computer (and my hubands GPS) both give us only 3500ft! :eek:

[Deanna]

I didn't do all the climbs I'd intended two, but I did one I didn't (Coleman Valley in the direction the ToC went). The Mill Creek wall was a little demoralizing. I had to stop and catch my breath at one point when this young whippersnapper breezed right past me. When I saw him on his way down as I was still heading up (it's a nasty 1/4 mile section) I thought to myself "He better not be doing hill repeats". But as fate would have it, he was--he passed me twice in the uphill direction during my one torturous journey up :mad:

[jobob]

I had that happen to me on Sierra Road. Gah, repeats on Sierra Road, that is just ... wrong ... :p

[jobob]

I've also found that (at least around me) the online climbing numbers can be significantly higher than what my computer gives me. Nothing worse than completing what should be a 6000ft ride only to find my computer (and my hubands GPS) both give us only 3500ft! :eek: SadieKate & I have seen that too. Over on the bikejournal forums one of our geekier friends (who also happens to do hill repeats of Sierra Road, damn him) came up with a long explanation regarding number of points drawn and algorthims and such, but bottom line, yep, they can be off.

[kelownagirl]

Wow, I was looking at some of those nice Polar watches with the altimeters online and they are expensive! They won't work with my Mac so I won't be tempted to buy one I guess...

[Starfish]

I have a Specialized bike computer with altimeter, and so far, it seems accurate. I have a mountain in my back yard with a documented elevation gain, as it goes from the salt water to the ski area, and my computer seems to get it right on that ride, so I tend to trust it. Maybe it would be off if I went to a lot of different climates with more variable pressures, I don't know.

[Starfish]

Oh, and my goal for March is 10,000, but that is probably a little ambitious.

[Starfish]

woohoo! another 1800 feet today! maybe I will get my 10,000 for March after all!:)

[Fredwina]

I got about 2900 for today. I thought about going to baldy Village to get another 1,000, but we're having Santa Ana winds today, and the higher you go the worse they are.

[RoadRaven]

Well... my climbing goals have changed - almost no hill reps in February, and there will be precious few in March.

I have decided what I need to focus on is the ability to surge in a peloton. So lots of cruise intervals and sprint intervals for me. I'll be watching you all climb though, and will chime back in with my hills when I start doing reps again.

Way to go, Hill Goddesses

[kelownagirl]

I *think* I did about 1000 feet today. I have not found a reliable way of figuring it although I kinda liked routeslip that said I did 35,000 feet.

My lungs thought I had climbed that much. The air is too cold for me to work that hard I guess. Had an ok avg speed the first half, but had to go very slow all the way back... :)

[SadieKate]

Oh my gosh! I guess it's true when they say increasing intensity increases your speed. Since I have this climbing goal, I thought I'd wander around in the statistical stew and this is what I saw.

Jan 1 to Mar 3 of each year
2005 – 359 miles / 10,085 ft.
2006 – 654 miles / 6,412 ft.
2007 – 795 miles / 20,997 ft

Well, I put 2 and 2 together and realized how much the climbing is responsible for my avg speed for the Santa Rosa 200k. I really had no expectation of riding fast but I had to keep up with the bungee cord (maillotpois).

I know I increased the miles, but the change in miles between 2006 and 2007 is pretty negligible. However, the climbing isn't. Nothing for some of you folks, but HUGE for me. Okey-dokey. Bring on them thar mountains. :D

[Fredwina]

Oh my gosh! I guess it's true when they say increasing intensity increases your speed.
Actually, I was thinking think that this morning. I did usual climbing route (minus the section of road that the City of Upland is fixing, and I was a 1/2 MPH faster, Granted my "new" route was a little flatter, and I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped the next time I do it, but I've noticed my average speed slowly creeping up.

[jobob]

Hills are your friend.

[Starfish]

Got 1300 in today with a little 9 mile ride! Boy was I slow.:o I am at 4800 on the month, so maybe I might actually make my March goal of 10,000.:)

[jobob]

1300 feet in only 9 miles must've been steep! Good job. Don't worry about the speed, it will come with time and practice.

Did you have fun on the downhill ? :D

[Starfish]

1300 feet in only 9 miles must've been steep! Good job. Don't worry about the speed, it will come with time and practice.

Did you have fun on the downhill ? :D

Jobob, I hope you are right about the speed. I am not a fast rider, and I can live with that. But, honestly, today I was going seriously slow on some portions. Like 3mph in a couple places. :p

We have a mountain in our back yard that goes from sea level to our ski area at 5,000 feet in less than 20 miles. The bottom portion is the hardest, with a lot of 9-10%. Right now, only the bottom 5 miles is open except the weekends, and there is still too much snow up higher, anyhow.

The downhill was fun, but COLD, and I thought I was well bundled!

[jobob]

But, of course I'm right ! ;)

I've been known to go 3 mph on hills. The way I see it, as long as you maintain enough forward momentum not to tip over, you're doing fine.

Keep at it and you'll be rewarded. Ask my riding buddies, they'll tell you. I go way faster up hills than I used to. Heck, sometimes I even break 5 mph ! :D

[Starfish]

But, of course I'm right ! ;)

Heck, sometimes I even break 5 mph ! :D

My hero! :p ;) :)

[maillotpois]

I better re-adjust my goals for March. Let's put the climbing goal at 21,000 feet. :eek: But I am at over 11,000 right now and looking at my plans for the rest of the month it seems realistic.

And I think I can go 2.5 mph and not fall over. :cool: We should have a contest as to who can go slowest uphill. Of course, I suppose a trackstand would win.

[Veronica]

I've seen 2.3 on Patterson Pass. :p

V.

[jobob]

Hey Starfish, I clocked a rip-roaring 2.4 mph on the steep part of Mt. Diablo on Saturday! But I made it to the top, booyah.

Lordy, I'm up to about 20,000 feet of climbing so far this month.

And yet, Saturday on Mt. Diablo and Sunday over Palomares and Redwood Road, I was still being utterly smoked by people who have been riding a fraction of what I have. No fair!! {pout}

But 'ees OK, I'm pretty happy with what I've been doing. I just like to whine. :D

[Veronica]

Are you talking about me, Jo? I can't help it if my piano legs are freakishly strong. :p

V.

[jobob]

You and your freakishly strong legs were bad enough, but your husband was even more annoying ! :p He hasn't ridden diddly, yet he bombs up Diablo and the next day he bombs up Palomares and the beloved "hill that goes on freakin' forever" parts 1 and 2. s'no fair ! :p :D

[Veronica]

He was exhausted after! He said he was coming home to do errands... he sat in front of the tv and the computer all afternoon.

Plus he's got that guy advantage. I have to drag him on wicked long rides to be faster than him.

V.

[maillotpois]

I used to be faster than my husband. :cool:

[Starfish]

You guys are all freakishly amazing to me. :p

[jobob]

You're so sweet, Starfish !

But you know what? When I first started riding, only a few years ago, a 5 mile flat ride was a big deal for me. Then, eventually, I could manage a 10 mile ride. And so on.

And hills? Hah! There's a hill near my home I call my nemesis hill. It's about a half-mile long, about 250 feet of climbing, and fairly steep in parts. It took me months to finally make it 2/3 of the way up that sucker, and then when I finally got up there I realized there was more to it. :mad: I think it was another couple of months before I finally slogged up the whole thing.

The first time Veronica asked me to ride up Mt. Diablo with her, I was scared sh!tless. You could imagine my relief when she emailed me that morning saying she had to bail on the ride because her cat was sick and she had to take it to the vet (cat turned out fine, otherwise I would have felt a bit guilty doing the happy dance under those circumstances).

Fast forward a few years later. This weekend Veronica & I are doing a 300K brevet (that's about 188 miles) with about 7000 feet of climbing. I'm fairly confident I can finish it - not at a rip-roaring pace mind you, but within the 20 hours allotted, yeah, that I think I can do.

It took me a few years to get to this point, and I don't consider myself athletic. I'm just your average Jo who likes to ride her bike. :)

[Starfish]

Jobob, thank you for your description of how far you have come. I find it very inspirational. Four years ago, I was thrilled to ride 12 flat miles on a bike path. This year, I am setting as my main goal ride the Shasta Summit Century, hoping for the 100 mile finish.

I really appreciate your stories, because although I have become a better cyclist, and fitter on the bike, than I was when I started about 3-4 years ago, I have not gotten better/faster at the rate I thought I might. My average MPH is quite slow, and there are a lot of people I cannot go on rides with because of it.

This is despite reading books, setting up periodization, and working with a heart rate monitor. But, this year I am trying to work more with how my body feels, doing more cross-training, and trying new approaches. So, I am hoping for a different result this year.

I have gotten in about 6500 feet or so this month, and my goal was 10,000, so with two more long rides yet to get in, I think I might make it.

[SadieKate]

I gotta hang out with Jobob more. I set a goal of 12,400 ft this month. After yesterday, 14,235 with the great majority of that accomplished with Miss Jobob in 3 rides (cause we know the speedbumps around here don't add up to much). I woke up this morning thinking I still needed more before the end of the month so I got out my little Excel spreadsheet and plugged in the numbers. 1,834 ft over goal and the month isn't over. I'm even looking forward to some more. Woo-ee that feels good.

[Fredwina]

44,000 :rolleyes: and that brevet with 8,000 feet - it turned in to 12,000:( at least we didn't get to the 21% grade

[Trekhawk]

44,000 :rolleyes: and that brevet with 8,000 feet - it turned in to 12,000:( at least we didn't get to the 21% grade

WOOHOO Fredwina that is a huge amount of climbing.

Well this month I managed to get to and pass my target for March. My goal was 17000 and I managed 20500. Yipee:D

I will start another thread for our April goals.

[Veronica]

I'll have 11,500 feet or so after tomorrow. Maybe more if it's not raining after school.

I have two goals. I still want to climb at least one mountain. :p And climb more next month than I did this month.

V.

Well gosh, I did well. :D I have 24, 915 feet this month and I climbed Sonoma Mountain twice, Diablo once and Tam once.

Cool!

V.

[GLC1968]

Well, I didn't make it in March, either!!

My goal was 12,000. I finished with 11,695! Only 305 ft short....some stupid lunch ride I had to miss due to work, I'm sure. ;)

We ended the month with a bang though. I just finished a 53 mile ride with 4435 ft of climbing including my very first mountain ascent (not the biggest mountain in the area, but hey...I'll take it!).

Next month the goal must go up. :)

[jobob]

Lordy Fredwina that's awesome !

And great job, Trek & V.

GLC, these altimeters aren't super-accurate. You're within 3% of your goal, that's probably less than the error range of your altimeter, so I'd say you were plenty close enough! But we need to ask the One in Charge - what do you think, Trekhawk?



This has been a really good month for me. My goal was 15,000 and I did 26,000. booyah.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to pass that so I'll set next month's goal at 18,000.

[Trekhawk]

GLC, these altimeters aren't super-accurate. You're within 3% of your goal, that's probably less than the error range of your altimeter, so I'd say you were plenty close enough! But we need to ask the One in Charge - what do you think, Trekhawk?



LOL - I cant be the one in charge Im not responsible enough.
GLC Im with Jo thats plenty close enough. GOOD JOB.:)

[Starfish]

You guys are all so very inspiring!!

But, celebrate with me, too! My goal for March was 10,000 feet, and I got it done, almost to the foot. It was a big goal for me, given the state of my fitness & training.

On Saturday, I still needed 2300 feet, so I did two repeats of the foot of our mountain, and got the 2300' in 17 miles! Pretty good for me. Even though my HR was too high (90-93% for a lot of the ride), I was surprised that I didn't feel a lot of burn, and I felt pretty good after and the next day, rather than trashed.

[jobob]

Most excellent, starfish ! :cool:

[SadieKate]

Tres magnifique! I'm having fun concentrating on the climbing also and am actually ahead of schedule. Now if the 6 extra pounds of gearage would go away with all this climbing.:p

[Trekhawk]

Tres magnifique! I'm having fun concentrating on the climbing also and am actually ahead of schedule. Now if the 6 extra pounds of gearage would go away with all this climbing.:p

LOL - yep whats with that. I also want to know why after doing all this Im still so slow going up those hills. Oh well at least I havent been passed by the cutoff jeans guy on his clunker bike drinking beer for awhile.:D

[Starfish]

LOL - yep whats with that. I also want to know why after doing all this Im still so slow going up those hills. Oh well at least I havent been passed by the cutoff jeans guy on his clunker bike drinking beer for awhile.:D

I hear you! I need to lose some weight, and I have really been having a hard time with that discipline this spring. But, I keep thinking, well, if I keep doing this hill climbing with these extra pounds I've put on, when I do start losing some, I am going to be STRONG after hauling it all up the hills! My legs are getting harder, though not smaller, so I know I am building some muscle!