Thanks, Slinke....see ya tomorrow! Wind, sleet, downpour, or - can we hope - sunshine! :D ...Uggh...raingear....oh yea, I might have on my yellow windjacket over my light blue jersey. Depends on the weather gods...
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Thanks, Slinke....see ya tomorrow! Wind, sleet, downpour, or - can we hope - sunshine! :D ...Uggh...raingear....oh yea, I might have on my yellow windjacket over my light blue jersey. Depends on the weather gods...
Well, cindysue and BikeMomma & slinkedog, our paths won't cross during the ride itself (Lee & I will be stationed at the corner of Uvas & Watsonville Rd. between 12 noon and 4 pm), but if you're still around at the end-of-ride barbecue after 4 then with any luck we'll run into you.
Hope y'all have a good ride !
- Jo.
Hope everyone has a great ride. Elizabeth started barfing at 1:45 a.m., so I'm staying home to take care of my little girl. Boo hoo!
Sorry about the young'un, Slinke!
Come to find out our station was part of the 100 mile route too, duh.
Yikes, those winds were nasty yesterday! Nothing like wind early in the morning to get the spirits up, eh? It went every which way early on, too. :p
We were supposed to be at our station until about 4-ish, but people were still dribbling by well past 5 - the headwinds really slowed a lot of people down. Many of the folks coming though in the late afternoon were looking wiped :( Lee & I would yell out encouragement, let them know the last rest stop was only 3 miles away and they had "only" 15 miles left to the end of the ride. Finally the sweep came thru sometime after 5:15 to let us know we could pack it in.
We had a grand old time time situated on our traffic island, a bit of a no-man's land but we made it homey with folding chairs and a thermos and Girl Scout Cookies. Since we were at a stopsign at the top of a slight hill some people would stop to catch their breath or stretch or wait for friends to catch up and they'd chat with us a bit. We had extra water and some Gu's handy but since we were so close to the next rest stop very few needed them.
I had one semi-hysterical driver pull over to want to talk with me, he was really rattled by the fact that there were bikes out on the narrow winding rode and that some of them were riding more than TWO FEET out from the edge of the road (egads :rolleyes: ). In his clearly agitated state I didn't think it was a good time to educate him on the fact that bikes were vehicles too and that he should share the road with them and if there was a section in which it was too narrow for a car (or, in his case, a big ol' van) to pass safely then yes, the bike should ride farther out into the road - it's what we call taking the lane - at least, I didn't think I would be capable of explaining something like that to him (something I'm pretty sure he didn't want to hear) without making him even more beligerent and making the situation worse. So instead I took the easy way out and made lots of sympathetic noises and gave him the name of the sponsoring club and told him of course, he had every right to report it to the sherriff (oy). And I offered him some cookies :) He seemed pretty well placated when he drove off, although no better informed, alas ... after which I found out he was honking at the riders along that narrow section to make them move over, in retrospect I wish I had given him the share the road lecture and bopped him over the head with the box of cookies :mad: (OK, just kidding about the last bit, we were "representing the club" after all).
So how did everyone else do?
THe truck driver feints a left hook... Jobob counters with a bicycle pump block.
The truck driver yells and stomps about bikes not belonging on his road... jobob nails him with the motor vehicle instruction booklet.
The truck driver, determined to score the knockout, begins beating his horn and reving his engine.
With pinpoint precision, jobob takes aim... BOOM, BAP, WHAM! She gives him the jab, a hook then the widow maker with her platter of homebaked cookies.
THe winner and still champion - jobob!
LOL, spazz, love the visual.
But I don't bake, luv, it's Girl Scout Cookies all the way. :cool:
Thanks for being out there, Jobob! Did you see CindySue? She ended up doing the 200k, essentially.
Yesterday afternoon the baby starting hurling, too, so we have the three little ones all sick right now. :( Hopefully the oldest will miss it as she's in Disneyland on a school trip.
No, I didn't, I was hoping I'd recognize her, but no joy. Cindy, didya see us, by any chance?
I did the 100k yesterday. The winds were not fun. This route only has about 2000 feet of climbing, but I was really tired by the end of the ride, and felt like I'd really had to work most of the time.
The ACTC did a good job, as usual. Great post-ride food. But, a few turns were not not marked. I must have stopped 6 times either off course (once) or thinking I was off course. Quite a few others seemed to have the same problem. Four (out of 5) chainrings from me. :)
Before I tell you about my adventure, I have to vent: I was VERY disappointed by the ACTC organization and support. No offense Jobob. First, registration was not set up well. The tables were set up so people were lined up against the smaller width of the room rather the longer length of the room. As a result, only about 15 people could stand in each line, then a single file line went out the door. I got there about 6:45ish and there was already a huge line out the door. The organizers wouldn't start checking people in until 7:00 sharp.Quote:
Originally Posted by aka_kim
When I left for the course, there was no obvious marking segregating the different routes. I, along with several others I met along the way, ended up on the 200K course instead of the 100mi course. YES, I should have had my map out the entire time and followed the roads instead of looking at the arrows, but I am not stable on the bike when I'm trying to read the map, and it would have taken entirely too much time to pull over every time I needed to make a turn somewhere. The 200K and 100mi were marked by pink and orange arrows, respectively, but the neon colors were so close together that I mistook pink for orange.
I also was disappointed with the reststops. The food was OK, but the stops were really small and there was no nice grassy areas to stretch out. The soil was really muddy (which I think contributed to my cleat issue later on) and the organizers (at least the ones I spoke with) were not very helpful with technical issues (e.g., the cleat - see my next post).
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ride (green hills and huge reservoirs) but I don't think I will do Tierra Bella again because of the organization.
2.8 out of 5 chain rings for me
Ahhh, so now let me tell you about my adventure.............
OK, so I woke up at 5am, got cleaned up, ate breakfast (two packs of oatmeal and a banana), packed my bike and gear in the car and headed out at 5:30. I must have been hauling butt becuase I got to the college about 6:30am. It was raining when I pulled into the college. I had left my rain jacket at home by accident of course. This was going to be fun!
By the time I registered (see post above) and got my bike out of my car, it was about 7:30. I hit the road, and without pulling out my map or stopping to ask the organizers which way to go, I followed the pack and the pinky-orangy neon arrow. I got to the first rest stop at about mile 15 and was still full from my breakfast so decided to skip the stop. It was at this point that I was curious where I was and how long to the next stop. The map said that the first stop should have been Gilroy Hot Springs. WHAT???? I was definitely NOT at Gilroy Hot Springs. Where the heck am I? I kept going and asked the next person I passed what route they were on. The 200K, WHAT?????? Oh gee wiz - what a freaking idiot I am I thought to myself. I was already 20 miles into the ride and wasn't going to turn around, so I thought - heck I can do the 200K - it's only 30 miles more than the 100mi. Hahahaha. Of course my longest ride has only been 66 miles (the Cinderella). This would be doubling that! But, I'm a trooper - so I carried on.
At the 70 mile stop, I pulled in along with several others behind me, and the organizers were already starting to take everything down, They were dismantling the tables and putting the food away. They were literally putting food away while people were standing at the tables getting food. It was only noon at this point and people were still riding into the checkpoint. I thought this was not a good sign. Would all the stops from here on out be closed down? Do I have to finish another 60 miles without any organized food stops? Will I have to stop at a 7-11 somewhere along the way?
Hmmm, so I gathered up my bike and rode off. It was at this point that I realized I was not clipping in on the left side. I kept trying and trying, but no luck. The last stop was VERY muddy and I think that my cleat may have got compacted with mudd. I still don't know but I'm heading down to my LBS after I post this.....
So anyway I keep riding along with one cleat and it's OK because it's pretty flat at this point. But I'm really struggling whenever I stop and switch gears. My foot keeps sliping off the pedal and I just know this is dangerous to be riding this way. After about 5 miles of this, I see a rider pulled off to the side fixing her tire. She finished up and tries to help me but no luck. I call my LBS and they can't help me either. We are about 2 miles from the bottom of Metcalf at this point and we discuss how safe it is for either of us to try and climb metcalf (her tire, my un-clippable cleat). I just know it's going to be ugly if I try to climb that 11% grade for two miles straight with only one foot clipped in. The bottom of my road shoe is very hard and slippery and I can't stay on the pedal unless I'm in one gear on the flats.
We decide to skip the metcalf loop, shaving 25 miles (and a 1000+ feet of climbing in just two miles) off the 130 mile (200K), 5400ft elevation gain route. I was disappointed that I wouldn't have bragging rights for doing a 200K but I also didn't want to be telling this story from a hospital bed. We get to the next rest stop and I head over to the COMM table and ask for help with my cleat. The guy says to me: "I can pump up your tire or give you a ride, but I don't have any tools to help you otherwise." HUH! Some support! This is pathetic. I couldn't believe it. I was quite disgusted, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I left with one foot clipped in, riding the last 35 miles of a 105 mile ride with one foot clipped in. Wow!
I ride back the rest of the way with my new friend Lisa (and with one foot clipped in). I grab some food (lasagna, garlic bread, and salad). I then get dessert: apple pie ala mode. Yum! I'm ready to go home at this point, so say goodbye to Lisa and start on my 1.5hr drive home. It actually took me the full 1.5 hrs to get home.
I take a shower and relax a little and then head over to my boyfriend's house. He has made me eggplant parmesean. Yum!
The day itself was quite nice. Windy, but the temperature was perfect. So, lots of food and lots of adventure. I'm looking forward to the Chico Wildflower in two weeks. No riding next weekend - I'm cruising to mexico with my best friend from high school.
darn, I didn't see you! I'm sure I passed you during that time though. Probably around 3:00ish. I was wearing a "hill slug" jersey. Everyone loved that jersey! I would have liked a girlscout cookie - especially since I missed out on the TE homemade cookies!Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
3-ish could have been when I was off to the side placating the hysterical nit in the van :p
Yikes Cindy, I'm really sorry about your mis-adventures ! If you're up to it, an email to the event organizers might be in order. I knew one of the rest stops was shutting down early but I was under the impression that it was only intended for the 60K/100K, but if it was in a location that was needed by the 100mi/200K then the organizeers should know about it and plan accordingly for next year. And it sounds like the route should have been better marked. Anyhow, these are things that can be improved so if you're willing then an email to TierraBella@actc.org would be helpful.
- Jo "just a flunkie" bob
Cindy,
Jobob is right, let the Tierra Bella people know what happend, you too Kim. I used to work registration, it used to run pretty smoothly. This year there is a new chairperson. :mad: OK, I'll admit it, she's why I didn't volunteer for registration this year.....
I'm not sure who was in charge of the rest stops and course marking, but they need to know what happend.
So now we have a cliff hanger (well sort of)- what was the outcome with your cleat?
Sorry my pal Mick wasn't on the ride. He's a bike mechanic (REI Concord) and would have known right away what was wrong- trust me :)
Have fun in Mexico! You definitely deserve it after yesterday. See you (mabye ) in Chico. I'll probably be wearing a Benicia Bike Club shirt, vest, or windbreaker- Yellow. If you see any yellows its proabably usums :D
Can't come to dinner the night before as I don't get off work until 5:00PM in SF :mad: