I guess I'll hopefully see everyone there then. :) We're planning on getting there as early as we can. Give us plenty of time to finish it. :)
Mel
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I guess I'll hopefully see everyone there then. :) We're planning on getting there as early as we can. Give us plenty of time to finish it. :)
Mel
Thom and I just signed up for the 100 K. What time are you all planning on checking in?
V.
Nice and early for us... 6:30. :) That way we have the most amount of time to complete the ride. :)
Mel who's slooooooooooow.
PS: I did the most amount of riding, 44+ miles, yesterday! woot! We rode from Mountain View to Milpitas (hubby's parent's place) and then back. Headwind nearly the whole way back.
Veronica, are you bringing cookies? If so, exactly what time will you be handing them out? Really, I'm starting to think these cookies are some sort of shared hallucination you and others have, since they're never around when I am (hmm, you're trying to tell me something).
And an fyi on the 100k route - Palomares is hard, at least to my aging legs and hip flexors.
You didn't have any cookies when we did the Berryessa ride? Sorry about that. I could be persuaded to bring some on Sunday.
What exactly do you mean by hard? Hard like Burma Road or hard like Patterson Pass?
V.
Hard like a good 10% grade for a mile or so, at around mile 50.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Nothing like a 10% grade to wake you up huh. Is there a good downhill after?
V.
There's a really nice downhill on the other side of the climb. It's by a stream, in the shade, not terribly fast, but fun.
I got an e mail this morning saying that they will be doing Day of registration. So if you have no plans for Sunday... join us!
V.
Thanks, ma'am. I'm waiting to hear from Robb before I send a headcount. He's going off to count cog teeth. I'm encouraging him to get an XT cassette with a 34 (mostly so I don't have to listen to him whine). :rolleyes:
Just spoke to Sterling and gave him a count of 2. Robb is thinking that a maiden voyage on the southern approach might be best. No confirmation from Petunia. We're going to do our best to be there by 10 in our best imitation of good doobies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Thom and I decided not to leave until six so I could get coffee and a danish at the local shop. We arrived at registration around 7. All the lines were long, except the A - D line. The lady (Susan I think?) who signed us in, is a lurker here on TE. Come on out, we don't bite. :p
It was kind of cold, so I kept my jacket on. It wasn't my normal biking jacket though and was quite soaked by the time we got to the first rest stop at mile 20. I had expected it to be warm like yesterday so wasn't really dressed appropriately.
After the rest stop we headed up Calaveras. It's a stiff climb, but not really long. There's a series of rollers at the top and then a pretty good descent. I really like this road. Once we were down to the flatlands, Thom asked me if my bike was always so noisy. I said it's a little bit noisier than usual. About a mile later, he tells me to pull over so he could look at my rear tire. I had a couple of loose spokes and the tire had been rubbing against the brakes - for who knows how long. Maybe that's why I was so slow up Diablo yesterday. He tightened up the spokes as best he could - yes I actually have a spoke wrench in my tool kit.
We were a couple of miles from the second rest stop at mile 36, which is also the decision point for 70 or 100 K. We decided to do the 70 and get my wheel into the shop. Although it is really his wheel, which I stole about 6 weeks ago when I broke a spoke.
We blew off the second rest stop, since it was only 8 miles from the finish. Route 84 was awful. We had a wind blowing up the canyon, lots of traffic and no shoulder in a lot of places. I drafted Thom for about 5 miles and then we switched. I had the less windy section. :)
I really enjoyed the ride on Calaveras. I didn't eat much at the first rest stop. Lunch was good. I really liked the salad, bread and strawberries.
Since it wasn't an all day affair, I got to stop at a teacher supply store and get people colored construction paper for an art project. We also went to Home Depot (yuck - the place is too big!) But they didn't have the string trimmer Thom wanted. So that was a bust.
It's been a good day and my gland is almost back to normal.
V.
Veronica- Now get those miles in the BJ RIGHT NOW (if you haven't already- I think I saw your name when I was posting mine awhile ago)! :D :D
Glad to hear your mouth is getting better. Like you said, exercise may help!
Re wheel- you are just plain lucky that nothing else happened. How many times I've heard about broken spokes, etc and the consequences. The gods must be shining on you for all the cookies you bake for the rest of us! :) :)
I'm too practical to have low spoke count wheels. Yeah - they may make me go faster - but what if one of them should break? Same deal with skinny tires. My winter tires are 28s. My summer ones are 23s. No skinny little tires for me.
Heck I did last year's DMD ride with my Hokey Spokes -they are run with AA batteries. That's 11,000 feet I climbed carrying 9 batteries. One of the SAG guys was quite amused. But hey I can be seen in the dark. :D
V.
I was passed by a few women today who said nothing. What is up with that? How hard is it to say, "On your left." Or even hi. I can understand it sort of on a climb when you may be working too hard to open your mouth. But on the flats?
V.
V, you missed the wonderfully windy grind up Dublin Grade, bet you're sorry. And Palomares Rd was just as hard as I remembered, but the descent on the other side seemed faster.
I had a pretty good ride, despite the cold wind. The course was well-marked (a terrific improvement over the Tierra Bella), and I *love* veggie lasagna. I just may have to give this ride 4 1/2 chain rings. :)
The "hi" thing... I think women are the worst offenders. Guys almost always say something when they pass, women almost never. At least that's my experience.
I thought of you when they asked me which lasagna. I was glad they had a veggie option.
Did Jesse tell you Thom almost run into his truck? Apparently my husband can't ride his bike with the helmet on his handlebars. But put a camera there... and he has no problem. :) Dorko.
V.
here it's the men that rarely if ever call out and the roadies Never do. It's usually the older men riding hybrids or MTBs.Quote:
Originally Posted by aka_kim
Jest chicken: is this Dorko that same one that brought you home some wonderful bike toys just last week??? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Didn't hear about this, but the Pilot is po'd about something, so, yeah, it must be Thom's fault! I'm sure Thom's "problem" is that he can't ride his bike without wearing his helmet... his brain just shuts down if the helmet isn't firmly strapped to his head. A type of failsafe mechanism.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Oh, wanted to post. If you saw a woman riding with a bright yellow Chrome messenger bag strapped to her back in the 70/100k ride (at least up to the first check point) that was me, probably. I don't think there was anyone else carrying a messenger bag that had a camelback reservoir in it. ;)
Mel
Didn't he tell you why he was having problems taking pictures Saturday on the way up the hill? He ran into the orange cone at the park gate which re-aimed the camera at his feet. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Poor guy. Then, Mark comes down the hill and doesn't tell him he's the last rider.
Maybe it's all out of his system now.
What's this about spokes running on batteries? :confused: I've heard of battery operated bicycles but this is a first for me1 And then carrying around all those batteries- is it worht the extra weight???? :confused: :confused:
Re DMD- at least you got to the ranger station, right? DMD and TT both rank in the "you've got to be crazy" rides. Death Ride comes in 3rd--another toughie for only the ones who want to suffer....not me! :)
Worth the weight - depends on how much riding you do in the rain or after dark. I like to be visible and Hokeyspokes make that happen. They are a pain to set up which is why I didn't take them off for long rides. You can see pictures of them on our website. The link is near the bottom of our homepage.
V.
Okay V, I'll go and look on your site. Too bad I can't get some miles in while I'm over there looking! :p
I ride in the dark most every morning (like 5:00AM dark). I generally wear a yellow jacket so I can be seen. In the 2 winters that I have done this I haven't had a problem. So maybe I don't need them things after all! :D
Do you ride with any lights at all?
V.
Yes, I wouldn't be without my LITES! My front light comes off easily so when I ride during the day it stays at home. My back light has a blinking switch on it which I use. I leave it on the bike because its not that heavy- no extra weight if I can help it!
Everytime I see someone riding at night without lights I really want to give them a scolding (I have, on occasion done my light lecture (no pun intended)on BART rides). It's so unsafe. I can't imagine how people think they can ride at night without lights . It's the same thing as riding without helmets as far as I'm concerned- you are just ASKING FOR IT! In SF here (where I work)I see people without helmets all the time- esp the messenger guys. EEK!
Ok. I just looked at the Hokey Spokes. All I have to say is "Ok. That is cool. And I'm _VISIBLE_."
So I guess I'll have to buy some. :)
Mel
A tiny aside here (shocked, right :eek: )
Bike Goddess, you are sooo fast and so into "no extra wieght on the bike", I think you need to race. You need to get your license and whomp on those grrls. Better yet, for the truly "stripped" bike, get thee to the track.
Once again bowing at the feet of the Goddess....
spazz (who doesn't even own a set of lights - but I do have a blinky thing somewhere??)
44.7 miles
Climbed 2720 feet -including 1.2 miles of 8% avg. on Calaveras
Total Time: 3:37 minutes - 1 rest stop, 1 mechanic stop to fix rubbing rear tire
Ride time: 3:14 minutes.
Heart Rate Avg. - 156
Heart Rate High - 184 - towards the end, sprinting to get through a light
Heart Rate Avg. on Calaveras - 170
High - 180
Calories Burned: 2794
V.
We're at 9:48.
Pictures
V.
A perfect of example of why I ride! (Besides the obvious one of just plain loving it!) :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Bike Goddess sez "Everytime I see someone riding at night without lights I really want to give them a scolding (I have, on occasion done my light lecture (no pun intended) on BART rides). It's so unsafe."
I especially love the combo: no lights, no helmet, dark clothing, maybe an i-pod for fun.
Primavera ride was great. I got off to a late start. I arrived, started to take the bike down...no helmet. I have 3 helmets, you think I'd keep one in the car...but nooooo.
Fortunately I live nearby, drove home picked up the helmet , since I'm not the Bike Goddess I decided to do the 70k.
Calaveras kicked my bu**, got off and walked the
first part of it. Should of had oatmeal for breakfast or Spazz's magic granola recipe but was fine from then on.
Leaving the second stop at Sunol headwinds kicked up but funny, I felt strong then. I left Sunol with a member of Valley Cyclists and we just fell in together and she drafted off me some. Since I'm not real comfy with drafting yet, we had the delightful combo of hills AND headwinds through Niles canyon
so mostly I pulled her. All in all a great ride. Nice to be reminded how gorgeous it is here.
Calories Burned: ????
Calories Eaten: ???? :rolleyes:
*sigh* I really wished we could have finished. :(
Hubby and I got up early so we could have the most amount of time to try to finish the ride. Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ passed us, but I wasn't worried. My goal was to try to finish, not be first. However, after the first rest stop, after resting for about 45 minutes, we went about 100-150 feet and Neil (hubby) said "No. We're not going to continue and I'm not going to let you hurt yourself."
We went back to the first rest stop, but unfortunately, all of the SAG vehicles had already left. One of the hams contacted net control to see if we could get a ride up to the second rest stop, but they said that that wasn't possible. They could give us a ride back to start, but not to the second stop.
Instead of having someone come and get us, we decided to ride back down back to start. Oi, was that tough. :( I ended up just being able to make it to McDonald's over by 680 and Mission. Neil went on ahead and got the car and drove us back to the start so we could check in and let them know that we were ok.
We then had some of the yummy lasagna lunch.
I'm pretty disappointed that I couldn't finish, but it wasn't really a surprise. Neil hadn't realized how steep Calaveras was, otherwise he'd never have suggested doing the ride. I do feel accomplished at what I was able to do, though I am sore today. I enjoyed the ride immensely, even the crying I did just before McDonalds cause I was hurting so much. :o
Next year though! I'm determined. :) Time to start doing intervals. :cool:
Oh. According to my HR monitor when I glanced at it, 32 and change mileage and 1600 feet of climbing. This was 8 times more mileage than I have _ever_ done. :p
Slow as Melasses ;)
Mel, don't beat yourself up for not finishing, that was a super effort!Quote:
Oh. According to my HR monitor when I glanced at it, 32 and change mileage and 1600 feet of climbing. This was 8 times more mileage than I have _ever_ done. :p
Although, Jobob Mother Hen is going to scold you just a little bit for not *building up* to such a strenuous ride - that's a sure way to hurt yourself, girlfriend !!! [waggs finger] OK enough of that. :cool:
I think Mel should be next in line for the She-Ra Princess of Power tiara , once AG is through with it (AG, darlin', do try to get most of the mud off it first ...)
I suppose you all know now why that hill is (sometimes) affectionately referrred to as The Wall :rolleyes:Quote:
Neil hadn't realized how steep Calaveras was
If melissam is lurking about here maybe she'll share her Wall story ... it wasn't pretty :p
Wow! Melody. Kudos to you for trying something new and NOT giving up. That's a huge jump in mileage - and lots more time in the saddle. No matter how comfortable your saddle is, your butt still needs to get used to being on it for a long time. :p
Going to ride today?
V.
I agree! 8x your previous longest ride?! And Calaveras is a hard climb. Good job!Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
Melody... good for you for trying your hardest! Just keep getting out there and increasing your mileage a little bit at a time. Don't kill yourself!! :)
This tiara should be passed along to all deserving princesses! I'm honored to have worn it for a short time, but I gladly relinquish the tiara and all it's powers to Mel! Good job!Quote:
Originally Posted by jobob
She-Ra!!
You guys look so cute! I didn't know Thom owned spandex!Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Congrats to everyone on a good job: cruisin' fast, pulling the pace line, increasing distance, conquering hills. THAT is what it is all about - your own personal victories. Stay focused on your accomplishments!
Way to go, girls!
Job well done She-Ra aka Mel!.....you went out there and rode!! That right there is the most important accomplishment of the day!.....anything after that was just diamonds on your She-Ra tiara! and I agree - today is AG's tiara day - tomorrow is Mels!!