Tierra Bella April 9th in Gilroy?

[jobob]

There's a writeup on pages 1 & 5 of the ACTC newsletter.
http://www.actc.org/bbb/feb2005/0205.pdf

It starts on Feb. 26 - hope you can make it!
- Jo.

[slinkedog]

I'll check it out, Jobob. Thanks so much to both of you for all the helpful information!!! Can't wait to meet you both!

[jobob]

Good luck on Hamilton today. I'd never, ever make it up that thing. Sheesh. You guys are masochists.

Slinkedog, for what it's worth, less than a year ago I was saying I'd never climb up Diablo, never climb up Hamilton, never make it up {insert name of steep hill here}. It just was not going to happen, of that I was sure!

In fact, sometime this past spring Veronica had talked me into riding partway up Diablo with her, and, just between you and me, I was terrified at the prospect! I'm ashamed to admit that I was so relieved when she had to call the ride off that morning (her cat was sick and V. had to take her to the vet - that of course was not a Good Thing, but luckily Tilda turned out OK. I have a soft spot in my heart for that cat to this very day, and when I officially met Tilda a couple of months ago I gave her a surreptitious little pat of thanks).

This all changed sometime in October when I went on my first ride up Diablo with a group of Rivendell owners. My husband and I only made it partway up (up as far as V. was trying to get me to go this past spring) but still, I realized I could actually DO it!

Jo's Great Truths About Hills:

1) Go at your own pace. Don't let anyone make you go faster than what you're capable of, otherwise, you will burn out. Take your time, stop for short breaks. So what if you're slow, just the fact that you're doing it is awesome !

2) If you don't make it up the hill the first time, fine, it'll still be around for when you try it again. Sooner or later you'll make it to the top, and you'll feel sooo good about yourself.

3) Low Gears!! Make believe you're Lance, spinning up L'Alpe d'Huez. Of course, you'll be going about 1/10 of his speed but spinning is better for your knees and your stamina than grinding up in a high gear. Try to avoid standing too much, it can tire you out very quickly (that said, it's nice to stand briefly once in a while to give your backside a rest)

My husband loves to ride that thing just so he can race cars on the way down. He's crazy.

Oh, the descent down Hamilton is the best part - what a blast!! Altho we don't race the cars down ... we get to a spot where cars can safely pass us and we pull over and wave them on past.

And then we often match their speed when we follow them, but not too close, don't want to piss'em off

Basically, slinkedog, don't write yourself off. If a 45 year old slightly overweight former confirmed couch potato can climb Mt. Diablo & Mt. Hamilton (albeit at a snails pace), then so can you.

- Jo.

[slinkedog]

Thanks so much for the encouragement. Blaine keeps telling me that if I have the attitude of not being able to do it, I won't.

Yeah, I have a granny gear, and I'm not afraid to use it! I guess you just have to start working on those hills and keep trying. I'm still trying to get up the courage to tackle the one not far from my house that I died on when I first started riding back in July. I don't mind spinning up a hill. It's just the part where I run out of gears that I hate!!

So how was the ride yesterday? The weather was beautiful until about 3:00 and then that storm started blowing in.

[jobob]

It was fabulous !! We were joined by another woman from ACTC whose pace up the mountain was very similar to ours, so we had a nice, companionable little group going.

The last few miles to the summit seemed to take for-EVER, mountains seem to be perverse that way but it made it all the more sweeter when I finally reached the top - I let out a very LOUD whoop rolling up to the front entrance of the observatory.

The weather was great - it was chilly near the summit but I don't do well in the heat so I can't complain. There was very little vehicle traffic (maybe people were already off to their stupor bowl parties - fine by me) and it was lovely up there. I took some photos that I'll post, eventually. Even better, we encountered very few cars heading down (and did I mention the descent is a blast??? oops, I do believe I did). We were done before 3 so we missed the storm.

And the looks of awe on people's faces today at lunchtime when we were all talking about what we did this weekend, and I casually mentioned, oh, I cycled up Mt. Hamilton .... priceless

- Jo.

[slinkedog]

I'm so glad you guys had a good ride! I will try it sometime. I really will. Let me know the next time you're going when it's not a Sunday. I go to church on Sunday mornings. I'll get Blaine to come too so he can give me pushes along the way.

[cindysue]

HI there,

Just joined this discussion group. I'm planning on doing the Tierra Bella and the Cinderella. I did the Cinderella in 2002 and have been on bike hiatus (at least the longer rides) for the last two years, but started riding again about a month ago. Tierra Bella will be my *FIRST* century. I hope I'm up for it. My training to date has consisted of some short flat rides, a 50 mile flat ride, and a few hill rides (Mt. Diablo and Pig Farm & the three bears). I'm a slug up the hills, but I think I can endure the distance.

Cindy

[jobob]

Hi Cindy, and welcome !

My philosophy is, it doesn't matter how fast you go, just so long as you get there - no sense in blowing out your knees or what-have-you trying to make it up a hill faster than you're able. Low gears are your friend ! And as you build up endurance, you'll go faster.

- Jo.

[slinkedog]

Hey CindySue... I hope you have a blast at the Cinderella and the TB. Are you doing the full 100 miles for the TB? I'm only going to do the 35 mile route this year. Maybe by next April I'll be able to do the full century... although like Jo said, Metcalf does not look nice.

Hope to see you out there!

[cindysue]

Hi Slinke,

I'm very excited about the cinderella. There are a couple girls from school going. Should be lots of fun! Yes, I'm doing the full 100 miles at TB. I've been training on the hills here in the east bay - but have slacked off the last week. I need to get back on it! I'm also planning on doing the Chico Wildflower ride.

Hmmm, Metcalf? I think I'll live in denial for the moment!

[BikeMomma]

Hi Everyone -

I've signed up for the 100k route of the Tierra Bella, as well. I'm extremely partial to the gorgeous scenery around Gilroy, as it's on the way to one of my favorite places, Monterey/Pacific Grove. I'm secretly thinking of using this ride to sneak over to my fav restaurant in Pacific Grove (Vito's). We'll see how wiped out I am afterwards. I don't know if I can resist though...I highly recommend that place.

Any tips for a TB newbie? I read some of the riders' reviews from last year and it seems that this is a great, organized ride. Let's hope there are no hit-and-run/DUI incidents though - yikes!

I haven't decided if I'll stay the night in a hotel over there yet. The drive to Gilroy from here is probably just over an hour and a quarter, which isn't bad. However, I am NOT an early morning riser.....getting up for work m-f is bad enough!! I'm doing the Cinderella, as well, and that one is an over-nighter, for sure. What's the closest (and cheapest - I AM on a budget) hotel to the starting point? It would be nice if I can just ride over, rather than fight for a parking spot (read that too).

Thanks gals! See ya there, possibly (although out of 2000 riders...how do you weed out a few? ). I'll be the tall 30-ish ponytail gal on the white Cannondale and wearing a cranberry-color helmet....'course I may be meeting a few of you on the 2nd at the Cinderella....
- Kim

[jobob]

I haven't decided if I'll stay the night in a hotel over there yet. The drive to Gilroy from here is probably just over an hour and a quarter, which isn't bad. However, I am NOT an early morning riser.....getting up for work m-f is bad enough!! I'm doing the Cinderella, as well, and that one is an over-nighter, for sure. What's the closest (and cheapest - I AM on a budget) hotel to the starting point? It would be nice if I can just ride over, rather than fight for a parking spot (read that too).

Hi Kim, I kind of lost you here - are you asking about a hotel for the TB?

For the Tierra Bella, the website provides a bit of info at the bottom.
http://www.actc.org/tb/route.html

and the FAQ at http://www.actc.org/tb/faqs.html provides the following info:

Q - Are there campgrounds or motels nearby?
A - Check the following links:
www.usa-lodging.com/motels/califn/Gilroy.htm
www.gilroyvisitor.org/lodging.asp

Sorry I can't be more help than that, I don't know the area at all.

I won't be riding TB, I'll be working safety, so I'll probably be standing out at some intersection or corner trying to keep people from getting killed and/or going the wrong way

If I know where I'll be posted ahead of time I'll let y'all know.

- Jo.

[BikeMomma]

Hi there Jo -

Yea, sorry - I got a little long-winded there, didn't I? You interpreted my gibberish correctly - I was looking for hotel tips. Camping sounds fun, but a soft bed before a long ride sounds even better, especially since I"ll be on my own for this.

I checked out those links, but thought that one or two possibilities may have fallen through the cracks. That's me, checking all avenues before the decision is made. I'm sorta backwards that way....drives my hubby crazy.

By all means, let us know where your post might be! I'll stop and say hi!
- Kim

[slinkedog]

Hey BikeMomma! Also check out Morgan Hill and south San Jose as options if you don't want to stay right in Gilroy or they're all booked. There's a nice Holiday Inn (but may be more pricey) in south San Jose right near the freeway that will take you to Gilroy. (It's about a 20 minute drive from there or so.) I think it's called Holiday Inn Silicon Valley.

[BikeMomma]

Thanks, Slinkedog! I'll check it out!