The San Diego area has so many great places to ride. And on top of that, it has some of the best group rides I've ever been on. There are multiple groups rides everyday for all levels of riders. Today I went on the 8am Swami ride from the Panera Bread in Carlsbad. The Swami rides are some of the hardest rides in the area. This ride is listed as the easier ride of the weekend. Apparently Chris Horner showed up for the harder Saturday ride and broke some legs.
We started with about twenty or so riders at a very steady pace climbing out of the coast onto the ridge before descending to the valley floor. Thirty minutes into the ride we stopped for a quick minute to pick up a couple more riders. The route had a lot of twist and turns, going thru neighborhoods and small back roads before we hit the real riding. Some of the guys at the front were a little slow to point out where we were turning, a few times I got caught by surprise with a quick left followed by a quick left.
When the roads opened up, away from the urban sprawl, the pace picked up to a nice roar. I few guys went off the front on a rolling flat road. I ,of course, went with them because I like that type of road. I made sure to stay third wheel so as to not take the lead since I had no idea where the heck we were. After a few miles we regrouped going down a very long descent and on to a flat section of road. I was helping push the pace when we turned to go back up hill, very dumb on my part. I tried to hang on as long as I could on the climb, thinking it was short. I popped and rode my own pace to the top. We all regrouped again at the top. I really enjoy riding on a group ride where you can go hard and not worry about getting left in the middle of nowhere to die a hundred deaths while riding alone. This pattern of going up and down and up and down, with big climbs and big descents continued for quite a few miles.
I'm not sure where we were at all during the ride. All I know is it was east and north of Carlsbad. But what I do know is it was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of riding in the Chianti region of Italy. The views of the valleys, mountains and vineyards were just like between Castellina and Gaiole. The big difference was the landscape had more of a desert feel with cactus and sage brush. We stopped at a general store at a campsite for lunch. From here we started another long climb that I was promised was the second to last climb for the day. My climbing legs were on their way out. Five miles of climbing later we topped out with a ridge ride until we made our way back to the coast. Because we started our ride with a gentle climb out of the parking lot, we had a nice cool down back to Panera Bread.
A 60 mile hilly ride deserves a good lunch, so I ate a sandwich and salad at Panera Bread. I sat with five of my riding companions for lunch. We all talked about how much fun and how beautiful that ride was. We then realized that non of us were locals. We all were in town for the great San Diego weather. We were from Northern California, Detroit, Atlanta, Vancouver and of course me from Pennsylvania. That explains why just a few people were ever on the front leading, because most of us were just along for the ride.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Almost a Flat Ride
Today AJ and I spent the morning watching the waves at her favorite place, Windansea Beach. The winter waves are just amazing to watch. I have never been to this beach without seeing at least a handful of surfers. A pretty popular place indeed.
Afterward, we went for a 35 mile round trip ride down to Point Loma. This is mostly a flat ride straight down the coast with beautiful views. The coast towns just count by like the worlds class beaches they are, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach. From Ocean Beach the ride winds around and kicks up some of the steepest hills in the area. I thought I was going to flip over backwards, well almost. Then a steady 2 mile climb to Point Loma. The views from the point look down at San Diego Bay, downtown San Diego, downtown Coronado and North Island Navel Air Station. Pretty incredible views.
Our ride home took us around Fiesta Island and up to Mt Soledad National Park. This is another 2 mile climb. So much for a flat ride. It is nice how much easier this climb was this year compared to last year. 15 pounds lighter is the difference. Lighter is better.
Afterward, we went for a 35 mile round trip ride down to Point Loma. This is mostly a flat ride straight down the coast with beautiful views. The coast towns just count by like the worlds class beaches they are, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach. From Ocean Beach the ride winds around and kicks up some of the steepest hills in the area. I thought I was going to flip over backwards, well almost. Then a steady 2 mile climb to Point Loma. The views from the point look down at San Diego Bay, downtown San Diego, downtown Coronado and North Island Navel Air Station. Pretty incredible views.
Our ride home took us around Fiesta Island and up to Mt Soledad National Park. This is another 2 mile climb. So much for a flat ride. It is nice how much easier this climb was this year compared to last year. 15 pounds lighter is the difference. Lighter is better.
Another Beautiful Day in Paradise
Today we rode from Encinitas to La Jolla and back. 30 miles. Markus and Cameron are riding a century tomorrow so they just wanted to do a coffee ride. Eric from BikFit.com joined us for todays ride. We just spun our way south down the coast riding and chatting. The best thing about cycling is just riding along getting to know new people. That is what this whole week has been about. And of course getting some good quality base miles in. The only effort of the ride south was the climb up to Torrey Pines. We took the main road instead of the park road. The main road is a longer climb but has a more steady pitch. I felt really good about the consistent pace I was able to keep the whole way up the climb.
We stopped for coffee at Goldfish Point Cafe right in front of the La Jolla Coves. The euro way to ride is to ride for an hour, stop for coffee and ride for another hour. Works for me. Except I don't drink coffee. I can eat pastry though.
While riding out of La Jolla, back up to Torrey Pines, I dropped off the pace of the other three guys a bit. I just made the light to catch them at the top. Since I had a head of steam going from making the light, I kept the pace a little higher on the flats. We caught up to a guy in all yellow who was riding strong. He pulled us for the next few miles. Our pace was higher until we got to Solana Beach. Cameron had to stop at BL Bike Shop to have his chain worked on. The last few miles to Encinitas was nice and easy. Another great ride.
We all went to lunch at Denny's. I had a veggie omelet. Afterward the best part of the day was a recovery massage by Emily Baker from Velo Therapy. Life is good.
We stopped for coffee at Goldfish Point Cafe right in front of the La Jolla Coves. The euro way to ride is to ride for an hour, stop for coffee and ride for another hour. Works for me. Except I don't drink coffee. I can eat pastry though.
While riding out of La Jolla, back up to Torrey Pines, I dropped off the pace of the other three guys a bit. I just made the light to catch them at the top. Since I had a head of steam going from making the light, I kept the pace a little higher on the flats. We caught up to a guy in all yellow who was riding strong. He pulled us for the next few miles. Our pace was higher until we got to Solana Beach. Cameron had to stop at BL Bike Shop to have his chain worked on. The last few miles to Encinitas was nice and easy. Another great ride.
We all went to lunch at Denny's. I had a veggie omelet. Afterward the best part of the day was a recovery massage by Emily Baker from Velo Therapy. Life is good.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Nice Easy Spin Up The Coast
Yay right, 70 miles later, I am whipped out. I met the guys from Cyclefilm in Encinitas for a ride up the coast and back. We met up with a couple more guys from Nytro Bike Shop. Six of us rolled two abreast at a nice conversation pace up RT 1 to Carlsbad. Entering Carlsbad Cameron got what sounded like his umpteenth flat of the week. He decided to just stop for coffee and head back to the hotel. He just wanted an easy day anyway, he made a good choice.
The strong guy of the group was on the back side of a 90 mile day so he just wanted to keep steady tempo with a couple downhill sprints thrown in. Steady tempo was a really good tempo especially when we entered I5 for 7 miles. Yes that I5, Interstate 5, with the big rigs and fast moving cars and everything. Then we got on Old Route 1, which is a completely closed road that is used for a bike route. Very cool. This section of road goes thru Camp Pendleton. As we were rolling along my head was on a swivel watching all the different helicopters flying over head doing their maneuvers. Again very cool.
We turned around just before San Clemente. The strong guy and the old guy went home from here. Now it was just Markus, Simon and myself. Maybe because we were heading south, ei: downhill, the pace picked up quite a bit. I guess I picked up the tempo some myself too. That came back to haunt me. Simon began taking long strong pulls and Markus and I were doing our share as well. We rode thru Camp Pendleton on our way south. Pretty cool but that added a few more hills. Not my strength at all. I got dropped on every little hill. They waited for me. When we got back to Carlsbad Simon turned off for home too. Now we are down to just Markus and me. I was fading fast. Markus dragged me in the last 10 miles. We ended up with 65-70 miles of pure fun. Again I can't wait for tomorrows ride.
The strong guy of the group was on the back side of a 90 mile day so he just wanted to keep steady tempo with a couple downhill sprints thrown in. Steady tempo was a really good tempo especially when we entered I5 for 7 miles. Yes that I5, Interstate 5, with the big rigs and fast moving cars and everything. Then we got on Old Route 1, which is a completely closed road that is used for a bike route. Very cool. This section of road goes thru Camp Pendleton. As we were rolling along my head was on a swivel watching all the different helicopters flying over head doing their maneuvers. Again very cool.
We turned around just before San Clemente. The strong guy and the old guy went home from here. Now it was just Markus, Simon and myself. Maybe because we were heading south, ei: downhill, the pace picked up quite a bit. I guess I picked up the tempo some myself too. That came back to haunt me. Simon began taking long strong pulls and Markus and I were doing our share as well. We rode thru Camp Pendleton on our way south. Pretty cool but that added a few more hills. Not my strength at all. I got dropped on every little hill. They waited for me. When we got back to Carlsbad Simon turned off for home too. Now we are down to just Markus and me. I was fading fast. Markus dragged me in the last 10 miles. We ended up with 65-70 miles of pure fun. Again I can't wait for tomorrows ride.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
First Day Riding with Cyclefilm
After a morning walk down to the beach to watch the waves (I could get used to this), I drove up to Encinitas to ride the Cyclefilm Winter Social Networking Training Camp. What a great idea, getting cyclist together to share their varied interest in the sport we all love so much.
I met Markus at Days Inn for a 10am ride. We headed south along the coast to BL Bikes in Solena Beach so Markus could get a new tire. With a light drizzle we went away from the coast to try to find some warmer dryer weather. We held a nice steady conversation pace for most of the ride. The drizzle turned to rain and back to drizzle but it was a heck of a lot better then riding at home. We rode about 40 miles. I never really know how far a ride is because I don't have or even want any kind of telemetry on my bike. A ride is just a ride, enjoy it. Of course by the end of the ride the sun made its presence known.
Tomorrow I am going to meet Markus and Cameron for another ride at 10am. I can't wait.
I met Markus at Days Inn for a 10am ride. We headed south along the coast to BL Bikes in Solena Beach so Markus could get a new tire. With a light drizzle we went away from the coast to try to find some warmer dryer weather. We held a nice steady conversation pace for most of the ride. The drizzle turned to rain and back to drizzle but it was a heck of a lot better then riding at home. We rode about 40 miles. I never really know how far a ride is because I don't have or even want any kind of telemetry on my bike. A ride is just a ride, enjoy it. Of course by the end of the ride the sun made its presence known.
Tomorrow I am going to meet Markus and Cameron for another ride at 10am. I can't wait.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Let the Base Miles Begin!
Getting across the country is an all day affair. I was so excited for this trip that I woke up an hour before my alarm yesterday. This should have allowed me to get on the 10am non-stop flight to San Diego. After packing and repacking, I left my house with what I thought was plenty of time to negotiate I695 traffic. No such luck. There were three, yes three major car accidents on I695. I don't know how people commute to work everyday on this crazy road. I cranked up my cell phone GPS to get me around this morning mess. Ronda, the lady stuck in my phone, kept trying to send me back thru the crash scenes. 'Make next legal u-turn and go straight to a standstill for the next 45 minutes' I just kept on driving away from I695 while reaching in my seat back pocket for my trusty old road map. I got to the airport right at push time for the 10am flight. Oh well, the 12:25pm flight will have to do.
I checked in my bike box and another bag full of cycling clothes and cycling shoes. After a quick bit to eat, I went straight to the gate to stand for an hour so I could sign up for the 4th jump seat. Sadly I had to sit on the 4th jump seat on a 5 hour flight to Phoenix. I got to San Diego at 5pm and my bags made it there as well. Nice.
Today I woke up in paradise. Started the day off with a walk to the beach to watch the winter waves crash upon the rocks. Wow, I do love this place. AJ and I sat watching the waves while sipping tea and eating oatmeal for well over an hour.
AJ planned a great first day ride for me today. We rode out of La Jolla up to Torrey Pines and north to Del Ray. From there we headed east on beautiful rolling hills to Rancho Santa Fe. We completed the loop by riding back up Torrey Pines, that climb kicks my butt, and riding past the La Jolla Coves. 50 miles in 3 hours and 6 minutes is a great way to start my base mileage week in paradise.
Tomorrow I am riding with the folks at Cyclefilm. I really look forward meeting and riding with these guys.
I checked in my bike box and another bag full of cycling clothes and cycling shoes. After a quick bit to eat, I went straight to the gate to stand for an hour so I could sign up for the 4th jump seat. Sadly I had to sit on the 4th jump seat on a 5 hour flight to Phoenix. I got to San Diego at 5pm and my bags made it there as well. Nice.
Today I woke up in paradise. Started the day off with a walk to the beach to watch the winter waves crash upon the rocks. Wow, I do love this place. AJ and I sat watching the waves while sipping tea and eating oatmeal for well over an hour.
AJ planned a great first day ride for me today. We rode out of La Jolla up to Torrey Pines and north to Del Ray. From there we headed east on beautiful rolling hills to Rancho Santa Fe. We completed the loop by riding back up Torrey Pines, that climb kicks my butt, and riding past the La Jolla Coves. 50 miles in 3 hours and 6 minutes is a great way to start my base mileage week in paradise.
Tomorrow I am riding with the folks at Cyclefilm. I really look forward meeting and riding with these guys.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
My Bags Are Packed and Ready to Ride.
I am so excited to get out of this frozen weather, I gave away two days of work so I can leave early. I hope to make the 10am flight out of BWI to SAN tomorrow. It is listed as full but there is always the 4th jumpseat. That should tell you how ready I am, willing to sit 4th on a 6 hour flight. I must be crazy. California here I come!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Start of a New Cycling Season-- I may even try training this year.
Last year I started the year out with three week long base mileage trips, in Florida, Tucson and San Diego. Each of those weeks were great but the problem was the many hours I spent sitting on my ass eating everything in the house between training weeks. I weighted more in April then I did in December. Not a smart start of a season. This year is going to be different.
How? For the first thing I started already. Back in November I started watching what I eat. I've gone from 205lbs to 188lbs so far. I've yo-yo ed a bit but for the most part it has been going pretty good. During the holidays I only had one bad day of over indulging. Pretty good for a cookie and chocolate junkie. I have a goal of holding 185lbs then working on bring down the body fat percentage. My racing weight will be what ever it is when my % body fat goes from 25% to 15%. Thats the goal.
I've also started lifting weights. Wow! I know! Me lifting weights.... amazing. I even workout on my overnights. I haven't done that in years. To help me stay consistent I've moved my trainer and weights out of the basement into my second bedroom. I've made it into a full blown exercise room with padded floor, large wall mirror and flat screen TV. I can already see a difference in myself. My little stick arms are getting some shape and even feeling stronger. My abs are getting firm and showing signs of losing the fat covering I've always had since childhood. I'm not one for following a set workout program so I've been just working out when ever I can and just doing what feels right for me. Just trying to stay consistent.
Part of my changed views on working out on my overnight also includes taking a Yoga class. Ok, so far I've taken just one Yoga class but that is a start. I have a bunch of Denver overnights coming up and I've found a class that begins at 2pm every day at Core Power Yoga. Trying new things.
Riding the trainer has not been as consistent yet. I need a kick in the ass to get started. So, I'm going to spent a week in San Diego getting much needed base mileage. Thanks to Facebook I've found a training camp in Encinitas. I am going to spend a week riding with Cyclefilm http://www.cyclefilm.com/. I hope to ride with good people and get that kick start I need. 7 days of riding 3-5 hours a day should do the trick.
This year I am going to stay consistent.
How? For the first thing I started already. Back in November I started watching what I eat. I've gone from 205lbs to 188lbs so far. I've yo-yo ed a bit but for the most part it has been going pretty good. During the holidays I only had one bad day of over indulging. Pretty good for a cookie and chocolate junkie. I have a goal of holding 185lbs then working on bring down the body fat percentage. My racing weight will be what ever it is when my % body fat goes from 25% to 15%. Thats the goal.
I've also started lifting weights. Wow! I know! Me lifting weights.... amazing. I even workout on my overnights. I haven't done that in years. To help me stay consistent I've moved my trainer and weights out of the basement into my second bedroom. I've made it into a full blown exercise room with padded floor, large wall mirror and flat screen TV. I can already see a difference in myself. My little stick arms are getting some shape and even feeling stronger. My abs are getting firm and showing signs of losing the fat covering I've always had since childhood. I'm not one for following a set workout program so I've been just working out when ever I can and just doing what feels right for me. Just trying to stay consistent.
Part of my changed views on working out on my overnight also includes taking a Yoga class. Ok, so far I've taken just one Yoga class but that is a start. I have a bunch of Denver overnights coming up and I've found a class that begins at 2pm every day at Core Power Yoga. Trying new things.
Riding the trainer has not been as consistent yet. I need a kick in the ass to get started. So, I'm going to spent a week in San Diego getting much needed base mileage. Thanks to Facebook I've found a training camp in Encinitas. I am going to spend a week riding with Cyclefilm http://www.cyclefilm.com/. I hope to ride with good people and get that kick start I need. 7 days of riding 3-5 hours a day should do the trick.
This year I am going to stay consistent.
Monday, April 20, 2009
First Weekend of Racing
After spending the winter fighting to find good riding weather between long stretches riding the sofa, it is time to find out if this very specialized training plan worked out. This weekend I signed up for two races on Saturday and one on Sunday. Nothing like finding the speed by fire.
Saturdays races were part of the Syn-Fit Races in Chantilly, VA. The course was shaped like an almost flat sloppy capital D with two 90 degree corners. My first race was a 20 mile cat 4 race at 10:15am with an at field limit 100 racers. I got there with enough time to sign in and get twenty minutes of riding in before the race. I'm not one to do big elaborate warm ups. I don't have a large amount of base miles or fitness for that matter so a good warm up could burn all of my energy before the race even starts. My main concern for the races for the weekend was just surviving the starting speed off the line. I lined up toward the back which is not good for me to do especially in my first race. It started out pretty calm off the line, that allowed me to move up a bit so I could stay protected in the heart of the group. It really was interesting how these guys would not let themselves just carry their speed through the corner instead of feathering the brakes. As the pace picked up toward the end of the race the repeated accelerations off the corners started to take their toll on me. My legs began to feel the strain of speed. Knowing I had another race later in the day, I decided not to dig to deep to hold on to the group so I pulled the plug with 6 laps to go. I was happy to hold on for as long as I did in my first race of the season.
The second race of the day was a 20 mile 35+ cat4/5 race at 2:15pm. This is my favorite category to race, old slow guys who have to go to work in the morning. Much smoother and safer races. I started this race at the front which makes it easier to take the corners at full speed. I had fun going with little breakaways and doing my normal of finding the big guys to hide behind for protection. In the last couple laps I was hanging out in the back watching teams setting up their sprint trains. Yes even cat 4/5's watch the Tour and are able to set up Mario Chipo type lead out trains. I heard a guy talking to his lead out so a asked him him if he was a good sprinter. He said yes. I told him ok I'm going to follow him and get second place in the sprint. He said hang on if you can. We started to make are way back up to the front. With half a lap to go the speed really picked up and big surprise, I couldn't hold on to the train. The guy I was talking to won the race. It was nice to see them have a plan and be able to pull it off. Good for them.
Sundays race was at 9:15am. I had to drive like a bat out of hell to get there in time. I'm glad I'm not one for warm ups because I got a 10 minute warm up. The race was The Carl Dolan Memorial Classic. I raced the 27 mile cat 3/4 race. I have raced this race for the last three years. I've had some pretty good results here in the past. The only concern for me this year is the small hill right before the finish line. I am not lite at all this year. The winter weight never had a chance this year. Too much sofa time. This course is a long round circuit of about 2 miles. The first lap I fought to hang on up the hill. So I decided to make my way toward the front before the hill comes back around again. I did just that and of course on the way up the hill this time I started to slide back til I was spit out the back on the second lap. Now I'm thinking 'crap I just paid $15 a lap to race'. I was passed by a guy at the top of the hill who wanted to continue. I caught up to him and we gathered up two more guys and the four of us rode together for the next five laps until we good lapped. $6 a lap was much easier to stomach.
All in all I am very happy with my racing for my first race of the season with really on speed work at all.
Saturdays races were part of the Syn-Fit Races in Chantilly, VA. The course was shaped like an almost flat sloppy capital D with two 90 degree corners. My first race was a 20 mile cat 4 race at 10:15am with an at field limit 100 racers. I got there with enough time to sign in and get twenty minutes of riding in before the race. I'm not one to do big elaborate warm ups. I don't have a large amount of base miles or fitness for that matter so a good warm up could burn all of my energy before the race even starts. My main concern for the races for the weekend was just surviving the starting speed off the line. I lined up toward the back which is not good for me to do especially in my first race. It started out pretty calm off the line, that allowed me to move up a bit so I could stay protected in the heart of the group. It really was interesting how these guys would not let themselves just carry their speed through the corner instead of feathering the brakes. As the pace picked up toward the end of the race the repeated accelerations off the corners started to take their toll on me. My legs began to feel the strain of speed. Knowing I had another race later in the day, I decided not to dig to deep to hold on to the group so I pulled the plug with 6 laps to go. I was happy to hold on for as long as I did in my first race of the season.
The second race of the day was a 20 mile 35+ cat4/5 race at 2:15pm. This is my favorite category to race, old slow guys who have to go to work in the morning. Much smoother and safer races. I started this race at the front which makes it easier to take the corners at full speed. I had fun going with little breakaways and doing my normal of finding the big guys to hide behind for protection. In the last couple laps I was hanging out in the back watching teams setting up their sprint trains. Yes even cat 4/5's watch the Tour and are able to set up Mario Chipo type lead out trains. I heard a guy talking to his lead out so a asked him him if he was a good sprinter. He said yes. I told him ok I'm going to follow him and get second place in the sprint. He said hang on if you can. We started to make are way back up to the front. With half a lap to go the speed really picked up and big surprise, I couldn't hold on to the train. The guy I was talking to won the race. It was nice to see them have a plan and be able to pull it off. Good for them.
Sundays race was at 9:15am. I had to drive like a bat out of hell to get there in time. I'm glad I'm not one for warm ups because I got a 10 minute warm up. The race was The Carl Dolan Memorial Classic. I raced the 27 mile cat 3/4 race. I have raced this race for the last three years. I've had some pretty good results here in the past. The only concern for me this year is the small hill right before the finish line. I am not lite at all this year. The winter weight never had a chance this year. Too much sofa time. This course is a long round circuit of about 2 miles. The first lap I fought to hang on up the hill. So I decided to make my way toward the front before the hill comes back around again. I did just that and of course on the way up the hill this time I started to slide back til I was spit out the back on the second lap. Now I'm thinking 'crap I just paid $15 a lap to race'. I was passed by a guy at the top of the hill who wanted to continue. I caught up to him and we gathered up two more guys and the four of us rode together for the next five laps until we good lapped. $6 a lap was much easier to stomach.
All in all I am very happy with my racing for my first race of the season with really on speed work at all.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Great Birthday
A birthday to me is my day. I do not do anything to celebrate. I have only worked on my birthday once in the past 20 years. I think it should be a national holiday. Not my birthday but everyones birthday. I always find something fun to do. In the past I've gone camping, bungee jumping, glider riding, mountain biking in Moab, and many other bike rides all for my birthday. Today I found a group of accountants who were celebrating the end of tax season with a 70 mile ride starting in Taneytown, Md. After the soaking rain we have been getting for the past week, the sun was so welcome today. At was not the warmest day but good all the same. Knee warmers and long sleeve jersey was the order of the day.
The six of us started out at a very relaxed pass. Really nice to start easy when you know your doing a hilly 70 miles. These guys have been sitting behind a desk for 60 hours a day since January doing taxes. They were not into any kind of stress at all today. Perfect for me. The route is flat for the first 20 miles then climb up South Mountain in PA and roll around the rolling hills for a bit followed by 20 miles of flat back to Taneytown. The climb was long and hard but the scenery was beautiful. Somewhere in the middle we were to eat lunch. The problem was all the planned lunch stops were closed for business, a sign of a bad economy, until we arrived in Emmitsburg at 55 miles. By this time I've been out of water for quite a while. Must have water and eat now. At this point I would eat darn near anything. We ate at Pizza Hut. As pizza goes, Pizza Hut does not really qualify. I ate it anyway. We finished up with an easy 15 miles back to the parking lot.
A great day!
The six of us started out at a very relaxed pass. Really nice to start easy when you know your doing a hilly 70 miles. These guys have been sitting behind a desk for 60 hours a day since January doing taxes. They were not into any kind of stress at all today. Perfect for me. The route is flat for the first 20 miles then climb up South Mountain in PA and roll around the rolling hills for a bit followed by 20 miles of flat back to Taneytown. The climb was long and hard but the scenery was beautiful. Somewhere in the middle we were to eat lunch. The problem was all the planned lunch stops were closed for business, a sign of a bad economy, until we arrived in Emmitsburg at 55 miles. By this time I've been out of water for quite a while. Must have water and eat now. At this point I would eat darn near anything. We ate at Pizza Hut. As pizza goes, Pizza Hut does not really qualify. I ate it anyway. We finished up with an easy 15 miles back to the parking lot.
A great day!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Stop, Swap and Save
The areas largest bike swap takes place this weekend in Westminster, Maryland. I have wanted to attend this bike swap for the past few years but I've always remembered what day it was being held after the fact. So this year I've put it on my calendar as something not to miss. Greg Weber has kept me in the loop about when it was being held and how to get a space to sell stuff. We decided to go in together on a small space. After cleaning out the shop and garage, it is time to figure out what price to sell things for. I've got everything from new Fuji accessories to equipment that I've collected after my many years in cycling. I am also bring a full rack of cycling clothing and at least three bikes.
Have Bike Lets Travel will be at the 12th annual Stop, Swap and Save in Westminster, Md on February 8th between 9am-2pm. Come on out for the fun and great savings.
Check it out at www.stopswapandsave.com
I am also signed up to donate to the American Red Cross Blood Drive. Wish me luck, I tend to pass out while giving blood.
Have Bike Lets Travel will be at the 12th annual Stop, Swap and Save in Westminster, Md on February 8th between 9am-2pm. Come on out for the fun and great savings.
Check it out at www.stopswapandsave.com
I am also signed up to donate to the American Red Cross Blood Drive. Wish me luck, I tend to pass out while giving blood.
Friday, January 30, 2009
It's Official!!
Have Bike Lets Travel is now an official USA Cycling racing team. After much talk and a year of racing as an unattached rider, I have now signed up my small little company as a racing team. This is very exciting to me. Now I have to get people to sign up to race with me. Also I will have to host a race at some time this year. Much more info to come. Sign up now at usacycling.org
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Staying home for now.
Well it is Sunday the 25th and I'm not going anywhere this week. I've strained my low back while trying to stay in shape doing ab workouts. So I've decided to pick up some reserve days for a little extra cash. Now I've just got to drag my butt to the rollers for a lite ride to help stretch my back.
We will see what next month brings.
We will see what next month brings.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
5 days off, where do I go next.
Starting on Sunday, I have 5 days off from work. I've been trying to decide where I should go to find some sun and good riding. Should I go back to Florida and finish the top side of my map and go from Jacksonville to Orlando. Should I go back to Tucson because the riding was just amazing. Or should I pick somewhere different?
Texas has been a thought. Go ride in Lance's stumping ground and ride the Hill Country. Either fly into Austin or San Antonio. They are only about an hour apart but San Antonio has more flight options. CyclingTexas.com has lots of great information about routes in and around of Fredericksburg.
Another idea is to go to San Diego. But I don't think i want to spend all day on a airplane getting there and getting back. I think I'm going to save California until I have a full week off from work in February.
Decisions, decisions.
Texas has been a thought. Go ride in Lance's stumping ground and ride the Hill Country. Either fly into Austin or San Antonio. They are only about an hour apart but San Antonio has more flight options. CyclingTexas.com has lots of great information about routes in and around of Fredericksburg.
Another idea is to go to San Diego. But I don't think i want to spend all day on a airplane getting there and getting back. I think I'm going to save California until I have a full week off from work in February.
Decisions, decisions.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 6
Tucson Trip Day 6
Today is the big test, can I make it up to the top of Mt. Lemmon? It is a 25 mile climb from 2400 feet up to 8315 feet. Almost 6000 feet of climbing, oh my. I couldn't ask for a better day, the high in Tucson is 73 degrees and of course nothing but sun. The high at the top is 51 degrees. That makes dressing an on and off and back on again kind of affair.
After yesterdays ride, which I'm still feeling in my legs, I decided to get a van ride to the base of the climb instead of using the 20 mile ride to the base as a warm up. Up and down and back to the house should be be well over 70 miles as it is. Good enough for my last day, I must say. Joy dropped me off at Tanque Verde Rd. and Catalina Hwy., that is where to guide book says to start from. I started out at a very comfortable pace just feeling my legs and spinning them out a little. There is about a 2 mile run in to the base of the climb,which worked out very nice as a warm up. Just as the climb was starting another rider came up. I was asking him about the climb when I realized he had an Arizona Hill Climb Champion jersey on. He said he won it with his uncle on a tandem last year. Nice! He told me about the climb mile for mile like he was reciting a script for some show he had been studying. He was just going up for a little workout to mile marker 9 before going to work. Not a bad place to go before work. I said thanks for the info, than he was gone. Out of site in a flash.
I just kept telling myself one mile at a time so I would not freak myself out. I had two full water bottles with me and I knew there would be no where to get water until the top. So I would just take little sips or that might be my turn around spot if I ran out of water. I set into a nice easy pace for the first two miles. Then I realized that I could actually push a little bigger gear. It is steady but not really that steep. I started in 34x24 and dropped to the 21 and even down to the 19. I never had to use the 27 at all.
There were a couple road side parking lots to stop to see the view on the way up but I decided to keep on riding for as long as I could before taking a break. I could stop on the way back down for pictures. I lasted until mile marker 7, I had to stop to use the restroom and put some clothes on. From there on it was really just putting one foot in front of the other watching the mile markers ever so slowly tick away. I stopped again at mile marker 10 for a little break and to take some pictures. I kept telling myself just one more mile and I'm turning around. Then at around mile marker 13, I had a little down hill section which really give me an extra spark to continue. A sign said 7 miles to Pinnacle Ranger Station, 12 miles to Summerhaven and 14 miles to Ski Resort. AAAHHH!!!
I have already been riding for 2.5 hours and still 14 miles from the top. I started at noon so time was not going to be on my side. It is time to recalculate my goals. Ok, if I make it to the ranger station that would be great. I should be heading back down by at least 4:00pm so I can have a nice safe fast descent.
I'd been doing all kinds of math in my head all day long to keep me going like at mile 2, 1/12 of the way there and mile 10, 2/5 of the way there. Very simple math, that is all I was capable of. Remember all of my oxygen was going somewhere else and not to my brain.
I started with my arm warmer and leg warmers on for the first two miles. And they quickly came off as I really began to work up a sweat until I reached mile marker 7, when I began going in and out of the shade. I didn't want to get too cold or too hot so I was pulling them up and down quite often. At mile marker 14 they stayed up for good and the vest came out, soon followed by the jacket and gloves.
Pinnacle Ranger Station is now my new top. I've been wanting to turn around with every pedal stroke for the past few miles. Mile marker 20 is the goal, can I make it. Where the hell is it. Dam it, did I pass it? No way, is it hiding? Ah, there it is, behind that snow bank. I pulled in really hoping for some water and a place to sit and rest for a few minutes. At first I didn't see an entrance because the front door was impassable because of snow. I had to use the wheelchair ramp to the back of the building. Inside I met the ranger who told me that we were just shay of 8000 feet and yes, the ski resort was still 5 miles away. I was done. Finished. Ready to go back down. I bought two bottles of water and a big dark chocolate bar, as a reward. I earned it. Darn it.
It was 4:00pm when I started back down. Hey, that makes 4 hours of climbing. And 20 miles. A couple stops along the way. Not bad for a 200+ pound flat lander. Or like I like to say fat lander.
On the descent I couldn't figure out why my bike was shimmying going around the corners. Then I realized it was because my teeth were chattering. It was probably 45 degrees at 8000 feet and I was doing about 35 miles per hour. I was cold! The miles were ticking away much faster than I saw them going by on the way up.
At mile marker 13, I saw two guys going up at a fast pace just talking. Bastards. I did stop a few more times to talk pictures and enjoy the view. The views were quite spectacular to say the very least. I met a couple out on their BMW 1150gs. I so wanted to trade them on the way up.
When I was pulling out of my last photo stop, I saw those two guys descending behind me. They came on me very quickly and passed me. They looked like real deal racer types. Of course, I couldn't let them go, so I give a couple quick pedal strokes and caught back up to them. One guy had a USA National team kit on and the other had a team kit that I didn't recognize. The USA guy looked very comfortable on the bike and the other guy looked to be fight for some extra speed. I sat back a bike length or so watching them. I did have to feather my brakes at times, so I decided to pass the other guy and catch the USA guy. I caught him in seconds, 200+ pounds does have some advantages. We sat and talked while descending the rest on the way down.
They were in Tucson for the rest of the winter training. I didn't catch the USA guys name but he is a neo-pro racing for Time and the National Team. And has spent the last few years racing in Belgium. He is 19 years old. The other guys name is Jerome, he is 25 years old and from Philadelphia. Jerome is trying to get on a team.
If you would have asked me at the top or even at the last photo stop, if I was going to ride all the way back to the house. I would have said NO. Get me a ride. But when I started riding with these two young guys, my legs came right back and I felt fine. Youth does rub off. We rode thru town chatting about racing and training. The kid had lots of international experience and lots of big dreams for the future. Oh to be 19 again. As it turns out, I had met him this summer during Superweek in Chicago. He was racing for my roommates friends there. It was really good to talk about bike racing and to see the future of cycling out on the road.
This really topped off a great week in Tucson.
Today is the big test, can I make it up to the top of Mt. Lemmon? It is a 25 mile climb from 2400 feet up to 8315 feet. Almost 6000 feet of climbing, oh my. I couldn't ask for a better day, the high in Tucson is 73 degrees and of course nothing but sun. The high at the top is 51 degrees. That makes dressing an on and off and back on again kind of affair.
After yesterdays ride, which I'm still feeling in my legs, I decided to get a van ride to the base of the climb instead of using the 20 mile ride to the base as a warm up. Up and down and back to the house should be be well over 70 miles as it is. Good enough for my last day, I must say. Joy dropped me off at Tanque Verde Rd. and Catalina Hwy., that is where to guide book says to start from. I started out at a very comfortable pace just feeling my legs and spinning them out a little. There is about a 2 mile run in to the base of the climb,which worked out very nice as a warm up. Just as the climb was starting another rider came up. I was asking him about the climb when I realized he had an Arizona Hill Climb Champion jersey on. He said he won it with his uncle on a tandem last year. Nice! He told me about the climb mile for mile like he was reciting a script for some show he had been studying. He was just going up for a little workout to mile marker 9 before going to work. Not a bad place to go before work. I said thanks for the info, than he was gone. Out of site in a flash.
I just kept telling myself one mile at a time so I would not freak myself out. I had two full water bottles with me and I knew there would be no where to get water until the top. So I would just take little sips or that might be my turn around spot if I ran out of water. I set into a nice easy pace for the first two miles. Then I realized that I could actually push a little bigger gear. It is steady but not really that steep. I started in 34x24 and dropped to the 21 and even down to the 19. I never had to use the 27 at all.
There were a couple road side parking lots to stop to see the view on the way up but I decided to keep on riding for as long as I could before taking a break. I could stop on the way back down for pictures. I lasted until mile marker 7, I had to stop to use the restroom and put some clothes on. From there on it was really just putting one foot in front of the other watching the mile markers ever so slowly tick away. I stopped again at mile marker 10 for a little break and to take some pictures. I kept telling myself just one more mile and I'm turning around. Then at around mile marker 13, I had a little down hill section which really give me an extra spark to continue. A sign said 7 miles to Pinnacle Ranger Station, 12 miles to Summerhaven and 14 miles to Ski Resort. AAAHHH!!!
I have already been riding for 2.5 hours and still 14 miles from the top. I started at noon so time was not going to be on my side. It is time to recalculate my goals. Ok, if I make it to the ranger station that would be great. I should be heading back down by at least 4:00pm so I can have a nice safe fast descent.
I'd been doing all kinds of math in my head all day long to keep me going like at mile 2, 1/12 of the way there and mile 10, 2/5 of the way there. Very simple math, that is all I was capable of. Remember all of my oxygen was going somewhere else and not to my brain.
I started with my arm warmer and leg warmers on for the first two miles. And they quickly came off as I really began to work up a sweat until I reached mile marker 7, when I began going in and out of the shade. I didn't want to get too cold or too hot so I was pulling them up and down quite often. At mile marker 14 they stayed up for good and the vest came out, soon followed by the jacket and gloves.
Pinnacle Ranger Station is now my new top. I've been wanting to turn around with every pedal stroke for the past few miles. Mile marker 20 is the goal, can I make it. Where the hell is it. Dam it, did I pass it? No way, is it hiding? Ah, there it is, behind that snow bank. I pulled in really hoping for some water and a place to sit and rest for a few minutes. At first I didn't see an entrance because the front door was impassable because of snow. I had to use the wheelchair ramp to the back of the building. Inside I met the ranger who told me that we were just shay of 8000 feet and yes, the ski resort was still 5 miles away. I was done. Finished. Ready to go back down. I bought two bottles of water and a big dark chocolate bar, as a reward. I earned it. Darn it.
It was 4:00pm when I started back down. Hey, that makes 4 hours of climbing. And 20 miles. A couple stops along the way. Not bad for a 200+ pound flat lander. Or like I like to say fat lander.
On the descent I couldn't figure out why my bike was shimmying going around the corners. Then I realized it was because my teeth were chattering. It was probably 45 degrees at 8000 feet and I was doing about 35 miles per hour. I was cold! The miles were ticking away much faster than I saw them going by on the way up.
At mile marker 13, I saw two guys going up at a fast pace just talking. Bastards. I did stop a few more times to talk pictures and enjoy the view. The views were quite spectacular to say the very least. I met a couple out on their BMW 1150gs. I so wanted to trade them on the way up.
When I was pulling out of my last photo stop, I saw those two guys descending behind me. They came on me very quickly and passed me. They looked like real deal racer types. Of course, I couldn't let them go, so I give a couple quick pedal strokes and caught back up to them. One guy had a USA National team kit on and the other had a team kit that I didn't recognize. The USA guy looked very comfortable on the bike and the other guy looked to be fight for some extra speed. I sat back a bike length or so watching them. I did have to feather my brakes at times, so I decided to pass the other guy and catch the USA guy. I caught him in seconds, 200+ pounds does have some advantages. We sat and talked while descending the rest on the way down.
They were in Tucson for the rest of the winter training. I didn't catch the USA guys name but he is a neo-pro racing for Time and the National Team. And has spent the last few years racing in Belgium. He is 19 years old. The other guys name is Jerome, he is 25 years old and from Philadelphia. Jerome is trying to get on a team.
If you would have asked me at the top or even at the last photo stop, if I was going to ride all the way back to the house. I would have said NO. Get me a ride. But when I started riding with these two young guys, my legs came right back and I felt fine. Youth does rub off. We rode thru town chatting about racing and training. The kid had lots of international experience and lots of big dreams for the future. Oh to be 19 again. As it turns out, I had met him this summer during Superweek in Chicago. He was racing for my roommates friends there. It was really good to talk about bike racing and to see the future of cycling out on the road.
This really topped off a great week in Tucson.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 5
Tucson Trip Day 5
My earliest start of the trip began with a 7:00am alarm and out the door at 7:30am. Oh ya, and 33 degrees. Ouch. Heck, if I wanted to ride in cold weather, I should have stayed in PA. But wait, it's the Tour de Cookie for goodness sake. Mmmm cookies.
This is not like any other organized ride I've ever done before. It was more like a scavenger hunt, since it did not have a set route. There were 12 cookie stations spread thru out town. The idea was to ride from station to station and buy cookies from each and every station to benefit the charity at each station. Pretty cool idea if I do say so myself. Entry was $25.00 and you got a t-shirt and I decided to buy $1.00 worth of cookies at each station, some how I missed one station. I started by eating my cookie right there before heading to the next station. That lasted about 4 stations before I started to get a gut bomb. To much sugar, believe that. So from then on I began to get picky. Some stations had cheap store bought cookies and some had fancy bakery cookies and the best had homemade cookies with a shot glass of milk. A couple stops, I paid my dollar and didn't even take a cookie.
I forgot to get a sheet with all the addresses of the stations. So I had to just follow the other riders. That was OK until I wanted to ride faster or they were going to a station I had already been to. A few times I would race toward the next station only to pass it or miss a turn. The last part I decided to stay with a group of 4 who were keeping a good pace. At the end they said they did about 35 miles for the ride. Much fun was had by all. Even with a 33 degree start.
Afterward I sat around for awhile still trying to warm up. I sat in the sun watching a soccer game with my clothes spread out across a park bench drying out. Nice thing about dry air, your clothes dry out very fast. The temperature only got up to 62 degrees today and with the wind, I never really felt warm.
Next I headed over to the Pima Air and Space Museum for their tour. This place has aircraft from all the wars, both sides. As well as some very important plane from history like speed records and presidential airplanes. I took the tram ride around the field because the driver told you about each and every plane you passed. And because I could sit and relax in the sun. I sat in the back on my own bench so I could slide from side to side to stay in the sun. The shade was chilly.
It was a 21 mile ride back up to the house. To make it easier for me I used the GPS on my phone. It gives you a straight shot home. Not always the best roads but it give a nice short ride. Tomorrow I'm going to climb up Mt Lemmon, 25 mile climb!
My earliest start of the trip began with a 7:00am alarm and out the door at 7:30am. Oh ya, and 33 degrees. Ouch. Heck, if I wanted to ride in cold weather, I should have stayed in PA. But wait, it's the Tour de Cookie for goodness sake. Mmmm cookies.
This is not like any other organized ride I've ever done before. It was more like a scavenger hunt, since it did not have a set route. There were 12 cookie stations spread thru out town. The idea was to ride from station to station and buy cookies from each and every station to benefit the charity at each station. Pretty cool idea if I do say so myself. Entry was $25.00 and you got a t-shirt and I decided to buy $1.00 worth of cookies at each station, some how I missed one station. I started by eating my cookie right there before heading to the next station. That lasted about 4 stations before I started to get a gut bomb. To much sugar, believe that. So from then on I began to get picky. Some stations had cheap store bought cookies and some had fancy bakery cookies and the best had homemade cookies with a shot glass of milk. A couple stops, I paid my dollar and didn't even take a cookie.
I forgot to get a sheet with all the addresses of the stations. So I had to just follow the other riders. That was OK until I wanted to ride faster or they were going to a station I had already been to. A few times I would race toward the next station only to pass it or miss a turn. The last part I decided to stay with a group of 4 who were keeping a good pace. At the end they said they did about 35 miles for the ride. Much fun was had by all. Even with a 33 degree start.
Afterward I sat around for awhile still trying to warm up. I sat in the sun watching a soccer game with my clothes spread out across a park bench drying out. Nice thing about dry air, your clothes dry out very fast. The temperature only got up to 62 degrees today and with the wind, I never really felt warm.
Next I headed over to the Pima Air and Space Museum for their tour. This place has aircraft from all the wars, both sides. As well as some very important plane from history like speed records and presidential airplanes. I took the tram ride around the field because the driver told you about each and every plane you passed. And because I could sit and relax in the sun. I sat in the back on my own bench so I could slide from side to side to stay in the sun. The shade was chilly.
It was a 21 mile ride back up to the house. To make it easier for me I used the GPS on my phone. It gives you a straight shot home. Not always the best roads but it give a nice short ride. Tomorrow I'm going to climb up Mt Lemmon, 25 mile climb!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 4
Tucson Trip Day 4
The key to todays ride was to ride at my own pace. I set out for a long ride and I had to make sure that I didn't try to keep up with any of the other cyclist out there. It's kind of tough to let them all just go riding on by. I'm so glad that I did. Because I had plenty on energy left after almost 100 miles.
I headed out along the bench of the mountain going east. Really nice smooth rolling roads that curve into town. Tucson is set up like Salt Lake City, like a big giant grid. The distance between major streets is a mile. When you start pushing a head wind the mile feels like a heck of a lot longer. Everything changed on Old Spanish Trail, it winds on the diagonal going southeast. It is so much better than going straight.
Next I entered Saguaro National Monument. At first, I was just going to get some water. Then I decided to pay the $5.00 park fee to ride the 8 mile loop thru the park. Again money well spent. Just beautiful. And educational too. I stopped to read every road side sign along the way. The only thing missing is I haven't seen any of the critters they warn you about. I would have loved to have seen rattle snakes, scorpions, owls, javelins, mountain loins and bears oh my.
After I left the park I decided to follow the rest of the route I had planned. I almost cut it short. Wimp. But I'm so glad I completed it. The ride south was bumpy but the reward I'm going to feel come race season. I felt like I was keeping some pretty good tempo going for about 25-30 miles.
On the way back north I rode right thru the center on the Davis Monthan Air Force Base,' the bone yard'. This is where old airplanes come to die. Sort of. Because of the dry desert air, our government takes all of our trillions of dollars of retired aircraft and parks them here. Rumor is most are still really to fly. I guess waiting for WW3 or an alien attack.
The last slug thru town and up to Oro Valley was difficult. I think I hit every traffic light along the way. Those mile long city blocks were getting longer, too. I also had to stop for more water and some fuel. A bagel.
Tomorrow is the big day, Tour de Cookie!
The key to todays ride was to ride at my own pace. I set out for a long ride and I had to make sure that I didn't try to keep up with any of the other cyclist out there. It's kind of tough to let them all just go riding on by. I'm so glad that I did. Because I had plenty on energy left after almost 100 miles.
I headed out along the bench of the mountain going east. Really nice smooth rolling roads that curve into town. Tucson is set up like Salt Lake City, like a big giant grid. The distance between major streets is a mile. When you start pushing a head wind the mile feels like a heck of a lot longer. Everything changed on Old Spanish Trail, it winds on the diagonal going southeast. It is so much better than going straight.
Next I entered Saguaro National Monument. At first, I was just going to get some water. Then I decided to pay the $5.00 park fee to ride the 8 mile loop thru the park. Again money well spent. Just beautiful. And educational too. I stopped to read every road side sign along the way. The only thing missing is I haven't seen any of the critters they warn you about. I would have loved to have seen rattle snakes, scorpions, owls, javelins, mountain loins and bears oh my.
After I left the park I decided to follow the rest of the route I had planned. I almost cut it short. Wimp. But I'm so glad I completed it. The ride south was bumpy but the reward I'm going to feel come race season. I felt like I was keeping some pretty good tempo going for about 25-30 miles.
On the way back north I rode right thru the center on the Davis Monthan Air Force Base,' the bone yard'. This is where old airplanes come to die. Sort of. Because of the dry desert air, our government takes all of our trillions of dollars of retired aircraft and parks them here. Rumor is most are still really to fly. I guess waiting for WW3 or an alien attack.
The last slug thru town and up to Oro Valley was difficult. I think I hit every traffic light along the way. Those mile long city blocks were getting longer, too. I also had to stop for more water and some fuel. A bagel.
Tomorrow is the big day, Tour de Cookie!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 3
Tucson Trip Day 3.
Today I went west under Interstate 10 and rode the frontage road that parallels the interstate called Silverbells Rd. This road is on the map listed as a nice way to bypass the interstate. So far this the bumpiness road I've ridden is Tucson. Fortunately I was only on it for a few miles and the rest of the ride was spectacular. My ride took me over Gates Pass down into Old Tucson and Saguaro National Park. The ride up the pass was just incredible with every pedal stroke. Even with it being a climb it was great and I'm not a big fan of climbing. When I crested the pass it opened up into a valley where you could see for miles, even as far as Mexico.
On the distant I stopped in a view area to take a few pictures and I met a couple climbing the pass on a Calfee tandem. They were from Connecticut, here for the winter. Every one I've met here is from somewhere else and all of them are from the northeast. Can you blame them?
At the bottom of the hill is Old Tucson Studios. Today I decided not to take the tour but I did peak in and filled my water bottles. They make movies here. From back in the 1950's to today. Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Kurt Russel and Sharon Stone have all acted here. Just from the entry way I could see where Keven Costner shot two bad guys at the same time in front of the saloon in Silverodo. Maybe if my parents come out we will go take the tour.
Some of the straightest roads are the most fun here. They go up and down like a roller coaster. Just enough change in height to carry your speed up the next climb. The climb back over the pass was much steeper but with a great reward on the other side. This took me into downtown Tucson during rush hour.
Now it is time to make the slow climb back up to Oro Valley, where I'm staying.
Before getting home I stopped at La Salsa for dinner. Oh my, I was hungry.
Today I went west under Interstate 10 and rode the frontage road that parallels the interstate called Silverbells Rd. This road is on the map listed as a nice way to bypass the interstate. So far this the bumpiness road I've ridden is Tucson. Fortunately I was only on it for a few miles and the rest of the ride was spectacular. My ride took me over Gates Pass down into Old Tucson and Saguaro National Park. The ride up the pass was just incredible with every pedal stroke. Even with it being a climb it was great and I'm not a big fan of climbing. When I crested the pass it opened up into a valley where you could see for miles, even as far as Mexico.
On the distant I stopped in a view area to take a few pictures and I met a couple climbing the pass on a Calfee tandem. They were from Connecticut, here for the winter. Every one I've met here is from somewhere else and all of them are from the northeast. Can you blame them?
At the bottom of the hill is Old Tucson Studios. Today I decided not to take the tour but I did peak in and filled my water bottles. They make movies here. From back in the 1950's to today. Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Kurt Russel and Sharon Stone have all acted here. Just from the entry way I could see where Keven Costner shot two bad guys at the same time in front of the saloon in Silverodo. Maybe if my parents come out we will go take the tour.
Some of the straightest roads are the most fun here. They go up and down like a roller coaster. Just enough change in height to carry your speed up the next climb. The climb back over the pass was much steeper but with a great reward on the other side. This took me into downtown Tucson during rush hour.
Now it is time to make the slow climb back up to Oro Valley, where I'm staying.
Before getting home I stopped at La Salsa for dinner. Oh my, I was hungry.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 2
Tucson Trip Day 2
The morning woke quite cold at 35 degrees. The weather called for a high of 65-70 today. I figured I'd wait until about 50 before I would start my ride. No need to freeze my butt off here. I could have just stayed at home if I wanted to ride in the 30's.
I spent the morning talking with Joy about my planned ride up to Biosphere 2 and about her profession Astrology. I've never been one to really put much thought into astrology but at the same time I've always read mine in the newspaper and I do get a daily update on my phone. All the same I don't know much about it. Joy has been studying astrology for over 40 years. She asked me where, what time and date that I was born. We went into her office where she has a wall full of books on astrology and sat at her computer. Here she plugged my info into the computer and all kinds of charts appeared. Joy explained what was on these charts and how to read them. Much of this information was way over my head. But very interesting all the same. There are so many different charts that mean so many different things. No wonder she has been studying for 40 years.
Around 10:30am I started on my ride to Biosphere 2. Very much an arm and leg warmer day. Nice gradually climb most of the way on a busy road with wide shoulders. Just like Florida, the road was long and straight where you could see where you were going to be 20 minutes from now. But the big difference, here there is so much to see. Florida all you could see was the road and orange groves. Here you have the Catalina mountain to your right and wide open views where you can see 50 miles away to your left. This is wonderful, you can keep Florida.
Since I was riding so well, I decided to continue on past Biosphere 2 on up to the town of Oracle. Oracle is a very small town with a few shops, a general store, believe it or not two Dollar Stores and even a Ford dealership. Both seamed out of place 20 miles from any substantial population. I rode on up to the Oracle State Park. I even considered riding part way up to Mt Lemmon up the back way. The park ranger I talked to said that road went to dirt and only passable by 4x4 just a mile farther. So I turned around back down to Biosphere 2.
Biosphere 2 was built in the late 1980's as a test facility to understand how natural environments create habitable conditions for human sustainability. Basically, they wanted to see what it would take for humans to live on Mars. In 1991, 8 people lived in Biosphere 2 totally sealed in from the outside environment for 2 years. It is really something to see. The amount of thought and money it took to build this incredibly unique structure is mind boggling. It has changed ownership four times since then. And before the University of Arizona took it over in 2007, the surrounding land was sold for housing and they even thought about demolishing it for more housing. Criminal at best. The tour cost $20 and is worth every penny. I hope to bring my parents out here in February. They would love it, especially my dad.
The ride back down the from Biosphere 2 was fast and fun. I was kind of racing the sun to get back before dark. What a wonderful day.
When I arrived back at the house, Joy said where was a gift on the kitchen table for me. She had made two folders for me with my life astrological report and a year astrological report. So very nice of her. I can't wait to read them.
The morning woke quite cold at 35 degrees. The weather called for a high of 65-70 today. I figured I'd wait until about 50 before I would start my ride. No need to freeze my butt off here. I could have just stayed at home if I wanted to ride in the 30's.
I spent the morning talking with Joy about my planned ride up to Biosphere 2 and about her profession Astrology. I've never been one to really put much thought into astrology but at the same time I've always read mine in the newspaper and I do get a daily update on my phone. All the same I don't know much about it. Joy has been studying astrology for over 40 years. She asked me where, what time and date that I was born. We went into her office where she has a wall full of books on astrology and sat at her computer. Here she plugged my info into the computer and all kinds of charts appeared. Joy explained what was on these charts and how to read them. Much of this information was way over my head. But very interesting all the same. There are so many different charts that mean so many different things. No wonder she has been studying for 40 years.
Around 10:30am I started on my ride to Biosphere 2. Very much an arm and leg warmer day. Nice gradually climb most of the way on a busy road with wide shoulders. Just like Florida, the road was long and straight where you could see where you were going to be 20 minutes from now. But the big difference, here there is so much to see. Florida all you could see was the road and orange groves. Here you have the Catalina mountain to your right and wide open views where you can see 50 miles away to your left. This is wonderful, you can keep Florida.
Since I was riding so well, I decided to continue on past Biosphere 2 on up to the town of Oracle. Oracle is a very small town with a few shops, a general store, believe it or not two Dollar Stores and even a Ford dealership. Both seamed out of place 20 miles from any substantial population. I rode on up to the Oracle State Park. I even considered riding part way up to Mt Lemmon up the back way. The park ranger I talked to said that road went to dirt and only passable by 4x4 just a mile farther. So I turned around back down to Biosphere 2.
Biosphere 2 was built in the late 1980's as a test facility to understand how natural environments create habitable conditions for human sustainability. Basically, they wanted to see what it would take for humans to live on Mars. In 1991, 8 people lived in Biosphere 2 totally sealed in from the outside environment for 2 years. It is really something to see. The amount of thought and money it took to build this incredibly unique structure is mind boggling. It has changed ownership four times since then. And before the University of Arizona took it over in 2007, the surrounding land was sold for housing and they even thought about demolishing it for more housing. Criminal at best. The tour cost $20 and is worth every penny. I hope to bring my parents out here in February. They would love it, especially my dad.
The ride back down the from Biosphere 2 was fast and fun. I was kind of racing the sun to get back before dark. What a wonderful day.
When I arrived back at the house, Joy said where was a gift on the kitchen table for me. She had made two folders for me with my life astrological report and a year astrological report. So very nice of her. I can't wait to read them.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tucson Trip Day 1
Tucson Trip Day 1
When I left the great white northeast at 5am I slide down my walkway to my car and chiseled off a half inch of ice from the windshield. When I got to 695 I realized I had forgot my helmet. Crap! So much for the 7:00am flight thru LAS to TUS. After retrieving my nice new helmet that I bought while on my Florida trip I raced down to the airport hoping to make the 8:05am flight thru MDW to TUS. The traffic was much heavier with morning commuters. I was able to quickly check my bike bag and hustle to my gate. I made it, I hope my bike bag did.
In MDW I was scheduled to have 2 hours between flights. Enough time to get food and go to the crew lounge and print some maps from MapMyRide.com. For the first time going thru MDW I didn't get a Potbellies sandwich. I got a salad. Wow, I may be able to drop some of this extra weight this week if I can do long rides and eat right.
Because of weather in PVD the flight to TUS was late. We waited almost 2 hours for the plane. This got me to TUS at about 3:00pm. I took my time getting off the plane, helping to clean like a good non rev should do. At baggage, my bike bag was just coming around the belt. Nice! I was met at the curb by Joy Archer.
Joy Archer is the very nice lady who answered my craigslist ad for a place to stay. When I said I was going to get a rental car, she said she would pick me up at the airport and if I needed a car they were cheaper near her house. Joy drove to her house taking the roads that I would be riding all the while pointing out stores, restaurants, landmarks and the best roads to take for different rides. We even stopped at a bike shop so I could ask about the best rides. The guy at the shop was from Frederick, MD. He set me up with some great rides and two bike maps. I like maps.
The sunsets at 5:35pm. Joy wanted to make sure I would have enough time to ride today. I put my bike together quickly so I could head out for a short ride. Well this isn't Florida. So much more beautiful and diverse in terrain. I climbed Maggee rd to the end, about 3 miles, for a view of the city lights and an incredible sunset. I saw my first little friend, a bunny rabbit. On the way back down I stopped at Trader Joe's for some supplies for the week. Took a fast shower, eat dinner and now it is time for bed. 8:30pm and I am beat.
When I left the great white northeast at 5am I slide down my walkway to my car and chiseled off a half inch of ice from the windshield. When I got to 695 I realized I had forgot my helmet. Crap! So much for the 7:00am flight thru LAS to TUS. After retrieving my nice new helmet that I bought while on my Florida trip I raced down to the airport hoping to make the 8:05am flight thru MDW to TUS. The traffic was much heavier with morning commuters. I was able to quickly check my bike bag and hustle to my gate. I made it, I hope my bike bag did.
In MDW I was scheduled to have 2 hours between flights. Enough time to get food and go to the crew lounge and print some maps from MapMyRide.com. For the first time going thru MDW I didn't get a Potbellies sandwich. I got a salad. Wow, I may be able to drop some of this extra weight this week if I can do long rides and eat right.
Because of weather in PVD the flight to TUS was late. We waited almost 2 hours for the plane. This got me to TUS at about 3:00pm. I took my time getting off the plane, helping to clean like a good non rev should do. At baggage, my bike bag was just coming around the belt. Nice! I was met at the curb by Joy Archer.
Joy Archer is the very nice lady who answered my craigslist ad for a place to stay. When I said I was going to get a rental car, she said she would pick me up at the airport and if I needed a car they were cheaper near her house. Joy drove to her house taking the roads that I would be riding all the while pointing out stores, restaurants, landmarks and the best roads to take for different rides. We even stopped at a bike shop so I could ask about the best rides. The guy at the shop was from Frederick, MD. He set me up with some great rides and two bike maps. I like maps.
The sunsets at 5:35pm. Joy wanted to make sure I would have enough time to ride today. I put my bike together quickly so I could head out for a short ride. Well this isn't Florida. So much more beautiful and diverse in terrain. I climbed Maggee rd to the end, about 3 miles, for a view of the city lights and an incredible sunset. I saw my first little friend, a bunny rabbit. On the way back down I stopped at Trader Joe's for some supplies for the week. Took a fast shower, eat dinner and now it is time for bed. 8:30pm and I am beat.
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