On Saturday, I decided I was going to go for a little bike ride on Sunday morning. It has been a long time since I've ridden (see previous post - "Endless Bonk"). I din't want to start out behind the 8 ball so I ate something. See I do learn from my mistakes. The plan was to ride up to the top of Usery Pass the "easy" way (up to 2200 feet at 3% grade) on the single speed. Only about 1000 feet of climbing and not too steep. This hill has kicked my butt before, but I was going to kick it's.
I started out and at mile 3, my legs started to ache as if asking, "seriously? You're going to do this to us?". I told them yes, this was happening and they'd have to suck it up. A little self massage (while pedalling) and I was good to go. I continued on past the dairy farms as fast as I could. The weather was warm & muggy. A nice thick cloud cover held in the warm smell of cow urine & poo. I've riden past and smelled the poo before, but never the strong smell of urine. What an overwhelming stench! Finally past the farms, I gradually start climbing. I was actually feeling pretty good and enjoying the views. It was 89 degrees when I started out and, as I stated before, muggy. It actually started sprinkling a little as I rode, but not enough to cool off. I stopped a part of the way off to take a picture of the Phoenix sign, dump some water on my head and get rid of some extra water I was carrying. After my bio-break, I headed back up the hill.
"I'm almost to the top" I realized. That was enough to give me the extra energy I needed. I made it! No down shifting, no walking, just hammering.
I turned around and headed back from whence I came. I turned west on McDowell and planned to go to Lindsay Road, head south and then home. That was the plan. As I approached the stop sign at Hawes/N. 84th street, I contemplated. Do I go up to Las Sendas, or go straight? "Eff it, it's go time"! I headed North. The climb isn't very long, but it's steep. 6% grade steep. Keep in mind, I'm on the single speed; no downshifting. As I climbed, I felt pretty good. I told myself to stay in the saddle until the first round about; and I did. After that, I was up, pulling my bike side to side to help with the pedal strokes. My left quad started to cramp. Aw hell no. I pushed through and made that climb too! I paused briefly at the top to look down at what I'd accomplished. Not bad for an old guy on a single speed. I headed down the hill and enjoyed the wind blow drying me.
I headed West on McDowell towards my original route. I turned south down Recker instead of the extra 4 miles to Lindsay. Recker has less traffic and it was already in the high 90's. I actually stopped at a Cricle K to refill my water bottles as I had just drained the last one. "Shoulda brought the CamelBak". Refueled and rehydrated, I continued home.
When I got home my bike computer read 104 degrees. Toasty! It was a good 35 mile ride. I averaged 15.9mph and topped out at just over 30mph.
I learned a few things along the way too. 1. When you ride by yourself, it's harder to be dropped by the pack. 2. The little "honey straws" from Sprouts are a good source of quick energy, but unless you have piranha teeth, they're hard to open. 3. My last ride, when I was dropped like third period french, was a fluke. I wasn't preparred then. I know next time I will be.
Was I crazy to ride in that kind of heat? Maybe. Was I crazy to try those clims on the "SS"? Probably. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!
Stay safe out there!
Showing posts with label Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hill. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, November 23, 2009
Cave Creek Bike Festival
Back on November 15th, I participated in the 1st annual Cave creek Bicycle Festival. This event included a 20 mile MTB race, a 50 mile & 35 mile "discovery" ride. I chose the 50 mile ride. I'm working up to riding a century and figured this would be good training. Besides, It has been many years since doing any organized event.
I awoke on the 15th early not because I was so excited about the ride, but because I slept like crap that night. Every couple hours I woke up (after getting to bed late). Anywhoo, I staged all my gear by the front door so I'll I'd need to grab was my water and coffee. The ride started at 8 and it's an easy hour north of here so I headed out at 0515. I arrived in Cave Creek in the dark and searched for the "tell tale" start/finish line. Once I found where the event was, I parked across from a VFW post. At the VFW, an American flag was blowing in in the wind. I couldn't help but notice, it was almost sticking straight out. Not only was it windy, it was a COLD wind. My car read about 52 degrees. I figured that this wind would probably factor into my ride. I walked over to the Flat Tire Bike Shop and signed in. I got my "swag bag" and headed back to the car. I looked through the various "goodies" in the bag and studied the route map. Looks like a lot of hills I thought. Now, when I checked the route at home t didn't look that hilly. It certainly did today. In fact the 1st 9 miles will be uphill.
As the start time got closer, I decided to get ready. I decided against my jacket since it traps so much heat and sweat and went with the vest which keeps my torso warm. The vest proved to be useful last cold ride and I figured it would get warmer today. I also wore my headband that covers my ears. Last cold ride, my ears froze. I wasn't going to let that happen today. I found the (unmarked) start line and stood in the sun. Everyone was standing in the sun to try to get warm.
I was close to the front of the pack at the start of the ride. This wasn't a race, just a fun leisurely ride through Cave Creek with 200 of my closest friends. When the ride started, I was in the first 25 riders (the only on a MTB). I stayed in this group for a few miles and a couple people passed me. At the 6 or so mile mark, the 35 mile group turned off. The 50 mile group headed up. It wasn't a terribly steep hill, just long. My hamstrings were cramping a bit so I ate a few bananas and stretched. Good as new. At the 9 mile mark, we turned around and followed the 35 mile group's route. I figured at the turn, I was probably still in the top 40. Not bad. Of course there's no prize for 40th place. Once we joined the 35 mile riders, it was hard to tell where I was in the pack, although I didn't let many pass me.
We rode through the scenic areas of Cave Creek getting out little "passport" stamped along the way. The passport pointed out interesting things about the area. Kinda a cool idea. I was rolling down a stretch of the Care Free Highway and at the turn into the Cave Creek Regiostanding Natural Areal Park (right turn) and the wind hit me as if it was a truck. It seemed that the wind was always behind each turn. I know it's impossible for the wind to switch around and blow from every direction, but I swear that it blew down every hill. Every climb was into a good headwind. Ugh.
The best part of the ride is that I used this ride through a site called Train 4 Autism to raise money for the National Autism Association. Thanks to friends and family, I raised over $1500! Pretty cool! When the ride started to suck really bad and my legs ached, i thought about why I was really riding and I found the strength. I kept telling myself, I was doing this for Matthew and millions of other kids that needed the help. Seemed a little corny, but it worked.
In hindsight, I asked myself:
1. Would I do the ride again? Hell yeah!
2. What would I do differently? Cancel the winds or just train on the hills harder.
3. Best thing I brought: Headband with ear covers - saved me!
4. Worst thing to take: I needed everything.
I can't wait for my next organized ride!
I awoke on the 15th early not because I was so excited about the ride, but because I slept like crap that night. Every couple hours I woke up (after getting to bed late). Anywhoo, I staged all my gear by the front door so I'll I'd need to grab was my water and coffee. The ride started at 8 and it's an easy hour north of here so I headed out at 0515. I arrived in Cave Creek in the dark and searched for the "tell tale" start/finish line. Once I found where the event was, I parked across from a VFW post. At the VFW, an American flag was blowing in in the wind. I couldn't help but notice, it was almost sticking straight out. Not only was it windy, it was a COLD wind. My car read about 52 degrees. I figured that this wind would probably factor into my ride. I walked over to the Flat Tire Bike Shop and signed in. I got my "swag bag" and headed back to the car. I looked through the various "goodies" in the bag and studied the route map. Looks like a lot of hills I thought. Now, when I checked the route at home t didn't look that hilly. It certainly did today. In fact the 1st 9 miles will be uphill.
As the start time got closer, I decided to get ready. I decided against my jacket since it traps so much heat and sweat and went with the vest which keeps my torso warm. The vest proved to be useful last cold ride and I figured it would get warmer today. I also wore my headband that covers my ears. Last cold ride, my ears froze. I wasn't going to let that happen today. I found the (unmarked) start line and stood in the sun. Everyone was standing in the sun to try to get warm.
I was close to the front of the pack at the start of the ride. This wasn't a race, just a fun leisurely ride through Cave Creek with 200 of my closest friends. When the ride started, I was in the first 25 riders (the only on a MTB). I stayed in this group for a few miles and a couple people passed me. At the 6 or so mile mark, the 35 mile group turned off. The 50 mile group headed up. It wasn't a terribly steep hill, just long. My hamstrings were cramping a bit so I ate a few bananas and stretched. Good as new. At the 9 mile mark, we turned around and followed the 35 mile group's route. I figured at the turn, I was probably still in the top 40. Not bad. Of course there's no prize for 40th place. Once we joined the 35 mile riders, it was hard to tell where I was in the pack, although I didn't let many pass me.
We rode through the scenic areas of Cave Creek getting out little "passport" stamped along the way. The passport pointed out interesting things about the area. Kinda a cool idea. I was rolling down a stretch of the Care Free Highway and at the turn into the Cave Creek Regiostanding Natural Areal Park (right turn) and the wind hit me as if it was a truck. It seemed that the wind was always behind each turn. I know it's impossible for the wind to switch around and blow from every direction, but I swear that it blew down every hill. Every climb was into a good headwind. Ugh.
The best part of the ride is that I used this ride through a site called Train 4 Autism to raise money for the National Autism Association. Thanks to friends and family, I raised over $1500! Pretty cool! When the ride started to suck really bad and my legs ached, i thought about why I was really riding and I found the strength. I kept telling myself, I was doing this for Matthew and millions of other kids that needed the help. Seemed a little corny, but it worked.
In hindsight, I asked myself:
1. Would I do the ride again? Hell yeah!
2. What would I do differently? Cancel the winds or just train on the hills harder.
3. Best thing I brought: Headband with ear covers - saved me!
4. Worst thing to take: I needed everything.
I can't wait for my next organized ride!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Still on Track
Through August, year to date, I have now ridden 2,236 miles. I am definitely on track to make my 3,000 mile goal. Infact, if I keep the same pace, I could almost hit 3,500!
Our weekend ride group decided to tackle the Usery Pass loop this past weekend. You can check the route here if you like. The hills are not too shabby, a 1,660 ft climb/decent. We decided to go clockwise and atthe end of 18ish miles turn around and go back. In the group was Kate & Ron (this is Kate's idea) and a girl from Oregon named Suzanne (one of Katre's students).
We all started out together fairly strong (19-20mph), and then a big down hill (hit 39.7mph). Cool! I decided to ride my mountain bike since it has gears and my road bike doesn't. I planned to put the slicks on so I could hang with the road bikes, but Saturday when I grabbel the wheel, it had no tube. Bummer. I would have to work that much harder to hang in with them. On the first hill, I started to put a little distance between me and the pack. It wasn't long before Ron caught me.
Next hill, 4-1/2% grade for a couple miles, no biggie. We started out and Suzanne's bike decided that it liked the big chain ring better than the small. That wasn't going to work. We all stopped to get this fixed and were back on our way. We made it to the top and down the hill to our turn around/starting point. What I found interesting about the return climb is that Suzanne flew up this hill. I swear she's part mountain goat! I didn't realize how long that big hill was until we went screaming down it (32mph max) for over 3 miles. We crouched down as to get better aerodynamics and more speed. I was crouched so long that my back started cramping. The hill that I hit 39mph coming down absolutely sucked going back up. In cycling, what goes down almost alway comes back up. We were 35 miles into the ride and it was in the upper 90's. Luckily we were near the end and could call it a successful ride.
All in all, it was a great day to ride. Great group, great route, great work out.
Our weekend ride group decided to tackle the Usery Pass loop this past weekend. You can check the route here if you like. The hills are not too shabby, a 1,660 ft climb/decent. We decided to go clockwise and atthe end of 18ish miles turn around and go back. In the group was Kate & Ron (this is Kate's idea) and a girl from Oregon named Suzanne (one of Katre's students).
We all started out together fairly strong (19-20mph), and then a big down hill (hit 39.7mph). Cool! I decided to ride my mountain bike since it has gears and my road bike doesn't. I planned to put the slicks on so I could hang with the road bikes, but Saturday when I grabbel the wheel, it had no tube. Bummer. I would have to work that much harder to hang in with them. On the first hill, I started to put a little distance between me and the pack. It wasn't long before Ron caught me.
Next hill, 4-1/2% grade for a couple miles, no biggie. We started out and Suzanne's bike decided that it liked the big chain ring better than the small. That wasn't going to work. We all stopped to get this fixed and were back on our way. We made it to the top and down the hill to our turn around/starting point. What I found interesting about the return climb is that Suzanne flew up this hill. I swear she's part mountain goat! I didn't realize how long that big hill was until we went screaming down it (32mph max) for over 3 miles. We crouched down as to get better aerodynamics and more speed. I was crouched so long that my back started cramping. The hill that I hit 39mph coming down absolutely sucked going back up. In cycling, what goes down almost alway comes back up. We were 35 miles into the ride and it was in the upper 90's. Luckily we were near the end and could call it a successful ride.
All in all, it was a great day to ride. Great group, great route, great work out.
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