Holiday Ride

Been away from the blog (and bike) for a while. Work has been very busy but now that the holidays are winding down I managed to get back on the bike for a ride today. I had no real goal in mind beyond doing some medium level mileage. Gotta keep the base conditioning up. I'm between seasons and have been nursing a knee injury so I thought I'd make a run up and down the coast and take it easy.

It was pretty chilly today and there weren't too many people on the road. I rarely ride solo but today it felt like a good choice since I didn't really know how the knee was going to feel and knew it would be slow going.

I started at DeAnza Cove in Mission Bay and made my way up through the Rose Creek Bike Path across Interstate 5 onto the Rose Canyon Bike path. Regents road and then Nobel road then climb the big hill on Via La Jolla Village Drive to the UCSD campus. I cruise around there exploring for a bit and meandered back towards the coast at Torrey Pines. Took the screaming downhill. The bike lanes have been repaired and all the of the bad cracks, tree roots and other obstacles I've memorized over the last two years are gone. Smooth sailing! Hit a top speed of 36.3 MPH. Felt good. Got to the bottom of the hill and was enveloped in fog.

Decision time. Straight is up the coast, mostly flat, more traffic and lots of stop and go. Right along Carmel Valley Road is inland, more hills, less traffic and hopefully less cold. Do a quick check, I'm at 20 miles and the knee feels fine so I head inland with no destination in mind, cross the Interstate again then the 805 to the Highway 56 bike path. This is a great little path that runs east-west towards Poway. Very little traffic today so I turned it up a notch and raced through it at a nice clip. Got about 5 miles in when I had to stop and turn around. The bike path was flooded from the recent rains and looked a couple of feet deep. Made the U-turn climbed up to the surface streets made my way across and picked up the bike path again and headed on. Rode it for another 5 miles to a Mobile station with a convenience store and stop for a quick lunch. Packaged turkey sandwich, banana, smoked almonds and a bottle of water. Sit on the side of the road, smear mustard on the sandwich and take a short rest. Times a wastin' so back on the bike turn around and head home. I was slightly worried about the climb up Torrey as it would be a pretty good test for the knee. I decide to take it very slow and ride up carefully. Nothing to worry about. Backtrack through the Rose Canyon bike path and zoom by Captain Jack going the other direction. A quick salute and wave and I'm flying solo again. There's a headwind and it's chilly so I decide to turn it up a notch and fly back the rest of the way to my car. Great to be back on the bike again.

Totals for the day were

43 miles
2500 feet of climbing
Average pace of 12.0 (so slow!)
3190 calories burned

Knee held up great so it's looking like I will be doing the local Stagecoach Century in a couple of weeks. Training for Tahoe starts the first week of February.

















Map of ride

Milestone Challenge

Yesterday was the Milestone Challenge Ride. This ride was a fundraiser for a local Team in Training Alumni, Skip Gleavey. Skip is a "triple crowner" meaning that he has completed at least one marathon, century ride and triathlon with Team in training.

Skip had a terrible accident earlier this year riding in a Century bike ride where he crashed around mile 32 and broke his back. There but for the grace of God, go I.

A group of his friends got together to organize a ride to help raise money to help meet this new challenge in his life.

Following is an article that was written in one of the local papers, the North County Times on Saturday November 22nd.

Rider doesn't let illness or injuries change his course

By JEFF FRANK - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 22, 2008 10:30 PM PST ∞

The bumps in Skip Gleavey's road are more like mountains. But the long-distance cyclist and triathlete keeps rolling over them.

To say that Gleavey has faced some challenges over the last five years is like saying the sun is bright in July. This guy's health chart reads like the first-year curriculum at Harvard Medical School.

A few details:

Summer 2003: Gleavey breaks an ankle training to run a marathon in Arizona. March 2004: He returns from a business trip feeling a little tightness in his chest. When he wakes up the next day feeling a bit sore, he goes out for a 5-mile run.

It didn't help. Two days later, Gleavey's wife, Denise, pushes him to go to the hospital. Blood work reveals he had suffered a massive heart attack, one that doctors were surprised hadn't killed him, Gleavey said. He quickly underwent surgery to have two stents inserted into cardiac arteries.

April 2004: Gleavey is diagnosed with stage 4 follicular lymphoma, a blood cancer that while slow-progressing, can't be cured. Doctors tell Gleavey he has about six years to live, even with treatment.

Gleavey's response? "It looks like we're going to have to elongate that curve. I have no plan of dying. I may have cancer, but cancer doesn't have me. I've got too much to do."

Then the Clairemont resident got busy doing it.

Already an experienced marathon runner, he decided to branch out. After leaving the cancer ward, he and his wife went to a bicycle shop, with an eye toward training for triathlons and long-distance bike rides.

Given his prognosis, Gleavey briefly considered buying inexpensive bicycles before his incessant determination kicked in. He opted instead for a pair of top-of-the-line carbon fiber bikes.

"I was not going to let cancer hold me hostage at all," he said.

Those bikes got plenty of use as he trained on the coastal and backcountry roads of North County. Gleavey mixed marathon runs with triathlons, with occasional 100-mile bike rides sprinkled in.

This summer was typical. Gleavey, 63, competed in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in June. The following month, he took part in a half-Ironman Triathlon in his native Rhode Island. In August, he was riding in the Cool Breeze Century, a 100-mile ride in Ventura, when his next health adventure began.

At mile 38, riding downhill at about 35 mph, Gleavey estimated, he misjudged the sharpness of a curve and realized he could either lay down his bike, likely wiping out a number of other cyclists, or take his chances leaving the road.

Luck was not with him when he chose the latter course. He struck the edge of a ditch, flipping into the air. On the way down, his helmet caught the edge of something, snapping his neck back.

Gleavey came out of the crash with a broken neck and back and paralyzed from the rib cage down.

Besides the paralysis, his other injuries are healing nicely. And Gleavey already has his eyes on future athletic challenges.

"I've already been down to the (Challenged Athletes Foundation) event and met with people from Operation Rebound for (veterans). They can help with purchases of racing wheelchairs," said Gleavey, who served three years in the Marine Corps. "I plan to walk again. I haven't given that up. In the meantime, I'm not going to lay around. I can be a challenged athlete."

To that end, he is looking into swimming lessons and physical therapy to get him moving again. And he's getting a boost from friends he met while participating with the Team in Training events raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of San Diego.

Six of those friends, all North County residents, plan to pick up where Gleavey left off on his last ride, putting together the Milestone Challenge, a 62-mile round-trip ride from Solana Beach to San Clemente.

"We decided we would ride the 62 miles to complete the 100-mile ride he was on. He was on mile 38," said Greg Voisen, the ride organizer. "He's just an amazing inspiration for everybody."

Voisen is being assisted by his wife, Lisa, friends Alan and Helen Dalziel and sisters Carey and Marty Klinger in organizing the Dec. 6 fundraiser, which will include the 8 a.m. ride, which leaves from Solana Beach City Hall, followed by lunch and a silent auction from 2 to 6 p.m. at Chiefs Burgers and Brew, 124 Lomas Santa Fe Drive.

The group is aiming to attract 100 riders for the event while hoping to raise $30,000 to pay some of Gleavey's medical bills and the cost of making his home wheelchair accessible.

Call Voisen at (888) 337-6416 or Alan Dalziel at (760) 712-3130 or visit www.milestonechallenge.com for information.

Typically, Gleavey hopes to lead the parade. While he can't pedal, he's trying to get a hand cycle or a racing wheelchair so he can pace the group for a quarter-mile or so.

"It's just who I am," Gleavey said of his can-do spirit. "I never look back. I never sit around wondering 'Why me?' ... I'm one who can never turn down a good challenge, and this here is a good challenge for me ---- just another challenge I have to go through."

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The ride was a very positive experience. I rode with several close friends that I have made with Team in Training. The ride itself was a simple out and back starting in Solano Beach up the coast through Camp Pendelton and back. It was another very beautiful day in the area and it was nice to be able to ride at a more leisurely pace and chat with friends after such an intense experience in Tucson. The ride went well with two exceptions.

1) I got a pretty bad twinge in my knee very early in the ride and rode in mild to moderate pain throughout the day. I don't know if it is a lingering after-effect of the twinge I felt towards the end of the Tucson ride. I had forgotten all about that and don't notice anything when I'm walking. I only feel pain when I'm riding in a big gear, cranking away or when I'm climbing. It is a serious enough feeling that I'm planning on seeing my doctor ASAP. Stay tuned.

2) Flatted. Nothing too dramatic but it happened seconds after I had complained that I was ready to be off my bike. Pssssssst. God works in mysterious ways.

The silent auction/raffle at Chief's Burgers afterwards was a blast. I won a bike light and a cool water bottle. I was sadly outbid on every auction I went after including, 1-hour massage, Bike Nutrition basket, 1-hour session with a personal trainer, very cool "speedplay" bike pedals. The bike ticket item was a new bicycle, valued at $1500 that sold for $900. Someone got a deal there. One of the items at auction was a personalize cycling outfit. You create your own design, motto, team name, whatever and the sponsor would custom make a jersey, bike shorts, socks, arm warmers, leg warmers and jacket with that design. An amazing prize, value at $1,000. The winning bid was $250! I was very very tempted with that one but just couldn't justify the purchase. I'm sure I'll be kicking myself later about the one that got away.

I think the fundrasier was highly successful. I understand that there were over 110 riders, and the amount of money raised was estimated to be over $20,000. All and all a very good day.

Mystery Bike Update

Another thing that was exciting about this recent Tucson trip is that I had planned a visit with legendary bike frame builder, Andy Gilmour. Andy has been building high quality bike frames since the early 70's and is based out of Tucson. I've been trying to identify my "mystery bike" that I recently finished restoring. All I really know about it is that it was built in the early to mid 70's based on the dates on the components, it has high quality parts, and is stamped with the letter "G" in several places. The previous owner told me that he bought the bike in Tucson from another owner. Some internet research lead me to Andy Gilmour and I sent him a few photos of the bike to see if he could identify it. He wasn't able to determine much from the photos but thought that it might be one of his very early builds.

I met up with Andy on Friday the day before the race at his studio. He was kind enough to see me with pretty short notice. Very friendly guy. He spent all of about 45 seconds looking at the geometry, tapping the lugs, looking at the stays before he said "Nope, not one of mine". Bummer :(

He did say that he thought the bike was built by Colin Laing, another Tucson builder of that era that now resides in Phoenix. I asked him what were some of the clues. He pointed at the mismatching lugs and the thickness of the seat stem as primary clues. I don't have the sophisticated eye or experience to know about that stuff yet. He was fairly certain so now I have another clue to follow up on. Well not much more to say. I was hoping for a tour of Andy's studio, but he looked pretty busy so we said thanks and left.

The good news is that I occasionally travel to Phoenix on business and will also be going there in mid January as Christine is going to be running in the Rock n Roll marathon there. I'll take the bike there and see if I can get Colin to look at it.

The mystery continues.

The Numbers are In...

...for Team in Training's efforts at El Tour de Tucson. 25 chapters participated with a total of 450 riders. Total funds raised exceed 1 million dollars! Amazing.

El Tour de Tucson

Well the big day finally arrived, the culmination of 4 months of training. The goal was 109-miles in 6 hours. Further and faster than I had ever gone before.

The day started at 4:30 am when the hotel alarm went off and I got dressed for the ride. I had carefully prepared the night before and had done everything from pinning my race number to my jersey, laying out my clothes to prepping my breakfast. My group meets in the lobby at 5am where we munch away at the meager "early breakfast" hotel offerings and head out to the course.















Bright Eyed and Busy Tailed (Jeff, Me, Ashley, Brian, Donna)

By 5:30 am we are in the start corrals. We line up on the "fast" side. It is a balmy 53 degrees and I'm trying to contain my excitement. Several porta-pottie stops later, we're approaching zero hour. Christine meets us a few minutes before the 7am start and accepts our jackets, hats and other warm clothing that we won't be using for the ride. Jeff and Brian's wife are also there to see us off. It's an exciting moment.















Corrals Before the Race




















The Chad















Donna and Ashley Ready to Rock




















Jeff is Not So Ready to Rock

The gun goes off and hundreds of bikes are creeping forward inches from each other. Bunch starts are nerve wracking. Gradually space starts opening up and I can safely clip my second foot into the pedal and away we go. Here's a map of the route. Click on it for larger size.
















Route

The start is chaotic as riders bolt off trying to get a jump on the field. Chad had prepped us for this and we let them run away, confident that we would catch up to the majority of them midway through the ride when they tired out.

Around mile 8, we get to the first river crossing.














First River Crossing

There are hundreds of riders that all dismount, pick up their bikes and make their way across the roughly 1/4-mile crossing. Some are rolling their bikes, others are running with them. People are darting all around, some are stumbling. I get across and am separated from my group. I see Chad and Brian up ahead in Team in Training jerseys so I put my head down and I start after them.

That's when it all went horribly wrong. I lose sight of them and after a few minutes I still don't see them. I'm convinced that they are ahead of me lost in the sea of other riders so I take off after them trying to catch up. I still can't find them and I'm starting to get very worried. I stupidly had decided to leave my cell phone behind as I have never had to use it in all my training rides or past Centuries and thought I might gain a small advantage by carrying less weight.

I slow my pace way down and let hundreds of riders pass me up and still don't see them. We're going for time, so I think that they wouldn't just stop. I stop and wait thinking maybe they are somehow behind me and they still aren't there. I'm also going for time so I half-heartedly start up again going 10 mph. What to do? If they are ahead of me, they will probably stop unless I take too long. If they are behind me, they will be riding as a group and will catch up to me. I could ride back but if I'm wrong, there is no way we make our goal. If I stop and wait and they are ahead, what if I'm wrong? They will have to come back for me. We have a scheduled stop at roughly the midpoint of the ride after the second river crossing so I just decide to ride and if worst comes to worse, we will meet there. If they are behind, they will catch me in the next 40 miles. If they are ahead of me, they will wait for me at the stop.

Flawed decision or not, I decide to ride ahead. It was a very strange experience, as I have never ridden a considerable distance without a team. It's a whole different world out there. I try to grab a wheel hoping to conserve strength by drafting but that doesn't go so well. The rider is purposely swerving around to make it difficult to draft off of him. I get the none to subtle hint and drop off and there I am, in the middle of two groups alone battling a headwind. Not good. My average pace was around 14 mph at that time a far cry from the average of 18.1 I need to hit if I'm going to reach my goal of finishing under 6 hours. I ride on trying to make up time. Average pace is slowly creeping up, 15.5 mph, then 16.1 mph and then we hit a downhill. 16.8 mph average! I give it a little gas and continue barreling down the hill and stumble unto a small group of riders being lead by a tandem bicycle. I ask if I can join on and there are no objections. Finally an opportunity to rest. I tuck in behind and it is smooth sailing. We eat up 20 miles with the tandem plowing through the air. Average speed is now up into the 17.2 mph range. Now we're talking. Somewhere around mile 45 they start to slow, I can't afford that so I give some heartfelt thanks and move ahead. I hit the second river crossing with an average pace of 17.4 mph, feeling good.

This crossing is twice as long as the last one and even more chaotic. Some bikers are actually riding through the silty dirt screaming at those walking their bikes to get out of the way. I decide to take a short nature break as there are no lines at the portables located in the middle of the crossing. Back on the crossing, I make it back on to paved road and hop on the bike with some silt in my shoes. Not too bad, though. I climb up the short hill looking for our support stop and don't see them. I'm getting totally demoralized at this point. I can't have missed them as I have been carefully looking for them. I turn a bend in the road and see some friendly faces. Jeff and Brian's wife are there waving purple and green signs. I roll up and immediately ask, "how far ahead are the rest of the team"? I get a couple of confused looks and they say, that I'm the first to arrive. Somehow I've managed to ride the first half of the race alone and end up ahead of the rest of my team. I'm feeling like a major idiot at this point. About a minute later, the rest of the Team rolls up and everyone looks relieved. I say sorry, feeling like a total dolt. Chad makes a call to the coaches to let them know that we've been reunited.

Back to business, we swap water bottles, eat quickly and are back on the bikes in less than 2 minutes. I say sorry again, looking for some sort of absolution and everyone is cool with me and say that they are just happy to have found me.

We proceed on and encounter some rolling hills and then a steady climb. All of a sudden, my legs are protesting and I'm paying the price for my solo jaunt. I get dropped on the last climb and thankfully Chad is soft-pedaling at the top of the hill and leads me out to the rest of the group letting me draft behind him. Everything is ok on the flats. I take the opportunity to eat, and devour an energy bar and some salted almonds. The effect is almost immediate and I feel much better on the next climb.

We pass a couple of ambulances and there are at least two riders on the ground in a jumble of splintered bike parts. One has a neck brace on. It is a very disturbing sight. I read the next day in the paper that there was a hit and run incident where a car plowed into 10 riders, got out of his car to look for any damage to his vehicle, looked at the riders and then sped away. Hopefully there is a warm spot in hell for him after he's done rotting in jail. I say a little prayer for the downed riders and we move on.

We continue on at a fast clip of over 20mph, building the average speed back up. We pass a group of Team in Training Riders from New Jersey and one of them says, "there they go. You guys from San Diego are always mowing us down out here". We're famous :)

We hit the much anticipated downhill on Tangerine Road. It is roughly 16 miles of rolling, mostly downhill. Jeff and I take turns at the front and lead a train of about 20 riders down the hill at speeds over 30 mph. What a blast.

All good things come to an end and then we hit a some more hills and continue on over a long series of rollers. They are taking their toll on me, I'm tired and fading. Ashley is also struggling, which is strange as she is always so strong. We slow the pace trying to recover and are having trouble riding as a group. We've got 20 miles to go and need to average above 22 mph if we are going to finish in under 6 hours. Trouble in paradise.

We hit mile 95, and I'm feeling like crap. Every part of my body in contact with the bike is in bad pain. My hands are numb, my butt is sore and my feet are burning. I fidget around trying to find a position that doesn't hurt and am not successful. My quads start cramping bad. 14 miles to go. Hmm, that is looking like another hour on the bike at our current pace. I'm starting to doubt if I will be able to finish. The miles start passing slowly. Mile 100, only 9 more to go. Knee starts hurting from the strain of turning the cranks. I lower the resistance and spin a little more to reduce the pressure. I'm struggling to keep on a wheel. Chad is encouraging and motivating me. "Almost done", "It will hurt even more without the wheel", "C'mon". I eat my last energy bar and bit of almonds. I'm down to 1/2 bottle of water. The last 9 miles are pure agony and feel like all uphill. Down to 5 miles, and I start thinking, that 5 miles is really only two loops around Fiesta Island. Playing tricks with myself, setting short term goals to keep moving. Feet are burning and I lift them up in my shoes to relieve the pressure whenever we hit a small downhill. 2.5 miles left. That's just one loop around Fiesta Island! We turn the corner and suddenly the finish line is in sight. We bunch up and cross together as a Team. Awesome!

We cross the line, and our timing chip is removed and our race bibs are marked. Someone notices that Ashley's front tire is flat. Must have been a slow leak and explains her uncharacteristic struggles. I stagger away leaning on my bike to stay upright. I'm feeling completely and totally whipped. Feeling a little disoriented, I make my way to a nearby patch of grass and lay down and take off the shoes. Other finishers are milling around. Brian and Jeff's wife are there and there is champagne. We pop a couple of bottles and just savor the experience.

Someone looks up our time and it is 6hours 20 minutes. We didn't make it... Damn!

I hobble over to the medal tent and a collect my silver medal and then make my way to the Team in Training Tent to check-in and grab something to eat.




















Medal

Sandwiches, watermelon, chips. I try to find a shady spot and gingerly sit down to eat. I'm still very shaken from my experience and a flood of emotions pass over me as I'm sitting there. Disappointment for not making the goal, relief of being done, fear of almost not finishing, guilt of getting separated from the group, respect for what I have just done. I start thinking of my family members who died of Leukemia and the pain is worth it. Disappointment turns to pride. I can honestly say I took myself to the limit and rode as hard and fast as I was able. I rode until it nearly killed me. I just finished riding 109-miles at an average pace of 17.1 mph! That is awesome!

I rejoin the group and we head back to the hotel. I take a quick shower and Christine babies me as I lay down to rest and recover. At 4pm, two hours later, I get the call. The next group of riders are coming in. I suit up, and we ride back out to escort them across the finish line as a show of support. We collect two groups and ride in as a Team. It's great.

We hang out for another hour or so and then head out for the next batch of riders. Our last rider comes in about 10 minutes shy of the 11-hour time limit. 11 hours on a bike and not giving up. That is dedication.

Totals for the day were

109-miles
3400+ feet of climbing
Average pace of 17.1 mph
Total Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds
1491st place out of 4,539 century riders and 8,636 total riders.

More importantly, the total amount of funds raised by all the Team in Training chapters participating to fight blood cancers exceeded 1 million dollars.

Tucson Tune-up

We're here! Arrived yesterday early evening with no problems. Several bonuses with traveling eastward instead of my usual northward trips. Absolutely zero traffic the entire trip and the price of gas seemed to drop by a couple of pennies per gallon the further we got.

Checked into the hotel, and then went out for dinner at El Charro Cafe. Great eats. This place claims to be the where the Chimichanga was invented. I ordered a Sopa de Fideo, which I love and can never find in a restaurant. I also ordered a couple of chicken tamales with tomatillo sauce. Good stuff. Afterwards, hit the grocery store for some supplies. The usual stuff, bagels, peanut butter, bananas, apples, gatorade, energy bars, salted almonds. FUEL. Picked up a friend at the airport and then back to the hotel to catch the last bit of an impromptu room party.

This morning we had a tune-up ride to stretch the legs. We rode about 15 miles and the conditions were not too favorable. There was a very strong wind blowing from every direction making it difficult to control the bike. There is also major construction going on along the route with the highways being widened. Consequently, the road is in poor condition and the bike lane is all about 6 inches wide. I felt pretty nervous every time a cement truck would pass us. We rode out to get a look at the first river crossing and it looks like it is in pretty good shape. The soil is hard packed while it is usually very silty. This should help.

That's it for now. Next stop Bike Expo to get some schwagg, buy an overpriced event jersey, some electrolyte tablets. Later on, 1pm team meeting were we go over course specific items.

Also today, I'm going out to Andy Gilmour Cycles to meet Andy. I think he is the one that built my mystery vintage bike that I have been restoring. I'm hoping for a positive ID.

6pm is TnT Pasta Party where we carb up, and listen to inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking speeches from people with blood cancers.

Tomorrow is event day!!!!!!

Looking Forward

Endurance training is mildly addicting. Ok, who am I kidding, it is incredibly addicting. I'm not even done with my current endeavor and I'm already looking ahead. I'll be resting most of December and January but have big plans for the coming year.

Dec 6th - Milestone Challenge (Metric Century)

This is worth a special mention. The proceeds for this metric Century (62-miles) go to Skip Gleavy, a local TnT triple-crowner, having completed a marathon, century, triathlon with the Team. Skip crashed during a century ride earlier this year and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Skip is an amazing person and did all his events while fighting Stage 4 Leukemia and after a heart surgery. The TnT alumni group and local bicycle club riders are getting together to raise money to help Skip and his wife, Denise out with their medical bills.

January 17th - Stagecoach Century (Ocotillo, CA) - Local Century ride.
February-June - Mentor for TnT for another run at the Lake Tahoe Century America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMMBR). Time to give something back to the program that has been such a positive part of my life the last couple of years.
June - October- PacGrove Triathlon with TnT. Triple Crown, baby!

I had originally planned to do the Lavaman Triathlon in March to get my TnT triple crown but it just didn't work out with the rest of my year goals like mentoring for the cycle team. It would also have been 3 back to back seasons, which is exhausting and makes fundraising difficult. Pac Grove is penciled in for now.

Final Prep

Saturday was final prep day. We did much shorter mileage with the ride just a hair under 40 miles. This week was a backdown (taper) week. Our bodies are trained to do this ride and now is the time to rest up before next weekend's big event.

The ride was a pretty standard out and back route from the LLS offices in Kearny Mesa out to Mission Bay and back. The only thing that was different is that we had a little "anarchy" the last mile. Anarchy means, abandon the pace line and race each other in to the finish. We hit the previously agreed upon start line and took off. Chad is the fastest but he really isn't in the race since he is the mentor. I was able to latch onto his wheel and follow his lead out. He was going pretty fast at over 25mph. I hung on his wheel for a while and then he rotated off and got behind me and I powered on trying to keep up the blistering pace. A few hundred yards from the finish, I came out of my left pedal and had to scramble to reclip in. Races are won and lost based on things like this and Jeff and Brian were able to take advantange and pass me up. Great fun.

Back at home base, we wait around for a bit for the rest of the Team to arrive and then we move indoors for our Final Prep party. Food and drinks, kind words from our mentors and coaches and final instructions on what to expect at the ride.

Some helpful hints

1) Expect cold weather as we will be starting somewhere around 5am.
2) Bring something to clean the dirt out of you shoe clips as crossing the river beds may gunk them up.
3) No bike riding the entire week! Rest the legs.
4) Get lots of sleep and hydrate the entire week.

Less than a week to go and I'm both excited and nervous. Excited to do the event, but nervous because it means going further and faster than I have ever gone before. There are some race conditions that we weren't able to simulate during our training that I discussed last week including the increase speed we will have from riding in a large group. We will also be "tapered" (i.e. rested).

My team is shooting for a sub 6-hr finish. This means 109 miles at an average pace of 18.1 mph. We are planning exactly one 2-minute stop to replace (not refill) water bottles at the midpoint. I'm planning on having a nice ham sandwich (with mayo!) and a Dr. Pepper (non-diet!) waiting for me at the stop. Stuff my gullet and then head out and do the last 50+ miles to the finish.

Big Miles

Today was the last big training session of the season. 91 miles of fun. The plan for today was to work on speed. The pre-ride stuff was kept very short so we could get on the road earlier. 7am start time!

There are "two" fast groups on the Team and Coach David pulls us aside from the rest of the riders for a quick pep talk. The difference between the two groups is that mine is has a Tucson goal finish time of under 6 hours and the second group has a goal of 6.5 hours. Our group will make minimal stops, and those we make will be limited to 2 minutes stops. The other group will have luxurious 10 minutes stops. David says we are all capable riders, and having ridden with each of us is confident that we will meet our goals provide we ride "smart". We need to not only ride as a team with good pace line, but we need to take advantage of other non Team in Training participants who are willing to do all the work fighting the wind. He described several scenarios, one of which the lead person in our pace line sees a large group of other riders up ahead. If that situation arises, the lead person needs to speed up to reach the next group and latch on to them. Do 5 minutes of hard work to reach them and then let those riders cut a huge swath through the wind to make the rest of our ride easier. There is a very noticeable and dramatic effect of riding in a large group. It is much, much easier not to mention faster.

The ride today was a "simple" out and back ride up the coast to San Clemente. One other highlight is that we get to ride through the Camp Pendleton Marine base and avoid riding along Interstate 5. Cyclists are free to ride through the base provide they wear a helmet and have photo ID. This ride is one of the annual rituals for the cycle team and the midpoint rest stop is a Carl's Jr where salty fries are available in abundance.

Running out of water during the ride has been an issue for me the last couple of rides so I brought along an extra bottle and kept it in one of the back pockets of my cycling jersey. It felt really strange to have a 2 lb bottle of water tugging my jersey back. One unexpected complication from this was that I actually got some chaffing during the long ride.

Mentor Chad indicates that besides the regular stop at Carl's, every other stop is limited to 2 minutes. On ride day, Chad has a plan where someone will meet us at mile 55 of the 109-mile ride with pre-filled water bottles and our stop will be limited to quickly swapping out our empties with these replacement bottles and eating a quick bite before heading out. The two minute stops were a killer. There was barely enough time to fill water bottles and eat anything. One other key to successful riding is being able to eat and drink while riding. This is no small feat when you are moving at a constant clip of 20+ mph.

The ride went pretty well and I felt strong for most of it. We were keeping a very quick pace thoughout the session. I didn't eat much at Carl's which was a mistake. Halfway back to our start line about 70 miles into the ride I was fading fast, lacking energy. Chad had a plan to skip the last support stop and ride through to the end. A couple of us protest and we make another 2 minute stop where I cram a PB&J down my gullet, fill all three water bottles, eat a handful of trail mix and back on the road. Feeling much better. Along the way, several of us were suffering at different times. The disruption to the normal eating pattern on the ride is taking it's toll. Then all of a sudden when the energy hits, everything is back to normal. It is pretty strange to be able to feel the effect of food you just ate boost your energy levels. Mile 8o or so I start struggling again and am getting some cramping in both my thighs and my butt is killing me from so much time in the saddle. I eat my last energy bar and just soldier along. I start taking shorter shifts at the front of the line which makes me feel guilty but it's for the good of the overall team. The bar kicks in and I'm almost back to normal.

The ride ends with another climb up Torrey Pines. I take it a slower than usual pace as my legs are protesting and start to cramp every time I make a big exertion. Instead of 7mph up the hill, I'm at 5.5 mph. I grunt it out and make it to the top. Well since we are going for time, we forgo the normal stop at the top and complete the last two miles back to the start point. Not a lot of climbing on this ride which I think actually makes it harder. There is little opportunity to get out of the saddle and there is no coasting downhill so you are constantly pedaling.

Totals were 91 miles in 5:34 hours of ride time with an average pace of 16.8 mph. Very fast. The goal for Tucson is 109-miles in 6 hours which is an average pace of 18.1 mph. It will be...challenging.

Here is a map of the ride courtesy of Google Earth.

Maiden Voyage

Today was the official maiden voyage of my newly restored bicycle. I was happy to learn that a local rider had planned a vintage bike ride for today. This appears to be a semi-monthly event where classic bicycle enthusiasts get together for a ride.

Today's 25ish mile route began in Balboa Park winding through Hillcrest, down Presidio Hill (!), skirting Old Town and down the bike path to Ocean Beach and finally ending up with a long steady climb up to Cabrillo National Monument. Then we turn around, ride along Harbor Blvd before making our way back to Balboa after stopping in Little Italy for lunch.

There were about 9 total riders each riding a vintage steel steed. Besides my mystery bike there were some beautiful bikes there including:

50's Hetchins Magnum Bonum
Masi
early 70's Schwinn Paramount
Mercian
Mondia
Early 70's Colnago Super

The Hetchins is worth a special mention. It is a fixed gear "Path Rider". Path is what the English call the track. This bike was built as a track bike racer. The interesting thing is that there are frame eyelets for fenders and generator lights to be mounted on the frame. Even though they were built for racing, there were used as all around commuter bikes. The racers would ride to the track, remove the fenders and lights, race and put it all back together before heading home. Here are a couple of photos of this beauty.
















Hetchins
















Hetchins Head Badge
















Mercian Fixed Gear
















Mondia Speciale

The Mondia was equipped with a hodgepodge of components including a modern rear deraileur but note the lever action Simplex Front Derailleur Lever!
















Colnago Super

Gorgeous

The riders were all very strong and the pace was faster than I expected. One thing that troubled me was that they don't obey all the stop signs, which I guess isn't that unusual for a casual ride. Obviously they would stop if there were cars present but if the way was clear, they would roll right past signs and through red lights.

My bike performed very well and I found myself getting used to shifting with the friction levers located on the downtube of the bike. This is very different than current bikes with the shifters located on the bars. The front derailleur was slighty out of alignment and consequently was a bit noisy in some gear combinations where the chain was rubbing. Should be an easy adjustment. My front brake was also a pretty squeeky was caused me some slight embarrassment coming down the hills.

We had a great ride and then stopped for lunch at Pappalecco's in Little Italy where we were warmly greeted and set up with a large table for lunch and refreshments.

One of the riders, strapped a small video camera to his helment and filmed parts of the ride and posted it on YouTube. Take a look, it's cool.

Toughie

Yesterday's ride (Nov 1) was the second hardest ride I've ever done. The weather forecast was for cool temperatures with some clouds and possibly some sprinkles. Our head coach told us that we were going to work on speed and the the majority of our climbing work was behind us and that we were going to climb less than 3000 ft.

LIES. It was 90+ degrees with no breeze or shade and the climbing was more like 4,000 feet.

Only six of us again (Chad, Jeff, Brian, Ashley, Donna, Me) with Angel being MIA again this week. He's missed the last few training sessions. We started out fine and made our way from Carlsbad up to Oceanside along the bike path clocking and impressive average speed of 23+ mph. We turned inland and that's when it got ugly. Hills, hills, hills and it got hotter and hotter the further east we went. We keep a tempo and try to stay together but we are suffering. I'm doing poorly and Chad asks that I stay behind Jeff save energy until I recover. I swallow some pride and comply. Much better.

10 more miles and we are at our SAG stop. I wolf down a PB&J and slam a large Gatorade and then head into the Wendy's and soak my head in the sink. I plant myself in the shade of the building and the sidewalk just sucks the heat out of me. The next thing you know there are 10 people sitting with me cooling off. A few people are having a hard time. One rider was somehow having severe chills, most are overheating. Back on the road.

About mile 67 after a brutal, unforgiving climb up Champagne road, a few people abandon and get driven back to their cars. I strongly considered joining them but I found a bit of shade, removed my helmet and shoes, doused my head with cold water and just cooled off. My head was pounding but after about 10 minutes I felt much better. Only 10 more miles to the next SAG stop and less than 20 miles left in the total ride. Go for it. I refill my water bottles and even add some ice and we head off for the last 10 miles.

Back on the road and I immediately start to second guess my decision as somehow we miraculously started climbing again! Luckily, the climb was short and we were rewarded with a screaming downhill on Del Dios Highway. Beautiful countryside, Lake Hodges to the left and the breeze from the 30mph downhill made up for the lack of shade. I had soaked my jersey before leaving so got a very good evaporative cooling effect. We are heading back to the coast and it is getting cooler so I'm doing better.

Mile 75 and we are at our final support stop. We were jamming so fast that we beat the support truck and have to wait a couple minutes for it to show up. More water, more PB&J. Decision time again. Only 10 more miles to go but I'm not feeling that well. I make a quick assessment and decide to go for it. Only 10 miles, I've just refueled, the route is along the coast, it's cooled off. Off we go and all of a sudden I'm feeling like Superman. Unfortunately, two of my teammates are suffering. We slow the pace down a bit and let them rest by drafting off of us. Teamwork, you know. We make our 85 miles and blow right past our exit back to our starting point. It seems that the "fast team" as we are known are special and get to do an extra 5 miles! 5 Miles isn't that long of a distance but it's tough when you mentally prepare for the 85 and then have to do 5 more. Grumble, grumble and at long last we are back to the start.

Tough ride but we hung as a team.

Here's the route.














Totals were 91 miles, lot's of climbing and 5 hours and 43 minutes of ride time.

One more big ride next week then a backdown week and then TUCSON!

Another one down

Felt much stronger for today's ride even though I had to fly to Phoenix for the day and didn't get home until pretty late. I've nearly gotten rid of the cold that has been affecting me the last couple of weeks.

We had a guest mentor today (Steve) as Chad was still nursing his bruises and scrapes after last weeks tussle with a Toyota Tundra.

We concentrated on riding as a group and hung together in the hills. We did much better as a group and are finally starting to gel as a team. Good news as we have just a few more large mile rides before Tucson.

It was pretty hot today and I was sweating so much that I was going through my water bottles very quickly. Towards the end of the ride, I was nearly out with 10 more miles to go. Luckily, some of the camels on my team still had some and got together to mostly fill up one of my bottles so I could complete the ride. I may have to bring an extra bottle next week.

Here is the map of our ride. 77 miles today with an average pace of about 16.5 mph.

Less than a month

El Tour de Tucson Century is a month from yesterday! Wow, this season is just whizzing past. Here's what my next few Saturday's look like

Saturday October 25 - 85 Miles
Saturday, November 1 - 90 Miles
Saturday, November 8 - 95 Miles
Saturday, November 15 - 40 Miles (backdown week)
Saturday, November 22 - Event Day 109 miles!
Saturday, November 29 - Sleep till Noon

I've still got a bit of fundraising to do so if you are interested in donating a few bucks, now is the time. Click on the link below to go to my fundraising page.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/svalladolid

Got her done

I completed the restoration of the bike I have been working on the last couple of months today after picking up a few missing pieces at the Velodrome Annual Swap Meet this morning.

Although I've not been able to determine what the actual make of the bicycle is, for a variety of reasons, I suspect it is a very early Andy Gilmour. Andy has been building frames since 1974 and is still in business. I sent him a some photos of the frames and he thought it looked very much like one of his early frames, but it is impossible to tell for sure. While the bike is of uncertain heritage it is definitely a high end bike based on the Reynolds 531 tubing and the Campagnolo Nuovo Record components. Both were high quality items when this bike was constructed (~1975-76).

Here are a few photos of the completed project:















Nuovo Record Campagnolo Components, Regal San Marcos Saddle w/ Titanium Rails















Very unusual chainring. I've only seen one other during my countless hours of internet surfing. An identical, slightly smaller chainring sold on Ebay a couple of months back for $80 and was listed as a "Campagnolo Nuovo Record Chainring drilled Merckx". Eddy Merckx is the most famous professional cyclist of all time, and a 5 times winner of the Tour De France. Apologies to Lance Amstrong. Campagnolo Pedals, Christophe Toe Clips, Ale Toe Straps, and Elite "Lightweight Tubular Cage" water bottle cage.















Cinelli "Campeone Del Mondo" Bars, Cinelli Stem, Bennotto bar tape. Period correct mustard yellow cable housing. Period correct Campagnolo Derailleur cable set. Contemporary brake cables. Replica Campagnolo "gum" brake hoods. I hand painted the yellow "G" with some model paint I found at the game store.















The University of California, Berkeley water bottle is not original ;) but it sure matches the color scheme very well. Pasela 27-1 1/4 "gumwall" tires. Very Rouler. This tire ended up being slightly too big for the bike and they will be eventually replaced with something sportier.

I rode it today for about 10 miles and had to make a few adjustments to the brake pad position. It rode very well. I'm going to have to come up with a longer, more suitable maiden voyage ride for it to really give it a run.

Saturday Comeback and Cars are Dangerous

This week's ride was another rough one. I skipped last week's ride and stayed home sick. I am still not 100% but I was feeling a lot better so I decided to ride.

We started the day heading north from Mission Bay up through UCSD before making our way East onto the Highway 56 bike path into Poway. I was feeling pretty so-so and the ride up until that point was nearly all uphill. I was having no trouble on the straights which was a relief after the last time I rode. I was also hanging tough on the climb. Then things got interesting. The next 25 miles were a real struggle for me. I started feeling pretty blah and a little weak. We were also as far East as Lake Hodges and it was downright hot out there. More climbing and I'm starting to lag behind again. I'm really heating up pretty badly, too. We crest a large hill and I have to call "time" and get the group to stop. I remove my gloves, and my wicking fabric headcap that I'm wearing beneath my helmet and unzip my jersey and squirt some water over my head and down my front. Back on the road and I'm feeling much cooler, with air shooting down my helmet cooling me down. 5 miles later, we stop at a CVS to fill up on water as a couple of us are nearly out. I drink a large Gatorade and sit in the shade for a few moments and we head to our next SAG stop which is right outside a gas station. I head into the station and soak my face and head with cold water. A peanut butter/jelly sandwich and a large handful of trail mix and we are back on the road with another 25 miles to go.

Things are back to normal and I am feeling not just better, but very strong. Our pace line is working and we are hauling. We turn south along the coast and there's Torrey Pines Road again. If you remember, I limped up the hill the last time I rode it. Mentor Chad says that we will climb as a team, which is code for climb at Steve's pace because I had confessed to him that I was hurting earlier in the day. Well, I'm feeling good and take the lead and shoot up the hill at a minimum pace of 7 mph which is a very respectable. Saturday comeback. Having redeemed myself, we continue on. We are riding along a very low traffic frontage road after leaving the Rose Canyon bike path when all of a sudden Donna and Ashley who were riding at the back of the line, just blow past us at full speed. Chad smirks and says to the remaining three of us..."go get 'em". So we line up, with me in front, followed by Jeff and then Brian and try to chase them down. They had a huge jump on us but we hit it hard. I'm sprinting up front, breaking through the wind, and flashing back to my sprints at the Track. I go until, I start to fade, and then rotate off to the back of the line and Jeff takes over. More sprinting, then he rotates off for our anchor, Brian and we finally rein them in, all gasping for air. Thanks, Chad ;)

Feeling good, we coast to our start point...and ride right past it! I wave goodbye to my car as we roll past. We proceed up the road a few miles to Fiesta Island and go about a mile and stop. Chad tells us we are going to practice our river crossing. The Tucson Century ride I'm training for requires crossing two dry river beds. He gives us a few tips on how to carry our bikes, showing us three different methods and then we head through the middle of the island over sandy beach with our bikes under our arms. The last thing I expected was to have to walk through sand carrying my bike after riding 70+ miles.

Next we lined up in a pace line to head back home having just completed the last bit of the shorter loop and were heading back out to the entrance. Chad was at the front of the pace line and I was at the back of the line. We had just passed the last few fire pit spots before veering
right along the paved road to go to the exit. A very large truck appeared just as we were rounding the corner directly in our path. The truck was going the wrong way on a one way road! Traffic on the island goes counter-clockwise but the truck had taken the left off the main entry road and was going clockwise clearly against the signage and traffic paint. There was little time to react and Chad and the driver both tried to veer to miss each other but both ended up going the same direction. Chad looses control of the bike and goes into a long slide, thankfully out the path of the truck. The rest of us brake hard and spray out to miss him laying on the road. The driver pulls over and runs back scared and apologetic. Chad is curled up on the ground, conscious but in obvious pain. His clothing is ripped and he's got bad road rash from his hard slide. Donna was instantly on the cell phone trying to reach 911 and couldn't get through. She tried to call our Head Coach, Ricky but he didn't pick up. We were looking for the phone number for our Support and Gear (SAG) volunteer but it was taking too long. We were a mile away from everyone we were trying to reach so I just decided to head back to the start point and bring someone back. I took off and sprinted the mile back to the parking lot. I arrived so out of breath that I could hardly relay the message but thankfully Donna was able to reach the SAG volunteer and he was already on his way. A few minutes later, they arrive and Chad is looking ok.

I heard back from him today that his visit to the emergency room showed no serious damage beyond the road rash. He was very lucky.

Totals for the day was 77.5 miles with about 4,000 feet of climbing and two very serious sprints.

Here's the map of our route.

Citizen Lopez

Congratulations to my cousin, Alegria who was naturalized today and is now a US Citizen. Here are a couple of photos from the ceremony this morning. Sorry about the poor quality. They were taken with my camera phone.
















1,081 New Citizens Today
















Flag Waiver
















Certificate
















Registering to Vote Immediately after Leaving the Hall

This made her so happy. She made the registration deadline by 3 days and will be eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

Congrats!

Rare Weekend

I skipped my normal Saturday long mileage session with the Team as I was feeling decidedly poor on Saturday morning. All the tell-tale signs were there from last weekend and I was feeling particularly worn out on Friday night. My body ached, had the bad headache and congestion in my lungs. I woke up on Saturday morning and just rolled over and stayed in bed. Having a Saturday free is a very rare occurence for me, especially one where I resolve to stay in and rest. Christine was out of town for the Long Beach 1/2-marathon with some of her friends. So... I did what anyone else in my position would do. I spent the day bundled in a blanket, slurping chicken noodle soup and watching Samurai movies.

I woke up on Sunday feeling much, much better and had to get out on my bike. I didn't want to push it too hard so I headed out with a goal of 30 miles on the day. It was a bit cool so I wore a couple of undershirts under my jersey and rode westward towards Fiesta Island which is about 7 miles away. I get there just in time to see the awards ceremony of the last Time Trials of the season there. I didn't even know that they were going on or I would have planned to arrive earlier to catch some of it.

I started riding around the island and at about 10-miles in, I bump into one of my C-Rider teammates Brian, getting some extra miles in. He had been stung by a bee during yesterday's ride and had to abandon the ride at 30 miles as he is allergic to them. We rode another 10 miles together which was nice and then split up to go our respective ways. I headed back inland on Friar's Road which is normally very trafficky, but was very light today. Everyone must have been watching football or something. I briefly consider tackling Texas Street to climb out of Mission Valley but then come to my senses. It's a brutal unforgiving grade and I don't want to push myself too hard today. I'm feeling good so I continue westward for another couple of miles and then make the climb out of the Valley on the more reasonable Fairmont Ave, then circle back and head home. Total for the day is 35 miles at an average pace of 14.6 mph.














October 12 Route

C - Riders

Me and a couple of my "C" rider team mates at a rest stop about 25 miles into a ride.















TnT Hard Men (L to R) Angel, Chad, Jeff, Me

Next stop, Tour De France.

Back in the Day or "Kicking it German Style"

We've got some friends of the family in town from Germany who have known me since I was 0.75 years old. My father was stationed in Germany for a time when he was in the service so I lived in Frankfurt for about a year when I was a baby starting from when I was about 9 months old (1967). We went to dinner yesterday and they surprised me with a couple of photos from my time there over 40 years ago.




















Mom and me

Check out the cool 60's clothes. Brown was apparently "in" around that time.




















My First Birthday

Dig that crazy sweater.

Lighthouse Century Action Photo!

Cleaning up my bicycle bag this evening, I see that the good folks at the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club have provided me with a complimentary photo gift certificate from the Lighthouse Century (100-mile) bike ride I did a couple of weekends ago. Typically, you have to pay through the nose for any photos taken during an event, like the $30 I paid for the single digital photo from the Lake Tahoe Century I did in June and the whopping $125 I paid for 9 photos from the Dublin Marathon I did last year.

Another reason to recommend this wonderful event. Without further ado...














Mile 20-ish

Bike Restoration Project - After

I had finally had some time to spend today on my bike restoration project mentioned here a few weeks ago. I have been patiently gathering parts, bits and pieces over the last couple of months since I bought it off a guy on Craiglist. The first order of business was to get it cleaned up and painted. I spent a lot of time looking into my options. To do it right would have cost roughly $800 which would have matched the existing paint, including the yellow detailing and recreate any decals. After some careful soul searching, I decided that I didn't really want to spend that kind of money on a bike of somewhat dubious heritage and that I wouldn't be riding daily. I elected to go with a powder coat finish. The quality of such a finish varies greatly depending on where you go. The primary complaint I see is that the paint goes on too heavy obscuring all the details that really define the character of the a vintage steel bike. The low end of the spectrum is $75 for sandblasting removal of the original finish and a repaint. That's cheap. I looked into various businesses that offered powder coating, primarily auto-body repair shows and other local paint shops. I was refered to RW Little here in San Diego who have a good reputation and appear to really understand restoration projects.

I took the frame to their offices and looked around. At first, I thought it was a little too industrial looking for what I was looking for. While chatting with the receptionist, exploring my options, I saw several delicate looking lighting fixtures and sconces come in to be repainted and started to feel a little better. I voiced my concerns about the powder-coat process laying on the paint a little to thick and she asked if I'd be interested in seeing a bike they had just finished painting. Off we went to the yard and then she unwrapped a large bundle sitting on a shelf. Beneath the protective wrapping was the most beautiful glistening cherry red bike I had ever seen. It was magnificent. The detail work was very good, and with one barely noticeable exception, the paint was applied cleanly and delicately. SOLD. Back to the office and I picked out a metallic dark blue paint that most closely matched the original paint. They were more expensive at $200 but their experience painting bicycles was a big plus for me.

Following was a two week long wait to get it back. Here are some photos of the frame and fork the day I got it back.












































































































I was very happy with the outcome.

Following are some photos taken today after completion of principle assembly.





















































































































C0ming along nicely. I'd estimate that I'm sitting squarely at 85% completion. I took it out for a test run and make several circuits around the neighborhood. The next step is to get it tuned up as the wheels are badly out of true and I'd like a second opinion on my derailleur settings.

After I get that finished, I'll move on to the remaining cosmetic items such as getting the "G" decal for the head tube recreated and then adding the yellow accent paint at the lugs and "G" stamps on the frame.

So Tired - October 4 Ride

Today's planned ride was a 65-mile look up the coast with an inland leg into Rancho Santa Fe.



















Map of our route

It was a very rough ride for me today. I have been feeling a little run down after the Lighthouse Century last weekend and the subsequent spin class on Tuesday. I also have been fighting off a cold.

Riding with the "C" (aka advanced) group is no joke but I was feeling well enough to go for it. We get on the road right around 8am and start heading inland. I immediately notice that my legs, particularly my quads are feeling very tired. The start of the ride is mostly flat. Mentor Chad asks that we maintain an modest pace to warm up but no one seems to get the message. The minimum speed in the pace line is 18mph, which is fast. On the flats, we are routinely maintaining 22-24 mph. On the uphill we're doing 17-18 mph. Incredible. I'm hoping that I warm up quickly and things improve. We are also not rotating enough. Hmmm.

About 15 miles into the ride, we get to a great downhill stretch. We usually descend at our our pace and meet at the bottom. I take off, reveling in the downward rush...and blow right past our turn. I'm oblivious to it and start tackling the slight uphill figuring that I will use my momentum to help with the climb. A few minutes later, no sign of the Team and then Chad comes barreling down, obviously a little miffed. I can't say I blame him as he had to chase me down as I had gone nearly a mile off course. I apologize profusely, we make a U-turn and then have to head up a very large hill which is no fun. We get back on course and the rest of my group is a tiny speck up ahead. We get into formation and make our way back to the pace line. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have slowed down too much so we have to exert a lot of effort to join back up with them. Not too good.

Well after that, the day didn't get too much better. My legs are very tired and I'm struggling to hang on. 40 miles into the ride, I'm starting to question whether I'm going to be able to complete the day. I also consider going the rest of the day with the intermediate group but decide to try and tough it out. More hills, more pain. We're riding sloppy, with a couple of the group feeling strong and me and one other guy limping along. We are rotating a little more frequently and when I get in front, I slow the pace down to a more reasonable speed. I'm tired, so for the good of the group, I rotate off quickly to save my strength for the rest of the ride. Staying in front would have just tired me out even more quickly which would slow the entire group down. It is a treatise on poor pace-lining where the line is getting drawn out and there is a lot of yo-yo action. I'm getting a frustrated as I can't "grab a wheel" to draft with all the slinky action going on. Not good. If I can't draft, I can't rest.

At mile 62, we hit Torrey Pines hill again. I've described too many times to elaborate but it is a hill that I've successfully climbed dozens of times. We were instructed to take it at 2/3 effort and then kill the last 1/3 of it. There is no way. We start up and the rest of the group quickly pulls away. I'm completely out of gas and just hobble up the hill, trying to maintain a straight line. I get passed by two of the stronger intermediate group riders who started up the hill significantly after our group. I'm now feeling embarrassed and give it more effort up the last mile up the hill. I get into a standing climb position and my legs immediately protest. I get some major cramping on my thighs, calves and in my back. Not good. Well, there is no sense in killing myself as it isn't event day. I just suck it up and limp in. My groups is waiting up at the top of the hill and it seems that no one wants to comment. One rider comments on my having ridden a century the weekend before. No sense in making excuses, I just take a quick swig of water, a few breaths of air and motion for the group to head out as we are less than a mile away from the finish.

Back in the parking lot and all is good. We gather around Jeff's car and crack open a few frosty ones and chat. Good times.

I'm not sure exactly I can pinpoint what happened to me today but it wasn't good. I've been riding strongly lately so I'm not going to worry too much about it and I'm going to blame it on having ridden the 100 miles the week before. I've also decided that I'm going to try and take a little bit more of a leadership role and see if I can help get our group to improve our pace-lining skills.