Patterson Pass Loop : Catrike 700

In a mad impulsive gesture yesterday I entered Low Key Hill climb #1 for this Saturday and whats even madder is that I entered it as a recumbent trike.  I definitely needed to get some climbing practice in on the trike  and also needed to exorcise my recumbent climbing demons from last saturdays ride so I chose Patterson Pass for my ride today.

We are having a bit of a heatwave at the moment that feels much hotter than it really is because of the unusually high humidity and lack of wind.  Riding the Altamont pass with hardly any wind was a very strange experience and I felt kind of mellow on the trike so I didnt push things too hard. The climb up Midway felt great but the heat was already starting to kick in.  I was experimenting with running lower tire pressures on the trike and this definitely paid dividends on this bumpy section of road and didnt seem to slow my climbing any.

On the Patterson climb itself the lack of serious wind made  the heat seem even worse and it became stifling by the time I hit the first steep section.

I got round the steep curve in second from bottom gear and still felt pretty good although I knew the worse was to come. The second steep section felt pretty good at first but by the last 100m I was down into 2nd gear again and fighting the burn in my legs.

The last steep part of the climb was totally wind free and I managed to keep up a good pace and made it to the top without incident.  My cadence became quite labored over the last 100m and my legs were hurting but the trike ran flawlessly.

The view from the top wasnt very nice today as the air was pretty muggy and dusty. There was almost no wind at the top of Patterson Pass which was a condition I  have never encountered before (normally it is gale force).

The descent back down to Livermore was very refreshing and I took it pretty steady. There are some nasty off cambers and a very prominent crown that you only really notice on the trike.

It was a really enjoyable ride today and one that re-cemented my relationship with my Catrike 700. I need to start riding it more.

Strava Ride report

Washboard Alviso Ride : S-Works Mountain Bike

It was really hot out on the Slough today and the winds were light which made it feel even hotter.  I rode at a brisk to moderate pace but not really going for any records. Unfortunately there is about a 2 mile part of the levee that has undergone some recent repair and this section is horrendously wash boarded.  This definitely hurts your average speed and is unpleasant to ride upon especially if you have your suspension locked out (I only realized this when I got to the end of the loop). Looking at Strava it seems that CX season is upon us and a few CX bikes are setting fast times. I think I will have to break out the Kona Jake The Snake to have a go at improving my loop time

The heat and rough trails definitely took it out of me today and it was nice to get back into an air conditioned office.

Strava ride report

Clark’s Corner Charity ride with Chris Horner.

Sandra and myself signed up today to do a charity ride featuring Chris Horner in the nice town of Ione. The ride was to benefit Interfaith Food Bank of Amador County. We signed up for the 50 mile ride on the spur of the moment. There wasn’t a huge number of riders but at least that meant everyone got their chance to ride with Chris Horner.

Me before the Start:

My Better Half:

I have met a few professionals in my past that vary from completely aloof and arrogant to really nice guys. Chris definitely falls into the later category. He went out of his way to be accessible to everyone and both him and his pretty wife were really friendly.

Chris Horner

At The Start with his wife.

Sandra on the climb up to Plymouth

The course itself was pretty easy and the roads were generally lightly trafficked.  There were Police officers stationed at the major road junctions to ensure everyone’s  safety which was a nice touch. My only real criticism of the event was that the course was poorly marked at times and  the route sheet was hopeless. About 20 people made a wrong turn at 1.7 miles (following course arrows) and missed out about 4-5 miles.

On the Climb

We rode the course at a steady pace but still ended up near the front as their were a lot of leisure riders taking part.  After 25 miles I decided to do an extra loop to get my lost miles back and went on a hard 20 mile time trial session on the nice rolling back roads trying to catch up with my wife that went on ahead.

It was a fun ride with a great atmosphere and I will definitely do it again.

Strava Ride Report

FFBC Patterson Pass Ride : Bacchetta Corsa

I have only ridden Patterson Pass once on my Bacchetta and it was a terrifying experience. The top section is narrow, steep and it has a big drop off on the right. It is also prone to incredibly strong winds.  I did that ride about 3 years ago on a pretty calm day and with less than 500 Bacchetta miles in my legs.  I climb about 300% better on my Bacchetta nowadays and with the light winds we have been having all week I  decided t try it again.

My wife and myself rode out to Pleasanton to meet up with FFBC  for their “Massacre at Wounded Knee” ride.  There was about 12 riders in our group and the pace was fast and fun on the way back through to Livermore but the wind was picking up. By the time we hit Mines Road I decided to put in an attack on the “North Mines Speed Bump” to show that a recumbent could climb.  I got a pretty big gap and bagged a Strava KOM too.

When we hit the Altamont Pass the wind was howling and I was absolutely flying on the recumbent.  I rode away from the group with speeds exceeding 50MPH at times. This made me very scared for the Patterson Pass climb.

On the climb itself, the lower section was an absolutely stonking headwind and the group were strung out grovelling into the wind. I sat on the front and rode pretty hard until I was off the front with one other rider. I felt good until we hit the first steep section and a combination of gradient and strong headwind forced me down onto the grannie ring.  The rider with me rode away at this point  and I battled into the wind on my own.

On the last steep narrow section I was down to second gear on the grannie ring and fighting the gusting head/cross winds. My speed was keeping above 6MPH so balance wasn’t a problem until I hit the steepest 16%+ section when the wind physically almost stopped me in my tracks. I lost momentum and had to unclip. For the first time in many many years I was forced to walk the last 100m of a road climb. I was still third rider up the climb but it was pretty embarrassing.  The wind at the top of the pass was absolutely brutal but most of the rest of our group made it up without walking.

I just have to face up to the fact that steep climbs, me and the Bacchetta don’t mix.

I was very very tired when we got home from this ultra windy ride.

Strava Ride report

Climbing Morgan Territories : Specialized Tarmac

With thoughts of the hill climbing season just around the corner I decided it was time I started working on getting my climbing mojo back. My hill of choice was the rather nasty Morgan Territories climb . I haven’t ridden this climb since January and tend to avoid climbing it in the summer. It is steep and long and very much like an oven in the summer months.

It was really warm when I attempted Morgan this morning and I boiled on the way up. I was pushing hard to try to get a p.b and perhaps a Strava K.O.M . This climb is a bit steep for my weight and I hurt on the nastier Gradient from about half way up.

I managed to get a new personal best and third overall on the Strava segment.  I don’t think I could have gone any faster today and certainly not 1m07s faster to get the KOM.

Strava ride report

Mountain Biking in Brushy Peak : S works Hardtail

On my very hot ride home from work I encountered an orange velomobile. I tried my best to catch it but I didn’t have a hope on my single speed cyclo cross bike. It’s a shame I couldn’t catch the pilot as I would like to have said hello.

This evening I went for a ride at Brushy peak state park on the S Works. On the way out to the park I noticed both tires were pretty soft but this meant a plush ride on the dry, dusty and bumpy trails. Cornering was a bit iffy but otherwise the bike felt fantastic.  Despite the oppressive heat I was out to bag some Strava KOM’s this evening. I managed to get a nice selection and it was actually really nice out on the trails. It was a really dry heat and my throat felt like the bottom of a budgies cage by the end.

Strava Ride Report

IC3 Early Sunday morning ride : Trek 5500

My legs were still shot from yesterdays house of pain ride but I still really enjoyed my clubs Sunday morning blast. I wasn’t able to do any of my usual solo attacks and at times I felt like a bag of spanners.  Despite my tired legs I set a personal best in both directions on the Tuscanny loop.

• Tuscany West to East (8th Overall)
• Tuscany East to West (KOM)

We got caught up a bit with a Triathlon on Vineyard Ave but that just gave us something extra to look at.

Strava Ride Report 

 

House of pain : Lemond Ti

I rode out to Danville this morning to do the HOP ride. I set off a bit late so had to push pretty hard. Considering I hit most of the Tassajara traffic lights on red  I still managed to average over 20MPH and got there with time to spare. There was a good turnout and a lot of fast legs including many CAT 1′s and even a pro.

The ride set off pretty fast and kept a constant high speed without the usual big surges.  My legs didn’t feel good and I was basically just hanging on for the entire ride. I didn’t feel in danger of being dropped but I didn’t find my way near the front very much either. Highland road was a continuous hard pace and I actually set a personal record (5th Overall) which shows how fast the ride was.

Collier was fast and my legs started to feel like they were going to cramp above the knee at the front of my thigh.  Getting out of the saddle wasn’t a very comfortable option. I am convinced that my sluggish legs and muscle issues were a result of almost an entire week of recumbent riding.  I still crested Collier with the group but my legs were pretty much toasted. I actually did a personal record on the Collier Climb which was good enough for 9th overall.

I rode back home to Livermore at a steady pace trying to see if I could spin a little life back into my aching limbs.

Strava Ride Report

Tesla Road : Bacchetta Corsa

The Bacchetta seems to be the weapon of choice for me at the moment. With no real races planned I am just riding to keep some sort of fitness and for the fun of it. I really enjoyed my ride on Sunday up the Tesla road climb so I decided to ride it again today. I rode pretty steady up to the base of the climb then hard on the climb itself. I finally feel that my bent climbing legs are coming back and I actually beat my personal best.  This performance was no doubt helped by the tailwind but as I also got a personal best on the descent too  I think this was fair.

I didnt have a great deal of energy for the rest of the ride home but still had an enjoyable excursion.

Strava Ride Report

Altamont Pass : Bacchetta

It was a typical Altamont Pass ride today. It was a spectacular tailwind out and and absolute grovel home.  I nearly touched 50MPH on the way out and less than 10 MPH on the return leg.  It was a really hard day.

Course : Altamont Pass
Bike : Trek TTX 9.5
P.B. : (Road Bike) 0h52m41s (6/30/2011) Trek TTX 9.5
P.B. (Recumbent): 53m35s (9/2/2011) Bacchetta Corsa SS
P.B. (Recumbent Trike) : 1h00m45s (5/15/2010) Catrike 700

Distance: 19.18 miles

Time:0h56m14s
MPH: Av= 20.5, Max= 47.7
BPM: Av= 140, Max= 162
Climb: 793ft

Strava Ride Report