FA Cup Final - Chelsea v. Everton

Please summon all your good thoughts so that my favorite European soccer team, Chelsea FC, will add to the FA Cup to the trophy case whilst I ride in support of Best Buddies this Saturday, May 30.

http://bit.ly/12boEa

The Missing Ride Posting

Memorial Day
For this ride, Ross, Bob, and I decided to do the 'Turkey Day' route. It was a blast since we were able to ride with virtually no traffic. Ross led us at a pretty brisk for a good portion of the time, but the three of us also took turns on the front.

The weather started a bit cold, but once we got to Highland we were all peeling off vests, jackets, and sleeves because the sun had made an appearance. On the way in, we decided to ride some intervals. We started with some 25+ mph cruising down Sycamore Valley Road and ended with some near 30 mph speeds down "The Boulevard" between Bollinger Canyon and Alcosta. The ride was fun and useful for training.

We are really closing in on "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" on Sunday, June 7. It is going to be a fantastic day for a wonderful cause - The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A note regarding to today's photos The first is the Chelsea FC crest. The second is of Laura Leigh Sinai and she is in the blog because she is really pretty and helps ease the ugliness of seeing Barcelona as champion. This former photo is more important because today Barcelona comprehensively won the Champions League over Manchester United. The importance stems from the fact that, in a just world, Chelsea would have played Man U in the title game. (No, I am still not over the refereeing that caused this miscarriage of justice.)

Taper Time

Today Bob and I rode a leisurely 20+ miles. We are a mere 10 days out from the Tahoe ride and we are now in "take it easy" mode. The ride, however, didn't start too easily when Bob popped a rear wheel spoke before we ever got to the first stop sign one long block away. We rolled back to my house, swapped out his pedals to my old bike, and off we went.

It was kind of weird riding next to my old bike, but it was nice that we were able to make the switch and still ride. This approach allowed us to justify our post-ride trip to the KFC. I really like the grilled chicken (which I had), but the Extra Crispy is still better. As I watched Bob work over the Extra Crispy I felt twinges of buyer remorse. I think next time the healthy grilled chicken will be replaced by its artery clogging cousin, Extra Crispy.

Well, tomorrow I am off to Best Buddies for my Boston charitable ride. I am really looking forward to the ride and seeing my friend, Robin, who I have not seen in almost 10 years! Wow, time sure does fly. It will be great to catch up. Hopefully, the shipping costs for the bike will not be too high since the box meets the standard size requirements of United.

Well, that is enough of my blathering on since I still have to pack and shower for tomorrow's morning non-stop to Boston. I can't wait to touch down and beg to be taken to Legal Seafoods. I just hope they are open once I have all my stuff.

Today's photo is Bob and I pre-ride (and prior to Bob's broken spoke).

"I see you"

Best Buddies Route - May 30, 2009

Stinson Beach Photos

Stinson Beach Ride

Auspicious start, 'No', great ending 'Yes'. Along the route today we had a bit of everything. The early morning "out" to Stinson Beach was cold and really a bit uncomfortable. The first climb to 'The Rock' came way too early for my soggy legs. Still, we negotiated the climb and the rest of the morning was pretty much easy downhill riding. It was really great to have SAG for K Sue's 'Buddy Ride' because it always make us feel just that little bit better.

The ride from SAG1 out to Stinson was still pretty cold and was kind of and off and on affair. Ira and I rode a good portion of it together and then we finished up by pacelining into Stinson Beach with David Zankowsky.

Once at Stinson we took a break and a couple people got espresso before we headed back towards SAG 2. The ride back was going great until we learned that a couple of riders were down. We were all hopeful that it wasn't anyone from TNT, but, sadly, it was two of the riders from Team "Wrong Way". Thankfully, we learned later from Coach Doug that everyone was alright except for bumps, bruises, and scrapes.

Along the way, Coach Cliff and I managed to get into a paceline with the fast kids from Team Shake and Bake. The combination made for some seriously fast pacelining. We were cruising at between 22-28 mph from the Nicasio Reservoir all the way to the ball field at Nicasio. It was a struggle to just to stay in line since I was pretty much on red-line the whole way. Still, I just buried myself to keep from losing contact (hopeful that I wouldn't pay on the final climb). The good news is that the final climb wasn't too much to deal with at all. Coach Cliff, David, and I rode up together laughing and joking as if we were Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (talk about bad accents).

Team Rawhide had another fantastic day on the bike and rolled in as a unit once we got "Short Rib's" tire fixed after he flatted while riding with T-Bone less than one mile from the finish. The unity of this team is really impressive and makes riding together that much more fun. The photo is of our "Caesars".

Don't Get Crazy Now...

Ross and I rode with the VS T 'n T folks again today. Of course, I said I wasn't going to ride on Thursday's with these animals anymore because they just kill me. Ok, I suppose I have already blown that one. Ross and I also said we weren't going to try and keep up if the pace got too quick. Yet somehow, we found ourselves on Happy Vally Road in Pleasanton pounding up the slight grade on the front. What is my problem? After the ride, we were both talking about how each of us was on the 'red-line'.

I am beginning to think that I just don't have any sense. You know as John says "they invented the car over 100 years ago". Yet, for some bizarre reason I continue to ride my human-powered conveyance.

In any case, to make a long story short, I offer the following observations:
- I rode too fast
- I didn't get dropped
- I like riding too fast (sometimes)
- I really like not getting dropped
- I must be an idiot to ride on Thursday and essentially do intervals
- I think I may actually "need" to ride now
- My car is still in the shop
- Team in Training rocks!
- Best Buddies is a great organization
- I flat out like riding my bike
- FC Barcelona does not belong in the Champions League final
- I hope Man U beats Barcelona comprehensively in the final

Today's photo is of the Chelsea FC logo (the right co-finalist) and a cheesy cheerleader shot to root Man U on to victory

Back in the Saddle Again

What a relief... today I went for my first ride in three days and my backside didn't hurt. I was beginning to think it was going to hurt forever. (I guess my event horizon is a bit short sometimes.)

Bob and I rode 25 miles and I only had a little pain from the two weeks of chafing. What was equally interesting is how strong my legs felt after just a couple days off. This leads me to think that I was overtrained. In any case, we averaged over 15 mph and it was remarkable to see how far we have come since the season began. Bob's riding has been awesome and I am starting to feel strong again.

The route was essentially flat and ended with a quick role up Stagecoach. I used to think this was a "hill", but I rode it today on the big ring at around 24 mph - felt good. :-)

Tahoe and Boston are going to be a lot of fun.

"I see you"

"Go Team"

Today's photo is of Bob during one of our early (not so warm) season rides.

Serious Carnage

Wow, this Saturday's TNT "Livermore" ride was brutal. The temperatures started high and climbed to 104 on Palomares Canyon.

Our 80 mile ride promised to be a challenge from the start due to the high temps. Still, I started strongly and was feeling good except for continuing ride shorts issues (I have to resolve these soon). All the way up the Altamount Pass I felt strong; however, after SAG 2 my body started to take a turn. For some reason, I just didn't feel good on the bike anymore and I was definitely not alone. Coach Cliff also was suffering with horrible quad cramps which ultimately led to his SAGging in after a post- SAG2 flat.

As we approached Palomares I could no longer control my heart rate. As I waited for one of our team riders to arrive I thought I would be alright. Ok, so I was wrong, as I rode up Palomares I could still not control my heart rate even after three 10-15 minute stops. No matter what I tried, the bpm would not go below 115 and would skyrocket with 10-15 seconds of beginning an effort up the climb.

Finally, I decided to SAG up this portion of the route and found many others had gone the same route. With an initial stop at Joe Yamin's parents SAG4 (a marvel of a stop - awesome). I SAGged up the Dublin Grade and rode the rest of the way in with my SAG mates Jeff and John. We were quite the motley bunch.

It took that night and all of the next day to hydrate back to some level of normalcy. I am very thankful for air conditioning and even more so for my fantastic Team Rawhide friends. I am pretty sure conditions can't get much more brutal than they were because I hydrated like crazy and still had a high-speed, ok low-speed, come apart. In any case, I live to fight again and Tahoe is just around the corner.

Go Team!

Today's photos show Ira motoring up the Altamount Pass and the other shows the windmills on top.

Slower, more relaxing... hmmmm

So, Ross and I decided not to ride with the VS T 'n T folks this Thursday because the pace is so quick that the effects linger through Saturday. Ok, well maybe it was me who decided, but Ross was gracious enough to humor me, "fast man" that he is, and ride with me. As such, it was a beautiful day and we went for a quick 30 mile ride. (Ok, it was 42 miles for him since he rode to my workplace.)

We decided to do the classic "Boulevard" ride with an add-on of a jaunt past Acalanes High School and up Geary/Pleasant Hill Road. This is one of the few places where the climb is actually shorter than the descent, but you can't figure out how. As such, we had nice descent in Pleasant Hill and then road back down the "Boulevard" to San Ramon.

The ride out was a bit too quick ... probably my fault since I seemed a bit charged up. On the way back in I was feeling the strain of both the early pace and the old "Univega". I was sore in places I had forgotten. It seems the old bike is good for short fast hauls... rides around 90 minutes, but much more and the kinks and discomfort come on big time. I rode the last 10 miles with what felt like a pinched nerve in my neck.

Thankfully, I got my bike back today from Cal Pedaler, http://calped.com/. A huge thanks to John, Brian, and Chris for making that happen. I didn't have the chance to test ride it, but I am sure it will be fine. If you are in the market for a new bike I can't recommend the shop highly enough. The service is fantastic, the people are great, and they have some pretty Treks.

Well, I am going to cut this one short... more later after tomorrow's TNT "Livermore" ride. I am going to sleep and dream cool dreams in hopes that the temps tomorrow aren't too, too high.

The photos are of Coach Cliff who returns to the fold tomorrow after a brief trip away and the sign at the junction on Mount Diablo. The latter is posted because this coming Wednesday, Bob and I will ride up to the top for what will be his maiden bike voyage (it should be fun).

Reasonable Speed - Go Figure

Alright, the conveyance world around me is falling apart. First, the car needs $1400 worth of work. Second, my Trek needs $500 worth of labor and Campy components. Finally, the motorcycle just came back off the DL due to a dead battery. What does this all mean: well, no car until tomorrow; the motorcycle is now running; and, the bike for today's ride was my 10+ year old steel Univega. Wow, did I get some looks when I showed up on the old monster.

Thankfully, the bike is really good on the flats and that is pretty much what we had in store today. To make matters a bit easier, the fast folks didn't come out to play today. It may be because some are tapering in preparation for this weekend's Davis Double. I still can't imagine riding 200 miles in a day!

Still, today, Group 1.5, as John likes to refer to folks of our speed, actually found ourselves on the front of the peloton. The result was a more reasonable pace that would have been good for a Thursday. The physical devastation wrought by most of the Thursday rides is such that I am still suffering on Saturday. It seems that giant 90 minute intervals have the ability to do that do me.

Mercifully, today was about reasonable speed - go figure. Let us now give thanks. :-)

The photos are of my teammates Vanessa, Caesar, and Doug from Steve Asche's 'Buddy Ride'.

Ahh, the rest day....

Well, I have been training since January and have rolled up over 2,000 miles, but today's entry is the first of its kind. Today I am posting the fact that I am taking a rest day. Why, you may ask? Well, since the training has been strenuous and frequent for months as we near event day I need to be more mindful of the rigors my body has faced. What does this mean? Well, it basically means when the body says "I'm tired" I actually listen now. Nonetheless, I will still be on the bike four times this week for nearly 200 miles, but Monday will not add to that total. However, what I will add are some photos to kind of celebrate relaxation (or at least as close to it as I understand).

The first shot is of me at the start of training. The second picture was taken last weekend with my TNT team on Skyline Drive in the Oakland hills. The third photo is a view from Mount Diablo taken during training.

Team Rawhide Rocks and Rolls!

Well, yesterday was Coach Steve Asche's 'Buddy Ride'. Team Rawhide, coached by Cliff, decided to ride together and we had a great time. At 7:30 we all rolled out for a ride front-loaded with a significant amount of climbing. The group started in their usual spirited fashion and maintained their wonderful spirit throughout the entire day... even when the temps got warm and everyone was a bit tired.

The whole team looked great climbing and sounded good singing even if we still haven't got the words down to either "Rawhide", our theme song, or Cliff's much improved 'cycling' version. Throughout the ride we continued to re-group and even made stops to take pictures from some of the beautiful vistas the ride offered. We even enlisted a couple of Harley riders to take a team photo for the day's participants.

With the climbing done, we headed to Starbucks for a final bathroom break and then rolled from Orinda back to Dublin. It was quite a day in the saddle and I think everyone was pretty happy to make it back to the cars safe in the knowledge that they had mastered another challenging day on the bike.

On a personal ride note for the day, I felt good on all the climbs and didn't feel any of the calf discomfort from the day before; however, I do feel a bit over-trained. I think this may stem from the big efforts I have been expending to keep up with the Thursday Valley Spokesman T 'n T rides. I may have to either back off the fast-pace or switch to the Tuesday version to save myself for the longer rides. I will also need to do better on hydration. I am still not drinking enough despite reminding others to drink and drinking frequently. I guess the hot weather is now here and I need to heed its call since I really should not be drinking a gallon of fluids after a ride to feel quenched.

The first photo is of our guest, Emily, surveying the work we had done to get to the steam trains. The second photo is of the entire group.

Let's Pound Pavement

Hammer, schammer, the folks from the Valley Spokesman really love to crank it up on Tuesdays and Thursday. For me it is a chance to hold on for dear life and conduct a massive interval session. Today was a bit strange because the pace started out really pedestrian -- around 17-18 mph. I am not sure why, but it seemed that some folks just didn't bring their 'A Game' ... or so it seemed at first. I am pleased to report that I turned out to be wrong, wrong, wrong it just took a bit longer to get in the groove than usual.

As usual, the group broke up but the fast folks weren't in front this time.... kinda weird. Game time started after the re-group at the Sunol train station. As we headed up the short climb out of Sunol, the jets started to ignite. As usual, I got kind of blocked in since cars were coming by. Still, I was in the big ring motoring the whole way up, but they got away anyway, arrrggghhh.

As I went over the top with Ross, we started turning up the power volume and going after the missiles. With Ross pulling at first, I sat in for a bit, but then pulled around and opened it up. I think the much faster Ross was just stunned so he let me have my fun. The gap was about 500 yards, but my unthinking mind said we can bridge the gap. Therefore, I decided I would just keep hammering until I caught them or fell over spent in the ditch.

I don't know how long it took to catch them, but it felt like a chest-exploding eon. Once I latched on, "the catch" thought I should take a pull. Are you kidding me? I just pounded all the way up here I! "I couldn't lead now if I tried", I croaked. "It nearly killed me just to catch you." Ever the generous type, my compatriot dropped the hammer on me and I held his back wheel for dear life (having lost my tow rope somewhere during an earlier ride).

Oh, but the story isn't over. Having reach the fast men I now had to hold on. I was doing alright until Joel hit a short gradient and leaned into it. I tried to hold for as long as I could, but finally fell off a 100 yards from the top with my heart and lungs screaming "your killing me, wave the rest through"... so I did.

Not so fast, I did too much work to let them just ride away. I gave myself a short spell to recover and chased again. My God, I must be an idiot! Say it ain't so... I think they are slowing down and the turn, with a short downhill, is coming. I bridged and caught them again.

Sanity now completely gone, I managed to hang on the rest of the way and arrive back at Shannon Park with the front group. I should probably send work an email now to let them know I won't be in tomorrow due to extreme fatigue (and some giddiness over holding on).

One of today's photo is of the American flag getting blown around big time in Dublin as I drove to the ride. The second is of Ross, the guy who let me just hammer, so I could see what I could do without him merely pulling me back.

The Good and the Bad

Today was a wonderful day to ride on a number of levels. First, I had my friends Ross and Bob to go with me. Second, the ride was taking us up Mount Diablo. Third, I haven't been up the 'Block of Granite' in a couple years. Finally, the weather was perfect.

While all the conditions were present to have a great ride, sometimes the best laid plans go haywire (and that's what happened to me). As Bob was making his first ever ascent to "The Junction" and Ross was powering effortlessly up the slopes my body was deciding to have conniption fits. First, the knee that seemed much better after four surgeries acted up big time. Today was the worst it has felt in years. The joint felt like it was full of rocks and 50 cent pieces. No matter what I tried from pedaling faster to slower to small ring and medium ring; I could find no comfortable solution. Sadly, that was the least of my problems. For some reason, I must have eaten something that did not agree with me and by Rock City I was experiencing GI problems that were bad enough to make me stop. I stopped, but then I continued on 10 minutes later to the "Junction". It was this section that decided to pile on and really get my knee aggravated. Thankfully, I saw my friend Denise (and later Peg as well) when she caught me and rode the rest of the way with her.

At the "Junction" I saw Ross and apologized for being so long, but I really couldn't help it. I said I would wait for Bob and he rolled up another mile and returned. As we started down we saw Bob and he told us to keep going he would finish his journey and head back to the car, so off we went down Mount Diablo. Along the way, my GI problems resurfaced and caused three more stops (I will leave it at that for fear of TMI). Finally made it back with about 28 total miles the feeling that I wish I had been on my couch instead of riding. Still, I meet my ride objective of making to the "Junction".

Next step, I think I really need the Synvisc shots in my knee because it just isn't working and maybe this will help. I surely can't do Death Ride was this much discomfort in my knees. I had hoped that I wouldn't need any additional work done shots, surgeries, or anything else on my knee since the whole thing is making me sick. I guess sometimes you have to take the bad with the good. I will regroup tomorrow and try to hang with the Valley Spokesman T 'n T riders.

Final step, I need to remember how lucky I am that I don't suffer from blood-cancer or intellectual disabilities. Life is good, but sometimes I forget.

Today's photos are of the view during the climb, sign at the "Junction", and me as taken by Ross as we to a short photo op break during the descent.

It Just Gets Better

Today the motivation was lacking. I was sore and really didn't want to get out on the bike, but I knew had to kick start my lazy ass and get on the road. I sent out a couple of emails and out came John and Mark came to my rescue and we went on a quick 22 mile recovery ride with me.

This was the first time I was able to ride with both of them. Early in the season, I rode once with John, but we have not been able to ride since. The two of them are both strong riders and we had a blast out on the windy roads of the Tri Valley.

While our intent was that the ride be for recovery each of us had to have a bit of fun and crank it up a bit. Still, by the time we were done getting rained on and logging the miles we had averaged around 15 mph and really enjoyed the ride. Hopefully, we will all be able to take another ride this coming Wednesday up Mount Diablo. It will be the first time I have been up the 'Block of Granite' this year. It should be another good test of where the knee is in the recovery process. We will have to see how far up the mountain we go, but however far we ride, it will still be about the journey not the destination.

Tour de Cure - Napa

It was hard to wake up for this ride. In fact, I hit the snooze at least three times and ended up being 15 minutes late. I was really glad to know that Dan Robinson was there to pick up my slack in case everyone else was right on time.

The weather did not want to cooperate for this ride. Still, we had a great time even with the rain. I ended up riding with Dr. Tom Long, Dan Robinson, and Matthew Messick for the 25 mile course. We all stuck together and seemed to find a rhythm out there on the roads of Napa. I felt a bit tired after the previous days ride in Half Moon Bay, but still found some effort in my legs for the two short inclines and the final finishing miles.

The rest stop food was good and the lunch was actually excellent this year. I remember last year thinking that the food was really lousy and merited a run across the street to the deli. This year there was plenty of fresh fruit and I had chicken and some fantastic beans to go with my fruit and Coca-Cola. It would have been nice to have ridden the 50 miler, but I never saw either John or Brandt. I hope I didn't miss them because I was late.

The photo shows Dr. Tom Long and Dan Robinson two of my partners in crime in the worthy service of raising funds for diabetes. A big thanks to each of you and Matthew for riding with me.

More Half Moon Bay Photos

More of my fantastic teammates!!

Half Moon Bay Ride

Ok, I admit it. I got out of bed and the first thing I did was call the TNT Hotline in hopes we weren't riding because the weather was so bad. Ok, well it wasn't the first thing I did. I actually cursed the early hour and hit the snooze three times, but all that is semantics.

Once I finally got my butt moving, I rolled out to Half Moon Bay through intermittent rain thinking about how horrible the ride was going to be due to the cold and a certain ascent up my nemesis Tunitas Creek. Wow... was I wrong! This was one of the best rides I rides I have been on in recent memory. Somehow everything just seemed easy and I felt strong the whole day even though my left knee was cranky as all get out. Our team really came together and had a fantastic time. Everyone rode like champions and the spirit was through the roof. Even Erick who had two flats that landed us in the SAG vehicle with Rich for five miles to catch up was having a great time.

During the course of the ride we came up with a name for our team, "Team Rawhide" and proceeded to sing our new theme song throughout the whole ride. (Special note, after the ride Coach Cliff actually composed a new "Team Rawhide" song which is sure to be a hit.) One of the things that really made the ride great for me was getting to ride for extended periods with almost all of our team members. Special shout outs to: Vanessa for smiling on the climbs even when it hurt; for T-Bone's making it through the descents despite being scared; and for the Zen-like presence of the mighty Buddha, DZ.

It is great to be associated with such great people. I am honored to be in each of my teammates' presence. And, of course, I very happy and thankful that Coach Cliff was not hurt badly when he took his tumble on one of the final, slippery descents.

Today's photos show some of my fantastic teammates -- they(you) are the best!!!