A Slight Setback in My Double Century Training
I’ve been doing pretty good … training for the double centuries, I got in 2 centuries in January, so I’m feeling pretty good about my preparations for the first double of the year, which is Solvang, at the end of March. I had completed a century on Saturday, and it was a tough ride, with a very long climb, so on Sunday, I was ready for a shorter ride.
I was trying to hook up for a ride with Marco, but wasn’t sure exactly when they were going to ride. I went ahead and took care of some mundane stuff, like cleaning the house, and doing laundry. I got a text from Marco at around 12 noon, saying they were going out for a ride, with Ramon coming over any minute now. I was thinking about going, but there is no way I would be able to make it there in time to do a ride with them. Oh pooh … I guess I’ll have to do a solo ride.
I decided to take a ride up Montebello. It was a good ride going up, and not too busy. No one passed me going up the hill, so that was good. I was making good time, considering I already did 100 miles the day before. Made it up in a respectable 47 minutes. Well, let’s say that’s respectable by my standards.
Descending Montebello, there was nothing out of the ordinary … passed by one other rider who was up at the top by the time I got there. I was going along my merry way and then all of a sudden ….
Next thing I can remember at this point, is that I am lifted into an ambulance. I had taken a fall. What I remember from the audio soundbits is that I am taken to Stanford Medical center. I seem to recall being in an ambulance, as I don’t recall being transported into a chopper, so I was not airlifted at all.
They checked me out, for head injuries, concussion, in the trauma center, and thankfully, no concussion, no head injuries of any sort, but my face did take a beating. I looked at my helmet, and the ground completely missed my helmet. How unlucky is that!
They kept me there for observations for several hours, just to make sure my head was completely working right. After joking around with the doctors, they pretty much came to the conclusion that I am okay. The volunteer firemen at Stevens Creek were amazing. Kudos to all of them, as they blocked off the road to take care of little ole me. They were all concerned for my well being and they were relieved to see me up and at em.
The scene of the accident was right across from the Montebello school. The owner of the house, right across from the school, helped with coning off the road, and I have him to thank for all of this. Thanks a bunch Howard.
It looks like what happened was as I was entering the turn past Montebello School, I may have entered sweeping a little too far off the right. In that area, lot of times, mud patches are off to the shoulder of the road, and I may have sweeped off there, lost control, and the bike went to the right, while I went the other way, like a pancake, and did a big face plant on the road. It’s amazing that I came out of there with just facial abrasions, sore left arm, and a tendor pinkie and ring finger on my left hand. All in all, I am grateful, first for Howard, and second to the excellent volunteer firefighters in Stevens Creek.
Apparently, when I fell, I yelped out a loud screech, that was in Howard’s words indescribeable … I just hope I didn’t frighten everyone too much. One comment that Howard made … and this is extremely surprising … was that there were several cyclists that descended, and didn’t even stop. I didn’t observe it, but Howard did mention that, and I find that shocking. No love for a down cyclist?
Anyhow, almost a week later, and the swelling has gone down. At first, on Monday, I could barely see out of my left eye. If anything, I would see my own face. Now that the swelling has subsided, my left cheek is healing up, and the blood along the cheek has dried up. I still feel like there is something on my face … Now, what I have to avoid doing picking at the dried blood on my face.
One week later, my face doesn’t hurt that much. However, my left arm does feel a bit weak. I have some issues with heavy lifting with my left arm, so I’ll just try to do some light arm curls. My left hand is a bit tender, with my pinkie and my ring finger not being able to close all the way. But I guess that’s the most vulnerable part, so that shouldn’t be too unexpected.
When I got my bike, my handlebars look a little tweaked … not sure though. I’ll bring it in the have it looked at. It just felt weird grabbing the handlebars. Maybe it’s just not grabbing the handlebars for a week, and it felt weird?
So I was wondering how fast I was descending just before I fell. Since I had my Garmin, I figure that would be perfect. So I take my Garmin, plug in, and upload to Garmin … and it still is uploading. What’s strange is that there is not much data. I only see a 2k fit file there. Somehow, it must have lost the data? That sucks man!
One thing that gets to me though … I know they needed to check me all out, and they couldn’t risk moving my limbs, so they had to cut my clothes open to inspect me. So I had a vest on … easy to zip it down … they even cut that. Damn! Also, Michael had just given me a hand me down jersey … that was all cut up. So now I have to look for new jersey, new shorts, new jacket. But I guess the alternative is pain and injury. I guess I’ll go do some shopping. :)
Henry Coe Kicked My Butt
When you think of all the major climbs in the Bay Area, you immediately think of Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Tam, Old La Honda, King’s Mountain … but I seriously think the climb to Henry Coe should be added to this discussion. Henry Coe State Park is just outside of Morgan Hill, and it is a long climb (about 10 miles, according to the sign).
On this ride, as with most Wrecking Crew rides, we tweet each other to organize a ride. Everyone was planning on riding to the start, even though the start of the ride is at least 20 miles away from most people. As it turned out, only myself and Ben rode to the start.
I was going to ride with Chris (aka fudgy) to the start, but he caught the bug (a cold). That’s really too bad, because it was his birthday on this day. Oh by the way, happy birthday Chris … but what a day to spend your birthday, in bed.
Anyhow, I met Ben in Los Gatos, and then we rode off to meet the rest of the gang. It actually surprised me how close I am to Los Gatos … it only took me about 35 minutes to get there … something to note for future rides.
We got to the start before anyone else did. But then again, we did make pretty good time … got there about 10 minutes before the actual start time. Other than Ben, I already had 22 miles in before anyone else got on the road.
It rained pretty steady last night, so the roads were still a little damp. Despite this, we did pretty well to survive with minimal amount of flats. Ben got one after we turned off of Uvas Road onto Oak Glen Road. On a slightly off topic, don’t you think Uvas is a strange name for a street? Sounds a lot like a body part. ”Hey, wanna see my Uvas?”
We continued on some fairly flat roads (comparatively speaking, of course). We ended up somewhere between Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and Ben took us through some detour through some short but steep climbs through some mansion type homes. I think someone mentioned this was a private road. I guess we were lucky no one told us to get off their private roads.
Like I said, these were steep … stupidly steep roads. I think we learned our lesson … when Ben says, we are going through a short loop, with some extra climbing, beware …. be prepared to get down into your granny gear, and suffer the pain. These were 16-18% climbs. And we still have Henry Coe to climb! The descent was almost as hairy … steep descents, and sharp turns … that makes for a very interesting downhill … and to keep on your toes.
After a quick stop at Concept Cyclery (a Specialized Concept Store), we head out to climb Henry Coe. We were all still recovering from previous climbs. As we entered one of the roads to Henry Coe, it mentions the entrance as being 10 miles. Oh boy, so I’m up for a 10 mile climb!
Almost immediately, my climbing pace lagged far behind, in comparison to everyone else’s climbing. But that was expected. On most sustained climbs, there are steep sections, but there are also some gradual sections. But on this climb, the gradual section seemed to be ~ 10% grades, so there was not much relief doing the climbs. It just seemed like it was 10 miles of sustained hard climbing. And after a while, this started to psychological play in my mind. There were a few sections on the climb that were in the 18-20% range, and it was for a fairly good stretch. Some people don’t like to know how long the climb is, but I do. This way, I could gage how much more climbing I need to do. I need to know this. This kind of help my psyche a little bit. At least I had the knowledge the end is near.
It got to a point where I was not naturally pedaling, but I had to verbally tell myself to turn the damn crank. I had to concentrate hard on cycling, which may be due in part to fatigue. I realized this, and I just had to stop, chow down on a banana, and just rest for about a minute or two.
This did help, but I still struggled getting up the hill. The closer I got to the top, the closer I saw some very threatening skies. Dark very gray-ish clouds were hovering in the distance. I was just hoping that it would stay dry.
Near the top, I see Ramon heading down the hill, and then later, I see Donald heading down the hill. I figure it was getting cold up there, and if they stay too long, they will get too cold. I’d meet them later after I finish reaching the top.
Got up to the top, and I stayed dry. Elevation level … 2697 feet. It’s not as high as Mt. Diablo, but it might be a tougher climb than Mt. Diablo … but that can be open for debate. I didn’t want to stay up on top too long, in case those dark clouds turned into rain, and second, so that Ramon and Donald wouldn’t be waiting too long at the bottom of the hill.
The return wasn’t all down hill … there were some bumps (e.g. small climbs). These are similar to Mt. Hamilton, but these bumps were bigger than on Mt. Hamilton, and they were very annoying. In fact, a few of them were about 16%.
We got back to Concept Cyclery, had lunch at the cafe next door, then returned back via the bike path. I decided I was not going to ride all the way back, and entertained the idea of taking VTA back home. Ramon did offer to give me a lift back home … thanks Ramon! With this, I still got my second century of Janurary in. I got 100.3 miles, and 6209 feet of climbing.
Here’s to another epic ride in the books … we just don’t know how to do a painless ride.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/29648
Pictures at http://spingineer.smugmug.com/Cycling/Henry-Coe-Climb/11097820_Mbosj#777208611_RVYLe
Fremont to Berkeley with annoying Rain
We recently had rain for 5 days straight, and the weather site and news, kept advertising it would be dry on Saturday, so this was our day to ride. I have always wanted to do Fremont to Berkeley for a long time, so I decided to lead it, and go for it.
It started out really ominous. Saturday morning, as I was waking up, I could hear the rain continuing, and it was a constant driving rain. It was so hard, I even tweeted, and posted on bikeforums.net that I am cancelling the ride. Being off the bike for an entire week didn’t go well with Chris, and Michael. Looking at the various weather sites, they tell us the rain would stop by 7 am, and would be clear for the afternoon. That was good enough for them to still ride, but my concern was more of descending wet roads at high speeds. Since I was the ride leader, I felt I had to show up, even if we weren’t going to ride.
It did clear up, and seemed like it would be okay. For Chris, he was so desperate to ride, that he decided to ride from home, across Dumbarton Bridge. As I was driving to Fremont, it started to sprinkle some more. I had my doubts on whether or not this ride would actually go on. I could only think about how wet Chris is getting, and I even brought my bike rack, just in case it got so bad that he would need a lift back home. The rain did stop around 8 am, but we decided to postpone it till about 8:30 am, just so that the rain would stop by then, and it eventually did.
With rain, this meant fenders on the bike. Chris had brand new fenders, and it looked so streamlined, and looked like a better fit than even the race blades. What was interesting is the you have to zip tie the fender onto the brake calipers. I guess all you have to do is get extra zip ties and cut them off everytime you want to remove them, but I thought that was a little strange.
We finally took off a little before 9 am (about an hour later than we had first planned, but at least we would be a little dryer). So here we go for another epic wrecking crew ride.
We all knew this would be an all day affair, as it is advertised as an 80 mile ride … so why is it that Donald and Ramon are going at such a blistering pace? No matter, Michael, Chris and I just let them go off in the front. They would re-group for us eventually anyhow.
First climb of the day is Palomares. We have done this many times before, but we normally climb this from North to South. This time, we are doing it from South to North, which is a little steeper and shorter.
First casualty of the day … Ramon got a flat, most likely due to running over a pothole. I didn’t even notice a pothole … oh well, lucky me. Good thing it was after we got down the hill, and not on the fast part of the descent.
Next, we continue on Redwood, and apparently, Donald only rode this once before, so I have ridden this the most out of the group. I happen to remember the slight descent and attacked, aggressively positioning myself at the front … that is until everyone else caught up, and we started the up portion of the rollie hills. This stretch is kind of similar to Calaveras going northbound … nothing really too bad, but enough to let you know you are doing a slight climb.
Next casualty, Donald gets a flat. Dang, what is it about today? Well, I guess part of it may be due to wet roads, and have rocks, gravel, and pebbles stick to the tires more.
The further we climbed, the further away from sunshine we started to get. Eventually, we would get dumped on, but not too bad. As we turned onto Pinehurst, this reminded me a lot of the wooded areas of the likes of Old La Honda Road, or maybe even Pescadero Road. In other words, very green, and shaded by bunch of trees.
So what happened to that forecast of no rain today, and that it would not come until late in the evening? I actually was not too optimistic that we would stay dry all day, so this actually didn’t surprise me. Good thing I did put on my fenders. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but it seems like the higher in elevation we went, the higher likelihood of getting rained on.
The rest of the group was getting restless with all these rollie hills, so as soon as we started the sustained climbs on Pinehurst, off they went … in the meantime, I was grinding my way up the hill. After reaching the top, we continued on Grizzly Peak, where we hovered the crest, where we normally would have a great view overlooking the bay … but visibility wasn’t that great today.
We next descended into Berkeley via Claremont. That was a nice fun descent. The switchbacks weren’t too bad, but I had this really annoying car, that was far enough behind me to see in the mirror, but was timid enough not to pass us up. I figured if he’s not going to pass me, I’ll just tuck down and speed up until we get down to the bottom of the hill.
When everyone got to the bottom, no one seemed ready to go grab a bite to eat. That would eventually catch up to us near the end of the ride … sometimes, you just gotta have solid food. Powerbars and/or Clif bars sometimes just doesn’t cut it … but more about that later.
We proceeded to ride through the Cal Berkeley campus. We pass by a Lacrosse field … women’s Lacrosse game going on … I say again … women’s Lacrosse … and we didn’t even stop? What the hell is wrong with us? I can’t say if they were cute, as I was busy trying to stay alive riding through a construction area, but damn … it’s women’s Lacrosse.
So instead of watching women’s Lacrosse, what do we do? Climb Centennial, and climb a 17% hill, up to Lawrence Hall of Science (I affectionately call it Lawrence Hill of Science). That was one hella tough hill, and it really took a lot out of me. I was definitely using all of my 30-27 gearing. I was glad to make it up to the Botanical Garden, but then I realized that wasn’t even the top … heck Lawrence Hall of Science wasn’t even the top. We still had to proceed up and over Grizzly Peak.
So this turned out to be a lot harder ride than I thought … hmmm, didn’t I say that last week? Anyhow, we proceeded to our next climb, South Park, in Tilden Park … that was another tough hill, peaking at about 18%. I was going so slow on this climb … all I can do was concentrate to just turn the crank.
At this point, we headed on the way back, all the way on Redwood. We eventually stopped off at Safeway in Castro Valley, for some much needed solid food. Even though it was not much, I had a small cup of potato salad, and boy, that really felt good. Ramon was having some stomach issues here, so we couldn’t quite take off yet. By the time he came out, it was 3:30 PM, and we were concerned about climbing Palomares, and finishing the ride before dark. So we did not do Palomares, and we didn’t do an extra 1,000+ feet climbing … but no one cared at this point. We were all tired, and we took a flat way back to Fremont Bart.
Now it’s true, we did not maintain the Wrecking Crew standard, 1000 feet climbing for every 10 miles, but it still qualified as a Wrecking Crew ride.
Pics at http://spingineer.smugmug.com/Cycling/Fremont-Berkeley/11043975_SMiTR#772696810_H8XSr
Total stats: 80.66 miles, 6653 feet climbing
Social Ride with Old Friends
This was weekend was my scheduled monthly visit back to LA. I hooked up with my old friend Lynn, who I have known for about 15 years … jeez, has it been that long? Actually, it might be longer, but who’s counting.
Lynn is a veteran of about 90 double centuries, and is someone who I hold in high regard in cycling. I’ve also known her since the old days when we rode with Foothill Cycle Club, and then later on with Bicycle Club of Irvine. At the time, I was still living in Pasadena (in Southern California). We had been riding together for a while, then we decided to ride Wine Country and Grizzly Peak (back to back rides on the same weekend). We hung out at my brother’s place in Fremont, and after talking, we realized that we both had the same teacher, in the same IS Math class, and of course the same high school, Mark Keppel High School. Now here’s the stranger part … she and my brother were in the same IS Math Class together, and Lynn was in the same graduating class as my sister. No one knew this … boy what a small world.
We also rode with her friend John, who also has a number of double centuries under his belt. And here I am, with a scant 4 under my belt … I was the newbie in doubles in this group.
This was a long but flat ride, where the first 30 miles or so had < 500 feet. This was a nice change from the typical Wrecking Crew ride (averaging 1000 feet climb per 10 miles). Well, I definitely wouldn’t be accomplishing this. As Lynn says, sometimes you need a break from this, because otherwise you’ll get burned out.
Lately, in the Bay Area, the rides have been cold, and even when the sun comes out, it is not enough to peel off your arm warmers, or take off your jacket. Today, when the sun was out, it was nice. The temps were in the 70’s … nice contrast to the mid-50’s we have been experiencing lately in the Bay Area. This is Southern California cycling … gotta love it.
This was the first time I rode with no arm warmers on at all. But as I was riding, with no arm warmers on, I realized, I didn’t put sunscreen on. Gotta remember this next time. Good thing the clouds did come later, and the sun intensity wasn’t too bad. However, we had to keep pulling arm warmers off, putting it on, pulling off, etc … I even contemplated taking off my knee warmers.
I started to run low on water, so at the top of the last major climb, we decided to hang out at the Pavilions to refuel with water (okay, I was the only one, since both Lynn and John had camelbacks, and have ample water). Just as we were about to head off, Lynn’s rear tire was flat. Doh! We couldn’t find source of the leak, so maybe she had been climbing on this flat all along, without realizing it? Maybe that’s why she was having an issue climbing? Well, I find that a little hard to believe, but we’ll never know now.
We ended up having lunch in Seal Beach, and with the best sweet potato fries. This was at the 75 mile mark, and that really hit the spot.
By the time we got back to the cars, we had logged in 85 miles, and roughly 2900 feet of climbing. This is a far cry from the Wrecking Crew ride, and this was a nice change of pace. This was also a bit odd, not being the last one to the top of the hill. And this answers everyone’s question … yes, I can do social rides, when needed.
First Century of the Year … Lot Harder Than I Thought it Would Be
At the beginning of the year, I decided that I will go for another Triple Crown this year. The California Triple Crown is 3 double centuries (200 mile ride) within one year. I attempted the same thing last year, but I couldn’t finish one of them. One reason is most likely due to fitness. So I decided this time around, I’m going to train for long distance rides, so that my fitness level would be up there.
I led a ride, which I figured would be around 100+ miles, if I started from my house. The ride basically went out Old La Honda, out to San Gregorio, then head southbound, climbing Stage Rd, then head out to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, then come inland via Gazos Creek and Cloverdale, then back on Pescadero Rd back through Alpine, then Page Mill, and then back into Palo Alto. I figure this shouldn’t be a problem, just a longer ride. I recall Ramon saying “Looks like a a good route and doable on paper”. It turned out, for whatever reason, this ride was a lot tougher, not just for me, but for everyone in the group. Was it because of the off season? Perhaps. Was it because we hammered too hard in the beginning? That is a good possibility. All I know is, as I am writing this, my legs are as sore as I can remember in recent memory. This is just another in a line of classic Wrecking Crew rides … you know when you have been through a typical Wrecking Crew ride … your legs feel it.
Ok, on the ride itself, I met up with Ramon and Chris in Los Altos, at Bicycle Outfitters, and we decided to leave early enough, so we wouldn’t have to hammer it, pacelining at a brisk pace, just to get to the start in time. We took an easy pace and got to Woodside 10 minutes early. Few of the usuals got there a little late, but that’s okay. It gave us time to chit chat and fool around. However, the waiting around made us a bit cold. According to my Garmin, it was around 44 F. That’s cold.
From Left to Right, Michael, Donald, Chris, Ruth, and Marco.
When we finally started going, the only thing I can think of was hold ccc-cold it was. Hmmm … I wasn’t nearly this cold when I got to the start. Oh well … on we go to start the first climb, Old La Honda. I didn’t want to time myself on this climb, but I still decided to employ the strategy of starting out in my big chainring, then slowly shift over to middle then small chainring. I was not long before I got into the middle chainring, and I even got into my small chainring at about halfway point.
Chris was gung ho on wanting to check out his timing on OLH. I didn’t want to find out what it was on the spot. As it turned out, poor Chris got a flat almost after leaving the designated start of the climb (where everyone usually starts the timer). In the end, my time wasn’t all that great … 29 minutes. I was surprised that Chris didn’t catch up and pass me up, but I guess it took him a lot longer to change the flat than I thought. The tandem even got to the top before he did.
We were all waiting for Ben, who was riding from home in Los Gatos, to meet us at the top of OLH. He started out a little late, and he did catch up with Chris, and they both arrived at the same time. This ride is starting to turn into a hot, cold, hot ride … warm up, get cold, warm up, get cold.
Off we descent to San Gregorio via 84. I was having a hard time getting my speed up, and fell way behind. Then, suddenly I see Donald and Ben off to the side. We suffered another mechanical. This time, it wasn’t a flat, but Ben’s rear freewheel had some issues. The lock ring was a bit loose, and it prevented the wheel from moving. The rear axle halves were loose too. We were able to get it back in, and we were crossing our fingers it would stay put. There wasn’t a bike shop close by … either climb back the way we came, for about 10-15 miles or so, or just keep on going.
Well, we kept going. We got into a pretty good paceline, each taking turns pulling the lead, and that made the descent more enjoyable. What I hate is going down that long stretch, all by yourself, and time trialing it all the way to the coast. That gets demoralizing and you expend a lot more energy.
We caught up with the gang at the General Store in San Gregorio, then headed on to Stage. I think my climbing legs were kicking in, as I was hanging in with Ramon, Donald, and Michael. We normally take Stage Rd in the other direction, so this would be a little different. The tandem was having problems at this point. They hadn’t been riding very much lately, but we weren’t in a real hurry … since we were resting up at the store in Pescadero. Wow, I’m not the last one on the regroups on this ride. That’s a different feeling!
We continued on Hwy 1, and the pace was a real killer. I hung in with the tandem for a little while, but the front pack started distancing themselves from us.
I passed the tandem to try to close in on the gap, but I didn’t want to kill myself. I also want to help pull the tandem a little bit, but they just didn’t have the energy, which is shocking. I guess that’s what happens when you have that much time off the bike. Anyhow, I went on ahead, but I was out there solo. But at least I got to see the waves crashing against the shore.
This is not the first time we’ve been out to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, but in the past, we always whip past it, without stopping by. This time, we made it our stopping point, so we definitely we take a view of it.
We continued on Hwy 1, for about another 2 miles, before heading inland via Gazos Creek. We had a few climbs here, and I took the lead up here (I figured I should, since this is my route, and I didn’t want to feel that I am freeloading off of everyone). I felt like I was close to the same level as everyone on this ride. The climbs were not terribly long, and they were gradual enough to keep everyone within reach. In fact, we got into a bit of a paceline, climbing up the shallower section of Pescadero before reaching the steeper section of Haskins Hill. When we did get to the steeper section, I did fall off the back. However, for the first time, I was able to pass up Ben, and again, not the last one up the hill. I’ve gotta tell you though, this is the first ride for Ben since coming back from his vacation of 3 weeks … that’s 3 weeks off the bike!
It started to get late, so Ben decided to go on ahead. Chris and Donald went a little later, going on Hwy 84 then back home. While we were waiting for Marco and Ruth, we were debating which way to head home. Alpine would really suck at this point, as we were all very tired, and with no energy at all. When Marco and Ruth showed up, they were absolutely not going to make it up Alpine, and preferred to go on 84. In the back of my mind, I was hoping everyone else would do the same, and we did … yippee!!! Alpine is one tough hill, especially after riding for 90 miles.
We eventually made it back, just before dark. It’s a good thing I had my front blinkers on (I needed it, as I started at 6:45 am, and it was dark and foggy at that point). However, even by the time I got home, it wasn’t dark enough for the lights to take effect.
I don’t know what it was about this ride. As Ramon stated, on paper, it didn’t look that bad, but this really did in everyone. After getting home, I was so tired, just simply walking around the house became a chore. I thought maybe we all took a really fast pace, but it wasn’t all that much faster in my opinion … or maybe it’s because I am in better shape than before. This “better shape” does not account for why everyone was feeling tired and weak by the time we reached the top of Haskins Hill. Maybe we all needed solid food. Perhaps we should have taken a short detour to Pescadero for solid food before going up Haskins Hill? Maybe next time.
Photos posted at http://spingineer.smugmug.com/Cycling/Pigeon-Point/10907587_6wimS#761542467_8kax5
Garmin Edge 500 Review
So I splurged and upgraded to a Garmin 500 GPS. Actually, I had been looking at this for a while (even before it was released). I’ve always had issues with my Garmin Edge 305 due to its lack of battery capacity. I am aiming for a triple crown, and with the 305 lasting only 11 hours, there is no way it’s going to last an entire double century. Then, on my last ride on Saturday, my 305 turned itself off not once, not twice, but 3 times. After all of this, that convinced me (along with proddings of a bunch of others) to go for the upgrade to a Garmin Edge 500.
Regarding the unit turning itself off, apparently this is a chronic problem with the Edge 305, if running under those humming power lines. It causes some disruptions to power on the GPS unit. In fact, JP mentioned that after he upgraded to 705, the power disconnects have disappeared.
So the first thing I like is the mount. On the other Garmin GPS units, it requires you to wrap the mount around the handlebar with zip ties. When you remove it, it is such a hassle, as you have to cut that zip tie … really ugly. With the Edge 500, you have a pair of bands that you wrap around, and it is easily removable. I know, it’s something really simple, and not a function of the unit itself, but it is nice to not rely on zip ties to mount your GPS to your bike. The unit is a bayonet type mount, where you slip matching slots, and rotate 90 degrees, to get it into place. You do have to realize the positioning of the unit will be 90 degrees from where you initially mount it.
When you power up the unit, it does have a nice initial install sequence on the unit. It asks whether or not you have a cadence sensor, and if you have a heart rate monitor. Since mine was just an upgrade, I already have both of these, so getting started is pretty easy.
So I took it out on a ride today, with about 3000 feet of climbing, so plenty of opportunity to test it out. I’m proud to report that it had no problems with shutting itself off. However, there was one really annoying thing, and I’m not sure if it’s something that I set on the unit … it gives lap split times after every mile. That is really annoying. I’ll have to check it out a little later.
So all is good there, and now, upload it to my PC. Oh, I forgot to register the unit, so log on to www.garmin.com, and register the GPS unit. I go through the usual upgrade firmware/software drivers, etc … after doing all of this, I go to connect.garmin.com, and it syncs fine. However, I don’t like connect.garmin.com, and I usually use Ascent or ridewithgps.com. However, both of those have issues with downloading data from my Garmin unit. When trying to use Ascent, it gives me some bogus message saying that the disk was not ejected properly. I also check out ridewithgps.com, and it gives me an error “UnsupportedDataTypeException: Your device does not support reading of the type: FitnessHistoryDirectory”. What???
I did a few google searches, and it appears that the Garmin Edge 500 uses a new file format called fit. Actually, it’s probably more than just a file format. With this new format, it can cause interop problems with other vendors, like Ascent, ridewithgps, or any other site that offers import via gpx file. If you try to export your download to connect.garmin.com, it will not import to another program. It provides an I/O error.
Well, after further research, it looks like Garmin did not publish documentation on fit format so that other vendors may inter-operate. The SDK kit was not released, and they’ll be releasing it in the next few days. Vendors may be receiving the SDK, but then it will take some time for them to implement that on their software. I guess for now, Garmin Edge 500 data will be proprietary to only connect.garmin.com. It would have been nice if they published SDK kit for those developers who wish to import data from the Edge 500 to be utilized on their software product.
Although I am happy with the general operation of the Edge 500 (battery capacity is still something to be determined), but I am really upset that they did not offer the SDK for other vendors. This means Ascent, ridewithgps, and any other vendor who imports gpx data will be deemed useless. Oh, and connect.garmin.com ??? It doesn’t have the ability to provide expansive data for you to manipulate.
I hear that some vendors, who are in a coalition for the ANT technology may have the SDK, and have it implemented on their product .. one such example is Trainingpeaks. However, I wish they could have shared the SDK with vendors before they released the product … or how about this … enhance their weak connect.garmin.com interface to provide more granular information that Ascent and ridewithgps already provides.
2009 Year in Review
It’s New Year’s Eve, and time to do the ritual … re-cap on the last 365 days of 2009. Gee, time sure flies by, and just to think it seemed like only yesterday. The year started off really well. I had a lot of PTO time to spend, so I had the usual new year’s and day after off, and then I took another week off, and took advantage of that by doing a bunch of rides. So I immediately got a head start on mileage and climbing, and that was cool.
I was really fortunate that my friend Lynn, who is a pretty key volunteer for the Tour of California, had an extra spot for a traveling Course Marshall. This is one of the most coveted volunteer positions for the entire event, and I got in. Woohoo. This meant I got to hop in and out of those speeding vans, followed the race from the prologue, all the way to the end in Escondido. This was an experience I will never forget, despite the fact that it rained, and rained hard the first half of the tour, and we were all soakin’ wet from it. The only other thing was we couldn’t really enjoy the race, since we were working it. Oh well, I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Bunch of my friends also were planning on doing Davis Double, and we were going to have a big showing there. So in preparations for that, I scheduled to do Primavera Century in April, and Wine Country Double Metric in May, as warm ups. Primavera was fine, and went without issues, but Wine Country was wet and raining. I was riding it with Pete, and we basically did portions of all the rides … 50, 100, 200k, and even the 25 miler. It was fun, it was silly, and it was wet. I wasn’t really riding that well, and was really glad to be over with it. In the back of my mind, with this being only 120 miles (really less than that), I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be ready for Davis. No sense in worrying about it now.
Ah, then Davis comes around. We had a fairly good sized BF contingent, so it was going pretty good. Then, get a flat, and there went my paceline. It ended up being a really hot day, temps in the triple digits. Cobb Mountain really took a lot out of me. It was steep, and wide open, with no shades. It kept going on and on … ice socks were the order of the day. When I got to Resurrection, and had no energy left, and I hear the temp there was 105 F. This was at mile 125, or something like that. I got to the top, at mile 136, and decided to sag it in. My first DNF. It was so hot, we had scenes like the pic below:
After DNF’ing Davis, I set my sights next on Eastern Sierra, in June. Getting there was an adventure itself, as every route we took was greeted with road closures, due to snow over the pass. In the end, we took a long detour, going via Lake Tahoe, before finally reaching Mammoth. Then, due to inclement weather, they had to change the route, so our initial plans of getting a 1 hour early start at 4 am was not possible. Then, on the modified route, we headed south, and we ended up with rain, sleet, and snow. When it started snowing, I turned back, especially when I saw a bunch of other riders turn back. I sagged it in, DNF’ing another double century ride. What is it with me and inclement weather on these double century rides? After DNF’ing this, I decided no more double centuries for this year.
The failed double centuries would be the bookmark … not the highlight … but the distinguishing event of the year for me. In addition to this, I ended up buying an IRO Fixie from Henry. I call it Vader …. all black. It’s a 43×16, and little did I know how tight the gearing is. I was just happy to ride a fixie, and I then used this as my primary commute bike to work. After continuing to commute with this, I started to get stronger and stronger, and my hill climbing started to improve. Eventually, the weight started coming off. Suddenly, just out of a whim, I decided to weigh myself. I had lost about 15 lbs since the last time I weighed myself. Wow!
This fitness seemed to carry over with me through the end of the year. I started getting lots of complements about my form and fitness, and I thought the first couple were just good friends saying kind words, but then everybody started saying this. I thought, wow, maybe I am getting better. I felt really flattered when Marco was mentioning how strong I was … then, what really clued me in was I was climbing with the big boys … Ramon, Donald, and I wasn’t dying.
One of the most memorable rides this year was a ride that Marco led, going over both sides of Hamilton. It ended up being a 95 mile ride, with about 13,000 feet climbing. Little did we know it was their training ride for Everest Challenge, which was to be the following week. It was an amazing ride, which featured Quimby, Kinkaid (a road not many people go on, and very smooth pavement), to the top of Hamilton, down the other side to a dive restaurant called the Junction, then climb back up Hamilton, then back to the cars. I am still amazed that I even finished that ride.
http://sevencyclist.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/both-sides-of-hamilton/
Right in the middle of all of this, our friends Marco and Ruth got married. It was such a happy day, to see these two get married … and what was cool was they rode the tandem from the church to the reception at Huddard Park, which is still a bit of a climb … and they were even doing that in a pseudo- black and white outfit. Yes, we did sacrifice a day from riding, but it was well worth it to see two of our best friends get hitched. Once again, Marco and Ruth, congradulations.
Another of our friends, Michael, became a father this year. It was one of the best kept secrets, and none of us had any clue. I guess it came pretty suddenly for him too. But what was interesting here was he actually has done more riding than we have since he has become a father. Kings Mountain, OLH, and Page Mill, all in the same day … he’ll do that in a heartbeat.
Of course, I’ve also done my normal visits down to Southern California. One of my favorite rides down there is Chantry Flats, and one time, my friend Mary took me up to the helicopter pad. Not too many people know about this, but it’s a nice extra climb giving you a view of the valley. It’s pretty awesome:
So thanks for looking back at 2009 along with me. It was a pretty interesting year, and 2010 will probably have just as many twists and turns. I’m already starting it off with a bang by changing product groups at work, so 2010 should be interesting.
Happy New Year everyone.
There Are Good Samaritans Out There
Some days, you are just meant not to go out the door. I’m not sure what it is, but there is some karma in the air that should tell the subconscious mind that you shouldn’t go out there.
Today, the ground was all wet from the rains the night before, so that meant staying indoors, at least till the ground dries up. Well, after seeing the Raiders shoot themselves in the foot (yet again), I figure that was enough, and it was time to go out for a ride.
As I was heading out the door, I put my Garmin on my bike, turn it on, but damn … it doesn’t have a charge. I forgot to keep it charged over night. Going on a ride without your Garmin? Sacrilegious! Well, I’ll just have to do without it, and not rely on instruments to gauge my performance. It has been done before!
Ok, so I decided to go up Redwood Gulch, then Hwy 9. I was going at a good clip, and I felt pretty strong going up to Saratoga Gap. I think I’m starting to get the hang of Redwood Gulch. Just think, I used to hate this hill.
Then, I headed north along Skyline, getting down into a tight tuck, streamlining on the descents, and cursing the ascents on these friggin’ rollies. Hung a right at Page Mill. Just before Gate 4, I hear and feel my flat. It’s been a while since I’ve changed a flat in cold weather … it is not easy. The tire was a bit stubborn coming off, and just as stubborn putting it back on. This took a lot longer than I would have liked, but at least I got the spare tube on.
On down the hill again, then suddenly I hear something from my wheels … as if something was rubbing. I was hoping it was like a leaf or something that got caught … but much worse … a second flat. Damn … now that’s too much of a coincidence. Plus, I don’t have another tube. I am convinced that it’s not the tube, but the tire. I recall when I was changing the tube, looking at the tire, it looked like the tread is a bit worn.
So here’s the situation … I don’t have any extra tires or tubes. Even if I did have an extra tube (several gracious riders have also offered), I don’t think it would do any good. It would just go flat anyways. I’m approximately at 1500 feet elevation, just above the steep section of Page Mill, and I also have no signal on my cell phone. So I had no choice but to walk down, in cycling shoes, until I get to some area where cell coverage is better. This is a long long way from home, and very high up, not even close to civilization. I accepted the fact that I am screwed, and may be walking out there after it gets dark.
About 5 or 6 cars pass by, 3-4 cyclist pass by (who offered their tube, but I declined, only because it would just go flat again)… then, this couple in a sedan, slows down, and graciously offers to give me a lift back home. Wow, at this point, I just wanted to kneel and kiss their feet. Michael and Peggy, had just finished hiking, and they were on their way home. They live in Sunnyvale, so it is very close to where I live. I feel very fortunate that they came by, and no matter what you think, there are good people out there. Not everyone wants to buzz cyclists and cause them harm. I didn’t even stick my hitchhiker’s thumb, but I did kind of walk down with the hint that I needed help. I owe them a debt of gratitude. I’m sure we will meet paths again, and I will return the favor … I promise.
I guess it’s now time to put my Continental GP 4000’s on. It’s funny, I know some cyclists who have tires in worse shape than mine, and they don’t get a flat. In fact, they go through gravel, and without issues.
Ride on Christmas Eve???? Why not
For those of us who don’t have family obligations, we all got together for a ride on Christmas Eve. I mean, why not. It’s an extra day we have available to do a ride (thinking that Christmas Day will be completely out of the question).
The ride started at Orinda Bart Station, and Richard was leading this ride. I was really excited about this, as I haven’t done a ride in the Grizzly Peak, Berkeley area in quite a long time. I decided I needed to change this up a little bit, and ride somewhere different. Parts of this ride are featured on the Grizzly Peak Century, which is an excellent ride, that takes place in early May.
The first climb was Wildcat Canyon. We were still shivering cold, so the climb helped warm us up a little bit. Richard was leading a blazing uphill pace, and up at the top, by Tilden parking lot, we were treated to an awesome view of the valley. I was going to start take pictures, but realized that my battery was low, and I forgot to charge it up before leaving. Damn … no pictures, sorry.
After a short descent, we hang a left on South Park, to climb a road that is closed from Fall to Spring (opening in March). This gives us the perfect opportunity to ride on a closed road, car-free. This also means it attracts walkers, hikers, and joggers, but there weren’t too many out there today. There was this one cyclist who was bombing down the hill in the reverse direction. These were 15% grades, so coming down is a little crazy. In the meantime, having these climbs was my opportunity to warm up, and that meant pushing my heart rate up as high as I could. I reached about 180 bpm near the top. After letting my heartrate go back down to a respectable level, I felt really good.
Here’s a shot that Richard took of George and me as we get to the end of the climb. At least his camera has some batteries :p
After reaching the top, we hang a left, and ride along Skyline, with a really nice view of the bay. In fact, I was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge very clearly from the Berkeley side of Skyline. I have no idea how many times I said “wow, what a view”. By this time, we were pretty much warmed up, and not shivering as much.
We then take a really fast descent down Shepherd’s Canyon. This was nice, because once we got past the hairpin, it was a pretty straight shot into town, and it was a fast shot down. I didn’t break 40 mph, but that’s because I didn’t know the area that well. We eventually wound up in Montclair, and had coffee there. It’s amazing … there was a Peet’s, and a Starbuck’s there … both were jam packed, with a long line. Down the street, we saw a local cafe, and ducked into there, with no waiting at all. And it was gooood. It’s great to have coffee for a local merchant … help out the little guys. I came out of there with a great sense of satisfaction.
Ok, next agenda is to head back up to Skyline, by heading over towards the Caldecott tunnel area, but climbing the ridge above it. Again, once climbing up to the ridge, there were great views awaiting us. I kinda bummed that I forgot to charge the battery for my camera, but on the other hand, the view that we saw would not translate too well onto a jpg or digital image.
As I was chasing after Richard (I was about 100 yards behind him), suddenly I saw his bike slant at 45 degrees. Rich took a fall … it looks like he hit a rock the wrong way, and he lost balance. He was okay, but just a little frazzled … nothing to worry about. Easy for me to say … I’m not the one who fell. I think it was more embarrassment than anything else.
We circled back to Skyline, to the point where we were earlier this morning. We headed down to Redwood and then Pinehurst. Aw, Pinehurst … I haven’t ridden this since I first moved to the Bay Area, and when I was living in Fremont. This was a nice gradual climb, and one of the local favorite hills. It’s not the crazy steep climbs, but has a grade gentle enough, but still tough enough, to keep you honest, and get your heart rate up, without blowing out your knees.
We were almost home, but one more climb we had to do … Rheem. Now this one was a bit steeper, but at least it was short. Knowing this is the last major climb, near the top, I decided to push my heart rate, and I manage to get it up to 182 bpm.
By the time we got back to the cars, I had logged in 43.1 miles, and 4295 feet climbing, according to Ascent. Great Christmas Eve ride.
