Bill's Ride 11/30/2011

Bill and Hillbasher were out on the road today. Different times. Here is Bill's report.

This morning was another great time to ride up GMR.
Clear skies, mild temperatures, and a lightly trafficked
road made for a very nice ride.  I did see a few other
folks on the road, about a dozen bike riders including
3 SC Velo and 4 Adobo Velo riders, along with a few
skate boarders and several motor vehicles of various
sorts.

I observed one car that was hauling a couple of skate
boarders up to their launch spots making stops along
the road to clean up gravel and debris - I thanked them
for their efforts because they were helping all of us that
were out on the road today.

My ride was very pleasant and uneventful.  I did improve
on my ride time from home to the shed by 3 minutes, due
in the most part to the higher gears I have been pushing
the last several trips up the hill.  My "training" plan is to
keep working my way up through higher gears every few
weeks to build my leg strength and my speed.  So far
it is working.

Bill's Ride 11/28/2011

This morning's weather was pretty good when I left home at 8:45.
There was some overcast and a temperature of about 55 degrees.
GMR was almost deserted, I encountered only four other cyclists
and three cars as I made my way up the hill.  The visibility down
into the basin was good, so I took a couple of pictures of L.A.'s tall
buildings. Coming down was fast and tearless - my new glasses
keep the wind away from my eyes so I do not tear up when I exceed
25 MPH like I did with my previous glasses..

Thanksgiving Weekend 11/24-11/27

Thanksgiving Day was for turkey and family.
Friday -  Mystic Canyon and met Carlos the hunter.
Saturday - Enjoyed the crowd. Hung onto a couple of riders from 10.49 to 8.44. Met folks from Orange County enjoying the mountain climb. Descended with Bill until first saddle where we met group Beanz and Hillbasher and enjoyed a bit of a hill repeat. Nice to have a little gas in the tank. Why did I wear a jacket on the descent?
Sunday - Mystic Canyon hike. Blue sky. Good to be outdoors.

Wednesday 11/23/2011

Glorious. One of the remaining few days for a mid-week ride. Work let out early,  if you are wondering. The afternoon was warm when I started around 2:45 pm. The road was quiet, quiet, quiet. Very few gutsy folks out riding. Just me, road, breathing, no thinking a solo ride.


Descending reminded me that there are "54F" reasons why most cyclists have ended their season. The sun sets quickly and so does the temperature. Yep, toe-biting cold on the way down at 25-30 mph. Glad to have the knee warmers, head band, base layer and jacket. It is the warm feeling of a "quart" endorphins in the tank with 786 Kcal burned, 17,270 heart beats pumped, 21.3 miles ridden, and 2621 feet climbed. Total odometer for the bike is 6,576 miles. Thanksgiving here I come.

Bill's Ride 11/22/2011

Bill's report:

It was pretty cool this morning, so I waited for it to warm up
to 50 degrees before I set out for GMR.  The nice thing about
riding on weekdays is that there aren't very many other folks
on the road.  I expected to see some skate boarders because
the local schools are closed this week, but none were to be
seen.  Maybe it was too cold for them.  I did see a few other
cyclists, maybe 8 all told.

I pushed a bigger gear that usual, so my legs were ready for a
break by the time I got to the shed. Coming back was pleasant,
cool - the temperature was up to 65 degrees - but not so much
so that I needed a jacket or arm warmers for the descent.
I did take a few pictures that I used to make a panorama.

Indoor Trainer

Desperation has set in and the indoor Cycleops trainer has been dusted off and rev'd up.

Better Late 11/19/2011

Started later than usual at 10:30 am when a bit of sun came out. Quiet cold morning with grey layer of rain clouds ready to drop

Bill's Day Out 11/17/2011

This morning was ideal for riding - sunny, clear and just
a bit on the cool side.  When I went out around 8:30 the
temperature was about 55 degrees.  GMR was almost
deserted, I saw only two cars and five other cyclists as I
made my way up to the shed. I went on up a bit farther
to the wall  by the top of Monroe Truck Trail to take a
couple of pictures.  By the time I was ready to come
down, the temperature had gotten up to 70 degrees.
That made for a comfortable descent.

Ron and Ray

Ron and Ray took the SGRT to Seal and Huntington Beach. A short little jaunt of 106 miles or so.


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129162277

Ron states it "Was Fun!!"

Tuesday with Bill 11/15/2011

It was a nice clear, albeit cool, morning. Great for riding. I took off around 8:30 and headed up GMR. The road started off pretty quiet, very little vehicle  traffic and just three other cyclists that passed me (of course) on their way up the hill.  After a while, the road got busier, several motorcycles passed me going up and a group of skate boarders passed me going down. As I neared Newman's Point I became aware of some spoke "chatter" from my rear wheel - one or more of them were probably a bit loose. I stopped at Newman's for a quick check and decided that I would head home and do some spoke "tuning" in the comfort  of my garage.  The descent was cool and uneventful. I did see several more riders coming up to enjoy the day. I'll probably be back up again Thursday and I will see if my spoke adjustments have been effective.

Sunday December 4th Ride with Beanz

Ride with Beanz and Hillbasher on Sunday December 4, 2011

Glendora High School
241 S Valley Center Ave
Glendora, CA 91741
Time: 9:00 am

Application Form
1) Do you need SAG?
A) No, my bike is roadworthy and I know how to fix a flat, perform minor repairs and I will carry spare tubes, tyres, CO2s, etc.
B) No, if I get a flat I'll walk back to my car (what's SAG by the way?).
C) Hell no! SAG is for sissies.  

2) Do you think any person other than yourself should be responsible for your safety?
A) No, I've been over 18 for the past 30 years or so.
B) The only person responsible for my safety is the one that I see in the mirror.
C) Hell no! I'll be wearing a helmet which protects against any and all evils.  

3) Will you ride in any weather conditions?
A) No, I'm not stupid.
B) Hell no! And I'm the one who decides if the weather conditions are suitable for riding in the mountain.
C) No, I'm a wuss like JimmyNH and I ride only in good weather conditions.  

4) Do you mind if Mr. Beanz captures you in his video?
A) Hell no! Actually that's why I'm doing the ride.
B) No, Mr. Beanz makes the coolest videos with the coolest music background.
C) No, I'm too ugly to have my picture taken anyway.  

5) Are you afraid of wild animals that you might encounter on GMR?
A) No, the noise from cars and motorcycles keeps the wild animals away from the road.
B) Hell no! I can outrun a mountain lion and wrestle a bear.
C) Hell no! I'll carry protection in my back pocket.

RSVP to bikeforums.net -- Ride with Beanz

GMR Trifecta 11/12 - 11/13

The lure of the road outweighed the dark clouds after a week of no biking. The ascent by the ranger station felt new and challenging. As I approached the bottom of Monroe the drops poured gently down. Enough to remind me how wet everything gets as wheels kick the water up your seat. I headed down and the speed of downhill and droplets were enough to indicate that was a good decision. I cycled around the drier parts of Glendora over to Palm Drive and up Kregmont to Twelve House Hill with its 9.7% grade. Back around to Sierra Madre hang with the Tour Du Foothill riders for a few blocks. A race marshal on bike was stopped and searching his playlist to find "climbing music" for the next 9 miles. I consider coyote howls, crickets chirping and lizards, squirrels and birds digging through brush music to climb by. Ranger Station pass 2 -- a couple of cyclists stopped on the road by the ranger station were impressed as I spun by. The rain capes were the fashion of the TdF riders. I again gave up before the bottom of Monroe.

I left my cycling clothes on for Saturday afternoon and waited out the weather. After errands and lunch -- the need for altitude was strong. I headed out again. The droplets caressed the pavement on Sierra Madre, I nearly turned around twice. Above Sierra Madre was dry. Third time up the forestry curve my legs were feeling it. Perhaps I had done more than perceived in the morning. It was a fairly dry ride up Saturday afternoon. The rain waited until the first saddle. I had sun and rain at the same time. Downhill felt good. The heavy jacket and windbreaker were good protection for the descent.

Of course Sunday morning was stunning for Group Beanz. Bill took off for his ride this morning.

Ray and I rode Sunday afternoon. What a pleasure to ride the road on a beautiful sunny day with perfect temperatures. I could have left that backpack at home! Yahooie! Ride your Bike.

Carmichael on Training Indoors

As I sit and gauge the weather I am betting the clouds will hold their "rainy tongues" and I can get one day in on Glendora Mountain Road this week. Inspired by the words from the Carmichael folks, I may need to put a training DVD on my Christmas list. Read on.

Indoor training season is upon us and although I’d rather we’d all rather be riding outside, the truth of the matter is you can make huge gains with relatively short workouts on the trainer. Below I’ve included a few tips for maximizing your time on the trainer.

I’m excited for the winter because two days ago our newest workout DVD arrived in the office. It’s a great one-hour workout featuring a mix of short, maximal efforts and longer lactate threshold efforts. If you do group rides or any type of road, cross, or mountain bike racing it’s exactly the type of workout you need. And since it’s the 2011 Amgen Tour of California Workout DVD, you get to relive the excitement of the 2011 ATOC on top of doing a great workout! (Click to watch a preview clip)

Another reason I have DVDs on my mind is that I was in the studio yesterday doing my on-screen portions for our next training DVD, an 85-minute climbing workout that features four of the biggest climbs from the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge – including tons of footage that was never seen during the television coverage! It’s a great workout – the longest one we’ve ever put on a DVD - and it will be available next month.

There are a few tips and guidelines I want to remind you of as you go into the indoor cycling season:

1. Indoor training still has to be progressive: You can’t just do the same DVD time and time again and expect to continually get better. Training DVDs can be mixed and matched to plug into a training schedule just like any other workouts, and you have to look at the energy systems being stressed in the workout, group DVDs with similar physical demands together into training blocks, and structure your indoor training so you’re gradually increasing your weekly workload. (Click here to view the Train Right Guide to Indoor Training, a 6-week training program that features recommended DVD substitutions for each workout)

2. Don’t forget recovery: Some people think that since most indoor cycling workouts are only 60-75 minutes, you need to do one every day of the week in order to accumulate enough workload to see an improvement. But the one-hour trainer workouts are typically more intense than your normal outdoor rides, so you’re getting a big training stimulus in a short period of time. You need to recover from these efforts in order to adapt. Even if you’re only relying on indoor workouts for your winter training, I would recommend a maximum of 5 interval-based indoor sessions (most athletes should only do 3-4).

3. Airflow is crucial: If you’re going to spend a lot of time on a trainer, invest in three fans. I recommend directing one at your face (or at least across your head), one at the front of your torso, and one at your back. Indoors it’s ridiculously easy to overheat, which throws your sweat response into hyperdrive and increases the stress you’re putting on your body. That additional stress makes it more difficult to recover between workouts and hinders your ability to adapt and make progress.

All Train Right DVD titles – including both the 2010 and 2011 Tour of California workout DVDs – are available at: http://trainright.com/media-2. And if you’ve moved on from physical DVDs, we now have 27 titles available as video downloads! They’re available right on the same page.

Through the winter, indoor training can be immensely valuable. On average, athletes see a 13% increase in max sustainable power just from using the 16-session Progressive Power Series over an 8-week period. When you add in additional sessions and extrapolate the impact over 4+ months, your potential for performance improvement this winter is absolutely incredible. So get on it! Sincerely,

Check out bikeforums.net in the

Check out bikeforums.net in the SoCal section. Sunday DEC 4TH will have a group going up GMR if it doesnt rain. OC Rebels as well.

Monday with Bill

It was a very clear and sunny, albeit cool, morning so off I went on a ride up GMR. The ride up was slow but good and the descent coming back down was fast and cold - I am still thawing out! Photo from the top of Monroe Truck Trail.

Those retirees can ride when they want!

Saturday 11/05/2011

Saturday dawned clear and cold. It was 39F and I waited until it warmed up to 42F. The muscles responded slowly in the cold. Group Beanz ranks swelled with eager cyclists. Ready to crank up the hill laughing all the way.

Ron and Dixie rode Death Valley. which feels a whole lot warmer than home.

For me the magic was snow on Baldy.

Last Chance

Tonight was the last Wednesday of Day Light Savings Time. Weather was clear with light winds. Not alot of traffic. Five cyclists descending. I was the last one on the mountain. I enjoyed every pedal stroke.