Monday Night

Left at 6:09 pm. I rode to catch the waning rays while the dark encroached upon the day. Not many evenings left. Even with the new night light.

Double Double

It was a glorious weekend of riding. Friday the three of us Steve, Bill and I had a leisurely ride to the shed. Quiet road. Very few folks coming or going. Warm weather with sun and blue sky. A very even tempo to activate the muscles without over exerting Steve before his Sunday LA Triathlon. Rock on Steve.

Saturday was diametrically opposite to Friday. Overcast, cool. Plenty of folks coming and going. Faster pace. Marty of Riverside Bicycle Club caught me about two miles into the mountain and then kept me challenged to shed. Awesome ride, chatting, catching up on life and the challenges that the Fall season brings. Excellent time to shed. It's great to have camaraderie that keeps you up beat, up tempo and concentrating on conversation and not the muscles.

Thinking of fall, those of you who like the comfort of indoors may heed the lure of the track at the Velodrome. RBC is looking for folks who would like to take the certification class. The more the merrier, and the price of the instructor goes down as well. Just drop Marty an email.

Thinking it was a perfect ride, all you have to do is sail home, you meet a legend. A survivor of unbelievable odds. John who flirted with destiny on 04/25/2010 at mile marker 10.20 where he collided with a car travelling 45 miles per hour while he was doing 25 miles per hour. Amazing recovery, I see John ride every Saturday morning. John - Peter - Melissa - Tammy.

More coming.

Back to Back

Bill rode around Bonelli this morning capturing the beauty of the birds.

I decided to ride a second day in a row. Not far. Not fast. Just do it!

Ride with Steve

Note the stylish new gloves that Steve bought at Incycle for 15% off today. Incycle has a great end of summer sale so check it out and stock up.

My triathlete brother-in-law Steve is in town for the LA Triathlon. He is fit and ready to race. Delayed by traffic coming home we started at 6:05 pm. Burning daylight. It needed to be fast and furious. Then I thought when is Steve going to slow down? Never! It was a fast paced ride and my best ride for the year. Cool temperature. No traffic for our leg of the mountain. I did run over a small snake on the way up. I didn't see it until it was too late. I looked for the snake on the way down and couldn't find it. Perhaps I was light enough that it survived and wiggled away.

Ecstatic. Euphoric. Elated. Energized. Ebullient. and Exhilarated. Enough! I had a great ride.

Fall

You can feel it in the mornings and the evenings. The sun is rising later and setting earlier. The marine layer lingers longer and the daylight is dwindling faster. It is a time of change. the colors on trees and the headlights on the bike. Autumn. A season of change. Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael - Trainright has tips to approach the new season:

1. All the fitness, none of the pressure: Think about your fitness right now. You’re strong from a season’s worth of training and racing, you can go faster and further now than you could in March, May, or even July. But if your big goals were in the summer, it’s likely they’re behind you now. That means you’re in a sweet spot as an athlete – you have the strength and stamina for high-quality training, and you don’t have to worry about the intricacies of balancing competitions with training. As a coach, that’s why I look at this time of year as a huge opportunity. I use this time for blocks of training that are often too big to fit into the typical race-and-recovery cycle that athletes get into during the height of the summer.

2. The runway is as long as it’s going to get: To improve from year to year, you have to take time to address your weaknesses. If you wait until January, you’re addressing your weaknesses at the same time that you’re counting down the weeks until you have to be ready to race. It’s better to work on pedal stroke, climbing technique, aerobic endurance – or whatever your season review reveals as your weak link – now. Get it done in the Fall so you can focus all your pre-season energy on maximizing race-specific performance.

3. Everyone else is watching football: Everybody trains hard in January and ramps up for the season in the first few months of the year. Not everyone trains through the fall. If you want to make real progress, you can’t afford to give up 30% of your fitness and power by sitting on your couch or exercising casually through Christmas. Tired of the regimen of structured training? The athletes I coach sometimes feel that way, too. But the answer isn’t to walk away from training; my job is to utilize varied training experiences to refresh their enthusiasm for training while simultaneously keeping their fitness level high.

Comments from the Gallery

Protec Helmets after reading the Race Across the Sky 2010challenges me to:

It is great to have the opportunity to read a good quality article with useful information on topics that plenty are interested on. I concur with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your future updates. Thanks a lot and keep on posting more valuable information.

Bicycle racing in Colorado had great coverage this year with the US Pro Cycling Challenge with three podium from the Tour de France: Cadel Evans, Andy and Frank Schleck along with top tier American cyclists, Levi Leiphiemer, George Hincapie, Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriske, Christian VandeVelde, and TJ Van Gardener. The folks at Versus showed the most scenic venues in Colorado. I kept asking myself why I am still in southern California.

I do have to admit that the charm of the periennial Leadville 100 will always have a unique spot in my memories. The folksy charm of a small town and its friendly residents. The heady heights of 10,152' above sea level, the swooning from just walking the town and rubbing elbows with racing elites like the Fat Cyclist. Protec I must admit check out Fatty who lost his fat and kept his sly sense of humour. That's a great website to follow.

Now since my energies are currently being directed to employment, I am going to challenge you, Protec, if you have great content send me an email I will consider publishing it.

I try to pay attention to what is happening on the road. Crashes, Trashes, Coyotes, Deer, Bunnies, Pot Holes, Emergency Vehicles, Friends from the "slow lane".

Monday Afternoon Bliss

The day started off on the wrong tooth. I flossed a cap right off. I spit it out and saved it for the dentist who squeezed me in this afternoon. The dental appointment allowed me to get on the road with half a mouth functioning but a great way to work off the local anesthetic keep my mind on other parts of the body.

Ron enjoyed his ride to the top of Monroe. We sat and we waited for the elusive Ray Clone. The sun rapidly dwindled and our wait cut short.

It was a strong ride for me tonight.

Rescue Vehicles

A dozen or more rescue vehicles including hook and ladders, forest service trucks, CHPs, two different mountain search and rescue teams plus an ambulance deployed around 5:30 am assisted with an over the side vehicle a 1996 Ford Mustang at mile marker 5.6. This section of road has a long straight stretch at the top of Monroe then descends with a sharp turn to the intersection of GMR and GRR. It caught the driver unprepared for the turn and car flew off the road. Skid marks were 80 feet long. Three people were in the vehicle. Police reports indicate the driver had alcohol on his breath. The passengers were retrieved by emergency personnel. The car plummeted a minimum of 500 feet below the road and was not immediately visible as the cliff side is steep. The large crane in the photo retrieved the errant vehicle. The road was temporarily closed between mile marker 5 and 5.6 (top of monroe) to through traffic this morning. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/10/suspected-dui-motorist-plunges-500-feet-down-steep-embankment/

Where did all the water go?

For those lucky dogs who can ride early in the day, the joy goes again to Bill and zippo for GMR. Bill noticed on his Thursday morning jaunt around the park that the water level dropped since Tuesday.

Rumor has it that Ron and Matt were out riding on Wednesday. I hid from the heat so here is a photo from March.

Bill at Bonelli

Bill beat the heat and cruised Bonelli. It sure looks inviting on a hot late summer day.

Monday Weather

The weather forecast warns of "cloud to ground" lightening strikes.

The main threats from the thunderstorms will be dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning and gusty winds. Given the dry lower atmosphere this morning... dry lightning will be a concern across the area.

At my house it rained and shined at the same time. Look between the trees to see the sporadic rain drops.

The radar map at Intellicast gave great information about cloud and rain movement.

But at last I slipped out at 9 am after two mini-drippings of rain. It was a crazy day in terms of weather. Never knew if the winds would kick up and push tropical showers or would the sun prevail over the clouds for a great day of riding. This rain season is unique. Rain on July 4th and on Labor Day Sept 5th. Expect the unexpected going forward.

The Glendora Ridge Runners were coming down GMR by 9:30. A few skateboarders were out and about. The same amount of cyclists, bikers (motor), and hunters ventured into the woods. Having missed my Saturday morning ride, I am pleased with the ride and the weather. Saw Jesse of Adobe Velo, the taller Jesse.
MIA was Ron. I was hopeful about his debut on the road since his carnage, perhaps the clouds changed his mind.

Saturday Evening

When work calls you go in, even if it is a Saturday morning. I checked out the early morning cyclists thinking two thoughts. First that should be me on a bike and two the action is always on Glendora Mountain Road, what are you doing twenty miles from the center of the universe?

My plans included a wait for the temperatures to cool and then I started out about 5:30 pm. 86F was ten degrees cooler than an hour earlier so I was happy. Very few folks on the road. An unusual vehicle of brown painted volkswagen van with a westfalia upper roof zipped past me at the electronic sign. It was easy to remember as it smelt of brake fluid it stung my nostrils. I thought they won't get far in that vehicle, it was already smelling bad. The ping ping ping of the motor said buy a new car dude! It was a quick turn around for that auto, as the time I got around the first hair pin curve (the bottom of Monroe) it was headed back down the hill. Odd indeed. I wondered if some skunk, possum or rat had been released into the forest.

Very light traffic fortunately for me. Cool onshore breeze. A good pace took me up the hill. The wildlife consisted of birds and bugs for the most part.

Any ride is a good ride. I agree.

Fork to Top of Monroe

Ray sent me the absolute low down on my statement: "That climb up out the fork to the top of Monroe always kicks butt." Here he goes.


You know the reason... because it is steep!
Anyway here are the specs.
From TOPO which calculates it @ 24%
There are naysayers (like B) that continually tell me "computers are wrong"....
"the programmers didn't do something right"
So I have calculated it by hand also.
Using the formula of:
grade = rise over run or %=vertical_climb divided by length_climb

It is .275 mi or 1452' in length or run
It is 200' in rise or climb
200/1452=0.1377410468319.... so we will round that number down to 13.7% = steep!
If we calculate that grade to an angle it is 7 degrees.
"That climb up out the fork to the top of Monroe always kicks butt."

I only report it as 10.7% on my web page I get tired of the
people that tell me I am exaggerating,
but the numbers do prove... it is steep

RayClone

SC Velo News Letter

The SC Velo Club has posted their first news letter. Tips on Nutrition by Suzy Degazon, a new Cat 3-4 Women's group headed by Leslie and the upcoming XC challenge in Bonelli on October 23. Is this what Bicycle Friend's is training for? This newsletter is chock full of information.

The best tidbit is the photo of a muscular calf. The first person to identify the calve owner will hold the distinguished title of Calf Master. Enjoy.

Mia will definitely live up to their name Saturday morning. Hopefully I will get out in the afternoon evening time.

FWD: Rattle snake

Rattle snake. My Monday ride happened on Tuesday this week. IT WAS COOLER AND i saw a dozen folks hiking cycling and enjoying the evening. This week has been unpredictable in terms of schedule. The evenings are growing shorter. ny bike ride is agood ride. Life is good.