Cool Breeze – 2011

On Saturday, August 20, 2011 @ 6:00 AM the coolest place to be is on your bike for this year’s Cool Breeze Century Ride.

A route for every rider! And don’t forget the popsicles, a Cool Breeze favorite! •Mini-Metric – a flat 38 mile coastal up and back route. •Metric – about 60 miles with just under1,500 feet of climb. •Century – 102 miles with about 4,000 feet of climb – a moderately challenging route, excellent for first-time Century riders. •Double-Metric – a challenging 124 mile ride with about 8,000 feet of climb

Net proceeds from the Cool Breeze Century benefit the foundation accounts of its non-profit organizers, the Channel Islands Bike Club and the Kiwanis Club of Ventura.

More Information
Click here to view the event organizer’s website

Support Me in Pedal Power — Tour de Cure

On May 7th, I will be cycling in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure in San Diego, CA. Admittedly, I’m a little nervous about undertaking such a huge event after being off the bike for so long but I really feel that anything I do to help is small compared to what needs to be done.

Please support me by joining the team or with a donation by selecting the “Click Here to Sponsor Me” link. Our efforts will help set the pace in the fight against diabetes. So let’s get in gear and ride to beat diabetes!

Help Make a Difference!

oh, and I wouldn’t mind a few words of encouragement

Viva Las Vegas!

Grab your helmet, spandex and ride hard for The Nevada Cancer Institute

RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2010  – Presented by Vector Media
Benefitting Greater Las Vegas After-School All Stars and Nevada Cancer Institute!

Mark Your Calendars!
RTC Viva Bike Vegas 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010

Whether you’re a beginning biker, a seasoned pro, or just want to enjoy the atmosphere of an exciting community event, this ride is for you.
Be the first to ride over the nearly complete Hoover Dam Bridge!
click for more info

I Live, I Ride, I am a Red Rider

It seems that the health of my family has kept my cycling schedule at a minimum for the last few years. This time it was the San Diego Tour de Cure I missed out on while my father is in the hospital. It really didn’t matter to me, I am a Red Rider at all times.

Why we ride … Red Riders
Red Riders are all Tour de Cure participants with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. It doesn’t matter if you are on a team or an individual – you are an inspiration.

The purpose of the Red Riders…
Is to support everyone who lives with diabetes and showcase the courage it takes to live every day with this difficult condition.

And being a Red Rider means…
that you are not alone. With hundreds of riders who may share a similar story, and hundreds more to support you, being a Red Rider can help you with your first step or your millionth – in your fight to live a healthier life!

How do I become a Red Rider?

Wear the Red Rider Jersey

If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes you are eligible to become a Red Rider. Make note when you register or contact your local Tour de Cure coordinator and tell them you want to be recognized as a Red Rider on the day of the event. This means you will receive free recognition gifts on the day of the event including a Red Rider Jersey. (all participants must raise the minimum $150 fundraising goal)

Is there a team I can join with other Red Riders?
Yes! You (and those that support you) can join Team Red which is made up of Red Riders AND those that support Red Riders. Encourage others to join you.

Missed the San Diego Tour de Cure, like I did? No worries, you still have time to register for the Long Beach event and make a difference.

Move over Clif!

I don’t know about you, but after a few hours on a bike I can’t handle just … one … more … Clif bar.

I mean, I like them alright. They even rotate special flavors seasonally which makes me look forward to the fall and other changes. Since I am a diabetic and limited on my choices, I have them in my jersey pocket, bento box and when traveling in my backpack. That’s a whole lotta Clif.

To alter my snackage (and meals when stuck in an airport over night), I supliment with nuts, mostly almonds. Trader Joes has tidy little packets of raw almonds all made up for your next Century at $4.99 a bag.

Yesterday, Trader Joes changed my Clif bar enhanced life. There it was, sitting unassuming on the shelf. The heavens did not part, and the angels did not sing, but I knew my cycling engery snackage would never be the same again … Wasabi Wow!

Made up of almonds, peanuts, cranberries and wasabi peas, it has just the right mix of everything I need – including just a bit of salt for that sweat replacement.

Be The Stain

You would think that as I approach this week end’s Tour de Cure, I would be preoccupied with training, nutrition and preparation. Not so much.

Part of my mental game plan is to go into this century ride for the American Diabetes Association with a happy, upbeat attitude. One large key in overcoming some of my obstacles has been to love what I am doing and find the happiness within.

While Tide may not be aware of how they are helping me across that finish line (and thus helping others) I thought I’d share with you something that has sent me into uncontrollable peals of laughter every time I look at it…

I went over to BeTheStain.com and upload my pic to their applet, making me the talking stain that you see in the commercial. Sure its dumb, but seriously, what sane person spends their day off biking 100 miles.. on purpose?

More fun than you can shake a light stick at.

Another event to add to my reoccurring annual treks is the San Diego Midnight Madness ride. This year it was the same night as Cool Breeze. I opted not to start at one end of Southern California in the morning and head to the other in the evening, but now that I am a veteran of Midnight Madness, I just might do it next year.

I honesty thought to myself, “its a Saturday night in San Diego, it’ll be a cute little ride with like 20 people.” Man, was I wrong! About 1,000 riders showed. Between 8 pm registration time and the midnight start there were vendors, contests and just all around good fun.

Taking pics in the dark with a cell phone is not the easiest thing to do, but I was able to get a pic of the tandem couple who actually built a bed on the bike, dressed up as bride and groom with a just married sign. Her bouquet actually lit up! In case you were wondering, they’ve been married 37 years, so 20 miles on a tandem must be a snap.

Other costumes were Popeye and Olive Oil, the Disco Duo on a tandem with afros on their helmets, bubble machine and you guessed it, rotating disco ball. Let’s not forget the folks in pajamas with lights or the really unattractive man in a dress with tassels.

Hill Climbing Technique Tips

Recently, I posted my favorite training tip from Josh Horowitz for working towards better hill climbing. In the same article, 7 Tips for Climbing to the Top, he also gives this excellent tip:
Positioning - Start the climb near the front. If you start near the back, not only will you have to keep the pace of the lead riders, you will have to make the additional effort of accelerating around dropped riders. A strong climber might be able to bridge one or two gaps, but if it is a long climb and a big pack, eventually they will burn their last match and go off the back, even if their power-to-weight ratio is higher than that of the leaders.


I saw this during my recent 2 day event, The Ride to Conquer Cancer. While many cyclists there were much better riders than myself, they just don’t have the experience we take for granted when cycling along the PCH out of Malibu. There were minor hills early on where people were walking in herds. I simply do not have the cycling strength to over come that loss of momentum and had to walk as well until I caught on that this was going to keep happening unless I got ahead of the pack. So I peddaled up as best I could after the hill. Victory! I was back in the saddle for a much better event. We’ll see what happens next month with the Marin Century ride. I imagine that is going to be much more climb.

Where I am on my cycling goals

I set a goal for 2008 of 2600 miles. Since I had not set mile goals before I was in a position of not really knowing what to base it on. I thought 50 miles a week sounds doable and still maintain a real life (uh huh). I’ve had some weeks where I have more than toped that, others where I have slacked off completely. I may not be making my weekly miles but I am certainly more focused than I was last year.

Last year was a lesson in being on the bike – I mean it, it was that basic. Ride from the house to my son’s school (1 mile) with out passing out. Taking my hand off the handlebar to reach for the water bottle without wiggling all over the road. Let’s not forget looking over my shoulder to change lanes or just see who is passing me!

This year, I’ve worked on the mechanics as well as getting over my fears. Many times I do things simply because it felt like good sound advice, but more and more I am learning the whys of these things and even passing on simple advice to others. These are things I should have added to my goals for 2008. So right here, right now, mid year I am adding “become a more knowledgeable rider” to my cycling goals.

Events I have participated in this year:
• Solvang Century – March
• Crusin’ The Conejo – May
• Los Angeles River Ride – June
• The Ride to Conquer Cancer – June

Events I will participate in:
• Moonfest – July
• Marin Century – August
• Spooktacular – October
• Solvang Prelude – November
• Tour de Foothills – November

Day One Continues – On the Road with The Ride to Conquer Cancer

We took off and it was glorious. A force of yellow and wheels wielding its way through Toronto. I was all giggles and excitement. Not being from the area, I have no idea what to expect, when we would leave city streets, etc.

I had been nervous that there were no route slips printed out (a wonderful booklet did give us a map the night before) and no arrows painted on the street itself. There was no reason to worry. The event was wonderfully organized. Clearly marked signs along the way and volunteers at every intersection. If you think about the sheer distance of the ride and how many intersections that must be, it is boggling.

I had my first understanding of how much this meant to everyone as we rode. There were people all along the route cheering us on. I’ve seen crowds at the start and a few block up but never an entire event route. I think my favorite sign was “Go Brit! Ride your fanny for your granny!”

There were about 5 or six stops a day, about every 20 km (12.5 miles) this both slowed me down and kept me going. For many people this was their first event and a two day one at that, the rest and hydration they provided was excellent. Unfortunately I was in the early pack to get to the first stop. That meant everyone was surprised and just slammed to a stop at the driveway. No one called out, many of us could not clip out in time and down I went in the midst of a domino effect. It must have looked awful, for two days everyone around me was trying to send me off to the medic tent, but honestly, I went right away, they cleaned me up and I was fine. The hardest part was the band-aid pulling at my skin, so I took that off and continued on.

Once again I need to thank Coach Ramon and Team in Training. All the times he took me out on the PCH and made me tackle those hills in baby steps really paid off. My mentor, Jayne Ramos certainly did her share too. As we hit the hills, people were walking in herds. I lost momentum and I am not a strong enough rider to recover from that so there were times when I had to walk but would get back on the bike as soon as I could. We had one hard turn to a hill that stopped everyone. Coming around a blind curve like that and into a stopped pack is pretty unnerving, I can tell you. I saw one gentleman who made the curve, past the stopped pack but couldn’t recover – he toppled over and could not get out of his clips.

The screw in my handbars were stripped. Every time I hit a bump they would tip down and I would pull them back up. Surprisingly, this did not awake the tumor in my hand. For a change it was quiet and behaved nicely all weekend. Because of the handlebars I walked ALL of a really scary downhill. I still have trouble with my fear of down hill but thankfully not as much as before. This time it was more of a safety about being able to grab the brakes evenly with the bars moving as I rode.

We had been hearing about the BIG HILL since prior to the event. Everyone was pretty worked up about it. It really wasn’t bad, just long. I have to admit I did walk a small part of it. I got to the top and felt a bit dehydrated so I sat on a wall with a few other folk, drank up and had some beef jerky for the salt. I’m not sure, but I actually think I napped sitting up for a while.

After that, there was about 10 km if I recall, to the camp ground. Yay! The route that day was fairly easy compared to our terrain, there was no Encinal Cyn in sight and it certainly wasn’t Solvang. Of course 100+ km of anything isn’t that easy but it was the harder of the two days so I felt pretty secure.