One more offspring joins Team US Cares

For the last two years, since I returned to the saddle, my son had been asking to join one of our teams working towards a Century ride. Because he was so young (12 now) LLS would not allow it and poor Josh got stuck standing in the sun working SAG with his dad or just sitting in the car waiting until his sister and I finished a training ride. So not fun for a kid.

This season is a little different. With the Tour de Cure I am a ride leader that offers weekly training for my own team (Team US Cares) and anyone else who wishes to join in. Its not a ADA thing like Team in Training was, so I can bring my son.

I have to admit, I went into this with the typical mom view of lets-see-if-it-will-stick. I really didn’t expect him to give up Saturdays with friends or attempt putting mid week rides into his already full after school schedule. But he is doing wonderfully. He has even added biking to and from school to his daily routine so that he gets in more hills!

Quotes from the web…

Found on a routeslip (Jim and Paul’s excellent ride) I downloaded:

“Riding is about rhythm and flow. It’s the wind in your face and the challenge of hammering up a long hill. It’s the reward at the top and the thrill of a high-speed descent. Biking lets you come alive both in body and spirit. After a while the bike disappears beneath you and you feel as if you’re suspended in midair.”
– Gary Klein

The Rock vs The Bike – ca-ching!

Recently, I ordered the bike of my dreams as a birthday present to myself.

When I returned to cycling after a 30 year break, I purchased a good bike (Trek 1500), just a step or three above entry level, and one that would take me towards my goals. My previous bike had been my brother’s Peugot which was about 40 years old by now.

I don’t want to imply that the Trek 1500 is no longer of use. That could not be farther than the truth! While its still my baby (something only a bike geek could understand), I have bike envy. I also told myself that if I stuck with this for two years then I would buy a “forever bike”, one that would be around another 40 years.

Week after week, I continued to climb the stairs at Helen’s Cycles (where they keep the special bikes) and eye them like a hungry orphan watching the fat cats dine on meals just out of reach. Each time, I would tell myself that these are for the real cyclists and return to the bikes downstairs, the ones for the rest of us.

Then came my birthday, it was time. In the last two years I’ve cycled more miles than I ever thought any human could, least of all this human. I’ve signed on for more events and have organized a team. I very rarely drive any more, if at all. It was most definitely time for that forever bike.

Back to Helen’s I went. Right up to Tony, the Manager and announced which one I wanted. I was committed now! As we were doing the paperwork, I quietly joked/asked if this was too much bike for me. He replied “probably, but not by next year.” There it was, confirmation that by the time I was done paying it off, it would be the right thing to do.

A day later it hit me… I told my husband that I realized the bike was more cash than the very nice engagement ring I was wearing. He nodded, told me that he was well aware of it and that the ring had better be viewed as the “forever rock”. No worries, sweetie – I’m here for the long haul. But the diamond …

Inspiration is everywhere

By now, you’ve most likely see it, the Powerade ad campaign that beautifies naked athletes. If you haven’t go there now. Run, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Rebecca Romero, a woman whose previous experience of cycling consisted of working in a bike shop as a teenager,  is one of the three nude Olympic athletes portrayed in this amazing display meant to sell another Coca Cola product, Powerade. To me, its an attest to what the human body can be.

Rebecca Romero - PowerAde Ad

The athlete, who modestly describes herself as ‘generally a lazy person’, beat Wendy Houvenhagel by about 2.5 seconds for the gold at this summer’s Olympics in Bejing. And so is confirmed as one of the few, if not only, Olympic medalist in 2 endurance sports.

It’s more than a month past the summer Olympics, so why am I touting her accomplishments now? Because the image stays with me. She is a fine tuned machine of muscle and dedication. She is no more and no less then anyone of us, getting on her bike day in and day out putting the miles behind her. There is no history of cycling since she could walk, just a love of the sport and maybe a little more ambition to take the gold then you or I have at this moment. Most importantly, she shows us what we can accomplish and I, for one, plan on keeping that in front of me as I continue to pedal towards my goals.

Red Rider, Red Rider

Oooh, I have another cause and a great ride ahead of me! Admittedly, the event is not until April 18th, 2009, but I am pretty excited about it.

I’m putting together a team of dedicated people who have and have not been on a bike for a distance event before.   Our goal is to fundraise and bring awareness to the American Diabetes Association during their Tour de Cure.

A few people have been surprised that this is not my “Cancer Thing” but since my goals are to make a difference in some small way, it works very well for me. Also, I will be wearing the designated Red Rider jersey to show myself as someone with type 2 diabetes.

Come join Team US Cares.

Brentwood Grand Prix, or Things that go bump in the pack.

We came back from Midnight Madness at 5 am, then up and in the car at 7 am to watch my friend Joe race at the Brentwood Grand Prix. I was pretty excited because I had never been to a race before, Dave was less excited – something about sleep I think.

The Brentwood Grand Prix was held on San Vincente blvd. which made a perfect 2.2 mile loop for them. It was a little lower then where I usually do my Thursday night rides (omg, those false flats!) but in a good spot not just for the race but to watch the riders warm up on the hill and back.

Joe had asked us to attend so that we could take pictures. This _seemed_ like an easy request but turned out to be much harder than we thought. His race (cat 3 mens, 33+) was at a much faster clip then the others we saw before and after. There was no coasting round the turn and they were shoulder to shoulder thru much of it. During the entire hour race (one frickin’ hour at top speeds!), we were only able to see him once and missed him in the camera frame.

There were 125 cyclists in this race, that sat at 30+ mph through most of it. During the final lap, speeds increased … Joe was at 38.6 when the cyclist in front of him clipped his wheel while looking for a hole in the group. Joe went endo, 30 riders went down and we celebrated by spending the day at the E.R.. Seems a broken clavicle was the trophy.

For the gear heads in the group, the bike that took a major owie is a Red Trek Madone 5.5. It is recovering nicely from what I hear.

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.

Want to win a Colnago bike?

Ride-Strong.com would like to give a Colnago bike away in the month of July, and their asking us to help out by telling all our cycling friends.

visit: http://www.ride-strong.com/cowabunga-win-a-brand-new-colnago-carbon-bike-update

As always Ride-Strong!

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