BoFax

This morning I rode up Highway 1 and cut up into the woods, up and over Tam and back. It was a nice tempo ride that started out sunny, turned foggy and cold, but sunny and perfect by the time I reached the top. 65 miles and 5,500' of climbing later I was completely satiated with my Sunday morning ride. I felt really good, even after having raced yesterday.

I big group of riders passed by me coming from the other direction at this point along Highway 1. I was a little jealous of the group, but knew I'd prefer my solo ride. I had to go my own pace, picking up and slowing down to get some semblance of recovery. I didn't surprise myself in pushing a bit hard throughout the ride. I climbed past two strong riders going up the BoFax climb, and past another group before the 7 Sisters climb.

Out front of the old Studio Velo location in Mill Valley. The hand painted Rapha mural is still there. From afar it looks like a large photo. The weather was really great by the end of my ride. I was also looking forward to the tailwind back along Marina Green and the Embarcadero.

Well deserved iced coffee and cinnamon roll after a long ride. I spent the rest of my afternoon cleaning both of my bikes, bleeding my disc brakes, finding a lingering creak, installed a bike rack on my wife's back and caught up with Stage 9 of the tour. Not bad for a Sunday.

Ricochet Win

I won my category today at the Lake Sonoma Ricochet. I started the day feeling uneasy about my condition, having gone out the night before and eating some questionable mexican food that gave me stomach problems all night. Despite the discomfort I managed to find my legs halfway through the race and really put in some power.

The start didn't hurt as much as I was anticipating. Usually I'm gasping for air with my legs screaming with pain, but I managed to keep a good pace up the road before dropping into the first downhill single track. On the corner that I wiped out on last year I saw someone ahead of me totally eat dirt. The trail is very loose over hard-pack, and you really have to check your speed in the first few miles.

There's a series of dips that I couldn't find my rhythm on, having to un-clip and scoot myself over to the other side. I didn't carry enough speed I guess. On the third lap I managed to crash in trying to anticipate the opposing hill by down-shifting, but I was too late and my front wheel washed out on a rather tricky S curve before the dip. Besides that crash I was left unscathed for the remainder of the race.

The heat wasn't so bad this weekend. I was expecting  a hot day in the saddle, but it only crept over 80º at the halfway mark. I was well hydrated, and only needed a single bottle to bring me home.

The race saw two big names in cycling, Levi Leipheimer and Peter Stetina. They took the overall win and second place, respectively. They were so fast. I went back and forth between a few riders before overtaking them on the third lap. At one point my front derailleur failed to shift down into my small ring, causing me to panic slightly. I thought I'd have to hammer the remainder of the race with only my big ring. It could be done, but it would have been mega painful.

The last climb of the race is pretty cool, lined with friends and family all rooting for their racers. It's a real boost of happiness and confidence before heading out on each lap.

This will most likely be my last race before the Leadville qualifier in Tahoe, followed by Leadville in August. In the meantime I hope to log in some miles along with some good training for the marathon style races.

Ricochet Rest

I'm going up to Lake Sonoma on Saturday to do the second Ricochet race, put on by Bike Monkey. I'm working from home today, and plan on staying off the bike completely to give my legs a rest. Yesterday I was really feeling drained, especially with the massive headwinds on my way up to the Golden Gate Bridge. I've got the Tour on the television, and a pile of work to crank through.

4th of July Dawn Patrol

It was good to get out in the morning and ride with my old Dawn Patrol crew. It's been a while. We did our normal loop around the Headlands. We had a few issues, a crash, an overshot turn, and a flat tire, but that's mountain biking for you. Can you guess where these guys work?

The fog was crazy, flowing over the hills. We debated whether or not to take some illegal trails out of the fog, but decided to stick to our normal route.

Hot Lap

Today's lunch ride was split  between those that got out early to do the Canada loop, while the other half did the normal Bailey loop. I rode the latter. It was nice and hot, and the tempo was fast, but not too fast. I managed to stay with the lead group for a bit till it dipped downwards. I always have trouble accelerating and descending with the group at the front. They use it as an opportunity to break apart the pack before the long stretch home. Every week I'm learning when and where to attack, and who's wheel to hang onto. Fun times.

Rest Day

Took the day off from riding. Debating whether or not I'd like to race this weekend. There's the Sonoma Ricochet race series on Saturday. I did the first one a couple of weeks ago, and think it would be fun to do another one. We'll see how I feel later in the week.

Fresh

Exploring my new neighborhood, checking out all the cool street art. I went out for a good recovery spin and saw the fog creeping over the West side of the city. It was good to get out and shake out the legs after a long day at work.

I'm kinda glad we live in the sunniest part of the city. It was one massive blanket of fog rolling in.

Hot Epic

It was a back to back weekend of epic riding. Yesterday I did a nice big road ride to the top of Tam, and today I did a big mountain ride to the top of Tam. It felt good to log in some major time in the saddle this week, peaking with 14 hours total.

Solo Saturday

It was a great Saturday morning for a long road ride. I was supposed to hook up with group of friends, but there was some miscommunication as to when and where we'd meet up. After waiting for a half an hour I decided to strike out on my own. I felt really good for the entire ride, putting in some sustained efforts up all of the major climbs. The temperature was really starting to rise, especially up in Fairfax, but tapered off once I hit the backside of Mt. Tam. Without a cloud in sight it really was a picturesque day in San Francisco.

This is a typical group, waiting for others to join at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Even at 7:30am there are tons of dedicated riders ready to head out.

This is the view from the top of the 7 Sisters climb along Ridgecrest Road near the top of Mt. Tam. It never gets old to me. With breathtaking views to the left and right it's still my favorite section of road. You really have to work for it, too.

Before heading home I stopped in for a quick iced coffee at the Rapha Cycle Club and watched the recap of the first stage of the tour. It was cool hanging out, and chatting with other riders either coming from a ride or just heading out for one. Such a good spot.

This ride is one of two big rides I plan on doing this weekend. I've been jumping from race to race the past month, not getting enough ride time in between. I'm slowly ramping up my riding as well as adjusting to my new schedule. I should be back into a normal rhythm with the added intensity of all the lunch rides at work.

Friday Worlds

It was 97º at the start of our Friday lunch ride. Certainly the hottest ride I've done in a while. It also happened to be race day for most of us. I felt pretty good throughout the ride, finally sticking with the group all the way through the end. There were a few moments where the group was deterred from traffic, but we all managed to keep the rubber side down. We set a blistering pace, averaging over 25 mph on the worlds course.

San Bruno Loop

I finally found a good loop not too far from our place. It involves going up and over San Bruno Mountain and along the backside. It's quite fast, once you battle it out with the massive headwinds that never seem to die down through Guadalupe Canyon.

Double Day

I managed to get out twice today, once during lunch and another after work. The Wednesday lunch ride is the Bailey loop, where I was nearly caught up in a nasty crash. We were well-organized until the road pointed upwards, where the back-end of the group was scrambling for position. It was in that confusion where someone clipped the back-end of a wheel and went down right in front of me. I managed to swerve out of the way just in time. It was a close call for me, and fortunately everyone was ok.

After work I still had a bit of unspent energy, and went for a ride up and over San Bruno Mountain. Things are heating up on the leader board for Guadalupe Canyon. The segment starts at the bottom of the adjoined road leading up to the big climb. Had I not stopped to take the picture above I would have claimed the top spot. It gives me something to shoot for in the near future.

Rest

I've raced almost every weekend for the past month. My body needs some rest and active recovery. I've slowly watched the hours in the saddle dwindle each week, trying to recover as much as possible between each race. I hope to ramp up my riding in the next week or so, getting ready for the Tahoe Trail 100 qualifier next month.

Cloudy Lunch

An unusually cloudy day down in Morgan Hill. The colder temperature seemed to deter a lot of folks from getting their ride on at lunch. I felt right at home.

Skyline Park XC

I raced the Skyline Park XC event this morning. Things were going according to plan until my rear derailleur cable started to slip. The time lost cost me dearly, slipping from podium contention down to a respectable 8th place. I started with the pros, including Levi Leipheimer and Peter Stetina, two pro peloton jocks. I red-lined early on trying to keep up with the pros mixed in with the experts, and slowly saw the lead group get away. I wasn't about to burn all my matches then, so I settled into my own rhythm and put my head down.

The course was great, a real mountain biker's course. There was one long climb to other side of the park before turning around onto some really technical single track, featuring a few rock sections as well as drop offs. There were a couple hike-a-bike sections that gave me some trouble, but the biggest problem was slowly losing lower and lower gears in the second lap.

My cable had been giving me some problems the past few races. I had replaced it not too long ago with a synthetic light-weight cable system called Power Cordz. It's really light, however they need to fix it. I tightened the cord down, but every so often it would slip. I lost 5 minutes messing with my adjuster barrel, which was maxed out, while taking out the slack. I managed to get the full range of my gears in the back and made up some significant time towards the end.

The clouds were rolling in, and the wind was starting to pick up. A few sprinkles hit the ground right when we started our drive home. Before getting onto the freeway we stopped at a Mexican grocery store and grabbed some real authentic tacos and burritos. Great post race meal.

I'll be taking a break from racing, ramping up my training, which includes taking a proper rest before the Tahoe Trail 100 next month.

Leg Openers

I kept the pace easy, despite having to battle 15mph headwinds up San Bruno Mountain. I cut over to McLaren park and explored more of the tight trail network before spinning home. I got my bike all dialed in for tomorrow's race at Skyline Park in Napa.

It should be a fun race, and I expect a big turn out. Last year I was doing well until my derailleur ripped in half, causing my chain to wrap around a few spokes. I had to run the last section of downhill to the finish line. Hopefully this year I'll have a better outcome. I'm feeling great. I kept off the bike just enough to recover from my race last weekend.

Off the Back

Another Friday, another Specialized Worlds lunch ride. This time I wasn't dropped so soon off the back, but off the back nonetheless. It's a complete hammerfest from start to finish. I'm learning where everyone attacks in hopes of thinning out the group. It happens on the first few climbs, the last one being a long grind before it dips down and onto the backside of the worlds loop. I set PR's on almost every section of the loop, and hope to keep that trend going until I'm able to hang with the leaders all the way to the finish.

Indoor Session

Didn't make it out in the morning as usual, so I had to settle for an indoor steady-state session. It's been a while since I've done any interval training, so it felt rather awkward trying to keep my watts up. I'm racing on Sunday so I wanted to prime my legs a bit without exerting myself too much.

Dodgpatch

Just needed to get my legs spinning after a long day at work. The sun was setting, so I only had time to poke around the neighborhood. Fortunately Dogpatch has a lot of steep climbs to get my heart rate up.

Aerodogs

Rapid prototyping is underway at Specialized for an aero helmet for dogs. It fits dogs of all sizes and shapes. We've got two riders, Punk Ass (above) and Marlow (after the break). It includes built in eye protection for maximum head-time out the car window. It's just the pipe cleaner wireframe, but soon it'll have a protective shell.

Even Marlow feels more aerodynamic with his ears tucked in. Stay tuned for more product updates.