Hills, Hills, and More Hills...
None of them too bad, except Metcalf, which I only drove my car over. So, since LiveStrong, I've been on my bike a good amount for a week.
Tuesday I went out to hill repeats before work. Even though my legs were tired from the LiveStrong ride on Sunday, I managed 4 climbs up Mount Eden.
Then yesterday I met up with Patrick, Rick, and Rachel for a nice 30 mile ride. Good times. We met on Foothill at McKenzie Park and rode up to Portola Valley. I did feel like a bit of a misfit, being the only one not employed by the Foothill College Math Department. Man can they ride - those math geeks musta studied the mathematical equations behind the physics of cycling or something!!! They really pushed me. It was great though. We got a nice paceline going along Foothill expressway and were rolling between 20-25 mph. It was cool. Rick made a comment that we just needed another 6 riders or something to get a peleton going and we'd look just like the Discovery Team! (well, maybe not quite...) Took a breather at the park next to Robert's market where Rachel and I stuck our heads in the sprinklers to cool off. Patrick, Rick and I then rode up to the top of Alpine Rd. BEAUTIFUL! That's one of my new favorite rides. I must admit I was a little nervous setting out, but it was amazing. Patrick wasn't "coaching" so he gave me the truth about the climb, and I think it's the first honest answer I've gotten out of him about a hill! He said it wasn't too bad til the last few hundred yards, and then it was pretty steep. I let the boys go ahead and filled up my water bottle and threw my ipod on for the climb. It really wasn't bad at all, just had the tunes going and was able to spin close to 10 mph most the way up. I don't know the exact grade, but it's probably only like 6% with a little 7-8% in a few places. It was one of the most beautiful roads to ride up though - winding, tree lined, along a creek up in the mountains. I think a "few hundred yards" was a little bit of an understatement, but it coulda been- but really I think it was close to the last 1/2 mile that really got challenging for me. It probably jumped up to like a 12-13% grade. And it was so winding, I couldn't see the end -- which frustrates me. I don't mind climbing as long as I know how much is left so I can conserve the right amount of energy. (WOW, my mindset has changed a lot from last season!!!!) I was so relieved to see Patrick and Rick sitting at the top when I came around the last corner! Mission accomplished!!! So I made it to the top, and they said it was cool watching me come up beccause it was so steep they couldn't see my bike, just my legs spinning! Then we hauled it back down. Pay off time! That is the best descent I think I've ever rode. It's all S-curves the whole 3-4 miles down. I really got to put my technical skills to use which was fun. I've never felt a carve like that before. All my weight on the outside pedal and just leaning to the inside cruising through the turns. It was pretty cool to look at the posted speed limit of 20 mph, and down at my bike computer which read just under 40 mph. Good thing there were no cops up there! We rode back around Portola and picked up Rachel at the park and headed back past the Arastradero perserve and back down foothill to our cars. What a great afternoon of riding!
Tuesday I went out to hill repeats before work. Even though my legs were tired from the LiveStrong ride on Sunday, I managed 4 climbs up Mount Eden.
Then yesterday I met up with Patrick, Rick, and Rachel for a nice 30 mile ride. Good times. We met on Foothill at McKenzie Park and rode up to Portola Valley. I did feel like a bit of a misfit, being the only one not employed by the Foothill College Math Department. Man can they ride - those math geeks musta studied the mathematical equations behind the physics of cycling or something!!! They really pushed me. It was great though. We got a nice paceline going along Foothill expressway and were rolling between 20-25 mph. It was cool. Rick made a comment that we just needed another 6 riders or something to get a peleton going and we'd look just like the Discovery Team! (well, maybe not quite...) Took a breather at the park next to Robert's market where Rachel and I stuck our heads in the sprinklers to cool off. Patrick, Rick and I then rode up to the top of Alpine Rd. BEAUTIFUL! That's one of my new favorite rides. I must admit I was a little nervous setting out, but it was amazing. Patrick wasn't "coaching" so he gave me the truth about the climb, and I think it's the first honest answer I've gotten out of him about a hill! He said it wasn't too bad til the last few hundred yards, and then it was pretty steep. I let the boys go ahead and filled up my water bottle and threw my ipod on for the climb. It really wasn't bad at all, just had the tunes going and was able to spin close to 10 mph most the way up. I don't know the exact grade, but it's probably only like 6% with a little 7-8% in a few places. It was one of the most beautiful roads to ride up though - winding, tree lined, along a creek up in the mountains. I think a "few hundred yards" was a little bit of an understatement, but it coulda been- but really I think it was close to the last 1/2 mile that really got challenging for me. It probably jumped up to like a 12-13% grade. And it was so winding, I couldn't see the end -- which frustrates me. I don't mind climbing as long as I know how much is left so I can conserve the right amount of energy. (WOW, my mindset has changed a lot from last season!!!!) I was so relieved to see Patrick and Rick sitting at the top when I came around the last corner! Mission accomplished!!! So I made it to the top, and they said it was cool watching me come up beccause it was so steep they couldn't see my bike, just my legs spinning! Then we hauled it back down. Pay off time! That is the best descent I think I've ever rode. It's all S-curves the whole 3-4 miles down. I really got to put my technical skills to use which was fun. I've never felt a carve like that before. All my weight on the outside pedal and just leaning to the inside cruising through the turns. It was pretty cool to look at the posted speed limit of 20 mph, and down at my bike computer which read just under 40 mph. Good thing there were no cops up there! We rode back around Portola and picked up Rachel at the park and headed back past the Arastradero perserve and back down foothill to our cars. What a great afternoon of riding!
Here is a small glimpse at Alpine.
Today, I wanted to scope out Metcalf to get a better idea of the grade and distance. Glad I scoped it out in the car first. That is a monster of a hill! Just plain gnarly. It's like 5 miles up and steep enough for my car to be sluggish and fighting to climb up. My goal is to climb it by the end of summer. Gotta find some others with enough screws loose to be willing to do it with me. (hmmm... Patrick said he's never done it, and it was crazy enough to attempt death ride last weekend...)
Tomorrow is an actual team ride. I'm ride support for a beginning team, so should be a fairly easy 30 miles for me. Although, I did hear coach Matt talking about having some "surprises up his sleeve" for tomorrow's ride. That can only mean more hills... bring 'em on.
posted by Nicole Nixon at
1:47 PM
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