MuraliCycle

Yosemite: Hwy 120 Entrance to Tioga Pass

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 14:27:00 +0000

1 October 2016
110 miles, 10,800 feet total elevation gain

I got a chance to do a ride that I have long wanted to try. A couple weeks ago, my friend Ravi asked if I wanted join him for a one day bicycle ride in Yosemite National Park to Tioga Pass. This is a challenging ride for several reasons:

The total distance is more than 100 miles.
The total elevation gain is more than 10,000 feet.
Much of the road is above 8,000 feet, where the effects of high altitude can become apparent.
There is no one to support us like in an organized ride with rest stops, food, and support vehicles.
There are almost no services -- no stores, no guarantee of water.
The park is more than a 3 hour drive away, so we have to leave early and return late.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I have already done three centuries this year, so my conditioning should be sufficient. The weather for the weekend we planned was still expected to be clear. This late in the season weather conditions can change suddenly, so an all-day ride risks treacherous weather. We could not risk postponing it and getting deeper into wintery conditions.

Because the campgrounds and stores were closed, we needed to make sure we could get water somewhere along the route. Ravi called the park and a ranger told him that water should be available outside the gate to the Tuolumne Meadows campground, which is 47 miles from the planned start. That would sufficient for us. And any food we needed would have to be carried along, so I packed 10 Clif Bars and a bag of crackers.

We made our plans to meet each other at 4:00am on Saturday at the Fremont Park and Ride lot, which is a common point between both our homes on the route to Yosemite. My only concern was that I developed some pain in my left knee (likely tendinitis) the Tuesday before. It was not serious, and I mainly felt it climbing and descending stairs. It gradually lessened by Friday, so I decided to go through with it. Postponing would have jeopardized the whole ride because of unpredictable weather conditions.

On Saturday I woke up at 2:45am (before my alarm), ate some breakfast, and got ready. I left home at 3:30 and picked up Ravi at 4:00. We drove straight to the park. We saw very little of the scenic road as the drive was all pre-dawn. Only when we were just outside the park did the sky start to lighten.

As we entered the park, the ranger station was closed. The booth had a sign instructing us to enter and pay the entry fee when we exited. This is where Highway 120 enters the park (one of four entrances) and is also called the Big Oak Flat Entrance. There is a parking area just inside the entrance where we left the car. We used the restrooms, filled our water bottles, and got our bicycles ready. The route would be from the entrance, to the top of Tioga Pass, and the return the same way. We got underway at 7:08am, which was soon after sunrise.

The traffic entering the park was light but steady. Several people also parked at the same time as us, but they all looked like they were preparing to hike. It seemed like we got several interesting looks from the others as bicyclists are an unusual sight at this time and place.

The weather was crisp and cool, but not particularly cold. I had brought my warm clothes in anticipation, so I was comfortable. Also the road starts uphill right away, so that gave is a chance to warm up immediately. Ravi has done this ride before so he gave advice of watching the pace so we retain enough energy for the return trip. The first half is mostly uphill, but not uniformly so. The return trip will also include several uphill sections that we need to be prepared for.

Getting started.

We reached the junction at Crane Flat, which is the only intersection we would be encountering. One way goes downhill towards Yosemite Valley, but our route headed uphill towards Tioga Pass. We stopped briefly at a roadside pond to take a quick picture. I was happy to find that my knee was giving me no trouble whatsoever. In fact, it felt better than the day before. If it felt good after 1000 feet of climbing, then I had some confidence that it would not hinder my ride. I took my jacket off at this point since the day was warming and put on my arm sleeves.

As the day progressed, the amount of motor traffic noticeably increased. The road is quite narrow, and there is no shoulder, so we had to ride on the edge of the traffic lane. But we had no problem with the traffic. Usually there were not many cars in the oncoming direction, so people could pass us by driving partly in the other lane. A couple times we were passed at close range by a large RV. On one occasion, it seemed like the low sun was in the drivers eyes and they may not have seen us well.

At one point we noticed a motorcyclist zoom past us. We saw him leaning deeply into the curves as he sped ahead of us. Several minutes later, we briefly heard a siren. We made sure to give the park ranger who approached plenty of room to pass us. Ravi was riding ahead of me, and I saw the ranger slow and talk to him briefly. After he sped away, I caught up to Ravi and asked what the discussion was about. The ranger had asked him if we had seen a speeding motorcyclist. Of course, Ravi said we had. We had a discussion about what was going to happen. Ravi guessed that the ranger would catch up the the motorcyclist and give him a ticket. My suspicion was that the ranger in his SUV would not be able to catch up to the motorcyclist on the winding mountain road.

The route progressed nicely, and eventually we reached the point where the immense Yosemite Valley opened up on our right side. The site was stunning. I finished my second Clif Bar while still riding. We kept expecting to reach Olmsted Point, a natural checkpoint at 35 miles, but it seemed farther than we expected.

As we passed what appears to be the entrance to the White Wolf campground, we saw the motorcyclist who sped by us earlier. Again he took off in the direction we were heading, though this time he went fast but not at a crazy speed. It did not appear that the ranger caught him, and we guess that he may have pulled in here while the ranger passed.

We passed by the Porcupine Creek trailhead and were a little surprised to see that the parking area was overflowing. This was the first time we saw anything like a crowd in the park. During the brief stop there, I took some Tylenol for the headache I had developed, which I guess was due to the altitude. Not long after that, we reach Olmsted Point. We guessed, based on our time so far that we would be reaching Tioga Pass around 1:30pm, which should give us plenty of time to get back with still some daylight.

We continued on and the road descended to Tenaya Lake. After that, we reached Tuolumne Meadows. We looked around for the campsite entrance to find the water we were expecting. We passed the closed Visitors Center, and the store which was not just closed, but boarded up (probably to protect it from winter storms). Finally we saw the campground and ranger station and stopped. We asked the ranger about the water and he directed us to the faucet between the building and the locked gate to the campground. We sat on a picnic table and I ate another Clif Bar and a big handful of crackers. Of course, we filled our water bottles. I was down to about one-third bottle, but now I had two full ones again. We re-checked our time calculations and realized we had been optimistic. We recalculated and guessed that 2:00pm would be the more likely time at Tioga Pass.

After some rest, we started again. The road now would be a continuous uphill (though not particularly steep) until the end. Fairly soon we passed a sign marking the 9000 foot elevation point. At this point my leg muscles were spent. I was having difficulty pedaling. I felt like I had energy, but my leg muscles were burning. I would pedal for a while and then try to briefly coast to give them a respite. Of course it was not possible to coast far as we were going uphill -- may just 2 second rests.

Finally we saw the booth marking the East entrance to the park and the highest point on the road -- 9945 feet elevation, making Tioga Pass the highest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We lingered a bit, taking our pictures at the elevation sign. The air was cool and the breeze was cold. We had reached right at 2:00, matching our last prediction. Now we calculated that we had four and a half hours to get back before sunset and that it should an easy task. I put on my jacket for the cold descent.

Made it to the top.

The next part was probably the easiest part of the ride as it was all downhill back to the Tuolumne Meadows campground entrance. The was the only place where we saw other cyclists -- a pair of bicycle tourers who were fully loaded with camping gear. We stopped there again and again filled our water bottles as there would be no water until the end. I ate my fourth (and what would be my final) Clif Bar. After some more rest, we got rolling.

The next section was a climb out of Tuolumne Meadows to Tenaya Lake, then another climb to Olmsted Point. I thought I would have deteriorated more, but somehow the rest at Tioga Pass and Tuolumne Meadows plus the long downhill section between recharged my legs, and they had energy again. Ravi's progress was the reverse. He was having difficulty breathing. He is normally a stronger rider than I, but now he was struggling on each uphill. I stopped at the top of each climb so that we could regroup.

There were more climbs after Olmsted Point as the road drops down but kept returning to near 8000 feet. Our progress was much slower than we had expected. There was nothing to do but slog onward. The descents were cool, but the ascents were warm. I needed to keep my jacket on even though I was starting to sweat on the uphills. Finally we started getting to the point were there were more downhills than uphills.

We reached a point where we knew there were only two or three more uphill sections left before the long descent to the Crane Flat junction. Ravi was in need of some hot liquids, so he suggested that continue straight to Crane Flat without waiting for him and he would meet me there. If I hurried, I could get there by 6:00 and get a hot drink for him before the store closed. I made it my mission. I pushed myself and went as fast as I could. My energy level had recovered so I was pushing through the few short uphills that remained. This section of road was very new and exceptionally smooth. This was the fastest part of the ride as I was able to sustain speeds of 35 miles per hour on the downhills.

I reached the store at Crane Flat at 5:58 and headed straight for the door, but found that they close at 5:00 rather than 6:00 as Ravi thought. I felt bad for him since there was no chance at a hot drink now. So I just had to wait for him. Surprisingly, he rolled in only about 3 minutes after my arrival, so his condition was not too bad. I explained that the store was long closed. There was nothing to do but head to the car. It was only 8 miles and mostly downhill, but we needed to hurry if we wanted to make it before sundown.

Just as we were about to depart, a park ranger came over to us and asked "are you the guys I talked to on the road about the speeding motorcyclist?" We said yes and then he asked if we ever saw him again. We explained that we did, coming out of what we thought was White Wolf. He talked with us some more about it, asking us for a description the cyclist, his motorcycle, and his clothing. The ranger explained that when he saw him, he was traveling more that 30 miles per hour above the limit. He thanked us for helping him, though it looked like the motorcyclist would not be caught, nor even know that he was pursued.

The rest of the ride was smooth and fast again. Again Ravi lagged a bit on the uphills, but I did not wait for him since I knew he would make it. I reached what I recognized as the final small climb before the 2 mile descent to the entrance. It was exhilarating to know that we would finish the ride before sunset (though we initially expected to finish sooner). I reached the car at 6:38 and Ravi arrived just a few minutes later.

We packed up our bicycles, used the restroom, and changed clothes. It had really cooled down now, but the temperature would not matter since all that was left was to drive home. I desperately wanted to let Vaishali know that we were done and everything was okay, but would not be able to do it for a while since there is no phone reception until we reach the next town outside the park, still a good distance away. I thought she would be worried about us since it had gotten dark and there was no way to communicate our progress the whole day.

When we reached the town of Groveland, we pulled over and I sent the text telling her that we were fine and on the way home. Since this was the first signal my phone was seeing all day, a flood of notifications came in for the flurry of text messages that were coordinating the day's activities. Aasha had a gymnastics evaluation, and at the same time Manoj was attending a classmate's birthday party. I had no time to catch up on those. We continued on. Again, we lost the scenery along Highway 120 to darkness just as we had in the morning.

We briefly discussed stopping for some proper food, but decided against it. Our current projection was that we would reach home around 10:30pm. Although we were hungry, we were even more tired and did not want to push our return time back any more than it was already going to be. Although Ravi offered to drive, I was full of energy (no doubt high from the accomplishment) so I elected to do the driving. I had a can of soda and ate from my bag of crackers for quite a while.

When we got to the town of Manteca, we stopped for gas. This gave Ravi a chance to get a hot chocolate, so he did manage to get a hot drink after all. At this point, my energy level gave out and I handed the driving duties over to Ravi, who was able to manage the one hour of driving remaining to our meeting spot while I drifted off in sleep.

We reached the lot around 10:20 and parted. I had not seen Ravi in a long time and it was great to ride with him again. I thanked him for suggesting the ride. It was great that everything worked out. We discussed that we should make a real effort to do it again sometime next year.

All that was left was the half hour drive home. Thankfully my nap had refreshed me so I was not struggling with drowsiness. Unfortunately, I hit an unexpected detour on the way home because part of the freeway was closed for repairs. I had to navigate myself through a maze-like part of town that I am not so familiar with. And I was not at my sharpest, mentally. However I found my way to a road I knew led in the direction home. I took it and arrived back at 11:10. I told Vaishali briefly about my day, but my main priority was to shower and sleep. I was hungry, but way more sleepy. Thinking about it, it felt surreal. I was getting into my own bed, which I got out of that morning, but in between I was on top of Yosemite. How crazy that is!

2016 V3 Hopfest

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 17:15:00 +0000

17 September 2016

103 miles, 6200 feet total elevation

I found a ride that I have not done before that looked interesting. The V3 Hopfest (formerly called Veteran's Victory Velo) had some roads that I had not done before, so I thought I should try it.

The ride starts and ends in the city of San Ramon, which is about a 45 minute drive away with no traffic (and the only time there is no traffic is early weekend mornings like this). I woke up at 5:00am and ate breakfast and got ready. When I arrived at where my navigation took me, there was no sign of a bicycle event. It was in part of a large office park, so clearly I was in the wrong section. I saw another car with a bicycle on its rack approach me and the driver rolled its window down. "Do you know where we are supposed to go?", he asked.

"I'm as lost as you", I replied. We both continued to drive around and search. I finally retraced my steps and suspected that I turned into the complex too soon. I continued on to the next entrance and saw ride volunteers guiding people in. Another volunteer showed me where to park and where the registration was. I parked, got my bicycle ready, and took care of the registration.

I was ready to go at 6:45, but they wanted all the 100 mile riders to begin together at 7:00. Since we headed out in a large group (maybe 50 cyclists), I did not need to do much navigation. I just followed the group. This was good because I do not know this part of the route through town. They gave us a route map with all the directions, but it is not practical to stop at every intersection and consult it. I was hoping to keep it folded and stowed as much as possible.

As we got close to the South entrance to Mt Diablo, the group had spread out, but I was familiar with the road, having ridden it several times before. And once we turn onto the road climbing the mountain, there is no need to navigate -- just stay on the road. The route does not climb all the way to the summit (unfortunately), but goes halfway up to the junction with the North entrance road. Here we go back down.

As the road goes back into town, I needed to navigate again. The whole route was meant to be marked on the road with pink arrows, but I found that they were missing in some places. I was able to follow a couple cyclists for a bit, but we were going different speeds and got separated. As I entered a traffic circle, I did not know which exit to take since none were marked. I stopped and was about to pull out the map, but just then one of the support cars came through. So I just followed it. Another rider who was stopped and confused about the directions also followed the path of the car. We briefly chatted about the inadequate directions and how we were fortunate to see the support car to (unintentionally) guide us.

The route led to the town of Clayton for the first rest stop. Here I had some snacks (peanut butter jelly sandwich and boiled potatoes with salt). Although the route from Mt Diablo to the rest stop was new to me, it was not so interesting since it is just city roads. The stretch after this rest stop was interesting. I have read about Morgan Territory Road before but never attempted to ride it, mainly because it is a long drive from home for a weekend ride.

As the route approaches Morgan Territory Road, the development becomes more sparse and rural. As the road begins, there are mainly just ranches beside it. On the road, I saw some wildlife that I had never seen before -- a tarantula. Then the road slowly becomes steeper and there is no development. After some time the road becomes quite steep, just as it reaches the summit and the next rest stop. The climb to the summit was mostly shaded, but the rising temperature was noticeable. It was especially so at the rest stop which had no shade.

A tarantula walking on the road, with my water bottle as a size reference.

The section of road after the rest stop was a steep, winding descent into the town of Livermore. I was thankful I was not headed in the opposite direction as this part of the road is completely exposed to the sun. After the completely winding Morgan Territory Road, it was quite peculiar to be on the long straight roads on the outskirts of Livermore. The route eventually reached the next rest stop.

The next section lead to the climb of the Altamont Pass, alongside the 580 freeway. This is a moderately steep road, but not too long. Normally it would not have been very taxing, but it is completely exposed and the sun was intense. It exhausted me. I had to go very slowly as my energy was drained.

It was another steep, winding descent after the summit, and it led into another section of long straight roads back in the valley. This led to the next rest stop on the south side of Livermore. This was supposed to the "lunch" stop, but the only thing different from the other rest stops food-wise was that they had turkey sandwiches, which I was not going to eat. I had to settle for yet another peanut butter jelly sandwich. Although I love peanut butter jelly, I had my fill at all the rest stops previous. I had almost no appetite so I had to force myself to eat. I needed to rest for a while as I was pretty exhausted. I took out my iPhone and checked the local temperature -- 95°F.

The heat was affecting other riders too, and it was a primary topic of conversation at this stop. Quite a few riders discussed taking a shortcut to return to the start and skipingp part of the route. I thought that I would only consider that option if I felt that I could not finish the full route. Though I was tired, it seemed that I should be able to finish.

I continued on and the route to the next rest stop was mostly flat. However, I was struggling with a low energy level, which was a bit alarming for flat ground. As I rolled through the city of Pleasanton, I passed a small city park with trees and shade. I decided I needed to rest more and allow my food to digest. I propped my bicycle against a tree, laid down in the shade, and closed my eyes. I did not expect to fall asleep, but I ended up dozing lightly. I woke up about 15 minutes later and felt noticeably better. I continued on the final rest stop in the small city of Sunol.

The support workers were in the process of closing up when I came in. They helpfully reopened some of their supplies and offered me the food and drinks they had. I ate a few chips for the salt, and then drank as much soda as possible -- I badly needed the quickly-digesting sugar. While I was there, one of the support cars came in and told the staffers that there was only one rider behind us on the course (there was another rider at the stop who had arrived soon after me).

The only thing left was the final segment to the starting point. Like the previous segment, this was mostly flat. Due to my energy-depleted state, even the minor inclines (which I would normally fly over) were a struggle. I was getting light-headed and dizzy. I turned at what I expected was the final return the start. I did not see any road markings and did not expect any. I entered back the same way I did in the morning. It turns out I was supposed to continue a half-mile further and return a different way. I had shaved a little distance, but was still beyond 100 miles so this was still officially a century.

There was a small festival going on, as "Hopfest" is intended to also be a beer festival. But I had no intention of lingering. I wanted to get back home as soon as I could. The drive home was difficult. I was pretty tired during the whole drive. After getting home, I could not shower and get to bed soon enough.

2016 Tour of Napa Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 00:24:00 +0000

21 August 2016
65 miles, 3250 feet total elevation

This year our friend Rom started to do more weekend cycling. Early in the year he had some interest in trying to ride a bicycle event and asked Vaishali if she wanted to try one also. She had gotten in to shape through her recent exercise routine, so the idea of trying a ride was reasonable even though she had not been cycling. This gave her motivation to finally do some cycling. I said I would join them in the event to give them company.

The event we picked was the Tour of Napa Valley. I previously rode the century route 3 years ago. Rom and Vaishali were interested in the 35 mile route, which was totally flat and a reasonable goal for novices. My interest would be the 100 mile route. I did some research and saw that those two routes have no overlap. However the 40 mile and the 65 mile completely overlap for the first 25 miles. I suggested to them that they consider that instead.

Obviously they needed to handle 5 miles more than their originally considered route. However the big difference is that the 40 mile route also had 1700 feet of total elevation gain. Rom had done some rides with elevation, but that would be a totally new level for Vaishali. I encouraged both of them to consider that since they had months to train, and they agreed.

Rom and Vaishali did some training rides together in the months preceding, and I did some rides with Vaishali too. Both of them got to a level of conditioning that made them feel comfortable with the challenge.

Napa Valley is a two hour drive from our home, and Rom is right on the way, so we planned to pick him up on the way there and drop him on the way back. The only question was how to carry three bicycles in the car since my rack only holds two. I found that I could also fit my bicycle in the back of the car with one seat folded down if I took off the front wheel. That would also leave room for 3 people to sit comfortably.

On the day of the ride, Vaishali and I woke up at 4:30am and left home at 5:30. We picked up Rom in San Francisco at 6:30 and continued to Napa. We found the ride headquarters, parked, readied our bicycles, and proceeded to the registration. We were underway at 7:30am. The air was a little cool, but we were dressed appropriately and had no problem with that.

The first part of the route wound through the vineyards in the floor of Napa Valley. Rom and Vaishali commented that traversing the valley on a bicycle gives a more scenic view of the area.

After about 15 miles, we made a turn out of the valley and the road pitched uphill. All of the climbing for the 40 mile route would be concentrated in this stretch. The singular rest stop for the route would be located at the top, so that was the target. Rom kept a faster pace, while I stayed with Vaishali. She was able to handle the moderate incline. But when the road reached 10%, she need to stop and recover. The grade fluctuated but did not get much steeper after that. Soon we were at the summit and found Rom as we entered the rest stop.

We relaxed at the stop and had some snacks. The hard part was done. We left and rolled through mostly flat ground. We did stop at one point to take some pictures, and another rider stopped and offered to take a picture of the three of use. We continued to a T-junction where our routes diverged. Rom and Vaishali turned left to head downhill to the valley and back to the start. I turned right.

Up to this point I was keeping a much slower pace than normal so I could stay with Vaishali. Now that I was alone, I pushed myself to keep an aggressive pace. Almost immediately, I began to pass riders. Normally I do not pass too many. That is because I am usually on the longer route (which starts earlier) and the people who are slower than I start afterwards -- meaning we don't cross paths. This time many of the slower riders had passed me. And the riders who are faster than me were already far ahead.

I headed into another rest stop, but stayed only briefly. I did not have much to recover from since the last rest stop. I continued on and soon found the next hill, which was more challenging than the one before the first rest stop. Again, I felt energized from starting out slowly, so I was able to keep a strong pace. After passing another group of riders, one cyclist joked, "Why are you going so fast? Are you trying to make us look bad?" That was funny, mainly since I never usually am considered "fast".

My energy burst seemed to last the whole climb, though I did start to feel tired close to the summit. There was a minimal water stop (no snacks) at the top, but I did not even stop. Since I knew there was a long descent coming, I just figured I would get my rest coasting back down the hill. I reached the bottom, and there was just a long, flat valley segment left. After two miles, there was the final rest stop. It had gotten pretty warm by now, so I stopped mainly to cool down and refill my water.

The final stretch was uneventful. Again, I tried and succeeded in keeping a pace faster than I normally would. I finally reached the start and looked for a place to park my bicycle. Fairly quickly, I saw Rom and Vaishali's bicycles together, so I left mine nearby. As I walked to the the finish area, I saw Rom. He had changed clothes and explained that Vaishali had moved the car to the nearby parking lot and was taking a shower. We got food and Vaishali met us. We found a shaded spot to rest and eat (though Vaishali had eaten earlier).

Soon after, we packed up our bicycles and headed back. The drive back was uneventful. We dropped Rom back in San Francisco on our way home. We had left Aasha and Manoj with my parents since we obviously needed someone to watch them while we were gone, so we picked them up after we got home and put things away.

We all declared the day a success. Rom and Vaishali completed their first bicycle event and enjoyed it. That may be it for them this year, but we are all eager to try doing something like this again next year. I probably will have another event or two after this.

2014 Seattle to Portland, One Day

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:43:00 +0000

211 miles, 5600 feet elevation, 18:15 hours (14:30 hours on the bicycle)

It was finally time for the event that I focused my training on for the past few months. I last did the Seattle to Portland ride 3 years ago. That time I rode with my (Seattle-based) friend Unmesh and we chose the two day option, spending the night in a hotel near the midpoint. This year, our (Portland-based) friend Subhash is joining and we are doing it in one day. The last time the three of us met was about a year ago, when we all came to Seattle for a triathlon. Unmesh and Subhash did the Olympic distance version, while I bicycled the sprint distance as a team with Vaishali, who ran, and Prabha (Unmesh's wife), who swam.

Not having done a double century in 6 years, I needed to make sure I was prepared. My usual training keeps me in shape for centuries, and I can do one of those without too much advanced preparation. However, a double century is nothing to take lightly. This route has less elevation than some of my 50 mile training rides, but spending so much time on a bicycle needs preparation. I was not concerned about my conditioning, since I was pretty sure I would have plenty of strength and energy. The part of my body that suffers the most on long rides is my neck (and to a lesser extent, my back), and I wanted to be sure that I got my body adjusted to the strains.

The ride requires significant logistical planning. The ride is on Saturday, starting in Seattle and ending in Portland. I would definitely need to take Friday off for travel, and I would need to arrive early enough in the day to prepare. Because we know many people in Portland, we made this a full family trip, and considered making it an extended trip. But since everyone is busy on the weekdays, we decided to limit it to the weekend. We had the whole day free on Sunday, and decided to take an early flight on Monday, so that we could go directly to work (and day care and summer camp) upon returning.

Our flight arrived in Seattle on Friday afternoon, about the same time as Subhash arrived, who opted to take the one-way train transport organized by the event. I assembled my bicycle and we went to pick up our ride packets. We then had a large pizza dinner with Prabha's sister and her family. We went to bed early.

4:00am, 0 miles, 0 feet elevation

We planned to leave the house a 4:00am, so I woke at 3:00am to prepare. Vaishali snapped a quick picture of us before we left. We rode the 4 miles to the official start in the dark. We arrived at the start line and joined a mass of riders. Even more joined in after us. The official start is at 4:45, so we had to wait about 20 minutes before we could get under way. They have the official start because they arrange to have policemen direct traffic through many of the signaled intersections in the city. With thousands of cyclist flooding the road at the start, this is a necessity.

Unmesh, Subhash, Murali ready to start.

The temperature at the start was pleasant. Last time it was chilly, but this year the forecast was for unseasonable heat (90's F), so the day was starting off at a comfortable mid-60's. The first few miles consisted of riding with a huge pack of cyclists. The thickness of the pack meant that most kept the same speed. We found early on that two of us had unique auditory identifiers – Unmesh had a squeaky left pedal and Subhash had a rattling water bottle. Prabhash's wife Aparna had asked him to use a steel water bottle instead of a standard plastic one. So the metal bottle in the metal holder was a noisy combination.

6:15am, 30 miles, 300 feet elevation (Kent REI)

The first food stop was 25 miles into the route, but seemed to arrive quicker than expected. We agreed to keep it brief and quickly had a snack, bathroom break, and bottle refill, before resuming. The pack had started to thin out, but there were still many cyclists ahead of and behind us. We did not need to do any navigation because we just took the same turns as everyone else.

Just like last year, we had a clear view of Mt. Ranier. Seeing the majestic peaks along the route is one of the highlights for me.

8:30am, 59 miles, 1000 feet elevation (Spanway Jr. HS)

After this stop many people were putting on sunscreen in preparation for later in the day. It was still pleasant at this time. This part of the route contained a long stretch of bicycle trail. This is a different experience than riding on the road. Although there was bicycle and pedestrian traffic it, was sparse. We kept a faster pace as there were fewer intersections and obstacles.

11:00am, 93 miles, 1500 feet elevation (Tenino)

Soon after this mini-stop, we re-experienced an event from the last ride – we were delayed at a train crossing.

11:50am, 106 miles, 2000 feet elevation (Centralia)

We reached the midpoint well before the time we made it last time. Of course, previously it was the end of our day. This time it was the halfway mark. We decided we would make it an extended stop to rest and prepare for the second half. I managed to get a peanut butter jelly sandwich at the lunch table, but when I went back for seconds, they had run out (only the meat sandwiches were left). They did have fruit, which was a poor substitute (I needed something more calorie-dense). We found an open spot in the grass (it was not easy to do with riders resting everywhere) and lay down for a while, stretching our overall break to one hour.

There are three ways to navigate the route. The authoritative way is to carry and ready the route map as you ride. This is not practical because it is published as a small booklet and there is no good way to hold/read it while riding. The second way is to follow the road markings. Before and after every intersection, there is a painted arrow on the pavement indicating which way to go. You check the direction before you go through, and double check the confirmation after you go through. If you see both, then you are still on the route. The final, easiest way is to follow other riders. This is very reliable closer to the beginning of the course when all the riders are in one huge pack.

After leaving the mid-point, we lost the company of all the one day riders. Also being later in the day, the remaining riders have further dispersed. We found much fewer riders at this point, but we would still pass a few and be passed by a few. At one point we had been chatting for a while when one of us noticed that we went through an intersection with no markings. We were off course. We immediately pulled over and pulled out our route map. A friendly motorist let us know that the big group of riders were on a different road a block away. Even though we went off course a mile back, we where headed parallel to the route and noticed before the roads diverged significantly. As a result, we missed a mini-stop, but it was one that was not needed.

2:50pm, 132 miles, 2400 feet elevation (Vader)

At this mini-stop, the contrast to our last experience here was stark. Then, it was the first stop of the second day, thus it was an early morning stop. As such, it was pretty cold, and I remember my fingers being numb and painful. This time, it was early afternoon and the unseasonable heat kicked in. Our stop included getting sprayed with a garden hose to cool off.

I enjoyed seeing the next notable mountain on the route – Mount St. Helens.

3:50pm, 142 miles, 3200 feet elevation (Castle Rock)

This mini-stop would have been omitted, except we were on a quest for ice and a refill of water bottles. Like the previous stop, we took turns dousing ourselves with a garden hose.

4:35pm, 150 miles, 4100 feet elevation (Lexington park)

This was the lunch stop of day two last year, but just a somewhat extended break (half hour) this year.

6:20pm, 167 miles, 5000 feet elevation (Goble)

This mini-stop came at a good time for me. Through the whole ride, I was not having any problems. However, a few miles before this stop, I started feeling sleepy. Not just tired, but I felt like I was about to fall asleep – while pedaling. Although the idea of falling asleep while pedaling a bicycle sounds comical, I was very concerned for my safety. I knew that, at the very least, my alertness level was compromised.

I have experienced this before, so I knew what was happening. My blood sugar must have suddenly crashed. Even though I had been regularly eating, my digestive system must have shut down. After we pulled into this stop, I told Unmesh and Subhash that I needed to take a break. I found a clear spot on the gravel parking lot, put my helmet under my head and closed my eyes. I woke up feeling refreshed (when you're exhausted even a bed of gravel is comfortable). I asked Unmesh how long I had been sleeping and he said 10 or 15 minutes. That was enough time to rest my body enough to get my digestive system to process its fuel. I would have no more problems after.

7:55pm, 180 miles, 5300 feet elevation (St. Helens)

We reached a point where all three of us were getting tired. No one had any serious issues, but the effect of spending 16 hours (so far) pedaling was apparent. We decided to stop at a convenience store for a quick snack. We were having trouble estimating the distance to the next rest stop. It turned out to be just a couple miles away. But we did not want to take any feelings of hunger or tiredness lightly, so stopping probably was the right decision.

At this point we started hitting an issue that we did not really anticipate. We were about to lose daylight. One part of this was good, in that we were no longer subject to oppressive heat. But on the other hand, we were riding by the side of a well trafficked road nearing dark, and we did not all have lights. I had a rear taillight and a blinking headlight, but not a powerful enough headlight to illuminate the road. The biggest danger was that if it got totally dark, we would not be able to see the road surface that we were riding on.

Keeping this in mind we rode purposefully. We skipped the last mini-stop to save time (and we did not need a break or water refill). We kept as strong a pace as we could so that we would cover as much distance as we could in the remaining light. We did not have to (and could not really) get to the finish before night. We only had to get close, because once we get near Portland proper, we would benefit from streetlights. Until then, however, we were on an unlit stretch of state highway. We tried to stay behind another group of riders who had lights. We knew that by following them, we would be following a safe path.

10:15pm, 211miles, 5600 feet elevation

Once we got close to the city, as we expected, street lights helped illuminate our way. But now we could no longer read road markings to find the route. And we would not be able to read the route map as we rode in the darkness. But the narrow city streets with signal lights bunched many riders together, so we simply followed the pack. There was always someone who knew the route to the finish.

One minor disappointment is that in the darkness, there was no way to view Mt. Hood, which we did get to see last year. However, I don't know if it would have been visible earlier in the day because there may have been cloud cover.

As we rolled to the finish, we were met by two of our three wives. Vaishali could not come to the finish because she and the kids were with our friends Tony and Sheilagh. It was well past the kids' bedtime so she needed to stay with them. Aparna and Subhash headed back to their home. Prabha and Moon dropped me off at Tony and Sheilagh's before heading right back to their home in Seattle. We found out later that, as expected, Moon slept during the whole drive back.

The ride was a success. No one had any significant issue. Subhash demonstrated what a superior athlete he is. He mentioned that all his training rides previous to the day did not add up to 200 miles, yet he had no problem keeping pace and finished without issue.

We spent another day in Portland and visited other friends and family. We did manage to meet Aparna and Subhash again for lunch. Subhash and I found that both of us had been insatiably thirsty and hungry the whole day.

It's a nice feeling to have STP both two-day and now one-day. It would be nice to do it again. It is always great to see the beautiful places and visit the wonderful friends. Maybe we will keep doing this ride as a periodic tradition.

2014 Best of the Bay Century

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:19:00 +0000

95 miles, 8400 feet elevation, 9:45 hours (8:40 hours on the bicycle)

For my last century as a warmup before the Seattle to Portland double century, I decided to do the Best of the Bay, which I last did 4 years ago. One reason this ride is attractive is that it covers some roads that I do not normally ride.

One aspect of this route that makes it rather unique is that it does not start and end at the same location. Instead both the start and end are at BART (local commuter train) stations. Most people go directly to the start then take the train from the finish at the end. A few of us take the train to the start in the morning, then return from the finish.

Although the ride officially starts at 6:00am, the morning train riders are limited by the weekend train schedule. The first train leaves at 5:45 and arrives at the ride start at 6:50 (with one transfer along the way). By the time I got checked in at the start, I was ready to ride by 7:00.

7:00 am, 0 miles, 0 feet

The route offers several variations by offering a loop near the start and another near the end, either of which can be skipped. Last time I rode the first loop but decided to skip the second one due to a lack of time. This time I definitely wanted to do the second loop, so I skipped the first loop.

This meant my ride started by immediately climbing the Berkeley Hills, giving a scenic overview of San Francisco at the top. As is usual for this time of year, it was too foggy to actually see San Francisco clearly.

8:45am, 17 miles, 1800 feet

By the time I reached the first rest area, I was still ahead of the main pack of riders who started before me but were riding the first loop. The stop had outstanding food: hard-boiled eggs with pesto, and home made latkas (potato pancakes).

The route after the rest stop was mostly through undeveloped lands on the eastern side of the hills. There was very little motor traffic. It was a pleasant ride to the next rest stop in the city of Castro Valley.

10:20am, 35 miles, 3100 feet

Here again, the food was amazing – goat cheese crostini, frittata, puff pastry with caramelized onion, and I indulged myself again. By this point it seemed that the main pack had caught up with me.

The route from here left the city and returned to mostly undeveloped lands. It included a gradual climb, but my legs still had plenty of energy. A couple riders who I recognized from the start passed me. They had done the first loop (an extra 25 miles) and still caught me, indicating how much stronger than me some of the riders are. The quiet road ended and then the route followed a fairly trafficked route with limited shoulders for a few miles. It definitely was not pleasant being passed closely by cars on a 45 mile per hour road, but I had no problems. This led to the town of Sunol and the lunch rest stop.

11:40am, 49 miles, 4800 feet

The rest of the route was back on familiar roads for me. The next stretch in particular was part of the Mount Hamilton Challenge that I rode just two months before. This time I was reaching it at an earlier point of the ride, so I covered it at a faster pace.

1:40pm, 67 miles, 5700 feet

The next rest stop was at the junction of the second loop of the course. The volunteers asked that riders doing the loop check-in before and after so they can keep track of people on that part of the course. The reason was that the loop contained a well known and steep hill – Sierra Road. It's not that the road is impossible, but being so steep and coming so late into the ride, it is easy for riders to have difficulty making it. Everyone remarked that it was fortunate that the day was cool and overcast, because it is easy to overheat on the exposed slope of Sierra Road.

I continued on and headed for the hill. The difficulty of Sierra Road is not just its steepness, but relentless. Once it starts climbing, it does not have any flat sections until the summit, 3.5 miles later. I started out okay, but quickly felt the effect of already logging so many miles before this climb. My legs started burning not too far into the climb. I regularly kept having to stand and pedal on the extra-steep parts (I could have stayed seated if my leg were fresh). There were ride volunteers at several points on the road to make sure the riders were okay, particularly that we had enough water. I had not needed to drink as much as usual throughout the ride, but I was going through water quickly on this hill. But I had enough since I filled up my two water bottles at the previous rest stop. Eventually I made it to the summit. Several other riders had stopped to rest there, but I just continued on knowing that the upcoming downhill section would give me enough chance to rest. I looped back to the same rest stop and checked back in.

3:25pm, 84 miles, 8000 feet

Not needing to rest or eat, I just proceeded on. There was nothing left but a few fairly flat miles until the finish. There was nothing scenic about this stretch as it went through town, but the roads mostly had wide bike lanes.

I arrived at the finish point feeling good. It was at a buffet restaurant, and dinner was included in the ride. I ate salad (mostly beans for the protein), and (lots of) soup, and (lots of) cheese garlic bread. It was the finale of a day with great food. Most of the riders seemed to be talking about Sierra Road. One other rider joined me at my table just before I left and that was the first thing we talked about.

4:40pm, 95 miles, 8400 feet

After eating I rode one block to the train station, loaded my bicycle onto the car, and left for home. I definitely enjoyed the ride this year better than the last time. The difference must be that I did the more challenging route. Maybe one year I will be in good enough shape to do the most challenging route of both loops. I feel like I will probably do this ride again.

2014 Sequoia Century

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 12:36:00 +0000

120 miles traveled, 10000 feet total elevation gained, 11:50 hours total (9:30 on the bicycle)

In preparation for my upcoming double century, I needed to get some more training into my schedule. A good century for this is the Sequoia Century, which is one of the more challenging rides that happens to be organized fairly close to home. I have done this ride two time before. I am not often drawn to do this one because it covers a route that overlaps with many of my personal routes – so there is nothing novel about it. But this year it came at a good time and was a good challenge to be part of my training.

Very similar to the last time I tried it, my ability to do it came into question by me getting sick just prior to the ride. It was nothing major, just a cold, but that might be enough to jeopardize my being able to do a grueling century. Two days before the ride, I started feeling better and decided that I would be recovered enough on ride day to be able to do it.

This year they changed the start/finish to a new location that is closer to my home. I decided that I should just bike to the start. Because it is local, I was able to check in the day before. So I did not actually have to appear at the start location. My route to ride the route joins the loop a couple miles down the road, so that is where I started. Of course this does not shorten it for me because I will be riding back to that spot after the finish.

5:55am, 0 miles, 0 feet

I timed it so that I would join the route at the same time as if I had begun at the start at the official start time of 6:00am. As I headed out, I could tell that although I was not 100% healthy, I was strong enough to do the ride. I just might be slower than if I were fully healthy.

I was tested right away, since the first climb of the route was the short but very steep Redwood Gulch Road. I had ridden that road many time so I knew what to expect. I knew that it would determine whether I really was fit enough to do the ride. I had the option of truncating the ride to either the 100 kilometer or the 50 mile route if I needed to. I definitely struggled to climb it. Several riders passed me, although no one was going fast. I did manage to pass just a couple other riders. It was a difficult climb, but I made it without feeling too drained. The rest of the climb to the first rest stop was not as steep.

7:45am 21 miles, 2700 feet

After pausing at the rest stop a few minutes longer than I usually would, I decided that I should be fine to do the full 100 mile course. I ate well (peanut butter jelly sandwiches and cookies) in preparation. The next stretch was along the mildly rolling ridge of Skyline Boulevard before turning the descend the steep Alpine Road. The day was cool to begin with, but this stretch was quite cold. Having ridden down this road countless times, I knew to expect that. One stretch of the road near the bottom is one of the coldest places I experience on my rides. The second rest stop was near the bottom.

8:50am, 36 miles, 3400 feet

The organizers obviously expected riders to be near frozen by this point so the refreshments included hot miso soup and coffee. I needed a cup of decaf to warm my hands and stop my shivering.

The next part of the route was to go over the hill between us an the ocean. Once down the other side, we headed for the coast and turned south. There was another rest top here. The road went mostly parallel to the coast before eventually joining it. We then turned to head north on Highway 1, and we continued that way for a while.

9:55am, 48 miles, 4200 feet

Although this 50 mile per hour road carried a good amount of traffic, it also has wide shoulders that make it convenient for cycling. There is enough of a distance between us and the motor vehicles that it is not uncomfortable. The road mostly follows along the top of the cliffs on the coast, and goes up and down in many places. It would be exceptionally scenic if fog was not a constant presence, but it is a beautiful ride regardless. There were many cyclists also headed in the other direction who were participating in a different ride that day.

The route headed a short distance inland for the next rest stop. This was the official lunch stop and I had a cheese sandwich along with chips and cookies. We had covered quite a few hills by this point and I was feeling the effect. I gave myself a few extra minutes to rest before leaving.

11:45am, 71 miles, 5500 feet

The next section contained a loop which I briefly considered skipping. My legs were tired and I had used a lot of energy. There was still a big hill to climb even without that loop. However, that loop was the only part of the route that was new to me, so I just could not resist exploring the new roads. The route headed back to the coast and followed Highway 1 to the city of Half Moon Bay, and another rest stop.

12:40pm, 80 miles, 5800 feet

Then the route headed into the hills. The first climb (Higgins Canyon Road) was not too bad but I was definitely feeling tired. Then there was a descent (Purisima Creek Road) followed by another climb (Lobitos Creek). This one was hard. Making up for the pain of the climb was the beautiful scenery.

Finally the climb leveled off and headed back down. But it led to the final, long climb (Tunitas Creek Road) away from the ocean and to the valley. My legs were pretty spent at this point, and I was crawling at a pretty slow speed. I stopped to take off my arm warmers, then to have some of a snack bar, but both times were also and excuse to rest my legs a short while. Eventually I made it to the top and the last rest stop.

3:15pm, 100 miles, 8900 feet

I did not really need to rest here since all the major climbing was done and there was a long descent coming up for rest. But I was pretty tired and decided to indulge myself for a few minutes. There was a relatively festive atmosphere at this rest stop as everyone was happy to be done with all the difficult parts of the ride, and although there was still 20 miles left, it was mostly downhill with no significant challenges. I continued on to do the descent back into the valley. From there it was a mostly direct route back to the finish at Foothill College.

4:45pm, 117 miles, 10000 feet

I parked and got some dinner. It was an energy rich meal of eggplant parmesan, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and grilled vegetables. I ate and rested for a bit. This is a big ride with over 800 people registered, and quite a few were at the finish.

I headed for home, and I guess I technically was not done with the route until I reached the point where I started it in the morning. From there I rode the easy 4 miles home.

5:45pm, 120 miles, 10000 feet

I ended up being sore for a few days afterward, a sign of a great training workout.

2014 Strawberry Fields Forever Century

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 19 May 2014 21:27:00 +0000

100 miles total, 5000 feet total elevation, 9:20 hours total (8:30 on the bicycle)

There are many century rides in the Bay Area each year, most of them regularly recurring events. My decision on which ones I do is based on several factors: (1) how challenging is the route (2) is the route, or part of it, new to me (3) am I available at the scheduled time (4) is it at a time when I could use the training.

I had investigated the Strawberry Fields Forever ride before but had not done it. The route is not particularly challenging (less than 6000 feet total elevation) compared to the other centuries I do. This year, it came at a time when I need to do more training (in preparation for the Seattle to Portland ride). It does include some roads that are new to me, so that made it interesting.

The ride starts and ends in Watsonville, which is a one hour drive from home. The check-in to start opened at 7:00am, so my plan was to leave home before 6:00am. I prepared everything I needed the day before and had everything ready. I woke up at 5:00am, got ready and left at 5:50am. After driving for about 20 minutes, I scratched an itch on my head and immediately realized that I forgot to take my helmet with me! I had no choice but to return home since a helmet is a strict requirement for all centuries. Luckily this happened at a point in the road right before an exit where I could turn around. If I had the discovery 2 minutes later, I would have started the climb over the mountains had would have had to proceed a few miles further to get to a usable turn-around point.

I returned home, ran in to get the helmet, and took off again right away. (I texted Vaishali what I was doing so she would not be startled by hearing the garage door open and close.) I lost 35 minutes, but was happy to have discovered my oversight well before arriving at the ride.

7:45am, 0 miles, 0 feet

I reached the starting point (at a high school), parked, and proceeded to the check-in. There was a long line to get our rider numbers. As soon as I got mine, I started. There were many people doing this ride that although I was not familiar with the route, I did not have to look at my printed directions because I could just follow the pack. I did have to pay attention at the point where the 100 mile and the 100 kilometer routes diverged a few miles from the start.

The longest climb of the route started right away. I had ridden part of the top of the road, but never had been to the bottom, so much of it was new for me. It was a long, but not particularly steep route. The first rest stop was at 22 miles and at the top of the climb. I ate some snacks there but did not rest for very long.

9:45am, 22 miles, 2100 feet

The next part of the route was from the top of the hills back towards the ocean. That meant the next few miles were all downhill. After the descent, we were back in town and going through city streets. The route required managing several turns at intersections. I am not at all familiar with these roads, so I needed to navigate the route. I could have consulted the printed route sheet, but that was too inconvenient. Instead I chose to follow the other cyclists who seemed to be on the same ride. This strategy worked quite well, until the small group I was following took a wrong turn. We ended up on a frontage road next to a beach that appeared to be a dead end – clearly not part of our route. I observed the group in front of me also look around as if searching for the actual route. We all turned around, and returning to the previous intersection, we discovered that we needed to take a sharper turn that goes up a hill overlooking the beach.

A few miles later we reached the second rest stop near the ocean. Although I had snacks at the first rest top, I was very hungry by this point. I ate a lot of peanut butter jelly sandwiches and cookies. They also had kalamata olives, an atypical rest stop treat, which I indulged in.

11:35am, 47 miles, 2500 feet

The section of the route after that rest stop is the start of the namesake of the route. The area is a seemingly endless sea of strawberry fields. However, farm fields just are not scenic, especially compared to the mountain roads at the start. The route headed inland but was mostly flat. More than two-thirds of the route was completed by the time the next rest stop was reached.

1:05pm, 71 miles, 3600 feet

This was the official lunch stop, which was set up at a local park. The main food was sandwiches, and I made a big cheese sandwich. There was a live band playing for our entertainment. I sat and rested here longer than at the previous stops.

The next section of the route was again mostly more farm fields. The next rest stop was only 12 miles, but it was the last stop before the finish. The group I was following decided to skip it, but I decided to stop. And I am glad I did.

2:30pm, 82 miles, 3700 feet

I did not really need the rest, but it was worth stopping for the snacks. It was at Gizdich Ranch, which is a locally known berry farm. They supplied an incredibly sweet fresh berry juice, and fresh apple pie. They also had a live band here.

The final stretch of the route contained some more climbing as we headed back into the hills. This time we did not go as high as we did in the morning, but my legs were tired and I had to go slower than I expected. I returned to the finish and had dinner there.

4:05pm, 100 miles, 6100 feet

I changed clothes and made the hour drive home. This route was much less challenging than my usual centuries, but it came at a good time in the calendar for it to be a useful training ride. It is always nice to see new roads around the area.

2014 Mt Hamilton Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 05 May 2014 03:19:00 +0000

131 total miles, 8300 feet total elevation, 13:40 hours total (12:05 on the bicycle)

I wanted to try this ride for the fifth time. I did not try it last year because I did not feel like I was in shape. Well, I also did not feel in shape this year either. This winter had only sporadic riding, and my spring training did not ramp up. But I am planning on doing Seattle-to-Portland again this year – this time in one day. I need to increase my training to be able to do my first double century in nearly 6 years.

As usual I got up early, got ready, and got dropped off in time to make the earliest start time of 6:00am. However, a quick inspection found that I had a loose headset. A mechanic was on hand to tighten it for me, but it delayed my start.

6:20am, 0 miles, 0 feet (start)

I kept a moderate pace to start, knowing that my energy level would not be as good as previous years. It was relatively cold at the start – upper 40s. The initial stretch was a familiar route through some of the more industrial part of Silicon Valley. One new sight for me this year was seeing the nearly completed Levi's Stadium, which did not exist the last time I rode this event two years ago.

After riding the flat approach to the mountain and beginning the ascent, I warmed up enough to where I took off my jacket and switched to open finger gloves. But before the halfway point of the climb, we entered the mist of the cloud layer. I expected to ascend out of this layer and see clear sky, so I kept the warmer clothes off for a while. I overheard another rider state that his thermometer was reading lower 40s. That combined with the mist and wind meant it was definitely cold.

I could not take the cold anymore so I switched back to full finger gloves and put my jacket back on. I was surprised to find that we never left the cloud layer. I did not see the observatory at the summit until we reached it. I was even more surprised to see small patches of snow at the summit. We have been having consistent Spring weather throughout the Bay Area. We had a light rain a couple days ago, but the colder temperatures up here meant it fell as snow and stuck.

10:20am, 35 miles, 4300 feet (rest stop 1)

I ate my snack quickly and continued on. I did not want to linger since I was getting colder just sitting idle.

The start of the descent was cold, due to it being still foggy and windy. I noticed that my left foot had gone completely numb. However, after about 2 miles of the descent, I was back under the cloud layer where it was much warmer.

The route through the valley on this side of the mountains was as scenic as ever. The recent rain had filled several roadside ponds. Some of the meadows were seas of yellow wild flowers, while some others were a mix of yellow, orange, and purple. The wind was a constant presence, often an annoying head-wind or side-wind. But sometimes it was a pleasant tail-wind.

1:30pm, 62 miles, 6300 feet (rest stop 2)

I reached the second rest stop and found it to be emptier than usual. I asked the staff about the main pack and they said that the majority of riders had left a significant time earlier. I tried to eat quickly and stretch.

The next route section is usually an easy gradual downhill, but here is where I experienced the most significant wind of the day. What is usually a zero-effort, fast descent was this year a mild-effort, medium speed descent. By the time I reached the valley floor in Livermore, the usually flat route to the next stop again turned into the wind and required more energy that I would have liked. However, this stretch usually has a headwind, so it was no surprise. It was, in fact, less effort than I expected considering how strong the wind was on the previous section.

4:00pm, 92 miles, 6300 feet (rest stop 3)

Again as I reached the next stop, the crowd was thinner than I usually experience. I noticed I had arrived only about 30 minutes before the stop closes. This meant I really need to conserve time to be sure to finish before the cutoff. This was the first time I had been so far behind.

I ate quickly, then gave a call home to report my status. I headed out, knowing I should be monitoring my pace to ensure I return on time. There was less wind on the rest of the route, and my energy level never dropped too low, so I made better time than I expected to.

6:25pm, 115 miles, 8000 feet (unofficial rest stop)

As usual, I made a stop at Ed Levin Park. Somehow, the distance between the Pleasanton stop and the finish is too long for me to go without a bathroom break. The unofficial stop at Levin park is convenient since the facilities are just off the road. It was a very brief stop. The ride back through Silicon Valley was easy and familiar.

7:15pm, 129 miles, 8000 feet (finish)
I arrived back at the finish and checked in. A few riders arrived after me, and I heard one of the staff announce, "that's the last of them." It was the first time I was among the last finishers. Although, it was my latest finish time, it was not significantly later than previous years. As usual, I decided to ride home rather than have someone pick me up.

7:50pm, 133 miles, 8000 feet (home)

The ride seems to be a much-needed precursor to my later ride plans. My legs had soreness for about a week afterwards. That is much longer than what I usually experience, and indicates that they still need to be built up. If felt good to do this one, but I probably need to do some more centuries to prepare for the double century.

Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 18:04:00 +0000

In my 7 years of bicycling roads, I have been lucky to avoid crashing. I will not count a few times falling over trying to stop or dismount and getting my foot tangled. These are merely "falls" (and none causing notable injury) rather than an actual crash.

My luck ran out 28 September 2013, when I toppled while descending a mountain road. Fortunately, my injuries did not include anything serious or lasting.

The ride started normally. I met my friends Atri, Krishna, Prashant, and Shiva early near home and started off on a challenging route. One of the climbs was the infamous Bohlman - On Orbit. At the top of that climb, there is a one mile dirt trail that connects to Montevina Road on the other side of the mountain.

We all started descending together, but got spread out, with Atri and me at the back. At some point I thought I heard an unusual hissing/scraping noise. The descent was steep and fast, so there is usually a lot of wind noise. And since the brakes are engaged to keep the speed in check, those add noise too. Still, the noise I heard was bothersome so I stopped and checked to see if my brakes were fine, which they were.

I continued on and started hearing the noise again. I could not figure out what it was. Soon I felt the handling of the bicycle was not normal, so I started slowing down. I decided I should stop again. As I was slowing, the road turned sharply to the left. As I leaned into the turn, I felt the bicycle start to slip from under me. It happened fast, but it seemed like slow-motion to me. I tipped over to the left, slammed to the pavement on my left side, and slid to a stop in the middle of the road.

I laid there staring at the sky, dazed. Fortunately, Atri was behind me. He stopped and helped me get up. He picked up my bicycle and got it and me off to the side of the road. I was still dazed, and it took a while for the situation to register. I had a pain in my left hip, and scrapes in multiple places. Atri happened to have three bandaids in his bag, so he put them on my three deepest scrapes – two on the side of my knee and one on my elbow.

Fortunately my helmet kept the side of my head from hitting the road. There was a deep gash in my left glove. I must have place my hand down to absorb some of the impact. But no skin was broken on my hand underneath, so the glove took all the damage. I was mostly worried about my hip. I forced myself to walk around to evaluate it. It was hurting, but no sharp pains. It seemed clear that I did not break anything in my hip.

We examined my bicycle and saw that my front tire was flat. That explained it. The noise I was hearing was the tire deflating. Once enough air was lost, it had no traction on the left turn, hence I went down. Atri nicely had me sit while he replaced the tube. We both checked the tire to see if we could find anything still embedded in it that caused a puncture. We could not, so we pumped up the new tube and continued the descent.

Futher down, we encountered Krishna coming back up the check on us. We explained what happened and continued. I did not have to pedal on the descent. Once we reached the flat section at the bottom, I found that I was able to pedal without pain. We met the other guys who were waiting. We explained to everyone what happened.

I decided that I would abort the ride and head back home. I told the other guys that I would be fine by myself, so they should just continue their ride. They seemed a little reluctant at first, but I insisted. So we parted and I headed towards the unpaved Los Gatos Creek Trail. By coincidence, this was the first time I can remember that I forgot to bring my cell phone with me on my ride. I was planning to ride to Los Gatos and have Vaishali pick me up, but I had no way to contact her. So my plan instead became to ride the remaining 9 miles home (slowly). The route would be mostly flat so it would not be a problem.

However, after a quarter mile, I could tell my front tire was becoming soft again. I stopped and confirmed it. I had another spare tube, but there would be no point replacing it. Clearly there was something sharp embedded in the tire. My only reasonable plan would be to walk my bike to Los Gatos and borrow someone's phone to call Vaishali for a pick up.

The walk on the trail was three miles, and I pushed my bicycle. I could walk fine, so it was no real problem. One cyclist coming opposite on the trail stopped and asked if I was alright, seeing that I was a bit bloodied. I explained the situation and said I did not need any help from him.

I continued walking and got off the trail in downtown Los Gatos. I knew that a lot of other cyclists congregate here so it would be a good place to find a friendly fellow cyclist to borrow a phone from. Just half a block from the trail entrance was a popular coffee shop with a couple groups of cyclists outside. I parked my bicycle at a rack and asked the nearest cyclist if I could quickly borrow their phone to call for a ride. He did so without hesitation. Fortunately I was able to get Vaishali on the first call. I explained that I had a crash, but was not hurt seriously. I told her that the bicycle was now unrideable so I needed her to pick me up. She said she would ask my parents to watch the kids while she came. I told her which coffee shop I was at and that I would just wait there for her.

I had to wait about 30 minutes for Vaishali to arrive. I alternated between sitting and walking around. I chatted with the cyclist whose phone I borrowed and a couple of his friends. After explaining what happened, he remarked that I looked to be in pretty good shape for someone who crashed on a descent. I agreed. Basically my elbow and knee were scraped and bloodied, but the three band-aids I had on hid the deeper scrapes. The bruises were starting to become noticeable, as my hip knee, elbow and shoulder were all developing stiffness and pain.

Vaishali arrived and I loaded the bicycle in the car, and we returned home. Both my parents were at home too, and they helped dressing my wounds. The first thing I did was take a shower and wash all my wounds well with soap. After I had taken my outfit off, everyone could see the size of the abrasions on my shoulder and hip, and they were bigger than they expected. Now my mother's experience as a retired nurse would come in handy. She brought some larger bandages that she had at her house, plus some more from the drugstore. She put anti-bacterial ointment on the wounds before covering them with bandages.

I felt beaten up for a couple days. The soreness of the scrapes was expected, but the main effect was the deep bruise on my left hip. I could not lay on my left side for three weeks. My scrapes were all mostly healed in a week. I had no problems going to work, since I can spend my time mostly sitting in the office. And all my bandaged wounds were concealed by my usual office attire. Most of my co-workers did not suspect that I was injured.

Surprisingly, my clothes did not look too bad considering that I slid on the hard pavement. It was a warm day, so I was wearing only a cycling shirt (thin, form-fitting polyester) and biker shorts (lycra). There is a quarter-size hole in the shorts, and the area around it looks thin, but the shorts are still usable. More surprisingly, there was not much sign of wear on the shirt. The skin of my shoulder underneath the shirt got scraped, but the sturdiness and smoothness of the fabric meant it slid on the road mostly without catching or tearing. There was minimal scratching on the left torso side.

Looking back on what caused the flat tire, I guessed that the puncture must have happened riding the dirt trail before staring the descent. Although my front tire looked like it was in decent shape, I checked my logs and found that the tire was 5 years old and had 8000 miles on it. That is an OLD tire. It is likely that the rubber tread had gotten so thin that there was very little protection to offer the inner tube.

Usually rear tires wear faster than front tires, since the rear is the drive tire. So rear tires get replaced more often. But this was a reminder that a bicycle must always have a good front tire since that affects overall stability more. I put a brand new tire on the front wheel.

Atri said he noticed that I had slowed down considerably before the crash. I subsequently tried to estimate what speed I had been going the next time I rode downhill. I got down to the speed I felt I was at when I crashed and saw that it was 15 miles per hour. On a steep road like Montevina, I usually descend at 20 to 25 miles per hour (more if the road is straight and smooth, less if it is rough or winding). Though it may not seem like a big difference, a crash at 15 mph is much less catastrophic than at 20 mph. Above 25 mph, it seems unlikely to escape without broken bones.

It did not take me long to get back on the bicycle. After a few days, I started commuting to work by bicycle again. But longer rides were more difficult. And surprisingly, the issues were more mental than physical. Having an unexpected crash injected a paranoia into my mind that is taking a long time to dissipate. Riding on flat ground and going uphill are no problem. Riding downhill was initially terrifying, and is still (more than 3 months later) still unnerving.

I was never a carefree descender. I usually kept a slower speed that others when going downhill. But now I find it uncomfortable to go past 20 mph, and there are many roads where I normally would easily be comfortable doing 30 mph. The biggest difficulty is that I am now overly sensitive to noises and shaking coming from my bicycle. And these are irrational fears, because I have been riding the same bicycles for years, and they are no louder or shakier than before. On my first ride after the crash that included a downhill section, I got completely spooked when a lawn sprinkler went off as I passed. The hissing noise it made was too similar to the hissing/scraping noise I heard just before the crash. But I know that it is just a matter of time before I am fully comfortable on the hills I know so well.

I normally take good care of my bicycles and keep everything in good working order. But now I will be monitoring the state of my front tire in a more formal way. I will probably keep track of the mileage on it an replace it more often.

2012 Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 05:27:00 +0000

100 miles, 11000 feet elevation

10:05 total time (8:35 on the bicycle)

5200 estimated calories burned

I have done only one century this year, which is fewer than usual. I just have not had the time. But I wanted to make sure to do at least one more, and I always try to do the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge. So I decided to do it again this year. That makes this the fourth time I have ridden it.

Here is a video summary that the organizers published from last year. I actually appear in it at the 0:40 mark. We did the same route this year, so all the sights and sounds would be similar.


Route Map.

One concern I had was whether my back would give me problems. I hurt it two weeks ago and was having back spasms for two days. It was bad enough that I could not stand up straight. The weird thing was that I did not know exactly how I hurt it. Previous times when I experienced the same thing, it was after picking up one of my kids awkwardly or some similar strain. It had been totally okay for a week, including during a couple training rides. But this ride is much more intense and long that those, so I was apprehensive.

6:35am, 0 miles, 0 feet total

I woke up at 4:10am to get ready. I had set my alarm for 4:15 but woke up on my own before it went off. I prepared and left home at 5:40, arriving at the start in Scotts Valley at 6:20. I parked, got all my things ready, registered, was under way at 6:35. The forecast was for a warm day, but it was cool and foggy at the start. That was okay for me because the route starts immediately with a significant climb which warmed me up. It became clear and sunny at the top as we broke through the fog layer.

After climbing to Summit Road, the view back down towards the start location shows the thick blanket of fog shrouding the valley.

About 10 miles into the route, I developed pain in my left knee, which is unusual. But that is my bad knee, so an injury is within the realm of possibility. However, the pain was never significant. It was enough to be noticed, but not enough to bother me. It was something I had to pay attention to. If it got worse then I would have to consider abandoning the ride.

The remaining stretch to the first rest area was a relatively gradual 1000 foot climb with several up and down sections. I had no problems, but kept a slower pace to conserve energy.

8:30am, 26 miles, 3500 feet total

I arrived at the first rest area and proceeded to consume some snacks. I had a half bagel with jelly, two fig newtons, and a handful of peanut M&Ms. Normally the peanut M&Ms are something I could just inhale. But trying to eat them quickly at that time was actually rather difficult. I heroically managed to finish them. I wanted to keep this stop brief, and it was only 10 minutes.

The next section was a long downhill descent where I maintained 30 miles per hour for stretches. It went into Big Basin State Park, where there is a gradual climb, a descent, and another small climb. This led to the next rest stop.

10:10am, 42 miles, 4900 feet total

I wanted to spend more time at this stop because immediately following it was the hardest climb of the route -- Jamison Creek Road. This time I snacked on zucchini bread, fig newtons, and Ritz crackers. I made sure to stretch to loosen my back. It ended up being a 15 minute break.

The first part of Jamison Creek is mostly flat. However, once the road pitches up, it does it steeply and does not relent until the top. I kept my pace very slow on the flat part, because I knew I needed all the energy I could muster.

Jamison Creek rises 1470 feet in just over 3 miles. This is approximately the height of the top floor of the Willis Tower (formerly called the Sears Tower) in Chicago. Imagine building a spiral ramp along the outside of the Willis Tower to ride a bicycle to the top. To match the distance of Jamison Creek, this ramp would have to wrap around the building 18 times. That means each revolution (going around all four sides of the building) on this spiral ramp would take you up 6 floors. I managed to cover this distance/height in under 35 minutes, but most of the other cyclists did it faster. I do not know if that helps to visualize the scale of the effort, but it was a mathematical exercise I pondered while riding up.

I had two questions as I was pushing myself on the climb: how would my knee and my back hold up? Surprisingly, the knee felt no different. Even though I was using all my leg strength to propel my self at only 3 to 4 miles per hour, this tremendous strain was not affecting it.

My back started out fine, but I started feeling some lower back strain. This is normal, since the maximum effort to spin my pedals often creates some strain there. But I was concerned given the scale of my earlier injury. I actually felt the same strain on my last training ride. That time I stopped as a precaution, but found that the strain went away immediately. This time I thought I should push on, as long as I was not feeling the pain increase. I was tempted to stop to just catch my breath, but I knew I would have been disappointed in myself unless that was absolutely necessary.

I eventually reached the top and finished with a strong push. Quite a few riders were waiting at the top to regroup with the other friends they were riding with. I pulled over to assess my situation. My back felt fine, but I got hit with a sharp wave of dizziness and a sudden headache. One of the ride volunteers was nearby and started to chat with me. I talked to him for a few minutes, which also let the dizziness clear. I then headed off for the remaining two miles to the lunch stop. My leg muscles felt completely shredded, but I would soon be able to assess what sitting and eating would restore.

11:20am, 50 miles, 7000 feet total

The lunch was the same as what they usually have: make-your-own sandwiches. I took two slices of bread, added a lot of mustard, two tomato slices, several rings of red onion, three slices of cheese, and several pickle slices. I also took a few small boiled red potatoes and salted them well, and grabbed a cookie. I also got a can of Pepsi to drink. I always carry Tylenol in my bicycle and so I took that for my headache. I rested and ate leisurely.

My plan was to decide at this point whether I had the energy to continue the 100 mile route. If not, I had the option of truncating to the 100 kilometer route, which skips the last long climb. My legs felt like they were getting their energy back. My knee was feeling better. My back was having no pain. I decided I should finish the 100 mile route. I sat for a few minutes after eating to make it a 30 minute stop.

The next stretch was a descent followed by a moderately long but not significantly steep climb. My legs were clearly drained by the previous climbs. I had to ascend at a slower pace (and lower gear) than I normally would. Still, it was not bad enough to make me want to opt for the shorter route.

After a fast, steep descent, we reached the bottom of the final significant climb: Zayante Road. This is a long (11 miles) climb but it is not continuously steep. The first couple miles are fairly flat. There are several very steep parts, but these are not too long. In between those, it is only moderately steep. My legs would not let me go too fast, so quite a few other riders were passing me. I did struggle to reach the top, but I did it without having to stop. The final rest stop was there.

2:40pm, 76 miles, 9900 feet total

Although the distance was only 75% done, all of the major climbing was done. What remained on the way to the finish was a long descent followed by smaller climbs. I rested and ate more boiled potatoes and drank a Coke. It was a 20 minute rest.

Back to the same general area as the first picture, we see that all of the fog has burned off as the day warmed.

The final stretch had some short climbs to get to the final, long descent. It was several miles down along with a significant amount of motor traffic. The speed limit was 40 miles per hour, and I was regularly going 30. Of course, that meant that cars needed to pass me. There was not much shoulder, but drivers here are usually courteous to bicyclists, so there were no problems.

At the bottom, we had a couple short climbs to return to the finish. Normally I would fly up these smaller hills, but my spent legs kept me at a crawl. Riders continued to pass me, but there were several others that were in the same shape as me. All along, I was passing a few riders too. So even though most of the riders were stronger than me, there were still quite a few that were not at my level.

4:40pm, 100 miles, 11000 feet total

I reached the finish and noticed that my time was only 10 minutes slower than last year. I expected to be even slower than that, so it felt like a victory. I loaded my bicycle on my car, changed clothes, and headed inside for some dinner. They had made-to-order burritos, I had one with beans, rice, and cheese. And it was huge. I took just a little salad with it. Afterwards, I had some zucchini bread with a little ice cream. After that I headed home.

My huge burrito at the finish. I forgot to take the picture before taking the first bite.

I ate a lot of high calorie, low nutrition foods. Normally these would be considered "junk food", but on a day with this much exercise they are better described as much needed "fuel". In the end, I burned more calories than I consumed on the day.

Normally I would be pretty tired and would get to bed early. But this day was different because Vaishali and the kids were returning from their Illinois trip, and I had not seen them for three weeks. I tried to take a nap but did not fall asleep, which surprised me because I had felt sleepy on the drive home. Instead, I had some coffee and left at 9:30pm for the airport. It took some time to get the baggage, so we did not get back home until after midnight. I fell asleep immediately after getting home. It was a long and tiring day for me!

I was really happy with my effort this year. I had not done as much training as previous years, but my time was not significantly slower. I had some injury concerns, but they did not manifest. This ride might be the hardest century in this area, which is probably why I like it so much. I think I will make a point to do it every year, as long as my training keeps me prepared enough.

Mt. Hamilton Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:46:00 +0000

133 total miles, 8000 feet total elevation gain,

12 hours 45 minutes total (10 hours 45 minutes on the bicycle)

Well this journal has been empty for quite some time. One reason for that is that I did not participate in any bicycle events over the winter. There are very few scheduled that season because of the cold, wet weather.

But the primary reason was a lack of time. Now with two small children at home, time has become even more of a premium. Although I actually have been on some rides that were worth writing about, I just could not make the time to do the actual writing.

After having done the first event of the year, I am determined to write about it, even though this report is about a month late. I hope to be able to add some updates of my activities of last winter. The main purpose of this journal is for me to have a log of all my bicycle activities, so I want to get that information in, even if it is minimal.

Like most years, my first century was the Mount Hamilton Challenge. It is a favorite of mine for several reasons. First, it is a challenging ride of 200 kilometers with 8000 feet elevation gain. Second, the route goes on roads that I do not ride on at other times. Third, it is well organized but yet a cheap (only $15 entry fee) and low-key event. The cost is kept down by having the riders provide their own food.

Although I had been fairly regular in my training over the winter, I had done minimal riding the month before the actual ride. This was, of course, due to the fact that my son was born just 9 days before the event. I thought my conditioning was at a sufficient level, but I would find out for sure only when I tried it.

6:00am, 0 miles, 0 feet (start)

I did most of my preparation the night before. So after I got up at 5:00am, I got ready leisurely. The plan was for my father to come by and drop me off at the start, and to bring with him a donut for breakfast. Unfortunately, we did not realize that the local donut store does not open so early on weekends. So I ended up eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich instead.

The registration for the event officially opens at 6:00am, and I wanted to get there at that time so that I could start quickly and finish that much sooner. There were already a handful of other riders there before me. I got registered quickly since the main crowd had not all come yet.

My father was amused that out of the roughly 15 riders starting at that time, it looked like I was the youngest. At least a couple riders were close to my father's age. Cycling is certainly an activity that one can continue doing into advanced age. But the real reason for this observed age skew is that the younger, stronger riders tend to start later since they are faster and do not need as much time to finish.

The temperature was in the low 50's, which is cool but not too cold for me. I did not need my heavier jacket. Instead it was enough to wear the light rain jacket that I always keep folded in my bike bag. This saved me the trouble of having extra clothing that I would need to stow and carry when it got warmer.

The ride up the mountain was pleasant. Last year is was tremendously windy, but this year it was sunny and clear. I did notice more car traffic going uphill than I am used to. When I got to Grant Ranch Park at half-way point of the climb, it was apparent why there were so many cars. There was some kind of event going on there, and it appeared to be a running event. There were banners and loud music, which faded slowly as I climbed past.

I made sure to keep a slow pace. Sometimes one unconsciously matches the speed of the other riders in the event. Instead, I made a conscious attempt to go slower than I normally would in an event to conserve energy for the end of day. The climb from the valley floor to the top of Mt Hamilton makes up half of the climbing for the whole ride.

9:40am, 35 miles, 4300 feet (Lick Observatory) [20 minutes break]

As usual, I reached the first rest stop and quickly searched for a sunny spot to eat. It was warm in the sun, but a cool breeze was blowing. I was still ahead of most of the pack so it was not as crowded here as I had experience earlier years. I casually ate my food, then continued on.

The next section was a six mile descent. After going over the summit, it is not at all apparent that I am still within 50 miles of a major metropolis. There is no development on this side of the mountains, only some sporadic ranches. It looks much more like the foothills of the Sierra Nevada than the Bay Area.

After the descent, the road is undulating with multiple small climbs and descents. Here my fellow cyclists vastly outnumbered any other traffic. Although there are extended flat stretches in this valley, there was a continuous headwind which significantly increased the effort to get through this section. Still my conditioning was holding up.

12:15pm, 63 miles, 6300 feet (Arroyo Mocho) [35 minutes break]

The second rest stop is just a bare gravel spot by the road. Earlier years, I had to sit uncomfortably in the gravel. But I was still ahead of the main pack so there were fewer cyclists to compete for the good spots. I found some space on a large log, which was much more comfortable than the ground. I ate the food I packed (potato chips, cookies, and pasta) and chatted with a couple other riders.

The next section was primarily downhill, which mitigated the headwind. Having not done any centuries in a while, my butt started getting sore. I knew that I just had to bear it for a while, because it usually gets better after hurting for a while. Anyhow, it is not a severe pain; it is more of just an annoyance.

The road led to the valley floor just outside the city of Livermore. After being on the only road on that side of the mountains, it is now necessary to navigate the city streets to stay on the proper route.

With this being the fourth time I have done this ride, I was pretty sure I could navigate to the next rest stop just by memory. But I decided to double-check with the printed route instructions we were given at the start. This turned out to be a good idea because I had not realized that this year the rest stop is at a different park!

The park was not far from the previous one, so the way to get there was mostly the same. But for the last couple miles, I was holding the partly-folded paper in one hand and checking each intersection to make sure I made the proper turns.

2:35pm, 92 miles, 6300 feet (Pleasanton) [40 minutes break]

The advantage of having a rest stop at a park is that we had proper picnic tables to eat at and a real restroom. The majority of the climbing was done, but I know that I needed to prepare for the final climbs of the upcoming part of the route. I rested here some extra time. Since we were back in a populated area, I had cell phone coverage, so I sent a text message home indicating that I was doing good.

I ate the same food as the last stop. I made sure to stretch my back and neck since they had gotten a little stiff. When I felt fully relaxed, I continued on.

The upcoming climb is actually gradual and not particularly difficult. It was just a matter of having enough energy and muscle power to do it. I expected to be mostly spent, but found that I was having less trouble than I thought I would cranking the pedals. A climb can feel endless when you have run out of energy, but this time it was over faster than I expected.

5:25pm, 115 miles, 8000 feet (Ed Levin) [3 minutes break]

Although it is not an official stop, I usually stop at Ed Levin Park each year for a bathroom break and some rest. This year, I used the facilities but did not need to rest.

All the climbing was done and the next stretch was the descent back to Silicon Valley. After that it was the final few miles of flat ground by moderately busy roads (not particularly pleasant, but not a problem).

6:20pm, 129 miles, 8000 feet (finish)

It felt good to reach the finish. The ride certainly was not an ordeal, but I had no guarantee that it would be easy. As usual, I declined to have someone come and pick me up. I rode the 4 miles back home.

6:45, 133 miles, 8000 feet (home)
I proved that I kept my conditioning level up enough over the winter to stay in shape for this years centuries. I certainly intend to do more this year. The challenge will be to find the time train with my limited time. I am sure that I can manage to do at least a couple.

2011 Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:39:00 +0000

100 miles, 11000 feet elevation
9:45 total time (8:30 on the bicycle)

Almost at the last minute (well, two weeks before the event), I decided to sign up for another century. I have done the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge (SCMC) twice before. I find it to be one of the harder centuries in the area. It climbs around 11,000 feet elevation, and some of the hills are exceptionally steep.

Following the Seattle to Portland ride, and my increase in training recently, I felt that my conditioning was returning to a level where I could consider the more challenging rides. So, I decided it was worth trying this ride now. There was no unknown about the route. They change the course occasionally, but this year it would be the same as the first time I did it in 2007.

I did make a decision that created a small unknown — my choice of bicycle. I have two road bicycles. I have used both of them for centuries and double centuries. However my older one has lower gearing. I can do steep hills on either one, but I have only used the older one for the very steep hills. That was the one I used for both previous attempts at the SCMC. This time I wanted to try the newer one.

I prepared by riding a training course with exceptionally steep hills on the newer bicycle. I did it without trouble. However, the killer hill on the SCMC route (Jamison Creek Road) is more steep and much longer than any of these. I did not know if I had both the strength and endurance for the higher gearing on that road.

A week before the event, I contacted my friend Gabrielle whom I had not seen for months. I know that she had ridden this event before, so I thought I would check if she was trying it again this year. She replied that she was. It would be nice to meet again.

The starting location is just over a half hour drive from home. I woke up Saturday morning at 4:10am. I had set my alarm for 4:30, but Aasha woke up crying and I decided since I was awake, I would just get up. I got ready and left home at 5:45am and arrived at the start at 6:25am. I set up my bicycle and got registered. Just as I finished the paperwork, Gabrielle came by. She had just arrived so I waited for her and her friend Denise to set up and register.

7:00am, 0 miles, 0 feet total

The forecast was for a mostly sunny day, but we were blanketed in thick fog at the start. It was quite chilly, but I decided that I would not put on my jacket because the course starts with a good climb. Since I had not talked to Gabrielle for quite some time, we chatted as we ascended. I actually kept a faster pace than I normally would have because I kept up with her.

After reaching the summit, the road follows the mountain ridgeline for several miles. It had no extended climbs, but had many ups and downs. Gabrielle sped ahead and I had Denise for company for this stretch. For first half of this part, the road was wet, as if it had rained. The moisture was from all the fog condensing on the overhead trees.

9:00am, 26 miles, 3500 feet total

We all regrouped at the first rest area. It was warm at the stop but we did not linger too long. We left together for an extended downhill run. It was considerably cold, which was a bit of a surprise considering how warm it was at the top. After entering Big Basin State Park, the road has a series of up and down stretches, none too long. Again Gabrielle took off during the climbing.

10:30am, 41 miles, 4900 feet total

Denise and I reached the next rest stop expecting to see Gabrielle, but she had already left. This rest stop comes just before Jamison Creek. This is the steep climb that would be a first for me on this bicycle. Most of the chatter among the riders at the stop was about how intimidating the hill is. It is important to fuel up and otherwise prepare for the grueling climb, so I ate well.

I was feeling very cold at this point, but I had wanted to let myself get to that state (I could have stopped and slipped on my jacket at an earlier point). Previous times, I had overheated on Jamison Creek, so I wanted to start out cold.

I started the climb with a slow and steady pace. As the road hit and sustained its steepest parts, the deliberate pace was not an option. It still was slightly faster than what I would have done on my other bicycle. The lowest cadence I can pedal with my legs is about 60 turns per minute. So given that first gear on this bicycle is a little higher, I necessarily would be going faster than in first gear on the other. This also means I am forced into a greater effort than I would have on the other.

Fortunately, it was not a struggle. Although several cyclists passed me on this stretch, I passed several others. The sun broke through and the air became warm halfway up, but I was in no danger of overheating since I started with shivers at the bottom. I reached the top without feeling exhausted, and Gabrielle was waiting (she had been there for a while). A few minutes later, Denise joined. We left together to the lunch stop that was only a couple miles away.

11:45am, 50 miles, 7000 feet total

I still felt relatively fresh given that half the distance and most of the elevation was done. I ate a big lunch and rested for a little while. We three left together but our paths diverged a few miles down the road. Gabrielle and Denise were doing the 100 km route, which heads back to the finish at this point, whereas my 100 mile route adds another long climb. We said our goodbyes and I thanked them for the great company.

The next section included several shorter climbs before the last big one. I was passed again be a group of guys whom I had seen earlier. It seemed that they were stronger riders than I, considering our differences in speed. But it also seemed that they would periodically stop and regroup, at which time I would pass them. Our total average speeds seemed exactly the same.

1:20pm, 64 miles, 7900 feet total

There was an unofficial stop at a local park before the final big climb. I was the only rider to pause there at that time, but I thought it was a good spot to fill my water bottles and have a quick bathroom break.

Next up was Zayante Road, which I had last ridden four years ago. As I remembered it, it was a 10 mile climb where the first half is relatively flat and the second half is fairly steep. There was a small water stop just before the road becomes significantly steep. I did not need to stop because I had filled up recently. The same group of riders passed me early in this stretch of road, only to get passed by me when they paused at the water stop. By now I nicknamed them "the hares", after the famous tortoise and the hare fable.

2:50pm, 76 miles, 9900 feet total

I reached the final rest top just past the top of Zayante tired but not exhausted. I was having stiffness in my neck and back, so I spent a little extra time stretching. The next section contained a long downhill. Approaching that, the hares passed me but then paused to regroup and clear up some confusion about the route only to have the tortoise (me) pass them.

At the bottom of the hill, we were close to the end, but still had a small climb. Again, there was a small water stop which I skipped, but at which the hares stopped. This would be the last time I saw them.

4:50pm, 100 miles, 11000 feet total

I arrived at the end feeling good. It was satisfying knowing that I had finished one of the hardest centuries in our area without any serious problems. I was hoping to have a lower overall time the my previous attempts, but I had practically the same time as last year. Still, that was not a disappointment.

This year has seen me increase my conditioning to a level I have not had in three years. Considering that I have been able to do regular trainings, and that I have done some difficult events, I am wondering if I should attempt some even bigger challenges. There is a chance I may try to do a double century this year.

2011 Seattle to Portland

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:59:00 +0000

2 days, 222 miles

It has been a while since my last actual event. I just finished doing a new one. A few months ago, my friend Moon in Seattle decided to do this ride and asked me to join him. It is a 200 mile course between the two cities, and riders have the option of completing it in one day or in two. Moon is an experienced hiker and runner, but newer to cycling. He was planning to do it in two days, and I decided I would keep him company and do the same.

This is a big event (10,000 participants!) which has been taking place for 30 years. Since we also had friends in Portland that we wanted to visit, we decided to make a family trip out of it. The plan was for all three of us to fly to Seattle, travel to Portland (me by bicycle, Vaishali and Aasha by car), then fly back from there. Moon booked motel rooms near the course midpoint for us to spend the night of the first day.

Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic

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Knowing that the course is mostly flat, I did not need an intense training schedule to prepare. In the three months I had between when I registered and the event, I simply had to maintain my existing level of conditioning. I only needed to make sure I was prepared for the expected hours in the saddle.

I devised a training route that I did several times. It took me from my home to the ocean and back. This was a total distance of nearly 80 miles. With 5600 feet of total elevation, it is more intense than either single day of STP would be.

We arrived in Seattle Friday morning. This gave me time to assemble my bicycle and for Moon and I to pick up the route map and prepare. Moon had a big dinner that night, but I stuck to my usual strategy of eating moderately in order to build a bigger appetite on the day of the event.

We woke up early Saturday morning and left Moon's house at 4:50am. It was a mostly downhill 4 miles to the starting point on the University of Washington campus. Since there were so many cyclists participating, they let groups of around 25 depart every 10 minutes. We were underway by 5:10am.

5:10am, 4 miles

The first 5 miles required concentration because we had to pay attention to the cyclists in front and beside us. After the pack thinned out, we could just dictate our own pace more easily. It was an exceptionally clear day and we were treated to a stunning view of Mount Ranier on the first half of the course.

7:10am, 28 miles

We pulled into the first rest stop which was quite crowded. They were well organized so we did not have to wait long to get food and use the restrooms. We did not linger too long so we managed to leave quickly.

The next section of the route contained a section described as "The Hill" in the route map. I was expecting something challenging, but found it pretty innocuous. I could see how it might be difficult for more inexperienced riders, but it was nothing compared to what I usually tackle. I had been going exactly Moon's pace so far, but on "The Hill", I felt the urge to sprint to the top. I did that, and waited for Moon to catch up. It gave me time to take off my arm warmers as the day had gotten warmer. Moon arrived quickly and we continued on.

The next stretch was mostly straight, and a bit monotonous. We kept a pretty good speed, and Moon drafted behind me most of the way. I was doing more work riding in front, and he was fighting less air riding behind me.

9:20am, 57 miles

The next food stop was in a large school field. Again, they were well organize d and we did not have to stand in much of a line. We saw that we were well ahead of our time estimate, so we texted our wives about our progress. We had guessed that we would meet around 3:00pm, so we wanted to tell them that we would be there much sooner.

The next section was flat, but not as straight as earlier. At one point we saw a disturbing scene. Just after some railroad tracks, there was a cyclist who had crashed and was lying in the road. Event staff were there and were asking everyone going through to slow down and be careful on the tracks. The rider was lying motionless, face-down in the middle of the street. I could not tell if he was unconscious or just lying still. Clearly he had been attended to because his helmet had been taken off. I hope he was alright.

The route entered a long stretch that was on a dedicated bike path. This made for relaxed riding because we could use the full lane without worrying about motor traffic. I might have been too complacent because I did not see a warp created by a tree root and almost fell off when I hit it. I was able to grab the handlebars tightly and steady myself (all reflexively in split second).

12:00pm, 91 miles

The final stop was smaller and just had snacks. That was all we wanted by this point anyhow. We called the wives to tell them that we were about one hour from the finish. We said "we are at mile 90", and they replied, "we are mile zero." They had their own plans for the morning and had gotten delayed. We told them we would synchronize our status when we finished.

The final stretch went by quickly. Knowing we had time to kill, we slowed our pace a little.

12:50pm, 104 miles

We reached the midpoint. We searched for food, but Moon decided he was not hungry, and I only had a cookie. We call the wives and found they were on their way but it will still be some time until they arrived. We saw that a good number of one-day riders were continuing on at this time. We could have finished the ride that day itself if we could keep the same pace. But Moon had already surpassed his single day mileage total, and anyway, we already had plans to stop.

Our motel was about 20 miles back in the direction we came from. We could either wait for them where we were, or start going that way on our own. We decided to move. We researched the route and found a way to go that avoided the main road.

3:00pm, 116 miles

When the car group came close, they called and we arranged a convenient rendezvous location. They got us and we drove to the motel. Ironically, they met us at the time we had originally planned on.

As we checked in, we saw several others with bicycles who were clearly doing the same ride. We cleaned up, unpacked, and went out for dinner. There was a Mexican restaurant right next to the motel, so we went there and had a good (huge, in my case) dinner.

After dinner, Prabha, Vaishali, and Aasha went to Olympia to see the state capital, but Moon and I went back to our rooms to go to sleep. We planned another early rise the next morning.

5:15am, 116 miles

We left the motel at 4:40. Prabha drove us back to the midpoint which was again 20 miles south. By the time we actually started, it was close to the same time we had gotten underway on day one. The route went through some small towns, and we saw many other riders start from their lodgings and campsites. At one point, we were delayed a few minutes by a train.

This section of the route had small rolling hills and was more scenic than the previous day. We were again lucky to have a clear day and got a clear view of Mount St. Helens on this part of the route.

This morning was noticeably colder than the previous. I was mostly prepared for it, except I only had half-finger gloves. My exposed fingertips got very cold in the morning air. I kept losing circulation in my right hand and had to keep shaking it.

7:00am, 144 miles

We halted at an unofficial stop for a bathroom break and a quick snack. I cooled off even more by stopping, but I was thankful for a small hill that appeared afterward. I sprinted to the top to generate body heat.

8:20am, 162 miles

The day was warming up by the time we reached the official food stop. We did not break long, probably because we took a break earlier. Although the course was still thick with riders, there were fewer than yesterday, when all the one-day riders were mixed in with us.

We finally reached the Columbia River and crossed on Lewis and Clark Bridge, entering Oregon.

Again we witnessed the scene of another crash. One cyclist was loaded into an ambulance while another was getting his arm bandaged. Although it was unfortunate to see, it looked much better that the one we saw yesterday. On a ride with 10,000 participants, it is inevitable that there will be some injuries.

11:00am, 188 miles

We reached the lunch stop and like yesterday, it was at a school. Unlike yesterday, it was not well organized. There was only a single line, so it took half an hour to get our food and eat it. We called the road team to synchronize, and this time they seem to have it timed correctly.

The clear skies gave us a view of the third major mountain peak of the ride -- Mount Hood. Soon after, we crossed the Willamette River. The final few miles were through the city to the finish line downtown. Again here, we got funneled into a group of other cyclists and had to deal with signal lights.

1:40pm, 222 miles

We rolled to the finish and celebrated. There was a party atmosphere. We called the road crew and they arrived fairly soon. We all went a mutual friends' house and cleaned up and had lunch. Moon and Prabha left to drive back to Seattle since they had work the next day. We stayed in town a couple more days to spend more time with our friends and to visit some others.

It was an enjoyable trip. The ride itself, while not much of a physical challenge for me, was fun. It is always nice to do a ride with a friend. And a totally new route is always a treat. I would consider doing it again if I can join friends. I feel like my conditioning has gotten better, so I may try to do some more challenging centuries this year.

Click on the image to see the video compilation from the ride.

See the full set of pictures from the ride here, or click on any of the embedded photos.

Mt Hamilton Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:45:00 +0000

131 total miles, 8000 feet total elevation gain, 12 hours 25 minutes total time (10 hours 30 minutes on the bicycle)

It was time for my first big challenge in a long time. This was the third year I have attempted this ride, but I did not do it last year because I was not in shape enough at this point in the season. I am still not in my best shape, and have only found time for medium-length training rides sandwiched by annoyingly long stretches of bad weather and illness. In preparation, I rode an 80 mile, 6000 feet ride the previous weekend. Having done that without significant problems, I felt that my conditioning was in place for this one.

One problem I found on that previous ride was that my bicycle needed new tires. I got two flats in my rear tire, which I was able to fix because I usually carry two spare inner tubes with me. I also developed a rear flat at the end my last long ride. Getting frequent flats is an indication that the tire rubber has gotten too thin. Before this year, my last flat was almost two years ago. I have put on nearly 6000 miles on the current set of tires, which were the originals when I got the bicycle. This is much longer than most people hope to get from a set, so it was clearly time to change. I made sure to ride the bicycle to work the week before to ensure that the tire mounting was good.

6:15am, 0 miles, 0 feet

I woke up at 4:30am, got ready, ate a couple donuts, and had my father drop me at the start. I checked in, dropped off my packed food, and got underway. The morning air was a bit cool, but since the day was expected to warm up, I decided to shiver in my long sleeves for a while rather than put on my jacket.

Mt Hamilton Challenge

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The loop was ridden counter-clockwise.

The forecast was for clear, warm weather, and I had not noticed any prediction of strong winds. But, before reaching the first climb, we experienced some very powerful gusts. One blew me from the right side of the road completely to the other side, and almost off. I was about to dismount when it subsided. This did not bode well for the day, since fighting the wind can be miserable.

On the 4000 foot climb up to top of Mt. Hamilton, I made sure to pace myself. On previous rides I ran out of energy by the end, so this time I wanted to avoid that scenario. It was tempting to speed up while other riders were passing me at periodic intervals, but I forced myself to operate at about a 70% exertion level. (This is just an estimate since I do not wear a heart monitor.)

Still, the rest stop at the top was not as crowded as I had experienced previously, so I was ahead of the pack. It helped that I started before most riders also. I made sure to sit in the sun because the steady wind was cold on the summit.

9:50am, 35 miles, 4300 feet

The other side of Mt. Hamilton is much steeper, so it is usually a fast descent. I was most worried about wind here, because a sudden crosswind while descending at speed can be treacherous. Fortunately the air was much more still on this side of the mountain.

The remote, beautiful San Antonio Valley on the other side of Mt Hamilton.
Photo by Bill Bushnell.

This part of the route is the most scenic. The empty rolling hills and expansive meadows belie the area's proximity to a major urban center. With all the rain we received this past winter, everything was green and wildflowers were everywhere. Since there are no cross roads and no destinations besides several big desolate ranches, there is virtually no traffic. The only people on the roads were out for a scenic drive. There were many motorcycles, and there was one convoy of classic MG and Triumph cars.

12:35pm, 63 miles, 6300 feet

The second stop was at the halfway point. Most of the climbing was done. Although I had no problem eating at the previous stop, I had little appetite now. My digestive system usually slows down under heavy exertion. Still I did manage to eat the food I had packed. I had a hummus sandwich on white bread (simple carbohydrates and protein), potato chips (carbohydrates, fat, and salt), cookies (carbohydrates), and a soft drink (pure sugar). All of it was the "energy food" that I needed.

The stop was simply a small clearing by the road. Everyone leaned their bicycles against the barbed wire fence while they sat on the ground to rest and eat. At one point, a group of four of five large brown horses came running up to the fence and abruptly stopped. They sniffed all the bicycles on the fence near them, probably attracted to the salt of the riders' perspiration. They intently stared directly at the people near them who were eating, hoping for a handout. I was about ten feet away when one stood and stared at me for a while. When it became clear that I would not offer anything, it blew its nose at me. Fortunately I was upwind, so none of his mucus reached me or what I was eating.

2:50pm, 91 miles, 6300 feet

The next stretch was a long, mostly gradual downhill coast. This allowed me to relax and recover some energy. We descended from the hills down to the town of Livermore. Then we went along the city road west to the town of Pleasanton, where the last official stop was.

The wind was more calm here, and it was bright and warm. I finally took off my arm warmers. To this point it was too cool to be in just a short sleeve jersey. Now my appetite really was gone. Knowing that the next stretch contained the final climb, and that was where I previously ran out of energy, I knew I had to force myself to eat.

It did not help that all day the swirling winds had blown dust, pulverized leaf bits, and other grit in my mouth. This gave me a bad taste that I could not flush. Instead of the 15-20 minutes rest I took at the previous stops, I spent about 30 minutes here in the hopes that the relaxation would kick-start my digestion. I did manage to eat (most of) another sandwich and chips, but I packed the cookies for home.

5:20pm, 115 miles, 8000 feet

I paced myself in the flat section approaching the final climb to conserve energy. The gradual, 1000 foot ascent would normally be an "easy" climb for me, but the question was how many functioning muscle fibers were left in my legs. Surprisingly, there were more than I expected. Instead of putting in the lowest gear and crawling, I was able to keep a steady pace in third gear. Though not particularly fast (I passed no one, three riders passed me), it was much better than I thought. I had plenty of energy and my legs were functioning fine.

As usual, I stopped at Ed Levin Park. This is not an official stop but it has a restroom and I usually need to use it by this point in the ride. But it was just a quick in-and-out because I did not need to rest, and it was downhill and flat the rest of the way.

6:20pm, 126 miles, 8000 feet

I reached the finish feeling good. I was able to keep a relatively fast pace on the final flat section. I checked in, received my ride patch, and headed home. I opted not to have anyone pick me up at the finish since it is an easy 4 mile ride back home.

6:40pm, 131 miles, 8000 feet

I have to call my ride a success. I was worried about my conditioning but had no problems. My final time was very similar to the last two times I tried it.

Now I need to decide what other major rides to to this year. The only one I have signed up for is the Seattle to Portland ride this July. That one is 200 (mostly flat) miles over two days. I should have no problem staying in shape for that. I will probably do one or two local events before that.

Repeat: Two Rock Valley Ford 200KM Brevet

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:25:00 +0000

125 miles, 4160 feet elevation, 10:55 total time (9:15 on the bicycle)

My first major ride in the last three months was the same as the last one I did — the Two Rock Valley Ford 200KM Brevet. This is a good route to be the first big ride of the season because it is long and only moderately hilly. This allows me to objectively assess how much conditioning I lost over the winter.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been cycling infrequently. There was the traveling to see relatives over holidays, busy weekends in between the traveling when home and family priorities took precedence, the flu, and seasonal rain. The time I was able to make for training were rides in the range of 20 to 50 miles. I generally avoided some of the steeper roads which I usually train on because steep descents are COLD in winter. Plus I wanted to avoid slippery or deteriorated roads. I stuck to riding the more moderate hills.

My friend Gabrielle reminded me that this ride was happening last weekend and that she was riding it. It happened that I had no other plans for the day so I registered for it at the deadline — the preceding Wednesday.

Two Rock Valley Ford 200k Brevet

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The route started in San Francisco (lower right point), and we traversed the loop counter-clockwise.

I left home at 5:30am and reached the start point by 6:30am. I checked in and found Gabrielle. We chatted and caught up with each other's activities since we last met. Unlike the same event in the fall, the sun was up before we started at 7:00am.

7:00am, 0 miles

Gabrielle and I were in one of the lead groups that departed. The immediate uphill climb to the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge worked well to warm our bodies and fight off the morning chill. I kept the fast pace for about 15 miles, but then decided I needed to go slower to preserve some energy. Gabrielle sped off with the rest of the group and I never saw her again. I decided to let my legs dictate the pace I would keep for the rest of the ride.

10:00am, 43 miles, 2080 feet

The first stop was at a convenience store in Petaluma where I ate a donut (a good source of pure energy). Since I knew from last time that the store does not have a restroom, I used the facilities at the public park across the street. I was actually five minutes ahead of the pace of last time, due to the initial fast start I had. Although the day was warming up, I decided to keep my jacket and leg warmers on, at least until the next stop.

11:40am, 61 miles, 2480 feet

The next stop was in the tiny town of Valley Ford. Just like last time, I loaded up on simple carbohydrates by eating a small box of crackers and a bottle of soda. It was finally warm enough to take off the leg warmers and jacket. At this point my pace was still five minutes ahead of last time.

2:00pm, 84 miles, 3220 feet

The final intermediate stop was in Point Reyes Station. Here my pace was noticeably slower than before. I was now ten minutes behind last time. Like I usually do here, I ate a big cheese sandwich and another bottle of soda. By now my conditioning loss became apparent. I actually maintained a good energy level so I was not particularly tired, but my leg muscles had nothing left. They felt totally shredded.

All the remaining hills, including the smaller ones, were a struggle. I kept it in my lowest gear and cranked the pedals with whatever my legs could manage. On one uphill section at the 98 mile mark, I felt a slight but odd bouncing sensation. I examined my rear tire and saw that it was not flat, but that it had lost most of its air. Clearly it must have had a very small puncture causing it to lose air slowly. Considering that it still managed to keep some air, I decided to NOT replace the tube but rather to pump more air and see how long it would carry me. I guessed that if I only had to pump it back up two more times before I finish, then this would save time over the work involved in replacing the tube.

As I expected, around the 111 mile mark, I could feel that the rear tire was low on air again. And again, I simply pulled over and pumped it up. I did this again (for the last time) at the 120 mile mark. The day had definitely cooled down by this point and was getting dark. I could have put on my outer layers when I stopped to pump, but I was racing the sun and did not want to lose any minutes that would make me finish in the dark. Instead, I simply pumped frantically and jumped back on.

5:55pm, 125 miles, 4160 feet

The sun had set by the time I reach the finish, but there was enough twilight that I did not need my lights. However, by the time I officially checked in and returned to my car parked one mile away, it had gotten dark.

So the objective measurement of my conditioning loss is that my time on the bicycle was 25 minutes more this time than it was three months ago. The 45 minute increase in overall time also included the three sessions of tire pumping and some increase rest time at the stops. This is not too bad for the first big ride of the year. It should take only a couple more big rides (and several intermediate length ones in between) to get my conditioning back to where it should be.

2010 Two Rock Valley Ford 200KM Brevet

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:58:00 +0000

125 miles, 4100 feet elevation, 10:10 total time (8:50 on the bicycle)

The timing was right for me to try another 200KM ride. This was the final event of the year organized by San Francisco Randonneurs.

7:00am, 0 miles

It was still dark when we started. There was little motor traffic at this time. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and descending into Sausalito, daybreak started and the streets became visible.

The first part of the route is exactly the same as the 115KM Populaire I did a couple months back. The maze of city streets can be confusing with all the turns involved, but I had enough fellow cyclists to follow that I did not need to consult the map. Finally in the town of Fairfax, we started the more rural part of the route, with few intersections and more interesting terrain.

Once we climbed the first small hill, we entered a light fog. The sky was looking threatening, but the forecast said that rain would not hit until the next day. At this point I noticed that my chain was not always staying in the same gear. The shifting mechanism was out of alignment, but I did not want to stop and try to adjust it mid-ride. It was not too bad, and I did not want to risk making the problem worse on an unsupported ride.

On the final hill before the first stop, I had a minor mechanical issue. I tried to shift into my lowest gear, but the chain went off the edge of the sprocket. Fortunately I did not lose my balance as the wheel got stuck while pedaling uphill. I got off, pulled out the chain that had gotten wedged between the large sprocket and the spokes, and I guided it back in place. Each of the riders that passed me as I was stopped asked if I needed help, but I told them that I was fine. I got underway again suffering only from greasy fingertips. But I was careful for the rest of the ride to go no lower than my second-lowest gear.

10:05am, 43 miles

Our first stop was in the town of Petaluma and we had the choice of stopping at either a convenience store or a coffee shop. I thought I would have a better selection of high-calorie junk food at the convenience store. I did manage to get a satisfying donut (danish), but the store had no restroom. It was not urgent for me to use one, but it was a good idea to go at this time. After eating I continued on to the coffee shop and used the restroom there. This allowed me to also wash all the grease from my fingers.

The next part of the route was an almost straight west leg towards the coast through the Two Rock Valley. This part contained rolling hills and a steady headwind. Fortunately, the wind was lighter than usual so it did not make the ride too difficult.

Here, I again came close to crashing. As I approached a medium sized tree, I did not see that it had one dead branch that stuck out at face-level over the edge of the road where I was riding. The rest of the tree was green and leafy, but the dead branch was bare and brown like the hills in the background. Because it was camouflaged, I did not see it until the last second. I was startled as it appeared suddenly in my face. I reflexively swerved to avoid it, but the sudden turn made me feel like I was about to topple. I corrected, then re-corrected, and finally regained control and managed to stay upright. Fortunately the rest of the ride had no more thrills like this.

11:45am, 61 miles

The next stop was at the small hamlet of Valley Ford, which is on Highway 1. This was another convenience store. I was not hungry, but knew I needed to consume more calories. I thought it best to get something easy to digest, so I bought a small box of butter crackers and a soft drink. I could not eat all of the crackers so I took what I could not consume with me. They would be a good emergency snack if I ran low on energy.

Now the route turned south, and the wind was mostly at our back. The rolling hills continued as we followed the edge of Tomales Bay. Here the sky had thick clouds which blocked out a good amount of the sunlight. It felt like later in the evening, but a glance at my watch confirmed that it was still only early afternoon.

1:50pm, 84 miles

The final stop was in the town of Point Reyes Station. Although it is a small town, it is at the crossroads of several tourist destinations so it has a good amount of services and visitors. We could visit any establishment here, so I chose a market where I could get a vegetable sandwich and a soft drink. After eating simple carbohydrates thus far, I thought it would be a good idea to now eat something more balanced. Unfortunately, the eggplant in the sandwich was tough and fibrous. I thought it might disagree with my stomach, but I had no problems for the rest of the ride.

The next part of the route closes a loop before retracing much of the morning route. I usually see many other recreational cyclists in this area, but the threatening clouds seemed to have kept most of them away.

By the time I reached back to the city of Fairfax, the scenic part of the route was over and it was city streets again until the end. I needed to use my GPS unit to navigate through the maze since my fellow riders had spread out by this time.

As we approached San Fransisco again, the skies were clear and the sunshine was bright, so here there were many more recreational cyclists than near the coast.

5:10pm, 125 miles

The finish was at the same place we started, but I could see everything clearly in the daylight. I kept a good pace and kept close to the same time as my last brevet, which was the same distance but with less elevation. However, about two thirds of the 70 riders finished earlier than I did.

I packed up the bicycle and started what should have been the 50 minute drive home. However, I got caught in a traffic jam trying to get out of San Francisco. So, it ended up taking an hour and a half to get home. Surprisingly, my butt got more sore sitting in traffic than during the bicycle ride.

This will most likely be the final organized bicycle event of the calendar year. It is not too cold for events, but with the rains starting and short daylight hours, clubs do not bother to schedule anything now. I hope to find some time to ride on my own and keep in shape.

Next Race

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:20:00 +0000

[official results] [route map] [series description]

This week's entry in the Low Key Hillclimb Series was a hill that I had never ridden before. The road is East Dunne Ave near the town of Morgan Hill. It is about 35 miles from home and in an area that I rarely ride in. The forecast called for rain that day, so there was a good chance that the ride would be canceled.

It was dry when I left home, but 40 minutes later when I arrived at the registration, there was a light drizzle. Normally I would have skipped the risk of riding a slick hillside, but I had already invested in a long drive to get there. Plus, the allure of a new climb was too tempting.

We had a five mile ride to the actual start location. When the time came to start, the rain had stopped and blue sky was starting to appear on the horizon. This made all the riders happy. Because the road is narrow and we had close to 100 riders, everyone was started in batches of around 2o. People self-organized with the faster riders going first. I started with the fifth (the last) group.

Because the group was dispersed by the staggered start, there was less bunching that what happened last week. Still I passed a couple riders early while a few passed me.

The grade was fairly consistent and never exceptionally steep, but I felt I was not keeping as strong a pace as I normally would. I am guessing that the cool wet weather affected me, since I tend to thrive better than most in the heat.

The promise of clearing that we saw at the start disappeared as we rose in elevation. Pretty quickly, we entered thick mist. There was intermittent rain until the end. There was a downhill stretch in the middle of the climb, but I had to limit my speed there. My brakes were wet and had lost much of their effectiveness. I had to keep a speed at which I could still come to a stop if needed.

I passed one rider and stayed ahead of her for a while, but she passed me on the downhill section and stayed ahead until the finish. A half mile from the finish, a cyclist I passed just after the start passed me again. There was one last steep climb before the finish and I passed him there. But I used all my energy and he passed me again 20 yards from the end. We both put all our remaining strength into a sprint finish. But unlike last week, I did not have enough to win the sprint.

Photo by Thomas Preisler.

My final position was similar at 84 out of 86 men, and 94 out of 98 overall. Those numbers sound weak in print, but it was a fun, challenging ride. It was a slow, wet, cold descent back to the car. The long, hot shower at home was heavenly.

Low Key Again

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:22:00 +0000

[official results] [route map] [series description]

It has been two years since the last time I rode in the Low-Key Hillclimb series. These are the informal races done each fall, on some of the steepest Bay Area hills. I could not attend the first two of the series this year. Since they were roads I ride often, I did not miss much. The third one was a new route for me — Portola Redwoods State Park.

The road to the park is a small, remote, dead-end road. After registration at the summit (where Vaishali dropped me), all the riders descended down to the park entrance. Having a few minutes until the start, I rode further down the road into the park and back uphill to warm up my legs.

A mass of 116 cyclists lined up in a pack at the start. Fortunately not many cars came by needing to go through, because the road was fully blocked for a few minutes. The group lurched forward slowly upon "go" since the road was moderately steep right from the beginning. A couple riders had to stop because they were in too high a gear to pedal uphill. One stopped right in front of me. It was difficult to maneuver at slow speed to get around him with other cyclists just inches away from me, but I managed to keep pedaling and get past.

The mass of riders at the starting line. You cannot see me because I am too far in the back. Photo by Bill Bushnell.

The pack soon stretched out to a more narrow queue. From the beginning, I kept a strong pace (for me). I intentionally started at the back of the pack since I knew most of the riders are much stronger than I. Still, several people behind me passed me, but I was also passing a few.

The road never flattened, but fluctuated between moderately steep, steep, and significantly steep. I wondered whether I was keeping a sustainable pace because I was pedaling faster than I normally would on a road this hilly. My final average speed of 7.7 miles per hour probably does not sound too difficult, but considering the terrain, it surprised me to go that fast.

Around the halfway point of the 5 mile course, the pack positions stopped changing much. I had been pacing myself behind another rider for the past mile, but I felt I could pass him and sustain a slightly faster speed. By now we had left road to the park and we were on West Alpine Rode, which I had ridden several times was familiar with.

I did not rest on the flatter sections in order to keep up my pace.
Photo by Judy Colwell.

At a relatively flat section, I was quickly passed by another rider. However, the road pitched up again and I was able to close the distance between us. It felt like he was keeping a pace I could sustain. At a couple points, I thought I had the energy to pass him, but I decided against that because I did not know if I would be able to remain in front of him. I decided I would stay back until closer to the finish. It is nice knowing the road because I knew roughly how far away the finish was and generally which parts are steeper and flatter before reaching them.

As we neared the end, I breathed deep and readied myself for a final surge. When I saw that the finish was 20 yards away, I pedaled with all my energy. I picked up enough power that I shifted into a higher gear and zoomed past the rider that I had been following for the last mile. I actually gained enough speed that I sped past another rider further ahead of him just before crossing the finish line.

I shouted out my number with what little breath I still had so they could record my time. I was panting mightily as I continued on past the finish. Having used all my energy in my final surge, I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. I pulled over in a shady spot by the side of the road and stood over my bicycle to catch my breath. The rider who I had been tailing rode passed and shouted "Great finish!" I only had energy to smile and weakly wave back.

After just a couple minutes I recovered enough to continue further down the road to where there were snacks and water. I did not feel like eating anything, so I just nibbled on a couple crackers and filled my water bottle. My energy came back quickly and I set off for my ride home. I went down the other side of the hill that we raced up and covered a few flat miles to home.

When the results were posted the next day, I discovered that with all my efforts, I finished 97th out of 110 men (and 100 out of 116 including the women). I would have finished two slots further back without my sprint finish. Although this sounds decidedly unimpressive, it must be noted that I am a novice among veterans here. Many of the riders are former and current amateur racers. And most of them have many more years of cycling experience than I do.

I should be able to do a few more rides in the series this year.

2010 Winters 200KM Brevet

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:06:00 +0000

126 miles, 3100 feet total elevation, 10:10 total time (8:27 on the bicycle)

I had a chance to do another brevet this past weekend. It was organized by San Francisco Randonneurs, who also held the one I did three months ago. Most of the route was new to me, which was the main draw. The ride started in the town of Hercules and immediately crossed the Carquinez Bridge. It then continued on back roads to the town of Winters before looping back and returning to Hercules.

7:00am, 0 miles, 0 feet total

I left home at 5:30am and arrived at the start at 6:40, giving me just enough time to set up and register. After checking in, I proceeded to get my bicycle ready. I discovered that the box I packed with some of my gear was left at home. I needed to quickly assess if I was missing anything crucial that would require me to abandon the ride.

I had my helmet and prescription goggles. I had my shoes. I was already wearing my cycling clothes, so that was not a problem. I did not have my GPS unit. However, I had studied the route closely and I could simply navigate with the paper map (the organizers had extra copies) and my odometer. I definitely needed to carry water and I did not have my water bottles. One of the organizers had one on hand that he gave me. I filled it with the water I had in the car for the drive. I was missing my headlight, but we were starting after sunrise, and my normal pace should get me done before sunset. I did not have my gloves or ear covers. It was a chilly morning, but I could deal with the cold until the day warmed. My ride would not be unsafe without any of the items I forgot, so I was comfortable doing the ride. The whole group started at 7:00am.

SFR-Winters-200K-Brevet-2010

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The route started at the southernmost point, followed the loop counter-clockwise, and returned.

8:40am, 24 miles, 300 feet total

The first stop was at a store in Fairfield. Here I bought some bottled water, and made my selection based on which bottle would best be carried on my bicycle and could be refilled. Now I was back to carrying two water bottles and did not have to fear the heat. Through this part of the route, many of the cyclists were bunched together. There was very long line at the checkout. I was buying a small cake for a snack. Since I was just waiting in line, I ate the cake and by the time I reached the clerk, she just scanned the empty bag.

After this stop the cyclists became more spread out. I chatted with a couple other cyclists when we were keeping the same pace for a while. As we neared the next stop, we missed a turn because we were talking to each other. We reached an intersection that did not correspond to the route directions, and so realized we had missed a turn. We backtracked and found the correct branch to take. It was just a two mile diversion.

11:00am, 59 miles, 1000 feet total

Although brevets are unsupported rides, this one unusually had a staffed lunch stop where food was provided. Since this ride is one of the last in the group's calendar year, they do it as more of a social event, and so provide lunch. It was the halfway point distance-wise, but none of the significant climbing had yet started.

The next stretch of the route was the most scenic. It was the middle of the day and hot in the direct sun. There were a couple big hills. The climbs were relatively long, but not as steep as what I usually train on. I had no problem keeping a strong pace.

1:30pm, 80 miles, 2900 feet total

The next stop was convenience store in the middle of nowhere. I only took a short break here and continued. I almost missed a turn again at a junction without road signs. There was a crew of firemen on the side of the road and they were able to confirm for me that the road I needed to take was indeed the one at the junction. The riders were all spread out at this point so I was seeing few of my fellow cyclists by this point.

The remainder of the loop was flat again and not particularly interesting. This section was through Napa Valley, and consisted of vineyard after vineyard. Eventually the route returned to the convenience store which was also the first stop. The loop part of the route was finished. Since it was near a highway, I was able to call Vaishali and update her about my status. I did not have phone reception earlier because the roads were so remote.

3:30pm, 100 miles, 3000 feet total

There was only one other cyclist at the store when I arrived, but several came in while I was there. One of the guys I was riding with earlier suggested we ride together, so I waited an extra five minutes for him. The remainder of the route was the same as the morning. I returned back the the start at the time I expected to.

5:10pm, 126 miles, 3100 feet total

This group is holding their final ride of the year next month. It is also a 200KM brevet, and I will probably attempt that one too.

2010 Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:13:00 +0000

100 miles, 10225 feet total elevation,
9:45 total time (8:30 on the bicycle)

I did this century three years ago, and I have wanted to do it again ever since. I was barely able to finish that time due to exhaustion. I wanted to redo it and finish strong, but each year I had a schedule conflict. This year my weekend was free, but I did not think I had the necessary training.

This is probably the hardest 100 mile ride that I have ever done, due to the total elevation and the steepness of the hills. The Death Ride is comparable since it has a similar ratio of elevation to miles. The Death Ride is 40% longer, but the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge has steeper hills.

In spite of my lack of training, I decided to give this ride a try. I have a good familiarity with the roads in the area, and there are options for cutting the ride short if needed. I knew it would be difficult, but my goal was simply to finish without too much struggle.

6:45am, 0 miles, 0 feet total

I woke up at 4:45am and left home by 5:45am. I made the 45 minute drive to Scotts Valley, the start of the ride, which is near Santa Cruz. It took extra time to get registered because they did not have my name on the list of riders. Because I registered online and paid with Vaishali's PayPal account, they had her name on the list instead of mine. Once that confusion was cleared, I started.

Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge 2009 - 100 mile

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The route was counter-clockwise, starting and ending in Scotts Valley.

It was distinctly cold at the beginning. Scotts Valley was shrouded in a thick blanket of fog, and the early morning sun was not heating up anything. Although my teeth were chattering, I was happy to experience this. One of the main reasons for my struggles three years ago was the heat. We have been having a cold summer this year and today was typical. A cool day meant it was less likely for me to overheat on the climbs. As soon as I started uphill on Mountain Charlie Road, the first major climb, I warmed up. By the time I reached the summit, we were above the fog layer and the bright sun was warm. (Usually the mountaintop is colder than the valley, but not today.)

There was a water stop at the summit, but I had no need to break there. I immediately began the descent to the town of Boulder Creek, and back to the chill. I did not rest long because I did not want to cool down too much. I made sure to eat some high calorie food (cookie, bagel, banana bread) in preparation for the two steep hills coming up.

8:20am, 21 miles, 2225 feet total

After a couple relatively flat miles, I reached the second major climb of the route -- China Grade Road. Although it is exceptionally steep, it is mercifully short (relatively). The steep portion is only 1.25 miles. I knew I would have little problem with it. My goal was to not push myself too hard and use up too much energy. Several cyclists passed me but I found myself behind one who was going between 3.5 and 4 miles per hour. I was averaging slightly more, and I had an urge to pass him, but I decided to let him pace me and preserve some strength. I reached the summit and immediately continued downhill. This was a mini-loop which took me back to the base of China Grade, and to the next rest stop.

9:50am, 34 miles, 4100 feet total

Again I minimized my rest time and made sure to eat. Now I was to tackle what I expected to be my biggest challenge of the day -- Jamison Creek Road. Last time I did this ride, I could not make it to the top without having to stop. This road is ridiculously steep. The grade is comparable to China Grade, but it is nearly three times as long. My previous effort was hampered by the high temperatures, which totally drained me. This time it was much cooler. To my surprise, I kept a steady pace and was not wiped out when I reached the top. The ride organizers measured everyone on this stretch, and my time was 319 out of 470 riders. Although this is not an impressive percentile, it is better than I thought possible. I was in good spirits when I arrived at the lunch stop.

Reaching the top of Jamison Creek Road.

11:00am, 43 miles, 6000 feet total

I decided to rest here more than I had at the earlier stops. I ate slowly and chatted with some other riders. It was nice knowing that most of the elevation has been done and the two steepest roads were past. I headed out 3o minutes after I arrived. The next portion was a long descent to the Pacific coast. This essentially was continued rest time since I did not have to expend much energy.

After reaching the coast, we headed north along Highway 1 and then turned around. This involved some smaller climbs, and I could tell that my legs were not as fresh as earlier. I pulled into the last rest area. Even though I wanted to eat to fuel up, I had no appetite. The only thing I could manage to consume was a can of soda.

1:15pm, 66 miles, 7125 feet total

We then headed back from the coast on the fourth big climb of the day - Bonny Doon Road. It was my first time on this road, and I had wanted to try it for a long time. For the past two years, this climb was part of the Tour of California (professional bicycle race) route. I did not realize how difficult it was. The three miles of consistent 9% grade was not as steep as China Grade or Jamison Creek, but having used up most of my energy on the previous climbs, this one was hard for me.

Actually my core energy was fine. I did not feel weak or dizzy. The problem was that my leg muscles were fully used up and I could not push myself beyond a slow crawl. I simply kept it in low gear and accepted the slow pace. I could tell that I would have no problem finishing, but that any remaining hills (even the small ones) would slow me down. After this climb, we again headed back to the coast, this time into the town of Santa Cruz. Now my energy level did finally crash. But because I was in the city, it was not an issue. I stopped at a corner store and bought a chocolate bar. I felt the effect almost immediately, and I knew the final moderate hill to the finish would be no problem.

4:30pm, 100 miles, 10225 feet total

I reached the end with great satisfaction. The last time I did it, I was dazed and energy-less. This time I felt good. I ate the dinner provided and then headed home. I usually recover quickly, but the next day my legs were much more sore than usual. I expected this since I really shredded my leg muscles. It was a great feeling of satisfaction knowing that I am still capable of riding strong.

This could be my last century of the year. The remaining ones on the calendar are either too far out of town, or are familiar nearby routes that are not interesting or not challenging enough. Still, there are a couple that I could possibly work into my schedule. I will definitely try some more long rides with friends.

Point Reyes Populaire

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:00:00 +0000

115 KM (73 miles), 4250 feet elevation gain
5:30 hours total (4:45 on the bicycle)

My latest cycling event was enjoyable and a success. This was the second brevet that I have ever done (the first being the Chualar 200KM which I did two years ago). It is called a "Populaire" because it is less than the usual minimum 200KM for a brevet. It started in San Francisco, and the "Point Reyes" refers the furthest point on the route which is the town of Point Reyes Station.

Vaishali, Aasha, and I left home at 5:15am. I ate breakfast in the car while Vaishali drove. The starting point was at the visitors area at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. We reached there by 6:15am (including a stop for coffee for Vaishali). This gave me plenty of time to get my bicycle ready and get checked in. I chatted briefly with a couple people before the start, including Michele Santilhano, who recently complete the Race Across America. The whole group of around 150 riders started at 7:00am by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was distinctly cold at the beginning, but I did not want to put on my jacket because I knew the day would soon warm as the sun rose and as we left the fog of San Francisco. Plus I knew that I would build up enough heat with my pedaling. Knowing that this was not a particularly long distance and that the total elevation would be less than many of my training rides, I planned to keep a fast pace for the whole day. In addition, Vaishali had other plans for later in the day, so I needed to finish on time.

San Francisco Randonneurs Populaire

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The route started in San Francisco and headed northwest through Marin County. The loop was ridden clockwise, and we retraced the route back to San Francisco and back across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The first 15 miles of the route passed through many city streets. After that, there were no more issues of coexisting with motor traffic, watching for turns and intersections, and dealing with stop signs and lights. I was determined to keep a relatively fast pace of 20 miles (32 kilometers) per hour on the flat parts of the route. Many other riders were keeping the same pace, and several passed me, going even faster.

I made no stops until we reached the halfway point, which was about 35 miles from the start. We had a designated stop in the town of Point Reyes Station, which I reached 9:15am. I got a sandwich and soft drink at a store, and chatted with other riders as I ate lunch and rested a little. After a bathroom break, I headed back at 9:45am. This next part of the route is very popular with cyclists in general, and I was seeing many others now. The day had warmed considerably, but was thankfully not particularly hot. There was one more designated stop, which I reached by 10:30am. I only needed a brief bathroom break, and I knew that I would not need to stop again before the finish.

Although I do not bicycle in Marin County that often, I realized I was familiar with much of the route. Most of the scenic part overlapped with the Mt Tam Double Century which I did two years ago. Other parts, I had driven on at different times.

I stopped briefly at 11:30am to call Vaishali to let her know that I was about one hour from the finish. I reached the end at 12:30pm. My fast pace meant that we had plenty of time for our other plans. Although the route was less challenging than usual in terms of hills, my race against the clock made it interesting.

2010 Best of the Bay Century

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:59:00 +0000

104 miles traveled, 8000 feet total elevation gain, 8:40 hours total (8:00 on the bicycle)

Finally I can write a ride report without complaints. I had enough time to prepare for this ride, and I was fully healthy. The Best of the Bay Century is a ride I have not done before. It falls on an open time in my calendar, so I decided I should try it. Unlike my other centuries, this one is not a complete loop — it starts in one city and ends in another city 35 miles away. So the entry fee includes a train ticket from one city to the other.

I woke up at 4:00am, got ready, and ate some breakfast. I left home at 5:00am and drove 30 minutes to the terminus in Fremont. I met the staffer there who checked me in and gave me the one-way train ticket to the start in Orinda. After a short wait, I and about 10 other participants boarded the first train of the day. It was a 45 minute ride, which included one transfer in Oakland.

About 90% of the riders arrive in Orinda, ride the course to Fremont, then take the train back in the afternoon. These participants have the benefit of starting earlier. I was constrained because there was no earlier train than the one I took.

7:00am , 0 miles, 0 feet

There are several course options because there is a short loop at the beginning and another short loop at the end. Rider can choose to do both, skip one, or skip both. My goal was to do the first loop and probably (depending on time and strength) skip the second one. It seems most riders skipped the first loop. The second is the more interesting one because it includes a steep hill. Doing the route with just one loop still covers 100 miles. I definitely wanted to do the first loop because that part was all new for me.

The Best of the Bay [not exact]

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The start is near the loop at the top, and the finish is the endpoint near the bottom.

There were only a few riders on the first loop, and I chatted briefly with one as we rode together for a few minutes. I asked some questions about the route, since he had done it before. I finished the loop without seeing too many other riders. I continued on the route and the steeper climbs of the Berkeley hills started.

I was surprised that I had not yet reached the first rest stop. Eventually, I sensed that something was off with the route so I stopped and examined the map closely. That is when I discovered that I had missed a turn near the end of the loop. This meant that I had cut a few miles from the route, and that I had missed the first rest stop.

Although I was a little hungry, the main reason I needed the first rest stop was for the bathroom break. Fortunately where I stopped was at a park entrance with a public restroom. I deemed this my unofficial first rest stop. I decided that I could wait for food until the second official rest stop. Fortunately I had eaten food at home before starting so that was sustaining me (plus I was carrying an emergency snack with me in case I could not last that long).

9:25am, 21 miles, 3200 feet

This part of the route was the ascent of the east side of the Berkeley hills. Here there was an option of taking a "shortcut" on a short road called South Park Drive. Although this option trims a couple miles from the route, it actually makes it harder because losing those miles of distance means it is much steeper in covering the same elevation. As I rode along I finally saw the sign for the road and decided to take it. I was puzzled because the road started downhill. I thought this was weird, but I guessed it may start downhill then suddenly turn into a steep uphill. But the road became an even steeper downhill. Then I realized that I was backtracking! I had somehow missed the road at the bottom, so I took it from the top and headed back downhill. By this time I was more than halfway to the bottom, so I decided to go all the way so I could where I missed it. I then turned around and headed back uphill. This time my route mistake resulted in adding a couple miles, so it mostly compensated for my first mistake, distance-wise.

Shortly after, I reached the summit of this part of the route. Normally there is a fantastic view of San Francisco including both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. But at this time in the morning there was enough fog that the Golden Gate was barely visible. The route then plunged downhill into a undeveloped valley (via Pinehurst Road) where I reached the second rest stop.

10:45am, 40 miles, 3700 feet

The staffers here confirmed that the majority of riders had already passed through, because they had started earlier or skipped the first loop, or both. After some food and a bathroom break, I continued on. Although the whole morning had been colder than usual, I really felt the chill now. The valley was holding the cold air, the thick tree cover blocked out the sky, my 10 minutes off the bike made me lose some body heat, and the road pointed downhill for a couple miles (meaning I did not have the option of hard pedaling to warm me up). At this point I was noticeably shivering and my teeth were chattering. I was happy to see the road turn back uphill after a couple miles.

The road continued through an undeveloped valley (via Redwood Road) that felt more like the remote Sierra Nevada foothills than the edge of a major metropolitan center. Eventually the route led into the city of Castro Valley and the third rest stop.

11:45am, 58 miles, 5200 feet

Again, the route left the city and followed a valley on the undeveloped side of a mountain ridge (via Palomares Road). For the first time today, I no longer felt cold as sky fully cleared and the day's warmth finally built up. After not seeing many of my fellow riders for a long time, I managed to pass a couple. The miles and the hills were adding up and slowing me down, but I still had plenty of reserves. As I pulled into the lunch rest stop, I finished the part of the route that was new to me.

12:50pm, 72 miles, 6200 feet

The rest of the course was all on familiar roads, mainly Calaveras Road. As I passed the Calaveras Reservoir, I noticed the high water level that was the result of an extended, rainy winter this year. There were quite a few other cyclists on this stretch of road, most of whom were not part of this century ride. The uphill sections on this stretch were not steep, but they were taking their toll and draining me. I eventually made it to the final rest stop.

2:20pm, 89 miles, 7100 miles

Now I had to decide whether to do the final loop. I felt like I had enough energy left in reserve to do the steep slope of Sierra Road at a slow pace. But considering that I had done it many times before, I decided to save the hour and a half by skipping it. I could get a few things done at home with the extra time. The final part of the route was mostly flat and a mostly uninteresting roll through the town of Fremont.

3:35pm, 104 miles, 8000 feet

The ride ended at a buffet restaurant (Sweet Tomatoes) where the dinner was included with our ride. I indulged in the food and chatted with some other riders. The train station was only one mile from the restaurant, so I was able to quickly get there, pick up the car, and leave for home.

I was glad to have the chance to ride on some new roads. I am sure I will be doing a couple more centuries this season, but I have not decided exactly which ones. There are a couple challenging ones that I want to do, but I will need to improve my conditioning. We will see if I am able to do that.

Sequoia Century 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:15:00 +0000

112 miles traveled, 9200 feet total elevation gain, 10:20 hours total (9:10 on the bicycle)

I was finally able to do my first century of the year. I expected to have done at least one other century by now (in my last report, I mentioned the Mt Hamilton Challenge). But a combination of schedule conflicts, seasonal illness, and not enough preparation eliminated several centuries that I was interested in.

The Sequoia Century is not really an ideal "first" century after a layoff. The course changes regularly, but always contains several climbs, some of them fairly steep. The total elevation is usually around 9000 feet, which is more than most hilly centuries. But it fit into my schedule, so I decided I should just do it instead of waiting for another and risking not being free or in shape.

2010 Sequoia Century 100M

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The route started near "Stanford" and was ridden clockwise.

Another draw for this one is that I would be able to ride with my friend Gabrielle. She is the rider who crashed at the railroad tracks the first time I rode the Sequoia Century three years ago. We coincidentally met again a few months ago during the King Ridge Gran Fondo. After that we got in touch with each other. We tried to do a training ride together, but could never find common times in our schedules (mostly my unavailability). This was a great opportunity to meet again.

Not surprisingly, this one almost got skipped like the others. Four days before the ride, I came down with a cold and a slight fever. I rested as much as possible to allow myself to get back to full health. My illness lingered on with a nasty cough, nasal congestion, and a slight fever. I would have to assess my health on the morning of the ride and make the decision to do it or not.

5:05am, 0 miles, 0 feet

I woke up at 4:00am, and started getting ready. I had no fever, but still had the cough. I decided to try to do as much of the route as possible. The organizers have several support vehicles patrolling the route, so if I had any trouble, I could easily flag one down and abandon the ride.

Gabrielle and I had decided to start the ride at 6:00am. I left home at 5:05am so that I could slowly ride the 9 miles from home to the official start and have enough time to rendezvous. I could have asked Vaishali to drop me and have left home a little later, but I did not want her to get out of bed early to do that.

The sun came out during this short stretch, and I was coughing and coughing most of the time. I spit out so much phlegm which meant I was either too sick to ride, or that I was getting my respiratory system cleared enough to enable the rest of the ride. I was hoping for the latter.

6:15am, 9 miles, 100 feet

After meeting with Gabrielle and her friend Denise, we got underway. This section of the route to the first rest stop starts flat and ends with the first big climb of they day. It also contained the steepest road of the day — the short but difficult Redwood Gulch Road. This was actually fortuitous for me, since it gave me a gauge of my fitness level right at the beginning.

I knew right away that I was not at 100%. I usually feel highly energized at the start of the big ride, due to adrenaline and high food intake, but this day I was feeling slightly sluggish. We all kept a moderate pace approaching the climb. On the climb, I kept a very slow pace (just above 4 mph). It was hard but I finished the steep section without serious problems. On the shallower climb to the summit, I felt drained and was being passed by rider after rider. I finished the steep part just behind Gabrielle, but she had been waiting at the rest stop for a few minutes.

8:10am, 27 miles, 2730 feet

After resting and eating, I recovered much of my energy, and it looked like my fever was not returning. At this decision point, I decided that I should continue. I had gone from feeling that I had a 50% chance of finishing to now a 75% chance. I felt surprisingly strong on the next section of downhills and uphills. A long downhill section gave me more opportunity to rest, in addition to the rest stop at the bottom.

10:00am, 50 miles, 3750 feet

Since my energy level seemed normal, I did not linger too long at the rest stop after eating and a short rest. The next section was a long, but not too steep climb. Here again, I was feeling sluggish. Upon reaching the summit, the course had a sequence of rolling uphills and downhills. Here, again, I felt stronger than expected. Now I was realizing that I had strength to handle short uphill bursts, but not the energy to sustain a long climb well.

Fortunately, with two long climbs already done, we had covered 2/3 of total elevation gain. There was one more significant climb left, but there was a long descent before it, plus the third rest stop (the lunch stop). Surprisingly, after the long descent down towards lunch, I lost some energy. I struggled a little the final few flat miles to the stop. I guessed I needed food and rest.

12:50pm, 77 miles, 6430 feet

Here there was another decision to be made. I was feeling strong enough to do the 100 mile route, but Gabrielle and Denise were originally planning to do the 200 km route. The two routes were the same until this point, but diverge (with the 200k adding an extra loop) after the rest stop, hence the decision. Although I felt it was possible to do the extra 24 miles (and 1000 feet elevation), I though it unnecessary, considering my state. I thought it would be wiser to just stick to 100 miles. Denise had some leg problems which made her also cut back to 100 miles, and Gabrielle chose to just join us on that route.

After eating, I rested a little extra time (25 minutes total at this stop). Gabrielle and Denise left just before I did. I would not see them again until the finish. Even with the extra rest, I felt sluggish after leaving. I basically plodded along at slow pace. There was one rest stop at the base of the next climb, so I just wanted to make it there and get some more rest.

2:15pm, 88 miles, 7010 feet

I barely ate at this stop, but I rested. Again, I stopped for 25 minutes, 10 minutes of which was a short nap at a picnic table. I decided not to stay longer and risk cooling off and stiffening, so I pushed on. Still the energy had not returned as I approached the climb — Tunitas Creek Road — which is several miles and moderately steep. Although my energy level was low, it was not zero. I was able to just keep going.

Somehow in the middle of the climb, I started recharging. As the energy came back, I was able to increase my pace. I started passing several of the riders who passed me at the bottom. They were losing energy as they climbed (which is typical for a steep hill), but somehow I was gaining. There was a small drinks stop at the summit, which I just rode past. It was all downhill or flat from here, and I was feeling good.

4:15pm, 112 miles, 9200 feet

I stopped 10 miles from the finish to call Vaishali. I told her I would be done in 30 minutes and she could meet me then. I kept a strong pace and finished well. Gabrielle and Denise were still resting at the finish so I chatted with them before they left. There was a lot of food there which I indulged in while waiting for Vaishali to arrive. She brought Aasha with her, and Aasha enjoyed a cracker, a cookie, and some nibbles of pasta with me.

I felt good returning home, but had very little energy the rest of the evening. This ride was a test of my fitness level, and I passed it. I was originally concerned about my fitness level, but doing this while still ill meant that I was much stronger than I expected. Now I feel comfortable trying a couple more centuries this year.

Long Layoff

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:23:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I was able to do a serious bike ride. I have only been on the roads once in 2010, and that was a short ride.

This is due to a combination of a month-long vacation out of the country, seasonal illness, a baby to care for, and the regular winter rains. One or more of these factors have made weekend riding impossible.

This has actually served as an experiment in conditioning. I had tapered down my riding at the end of last year, and did no riding in January of this year. When I tried riding my bicycle trainer in my garage in mid-February, I noticed the difference. I was struggling to keep up while keeping a pace lower than what I usually do.

Since then, I have ridden the trainer three more times and rode my usual short training route on a sunny weekend. Now I feel myself recovering my fitness level. Winter will be over soon enough, and I need to set some goals for this year.

I had entertained thoughts of attempting a double century again. I did not do one in 2009. However, I am starting at a lower fitness level and I know I will still have limited time to train. It is clear that I am unlikely to be able to get myself strong enough to do a double century.

Centuries should still be within my grasp. On any single day in 2009, my fitness level was such that I could have ridden a century with minimal preparation. I am not at that level now. If I can find just a little time to ride on weekends, with occasional long rides, I should get strong enough to do several centuries in 2010.

I received a flyer in the mail notifying me that this year's Mt. Hamilton Challenge is April 24. It is probably my favorite century, and I have done it each of the past two years. I really want to do it again. It is about one and a half months away, so it will be a challenge to get into shape for it. I probably will not reigister for it until I improve my conditioning over the next few weeks.

Short, Medium, Long

noreply@blogger.com (Murali Krishnan) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:11:00 +0000

I managed to find time for a "medium" length ride a couple of weekends ago. There is not much to report since it was some of my usual roads (up Old La Honda, down Kings Mountain). I often use the terms "short", "medium", and "long" to describe my rides, but perhaps I should elaborate on what those vague terms mean.

On the face of it, those terms actually mean nothing. What is short for me, may be long for someone else, or vice vera. I use these terms as a quick shorthand to describe the effort involved, so I need to give more precise definitions to make them useful.

Short: 1.5 to 3 hours, 20 to 30 miles

I do not do many training rides under 1 and a half hours. Anything less is not much of a workout and so not that enjoyable to me. For a ride of this length, I need to do minimal planning. I can usually just head out the door after deciding to ride.

Even if the route is hilly, it will not be long enough to deplete my energy. I will not need to eat anything in the middle, and may not need anything beforehand. One bottle of water is usually enough (unless it is a particularly hot day), so I do not have to plan water or bathroom breaks.

My home is on the valley floor, which is at 100 feet elevation. But I only need to travel 6 miles to reach the hills. On a ride this length, I probably will not reach any of the higher summits. I might reach 1000 feet at the highest point.

I usually prefer to do longer rides, so I do a "short" ride only if my time is limited. An example of a "short" ride is my usual Cupertino/Saratoga training loop.

Medium: 4 to 5 hours, 40 to 60 miles

At this level of effort, I need to do some minimal planning. I would probably eat something before starting. I may or may not need some food in the middle, so I will either carry a snack with me, or plan a route that has a food source (store, cafe, etc.) at an appropriate rest point.

I will likely need a bathroom break at some point, so my route will include at least one park with a public bathroom. Two water bottles should be enough, but it is a good idea to have a water stop (which could be the same as the food stop) on the route.

With this much distance, I can reach some of the higher summits. Mostly likely I will reach 2000 to 3000 feet elevation at the high point, but the total elevation gain (including all the up and down) is more likely to be 4000 to 5000 feet. Often I will choose a route that takes me to Skyline Boulevard, where I can look down at my home from far above.

An example of a "medium" ride is the one I did a couple of weekends ago.

Long: over 6 hours, over 70 miles

This length of ride requires most of the day, so I usually have to plan to be free well in advance. I will definitely need to eat a good amount (not just a small snack) in the middle. I will need at least two bathroom breaks. I will carry two water bottles and will need to be able to refill them.

Fortunately, I live in a place where these requirements are not hard to meet. There are numerous park in a 50 mile radius, so it is not hard to plan a route that goes through places with facilities that I need.

Covering this much distance, I would likely require multiple layers of clothing since different areas at different elevations at different times of day could be either cold or hot, and (depending on the season) dry or wet. This is enough distance to ride from home to the Pacific Ocean and back, which requires crossing a mountain range each way.

Another issue for a ride this length is pacing. Because I have a rough plan on when/where I can stop, I need to be sure that I do not exhaust myself between those points. Note that this is not a problem when doing an organized century, because those have frequent rest stops with food, water, and restroom facilities.

An example of a "long" ride would be this ride to the coast (which I have not done for a while).