The 2009 training log

Well not really. This is a few highlights of the last 6 weeks of training for my 2009 PMC. The goal is to do a ride of about 107 miles and 10000' of elevation gain around Labor Day, plus or minus. We'll see how that goes.

Livestrong, July 12th

Beth and I did the San Jose Livestrong ride on July 12. The complete story can be found by following that link. This was about 65 miles and 2100' of elevation gain. I did this 5 days after clobbering my foot. D'oh!

Boulder creek and back, July 18

Wow, was it hot. We recorded 99 at the house, but the back side of Highway 9 can be even hotter. A good descent of bear creek but when I got to the climb up 9, too hot. I could have made sun tea in my water bottles. So, a nice leisurely climb. 34 miles, about 3000'. Ride profile here.

Alpine Road, July 25

I haven't climbed west Alpine Road in a long time. I timed it just right. The hot hot hot weather from last weekend was gone, replaced by cool, foggy conditions in the morning. By 10 or so, the fog was clearing, and even in La Honda, the fog had pulled back. The climb itself is still tough. It starts out at about 3% for 2 miles. I was feeling strong so I decided to see how hard I could push. I flew through this section. For the next 2.5 miles, the climb steps up to 7.5% average, with several sections in the 8's. Hard work. It became more and more difficult to keep up a high pace. With about 3/4 mile to go in the first half, there's one section which is about 12% and that put me on the limiter. I backed off. Still, a good start. The first mile of the 2nd half rolls and averages only about 5%, with a few steps in the 8's. About 47 minutes for the 7.3 mile, 2000' climb. Not done yet, though. There's 12 miles and another 1000' to get home. Total for the ride was 46 miles, 4500'. Good ride.

Felton and back, Aug 2

I needed to do 60+ this weekend, upping time in the saddle, but keeping the climbing about the same. My basic Felton loop is good for that. This runs along Summit road to the Summit Store, down towards Soquel, then into Felton via Scotts Valley. That part of the ride is predominantly downhill, but there are several short climbs, and it adds up. I rode pretty much straight through to Boulder Creek with only 1 traffic light stop in Scotts Valley. I got some water in BC, then continued rolling on Hwy 9 until the big climb. It's 8 miles, but if you include the 3 additional climbs along skyline through Castle Rock, it's really 11. Not bad. Profile here. Foot is still a little bugged by sustained out-of-the-saddle climbing, no surprise. No records on the climb, but strong in spots. Next week, ? Maybe a rerun of last years' ride (72 + 6000') although there's some construction on the Big Basin loop. Maybe Eureka Canyon...

The Big Skyline Loop, Aug 8

I haven't done this ride in a while (profile here). Basically, north on Skyline as far as it goes (Highway 92), then down into the valley. As with a lot of these rides, the beginning goes well. There are lots of shorter climbs in the first 40 miles, but it adds up. The long climb, from Highway 84 up to Kings Mountain, is a favorite. I worked pretty hard in this section, and after the descent down 92 to the valley, I took a short break to fuel up by Crystal Springs Reservoir. There's a nice short climb through the Redwood City foothills along Jefferson then about 15 miles of mostly flat with a slight "upness" along to the base of Steven's Canyon, where the climbing begins. Redwood gulch has not gotten any easier. It's several 14% steps are brutal. Then, there's 3 miles of the Highway 9 climb (Santa Clara side). This has never been a favorite, and still isn't. The average grade is 7% and I've just never been able to get into a groove. Anyway... still a pretty good ride, averaged 18 to the base of Redwood, 15.5 by the end. 73.5 miles and about 6300'. One clif, one banana, and two gels. I needed more...

Old La Honda, Aug 23

What happened to the 16th, you may ask? Well, I had the bike tuned up just before. And as soon as I got on it to ride, I broke a front wheel spoke. Modern wheels with few radial spokes are almost impossible to true in the field, so Beth picked me up. A very short ride. I was out of spare wheels, so ... skipped a week. It's been a few years since I climbed Old La Honda. I met Steve around 9:30 having started near home. The climb is still nice, mostly shaded, but turning south on Skyline is a big slog back to Highway 9. Old La Honda tops out at about 1400'; Page Mill is around 2000'; 9 is about 2600'. There are probably 12 climbs between the endpoints and an equivalent number of descents. A good ride, about 4 hours. Next week... PMC!