It Was 20 Years Ago

August 10, 2010

You knew that was going to be the title... Last year, I said that this year, I'd be saying that I can't believe it's my 20th Pan Mass Challenge. Well, it's true. I can't believe it. In 1991, my friend Chris convinced me to replace my aging Fuji Sports-10 with a real racing bike (a Cannondale R600, 12 speed, with downtube shifters), and shortly thereafter, convinced me to join him at the PMC. Since then, three more bikes have come and gone, and my latest, the Look 585, has 20 gears and integrated brakes/shifters. 20 gears for 20 years. Once again, I rode a virtual PMC here in California. The weather has been unseasonably cool in the bay area this year. Ride day dawned with the canyons below our house full of fog. I started the ride around 8:15 at the fire station and descended into Santa Clara County via highway 9, just like last year, but this year I descended into the fog. Chilly! On the mountain crest, where I started, it was sunny and in the 60's. By the bottom of the hill, in Steven's Canyon, it was about 48 degrees and I was glad to have a jacket. Brrrrrr. As I rode I was thinking about the route ahead. Two major climbs; one lesser. Route and profile are below. Note that images can be enlarged by clicking on the image.

Fog in the San Lorenzo Valley. A tiny sliver of Empire Grade is visible above the fog. We will be there later.   Starting at the fire station, as usual

The route. Starts at the center.   The route profile, from Klimb

First Climb Long time sponsor and virtual-PMC veteran Steve had signed up to ride with me. But this year, Steve registered as a virtual PMC rider himself! Great! Expanding the franchise! Like last year, we met in Cupertino, this time at Peet's for an espresso and a lemon scone. We started up Foothill expressway under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures around 60 degrees. In past virtual PMC's we have climbed up to Skyline via Old La Honda, Highway 9, and Kings Mountain. There was only one climb left which we hadn't done before on a PMC: Page Mill, the most difficult way up the hill. It's about 2000' over 7.5 miles, but it gives up the elevation a few times, and in between there are some very steep sections of 12% gradient. This is not Steve's favorite climb, but as it was cool, maybe ... We took it at a reasonable pace, and Steve did fine. There's a water fountain about 2 miles from the top, so we topped off there. Our plan was to join the Tour Of California Stage 3 route at Sky Londa, so we turned north on Skyline. We ran into the fog; jackets again. At Highway 84, I'd done 42 miles. The next 61 would follow the TOC route.     A sage sign. Steve at the base of Page Mill

Entering a tunnel of fog on Skyline. Those are large fir trees ahead which you can barely see.   Lunch at Arcangeli, encore

The Coasters The next segment has appeared on several v-PMC's, including last year's. We descended to La Honda. The fog had disappeared, so... yup, off with the jackets. We climbed Haskin's Hill - a short 2 mile climb at a fairly constant 7% - then decended to Pescadero for lunch at the Arcangeli bakery. Anyone visiting the area should make Pescadero a stop. A fresh warm garlic/herb bread from Arcangeli; a bowl of artichoke soup at Duartes; or a stroll through Made In Pescadero are all fun things to do. We dawdled a bit here, which made the restart very tough. This year, rather than going north, we turned south on Cloverdale/Gazos Creek. Normally, this direction has a tailwind, but apparently, no matter what direction I go from Pescadero, it's always a headwind. Slow going. As well, this road has some construction and has sections of loose gravel. In the worst locations, for example, around blind corners! We both stayed upright, but there were some wiggly moments. We turned onto Highway 1 at a point 14 miles north of Davenport. This stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway is anything but flat. Up, down, repeat. We were glad to pick up a tailwind for a short stint near Ano Nuevo. We arrived in Davenport and found the Whale City Bakery, shown here, which makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies. Another must-see if you are visiting here. We topped off the water bottles then continued south on 1. It was only about a mile until the left turn for the last big climb... The Doon Bonny Doon road is another 2000' climb to a ridge. Like Page Mill, it's flat for the first 1/2 mile, but then it turns up sharply to about 11%. It alternates between 1/2 mile of 10-12% and 100 yds of 6-7% for 3 miles. There's even one short section of one tenth of mile at close to 20%. Unlike Page Mill, you don't give up the climb - there are no downhills. This is a tough climb after 82 miles! Rather than go all out I just found a good groove and stuck with it, periodically doubling back in the flatter sections to pick up Steve who was by now, in his own words, in "tortoise mode". That's when you just put your head down and crawl. Like Alpine Road was for me last year. Back in May, Beth and I were near the midpoint of Bonny Doon watching the pros climb at the Amgen Tour of California (a few pictures if you follow that link). Today, Steve would say "Mostly, we followed the TOC stage 3 route, and I can appreciate what the pros do in a few hours; took me the whole day!" How true. He was quite happy when Bonny Doon Road became Pine Flat Road. It's only flat for about 1/4 mile, but when it starts climbing again, it averages about 5% -- certainly nowhere near as steep as the bottom. Here's Steve cresting after a tough climb.     Along highway 1 north of Davenport. The spec in the distance next to the car is Steve.     Whale City Bakery, Davenport     Steve crests Bonny Doon

Cruzin The last segment of the ride was the descent of Empire Grade Road into Santa Cruz. This has a few very steep downhill sections (12-14%) and a few short climbs on the way down. About 2 miles in, Steve got a hamstring/quad cramp; a short break, some water and a Gu later, we continued on, getting into downtown Santa Cruz. For me, it had been 103.5 miles and some 7700' of climbing; about 7.25 hours of riding. We had a late lunch at Taqueria Vallarta, shown here stuffing our faces. Beth picked us up for the trip back to the summit. Steve was determined to finish the ride, so we dropped him at Castle Rock to complete the route. He followed the same path I did in the AM, and did the same mileage. What's really impressive is that this is more than twice as long as his previous longest ride this year! He put in a stellar effort.

Late lunch at Taqueria Vallarta   Andy and Steve at Castle Rock Another one in the books. Almost.

Twenty It was a great ride. After last year's ride, I was determined to be more fit this year, and I was. I had a training plan and stuck to it. The weather was cooperative too; it's a lot easier to do 7 miles of climbing when it's 60 degrees rather than pushing 90. I was very grateful for Steve's company along the route. We've gone a whole year without a new cancer case across friends and family, and I'm very thankful for that. Over the past 20 years, the funds generated by the PMC have been used to great purpose at Dana Farber. The result, in part, is seen in increasing survival rates of pediatric cancers and breast cancer; decreasing incidence rates of colon cancer and lung cancer; and overall declining rates in cancer deaths. It's fitting that the ride was on my Dad's birthday as he is a cancer survivor, as is my mom. This is why I ride. Thanks for your support!