THE RIDE (one more time)

I saw Russ at the Day On The Ride yesterday and asked him how many books he had in stock. He said that luckily he had just received a shipment of 200 books so they were ready to go if anyone wanted to order.

So once again I want to encourage you Newbie riders to order Russ' book: "The Ride: How to ride your bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles Without Even Dying".

Russ book is the best thing to read if you are at all nervous about the Ride, want to know what to expect and want to laugh out loud (and I mean belly ache laughing). He will validate all that you are feeling now, and if you have been training regularly with us this season, many of his stories (and opinions ) will ring very true!!

You can order Russ' book on his website at: The Ride (just click here)

Time In The Saddle (TITS)

For the first time ever, I actually feel like I have not been riding enough for this years ALC. That's right folks not enough TITS. LOL! (story of my life)

I hope that makes you "just signed up" Newbies feel a whole lot better: My longest ride since Jan has been 100 miles and that was on one of the hardest organized centuries I've done in awhile (Solvang). Since then my longest ride has been 74 miles and that's it!

So expect to see me at the back of the pack, taking my time on the next few training rides and on The Ride itself. I've decided that this year will be year I ride at a "Social Pace". What the heck, there are so many people I have not yet met since I have been busy running on the Saturdays that I usually ride, this will be a whole lotta fun! Hey maybe this year I'll even get to ride that SAG bus one day.... woohoo!

Now excuse me but I gotta go get my legs massaged...

AIDS Marathoners

L to R: Me, Jose, Raj,Marie,Ashley,Damon,Hannah, Keira (sp?)Cheryl,Allison,Daniel

Just wanted to post a photo of our AIDS Marathon training group. This is what we looked like after running 17 miles on Saturday morning. Look! We're all still smiling (or maybe grimacing)

A ride with Twany, with me as the Renegade...

Saturday night, after a 54 mile ride around Marin, my legs were pretty tired. But I thought what the heck if I can get someone to ride with me tomorrow, I'll ride! So I dropped Antonio Velasco (a newbie I met this season) an email to see if he was going to do Bens ride, and told him if he was I would meet him in Fairfax around 8:30. He emailed me back and said he would be there....

Newbie Antonio Velasco & I

Ben's CAT2 ride was a total of 93 miles from the Sports Basement, but since I was riding from Fairfax it would only be about 54. What the heck, I was going to be riding the hardest part of the route anyway.

I was a "Renegade Rider"- a rider riding unofficially, while Antonio would be riding "officially". Once I was in Fairfax, I ran into a whole bunch of CAT 2 riders, including Dorothy who was now back from her Vancouver vacation and well rested. I said to her, "okay! enough vacation, get on your bike and ride!" She called me a slave driver, imagine!

Antonio was already at the Coffee Roastery, and soon we proceeded over White's Hill and Nicasio Valley Road. Then after a brief stop at Rancho Nicasio, we were off to the Cheese Factory. Riding with Antonio was fun! We got to talk alot, and he learned how to "manage his energy" by not riding so fast in the first half of the ride. The key to endurance rides (like this one!) is to not try to ride so fast, but to save some of your energy for the rest of the ride. This also means, however that you cannot hang out at the rest stops for too long. Get in, go to the bathroom, eat if you need to then get on your bike and go. This is pretty much what we did all day.

Soon we were out of the Cheese Factory and onto Wilson Hill Road, climbing none other than- Wilson Hill! I had forgotten how beautiful this part of the County is. Everything is so lush and green and we saw lots of cows and sheep. Soon we were down Wilson Hill through Chilleno Valley, and on our way into Petaluma.

One of the nice things about riding with someone you started the training season with, is that they do exactly what you expect them to do- because you've trained them! Antonio has been riding since the beginning of the season (October I think), in fact his first training ride was one of my Friday rides. So it was nice to ride with someone who remembered to call out car back, car up, pothole, car right.... all of that. He is one considerate rider and I was lucky to be riding with him.

Once in Petaluma, we stopped for lunch at the Apple Box Cafe. I think we were in the "front pack" because there were only about 5 or 6 riders there once we got there, I must mention that I am RARELY at the front of the pack, so this was a whole lot of fun! We ordered lunch and sat and talked with Charlie and Victor (at least I think that's what his name was). Charlie had a sore knee and asked if I knew if there was a drugstore nearby for some ibuprofen. I offered him the motrin that I keep stored in my seat bag. Soon we were all back on the road.

'D' Street in Petaluma is one long road that becomes Red Hill Road and then Pt. Reyes Petaluma Road. It was a long climb back to the Cheese Factory, but not too too bad because I had Antonio to moo at cows with, and breathe heavy with! LOL! About 3/4 of the way up Antonio had to pee something fierce, so he hopped off his bike and stood in the bushes... I am used to this (heck I usually only ride with men), so I held his bike and looked out for oncoming cars. He was lucky that none came by. Somehow, I don't think I would have gotten away with doing the same thing on the side of the road...

We finally made our way back to the Cheese Factory, congratulating ourselves and I fueled up for the rest of the ride back only about 15 miles for me but another 30 or so for Antonio. On the way back up White's Hill we ran into Charlie, whose knee seemed to be feeling better and I led the way back down White's Hill (warning Charlie about the descent) and into Fairfax. At the Coffee Roasters we regrouped and I led Antonio and Charlie through to San Anselmo, where I bid my fairwell and wished them a safe trip back to the Sports Basement.

All in all a good weekend, although not a whole lot of time in the saddle for me. OH well.

Next Saturday I'm running 17 miles so I won't be at Day On The Ride, but look for me cheering on the road!

Headlands, Tiburon Fairfax and rain...

I love riding other people's rides, as just a rider.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the times I lead rides. It helps me to hone in on my leadership skills, teach others skills, and hopefully impart some much needed information to others in preparing them for the ride. But leading rides often times means I end up riding with the same folks- I generally don't lead the pack, but prefer to sweep and make sure others get in safely.

Today was a great day of riding. I had been invited by Dave T to do a 90 mile ride (the same ride Ben is doing tomorrow) out to Petaluma but didn't think that Daniel would have it in him to do 90 miles yet, and didn't want to push him to do it. (heck I didn't know if I had it in me!) So we decided instead to ride Kurt's CAT 2 ride out of SB, up Conzelman and back down, out to Tiburon and around Paradise Drive thru Corte Madera out to Fairfax- 54 miles.

Since Daniel lives at the base of Camino Alto in Corte Madera, I suggested he bring his house key with him, just in case we got rained out. Luckily we didn't have to use it.

We hooked up with Alkarim, Hector and Mike at the top of Conzelman and we all stuck together for the rest of the day. We stopped in at Shark's Deli and Daniel and I split a sandwich... I needed the protein. Then we headed out around Paradise and for some reason I was feeling a little sluggish. I think I waited too long to eat.

Once in Corte Madera, we stopped in at the Peets coffee on Tamalpais Blvd. It was on the route, and we could see riders going by so we had our coffee and scones/coffee cake quickly and were on our way. Wow I really needed the coffee and sugar, I felt so much better on the way to Fairfax. Of course it started to rain a bit as we rode into Fairfax. The guys grabbed a sandwich at Peri's deli and we met up with Chris and Chris. They ended up riding back with us. The rain was off and on- not too drizzly which was nice. We got back around 3, I think.

One of my favorite things that happens this time of year as well, is that I start seeing folks again who I hadn't seen since back in the fall when the training season started. It's amazing to see the "shape shifting" that has taken place in all those bodies!! Its really cool! You people look so fit!!

The other fun thing is to see someone again, whom you rode with on one of their very first rides... they didn't know how to shift their bike then, they had no cleats and swore they wouldn't get them.... Now they all blow past me like I'm standing still.

It's awesome! I applaude you all!! Only 5 training weekends to go!

Michael's ALC 6 Blog

Michael, my "Ride Husband" (don't worry my real husband calls him that too)

Right about now you are all searching for every little bit of information on what the Ride is like... pictures, blogs, what to bring, etc. I know because I still remember my first ALC Ride and pre-ride "need for info" with great detail. I'll try to impart a little bit of wisdom here in the next few weeks, but thought I'd forward you the link to my tentmate Michael's Blog. It's all about ALC 5 (last year's ride) He's got photos and info and since he's a graphic designer, it all looks really good!

A note from RoadBikeRider.com

Hmm.... I'm hoping to remember this piece of advice on Day 3's ride out of King City....

"Take the bite out of rough roads.

Did you watch Paris-Roubaix on Versus last Sunday? Some riders love the cobblestones and use them to great advantage. They know that other riders, even some great pros, never get the hang of it and hate races on gnarly roads. They're defeated even before the flag drops.

The same goes for fast recreational riding. If you have the skill, rough stretches won't be a problem and you'll even think they're fun. But if you're intimated, you'll struggle mentally and physically, go slow and get dropped by groups you'd normally have no trouble staying with.

The good news is that even at a brisk pace, anyone can learn to handle rough sections. When a stretch of your local pavement resembles the Hell of the North, try these tips:

---Reduce tire pressure. A 160-pound rider should normally run about 100 psi in the rear and around 95 psi up front when on 700x23C tires. But when you know the day's course will be on rough roads, reduce pressure about 10 psi so tires will transfer less shock to the bike and won't chatter as badly in turns.

The importance of proper pressure was just underscored in Paris-Roubaix. British pro Roger Hammond (T-Mobile) flatted and received a front wheel from a neutral support vehicle. But it was inflated so hard that he had trouble controlling his bike on the remaining cobbled sections. "I think it cost me dearly towards the end," he says. "I was bouncing on the cobbles instead of floating over them. . . . I couldn't go over the cobbles as fast as [other riders] with the pressure in the front tire."

Caution! Don't run tires so soft that they'll pinch flat when you clobber a rock or edge of a pothole. You'll need to experiment to find the inflation pressure that works best for your weight in a variety of conditions.

---Shift to a higher gear. Use a slightly bigger gear (smaller cog) than you would if the same section of road were smooth. This lets you sit back on the saddle and pedal with a lower, steadier cadence. It puts more weight on the pedals and less on the seat, reducing uncomfortable jolts.

---Relax! Keep a secure grip on the handlebar so your hands won't bounce off, but don't squeeze it and create stiff tension throughout your arms. Instead, let the bike's front end float over the rough stuff and find its line. Tensing up holds the front wheel rigidly in place. When it hits an edge, it veers. A relaxed grip lets the bike flow."

....The road out of camp in King City is worse than cobblestone! -jb

OH Yeah, and Running too....

For those of you who don't know, or maybe heard the rumor; I am training to do the AIDS Marathon in the San Francisco on July 29th. It is a fundraiser for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation too. YES that means I am doing AIDS Lifecycle during June 3-9th as well as the AIDS Marathon on July 29th and raising money for both. I have made my minimum goal for both, but if you would like to donate to the AIDS Marathon I'd like to ask you to direct your donation to my friend Daniel Gomez here

Daniel is a fellow TRL (my co-lead for most of the Friday Rides) and a Seargant on the Golden Gate bridge. Like me he will be doing The Ride AND The AIDS Marathon and can use all of your donations.... it was Daniel who talked me into doing both the ride and the marathon in the first place!!

How are we doing? Well, the past Saturday we ran a full 14 miles- IN THE RAIN, thank you very much. That was more than half of a full marathon so I think we are doing ok, although I was too tired to ride my bike on Sunday so instead I drove my car up to the top of White's Hill and cheered and rang the cowbell for the CAT 2 riders that day... did the same thing on the way up Cheese Factory hill too. People seemed to enjoy it, or at least they told me so. :-)

So, anyhow please think about donating to Daniel's run. I don't need any more donations to participate, but he does!!

6 more training weeks til THE RIDE

Some thoughts & suggestions...

1. If this is your first ALC ride, you'll want to get a copy of Russ Mendivil's book "The Ride: how to ride your bike from SF to LA without really dying" . It will tell you about everything to expect the week of the ride, and will validate all of the nervous feelings you are having right about now...

You can go to Russ' website for the book. http://theridestory.com/

2. Go buy an air mattress (twin size) at Target NOW-TODAY. No, not a week before the ride, but NOW. Remember there are 3,000 people registered to do the ride, which means about 2300 actually coming along. Target will be out of inexpensive air mattresses very very soon. You can get one as cheap as twenty bucks. Coleman makes a battery powered air mattress pump that takes 4 D cell batteries and that lasts all week.
If you can spend the dough, aerobed makes a camping mattress with a rechargeable pump- the charge will last all week as well.

3. Also if you can afford it, bring 7 pairs of cycling shorts. You will be too tired to wash them (by hand, in buckets!) every evening, and even if you do have the energy to wash them, there is no guarantee that they will dry fully in time. Nothing is worse than putting on a pair of cold shorts with a damp pad on a cold morning. REI has cycling shorts as low as $30, Nashbar.com and Performance Bicycles has them as low as 19.99 , and I think Mike's Bike's big sale starts tomorrow April 17, and I'm sure they've got some good deals and they also give an ALC discount!

And speaking of shorts- once you get into camp, get out of your shorts as soon as possible!! You'll have less of a chance of getting saddle sores and other yucky things down there if you don't sit around in your shorts. Lots of bacteria and sweat, etc will gather there over the course of the week, so get them shorts off when you are done cycling for the day and get "aired out" as soon as possible each day!

4. Instead of a flashlight for the dark nights, get a headlamp. Its easier to use the porta potty in the middle of the night when you have both hands free. And don't forget to look where you sit in the middle of the night... its gross yes, but I could tell you stories... bring a light! And oh- DON'T SLAM THE PORTA POTTIE DOORS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! (you'll be amazed how loud it can sound)

5. I pack an extra plastic tarp for underneath the tent. Michael (my tentmate) and I both have gnarly allergies and since the tents sit on the grass, if I can keep a layer between my bed and the grass we both generally wake up feeling less puffy and itchy. You can get the lightweight painting type tarps and they don't add a whole lot of weight to your bag. Also, binder clips or clothes pins help when you need to dry things out, you can clip them to your tent to dry.

6. Pack a shower cap (you know the ones they provide in the nicer hotels for free) or re-usable plastic bag to cover your seat overnight when it is in bike parking. Someone told me those plastic wrap "covers" for bowls that Glad Bags make work well too. -they sort of look like shower caps. It can be quite dewy some mornings, leading to a wet butt when you get on your bike in the morning...

7. Bring something for Dress in Red/Red Dress Day (Day 5 which is June 7th this year)! My first year, I did not wear Red and I never felt so out of place for a whole day in my life!! Even if it's just a red jersey/jacket because you don't do dresses, wear something RED that day, you won't regret it!


8. Make sure your suitcase/duffle/bag, whatever has wheels. Trust me, even the most experienced backpacker will hate riding 100 miles, then hauling their bag on their shoulders to find their tent space. Get a duffle bag or suitcase with WHEELS and get one big enough to hold your clothes, your sleeping bag and pad/air mattress too.

9. If you are a "good coffee-aholic", then bring your own unless you can stomach dishwater every morning. I pack a Lexan (plastic) french press and bring pre-ground Peets coffee with me each year. I really only need about 4 oz in the morning to be pleasant, so I walk around offering the rest to others. Its a nice way to make friends in the morning. Believe me, by Day 4 you will be coming to find me in the dining tent that morning....

10. Come to the Potluck Ride! It's the best way to get all your last minute questions answered, and maybe even meet your future tentmate! The last training ride of the season (in Northern Cal) will be on Memorial Day. You bring a dish to share, go for a 30 mile roundtrip ride then come back and eat! The Potluck Ride on the 28th of May will be on the Training Ride Calendar soon so look for it.

Lucky Friday the 13th Ride

Sunny skies and 20 or so people went with me back to Pt. Reyes this past Friday the 13th which is usually a very lucky day for me!

I finally got to ride with Dorothy, who I met way back when she first started riding... she told me that she reads my blogs regularly and hey, I needed to update it soon- so here I am.

...and here I am talking to Dorothy.

The day was blue and clear and a whole lot of fun. We rode the Nicasio Loop then went up Sir Francis Drake Blvd to Olema. Once through Olema we stopped for treats at Pt. Reyes Station and the Bovine Bakery- yum!

I wanted to sweep the last leg of the ride, from Fairfax back to the Bridge. Even though this means I get in close to 5pm (hey it was a 74 mile ride), its nice because it means I get to stop at Faifax Scoop for ice cream while I wait for the last riders to get to Fairfax.


I always ride to eat whenever possible. I've just learned not to over eat. That's it, I ride to eat but not to overeat. Scoop is an organic ice cream parlour- teeny in size but big on flavor! Whenever possible I try to talk the riders on my Friday rides into making a pit stop before riding the final leg back to the bridge.... anyone who has stopped for Scoop has never been dissapointed!

Especially Kelly, who loves Scoop as much as I do!!

A first for me...

Not to alarm you.

I got hit by a car in Pt. Reyes yesterday. Well, sort of sideswiped, well I'm not sure if she hit me or I hit her but...

I was coming into Pt. Reyes, crossed the bridge and was turning left onto the street that the Bovine Bakery is on. She was going straight. She didn't see me, and I didn't see her until it was too late. I basically started my turn left, realized she was drivingpast me so I turned my bike right and my left hip and my bike hit hersideways (I think). I went down on my back, hit my head (nice cracked helmet!) and it was actually a whole lot better than it could
have been. Also she was driving a Prius and I think the fact that the motor is basically silent probably contributed to the fact that I didn't realize she was there.

My thick pink jacket was rolled up and stuck in my back jersey pocket so it padded my back in the fall but I got a nasty case of whiplash this morning, and my left hip is sore but no road rash (miraculously) and no blood! Good thing I already have a new helmet to replace it. :-)

I did ride back- but only to Daniel's apartment in Corte Madera (25 miles or so) and he drove me back to my car at SB.

I wanted you to hear about it from me first, instead of through the grapevine although I know a few of you already heard it. It was a good excuse for me to take the day off of work!

This is a good reminder about awareness out there this time of year (especially for me!). And no, you should not tell your spouses/significant others, it will only freak them out!

(my sisters and my mother are already going to freak out because I've not told them either!)

Expo Renegade Ride

April 1st was the day of the AIDS Lifecycle Expo. I had expected to ride the training ride starting from the Expo in GG park to Fairfax, but since we got word that the Bridge would be closed to cyclists in the morning, all rides got re-routed the week before and were all going south instead. I knew the day would be cloudy and foggy so I invited several newbie riders and oldbie riders to join me on a Renegade Ride (aka unofficial ride) from my house in San Anselmo to the Expo in GG park. It was gloriously sunny and warm for most of the day!!

9 people met at my house at 9 am and we rode out to the base of Camino Alto where we picked up 5 more riders and headed over to Tiburon for coffee and pastries at the Sweden House.

Bill, Kimberly & Nicole
Shayne, Kelly,Elizabeth, me, Tammy, Bill, MB the Donald
We ride to eat!!

After Tiburon, we headed toward the Bridge. Poor Loree had a problem with her chain dropping so badly that by the time we got across the bridge she decided she'd head over to the Sports Basement and have someone give her a ride. So she and Kimberly headed over and we proceeded to the Expo.

It was a fun day, tried to win a new bike for our friend Matt who had recently had his bike stolen- but no luck. After the raffle and visiting with our friends, we decided it was time to head back.... a good day with about 54 miles total round trip. (needless to say a very LOOONG day too!)