Bent Up Cycles

Sara Kay's Furnace Creek 508 Record ride report, really

2011-12-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

A nice race report for the new year.
She is the first woman to ride the whole 508 solo, on a recumbent.
45 hours of riding, no sleep!
Happy New Year all!

Link to the race report.

Trike Adaptation for Challenged Athletes

2011-11-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of the shop, and Challenged Athletes everywhere, John Elliott posted a great article on adapting a trike, Adaptation of a trike for racing at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge on Recumbent Journal .

Responding to Ignorance on the Road - A Different Approach

2011-11-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Written by Dana Lieberman

If you have spent any amount of time riding on public roads as a cyclist, you have probably been yelled at, called names, cut off and generally been abused by a small portion of the driving population. Spending any amount of time on bicycling bulletin boards, Facebook Cycling pages, and other online cycling forums will reveal that this is not an uncommon issue. Online, posts like these tend to get people riled up, with posters stating how they handle these situations, how they might handle the situations if concealed weapons were legal in their state, etc. Quite frankly, this battle between auto driver and cyclist has become pandemic as cycling continues to become a more popular mode of transportation. States, counties and cities are legislating solutions, but I think we all have to take some personal responsibility for the ways we interact with each other.

I used to spend a lot of time yelling back at drivers, pounding on cars and generally being as aggressive as I perceived them to be. A couple years ago, however, that changed. I was out riding with a friend on an early Sunday morning and a car passed us too close while honking. We caught up to the car and I started yelling and beating on his car. I unintentionally dented it. He took off and so did we.

15 miles further into the ride, as we were pulling into a Starbucks for a snack, the same car pulls in with a police officer behind him. We each explained our sides of the story. The officer gave me a choice...I could agree to pay for the damages to the vehicle or he could haul me off to the police station for assault on a deadly weapon. I was quite embarrassed by my behavior, agreed to pay for damages, we both apologized and went our separate ways. You see, we are allowed to yell and scream our heads off, but the moment it gets physical, it is assault.

I really reflected on this episode for some time. It made me think about how I managed my anger and how I responded to others' perceived anger. While it cost me my pride and a few hundred dollars, this episode was rather an epiphany for me...I didn't have to let the behavior of others on the road dictate my behavior. I now have a new strategy for handling obnoxious drivers...it is one that keeps my blood pressure under control and allows me to turn a volatile situation into an educational one.

(I will start by saying that I take a very proactive approach to cycling as prescribed by the League of American Bicyclists) The first thing I had to realize was that the vast majority of drivers in the Los Angeles are, in fact, paying attention to what they are doing and don't mean me any harm. This is obvious...thousands of cars go past me each week and I rarely have a close call, let alone a collision.

Second, I realized that most drivers don't have good vehicular proprioception. They just don't know how wide their cars are or where they are relative to other vehicles.

Finally, I understand that nobody ever won an argument by yelling at someone who didn't know they were in the argument. When you yell at a driver for driving too close, have they ever come back and said, "gee, I'm sorry about that, thanks for yelling and cursing at me to bring it to my attention"? I'm guessing no...they probably had no idea what you were yelling about...

So, I came up with a different strategy for managing these situations. My hope was that I could turn these into educational moments where both parties left feeling like the conversation was successful. Here's what I do:

It's generally pretty easy to tell the drivers that are oblivious rather than malicious. And inevitably, I will catch the oblivious drivers at the next light. As I am approaching them, I whip out my cell phone and pull up my photo album of my kids. The conversation starts with "Do you have children?"

Most nod yes.

"Me too". And I start showing them pictures of my wonderful daughters.

As I show them the pictures, I explain, "Since you have children, you probably understand that the most important thing for me is getting home to see them again. They way you just (insert reckless driving behavior here), I get concerned that I won't be able to do that. Could you please drive more carefully next time?"

The drivers typically respond with a sincere apology and something to the notion of they didn't realize how close they were, etc.

I end with something cordial like "Have a great week".

I leave feeling like I communicated my message to the driver in a way that was heard. Hopefully the driver leaves with a better awareness of their driving and cyclists rights on the road. It is more likely to be a win-win situation than if I would have yelled, cursed and dented their car! And I don't spend so much time angry...

Securing a carbon seat to a Bacchetta seat plate.

2011-10-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

This article applies to the Bacchetta CA2.0, CA1.0, Aero, and the one Corsa I know of (JC) with a seat plate.

I first really felt a problem when the seat on my aero pivoted at the base when I tried to shift my butt slightly in the seat. This was at 53mph on a descent in Oregon in 2003, on the Vine Ride Century. It felt like a low rear tire rolling over onto the sidewall. Scary. This was with the stock hardware stack up: 5mm (3mm hex lens head) bolt, thin fender washer, thin rubber washer, seat, thin rubber washer, seat plate, split ring washer, wing nut. In time I discovered that the only way to really tighten it enough, so the seat would not pivot at all, was to use pliers on the wing nuts. I could not on the drive side as my bolt was under under the idler brace. The 3mm bolt heads could not withstand enough torque to get the seat tight enough for me. Even so, after a few months I discovered that my seat has been moving slowly back, as the threads on the bolts had chewed up the carbon in both holes. I can't seem to tighten the bolts enough to keep the carbon in one place. Instead of holes I now had a slotted seat.

After several iterations, I settled on this, and this is what we do at the shop today. To be honest it looks a lot like what Optima does. Drill out the holes in the seat plate with a 1/4" bit so they will just accept a 6mm bolt (4mm hex flat head). We drill out the seat too with a 9/32 bit, to accommodate the head of the flat head bolt. We have a jig for this that allows us to drill the seat centered and straight every time. The jig has multiple drill guides that can be used depending on seat angle. You want the seat to be parallel to the plate at the point of attachment. We also have holes drilled some multiple of the seat plate pitch, plus half a pitch, apart. This means you are not limited to seat positions every 3/8", but 3/16" of an inch. This is good as currently the way to dial in your position on a Bacchetta with a seat plate is to get close with the fore aft location of the seat and use recline to get your leg extension just right. That, or slot the holes in the seat. The next jig I build might have holes that allow for 1/3 of the stock seat plate pitch seat position. So 1/8" between each seat locations.

We use a washer with an inside diameter just smaller than the flat head bolt. This washer is quite a bit thicker than the stock one, so it does not flare. It has a smaller outer diameter though. The bolt head and washer can pivot relative to each other which is nice too. Then comes a thin rubber washer, the seat, a thin rubber washer, 7 fender washers, the plate, a split ring washer and an extra long nut, not nylock. Nylock bolts have less thread and are easier to strip. The fender washers are not needed on the older M5 seats, likely not on an Optima seat either, as they have enough space between the ribs for the seat plate. With the CCK or VK seat now found on most Bacchettas you need to elevate the seat with something incompressible so that the ribs don't hit the sides of the plate. I am working on a lighter solution for that.

If you tighten the bolts enough, the rubber washer will ooze out the sides of the washer quite a bit. Also If you wheel your bike up to a wall, and put the wheels right in the v formed by the wall and the floor, and now hold the bars in one hand and the seat back in the other and twist, you will find the seat no longer moves independently of the frame tube. Your cornering confidence should improve. You should feel one with the bike. Shifting your self in the seat should not be accompanied by the sensation of a low rear tire. Once the seat is no longer pivoting, the seat struts play no role in laterally bracing the seat. The odds are they will never crack. If you tighten the bolts enough, they will not come loose either.

There is a downside to all this, and this is Bacchettas concern: you cannot go changing your seat angle without first loosening these bolts and you may even have to drill new holes in the seat if you change the seat angle a lot. You need to be bolting the part of the seat that is closest to parallel to the plate. You cannot pull the grenade pins and shove the seat down to fit the bike in a vehicle either. Thats a great way to crack a seat too.

The upside is this: you may find some threads on using RANS struts or some custom brace in an attempt to stiffen up the seat laterally. The seat does not flex laterally, it only moves if the base bolts area not properly secured. Once you bolt your seat base down so it cannot pivot, none of these modification with have any affect on seat movement at all. The issue has already been addressed. The struts just keep the seat from landing on the rear tire once you sit on the bike.

We do use nylock nuts on the bolts holding the seat struts to the rear dropouts on the frame. These are just to make sure the bolts never loosen, they do not have to withstand a lot of torque. Its our belief that although checking fittings every once in a while is a great habit to have, nothing should require frequent tightening.

Call me at the shop if you have any questions.

High Baron ZR with U-Bar (Tweener)!

2011-09-24T16:47:00.001-07:00

This bike was very popular at Recumbent Cycle Con last Sunday. People liked the sensation of having close to even weight distribution between the wheels, and the lower seat height than most other dual 700c wheeled bikes. The U-bar was more popular than the tiller as it made it easier to sit upright in the seat at stops and get on and off the bike.

We actually have 3 of these in stock now, 2 with a U bar and one with a tiller. We also have low Barons with both bars built up and ready to go. We have a Cougar too!!

JV, Why Do I Struggle in the Mountains?

2011-09-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a table of what happens to humans ability to produce power as altitude goes up, due to lower partial pressure of oxygen:

Use the Bassett non-acclimatized column if you have not been training at altitude for over 2 weeks. A rough rule is to subtract 10% of your power at sea level for every 5000' you go up. Also note that the gains from acclimatization are not huge. We used this on RAAM to keep from going into the red through the Rockies. Over Wolf Creek Pass (10,800') my power was down a bit over 20%, but it felt like my perceived exertion was just the same as it had been for the last 2 days. I was breathing pretty hard too, as some of you may have seen in the video.

Note the implication here: if you drop 5000', you will gain power, assuming you are not a non-responder, according to the percentage gain for a non acclimatized person, but from your acclimatized level, due to extra red blood cells! This means you may be at 105% for a while. This effect will fade in a few months.

Aerodynamic drag goes down with altitude, so you may descend faster. Many records are set at 6000' to 7000' elevation because of this.

On acclimatization to altitude:
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/acclimatization-to-altitude.html
http://www.sportsci.org/traintech/altitude/wgh.html
The take away from this is that unless you can spend a bare minimum of 2 weeks training at altitude, you are better off showing up just before the event and doing it. Roughly a third of the population are non-responders, meaning no amount of training at altitude will lead to any physiological adaptation. My brother is a non-responder, but I have never had a chance to find out if I am.

Also make sure you take care of yourself just like on all your other rides:

Nutrition (~250cal and hour?), hydration (bottle and hour?), and electrolyte intake.
Could you lighten your bike and gear up and still be prepared for the event?
Get some lower rolling resistance tires that will still be durable enough for the event? Here is the data: http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf
Keep your cadence up in the zone where you are most efficient. don't let itr drop 30 revolutions just because you are climbing. Get more gears if you need them.
Biggest predictor of climbing performance is power to weight ratio. Shed pounds or get better at producing aerobic power, whichever is easiest.

Hope this helps!

CA2.0 Stock

2011-09-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

For those of you still eying my favorite bike: We've got one CA2.0 left in stock. Its a Large 700c Sport Spec, $3199. We could sell it as a frame kit too, or as one of the CA2.0 ZR spec bikes as well if needed.

The new High Baron built up.

2011-09-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

So its occurred to me, after I had Matt built it, that a shorter rider, who is after 700c wheels, might want to sit fully upright in the seat. For that reason I expect this model will get the U-bar treatment on subsequent builds for stock.

The red looks really nice in the sun!

Calabassas Tunnel of Trees

2011-09-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is a short piece of my commute home. This is just after I leave the San Fernando Valley. Its a great place for testing headlights, as you go over 45mph a few times, and the tunnel of trees makes the hot spot of the light very defined all the way around. Note the signs getting a bit bright, thats from my headlight. There really are no challenging turns on this one. The compression right before the sunset can be tricky if you are not ready for it though.

Oh, this is a GoPro HD camera with a RageCams 2.8mm lens set at 720p and 60fps. I thought this camera was toast after I crashed and ground the lens to nothing on the asphalt. This lens is supposed to just about eliminate the fish-eye.

Thanks to Willie for the prototype light, and the RageCams tip!

Calabassas Tunnel of Trees from Bent Up Cycles on Vimeo.

BWR 2011 - Let's bring it home. Part 8

2011-09-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

After getting about four hours of sleep, Roland, Hiroshi and I woke up at midnight and hit the road at about 1am. They had oatmeal, I had a sticky pecan roll for breakfast. A group of four riders had left before us, but we were pretty sure we would catch them, given the terrain.

The first 50 miles were just like the last, only it was dark! Traffic was non-existent, and we just rolled along nicely, enjoying the crisp air. At a certain point, Roland left me. I started getting bored and tired and had to make up silly games to keep me occupied. Here are a few:

1. Catch the rider! I could see a couple riders up ahead. Soon, I was passing Chris and Luis. I would get a half mile ahead of them, stop for something, let them pass and get ahead of me, and start the game over! I think they thought I was nuts, but it kept me entertained...

2. Morning services. I sang the entire morning Shacharet service, out loud...or as much of it as I could remember!

3. Walmart songs. As we approached Wasilla, we were supposed to go to a Walmart at mile 70. Well, the Walmart didn't emerge until mile 74. Did I mention Wasilla is just mile after mile of traffic lights, strip malls and traffic (it was morning rush hour at 7am)? That damn Walmart because the brunt of many imaginative and derogatory songs.

4. Remember the 80's. Any 80's song was fair game, as long as I was singing it at the top of my lungs.

With these tools in hand, the traffic faded away and I quickly arrived at Walmart, five minutes before the MacDonald's opened. A group of us waited, had breakfast and tried to get warmed up.

The last 41 miles took us via the scenic route into Anchorage. Glenn highway was pretty when we didn't have to negotiate the 8" of clean pavement between the gravel and the rumble strip. Roland and I were riding together, and pushed through the last couple of climbs over the Eagle River area. The last 5 miles or so were all downhill, and we cruised into the finish line at 11:34am. We have 26 minutes to spare! Hiroshi followed us about five minutes later, claiming the Lantern Rouge for himself. A wonderful ride!

BWR 2011 - Denali, Part 7

2011-08-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 7am, ready to go! Today was going to be a great day of cycling. Once we topped out on the Parks Highway a few miles after Cantwell, we would be descending or riding flat to rolling terrain the entire day. Add the short mileage, 125 miles, and the expected beautiful views of Denali and the Alaskan Range, and a perfect day was in order! As we left the hotel, I had to go back to the Chevron station for some food. They actually had fresh cinnamon rolls from a local bakery...excellent! I stowed one in my bag along with a couple more mundane bars, and off I went. Roland had continued on solo and I spent most of my day 20 minutes behind him.

It was a cold morning. It only got colder as I headed for the summit at about 2000 feet. It's amazing how much colder you feel when you are tired...by the time I reached the summit after 10 miles, I needed to add layers of clothing as I knew I would be heading downhill. It was damp, so I sat on my dry bag as I added a layer of clothing and munched on the cinnamon roll I got at the Chevron. Delicious!

By the way, the state of Alaska is very good at telling you when you've reached the top of something. They do it by calling it "summit" whatever. On day one, it was Summit Lake...today it was Summit Airport. When you are starting to get a little brain-dead, obvious cues are very important! :)

Then, the descent began. It wasn't a steep descent, rather just miles of rolling terrain, moving in a downward direction, punctuated by some short, steep climbs. I soon reached the next control 37 miles out, Hurricane Gulch, right as Roland was leaving. Mike was there with his behemoth truck that I think could handle anything Mother Nature threw at it. Great guys with soup...soup IS good food! So far, the day had been cloudy...no views yet.

39 miles down the road, Mary's McKinley View Lodge was waiting. 39 miles of wonderful cycling! Again, the road headed down, no more than about 1%, but perfect for a relaxing day on the road. The sun came out periodically, there were still no views of Denali. The traffic was light and all was good except for my squeaky chain. I guess that's what happens when you don't lube your chain before the ride and then ride 600 miles on it. No problem...a squeak is just a squeak...

The McKinley View Lodge wasn't...that is, it wasn't a Lodge with a view of Denali. That's okay...they more than made up for it with the best cinnamon rolls of the trip. Sticky pecan rolls, actually. Warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate was wonderful (I was trying to stay off the caffeine today as it was a short day of riding in complete daylight). Just to give you an idea of how good these rolls were...I asked the nice young lady who was serving me if she had made them. "No." Good thing, because if she had, and I wasn't married, I would have proposed on the spot! JR, the volunteer who was signing brevet cards said she's used to getting several proposals a day! LOL!

While hanging out and chatting with JR, I learned that Ryan had DNF'd. This made me Lantern Rouge for the moment, but I had plenty of time so I wasn't worried about it. Shortly, I stripped down (it was definitely warming up) and hit the road for the last 50 miles of the day. It was only 3:30pm...plenty of time!

As if the cycling wasn't perfect already (except for the missing views of Denali), it just got better. I had finally dropped off of the descent and was not cruising along "real" rollers. You know the ones...you cruise down one side at 25-30mph and you have a enough momentum to just soft-pedal over the top of the next one. It was truly delightful and the miles just melted away. I passed Hiroshi and relegated my Lantern Rouge position to him.

Two highlights. Bob stopped at one point to make sure I was okay. He was out of wheat thins and chocolate chip cookies, but he had chain lube. Nothing like having a quiet bike again. Second, outrunning a thunder storm! One minutes it's fine, next minute it's raining. Quick, put on the rain jacket and take off. Five minutes later, it's sunny again!

A few minutes later, I crossed the Susitna River, and it was a quick, rolling 20 miles to Talkeetna. The organizers had arranged for rooms and food at the Swiss Alaska Inn...a nice indulgence on the last night. Unfortunately, Beef Strogonoff just didn't do it for me, so I settled for soup, garlic bread, rice and corn for dinner. One more day!

For Part 8, click here.

BWR 2011 - The crux move. Part 6

2011-08-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

This was the day. Actually, THE should be capitalized. In all of my planning, I knew this day would be the hardest, the crux move, so to speak. I wasn't all that concerned about the first day...I've ridden....okay, maybe I haven't ridden 322 miles straight, but I was really confident that it wouldn't be a problem. I was right...32.5 hours on the road with no sleep breaks. Just good times both on and off the bike. But to wake up 4 hours later and ride another 200 miles? Can't say I've ever even contemplated that before. So, here we were...5:15am, on the road, with the goal of reaching Cantwell sometime that night. I knew that after completing today, the last two days would be easy in comparison (125 and 110 miles, respectively, on very easy terrain).

We had a nice 50 mile flat warm up to Fairbanks. The roads slowly transitioned from 2-lane highway to busier, 4-6 lane highway as we got closer to our destination. Roland noted a MacDonald's on our left about 35 miles into the ride, so we stopped for breakfast. We were definitely cutting it close to the control closing times, but didn't give it too much thought (after the 600k mark, the closing times start getting stretched out to eventually give the rider 10 additional hours). The sky was slightly overcast, the temperatures moderate, and there was absolutely nothing to look at other than the highway and suburban sprawl of North Pole and then Fairbanks.

We finally arrived at the Fairbanks control with a couple hours to spare. Saw a few other riders there; Hiroshi from Japan who had blown out two tires and was trying to get to the local bikes shop to buy new ones, Chris Hanson was taking a nap in one of the support vehicles before hitting the road again. It was too easy to get dragged into conversations and spend too much time at the control. But soon enough, we were on our way, ready to hit the two major climbs of the day.

The next two climbs caught me a bit by surprise. It's hard to look at a route profile that spans 750 miles across the width of your computer screen and know exactly how steep a climb is. Well, these were steeper than anticipated. Each climb was about 1000 feet over a couple miles...the first was the harder one, but the weather was clearing up. We finally reached the top and started down the rollercoaster descent on the other side. The views from the top were expansive, to say the least, and quite enjoyable.

Huh? Were's Roland? He had disappeared from my rear view mirror. Slow down....stop...wait...no Roland. This area was much too remote to just leave, so I started riding back up the climb. There was Roland, fixing a flat...much better than the alternative. So officially, I rode one bonus mile, a bonus climb to boot! But you don't leave your partner...

At the bottom, we pulled over to have a snack. Imagine my suprise when Bob pulls up in his car and asks if we need anything. I look at my umpteenth bar, and ask "Got anything interesting to eat?" "I've got wheat thins...and chocolate chip cookies..." Sold...I stuffed my bar back into my bag and sat down to enjoy the gourmet dining.

"Wait, I can make you some coffee." This was getting better.

"I've got some peanut butter here, but no knife." No worries, we can dip. This was phenonemal! We all hung out, enjoying the cool morning air, good food and good company. We were delighted to hear that Bob was assigned to SAG duty for the back of the pack. He would be accompanying us for the rest of the ride! Awesome!

We started up the second climb, refreshed. The summit approached quickly, and then we bombed down the other side through the rolling countryside to Nenana, our next control.

In Nenana, we met up with several riders. Ryan was cruising along with his iPod blasting. Brennan was feeling pretty good, Hiroshi arrived in good time. Pretty soon, we all set off for the gentle climb up to Healy, the next overnight control.

We all leapfrogged each other for awhile. It was overcast and cool, perfect riding weather! As the climbing got a bit steeper, Brennan led the charge, Ryan and Roland carried on without me, and I headed up solo with Hiroshi close behind. A light rain started, so I stopped to put rain gear on in Bob's car, and enjoyed an apple (it's amazing how enjoyable the simple things in life can be on these advantures). Somewhere outside of Nenana, my Garmin 800 had stopped working, so I was left to navigating Healy with the cue sheet. I think it was around 9pm when I arrived...definitely later than anticipated.

The Healy control had pizza, another perfect randonneuring food! I dried off, exchanged stuff in my drop bag, and slowly got myself together to push on towards Cantwell. Roland and I left together, and swore loudly as we climbed the short but steep climb out of Healy!

Of all of the sections, this one was undoubtedly the most difficult. After the initial climb, the first 15 miles went by without issue. It was a long descent down a canyon, dropping down to the river below. It was a blast, my Surefire light lit the way, and I wished it was light out as it appeared to be gorgeous scenery.

Soon enough, though, I reached the entrance to Denali State Park, with its commercial "lodges" and tourist traps, and we began the long climb up to Cantwell. I had a few issues during this stretch. First, the 18-wheeler trucks were out in force, with their bright lights that pierced the gloom (I guess they really need to see when they are going to hit a moose). Most were going the other direction, but the oncoming truck lights were very bright and disruptive.

The other thing that I finally realized was that my own lights were mesmerizing me! I've never had that happen! The Supernova light was mounted above and behind the Surefire light, and it was reflecting off of the housing of the Surefire light. Also, the Surefire light was so bright, that the glare off the wet road was disturbing. I stopped many times to adjust the light angles and tried different combinations of running the lights. As we approached Cantwell, I finally figured it out and was able to ride the last seven miles in a straight line.

We stopped for my quickest control stop to date...five minutes! Get the card signed, get a cupcake and get to the hotel for a shower and a couple pieces of pizza (I stowed them in my back from Healy). It was 2:30am, we were about three hours later than expected, but the room was large, the showers hot, the beds comfortable. We set the alarm for 7am knowing that the next two days would be easy!

To read Part 7, click here.

BWR 2011 - It just keeps getting better. Part 5

2011-08-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to be leaving the Paxsom Lodge. We had one good climb to the top of the Richardson Highway, and then it would be basically 80 miles down the other side. Woohoo! As we climbed higher and higher, several things were apparent. First, a swarm of flies can keep up with a cyclist going 4.5 to 5mph! They weren't biting...just annoying! More annoying because they seemed more interested in me than Roland, who was 15 feet behind me!

Second, it was getting prettier and prettier. The hills on each side of the road were turning beautiful shades of orange and red, the sun was shining and all was good with the world. It truly was inspiring!

As we reached the top, we could see it was raining in the distance. We could see Summit Lake approaching on our left. This calm lake stretched for about 5-6 miles across the plateau at the top, with the beautiful red and orange hills on either side. The Alaskan Range had finally poked its head from out of the clouds in the distance, and the contrast of the colorful hills in front of the giant white mountains was stunning. To top it off, clouds were drizzling rain off at the far side of the lake and a beautiful rainbow had taken flight just beyond the hills in front of us. I have to say, this was the most spectacular view of the entire ride and nearly brought me to tears. We cruised alongside the lake, where it had obviously rained minutes before, but was now dry. (I was so entranced, I couldn't even remember where I was going!)

The descent down the other side was equally spectacular. As we pressed close to the base of the Alaskan Range, the colors and rock formations were breathtaking!

As we continued down the canyon, enjoying the rollercoaster ride alongside the river, we could admire the mountains on either side of us. All too soon, we had arrived at our next control, the Black Rapids Lodge.

We walked our bikes up the dirt driveway that lead around the lodge and to the front door. The view when we walked in was breathtaking (notice, I seem to be using that word a lot)...it was the picture-perfect spot to look at the mountains down a long canyon. Two lovely young ladies greeted us and asked us if we were hungry. The menu was soup...chicken noodle with homemade noodles and russet potatoes or Caribou beef, both made from scratch with homemade bread. It was tasty...really tasty...I had two bowls before getting the bill for $31! It was worth it. We filled our bottles, pet the dog, enjoyed the view one more time, and then headed back down to the highway.

The 38 miles to Delta Junction went by rather quickly. We left the lodge and hit two short climbs, followed by a long 4-5 mile one that brought us over the foothills into the next valley. From the top, it was all downhill as we raced the incoming storm to the control. We won, just barely.

At Delta Junction, we ate a bit, swapped out gear from our drop bags, and pressed on into the possibility of coming rain. It was 48 miles to the next control, and then seven to our hotel. The first 30 were rain free, but further along I could see the storm clouds brewing and lightning crossing the sky. It looked like I was going to get a chance to try out my rain gear.

When all was said and done, it was pretty mild rain. Descending some of the hills at 40mph could be a touch painful as the water stung our cheeks, but the roads were straight and smooth, and we could let the speed go. Roland, in particular, was quite fearless in the rain (he deals with it more than I do), and outran me on the descents a few times (few people can say that).

By about 10:30, we had arrived at the Midway Lodge...it was time to EAT and get dried off. The owner offered to throw our clothes in the dryer (very nice), and I enjoyed a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, followed by a grilled cheese sandwich. Although the owner smoked like a train, the company was pleasant and we were enjoying a nice meal together.

Once finished, we hopped on the bikes with dry clothes (the rain had stopped), and rode the quick 7 miles to our final destination, the Salchaket Roadhouse. They had agreed to leave the key under the mat of room 3 so we didn't have to disturb anyone when we arrived. The room was small but clean, with real, full sized towels. It was 12:30 (we were only a half hour later than planned) and we had been on the road for 32.5 hours, covering 322 miles. We set the alarm for 4:30am and were asleep the moment we hit the pillows!

For Part 6, click here.

BWR 2011 - Morning has broken. Part 4

2011-08-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

We grudgingly packed up and headed out into the fog. Of course, as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, we began a three mile climb up into the darkness The fog had disappeared and we were all way over-dressed! Roland and I left together...Larry was still relaxing and trying to get himself together. Once to the top, we began riding a series of rollers as we slowly ascended to the Hub of Alaska, our next control at mile 119. I can't say there was a whole lot going on during this section. I had the pleasure of riding with Katie and Roland, but Katie left us when we stopped because you-know-who had to pee again.

We arrived at the Hub of Alaska around 3:30ish, tired and ready for some food. A Cup O Noodles and Coke were perfect for me! Before long, I was back to my perky self and ready for the 80 mile climb up to the summit of the Richardson Highway.

Sunrise emerged as we continued along. While some riders have a hard time riding through 3-5am, I seem to get really sleepy right as the sun is coming up. A stop for more food, though, and I was fine. Sometimes, you just need to get off the bike, walk around and eat something to get you back into the spirit of riding.

As we cruised up the road, I started looking for wildlife...it's a great way to keep your mind stimulated! Not five minutes later, I noticed what I thought were two horses in the road (we had just passed a sign that portrayed horses in the area). As we got closer, we discovered it was a female moose with its calf. They crossed the road and disappeared into the brush, and I cursed myself for not having my camera out. Roland may have gotten some good shots, and I wasn't going to let that happen again. We began our climb again, in search of more wildlife.

With our minds fully occupied, we quickly arrived at the Sourdough Roadhouse at mile 151. This was our first real road house experience, and it was quite worthwhile! Who could resist sourdough pancakes dating back to 1896? With a cup of coffee, they were delicious!

The road house was owned by Patty, an older woman who had been in Alaska forever. Her assistant, Shirla, had just arrived from Idaho yesterday and was beginning her Alaska experience firsthand! Finally, the local neighbor (can't remember his name) was hanging around, helping serve pancakes and tell us where to see the best moose, caribou and bears! It was quite the assortment of characters, and even included a genuine outhouse in the back! As far as I was concerned, this was classic Alaska.

After breakfast, we signed the guestbook and got a shuttle ride for 6.5 miles over some road construction. We were approaching the highlands, and the scenery was changing drastically as we got higher. The colors turned to reds and oranges, and the views were spectacular!

We were definitely in the interior of Alaska! We rode along Paxsom Lake to the far end for our 300k control at the Paxsom Lodge at mile 189.

Honestly, this Lodge was kind of a hole. While there, one of the staff complained about all the work we were putting him through (there were about a half dozen of us there at the time), and the food was expensive and not very good. They definitely did not win the best Lodge award!

For Part 5, click here.

Big Wild Ride 2011 - On the road! Part 3

2011-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Now I would like to give you a word of advice. If someone tells you that the local bakery made some "energy bars" for riders, I don't care how delicious they are, don't eat them. I woofed one down about a half hour before the start. They were so tasty, I stowed another two more in my bag.

We headed out right on time. Larry immediately jettisoned to the front, and I chased. Not to race, mind you...I wanted to make sure he didn't go out to hard! We cruised along the first 15 miles at about 125w, taking in the scenery as the sun vaguely started showing itself along the mountains. At mile 15, the course would climb gradually for five miles, and then the 10 mile climb up Thompson Pass would begin. This would definitely be our hardest climb of the ride, 10 miles at 5-6% sustained throughout.

As we rounded the turn at mile 15, we entered a beautiful canyon filled with waterfalls. It was absolutely gorgeous as we rode by Bridal Veil falls and began the ascent up to the summit of Thompson Pass. I stopped near the falls and ate another energy bar, and continued climbing in the company of Tom Parker. Before leaving, I admired the beauty of the area with Veronica, one of the volunteers. Her response..."welcome to my backyard!" And this was just the beginning...

Tom eventually left me as I caught up to Roland. We rode together and chatted for awhile. My goal was to keep the pace conversational...we still had over 700 miles to go! The climb continued further and further up into the mist, until we eventually crested the summit to an amazing view of our first glacier!

The descent down the other side was amazing, and I approached the first control at mile 39 pretty quickly. My goal had been to ascend Thompson Pass by 9pm - I arrived 15 minutes early! I reached the first control at about 9:20...plenty of daylight still left to continue on this beautiful ride through the Chugash Mountains along the Tsaina River. I got deeper and deeper into the mountains as nightfall descended upon me. The massive mountains arising on either side of me were spectacular, until they finally disappeared as dusk ended.

Remember my advice about "energy bars"? I was now starting to feel my mistake. I spend the next couple hours on the verge of vomiting. I didn't want to throw up as that could lead to dehydration, so I basically dealt with it, scaled back the eating and drank only water. By about mile 80, my stomach had returned and I felt incredibly lucky that this incident had not derailed my ride.

So let's talk about riding on a deserted highway at night in Alaska. As night descended, I started thinking of all of the warnings I had heard...bears, bad roads, moose...and quickly put that all out of my head. I was having too much fun! I wasn't carrying any dead salmon on me, so I wasn't worried about any bears jumping out at me, and I wasn't going fast enough to be worried about hitting any moose. The roads were good, there were cyclists in front of me and behind me, and I insisted on enjoying the night!

At mile 75, I finally caught up with the group in front of me. I could see their lights in the distance, but it seemed like every time I would get close to catching up, I would have to pee. As the road started dropping away towards our second control, we were enveloped in a dense fog and it definitely got cold! We cruised down the road until we saw a car parked in a driveway that started flashing its lights...we made it to mile 83! We rode 100 yards down a dirt road, and were welcomed into our first Alaskan lodge experience, the Tonsina Lodge!

Anna had set up quite a spread for us, and it was easy to sit back, enjoy some wonderful soup, mild pasta and rice, with a cup of coffee, and get warmed back up! The owner was like my grandmother...she kept pushing us to eat, eat, eat! Given the state of my stomach, I took it real easy and didn't sample all of the eastern European delights she had spread on the table. It was hard to leave, but we finally did!

To read Part 4, click here.

BWR 2011 - Getting there is half the fun! Part 2

2011-08-29T15:36:00.001-07:00

They say that getting there is half the fun. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it was enjoyable. I met Andy Sorenson at the Gold Rush Randonee in 2009. He lives in Anchorage and was off to do PBP while we would be in Alaska. So, he offered us the use of his house as a home base! How cool was that! So, Larry and his wife, Christine, flew into Anchorage on Wednesday, while Roland and I flew in on Thursday (separately). Thursday was a busy day as we wanted to get our bikes assembled. Larry and I had a great time getting to know each other as we assembled bikes in the driveway. He was riding his Bacchetta Giro 26 ATT while I was riding a Carbent HPV Raven.

Some of you may have looked at the picture of my bike as I posted it about a week before the ride. Well, it got a little portlier over the week as the forecast became a bit more ominous. I added full rain gear, including pants, jacket, booties (thanks Andy!) and rain gloves. By the time we were ready to leave, the bike was bulging with supplies!

On Friday morning, Larry and I took a nice spin around Anchorage, got lost, found ourselves again, visited Speedway Cycles and headed back home in the drizzle. The weather was not looking cooperative... Later, all of us went to the meet-and-greet at Speedway, and then had dinner at the Organic Oasis. Delicious!

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to hop on the train to Whittier. From Whittier, we would take the ferry to Valdez. The train ride was fun and a great opportunity to meet other riders. Kevin, the RBA, whipped out a giant map of Alaska and we explored the route together. The views of the bay were amazing, and we got our first glimpse of glaciers. I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time...I did!

In Whittier, Roland and I headed for the Orca Cafe for lunch. The salmon sandwich was delicious. It seems that every menu item in Alaska involves salmon, and I quickly discovered that Copper River salmon was quite good! We then stood in line in the drizzle while waiting for the ferry to dock. Again, more good times meeting riders and swapping stories.

During the ferry ride, the weather was once again ominous...glad I brought the rain gear! Roland and I discovered an unfinished 1000 piece puzzle and proceeded to finish it between naps. The goal here was to relax and rest. I knew from past experience that the more rested I was, the more successful I would be on the ride.

Once in Valdez, we headed for the Mountain Sky hotel, got settled and went out to dinner! 10 randonneurs took over the Totem Inn and enjoyed an evening of good food and company!

Sunday morning, Larry and I took a 10 mile spin up the beginning of the course to check it out and make sure that the bikes worked perfectly! The clouds had broken and it was turning into a beautiful day! Perhaps the weather gods would be friendly? One last nap before we start...

For Part 3, click here.

The Big Wild Ride - A 750 mile adventure to discover Alaska's best roadhouses, lodges and cinnamon rolls! Part 1

2011-08-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

"Why are you doing that?" I think that is the most common question we randonneurs get from both friends and strangers. Good question. Why would anyone endeavor to ride 750 miles in 90 hours or less? As I recently put it to one friend, I'm going to ride almost four double centuries in four days, with four hours of sleep between each. I think the response I got was along the lines of "you are crazy!"

Last Fall, a good friend of mine, Tim Woudenberg, convinced me that we should do Paris-Brest-Paris together. PBP is the granddaddy of all 1200k brevets...an annual pilgrimage is made by thousands of cyclists every four years to ride in PBP. He promised me wonderful scenery, great food, and the option of sleeping in a French barn! Although I didn't care much for French food and wasn't all that excited about flying halfway around the world to ride with 5000 of my closest friends, I grudgingly agreed. After all, when was the last time Tim wasn't spot on about a ride?

Well, in January, another friend of mine, Bruce, brought the Big Wild Ride to my attention. He was excited about it as there would be minimal riding in the dark. I was excited about it because I have always wanted to go to Alaska! Since reading Jack London and Walter Morey as a kid, Alaska had always been a destination I wanted to explore. Besides, it was closer, better food (in my mind), and was a ride across a vast wonderland with only 40 riders! I cancelled my date with Tim and signed up for BWR 2011!

Bruce and I began our preparations by completing a (relatively) local brevet series. These rides are 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k, and completion is required to be qualified to ride a 1200k. At the 400k, Bruce made the decision to pull out for a variety of reasons, and I was left to finish the qualifications solo. I ran into one of our customers, Roland Bevan, at the 400k, and we eventually decided to ride together on the BWR. Also, a 2012 RAAM teammate, Larry Graham, was coming along as well. The three of us would conquer the Alaskan landscape!

Here is the route in a nutshell:

To talk about preparations briefly is impossible. The logistics of doing a ride like this can be mind-numbing. I had several goals for this ride:

1. Complete the course in 90 hours or less, enjoying the scenery and the Alaskan culture.

2. As much as possible, ride during the day and sleep at night.

3. Sleep in real beds with real showers (no community sleeping arrangements).

4. Have fun!

Roland was in agreement on these goals, and so I set out an ambitious plan to meet them. Remember, our goal was to finish in about 90 hours...we were not interested in racing the course to see how fast we could do it. To meet these goals, we would need to alter the standard course plan slightly to access hotels on the route. We also had to extend our first day about 60 miles to get on a daytime riding schedule. So, here was the plan:

1. Ride starts at 6pm on Sunday. We would arrive at the first overnight control (mile 265) around 4-6pm on Monday, and keep riding to Salchaket Roadhouse approximately 60 miles further, arriving between 10-12pm. Get 4-6 hours of sleep and continue.

2. Day two would take us to the Healy sleep control 150 miles down the road, and then an additional 38 miles to Cantwell where the Backwoods Lodge would have a room waiting for us. Again, arrival was about 10-12pm. Get 4-6 hours of sleep and continue.

3. Easy 200k day to Talkeetna to the overnight control there. They had a hotel with beds and showers for all riders.

4. Up at midnight to finish the last 110 miles to Anchorage before noon on Thursday.

I knew #1 was doable...I've done it before. My bigger concern was #2. Completing 530k and then getting up a couple hours later to ride another 200 miles was unfamiliar territory for me. I knew that once I got past day 2, the last two days would be easy as they were on relatively recumbent-friendly terrain (read flat to rolling) and significantly shorter.

For Part 2, click here.

Optima High Baron Is Here!

2011-08-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

...and the color is really nice too. For you Baron enthusiasts, check out the new QR skewers to make seat angle adjustments wrench-less. Nice improvement! The fork is 640g with the alloy steerer tube, so a Bacchetta Full Carbon Johnson would save about 220g.

We'll be building it up tomorrow with our signature ZR package: SRAM 10s!

This brings dual 700c speed and choice to those who prefer a lower seat height.

A Whole New Ride: Three-Wheel Bicycles Recumbent tricycle gains ground

2011-08-24T14:09:00.001-07:00

Great AARP article on the benefits of recumbent trikes:

http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-07-2011/recumbent-trikes.3.html

Cheers,
JV

Anticipating the Big Wild Ride!

2011-08-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Next week, I head to Alaska to complete the Big Wild Ride, a 1200K Randonee from Valdez to Fairbanks and back to Anchorage. 1200 kilometers equates to 750 miles, and it is ridden in a period of 90 hours or less. Basically, it is like doing double centuries every day for four days, but without a good night's sleep between each ride. In fact, I think the mental aspects of completing this ride are more difficult to grasp than the physical. Let's face it...after two or three hundred miles, your body is done. It really takes an act of will power to finish the remaining ride. So, how do you do that?

Aside from the nitty-gritty details that I have been reviewing over the last couple weeks, I have spent a lot of time doing some visualization. I spend time envisioning the first, 9-mile climb (the hardest climb of the ride), that takes us to about 2700 feet. I imagine doing it slowly, keeping my power down so I don't burn out, without fretting too much about how long it is taking me.

I have spent a lot of time visualizing the finish. The sense of accomplishment of completing my first 1200K. I DNF'd my first 1200K a couple years ago...I didn't understand the rules and that cost me the event. I'm not making that mistake again.

I visualize all of the problems I may have on the road...flat tires, broken cables and chain, the pure exhaustion of riding, and solve those problems in my head repeatedly.

I've been doing this long enough that I have a good idea of how I handle sleep deprivation, and what my mind will start doing. I imagine wanting to quit, and talking my way out of it. I imagine wanting to stop at controls and hang out, and then imagine kicking myself to get up and get on the bike. I think about all of the mental games I will play with myself over 90 hours, and how I will overcome each one. Trust me, I will feel like quitting...the key is to move past that and keep going. Set short-term goals, promise myself an ice cream cone at the next town...whatever it takes to keep moving forward.

The logistics of this are quite daunting. I need to think ahead and pack three bags of supplies to send up the road. In this planning, I need to account for they varying weather conditions of the area, the time of day I anticipate riding, and everything else that may just come up! Long lists are involved...

I plan to ride with a friend, Roland, who I've ridden a few times with in the past. We ride about the same speed and he is great company. I enjoyed building his Bacchetta CA2.0 for him last January, and he is putting it to good use.

We decided to forego the pre-established "sleep controls" for a variety of reasons. The first is at mile 265. Well, we will probably be there at 4-6pm, which is prime time for riding! I want to see Alaska, not ride through every night, so we decided to push on to mile 322 and get a hotel room where we can have a real bed (no sleeping bags) and hopefully get some good sleep for about six hours.

The next stop is at mile 475. Again, we will probably arrive there late afternoon, and decided to press on to mile 514 and get another hotel room. Same plan...sleep through the night and head out around 4am when it is getting light out.

Our last sleep stop will be at the last "sleep control." at mile 640. The ride up to this stop is through Denali National Park, and I really wanted to see this during the day. I hope we are on schedule so we can enjoy this beautiful scenery! After getting our last nap, we head off for the last 115 miles to Anchorage!

It will be quite an adventure, and I look forward to posting more afterwards!

2011-08-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: John Foote, ultraracepics.com

Sandy Earl to Attempt 24-Hour Unfaired Recumbent Bicycle Record August 13-14

Arcata, CA – How far can she go? We'll find out sometime in the wee hours of August 14, when Sandy Earl finishes her 24 hour attempt in La Conner, Washington. Using the same course that Chris Ragsdale used last year to set the UCI 1000-km record, Sandy will pedal her Carbent Raven around the clock to accumulate as many miles as possible.

UMCA records may only be set on certified courses. Three officials will ensure that the attempt is carried out fairly and safely, and two crew members will be present to keep Sandy moving forward. The racer, officials, and crew will be fueled in part by Los Bagels, an Arcata mainstay.

Regardless of the final mileage, and pending certification by the UMCA, Earl will establish a 24-hour UMCA record for recumbents – no one has attempted this feat on a recumbent bicycle before. Other notable mileage numbers that are in her sights:

12-hour womens' recumbent record: 241.008 (also 12-hour womens' overall record)

12-hour recumbent overall record: 241.473

24-hour womens' overall UMCA record: 439.65

24-hour womens' UCI record: 461.45

Earl's best 24-hour result to date has been 442.6 – at the Sebring 24-hour race this past February. Live course updates will be posted as possible at TeamRavenLunatics.com.

New Blog - poweredbybacchetta.blogspot.com

2011-08-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

We have started a new blog documenting the odyssey towards RAAM 2012. Check it out...we hope you enjoy it!

Carbent USS Skunk Works Project: Raven USSAH (Ape Hanger)

2011-07-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Carbent USSAH from Bent Up Cycles on Vimeo.

Now is the time to get into training and doing events with a power meter!! Powertaps on sale big time!!

2011-07-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been using power as a training and racing metric now for over 5 years. I think I was an advocate of it by the 3rd ride. Powermeters have been getting more widely used in both the pro peloton (a group very resistant to new ideas and added weight) and the Ultra Riding and Randonneuring communities. Prices have been going down and the number of choices have been going up over the years too. Saris (CycleOps), makers of the ubiquious PowerTap hub, has announced a tremendous sale.

SL+ Wheelset MSRP is 1749, now on sale for 1249! Joule 2.0 computer extra.
SL+ Full Kit MSRP is 1599, now on sale for 1049!
SL+ Hub MSRP is 1349, now on sale for 899!

Pro+ Wheelset MSRP is 1349, now on sale for 999! Joule 2.0 computer extra.
Pro+ Full Kit MSRP is 1199, now on sale for 849!
Pro+ Hub MSRP is 949, now on sale for 699!

Both these units are wireless and ANT+ compatible, menaing they will work with several Garmin, and other, computers as well.If you want to convert a current wheel, the labor is $60 and spokes are $1 for straight 2.0mm DT.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions about these discounts, or power training in general.

Cheers,
JV (El Jimador)

The Davis 600k Brevet - a Classic Butt-Kicker Course!

2011-06-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

My goal this year has been to complete a brevet series (200k, 300k, 400k and 600k) to qualify for riding the Big Wild Ride 1200K in Alaska in August. Having completed a full series last year, I knew this goal would be challenging given the time constraints of running the shop. DNF-ing my scheduled 600k in Lompoc in May only made this goal more challenging! So, I decided to sign up for the Davis 600k...a beautiful course up the Feather River Gorge with mild climbs and 170 miles of completely flat riding on the Sacramento River delta! I was looking forward to an easy course that would allow me to meet my goal without too much stress (not that riding 375 miles is ever easy...).

Much to my chagrin, the Davis Bike Club changed the course two weeks before the event to the difficult ride that I completed this last weekend (did I just give away the ending?). The new course, as I found out later, is offered every four years to prepare riders for Paris-Brest-Paris. With two incredibly difficult climbs right in the middle of the course, the goal was to wear the rider down and show them that they could still succeed. Very admirable goals for the Davis Bike Club, very frustrating goals for someone who just wanted to finish the qualifiers and move on! :)

Given the evening start, I decided to try a new strategy this time, and I drove up with another rider on Thursday night. We slept in on Friday, spent the day getting our things together, and then I got another nap in the afternoon. This left me feeling refreshed and rested at the start at 8pm.

The ride starts across the Sacramento delta and I ended up in my usual position, riding solo between the lead group and the back group. As I started up Putah Creek Rd. (apparently a well-known road to cyclists in the area, confirmed on the return leg on Sunday as I noted dozens of cyclists riding the other direction), I could see the tail lights just up ahead of me, and I eventually caught up with Elaine, a local cyclist from Silicone Valley. We spent the next 20 miles yakking and enjoying a beautiful night - the weather was moderate and there was a beautiful almost-full moon lighting up the hills around us as we headed up into the foothills. Elaine was a fantastic tour guide, educating me about the orchards we were riding through, and the upcoming climbs that we would tackle. She beat me up the "dam" climb and Cardiac, but I generally caught up on the descents off of these steep but short 500-footers. Travelling along highway 128, we finally reached our first control at mile 45. I got caught up in fixing someone's front derailleur, and Elaine left a bit before I did.

The next section took me around Lake Berryesa and down into Napa Valley to Calistoga. There were some memorable moments on this section. Notably, I found out what a flock of peacocks sound like when you wake them at 2am! Not a happy sound! More like a group of angry women, screaming at the top of their lungs. Cruising through Napa was great, though. The signs from the wineries were lit up, the roads were empty and the terrain gently rolled away under me. Arriving in Calistoga, I was greeted by a friendly group of volunteers who definitely won the award for "best coffee." It was so good, I added a cup of it to my bottle of Cafe Latte Perpetuem...perfect! I left Calistoga alone, knowing that I had one short climb before rocketing across Sonoma on my way to Cloverdale. The Garmin 800 was guiding me perfectly, and I found my own company quite enjoyable! :)

I am often asked "what do you think about when you are spending so much time riding?" I think it really depends on the ride. Riding at night without companionship can be a little mind-numbing. It's almost Zen-like...I don't really think about anything. It's easy to get caught up into negative thinking, so I make a huge effort to stay away from that. Let's face it, if you spend too much time thinking about riding 375 miles in under 40 hours, you will soon realize how absolutely stupid it is! It's kind of like asking why you would climb Mt. Everest? Yep...because it's there. Instead, I try to focus on short-term goals...the top of the next climb, the next control (and what kind of food are they serving?), etc.

Anyway, I arrived in Cloverdale around 4:30am, and enjoyed a cup of Chevron coffee and donuts with a couple other riders who arrived before me. We all left together under the first glimmers of dawn to attack the six-mile climb outside of Cloverdale. This was a great climb, but my companions quickly got away from me. I chugged up the road, enjoying the emerging dawn and reminding myself how much fun this would be to descend later. Occasionally, I thought I heard my companions up above me, cheering as they crested the next part of the climb. I finally reached the top, did my own victory dance, and began the descent down Mountain House Rd., one of the worst roads on the course!

Up and down, up and down, I finally emerged outside of the Fetzer Winery. On Friday afternoon, I had lunch at the Davis Food Co-op, and I bought a 1/2 pound piece of Vegan chocolate cake to bring with me on the ride. Oh, was it good! I sat down in front of Fetzer winery and had a couple bites of cake and started stripping off layers - it was warming up as the sun came up over the mountains! I then set off for the 17 mile trek to the Ukiah control at mile 160. This was beautiful countryside with many vineyards, cows, horses and greenery. The headwind sucked, but that's life.

I finally arrived in Ukiah around 8:30, and was greeted with the best food of the ride! Scrambled eggs and Vegan, Kosher bacon (okay, not really) was topped off with a bagel and cream cheese and sun-dried tomato and basil wheat thins (oooh, those were good!). Topped it off with some good coffee and whatever else I could stuff in my face, and I was set. I knew I was coming up on the hardest part of the ride, but didn't spend too much time thinking about it. Instead, John, Mel and I took off to climb over Highway 253.

The climb on the inland side of the 253 is only four miles long. However, it is a sustained 10-11% grade. I felt like I was doing leg presses, despite my 27t chainring and 32t cog in the back. Mel took the early lead when I stopped to strip off several layers of clothing. John had turned back to go get his forgotten brevet card, but eventually caught me about 2/3 of the way up the climb. This was hard! I watched my altimeter and tracked my progress by counting off 100-foot marks...700, 800, 900, 1200, 1800, 2200...I finally reached the top (and quickly started down the other side before I had too much time to think about it).

With thoughts of my kids, I stopped to take some video of these horses on the way out to Dimmick.

The road to Dimmick Campground included some great scenery, but a strong headwind and aggressive drivers once we got into the Redwoods. The road was pretty bad, as well. I passed John on this section, and tried to catch Mel. He beat me into the control by about 5 minutes. We were now 188 miles out! After a quick lunch, I headed back out and decided that I would take a 15-minute nap on the lawn of the first winery I saw. 10 miles later, I finally found one, and enjoyed luxuriating in the sun to the soothing sounds of traffic and the knowledge that my phone would ring loudly in my ear in 15 minutes. Once back on the road, I enjoyed the tailwind all the way back to Boonville, where I filled up with water before the long climb back to Ukiah. I just kept telling myself that all I had to do was finish this climb, and everything else would be easy in comparison.

This return climb was brutal. Technically it was easier than the other side, but it was longer and hotter. I stopped multiple times to enjoy more chocolate cake, a banana, water, all the while trying not to throw up. Ah, the joys of cycling! I the top, I truly felt like Superman, ready to just cruise through the next 155 miles. While there was still some climbing to come, the terrain trended downward and I was hoping for some tailwinds. Did I mention the weather was absolutely perfect?

I arrived in Ukiah with one thought...lasagna. They didn't have any, so I had to use my imagination. I must admit, though, grilled cheese sandwiches were great, and I joked it was the best tasting lasagna I had ever eaten! I had two! :)

Ukiah involved one nice snafu. On the outbound leg, I had used a power strip with my Garmin charger to add a bit of juice to the Garmin before heading over the climb. I expected to charge the Garmin up some more on the way back, and bring the charger with me for use in Cloverdale while I was sleeping. Alas, the charger (and power strip) were missing! Oh well, I guess I would actually have to use a route sheet, although I remembered the route almost in its entirety. So, flying blind, I headed for Cloverdale.

You may recall that I was really looking forward to the descent into Cloverdale. I left Ukiah at 6:30, resigning myself to the fact that I probably would not cover the 30 miles with climbing in under three hours. Rather than perseverate, I just started pedaling. The nice tailwind shot me across the first 17 miles in well under an hour! I started the climbing up Mountain House Rd., trying to enjoy the beautiful evening. My only company was a CHP officer who drove by a couple times and waved. As I approached the top of the fourth and longest climb, I realized that I would actually make it in time to descent in the dusk. Awesome! Debra Protho, the woman I drove up with, also pulled up in a SAG wagon to let me know she had DNF'd the ride (to be honest, I was rather surprised at the high DNF rate on this ride...over 25%). I fired up my Surefire light, and started bombing down this awesome, technical, windy descent into Cloverdale. It was really exhilarating, and by the time I reached Cloverdale, I really wasn't all that tired.

Cloverdale kind of sucked. I tried to get about 1.5 hours of sleep, but (a) the Control staff were a bit loud outside, and (b) three riders came into the room at some point like a herd of elephants. Sleep alluded me and I woke ready to just get going. The next section was supposed to be pretty easy...it was midnight and I was ready to ride through Sonoma and Napa in the dark again!

About eight miles out of the control, I caught up with John (previous companion) and Clyde. They asked me to slow down a bit as they were unsure of where to go, and I was happy to have some company. Together, we rolled along at a relaxed pace, enjoying another beautiful night.

Calistoga had great coffee again, but I can honestly recommend ever eating Cup-O-Soup Macaroni and Cheese! A group of riders were heading out, including John, Clay, Elaine and a couple on a tandem, and I left with them to enjoy the rolling hills of Napa. This part was enjoyable and fast, but as we started up the climb to Lake Berryessa, I got more fatigued and tired. During the final long climb up Sage Canyon, I stopped for a couple minutes to close my eyes and re-group my thoughts. The sun was just starting to come out, it was cold, misty and beautiful, but I was tired! I finally rolled into the last control as a couple of the other riders were starting to leave. I sacked out in the back room for a half hour, and awoke with renewed vigor to finish this ride in style!

I couldn't check into my hotel until noon, and it was now 7am. I only had 45 miles to go, of which 35 were flat! This one was in the bag, and I went into tourist mode as I cruised through the hills, riding Cardiac and the "dam" climb in reverse. The morning was warming up and it was going to be a glorious day!

I was really excited to see this section during daylight...on the way out I could tell it was beautiful, but in the morning light it really came alive. The hills were green and brown, the canyon walls descended to the river, and the descents were decadent! After the last descent, I enjoyed a nice cruise down the river valley, through the Putah Creek Wildlife Area. There were many people enjoying the river, camping, and checking out the tree farm.

I stopped at the Pleasant Valley Road turn to strip off some layers and lather up the sunscreen, and enjoyed all of the birds in the nearby trees. It was now a mere 30 mile ride to Davis along Putah Creek Rd., with a receipt control about 12 miles from the finish. I was definitely in tourist mode now and was looking for a stand to pick up some fresh-picked strawberries. I couldn't find one that was open, but found a neat bridge to explore.

There were many cyclists up and down Putah Creek Road...all friendly and responsive to waves from a grundgy recumbent cyclist. One even stopped to make sure I was okay when I had pulled over to check my email. How nice! I finally arrived at the finish line at 10:58am, with an hour to spare! I promptly fell asleep. :)

A few post-ride thoughts. First, thanks to the Davis Bike Club, Dan Shadoan (their RBA) and all of the volunteers for putting on an outstanding ride! Support was fantastic and everyone was cheerful, enthusiastic and helpful. If you ever have the opportunity to ride with this group, I recommend it highly!

Second, I feel that getting a good nap in before the ride meant the difference between success and failure for me. While I was tired, there were few times that I was so fatigued that I didn't feel I could continue, and at no point did thoughts of DNFing even enter my head. Coming in to an event like this well-rested is imperative.

Navigating with the Garmin saved me so much time and effort. The Garmin 800 was great to use and provided really useful information along the course. I can't imagine going back to route sheets.

When doing an event this long, it is important to be really well-organized and comfortable on your bike. Knowing where everything was saved time and energy needless digging around looking for something...I'm normally not the most organized guy in the world, but I try to be on a brevet!

What a great ride. I look forward to seeing you out there!

JV on Bacchetta Dual Pivot versus X-Eyed Brake Calipers, and other braking issues......

2011-06-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

I've got issues. If you've read any of my writing, this is no surprise. ;-) Three of my biggest issues with a lot of recumbents are:

Poor braking.
Lack of rigidity.
Loose seats.

I have a feeling that there are a lot of bent riders out there who will never truly feel in control of their bikes due to one or more of these issues.This makes it hard to hold a nice straight line, descend smoothly, or feel comfortable at speed in tight traffic.

This article is about the braking thing. I am talking here about Bacchetta Dual Pivot and X-Eyed Brake Calipers, but a lot of this is applicable to all braking systems.

A lot of customers ask me about the differences between Bacchetta Dual Pivot and X-Eyed Brake Calipers, so lets start there

Big pluses of the X-Eyed binders:

Light! Over 100g lighter for the pair.
Stiff!
Much higher quality bearings, that come well adjusted out of the box.
Much more functional and durable spring followers.
Easy to adjust toe.
Low aero profile.

Many of these mean a lot less maintenance. You set them up right and they stay that way. I've got crust and goop from 2 full brevet series, RAAM, and several Sepulveda Roubaixs on mine, and they feel smooth as ever. So if your braking power was good initially, and gets worse as they get dirty, these will be more powerful. Yeah, I need to clean mine one of these days.....

However, stopping power is a bigger function of the installation and the other components in the system. I have worked on dozens of Dual Pivot Bacchetta brakes. With some work, all of them became part of extremely powerful braking systems. If you take some measurements of the Bacchetta Dual Pivot, and compare the measurements with Ultegra or Dura-Ace (pronounced Durachi) you might get a big surprise. They are very very similar! So, clearly, the geometry has potential.

Both brakes can be set up to be very powerful with:

High quality cables.
Intelligent routing of the cables (there are over a dozen pitfalls possible here).
Stiff levers and lever bodies.
Correct lever location relative to hand location and squeeze direction.
Correct attention to hand size and strength.
Correct leverage adjustment (on some levers).

I will say this about the X-Eyed calipers: On wider rims, like the new 23.6mm wide HED C2 extrusions, you will have to run modified, or worn, pads to achieve a very powerful brake set up. I know Bacchetta is working on this, and I hope Feather is too. The latest trend in road rims is wiiiide. The Dual Pivots fare better with wide rims.

I have tried some other exotic brakes, but so far the X-eyed is my hands down favorite. I put something else on to test for a bit, and am always happy when I can put the X-Eyed back on.

Now for some general tricks that can make or break any braking system, even with a good caliper:

Run the rear cable outside of the hole in the seat clamp, especially if you have the seat farther back. Housing constriction near the caliper is a no no.
Most of the pivots on the Dual Pivot are overly tight. To get good braking you will have to tolerate a bit of slop in the brake bearings (bushings in this case) to reduce friction. This is one of the first things I adjust when I am attacking a set of these.
Put a drop of oil on everything that moves against anything else: brake bushings, spring stops, spring followers, spring coils if the touch each other, lever pivots, cable end cradle pivot, cable end in cradle.
On the X-Eyed, make sure that the front brake cable housing is held vertically under the brake, as the housing stop on the brake will not hold it vertical, and if its not vertical the first part of every pull on the lever will allow the inner wire to slowly put a groove in the red roller rocker that the housing stop sits in.
I have seen overly tight bend radii in the cable housing on new bikes. This adds friction. Friction is very bad. No friction.
I've seen some really kinked inner cables on new bikes. Kinks are bad. No kinks. Kinks mean friction. See previous.
I have seen overly short housing runs on new bikes, so short that when you release the lever, the housing end comes out on or more housing stops in the path. This is a no no. If part of your hand squeeze goes to seating the housing, you are behind the eight ball already.
Realize that moving your pads away from the pivot (usually called lowering them) results in reduced leverage! So, only buy a frame with as much tire clearance as you need. The farther the brake fixing bolt is from the rim, the less leverage. This applies to every caliper brake I can think of, but not to cantis, U, V, or X(scissor) brakes.
Your hands are stronger the more clenched they are.
On tweener or U bars, keep in mind that you are pulling aft on a lever that wants to pivot upward. Mount levers as close to actual hand position as possible.
Make sure you pads and pad holders do not come in contact with the frame during their travel, statically, or dynamically (when the arms are flexed one way under hard braking).
The Dual Pivot used to come with these little plastic sleeves between the spring and the follower cast into the caliper arm. These either wear and fall off, crack and fall off, or just fall off. The new brass sleeve is a big improvement, and can be retrofitted.
With the proper ferules, shift housing can be used for brakes, its a lot less compressible, but not as flexible, so beware small bend radii.

With a well designed and installed brake system, there is no reason that recumbent brakes can't feel just as snappy and powerful as the ones on top end road bikes, it just takes some attention to the details!

A recumbent team to follow on 2011 RAAM!

2011-06-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

4-man Team Strategic Global Advisors!!

They have a few more challenges to overcome to get to the start, and then to the finish. However, one of the riders has addressed his personal challenge with a CA2.0 ZR (SRAM X-9 10s)! We've got to get it ready for him by Wednesday, but its going with him. His intention is to ride the DF for out of the saddle climbs, but he is not the team climber, so..........

Yes, so far he has less than 10 miles on bent. That ain't gonna change much before RAAM. Of course I told him the story of a randonneur we know who's first ever bent ride was a 200Km! ...as was his second!!
He is the only customer with zero bent experience I have ever just left out back to figure out how to ride it. "It" was a 700c Corsa. He was on his tip toes while reclined. He's a very quick learner.
Yes, this puts his team in the Open Category.
Just realized I have no clue what their rack plan is.
Better think about what else he might need (seat pad straps, light mounts, reflecto tape.....) I'll put a bunch of the stealth reflecto tape we have on the black surfaces.
He's gonna run his Zipp 606 Tubular Wheelset on it.

Anyway, we've got a team in RAAM!!!!!

New frame on the wall!

2011-06-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

The Corsa is a large, the CA2.0 a medium. You can also see from this the challenge in trying to make the S bend frame of a lowracer as light and stiff as a stick bike frame.

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The new 700c Corsa, shining in the sun.

2011-06-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an honored customer for his support!!

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Memorial Day Weekend Schedule

2011-05-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Please note, we will be closed on Saturday, May 28th, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. However, we will be doing some different shop rides that morning, and we would love to have your company!

Kate will be leading a 27 mile ride along the Orange Line bike path to Weiler's Deli in Canoga Park for brunch. This ride will be at a very mellow pace...if you are breathing hard you are probably riding too hard! Here is a link to the route on ridewithgps.com.

I will be leading a ride up Fernwood to the summit of Stunt Road. We will start with a warm up climb over Sepulveda to the beach, and then head up PCH to Topanga. Climbing the first, steepest part of Topanga will take us to Fernwood Rd., with a challenging 7-mile-climb up to Stunt. While hard, this climb has some of the best views of Los Angeles that I know of! We then head down into the west San Fernando Valley for an easy spin back to the shop. So, if you are up for an advanced, 60 mile ride with about 4000 feet of climbing, come join us! H ere is the ride.

If you plan to join us, please RSVP. As we will cancel the ride if nobody is interested. If you don't RSVP, you may arrive to an empty parking lot! Both rides leave the shop at 8:30am. See you soon!

Webcast at the shop!!

2011-05-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

See Dana and JV hanging with Kitty Kat and CoolassMike on:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bike-talk-with-coolassmike

The tour of the shop is happening now, and its only seconds delayed.

Frames!!

2011-05-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

You want Bacchetta CA2.0 700c Frame Kits, or Barcroft Virginia Ti frames, or Baron Frames? We got 'em!

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700c CA2.0 Sport!

2011-05-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

The new 700c Bacchetta CA2.0 Sports are here and built! ...and get this: although the spec calls for a alloy steerer on the fork and an FSA Gossamer crank, these have full carbon forks and FSA Energy cranks! Talk about a deal!
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Crit Report 4/21/11: This Ain't Camarillo.

2011-04-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say, I had trepidations.

The rose bowl ride, or just "the bowl" as we call it, is not a very safe environment.
I have not been in a crit in close to a year, Last one was a few weeks after RAAM last year. I got within about 10 seconds of lapping the field solo.
I have had crashes this spring, one of them hard. Its taken a few weeks to feel comfortable on the bike in corners.
My fitness is down from not riding too much in the last half year or so. No more residual RAAM fitness to use.
I have a sleep disorder which makes my recovery much worse, and affects my writing.

See, I told you racing is all bout having your excuses ready, and always repeating them the same way! ;-)

So Will and I rode over, but it took longer than I thought. Got there 2 laps in, we think. So we jump into the pack just after the start/finish. No, there is no line there, or any lap cards. This ain't Camarillo. It took less than a lap to get heckled by some idiot telling me to get out of the pack and trying to scare me. I thought about replying, but hey, what would I have thought 10 years ago if I was in his shoes? I did make a note of what he looked like for future reference though.

The field was about 120 riders. Its bigger than Camarillo. From the video you can see that there are pylons on the right to separate the bikes and cars from the runners, walkers, baby strollers. There are roller bladers too, but some are too fast for that area. The paint and pylons are new this year. The ride has come very very close to being shut down in the last few years, and this segregation is the seen as a way to keep the ride alive. However, it changes how the ride play out. The course is narrower. On the left we have the yellow line. Need I say more? Well apparently I do, as some still cross it to move up.

Another new "rule": no passing cars in front of the pack. See them all here: http://www.socalcycling.com/graphics/10/RoseBowl2010.doc

Most good riders know that you need to be in the front 20% of the pack. Why? The pace does not fluctuate as much, and crashes are less likely, and you will have a chance at winning or getting in a breakaway. They also know that when the pace slows at the front, and they are too far back, they can move laterally and pass a bunch of folks to get to the front. Well, when its this narrow, you get scant few opportunities to move up. there is just no place to go. A lot of European races are like this. The other 80% are not really racing, they are just hanging on, or in a few cases, trying to take it easy.

Now the things that add danger are motorists, and slow rider on the right. The latter we are watchful for, and call out. I did find it somewhat ironic that as the guys with the least forward visibility, I was the one calling out most of them. The motorists are the issue. There are those that will pull out at 10-15mph in front of a pack doing 22-36mph. This means that you do a lot of this ride with both hands on the brake levers. If you can't see 10 riders in front of you, you do not know what is going to happen next. when it happens, there is a bunch of yelling, braking, and then we have to get up to speed again. The yelling is mostly internal in the pack, not at anyone else. I can't imagine its a very safe feeling to be passed inches away our pack doing 30+, and this has been happening for 60 years. Still, they come out on T and Th nights between 6 and 7 and hope nothing bad happens. It there right, its a public road, and we, the overtaking pack, are the burdened party. We have to avoid them. The motorists are easier to understand.

So when I jumped in I was about 50 riders back, and just happy to be doing the speed and riding smoothly. Having done this ride many times in the 90s, I know where to move up. One the back side, where we are doing 30-35mph on a slow night. Gaps open up there, so you have a place to go, plus on a CarbonAero, my aero advantage is biggest on the fastest part of the course. I saw a hole to go through near the yellow line and went for it. Hmmmmm, had to stop pedaling cuz my front end was bouncing around too much! Cracks, like little frost heaves, likely from roots, under the pavement. So much for that, had to coast with everyone else. Here is the killer though. I was on my favorite rims, HED Belgiums, 23.6mm wide. Conti 4000S tires. Very smooth set up. To top it off, I had not checked my pressures in a few days, so the front was down around 80 psi. If that ain't enough to smooth it all out I may need to mount the 25c Pro3 Race tires I have around. 70psi next? I feel like Fabian Cancellara at the spring classics. I need 27mm tires too!! Containment: next time move up on the right, and dodge the slow moving cyclists.

Within a lap or 2 started having little conversations with other riders. All positive. One guys asks if I had been there a few years ago on the same kind of bike. He says he only remembered one thing: very fast! Another guy, ex pro from Europe, asked if I'd be contesting the sprint. I then described how I'd have to win this, probably from about 2 miles out.

We had a soccer ball roll out into the field at the third turn, when we were doing 32. No one crashed!

I am sad there are no primes.

There were at least half a dozen hard braking espisodes when motorists pulled out in front of the pack. I actually got to the front a few. Once I was in a small break that was caught immediately. The surprise was that it was on the uphill side. Another time I got to the front on the back side just in time to see that there was a 12 rider break 5 seconds up the road! There is this guy in a blue jersey (I swear its a waffle fabric, like old thermals) who yells at everyone. it seems one will ride the way he wants them too, and this really upsets him. He happens to be right behind me as I get to the front. He yells, at someone,"HOLD YER LINE!!!!!". I give it some gas and start after the break, opening a gap on he and the rest of the main field. I yell back,"Close the gap!" Hehehe. Just after that somebody flys by me at warp speed. He must have been slingshotting the field on the yellow line. We both make it to the break, but so does the field half a lap later.

On the last lap I found myself in about 25th or so coming to the little 4% grade just before the line. I was right in the no mans zone between the guys who would be sprinting and the guys who knew there was no point. I decided to stay out of it as it was my first night out.

I tell you, this has made me realize how I dominated Camarillo (most of the time). Its wide!! When I want to go, or need a line, its there!! It does not matter where in the bunch I am. This means I can keep the pace consistently high when in the pack, until a break happens. I'll need to stay closer to the front to make that happen here. I wonder if I will be able to hang with a break on the uphill side. I wonder if they will keep me with them knowing how much help I will be on the back side. I still think I need to launch somewhere on the backside to win this.

We will see what happens tonight!

Crit Video 4/21/11

2011-04-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here is the raw footage from the last half. Report to follow.

Rose Bowl Ride 4/21/2011 from Bent Up Cycles on Vimeo.

Crit Report 4/21/11

2011-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well its been close to a year since I've done a crit, but its time to see if I still have enough to survive one.

http://www.socalcycling.com/Group%20Rides/seasonal/rose_bowl.htm

Its faster than Camarillo. At 10 times 3.1 miles its longer too. Camarillo is just 40 times 0.5 miles. There are more riders, usually over 100. Its narrower, and its got a little hill right before the finish line. Not exactly bent friendly, but hey, neither are crits!! Oh, did I mention the walkers, rollerbladers, baby strollers, beach bikes, and the occasional soccer or golf ball landing in the middle of the peloton? Motorists also frequently pull out in front of the pack, even when we are doing 35!

Here is the course:

I just realized the there is 120' of elevation change every lap. No wonder we are in the mid 30s on the back side!

Time to get changed and ride.
Wish me luck!
JV

San Luis Obispo 400k Ride Report

2011-03-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

The original plan was to do this 400k solo. My riding partner, Bruce, decided to do a different 400k, so I was on my own for this one. However, two weeks before the ride, Bruce decided to do the same ride, and we began making arrangements to get up to San Luis Obispo (SLO) together.

For any of you that know me, you know that I LOVE riding around the SLO area. It is scenic with diverse topography, including vineyards, ranches, beaches, grand climbs, soaring overlooks and thrilling descents. This ride was to be no different. The general course headed out of SLO for an early climb up the Cuesta Grade, backroads out to Paso Robles and San Miguel, followed by beautiful climbs up in the wine country above Paso Robles. We would then bomb down Highway 46 and shoot up the coast to Ragged Point and back all the way to SLO. The second loop would head south to Guadalupe and Santa Maria, and then back via Bull Canyon, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande and a short trip down Orcutt Rd back to SLO. Here is a map of the ride:

As usual, the goal was to ride by my power meter and try to keep my wattage around 120-130w. My nutrition plan was to use Perpetuem and Hammer Gel through the first 3-4 hours, and then switch to solid foods.

We started at 6am on Saturday, and the climbing began immediately after a 5 mile warm up through deserted SLO. Cuesta Grade rides along the 101 Highway, but the shoulder is very wide and there were not many cars on the road. Bruce and I settled in towards the back of the pack, and paced ourselves up to the top. Heading down the other side, though, I passed Bruce and didn't see him again for 100 miles. I cruised effortlessly through the rolling hills on the east side of the 101, with my Garmin 800 leading the way. I passed a few riders through this area, but basically rode alone. It was nice to see my riding companion from the last 600k, Shaun, chugging along. I also chatted with Roland who was riding his CA2.0 that we built up for him a couple months ago.

The first control was mobbed, so I proceeded down to the market a block down the street to get a receipt. The route then headed up into the wine country above Paso Robles.

This scenic climb takes you slowly up into the hills. On either side are horse ranches with horses, goats, llamas, and green rolling hills as far as you can see! The ride then started up the aptly named Chimney Rock Rd., a steep road that takes you 800 feet up to the plateau and rolling hills that house many of the Paso Robles wineries. As I reached the top, awed by the scenery, my left knee started hurting...not what you want to feel when you are only 60 miles into a 250 mile ride! I stopped at the secret control as we cruised through the vineyards and stretched it out. This seemed to work...the pain went away.

As I approached Highway 46, our last major climb for the ride, the pain returned. I pulled off the road to do some stretching and deep tissue massage - my ART therapist is so much better at this than I am! It's hard to massage yourself so hard that it hurts, but that's what I was trying to do. It alleviated the pain enough that I could finish the climb. Bombing down the 9 mile descent into Cambria was exhilarating - the winds are rather gusty and unpredictable up there, so I kept the speed down to 35-40mph and tried to enjoy the beautiful view of the coast. By the time I arrived in Cambria, my knee was flaring up again. My last-ditch effort was to take two Alleve and hope that the pain would go away. I hung out in Cambria for a little while to give the Alleve a chance to kick in, and then headed off to Ragged Point.

In my mental preparations for the ride, I assumed this section would be the most difficult. I had just finished a ton of climbing, and now I had a 22-mile slugfest into the wind, ending with a steep, windy climb up to Ragged Point. So, rather than worry about it, I just started pedaling. As you might expect, the scenery was fantastic looking out across the rocky shore to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. On my right, the hills rose majestically, covered in green, with an abundance of wildlife nibbling at the fresh grass from the recent rains.

The climb up to Ragged Point wasn't actually all that difficult, it was just hard! The road is quite windy and narrow...I had to frequently check behind me as I was approaching a turn in the road to assure that there were no cars coming up behind me. I made it to the top and rewarded my first 116 miles with some overly seasoned french fries and a Coke. Funny side note...I misread the route sheet and thought I had to be in Ragged Point by 16:04. I raced in and arrived at 16:00, and then realized that 16:04 was the closing time for the previous time station!

The ride back from Ragged Point was great, but rather disappointing. The wind died down, so there was no wicked tail wind. I thoroughly expected to ride from Ragged Point to Cambria in an hour, but it took an hour and twenty minutes. In Cambria, I stopped to get some night clothing on as it was starting to cool off as the sun set. Bruce caught up with me at this point and we chatted for a couple minutes, but he shooed me off so I wouldn't have to wait for him in the cold. I continued down the coast through Harmony (don't blink or you will miss it), Cayucos and Morro Bay. I then turned inland and headed up Los Osos Valley Rd. back to the start line/174 mile control.

I felt great after 174 miles! So far, I had ridden almost exclusively by myself, and decided that I wasn't such bad company. The pain in my knee was completely gone and I felt like I had plenty of energy. I changed clothes and grabbed a fresh set of batteries, ate too much Stouffer's Mac and Cheese, and headed off into the night! The next 73 mile loop was the easy part with no extended climbing and riding on roads that I was pretty familiar with.

Zoom down through Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and Oceano. An easy climb up the plateau and then a cruise into Guadalupe. We were warned about bicycle-eating dogs on the plateau, but they never materialized. It was a cool but clear night and I enjoyed recounting tales to myself of other rides I had done through this area.

The 10 miles from Guadalupe to Santa Maria became more difficult. I could see the city lights in the distance, but they didn't seem to be getting any closer. It was a bit like the Twilight Zone! The lights eventually allowed me to catch them, and I cruised through Santa Maria looking for the next control. The 7-11 was easy to spot...it was the one with bicycles parked out front!

This control was not a good one for me. Within minutes of going inside and getting some coffee and a donut, my core temperature plummeted and I got shaky. I hung out as Shaun and Matthew rolled in, and we decided to hang out for awhile, warm up, and ride the last 38 miles together. I was looking forward to riding with Shaun again...he was a great riding partner on the Big Sur 600K. He and Matthew were great companions...our paces were a bit off, but we somehow always managed to meet up again (usually because I had to stop and pee and look at the stars!).

Once we got back on the bike, I warmed up quickly (the balaclava worked wonders!). We did a quick climb up Bull Canyon and then rode the rollers through Nipomo into Arroyo Grande. As we approached the last control at Orcutt, we met up with more cyclists. We all rode together the last 12 miles, chatting a bit and enjoying the wonderful view of the lights of SLO in the distance. I pulled into the finish at 04:10 with Matt, with the others right in tow.

What a great ride! The course and scenery were spectacular. Vickie really outdid herself with this course and the support crew were always cheerful and supportive. While not the easiest 400K around (this one took 4 hours longer than my last 400K), the beauty and diversity of terrain more than made up for it. All of the PCH Randos courses this year have been outstanding, and this one was no different. Who is up for a 600K in April?

Sebring 24 Hour Race Report from Sandy Earl

2011-02-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

Another race in the books! I'll spoil the ending right up front: I rode 442.6 miles, putting more than 1 mph on the womens' record of 415.9. My goal number had been 450, but I'm quite pleased with “danged close”.

I was part of a loose herd of riders racing under the Team Raven Lunatics banner. David, Bill and I were coming from Arcata. We met Jim in San Francisco, and flew in to Tampa, where we met Dennis (TX) and Phillip (uber-crew from DC, also David's son and an aspiring ultracyclist). Dana picked up his brother Rahn and met us in Sebring.

We arrived in Sebring Thursday night, checked in, and picked up our bikes from the hotel. David, Bill and I had shipped bikes ahead, and they were waiting for us when we arrived. Bill and I (mainly Bill, with me in a supporting role) built heavy-duty shipping crates for our bikes and gear. We were so giddy with our success at the endeavor that we even painted them: pink for me, and Bacchetta Blue for Bill. We were delighted to see that the boxes did their job, and the bikes arrived in perfect condition. But bike building would have to wait until Friday AM – time to turn in as we'd had a very long day in transit.

We booked the “large suite” - a great deal for four racers. We had a double-sized balcony overlooking the race course which served as our bike build area. Having a mini-kitchen (half fridge, sink, and microwave) was a real help as well. And I'm pretty sure we could've slept two more in the bathroom.

We got a decent night's sleep, hit the continental breakfast the next morning, and set to the task of unboxing and reassembling our bikes. As we started building, the race cars hit the track. The hotel is situated with an excellent view of the hairpin turn, so we were able to scrutinize the racers' lines in and out of corners – good information.

Everything went smoothly, except that...a screw stripped out in my stem riser! Augh! David – Mr. Connected – whipped out his cell phone and called John Schlitter, hoping to catch him before he left the Bacchetta shop in St Petersburg. He didn't – John was already on the road – but amazingly enough, John had a spare riser with him, and was more than happy to let me use it. We had a backup plan that involved drilling and other histrionics – but I was ecstatic to have a “real” solution. Thanks John for saving my day!!

Once the bikes were built, we went for a quick tour of the 11-mile “day” loop. The race consists of a 100-mile first loop, then a series of 11-mile loops until 5PM or so, and the rest on the raceway. The middle loop was a good shakedown, and we got done sometime after 2:30.

With a photo shoot on the schedule at 4PM, and registration/packet pickup shortly thereafter, Bill and I were getting antsy. We had one more job to do, hopefully without David finding us out. We'd brought the Recumbent Flag that Mary sewed, and were planning to have Phillip and Rahn fly it in the pits at night. This had been one of our late-night inspirations during our crate-building-what-to-expect-at-Sebring sessions. In 2010, I'd had a lot of trouble finding my pit crew, so we were thinking of ways to make “our” crew stand out: Lights? Balloons? RECUMBENT FLAG!!!! YEAH!

Bringing a flag – and flagpole – out to Sebring, right under David's nose, without arousing his suspicion was proving difficult, but so far we were winning. The last piece of the puzzle was to get one more piece of dowel (the piece that we'd forgotten to send ahead in the bike boxes), and a bucket and some heavy, granular fill to anchor the flagpole in.

David could sense that something was up, but we mainly passed it off as pre-race jitters. I think. We made a quick exit from the photo shoot and headed to the nearest hardware store, where we were able to buy the dowel, and a bucket. We still needed something to fill the bucket, but...

Onward to Roserios' – an amazing hole-in-the-wall pizzeria in Springlake. The proprietors greet everyone like they're family, or at least close friends. Even when they're not locals, which we clearly weren't: we ordered three large pies to go, and asked if they knew anywhere where one might buy some...sand.

Three sets of identically-arched eyebrows later, we surmised that one rarely BUYS sand in central Florida. They directed us to the nearest accessible pile - just a mile or so further east on Hwy 98. I'm pretty sure they would've given us a bucket, too, if we'd not had one already. While our pizzas cooked, we headed out, found Thunder Road, and loaded up our bucket with sand.

Pizzas were a hit with the Lunatic crowd – at least those who hadn't already tucked into Rich Pinto's fine barbeque – but my main reason for getting pizzas was to have some for race fuel. Yep – I race quite well on pizza.

Registration – check. Poker chip, timing chip – check. Number, t-shirt, swag – check. Sleep – we were in bed, lights-out, at 8:38. Not bad. Took a bit to get to sleep but I didn't stress over it too much. 5:00 wakeup call. Coffee (precious little), oatmeal, Boost. Pee seventeen times. Water bottles filled. Food and clothes boxed for Phillip and Rahn. Poker chip will go in armwarmer (since it has a nifty little poker-chip-sized pocket, might as well take advantage).

Weather is fine! It's going to be 50-something at the start, going up to a high of 80 or so. I'm going a little light on clothes at the start: jersey, armwarmers, shorts. I'm wearing a reflective vest that is doubling as my musette bag since it has a convenient pocket in the front. It's also got a velcro strap to hold my iPod.
Just like that, we're downstairs and in the start gates, listening to instructions. Racers, start your....legs?

Woo-hoo!! Three laps of the track, having fun, staying loose, but not giving up any speed, either. My take on a 24-hour race is that it's A 24 HOUR RACE. Every mile counts, and you just never know what's going to happen down the road, so you'd best get your miles in while the getting's good.

I got off the track right in the thick of the faster 12-hour pacelines – a couple ahead of me, a couple behind – and got to work. The course is well-marked, winds are light, temps are great. As I got close to the turnaround, I was starting to cramp a bit – my usual “gotta go through the cramps” thing, though usually it hits more like 4-6 hours in. I eased up, doubled up on the electrolytes and water, and got to the turnaround just behind Bill. David and Dana weren't far behind. Jim and Dennis – 12-hour riders – were considerably ahead, alternately drafting and pulling the Bacchetta juggernaut.

Quick foot down at the team van – a mile or so past the turnaround – to dump armwarmers and pick up some food and drink. I'd already made a pee break, so I got past Bill who was attending to some pressing business behind the van. And back we went. Bill re-passed me a few miles later. I was working my way back toward him when my body screamed, “PEE BREAK”....so I lost a minute again, but I never let him out of my sight.

As soon as we hit Hwy 98, my legs smelled the barn, and I picked it up a bit. 5:08 for the century – I'd wanted to crack 5:00, but I was pretty happy with it. Saw Phillip and Rahn – I put in my order (PIZZA!!!), did a near-perfect bathroom break at the turnaround, and collected my slice and bottle.

The short day loop seemed to have 360 degree crosswinds, which I guess is theoretically possible. Fortunately winds were light overall. The least windy stretch was the first one after leaving the start-finish; I used that short leg as my feed zone. The next leg is highway, a little headwindy, and featured a dead squirrel. Why Jim didn't eat it is anyone's guess. After that we turned north, and things got slightly more scenic. Past the manatee mailbox which served as my personal lap counter. I would “talk to the 'tee” ten times – one better than last year. After that, a right-hand turn to a slightly downhill/downwind section, and back home to start the whole process over again.

I didn't run the iPod during the long loop, figuring that adrenaline and “rabbit hunting” was going to be enough to keep me engaged. Now that there were rabbits everywhere, a little hunting music was in order. I led off with bagpipes.
The exchange between laps 9 and 10 was a little sloppy as the pit crews were moving to the raceway. I decided to take advantage of the ladies' room – it had been over 100 miles since the last pee stop. I had put a foot down, once, to make DANGED SURE that I got my waffle sandwich, but other than that – always moving forward. The bike is performing well; I'm comfortable and in my element.

One more lap of the day loop and we transition to the track. Woo-hoo! Just being on the track feels faster, even though the stats bear out that I was mainly doing the same speed. And with only 3.7 miles per lap, there are always rabbits to catch. Every so often I was the rabbit, being caught by a faster racer. That speeds you up, too.

Night loops – what can I say? You keep on...going. Through the pit. Up to the first left-hand turn, which I got in the habit of taking conservatively; a couple riders went down there and I just felt better safe than sorry. A couple of turns, a straight, under the banner, and up to the hotel, where the hairpin and the chicane were poised to trap unsuspecting racers. More than one failed to negotiate the hairpin and visited the grassy berm. I got the hang of it pretty quickly – a medium/slightly outside line going into the hairpin, just kiss the inside of both of the blinkie lights that served as road markers, and power straight through the chicane. A series of fairly easy turns, with some longer stretches, then the turn onto the long back straight that runs behind Pit Row. I could feel the light and energy of the pits speeding me up, heading for home. A couple of turns, through the timing gate, and back to the pits.

My night loop mantra was something that my friend Rebecca had said about my riding, years and years ago: she had been drafting me around Lake Tahoe, and reported being mesmerized.....”Fast and smooth. Fast and smooth. Fast and smooth.” I meditated on that to the Black Eyed Peas. Fast And Smooth/Tonight's gonna be a good night!
Stopping every lap isn't wise – too slow. I settled into a rhythm of stopping every fifth lap. I'd have preferred to stop less, but my hotfoot was flaring, and it seemed to happen every sixth lap – but if I put a foot down, even momentarily, every fifth, we could keep it under control without much ibuprofen.

At 9:30, as I was closing in on the 300 mile mark, I started the countdown – I felt that I could and should get forty more laps done. That meant that I needed to hold 12-minute laps for as long as I could – hopefully building a little cushion for the last four hours.

Then the smoke came up – some sort of controlled burn on the adjacent swampland. Bleah. I've never been so glad to have the “Rocket J Squirrel” goggles. Fortunately, my eyes and my lungs weren't too put off. Unfortunately, my stomach was. Either that, or the pace was finally threatening to shut it down. Either way, I had my last slice of pizza shortly after midnight, and made the last 5 hours on flat Coke, nibbles of waffle, and one or two Boosts. Not enough, but – enough.

We stayed on the program like clockwork. At 4:00 to go I had 18 laps left – meaning I could average 4.5 laps per hour. When we got to ten laps, I canceled my remaining scheduled pit stops and started shouting out the “countdown” number as I went through the pits, much to the amusement of the crews who were still out. At 23 hours down I had 4 laps left of the planned 40, and it seemed like it was going to be a quick but manageable cruise in. Two laps down with 35 minutes to go – great, up a little on time, but I don't REALLY have to contemplate three! Off we go again. Out there on what felt like the darkest, loneliest spot of on the track, I hit a blinkie light, and – pinch flat. AUGH. Front tire. Thought about it. Nope, gotta change it. Let's get at it. That was a 21:09 lap, which means that, all things considered, I did a pretty efficient repair.

With 14:12 to go as I came through the timing gate, John Foote was there to take what he presumed was my finish-line photo. Sorry to waste umpteen megapixels, John, but I'm going out again. There were rabbits ahead of me – one being Bill. I passed him in the chicane and kept going. I didn't have much frame of reference for time except “done with this lap” and “not done with this lap”, and getting to the latter as soon as possible was all my racer brain could handle. I turned the last lap in just under 11 minutes. I'm guessing that the few minutes of downtime were necessary to muster that much speed, so I don't think I left a lap behind with the flat tire– it just made the finish a little more exciting.

I have a whole team of folks to thank for helping me achieve this result: First and foremost, Phillip Bradley and Rahn Lieberman, for excellent crewing. Dana Lieberman, for my Carbent, which performed flawlessly, as usual. David Bradley - logistics wizard extraordinaire. Bill Spaeth – box builder, training partner, and the guy who puts up with me every day. John Schlitter, for coming up with the part I needed, and for being game to let me use it even though I wasn't riding one of his bikes. Jim Kern and Dennis Johnson, for being out there and providing day motivation and night support. Honey Stinger, for nutritional support. The fine folks at Roserios, for sand procurement and the best pizza in Central Florida . I could go on and on....

Santa Barbara 300K

2011-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

Our 300k brevet started in Moorpark and rode many of the same roads that we traveled on the 200K four weeks earlier (this was okay by me...it is beautiful cycling in there yonder hills!). I was surprised at the number of riders...46! Quite a turnout for a 300K. Bruce and I decided to ride together again, and we spent many hours talking about our preparations for the Big Wild Ride 1200K in August.

A quick spin up Grimes Canyon, over the top and up Balcom Canyon took us to our first not-so-secret control. Our RBA had ridden there and set up camp, waiting for all of us unsuspecting riders to come on by!

We then continued on through the orange groves on our way to Ventura. While we were at the back of the pack, we continued to make good time, keeping the pace mellow and enjoying a beautiful 45 degree morning! The stretch along Foothill Blvd. is one of my favorite. I just wish I had a camera that could capture the wonderful views of the Channel Islands off in the distance as we zoomed along at 30-40mph on beautiful pavement with minimal traffic. It was a bit overcast this morning, but the views were still sublime!

We then began the wonderful climb up to Lake Casitas. Santa Ana Rd. parallels the Highway 33 and provides you with breathtaking views of the Ojai Valley as you gradually make your way up to Lake Casitas.

The weather was so nice, I thought I would take a couple videos as I started the climb up to the top.

By the time we reached the lake, it was a balmy 65-70 degrees. I rode up to the summit with Terry and Amber, chatting all the way. We zoomed down the other side and laughed at the "free pigeon manure" sign, and then climbed up the second pass. The descent down into Carpenteria was fast and breezy - a fantastic opportunity to get comfortable with my new wheels. I waited for Bruce before crossing the foothills to Toro Canyon, and we continued along together for most of the rest of the ride.

Rather than just an information control at the top of Toro, a volunteer was waiting for us with munchies and water...wonderful! However, the best munchies of the ride were just a few miles down the road at the bakery in Montecito!

The ascent up Mountain Ave. is challenging by any standards. It just climbs and climbs. Fortunately, the views from the top are worth it, but was hard to believe that we were climbing so much and still had over 100 miles to ride! Oiy!

The descent down into Santa Barbara was fantastic, and the Garmin 800 didn't lead me down any off-course roads! Soon enough, we were enjoying sandwiches at Cantwell's Deli and hanging out with the back-end riders of our group.

The next 85 miles were generally flat as we cruised down the coast on our way to Malibu. We all played leap-frog with each other along the Ventura beaches, the stop lights south of Ventura and into the Wendy's at Port Hueneme. It's pretty much become a tradition that we stop for coffee and french fries at this Wendy's - it's a control and there really isn't anywhere else to stop! (you normally wouldn't catch me in a Wendy's for anything!) The sun had just set, so as we got back on our bikes, we donned our night wear, turned on our lights, and headed out into the darkness.

The ride down to the Malbu coast was uneventful. I was getting a bit annoyed at some of our riders blowing through the stop signs around the Navy base and staring at Bruce's Dinotte tail light flashing in my face, so I eventually pulled off the front and met everyone 15 miles down the road at Trancas. Riding through the night was wonderful, but this was the only time in the ride where I started getting a little tired. Nothing some coffee, good conversation and a protein bar at the gas station couldn't cure!

For the return trip up the road, Bruce turned down his light and we continued riding together. The rolling hills and miles just passed by...we were almost done. BAM! I hit a rock and pinch flatted. Oh well...easy enough to fix and we are back on the road again progressing toward the last climb, Santa Rosa Rd.

Bruce was feeling a little frisky and took off as we started up the climb. I continued along behind him, watching him slowly fade into the distance. Shortly thereafter, the front end of my bike started feeling funny, so I stopped to check it out. Slow leak...bummer. I decided that instead of digging for my spare tube and sitting on the cold concrete, I would just pump it up and see how long it lasted. As I unscrewed the valve, it actually came off in my hand! I guess I know where the leak was! The irony here being that just 19 hours earlier I was looking at my valve tool and telling myself that I wouldn't need it. Hah! No problem...screw it back on and pump up the tire. This continued four more times before I reach the finish at about 17:24.

Overall, it was a wonderful, albeit slow ride! I'm looking forward to the 400K in SLO in March!

Garmin Edge 800 Mini Review

2011-01-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

I posted recently on Facebook that I purchased a Garmin Edge 800 to replace my Edge 705. I used the 705 for two years, and wanted to see what was new in the Garmin line-up. I had briefly considered the Edge 500 about a year ago, but it didn't have the GPS navigation functions that I was used to on the 705. So, I waited and the result is the Edge 800!

First, let me highlight the things I really like about this unit (these are in no particular order)! First, I love the new mounting system. The old system was prone to breakage so much so that I actually carried an extra mount on my bike in case of emergency. Now, Garmin would always replace the broken one, but still...I'm glad to see they updated the mount.

The Edge 800 has more screens for viewing data. The 705 had two screens with up to eight pieces of data per screen. The 800 has three screens with up to 10 pieces of data per screen. Personally, I like to leave the two top pieces extra large for Power and Speed, leaving the lower screens for other data (cadence, distance, elevation, grade, etc.). With the 800, I have more than enough screens available to see everything I need at a glance! Also, they have changed the font to one that is bolder, so it is easier to read the screens! Finally, the night time screen has white letters on a black background. I assume this will use less power and is much easier to read.

The screen is larger than the 705, and in this case, bigger is definitely better!

The 800's USB cover seems more robust than the 705. Many people had problems with the 705 cover falling off...I don't perceive this as an issue on the 800. Also, since the cover faces down, it seems there is less likelihood of water contamination if the unit is used in the rain.

The touch screen is pressure sensitive, so it works even with long-fingered gloves. Very nice! No more messing with buttons...just a sweep of the finger across the screen and I can access different screens, including elevation and maps.

It was hard to find anything I didn't like about the unit, but here a few small things. The 800 features an auto-scroll feature that automatically scrolls the unit through the data screens, elevation screen and map (note, you can choose which screens are included in auto-scroll). However, even in 'slow' mode, it still moves a bit fast for my taste. I can't imagine using it in medium or fast mode.

I haven't had a chance to play with the navigation features yet, but if it is the same as the 705, it will definitely be a love/hate relationship. More to follow on this... I also haven't tried using it with a AA external battery pack...this will definitely be a deal-breaker for those of us who ride longer rides in the dark where we need back-lighting.

2011 Anacapa 200K Brevet

2011-01-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

I think the best way to start a new year is with a long bike ride! So, my friend Bruce and I decided to ride the Anacapa 200K brevet to welcome in 2011! Given the shop move, holidays, illness, etc., I've been off the bike for about seven weeks. So, Bruce and I decided to take this ride at a really easy pace and just enjoy the day. I also thought I would try something new and take some video throughout the day. It was fun at the beginning, but definitely became more challenging as I got tired. Anyway, here we go...

Here's a link to the route. Note that my Garmin 705 didn't start up until about 3 miles into the ride, so the mileage is a little short:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/252194

The ride started out cold (down to 32 degrees according to one source)! Forecast suggested there might be rain later in the day, but it never materialized. It never got warm though (highs in the low 60's). Bruce and I got to the start line with plenty of time to spare, but a quick bathroom break and I missed the mass start. No worries...I figured I would catch Bruce up the course and with no group present, it made it really easy to ride at a mellow pace and enjoy the crisp morning.

One of my favorite sections is the ridge ride from Grimes Canyon, through the back roads, over to Los Angeles Ave. This area is covered in citrus groves, horses, alpaca and is just gorgeous cycling. The lack of cars is an additional plus!

A quick trip along Los Angeles Ave. took us to another one of my favorite stretches of road - Foothill Blvd. is a fun roller coaster that takes you into the city of Ventura. The crystal clear sky provided us spectacular views of Anacapa and San Juan Island as we flew down the road at up to 47 mph! Poli St. took us by the Ventura mission, and the streets through Ventura were all but deserted at 9am on New Year's day!

We continued up the Ojai bike trail and then along the beautiful Casitas Vista Rd. to our first control before the ascent to Lake Casitas.

The day was finally starting to warm up as we began the climb up to Casitas. We took our time and enjoyed the climb to the top, where we were treated to spectacular views of the Ojai Valley below! A fun descent down the back side, and short second climb, and then we are bombing our way down to Carpenteria.

We decided to eat lunch in Carpenteria, stopping at Giovanni's Pizza. Now, pizza sounded like a great idea at the time (and it sure was good! They made a fresh pie just for us!), but as far as cycling food goes, pizza is not necessarily the best choice. Stopping for almost an hour left me cold and stiff, and it took quite some time to burn off the pizza sitting in my gut. But, since our goal was to have a relaxing day, we didn't worry to much about it....

Actually, I was REALLY sluggish for about an hour after lunch, and had a hard time riding along the coast as we traveled south along PCH to Ventura. But, as usual, a quick stop in Ventura and I was feeling better. And by the time we reached the next control in Port Hueneme, I was feeling great! We had a quick snack with a couple other riders (Jerry and Vicki), and then headed south to the Naval Base and out last information control.

Ah, the things you notice as you are getting close to the finish. I tend to be a "glass is half-full" type of guy. I noted to Bruce that we should have a tail wind all the way in from the base. His response..."yeah, but we will have a headwind all the way TO the base!" It actually wasn't that bad, was it Bruce? :)

By the time we were heading inland, I could definitely hear the barn door creaking. We took a quick stop at the base of the last climb up Santa Rosa Rd. to turn on lights and grab a quick snack.

The ride up Santa Rosa Rd. was uneventful. We caught and passed a couple other riders, crested the climb, and bombed down Tierra Rejada to the finish line at the Jones' residence. Total time was 11 hours, 10 minutes...1 hour 50 minutes slower than last year but just as enjoyable!

Special thanks go out to our wonderful RBA (Regional Brevet Administrator) Greg and Lisa Jones. Greg and Lisa always open their house to us and their son, Daniel, always bakes fresh pizza in the pizza oven out back. Aside from the ride itself, hanging out at the Jones' house and catching up with everyone is always a highlight of the ride! Thank you Greg and Lisa...our PCH Randonneurs group would not be the same without you and your hospitality!

To the rest of you...have a wonderful, healthy, prosperous and safe 2011...and get out for a ride! It's a great way to start the year!

Chatsworth Holiday Parade

2010-11-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Join us for our Second Annual entry in the Chatsworth Holiday Parade, as the “TRAILER TRIKES”, as we cycle for 2.5 miles on Devonshire Boulevard in Chatsworth entertaining the locals and inspiring new riders. The ride is Sunday, December 12, 2010, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Bring your other Trailer Trike friends. All trikes are welcome, and if you have a trailer for your trike, all the better!

Meet at Matt Weintraub’s House in Chatsworth at 10:15 a.m. for decorating in Holiday Theme. This year has the additional parade theme of “Candyland” so you can use that as your decorating motif as well as the usual Holiday theme. You can also wear a holiday cap if you have one, but DO NOT DRESS AS SANTA. THERE IS ONLY ONE SANTA, PROVIDED BY THE KIWANIS CLUB. But be in the holiday spirit. Got some lights?

We recommend bringing a trailer for your Trike with your favorite animal in it (stuffed or real), as our entry name is: TRAILER TRIKES. Last year we were a real hit with a couple dogs and kids in various trailers. So this is a reprise of 2009.

Schedule:

We will meet at Matt’s house, decorate our TRIKES, and then cycle to the parade starting point. Departure from Matt’s house to the parade will be at 11:15a.m. Check-in must be before noon or we lose our spot in the parade.

Parade “step-off” starts promptly at 1pm, but it depends on where in the line-up we are located as to when we start the parade. Step off can be up to an hour later, so bring lunch food and water, although there will be some vendors open in the area. Porta-potty’s are available as well.

Cycling in the parade can take as long as an hour, and then we cycle an additional 20 minutes back to Matt’s House afterwards. So plan your schedule accordingly.

Parade route: Devonshire, from Topanga Canyon to Mason. In Chatsworth

Return route: Chatsworth Street (one block north of Devonshire) to Valley Circle, to Andora.

Estimated schedule:

10:15am – arrive at Matt’s House and decorate

11:15am – depart for parade

11:30am – parade arrival and check-in. Topanga Canyon and Devonshire

11:45am – find place in line

12-1pm – eat lunch and socialize. Continue decorating. Find Andy Gump

1:00pm – parade starts, military flyover

3:00pm – parade ends for last entry/float

3:00pm – cycle back to Matt’s House

3:20pm – load trikes into cars and depart.

*note – we may be done SUBSTANTIALLY earlier if we step off early (before 2pm). The above assumes we are last, but we have never stepped off later than 1:40pm. It takes about an hour for the parade and an additional 20 minutes to ride back to Matt’s house. So end time depends on our position in the line-up. We could theoretically be done and back to Matt’s house by 2:30pm

Matt’s Info:

9747 Andora Avenue

Chatsworth, CA 91311

Closest cross streets: Lassen and Valley Circle

Matt’s Cell: (626) 807-0545

Matt’s Home: (818) 773-9314

Call on his cell for best response

Bent Up Cycles is Moving!

2010-11-19T13:16:00.001-08:00

After 6 1/2 years on Balboa Blvd., Bent Up Cycles is moving. Our new address is 11522 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, California, 91601. (on Google Maps, it is the Lawn Mower shop). The new building offers us many advantages over our Balboa location.

First, it is larger. With 3500 square feet of space, we will move Carbent HPV production in-house and still have more space than our old shop. It is also an empty shell, so we can set up the premises to meet our specific needs (yes, there will still be a sitting area and we will be expanding the kitchen). Our goal is to set up a wall-mounted big screen TV for presentations, movie nights and such. We will also have more space to run a variety of clinics.

The new location is easier to access. We will be 1/4 mile off of the 170 Freeway, and four blocks from the Orange Line/Red Line center in North Hollywood. Burbank is a "mellow" street compared to Balboa, making the shop easier to find.

The new shop has great access to cycling. The quiet neighborhood behind the shop is ideal for short test rides any time of the week. The Orange Line bike lane is three blocks away for extended test rides. Finally, we are close to Griffith Park for more scenic shop rides (there is also great cycling up on Mulholland to the south, and in the Foothills to the north).

Finally, the shop is close to the North Hollywood Arts District ("NoHo"). NoHo features many restaurants, theater and such. Let's face it, it's a bit more of a destination location than the Van Nuys airport! :)

Construction is going on right now, and we will be moving in over the Thanksgiving weekend. We are open at the current shop through next Wednesday. We intend to re-open for business on Wednesday, December 1st, in the new shop. We will be closed for business all of Thanksgiving weekend, as well as Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

We look forward to seeing you in our new shop! We will set up an open house in the near future, and let everyone know the time and date. In the meantime, thank you for your continued support over the years. We are confident that this new location will allow us to serve you better. Happy holidays!

Challenged Athletes Foundation Half Ironman, Part 2

2010-10-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Beth demonstrates transition in Picture 6 as she transforms from seal to cycle. In the background (yellow jersey) is Ralph, a polio athlete who does the swim with his arms, and transitions to a racing wheelchair for the run part of the course. Behind him is Bryon, a young physician whose disability prevents him from doing his specialization, and he does mainly distance hand cycling in the run and/or bike events.

In Picture 7 I am tooling into the finish area with Dr Terry, my escort, in faithful attendance. My early derailleur problems (and probably the new pitavistatin they started me on 3 weeks earlier) resulted in severe and constant hamstring cramps for the last 10 miles of the ride, including Torrey Pines road. Super hydration and electrolyte supplements were just enough to allow me to ride in my lowest 3 gears. I had fortunately discovered a work-around to the shifting problem - after mile 35 - so was able to finish the race, but at a ridiculously slow pace of about 1 hour slower than my normal times!

Picture 8 is the reason for the fundraising and racing. This 2 year old boy, the second youngest current CAF athlete, toddled gleefully through his first kids run, precisely 2 weeks after CAF supplied him with his prosthetic legs. Watching him chase other kids and play ball was a truly amazing experience, and I really appreciate the efforts of everyone in getting me to this event. I wouldn't have missed it for anything, and plan on making this an annual event!

Challenged Athletes Foundation Half Ironman, Part 1

2010-10-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

We recently received this account from one of our Bent Up Cycles Trike Squad riders, John Elliott:

Well, it is done (for this year)! Last Sunday was the Challenged Athlete Foundation San Diego Triathlon Challenge half Ironman in La Jolla. I had planned on being nicely trained for this event, but ended up doing it almost completely untrained, 8 weeks after my last stent. This created a few additional challenges, but nothing compared to what some of the other athletes had to overcome.

Picture #1 is of the first rider over the line from the Million Dollar Challenge - a CAF sponsored fund raising ride form San Francisco to San Diego - in 6 days. Several hundred able and challenged riders completed this event, including deaf, blind (riding on the rear of tandem bikes), and mobility impaired entrants.

Picture #2 is one of the many hand cyclists who rode the entire 620 mile course with everyone else.

After a BBQ, everyone met up at the QUALCOMM conference center for the Celebration of Abilities dinner to hold a memorial and celebration of the life of Jim MacLaren, who passed away this last August at the age of 47. CAF grew out of a desire of Jim's friends to assist him in his sports activities - Jim was a Yale football player who suffered an amputation after being hit by a bus while riding. He transformed himself into a trailblazing below-knee-amputee endurance racer. He suffered a devastating second accident while competing in a triathlon in Mission Viejo. Hit by a car that entered the closed course during the bike leg, Jim was paralyzed from the neck down. His many friends quickly decided to raise funds for his recovery, and organized the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC) - an annual fundraising triathlon event at La Jolla Cove. From this modest beginning CAF came into being, with a mission of helping challenged athletes compete in their chosen sports. There were too many courageous and inspirational stories to re-tell here, and legions of celebrities (including former Celtics player Bill Walton whom I was able to meet after he rode his bike in the 620 mile fund raiser!)

After a rest and registration/course instruction day, 200 challenged and hundreds of non-challenged athletes met up at La Jolla Cove for the 1.2 mile open water swim, 13.1 mile run, and 56 mile bike ride. I was lucky enough as a new Challenged Athlete to be assigned a first row first wave starting slot for the bike portion (No, I didn't do all 3 events the way some of the REAL athletes did!) Picture #3 shows us jockeying to the start line for the first wave start. Unfortunately, an errant racing wheelchair snagged onto my front derailleur before the start. I didn't know until later that this was going to make shifting down into hill climbing gears a huge problem. This 56 mile ride was a very hilly course, with 2000+ feet of elevation gain, including both sides of Torrey Pines road. Picture 4 gives an idea of one of the less challenging climbs. On the first steep uphill, while I was in the middle of a pack of Tri bikes and had no way to pull over, I discovered that downshifting to a lower gear was impossible. This meant powering up the 2 mile hill in a much higher gear than I wanted, and curt deeply into my reserves. Fortunately, CAF had assigned me an escort rider to accompany me on the ride because of worries over the sort time span since the latest stent. So a Physician/triathlete was right on my rear wheel all day.

While I was off playing Lance Armstrong, the swim and run parts of the race were going on. Picture 5 shows 2 of my friends leaving the water for the transition area. Greg (foreground) is a 21 year old who lost an arm, damaged his leg, and had 9 cardiac arrests due to a motorcycle accident. This was his first Ocean swim - a month earlier when I was unable to compete because of stent, I gave Greg my entry number and he rode the Disneyland half marathon in my place - his first event, and as I found out later, the second anniversary of his accident, almost to the exact hour. Also being helped from the water is Beth, my mentor at CAF, and a highly motivated hand cyclist who has done the LA and Boston marathons, and will be doing the Great wall of China marathon next year. Beth was a nationally ranked woman cyclist until a race accident on faulty paving left her an incomplete spinal separation. She transformed herself into a triatlete, and now coaches others (including Greg) on swimming and transition techniques.

See Part 2 for more!

Catrike supports Breast Cancer Awareness!

2010-10-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Big Cat is offering all Catrikes and Catbikes powder coated in Pink (or Aqua) free color upgrade until the end of 2010. For every Pink or Aqua sale Big Cat will donate $50 to local breast cancer foundation to be used for free mammograms for uninsured or underinsured women who need this procedure that can save their lives.

We will make a donation to Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation. http://www.libbyslegacy.org/

As always thank you for your continued support.

PCH Randonneurs Big Sur 600K - a Big Sur Adventure Part 2

2010-10-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Day Two arrived much too early. I got two hours of fitful sleep after a quick shower. Shaun and I agreed to meet at 7am to head out. What that really meant was meet at 7:15am, chat for 30 minutes as we set up our bikes and actually leave at 7:45!

The first part of the ride was the only real climb of any consequence for the day. Highway 1 winds its way up the San Julian grade before bombing down to Gaviota. This is a beautiful stretch of road...the climbing is mellow, the shoulder is wide and the traffic minimal. The brown and green pastures covering the hills to our left are in stark contrast to the taller peaks on our right. As we climb higher and higher, it gets warmer and warmer, and I am nailed with my one flat tire in one of the storm grates that periodically appear. I ride this section recalling fond memories of the California AIDS Ride 10 years earlier...no drag queens to cheer you on during this ride!

We stop in Gaviota to fill bottles and take off extra clothing before continuing on the 101 into Goleta. Shaun and I played a bit of leap-frog through this section as my strength began to wain as we approached the Hollister exit. By the time we got off the freeway, I was definitely ready for lunch! We picked up a third rider here, Mike, and we found a subway sandwich place (not Subway) shortly after thereafter.

The sandwiches were delicious, but made me even sleepier! Shaun and I continued on through Santa Barbara, and by the time we reached the beach, I needed a nap! I snoozed under a palm tree for 10 minutes while Shaun read the Wall Street Journal. With promises of iced-lattes in Carpenteria, we headed off for the next, uneventful section of our trip.

In Carpenteria, we met up with a few other brevet riders who were also stopping for a drink. I gulped a large iced mocha latte, and filled my bottle with another one. Being only 50 miles from the finish on very familiar roads, I was definitely ready to go! A quick jaunt down the 101 freeway and through the beaches north of Ventura brought us to Ventura, and shortly thereafter, the Oxnard control. The riders were starting to pile up here, and were were soon chugging like a train across Oxnard, savoring the wonderful tail wind and the thoughts of pizza at Greg and Lisa's house!

A quick stop at the base of the Santa Rosa climb allowed us time to set up lights and get ready for cooler weather. Having climbed Santa Rosa Rd. many times, I knew each rise and fall in the road and floored it up the canyon, knowing my wife and kids were waiting for me at the end (actually, I was trying to go as fast as possible to beat them to the finish!). There's the high school...1/2 mile to Moorpark Rd. Left turn on to Moorpark Rd. up "the wall" and I am home-free! A fast ride down to Tierra Rejada, up and over the hill and I am bombing down Tierra Rejada towards the finish and the completion of my first Super Randonneur series (and the rights to wear the PCH Randos SR kit)! Missing the last turn was classic, given the number of times I've ridden this... Oh, there's the Jones' residence, replete with bicycles parked out front and Greg Jr. guarding the bikes and asking for tips! Woo hoo, another successful brevet!

Elevation profile of day two and the night loop to Buellton

PCH Randonneurs Big Sur 600K - a Big Sur Adventure

2010-10-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

Aside from Race Across America, this 600K brevet was my most-looked-forward-to event of the year. Last year, a large group of us did not finish this ride for a variety of reasons, and we were all returning for payback!

JV and I drove a UHaul up to Salinas on Friday. We were delivering a Catrike Pocket to the Palo Alto VA, and also transported bikes to the start for some of the riders. We arrived in Salinas, had Thai food for dinner, double checked our bikes and said hello to old and new friends. JV planned to ride the brevet with John Schlitter of Bacchetta in about 24 hours. I was shooting for anything under 40 hours, and had made arrangements to sleep in Lompoc.

I split the ride up into to sections: Day One would take me 215 miles down to Lompoc through Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Guadalupe. I would then continue on to finish the 40-mile loop to Buellton and back before getting some sleep. Day Two would continue the expedition down the coast for 125 miles through Santa Barbara, Carpenteria, Ventura, Oxnard and into Moorpark.

Saturday morning, 4:30am, we are all on the road heading out the Monterrey. I stopped to chat with Allan Duhm, a Team Bacchetta rider who came out from Florida to ride with us, while he fixed a flat tire, and we rode together for the next 100 miles. It was a real pleasure to share the Big Sur coast with someone who had never seen it before... It's about 35 miles from Carmel to Big Sur, with one good climb after you cross one of several historic bridges. At the top, we stopped to admire the scenery and Allan was blown away by the beauty of the morning sky, the cliffs and the ocean below. "Just wait," I said, "It gets better...much better...!"

We pulled into the Big Sur control at about 8:45am, where we were greeted by one of our fabulous volunteers, Patricia! We snacked, drank, removed layers of clothing and applied sunscreen as we prepared for the next 50 miles of climbing and more climbing (FWIW, the first 100 miles of this brevet had about 8000 feet of climbing).

I told Allan that Big Sur is a ride of contrasts. As you approach Big Sur, the cliffs down to the ocean to your right are not too steep, the hills to your left gently rise above you. The foliage is shrubbery. As you enter Big Sur, you are suddenly surrounded by Redwoods...a giant, beautiful forest to behold! Over the top, you emerge onto classic Big Sur scenery...evergreen trees surrounding you as you glide up and down windy climbs exposed to sheer drops of up to 800 feet on your right. It's truly breathtaking, and while it is incredibly difficult, it is a fantastic road that every cyclist should experience! As you leave Big Sur's south end, you drop to gently rolling hills where the miles seem to disappear under your wheels! We enjoyed all of it, stopped a few times to eat and take pictures, and even played tag up and down the climbs!

As we left Ragged Point for the rolling terrain leading to San Luis Obispo, it became clear that I could not keep up with Allan and his aerodynamic wheels! I rode alone and counted the miles to Cambria where I could get a much-needed snack - an ice cream sandwich and Coke were perfect!

The climb up to San Luis Obispo from Morro Bay, with 135 miles under my belt already, was quite difficult. Again, I found myself counting the miles to our next control at Vickie's house. Upon arrival I was greeted by many other riders, some coming, some going, and lots of good food! Lance and Vickie set up a wonderful rest stop, and it was much appreciated! I left about 30 minutes later as it was starting to get dark, nourished and ready to ride the 58 miles to Lompoc!

I ran into a couple other riders outside of Pismo Beach, and we rode together to Guadalupe in the dark. It's always easier to ride when you have company. As we left Guadalupe, Dion got ahead of me, and I got ahead of Bill...we were three sets of tail lights spread out over a mile or so. The road was quiet and dark, and as we transitioned to the climbs towards Vandenburg AFB, a support vehicle stopped us to make sure we were okay and hand out food/water. Much appreciated!

The climbs to Vandenburg were brutal. It's not that they were incredibly long or steep, it was just that it was 10pm, I had been riding for 17.5 hours, and it seemed like the temperature kept changing! This was slowly becoming less fun... I stumbled into Lompoc at about 11:45pm, got my room key and headed for the rest stop room where I was greeted by Kathy, warm soup and some friendly faces.

Dion, Shaun and I finally made the plunge and headed out into the darkness to complete the 40 mile loop to Buellton. A few miles up the road, we came up on Bill, and the four of us headed up Santa Rosa Rd. towards and information control out in the middle of nowhere! To be honest, this was not fun. I was running on fumes, we seemed to be climbing a lot more than the map indicated, and I was pretty beat. At the info control, I laid down in the road for a few minutes and just watched the stars. We re-mounted and pushed ahead to Buellton, 6 miles up the road.

We couldn't get Andersen's split pea soup at 2:45am, so we settled for a fresh pot of coffee at the Circle K. After hanging out and waking up a bit, we started the easier road down the 246 back to Lompoc. The coffee had kicked in, and before long I was charging ahead full tilt through the rollers, trying to avoid the rumble strip at 40mph! We arrived safely back in Lompoc at 4:15am, and Shaun and I agreed to meet back at 7:15am to hit the road. A quick shower and a couple hours of fitful sleep capped our first day of riding.

A map and elevation profile of our first day can be found at ridewithgps.com.

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 18

2010-09-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

We pull in to the parking lot at Mt. Airy Bicycles, and I jump out to say hi to Larry and check out the store while we waited out our 15 minute penalty. At this point, we switched to a different mode - the RV was sent along to the finish line, and we put all the racers in both of the vans and rotated through a few pulls to get to the end (about 55 miles). Kent was up first, and since we were sharing a van, this was my first experience actually riding in the van behind one of us! All I can say is the man is nuts! He took off like a bat outta hell, and immediately started bombing down some hills like an insane person! It really was a bit frightening to watch...was I that crazy-looking bombing down out of the Rockies? I never did ask...I didn't really want to know... It was particularly scary because we saw quite a few deer on the side of the road. Bill would honk and flash his lights to scare them away... Kent rode for 10 miles and then Willie took over. I didn't get to see much of Willie as we needed to get 10 miles down the road to set me up. This was a very fast section, and we didn't want to blow an exchange.

While Kent and Willie got to ride through idyllic forests and quiet country roads, I got the Interstate...again... Leading up to Interstate 216, we hit a few roundabouts. At 1am, traffic was non-existent, so it was kinda fun bombing around them at full speed! Onto the Interstate and I was cruising in the slow lane - no need to ride on the shoulder as there was no traffic. I had a few turns through Maryland City, and then it was time for Willie to ride again (JV decided not to ride due to his back issues).

Willie took the 10 miles into Odenton, where we were surprised by his brother coming out to visit! His brother then accompanied us in his car as Kent took the last 10 miles into Annapolis. We called into the TS, and the RAAM crew scheduled to have an escort for us at the last TS in Annapolis, 3.5 miles from the finish line.

We met at a gas station in Annapolis to get all four of us on the road to ride in to the finish line. This was the first time all four of us had ridden together in 7 days, and we had a great time yakking, poking fun at each other and just enjoying the last couple miles of the race together. The streets were empty...we had the whole town to ourselves!

Finishing at the pier was fun, but there was no fanfare at 3am! JV's mother came out to see us, and Kent's daughters were there (he hadn't seen one of them in a year and a half!). Willie's brother, a few homeless people and our crew rounded out the audience as we got pictures taken, received our medals, etc. I know the MC asked some silly questions...can't really remember what our responses were...I think we were all ready for bed!

My last pull!

Riding into the finish line

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 17

2010-09-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

JV and I were up pretty early for our last shift of the race. We were just outside of Hancock, MD. A quick check of the race results showed that we were now an hour and a half behind doc2doc. The likelihood of us catching them at this point was pretty slim, but we still put together our race plan for the shift. JV was having some real back issues from (a) trying to sleep on a trampoline and (b) lifting bikes on and off the roof of the van. He wasn't sure how he was going to do. On the other hand, I was feeling great! So, much to my surprise (and that of everyone who knows me), I became the designated climber! Now I'm not trying to belittle myself here, but you know things are bad when I become the designated climber...

First pull gets me across the state line into southern PA and I get to climb the infamous Orchard St. hill. We were warned about this hill by a friendly Bacchetta rider in PA, but despite his warnings, I didn't have to walk up the 17% grade 1/2 mile climb. As we approached the top, Bill and Lee were cheering me on and I noticed an officials vehicle right behind them. Guess I can't blow the stop sign at the top! Do you know how hard it is to do a track stance on a recumbent after climbing a 17% grade? Well, I pulled it off and continued along through the rolling countryside for another 3.5 miles.

My next pull continued through the rollers. I recall that official vehicle was still on the road and we were having a hard time finding a turnout that worked well for an exchange. We finally found something at the top of a small grade, JV and I crossed wheels and I was off. The rollers weren't tall, but they were steep. So steep that my average speed for 5.5 miles was only 14.5mph! We finally did a hand-off outside of a campground area. The campground was quite busy with kids playing in the river and families BBQing a variety of non-vegetarian stuff!

JV got the remainder of the climb up Hwy 456, and then down into Mercerburg. The small town was rather busy, which explained why it took him so long. We parked outside of a church where Lee and I chatted while Bill talked with one of the members and played with a dog. I finally hit the road, realizing that at this point, we were probably losing more time on doc2doc. In fact, about halfway through the 9.9 mile pull, I took the computer off the bike and stuck it in my back pocket, and just enjoyed a beautiful afternoon ride through the rolling PA countryside. I still managed an 18mph pace, and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I remember a sign off to the side of the road "A father is someone you look up to, no matter how old you are." Now it was right outside of a church, so the less-than-subtle religious overtones were not lost on me, but it got me thinking about my kids...always a good thing...

JV took over outside of Greencastle, and we drove forward to Waynesboro to wait for him. We arrived pretty quickly, and I spent about 10 minutes chatting with a family about the race, recumbents and all things cycling. They were very friendly and curious about what was going on, and were particularly intrigued by my recumbent and the fact that 6 days ago, I was in Oceanside, CA! As JV was pulling up, I told my crew to let JV know that I would take BOTH of the climbs that were coming up.

There were two climbs out of Waynesboro. The first was long and steep - about 2.3 miles and in the 6-10% range of grade. The road was cool and shady as we were just approaching sundown. Up over the top at 195w average was no problem. I cruised along the top and then bombed down the other side, hitting 50mph. By now, I was so used to riding this speed that I didn't even give it a second though. As you can see by the profile, the descent gradually flattens out, then hits a short, steep descent before immediately starting up the next grade.

As I start up the next grade, I fly by JV and his van, parked in a driveway to set up for an exchange. They were far enough off the road that I had no warning, and went blowing by them. No problem, I figure. If JV wants the climb, it's his and I can just use the next turnout. Well, there were a few problems here. First, there were no turnouts! The rules are very specific that you cannot stop in the middle of the road to load a bike, you cannot use turnouts on the left side, and you cannot ride backwards on the course. So, I was hammering away in my lowest gear and I had to keep climbing! The funny part was that JV was in the same predicament 50 feet behind me.

The absolute absurdity of this logistical blunder was not lost on me. I was laughing so hard that I could barely stay upright. On top of that, I was actually accelerating away from JV! We finally reached the top where my crew look at me like I am insane (I continued to laugh heartily for another 5 minutes), and JV continues on down the road (once he caught up). Yep, folks, I actually outclimbed JV!!!! I bet I will never get to say that again!

We pulled out to wait for JV just outside of Gettysburg. I've never been to Gettysburg, and was thoroughly enjoying the view from the plateau where we sat. I commented to Ron Bobb that I was disappointed that I never got to see a sunset during the race. Well, here I was at Gettysburg at sunset about to ride my last leg of the race (yes, I rode a little later on, but this was really the end, for all intents and purposes).

JV pulls in and off I go. The sun was setting off the back of my left shoulder, and I kept trying to ride while facing the other direction to watch the sun set. Naturally, I was all teary-eyed and happy...the roads were nice and monuments that I saw as we rode through the battlefields were intensely moving. I had just spent six days enjoying our beautiful country, and now I was riding through the battlefields of the most bloody war in the history of our country...a war that re-shaped the economic, social and political landscape of our country. It was truly moving and inspirational.

Of course, a last pull wouldn't be appropriate without some bonus miles...I rode an extra mile before my van pulled me over, we threw the bike onto the back and drove back to where we had missed our turn. As I continued on through the hills, I started noticing flashing lights out of the corners of my eyes. I thought I was having a stroke until I realized they were lightning bugs! I couldn't wait to call Shira, my daughter, and let her know I had found Leo! As I approached the RV, everyone was outside making a terrible noise...what was going on? Did I miss something? Apparently, this was standard procedure, but since I was never the last rider into the RV, I never got to experience this daily ritual...funny... I pulled over and Willie was off. There were hugs all around, and Travis Prebbles got it all on video.

http://www.recumbent.tv/home/viewvid...-exchange.html

Out of Hancock

Steep rollers

The pleasant hills of PA

Comical climbing

Gettysburg

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 16

2010-09-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

JV and I awoke early, and reviewed the maps to figure out our strategy. We had lost some ground on doc2doc, but we were unclear how much. We decided to move into a different mode - JV would take the climbs and I would do everything else. Time to get moving! We were about 5 miles past TS46 in Grafton, WV.

I took the first pull along the flats and halfway up the first climb. My wattage was actually pretty good for a first section at 183w, and I cruised through the first 5 miles at 13.8mph (keep in mind, after a couple miles, we were heading up a good climb).

We then continued on up the climb to the top to await JV. We did a hand off at the top, and JV actually followed me a ways down the climb until he reached a good turnoff (note, I never even knew he was there until I saw Bill Cook's video later). We had moved into a foggy area and the road was a touch wet, so I took the screaming descent carefully. But I covered the 8 mile pull at 22.8mph. JV took over right at the base of the climb and we shot to the top to wait for him. During our climb up, Ken explained the history and geography of the area, but I don't remember it! (something about a plateau).

My next pull began with a perfect 25mph rolling handoff, and I continued along the plateau for about 10 miles at 19.7mph. I was actually feeling really good now and was keeping my wattage on the climbs close to 200w! I had started a Coca Cola regimen, and it was definitely paying off! I was so amped up I remember calling out "Good morning Maryland" to some kids as we crossed the state line - they were a bit startled! The scenery was absolutely beautiful and I was really trying to enjoy my last day on the bike...I even got everyone in the van to sing John Denver (you can guess which song...it's pretty obvious)!

My last pull was 11.9 miles and involved some great 400ft climbs and some amazing 50mph descents. I knew it was my last pull, and decided to leave it all on the course. I was powering up the climbs trying to keep it at 225w and feeling great! Despite the climbing, this section moved along at 16.6mph.

JV got the screaming descent off of the plateau into Kaiser, and we met up with the RV at a pull off a few miles later. We enjoyed our usual shower outside in the warm sun, and retired into the RV for some sleep.

Climbing in West Virginia

Descending in West Virginia

The Great Plateau

Fantastic climbing!

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 15

2010-09-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

I awoke as we were driving through Athens, looking for a Walmart parking lot. We arrived and started getting set up. According to the results board, we were still only 12 minutes behind doc2doc. In 24 hours, we hadn't gained or lost any time. Time to get warmed up...it was a bit cold and misty out.

We immediately got onto the Interstate, but there was absolutely no traffic. My 8 mile run was about as flat as you could get. I cruised along at 20.8mph until JV took over.

My next stretch started to include some 100 to 150 foot rollers along a 5.4 mile section. My power was 20w higher (this seemed to be pretty normal - first pull is low and second pull picked up a bit), and I cruised it at 18.1mph, despite the climbing. Soon we were seeing doc2doc vehicles on the road, so we knew we were close. We were trying to keep the pulls as close to 20 minutes as possible so we could run a bit more intense. We would also try to do the exchanges at the top of the rollers to lose as little time as possible.

The next pull took me about 6.5 miles through Parkersburg. We had just crossed the West Virginia state line and doc2doc riders were now in sight! Nothing like some real competition to get the wattage up another 20 watts! This was getting quite exciting and it was also fun racing on the freeway!

My next pull outside of Parkersburg took me over a series of three 400 foot climbs. These were starting to get tough, but my power was still up in the 192w range on the climbs...that's good for me this late in the race! 8.2 miles moved along at 17.4mph.

My final pull took me into the control at Greenwood...8.1 miles at 15.4 mph. I was spent and my wattage was dropping significantly into the 160w range. This last section had 3 more 200 foot climbs, and a couple smaller ones. It was also getting cold...I was definitely cooked, and we were loosing sight of doc2doc.

(Note, we found out later that they had put all four racers into rotation on the course to try to get away from us. We couldn't spend too much time worrying about it...we didn't think they could keep it up anyway. Also, members of both teams were quite friendly with each other. When their rider passed us we would clap and cheer, and visa versa. It was quite fun!)

Leaving Athens

On the Interstate

Entering West Virginia

Some fun racing going on!

More racing!

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 14

2010-09-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

I awoke in a parking lot outside of Collinsville, IN...Team doc2doc pulled in beside us. We were staging racers from the same location! (it was a pretty big parking lot) We decided to do our exchange at the stop sign at the right turn onto Hwy 73/127. Stop signs are great places to do an exchange as you have to stop anyway. As we got bikes ready, we noticed that doc2doc was doing the same thing, but they were pointing their rider down the wrong road (there was a hard right and a soft right). Do you say something? We decided not to...each team has to ride their own race and it wasn't our responsibility to interfere.

Their rider showed up first, started down the wrong street and came back a couple minutes later. We had gained a few minutes on them. Willie showed up about 10 minutes later, and I continued on...down the correct road! The traffic was bad, but fortunately my van caught up with me quickly or I would have gone the wrong way! I continued on through the rolling hills into Trenton, which won the award for the worst roads I had experienced the entire race! Not only were the roads terrible, but it seemed to be taking forever for the exchange! 15.2 miles at 19.7 mph later, JV finally took over outside of town. It turns out that the bolts holding Willie's wheel cover had come off, and the cover was flapping in the wind on the roof of the van! While driving along, we brainstormed some solutions...this was one we definitely had NOT planned on. I had a few extra bolts, but not a whole set. Not sure what the outcome was...I was back on the bike in Lebanon.

Riding through a small town in the middle of rush hour was not fun. Lots of lights ensured that the follow vehicle could not keep up with me, and I really had no idea where I was going. I followed a vehicle belonging to another team until we got out of town. What came next was a bit surprising...

I had just turned onto a side road and passed a local rider on a beat up mountain bike. Bill P. got on the PA and announced that I should stay on the same road for the next 6 miles...they would be right back. They disappear. I kept riding, and 5 miles later, my van reappeared. We then proceeded to get lost along with 4 other teams!

The route book said we would come to a T, and I would make a left. So, I continued on and came to a T with a stop light, at the same time a solo rider was there. Suddenly, my van pulls up next to me and tells me we've gone the wrong way! Huh? I tell the solo rider, and follow my van around a corner to get the bike back on the van. The solo rider questioned me, but then followed. We drove by JV as his van was putting him on the road to carry on, but he was going the wrong way too! We found the correct turn (which was NOT a T), and I got on the road and carried on. As we were doing this, we saw other teams making the same mistake!

I continued along and got away from my van again. Bill started calling out directions over the PA from 200 yards back. At the same time, I caught up with the solo rider, who had a GPS. I had two people telling me which way to go...fortunately, they were giving me the same directions! The solo rider, Tony O'Keefe, and I chatted as we navigated through the town, and he continued on while I made another wrong turn! This was getting quite frustrating, but since everyone else was in the same boat, it was rather comical. Shortly, JV took over, and we carried on to Blanchester where Lee got directions for a detour and I chatted with Barbara Bautois.

JV rode through as Lee continued to get instructions on the detour, and we finally got on the road again. We caught up and did an exchange outside of Martinsville, and I rode another 8 miles at 19.2mph.

My final pull was short...only 3.2 miles. We needed to get JV back on the road to take the last pull to the RV, and we had no idea where the RV was! JV ended up getting a nice long pull to the RV, but at least it was twisty, windy, downhill and scenic! Bummer huh?

Chasing doc2doc!

Getting lost!

Back on track

A very short pull

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 13

2010-09-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

I woke up and we were in the rolling hills of Indiana! doc2doc has just passed the RV as I got out, so I knew we were within about 15 minutes of them...Willie and Kent kept pace with them through the night! I started racing as Willie pulled in, and was quickly stopped at a construction zone for a couple minutes (FWIW, a couple minutes when you are racing feels like an eternity!). I continue to climb about 500 feet as the rollers stair-step up over the next 6.4 miles. My wattage is low, as it usually is on my first morning pull, but I know things will pick up.

I take over again in Solsberry, and my watts are back up to 200w on the first climb, and then about 175w for the rest of the 6.7 mile pull. With the rollers, I am only averaging 16.9mph, but I am enjoying the rural area.

The next stretch takes me 9 miles onto Hwy 46 into Bloomington at about 19mph. The road sucked and there was a lot of traffic due to some bottle-necking where the lanes merged down to only one each way. The control was at a shopping center where students from the local university were giving away water in glass bottles and t shirts to promote glass recycling. I asked who had my bottle before me...nobody laughed...I'm used to that...

I remember the next pull out on the highway...Bill Cook was interviewing me. We saw JV pulling in and I suggested he video a 30mph rolling exchange. I hope it makes it to the video he is putting together!

My final pull took me into the outskirts of Columbus, IN. Got stopped at another construction zone...frustrating. 9 miles at 19mph. After JV took over, my van crew needed to stop for a pit stop. Unfortunately, with all of the traffic through Columbus, we barely made it to the RV ahead of JV...another bumbled exchange...

Bloomfield, IN

More rollers through IN

Free T-Shirts in Bloomington!

More rollers

I didn't know there was a Nashville, IN!

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 12

2010-09-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't sleep very well...not sure why. I woke up as we were getting gas on the West side of the Mississippi River. It was dark out, the trucks at the gas station were incredibly loud, and if you looked up at the lights, hordes of bugs were swarming around each bulb. The good news? Real toilet...

Our shift started in Old Towneship, IL, about 10 miles west of Greenville. The bad news was that the tire on my tubular disk wheel was done. There were cords showing... Lonnie and I ripped it off and got another one on while the other crew swapped my rear wheel to an American Classic Carbon 58 (the AC version of the Zipp 404, sans dimples). The thing I noticed immediately was how quiet the bike became! When you get used to riding a disk wheel, you forget how noisy they are.... Too bad I didn't have the disk, though, as this was perfect aero wheel territory. Oh well, the glue would be dry for my next shift...

Off into the darkness. It's about 70 degrees and the humidity isn't too bad. As long as I am moving, it is quite comfortable and I am in shorts and short sleeves with arm coolers to help with the humidity. It's a pretty straight shot east on the 140 to Greenville. It's easy cruising at 21-22mph...no wind and gentle ups and downs. As I pass the 127, I see a van off the side of the road with a recumbent rider just getting on his Carbent... "Hi Tim!" (who else could it be?)

I continue on into Greenville, which has a steep little climb in the middle of town, and I signal Lee to pull up beside me. "Lee, get on the radio and ask JV if he doesn't mind taking a longer pull." Quizzical look from Lee. "I didn't come 2000 miles to blow past my friend with barely a hello. We are going back so I can ride with him for a bit." Lee gets on the radio and after a few minutes lets me know that JV is okay with the plan. So, a couple miles later JV and I do an exchange, we throw my bike onto the van and actually drive the WRONG direction!

A solo rider is allowed to ride with another rider for a maximum of 15 minutes per day. I intended to enjoy my 15 minute "prison" visit with a dear friend ("mellow out over there, big guy, this isn't a conjugal visit!"). Tim was moving pretty quick...we got me out on the road and pretty soon two friends were riding through an IL night, enjoying the cool air and each others' company.

Aside from general yakking (Tim was completely lucid at this point), I remember three things about our short ride. Remember, Tim is riding his Carbent with his Bent Up Cycles Aero bag on the seat (with bottle holders). He turns to me and asks, "Dana, want a beer?" "Huh?" "Seriously, do you want a beer?" He reaches into his bottle holder and starts handing me a beer bottle. It was O'Doul's, but I almost fell over laughing! I declined...I was riding and didn't want my BAC to get too high!

A couple minutes later, he asks me if I want to race....seriously.... I told him it wouldn't be fair as he had a disk wheel...

A couple minutes later, his crew called me back to the van to deliver some food. Apparently, the game was "guess what it is?" To this day, I still don't know what I gave him...he thought it was something with ham and cream cheese. When offered some, I declined...I'm a kosher vegetarian....

Too soon, my visit was over. We wished each other a safe race and my van shuttled me forward to meet up with JV. Thanks for you patience, JV, that visit meant quite a bit to me. Later, Lee pulled me over to tell me that I definitely did the right thing...I responded that it was the only thing to do...

Now back to racing...things slowed down a touch as we rode through Vandalia. There were a few turns, a few traffic lights, and we didn't want to get lost. Once we got on the open road again, though, it was back to a beautiful night! 11 miles later, outside of Brownstown, JV took over. I got back on outside of Altamont, and took it another 7.23 miles. JV then took it into the control.

This was a fun control. One of the media crew interviewed me, and I was having way too much fun! (see RAAM site for the video) As I was leaving, I asked the staff where Team doc2doc was. I was told that they had left 12 minutes earlier, and were looking quite wiped out! Woohoo! Now we are racing!

We get on the road, and 1/2 mile later, we make a wrong turn. Well, that was a waste of 4 minutes! Back on course...there's a rider ahead...let's pass them! Eventually, we pass and realize it is a solo rider. He works hard to keep up, but we hand off the baton in Deiterich, and JV is off!

I am on my way back to the RV, and a few minutes up the road we pass the doc2doc rider. He looks wiped, and we are feeling pretty good. Finally, some racing! JV and I meet at the RV, take an outdoor shower (yep, it's 4am), and try to get some sleep.

An IL night

Vandalia

A long, straight road

Out of Effingham

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 11

2010-09-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Our next stage at 4pm race time picked up in Mokane, MO, outside of Jefferson City, MO. My first pull was along the flat river terrain just north of the Missouri River. We discovered here that the state bird is, in fact, the mosquito. We learned very quickly to close the van door immediately after entering or exiting the van! I was feeling much better, but at this point the wattage was only up to about 170w or so.

I rode along for 8.6 miles at 22.1mph and then we set JV off into the first of the hills. As we started up the first climb, I groaned when I saw what JV was going to have to ride up...and it continued getting worse. These climbs weren't long, but they were steep! We finally found a pull-out at the top and waited.

As I started down from the top, I had my second "oh-sh't" moment of the race. I start bombing down this steep descent, and comment to myself that the turn at the bottom seems to be approaching awfully quick! I look down and see I am doing over 50mph! I can't grab too much brake, so I just hang on and hit the turn, grateful that it wasn't too sharp! Phewww... I continue on along the river at 23.2mph for about 8 miles, and note the Katy Trail off to my left.

The next pull begins outside of Hermann, and the first thing I notice is the road is VERY narrow and the hills are very short and steep! Up and down we continue on down the road towards another crossing of the Missouri River. Outside of New Haven, I see the most memorable water tower of the trip...it was amazingly tall and white with a bulbous head on the top. A bit more phallic looking than I would have expected out here in MO!

I take over outside of Washington, where I encounter the only real jack-ass driver that I can recall from the entire trip. I guess he wasn't used to cyclists taking their place in the left turn lane despite his giant truck. I was chatting with some college students at the red light, and I guess I didn't floor it fast enough when the light turned green. I nearly got run over! Oh well...one driver in 3000 miles wasn't bad...

Crossing the Missouri River from Washington was fun as the bridge was pretty cool. I was smiling the whole way across as my support van provided cover for me ("Cover me, Red Five, I'm going in!"), and I sailed across the plains on the other side. A final pull through the rollers as we headed NW, and I was finished. JV and I met back at the RV, enjoyed a shower in the sun behind the RV, and then tried to get some sleep!

More Missouri

Oh Sh-t moments!

More rollers!

Even more rollers

Over the bridge

Last pull in MO

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 10

2010-09-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

Remember my comments before about contrasts? Well, here we go again! I spent the last 24 hours racing through corn fields and flat to descending, straight roads. When I woke up, I was on top of a hill in this lush, beautiful county somewhere in MO! The humidity had increased significantly since yesterday, but it was still relatively cool and comfortable (it is 8am race time, 7am local time).

JV and I continue moving down the road, but the 30mph rolling hand-offs are a bit more difficult in this rolling terrain. For the most part, the rollers are just steep and long enough that you can't just roll over them, again and again. This actually requires a bit of work to hoof it over the top of each roller, and then I keep pedaling over the top until I am spun out in the descent.

We passed through a variety of small communities, including El Dorado, Collins, Wheatland, Hermitage, and others. I recall stopping for gas, getting a donut at a mini-mart (that was a real treat!). I also remember some other radio users getting pretty upset at us using "their" radio frequency. Their choice of words were quite colorful!

I also recall one set of real "rollers" outside of Macks Creek that were a blast. These were just high enough that with some effort, I could roll over the top of each of them and then bomb down the other side! Weeee!

Finally, it was during this stage that we passed Amy Xu, women's solo racer. She ended up DNFing at the Mississippi.

Missouri

More Missouri

Rollers through Missouri

More rollers

Macks Creek

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 9

2010-09-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

10pm local time, midnight race time, JV and I are up again for another shift. We are STILL in KS!!! I really didn't realize how long KS was! We are parked in Towanda, KS, just leaving the Wichita area. As JV and I come out, a Bacchetta rider named Nic is outside waiting to talk to us. JV seemed to know him, but in my sleepy haze, I couldn't recognize him. However, I was quite impressed that he had followed us for 20 miles to catch up to us to chat. He and JV spoke for awhile, while I drank a Coke and tried to get the blood and head moving again!

In comes Willie, and I am off, heading east! The highlight of my night was around the corner as we turned right on W. Central Ave. I am speeding along at about 20 mph, it's about 70 degrees and the humidity is low, and I hear a "Go Dana" from off to my right in a shopping center parking lot. I see a flash of blonde hair, realize I only know one woman in the entire state of KS, and yell back "Hi SK (Sara Kay Carrell, Team Bacchetta racer)." That really brought a smile to my face, knowing the SK had come all the way out here to say hello! Thanks! I continued my race through El Dorado and JV took over after about 10 miles at 22.2mph.

I took four more pulls as I continued through east KS. The other highlight was having Lee Mitchell drive behind me for one pull. Bill had been doing all of the driving during my night shifts since AZ, and it was a nice change of pace to have Lee behind me. He definitely knows what he is doing, and of course, he was blasting Billy Idol over the PA! My power was sure feeling low tonight, but I kept going as best as I could. By my last pull, I was definitely spent, but we managed to cover over 80 relatively flat miles in our shift.

Towanda, KS

Leaving El Dorado

Heading through Eureka

More Eureka

Into Yates, KS

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 8

2010-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

RAAM becomes a series of contrasts. You go to sleep in one place, and wake up someplace completely different. You frequently don't know what time it is, what time zone you are in...I didn't even know what day it was half the time! This contrast was most apparent when I awoke in the middle of a corn field. The previous night, I was admiring the dusk amidst the tall mountains and forests around me...today I am in a corn field and have NO IDEA which way is east or west! So began my trip across the Midwest....

My van pulls up to the RV and we start doing the recumbent bike shuffle. The first thing you always do is pull off the outgoing riders' primary bike. Why? Because when Willie comes screaming into the exchange point 10 minutes ahead of schedule, I can actually jump on my bike and ride, even if my follow vehicle isn't ready (this only applies during daytime transitions). I ask my crew if there are any turns coming up..."no." Good, I'm off with only a minute or two lost in the transition. Another team just passed our RV five minutes ago, and I really wanted to catch them. My van will catch me down the road...

I'm off...I cruise the slight rollers for 13 miles into Kim, CO, speeding along at 22.8mph. The 140 watts I'm putting out are a little low as it is early and I'm still tired (remember, we are still a mile high!). I also didn't know how long I would be out on the road solo, and didn't want to blow myself up. Once we leave Kim, it really starts the official "descent" for hundreds of miles.

On my next pull, it was time to pick things up a bit. Given the consistent terrain, we decide that 10 mile pulls would be about 20 minutes. JV and I were working to perfect our 25-30mph rolling exchanges. Let's see if I can describe it...

We can only pull over at a pull out that gets us 5 feet off the road. These aren't always easy to find. So, my hope as an outgoing rider was to ensure that the incoming rider can get off the road at the same pull out that we are using (to avoid having to ride further up the road). To do this, after getting the bike off the van, I would walk it back down the course about 100 yards (we can't ride backwards on the course, but we can walk). This would give me time to get up to speed right as we passed the turnout.

Here comes JV...he's moving at 25-30mph! It's hard to judge how soon to start pedaling, and I don't want to blow myself up doing it. Closer...closer...go! I hit it, get up to 25mph right as he is crossing my rear wheel. JV then reaches over as he passes, puts his hand on my seat and pushes. It's like having a turbo boost! Woo hoo! He then pulls off the road and walks back to the van, and I continue on at 30mph. (note, we saw many teams losing time because they weren't doing fast rolling exchanges, and losing 5 seconds per pull adds up to 30 minutes more time at the finish line!).

So, my second pull carries me 9.8 miles at 28mph with an average wattage of 188! We are cruising now and halfway through the pull I pass the Aussie team! JV takes a pull, I eat and try to post to FB...this is fun but there is no internet out here!!!!

Time to mellow out a bit...I went too hard on the last pull and we have a ways to go ahead of us. 10 miles go by at 27.1mph, and I've backed it off to 162w. The next pull carries me another 10 miles at 27.4mph and 150w. Definitely went out too hard... JV blows through Walsh, CO and proceeds to miss a train crossing. We are now even at one missed train each!

We continue to see the crew of the Aussie team, and we take turns cheering each other down the road. Right after I passed them, I remember seeing the entire crew from their team coming out of the RV to cheer me on. That was quite cool!

CO and KS are beautiful, in a different sort of way. Yes, it's a lot of corn, but it's not so tall that I can't see over the corn and look for miles in all directions. Corn, corn and more corn...but lot's of neat barns and wildlife too! I waved to all of the drivers and gave the universal signal to a train conductor to blow his horn (yep...I'm always looking for reasons to act like I'm 10 again)!

I cross the state line into KS and continue cruising at 26.8 miles for about 13 miles. That's my final pull, and I meet JV at the RV in Johnson City...er...JV rode by the RV at Johnson City because folks weren't ready for the exchange...again... JV continues a couple miles down the road until Kent's van can catch up with him and drop Kent on the course. JV's van then brings him back to the RV and then moves Willie further up the course.

Shower time...damn, out of water in the RV! Besides, it's 90 degrees out and standing in the shower doesn't sound like much fun. JV has a better idea...we grab 1 gallon bottles of water and shower in our cycling shorts with it behind the RV. This was SO refreshing that it became our standard routine for most of the rest of the race!

Our trip across KS continued four hours later...KS is quite long! We picked up somewhere around Ensign, KS. The scenery was the same, but at a certain point after Ford, we moved onto a busier highway. We rotated with Kent and Willie somewhere before Pratt, KS.

Racing across Colorado

More racing across Colorado

Even more racing across Colorado

More of Colorado

Riding into Kansas

Riding across Kansas in the next shift

Small town Kansas

More Kansas roads

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 7

2010-09-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

I remember waking up, stepping outside of the RV and watching dusk roll into the valley below me. The mountains on each side glowed red, orange, magenta and all you could see were trees, mountains and sky. It was quite spectacular...where are we? Kent and Willie had ridden across the valley floor out of South Fork and we were parked at the top of the second climb in the Rockies, a 9400 ft. peak. We were waiting for Willie to finish up the climb, and I hung around outside for a bit enjoying the view of the Valley as night settled in. It was in the 40s and cold, so I loaded up with clothes knowing that about 1/4 mile up, I would begin a 13 miles, 2500 foot descent into the next valley.

Now, before some of you get too excited about a wild descent, remember it is cold up here! As I began the descent, I realized that 40mph was about tops...it was too cold to go any faster! As JV noted about Wolfe Creek, the descent was actually pretty boring...a basically straight road down into nothingness.

We had some tricky turns at the bottom - we needed to make a right turn onto a small road after crossing a bridge. To make things more difficult, it was quite hard to understand these directions over the PA at 40mph! Somehow, we managed to make the turn, which put us onto some fun, windy roads heading into the very small town of La Veta. Even though it was midnight and there wasn't a soul in sight, I stopped at all of the stop signs before beginning the climb up the final ascent of the Rockies.

Remember I mentioned that I had bulked up for the descent? This now cost me as we began to climb. I just kept unzipping and unzipping....I had been on the road for over 40 minutes now, and was really wondering when reinforcements were going to show up (I bet they missed the turn after the bridge, or something like that). We couldn't blast music over the PA because we were in a residential zone, so it was me and the road...up, up, up. The PT wasn't working for some reason, so I was going on feel...all I know is I rode 20 miles at 23.1mph, climbing a total of 934 feet.

For a minute, let me give you a glimpse of what the inside of the van looked like during this pull. I was getting so sweaty during each pull that I was basically stripping in the van, sitting in just my shorts for 10 minutes, and then putting on a new set of clothes for the next pull. I had my wet stuff spread all over the van in hopes that it would dry out quickly in the heated air! It actually worked and I had dry clothes for every pull, but it sure looked comical!

JV and crew finally caught up and we began working our way up the climb. I volunteered to give JV the next descent as it was dropping into the low 30's as we got closer to the 9900 foot summit, but he wasn't going for it! Actually, it was a good move...he's the stronger climber and there was a team coming up from behind. We rode back and forth, back and forth, to the top. 2.4 miles at 167w and 7.5mph, another pull of 1.5 miles at 166w and 6mph. The plan was for me to descent to the plateau about 7 miles down, JV would ride across the 7 mile plateau, and I would continue another 10 miles down the descent, with JV taking the last 10 miles into the RV (reportedly parked at mile 51 of the section).

This is bloody cold! I loaded up even more with thick tights, a long sleeve undershirt and a thick, long sleeve windproof jersey, a balaclava, wool socks and full fingered gloves. But it was so cold I could only do about 32mph! At one point, the road shot straight up for about 100 yards. I had to shift into my small chainring and dropped the chain. As I got off the bike, I realized that I could also grab another jacket from the van. After that, I was good to 50mph! Woo hoo! Bombing down the dark mountain, van can't keep up but I've got that Surefire light on high. That turn is coming up a bit quickly...but I don't dare grab too much brake...hope there is nobody coming up the other side as I am definitely using the whole road for this turn! Phewww....maybe I shouldn't be doing 50... Short climb up to the plateau and JV takes over.

We set up for my next pull at the end of the plateau. Note, because we are in the mountains, we have no radio reception with the RV or the other van. JV passes, and I take off on a beautiful trip down the canyon. The road isn't nearly as steep now after the first mile or so...I'm soft pedaling at about 35-40mph, hoping that no deer jump out into the road. The road is windy, so I keep the light on high and can see just fine. JV should be up ahead....there's his van, but no JV out front...keep pedaling...

It's quite pretty through here, so I am just enjoying the ride. JV's van passes again so I assume they are setting up ahead. There is the van and JV is scrambling to get to his bike as I zoom past again! This is getting kind of funny... Finally, a couple miles further, JV and I do a successful exchange and I hop back in the van. At this point, I hear that the RV is actually at mile 61, not 51, and I find out later that JV is pretty fried. After a couple miles we do an exchange and a couple things happen:

First, nobody is communicating to me what is actually going to happen. Also, my light seems to be dimming a bit...switch it to low to get a bit more life out of it, but it is not going to last long. After a few miserable miles (I'm tired too...it's 4am), my crew finally tell me what's going on and I slug it out to the RV. My light dies 100 yards from the RV and I literally roll to the RV in complete darkness. No crashing, just frustration...get some food, shower and go to sleep!

Bombing into La Veta

Climbing out of La Veta

More climbing

Bombing down towards Trinidad

More bombing

The home stretch!

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 6

2010-09-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Fitful sleep...the RV was driving through windy mountain roads and I was being launched around on the trampoline! I finally just got up and hung around for awhile waiting for Willie to finish his pull. We are outside of Pagosa Springs, and definitely in the mountains. My first pull is a short, 3.6 mile pull to get us to the main highway into Pagosa Springs. Remember, we are close to 8000 feet, and I busted it out at 172w and 15.2mph.

JV takes a short turn and then I am back on the road. We are now trying to predict pulls more accurately to stay in the 20 minute range. This means more pulls per shift, but a shorter duration. I get a pull into Pagosa Springs...20 miles to Wolfe Creek Pass. It is definitely getting dark and stormy out. Off to the left, I can see rain, lightning and snow in the mountains. JV's van ahead of us reports hail, but by the time I finish my 6.9 miles, it is just a light drizzle. I'm a bit cold and my power is down to about 165w.

I guess it's time to test out the rain gear! I'm just praying that we don't have to climb the Pass in the snow...not my idea of fun! I get another short, 6 mile pull, getting closer to the base of the pass. It's definitely getting colder...next pull I will whip out the heavy rain gear!

(my power data shows an extra pull in here that I don't remember...must have been having too much fun!).

JV gets on the road and we shuttle ahead to the sign that says "Summit - 8 miles". I get set up to go, and the rain has stopped completely! JV and I do an exchange and I start up the official Wolfe Creek Pass! I signal for music over the PA, and Bill fiddles for a few minutes until he settles on Bruce Springsteen. I'm rocking now...and I don't even like Springsteen, but the music fit the mood perfectly and I rock my way 2 miles up the Pass, enjoying the beauty! 171w never felt so good! Stan and PJ, our errand van crew, were waiting for me at the turnout, and both got big, tearful hugs as we stood there, overlooking the Valley below us, taking in the splendor.

(Side note - I think endorphins affect people differently. I get very happy and very emotional. Seems I was always getting tearful about something. What a wonderful way to spend time on the bike...except when you can't see!)

We decide to scale back the pulls to 1.5 miles. I have two more pulls to the summit, and JV will get the descent (which was fine with me...it sounded cold, but he would get his revenge later). Another 1.345 miles at 155w (remember, we are over 10,000 feet here!), and the final 1.25 miles at 152w and I'm feeling great (note, this was about red-lined for this elevation).

JV takes off down the descent...we have a hard time keeping up with him at 55+ mph, let alone passing him to get to the RV! We finally arrive in South Fork to Willie and Kent, eager to get on the bikes!

Pagosa Springs

Leaving Pagosa Springs

Closing on Wolfe Creek Pass

Up Wolfe Creek

Getting close to the top!

__________________

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 5

2010-09-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

Man, I'm tired. At least I slept. We are about 20 miles out of Mexican Hat, UT. The weather is crisp and cool first thing in the morning, and I'm tired. Willie comes zooming in and off I go on a windy, cracked road through a deserted canyon. As I climb higher, I can start seeing mesas around me...we are definitely in Utah, but it looks like we missed seeing Monument Valley. My first pull was sluggish for 7.56 miles at 156w...17.6 miles an hour...I need some caffeine!

I slowly start waking up and enjoying the scenery around me. It's starting to warm up and the hills, canyons and mesas around us are quite spectacular. I get on the bike again and pick things up a bit averaging 173w over the next 5.6 miles, at 12.8mph. I didn't feel so bad given the 500 feet of climbing, some of it steep. The Perpetuem is kicking in!

Next section takes me across the plateau to the turn towards Cortez. My power is down a touch at about 165w as I cruise through Cortez, out the other side. My 7 mile pull averaged 16.3mph with about 400 feet of climbing. This is where I got a great picture of me and my crew on the side of the road...all smiles!

At this point, I get a note from David Bradley informing me about the crash of a team RV ahead in Durango. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, but the team was DNF (it was later noted that the driver had fallen asleep and run into the barrier on the side of the road, tipping the RV).

We start my last pull at the base of a climb up to the off-ramp for some National Park. John T. says "have fun, that climb will take you about 20 minutes!" Yeah right...five and a half minutes later I am heading down the other side, 44mph with full aero wheels! This was a bit exhilarating as it was my first real high speed descent of the race. I was a bit surprised I let it go that fast as I tend to get a bit shakey on the aero wheels at high speeds - it's amazing what you will do in a race. Stay loose and enjoy the ride...weeeeeeee! I did the climb at 185w (remember, we are at almost 7000 feet), and the second, longer climb at 167w. Not my best numbers of the race, but it was daylight and I was excited to be entering the Rockies!

Outside of Montezuma Creek

Checking out the mesas

Heading through Cortez

Up into the Rockies!

And even further up!

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 4

2010-09-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

First, a quick note....you will notice my power was down around 150w in Flagstaff. We were reducing our power based on elevation, so you would expect it to be lower. At 7K feet, we were knocking at least 10% off, so my red line went from 210 to 190w. 150w was still low, but not as low as it might appear... Now, back to our adventure...

I slept...I actually slept. I am pretty sure this was the first time I actually slept more than 30 minutes the entire trip! When I awoke, I was dreadfully tired, and it was really dark and cold, wherever the heck we were! On a positive note, the stars were beautiful (we were actually about 30 miles out of Tuba City). Did I mention it was cold? Off I go...my first pull was a gradual climb from 5900 to 6200 feet over 32 minutes, 9 miles, 156w, 160w normalized. JV took over while I tried to warm up in the van.

The next pull took me over the 6700 foot summit. While waiting outside the van for JV to pull up, a team passed the vehicle. I could see the summit up ahead and was eager to get going. Up about 100 feet over the next 2.5 miles, and then the fun begins! I start bombing down the other side, just within sight of the other team. I can't wait to go bombing by this other team! This is my first real descent at night and these Surefire lights are absolutely amazing! The road is lit up like a high beam on a car...the follow vehicles' lights are completely unnecessary (note-remember to point the light slightly higher after this shift!) Willie has now won the MVP award twice, as far as I am concerned...first for that crazy 2-hour pull outside of Prescott and now for making these amazing lights! Woo hoo! Let 'er rip! What's this? 30s prior to passing, JV's van decides to make an exchange! All momentum is lost and I get in the van to have a little talk about appropriate locations for exchanges...

(remember, at night we cannot do rolling exchanges, so doing one on a descent means you lose ALL of your speed because you have to come to a complete stop just in front of the outgoing rider).

JV continues bombing down the descent and continues into some rollers for a bit. We do another exchange, and I get the final 5ish miles into Kayenta (FWIW, we did pass the other team). Bill, Lee and Jon T. decide to gas up in Kayenta as JV takes the last pull to the RV, about 8 miles out of Kayenta. I remember a trucker at the gas station telling us that we were absolutely insane to be out here riding on these roads at 4am...what does he know?

Climbing out of Tuba City

Over the top!

Bombing down into Kayenta

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 3

2010-09-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

Off the bike and time for a shower in Congress, AZ! Kat, one of the crew in charge of the RV, takes my lunch order while I hop into the shower that measures about 1.5 feet deep by 2.5 feet wide. It's not really a shower...to conserve water as much as possible, we get wet quickly, turn off the water, soap up before the water evaporates and then rinse as quickly as possible. This becomes even more challenging if the RV is actually moving (most of the time Rich, our driver, checked to make sure that we were finished. But a couple times he forgot...). Then, time to try to sleep.

Sleep isn't happening for either of us. Bounce, bounce, bounce...did I just get airborne? Sleeping in a moving RV is not easy, especially when you are hyped up on adrenaline! After a few hours of restless sleep, we start realizing that something is wrong. Apparently, we forgot about an area where the RV could not go, and we ended up missing our riders. Quick, back up the road a different way, one of the vans comes out to meet the RV about 15 miles off the course to shuttle us back and forth, and the reinforcements (us) are sent out to rescue poor Willie who has been out on the road for two hours!

We intercepted Willie about 9 miles outside of Cottonwood...boy, was he happy to see us! We do an exchange and I start up a gentle climb towards Sedona.

I've never been to Sedona. I now want to go back to Sedona. I recall cresting that first rise and being absolutely blown away by the red canyons, mesas and rock formations that surrounded me! To say it was beautiful was the understatement of the race! I rolled over a few small hills before cruising down into Sedona proper where we did an exchange. It was a short 20 minute pull of 4.3 miles at 12.6 mph, 172w, 179 normalized power.

JV rode through the tourist area and started up the climb to Flagstaff. We started doing exchanges up in the canyon. I must say, it was quite hard to focus on climbing when it was so beautiful, but I stayed as focused as possible and tried to keep the three teams behind us at bay as we climbed and climbed and climbed 3000 feet over 20 miles up to Flagstaff. The climbing was gentle, for the most part, but got rather steep in the last couple miles. During this section, we operated out of one van instead of two to minimize the amount of shuttling that needed to be done and to give the RV as much time as possible to get to Flagstaff.

The last pull was weak. We had reached the top of the climb and I knew we were coming up on Flagstaff. I crested a few rollers, trying to keep another rider at bay (unsuccessfully), and started riding into the outskirts of Flagstaff. The problem was (a) I had already been out for about 25 minutes and (b) I had no idea where my support vehicle was! I was weak and starting to get a bit pissy...I didn't want to make a wrong turn and get lost and I had no idea where to go. Fortunately, there were still enough RAAM vehicles around that I could follow them.

A couple miles later, Lee and the crew show up just before a turn and start directing me through town. After one turn, they tell me to stay on this road and they will see me at the RV at the TS a couple miles up the road. No problem...one mile, two miles, three miles...where exactly is the TS and why I am missing every single light? I finally notice the control up ahead (I can see some RVs), and I expect to see JV or someone waiting out there to rescue me from a shift that has gone from amazing to crappy over the last hour of riding. Nope...nobody there...I keep riding...a few miles later as I start bombing down a hill, they decide to do an exchange while I am doing close to 40mph. To be honest, I almost kept going just out of spite! I was hungry, tired and quite grumpy, to say the least! The last pull was 17.42 miles over 57m of riding time, 18mph average, 150w, 160w normalized. I actually think this was when I decided to add the Perpetuem to my routine as I was wiped!

Heading into Sedona

Out the back of Sedona and up the climb

Climbing up the canyon

Hellish ride into Flagstaff

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 2

2010-09-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

"Good morning from Salome, AZ!" That was my Facebook post after my first pull of the morning. And a glorious morning it was! It was the only sunrise I got to see as I stumbled out of the RV trying to figure out (a) where are we? (b) which way are we supposed to point our bikes? and (c) where are we? It was a cool morning, but not too cold. Race time was 8am (eastern time), but it was really 5am and felt like it. The upcoming stretch was going to be slightly uphill...not too difficult, so I ran my full aero wheelset again. I also realized that setting up the power meter was going to be difficult as I was too close to other bikes running power meters, and my Edge 705 couldn't decide which one to read! Oh well, the first five minutes were by feel until the other power meters on the roof of the van turned off!

Yesterday, I was running without music...we couldn't have a follow vehicle on the first stage and the second stage was too exciting and we forgot... This morning, I showed my van crew, Bill Cook, Ken Z., and Ron Bobb, how my iphone worked, and they cranked it up for me during my pulls. Nothing like classic 80's rock to keep you going!

This road was straight...I mean really straight. RAAM teams had received a notice from AZ police that they were enforcing strict pullouts completely off the road as some drivers had complained that the racers were blocking the road. Whatever...I was too high on endorphins to really care. I enjoyed the sunrise as we headed east 60 miles towards Congress, AZ. Our course would take us from 1600 feet to a bit over 3000 feet - a gradual, consistent grade up. I can't say the scenery was all that spectacular...flat prairie with hills in the distance...rather dull. But still, we were racing RAAM, and the excitement was high!

Sunrise outside of Salome

Moving on down the desert road

More desert road

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 1

2010-09-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

RAAM is huge. The logistical preparations begin almost a year in advance - this preparation is a complete story by itself! This narration is going to focus on the race itself, walking through different sections of the race. I'm also going to be pretty honest, without getting personal, about the highlights and low moments of the race. I hope you find it worthwhile!

To start, I think I ran the most conservative race of the team members. While we all trained hard and came into the race well prepared, I definitely felt a bit like the slow guy, and wanted to make sure that I had the energy to get through the race successfully without any issues. There were too many other issues to deal with, nutrition, lights, unfamiliar roads, 3000 MILES!!!, I didn't want bonking to be one of them.

I took the first pull of the race out of Oceanside. This first 20 miles is completely unsupported, so you bring everything you need for an hour of riding and tools for an emergency. They launched us at one-minute intervals, and this time would then be subtracted from our final total. The only rule was that on the first 7 miles on the bike path, you were not allowed to pass anyone. Given this, I was hoping to be the last person out...instead I was about the sixth. Needless to say, we bottle-necked on the bike path and I lost a fair amount of time there (hey 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there starts to add up).

Once we got out onto the open road, I could finally open it up to 190w and cruise through the flat to slightly rolling terrain. I started passing other teams, all the while staying well within my limits, but then would get caught at another traffic light! Yep, the race was starting a bit on the frustrating side for me! After the 20 miles, I had effectively increased my lead by one spot, and the climbing was about to begin!

JV got the first real climb, and we continued taking 20-30 minute pulls up the first half of the climb to Mt. Palomar. We were passed by many teams...they all seemed to be in a rush to get to the top and were working quite hard to get there. JV and I just stuck to our game plan, keeping it smooth and consistent, regardless of the grade (this was a basic theme with us throughout the whole race - stick to the plan...). Racing across the plateau after Lake Henshaw was breath-taking, and I ended my shift just prior to the descent down the glass elevator (a steep, very technical, windy descent from 4K ft. to sea level). We re-grouped with the RV at Christmas Circle and Willie and Kent were off to race! At the top of the plateau it was about 75 degrees, in the valley it was close to 100!

On a side note...I've heard from numerous sources that the first night of team RAAM is rather...uh...challenging. The teams are very close to each other so there is a lot of excitement. That, coupled with the fact that crew are still getting the hang of exchanges and other things, can make it a bit...uh...challenging. Knowing this, I really tried to keep my cool and be mellow. No point in getting upset about anything this early in the game.

For some reason, Willie and Kent were pulled from their shift a bit early. We were about 30 miles outside of TS2. I remember this pull out because it was dark and we were parked about 100 yards from a RR crossing. Of course, as soon as I took off, I had to stop for a train! Okay...patience Grasshopper...back on the road, it's nighttime, it's warm, the road is smooth and traffic-free and there are a number of teams ahead of us! If you look at the profile, you can see that my pull started with the climb up 900 feet over the first 10 miles. JV got the rollers at the top, and then most of the descent down the other side. That's a long pull, you might think...we had a very difficult time catching JV, who was passing teams left and right! We finally made an exchange and then I got an extra long pull into TS3 in Blythe. I found out later that our radios weren't working...thus the extra long pull... Remember the word challenging? You will notice that by TS2, we were up to 15th place amongst all of the teams (as opposed to 2nd to last at Lake Henshaw). By TS3, we were in 7th place.

Another note about the first night... I've been quite spoiled over the years by the likes of Robert Johnson of Terracycle who is an amazing night driver. He understands that he needs to be 20 feet behind me, regardless of the speed, so that I have lights for the road. It's imperative that the driver not rely on "brights" as a rider can go from light to darkness very quickly if the driver has to dim the brights for an oncoming car. We had fantastic lights from Surefire that had a remote handlebar switch, so we could instantly fire up the uber-bright lights, as needed. However, knowing that we were going to be in the Rockies at night, I needed to be completely confident in my driver's ability to stay with me.

The biggest concern that new drivers have is "well, if you go down, I will run you over." Nonsense. If I am traveling at 40mph and go down, I will continue sliding on the road for quite a distance before coming to a stop...you will have plenty of time to stop. The bigger concern is if the rider does something unexpected, like hard braking, then the rider could be hit. We riders know this (or should know this) and try to ride as consistently as possible while in front of a car.

So, after my first night shift, I requested a new driver. Nothing personal...but I needed to be confident. My crew chief obliged and I didn't have any more issues with this the entire race.

First pull out of Oceanside

Climbing up to Lake Henshaw

More Climbing

Racing Across the Plateau

First Night Shift!

First Really Long Shift - No Radios!

Touring the Alps

2010-09-06T14:55:00.001-07:00

We recently heard back from a customer who purchased Ti Virginia bikes for him and his wife. They recently completed a tour of the Alps, and this is what they had to say:

We finished our tour of the alps (Grand Route de Alps) http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/my-journey/by-road/the-great-alps-trail.html back in July. The trip was amazing and so were the bikes. We flew into Geneva, loaded the bikes with two panniers each and our seat bag containing water. It was incredible that two fully loaded panniers had no noticeable impact to the handling of the bike, they were rock solid and nimble. We probably had about 30-40 pounds of gear each in the bags.

We cycled 850 km and climbed 15-16 passes including the highest pass in Europe (50 km up) and several passes over 2000m. It was an unbelievable adventure and are already planning next years mountain trip (the Dolomites in italy). Have enclosed a few pictures:

Thanks for all the help, was a pleasure dealing with you.

Race Across America starts now!

2010-06-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Team Bent Up Cycles heads down to Oceanside this Thursday for the adventure of a lifetime! There are a number of ways to follow us as we speed across the country:

1. I'm sure there will be a very active, blow-by-blow discussion on BROL. Our alternate rider, Chris Young, will be in contact with us throughout the race and posting to that discussion.

2. Dana will be posting to the Bent Up Cycles Facebook page, and those posts are automatically sent to his Twitter account (benthead1968). The most recent five Twitter posts will also appear here to your right.

3. JV will be posting to Twitter (jverheul4) and to his blog.

4. One of our crew, Kat, will be posting to her Twitter account (katerpillar) and to the Team's Twitter account (TeamBentUpCycle).

Please do not call the shop for updates, as they will not have any news other than what is posted elsewhere. :)

Thanks for all of your support. We are looking forward to an exciting race!

Team Bent Up Cycles Ride-n-Greet

2010-05-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Bent Up Cycles will be hosting a Ride-n-Greet for our RAAM Team on Saturday, June 5th. This is a great opportunity to come out and meet the team, do a social ride around the San Fernando Valley, and enjoy coffee and snacks at the shop afterwards. We look forward to seeing you there!

RAAM training and bikes unveiled

2010-05-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted a training update. Overall, training has been going very well. I'm feeling stronger, the workouts continue to get harder...I am really pushing the envelope of personal fitness! This month, the workouts focus on increasing intensity for longer periods of time and maximizing the amount of time spent on the bike at the level of power that we will be using on RAAM (tempo pace). Willie has been doing some RAAM simulation training (30 minutes on, 30 minutes off, throughout the night for four hours, etc.) and we are all participating in the PCH Randos 200k brevet next Saturday.

We just had a fantastic team meeting where we went over menu items. You can't imagine how long it takes to decide what you are going to eat for six days, keeping the menu varied, satisfying and appropriate for long distance cycling. Our list was two pages long, and I'm sure we forgot something!

On another note, I frequently get asked "so, what are you riding on RAAM?" Over the next week or so, I will post a couple videos highlighting some of the bikes we will be riding. Here's the first one:

And the second on one:

Custom Musashi - better than Sushi?

2010-05-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

We just finished building up our Musashi framekit with a full SRAM XX/Red drivetrain, American Classic wheels and a custom handlebar set up. We hope you enjoy!

Some fun new videos

2010-04-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

We've just added some fun videos to our YouTube collection. Take a brief tour of the Catrike Musashi:

You can also check out the new Carbent HPV Raven Team:

And finally, we just built up this beautiful HP Velotechnik Scorpion FS for a customer who plans on doing some serious touring:

Walking and Bicycling to School - a National Epidemic is Ending?

2010-04-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

As a member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, I receive a weekly update on all things cycling and advocacy related in the LA County. The editor recently posted a link to an article on bicycling and walking to school. Apparently, walking and cycling to school have stabilized at an all time low of about 12%. This is absolutely amazing to me! In Los Angeles, most children live within a mile of school...why wouldn't they walk or ride their bikes? My daughter and I love walking/bicycling/scootering to school! But where are the other 88%? Oh yeah...I forgot...it's too dangerous...

Hear me out here. This morning, a group of walking parents congregated at the school gate to chat (as we usually do...one of the things you can't do in a car). We watched three cars blow right through the crosswalk as the crossing guard was standing in the middle of the street with children crossing to school! As if a crossing guard wearing a a reflective vest holding a STOP sign wasn't enough, there are three signs in each direction leading up to the cross walk signaling drivers that they are approaching a school zone and the speed limit is 25mph. And yet, they still just blow right through (and no, they were not on the cell phone). No wonder many parents don't feel safe walking/riding with their children.

LACBC hopes to address this type of concern by launching a Bicycle Ad Awareness Campaign. Their goal is "to help make drivers more aware of the growing number of bicyclists on our streets in order to create safer streets for all." Great! Are they the ones posting the white signs all over the city saying "Watch for cyclists" and "Share the road"? No, they will be posting ads in bus depot and public kiosks. So, how many drivers do you think are hanging out at the bus depot? Hmmmm.... While I can certainly get behind a cycling ad campaign to promote safety, I think they have mis-identified their audience. Unless I am missing some of the details here, I think they need to go back to the drawing board on this one... Me, I called the local police department and asked them to please station a police officer out in front of the school from 7:30 to 8am. Think of it as public safety and a great way of generating revenue for a cash-strapped city!

More RAAM coverage - introducing our Crew Chief!

2010-04-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

In the world of staying fit and active, a lot of folks talk the talk, a few walk the walk and yet others - like 74-year old local resident Lee Mitchell - pedal the, uh, pedal.

Mitchell, an instructor in geology, geography and oceanography at Woodland Community College, has been cycling for nearly three decades but unlike most folks who pull a bicycle out of their garage or storage shed for a leisurely five-mile ride once a week, Mitchell has logged more than 100,000 miles on his bike and chalks much of his passion for distance up to his first Davis Double Century event in 1975.

Since that one event, Mitchell has participated in hundreds of rides including racing in three Race Across America (RAAM) events - an annual 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast race that draws endurance riders from around the globe - and crewing another twenty.

Alternating between racing on a team (setting records in each for age-category race times) and acting as a crew chief to other teams, Mitchell has become a well-known face to the RAAM athletes who compete each year and 2010 will be no different. Beginning June 12, Mitchell will be crew chief for Team Bent Up Cycles, an all-male, all recumbent bicycle team as the four-man team leaves Oceanside, CA.

Sponsored by Bent Up Cycles, the premier retailer and manufacturer of recumbent bicycles in the States, the team consists of three Californians - Dana Lieberman, owner of Bent Up Cycles, Willie Hunt and Jim Verheul - and Texan Kent Polk.

Few riders or crew chiefs know the Race Across America route, high points or challenges the way that Mitchell - nicknamed "Fuzzy" for his Santa Claus-like beard - does and he's got great stories to share. In fact, Mitchell is a fun, lively character who treats the idea of 3,000 miles in non-stop cycling the way he treats life - with a great, great sense of humor.

In the last three months, Lee has pulled the team together by providing much needed insight, cinched the logistics of building a 14-person crew, making sure racers have the appropriate equipment for the race, and ensuring that all of the little things, those things that many forget about until the day of the race, get done! For that reason, we felt it appropriate to feature him first in our series of crew and racers for Team Bent Up Cycles.

For more information about sponsoring our team, email us at bentupcycles@gmail.com, or purchase a supporter T-shirt at the Bent Up Cycles website.

Photos by Chuck Bramwell, James Burger

Cool idlers for our RAAM bikes from Terracycle!

2010-03-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

Terracycles recently sent us pictures of custom idlers they are doing for our RAAM Carbent HPV bikes. Nothing like a little bling to make you faster! (note the external cabling was done special for Sandy's bike...normally we route the cables internally)

Training for RAAM - Nutrition

2010-03-13T16:13:00.001-08:00

In the ultra-cycling community, there are endless conversations about nutrition. What works best varies from person to person and from situation to situation. But I want to take a different tack. I want to talk about nutrition off the bike.

For the last couple weeks, I haven't felt good on the bike. I've mentioned it to JV (my coach), citing difficulty completing workouts and difficulty staying in the higher power zones. About a week ago, JV suggested more protein. It didn't solve any problems. On the way back from my ride last Saturday, JV calls and confirms that my intuition was correct...my data shows that I am not making any progress.

Often, good training is about finding your limiters, and working around them. During that conversation, we found another limiter. Pure and simple, I'm not eating enough. As we came to this revelation, my first thought was "of course, I'm trying to lose weight." But, in addition to feeling awful on the bike, I wasn't really losing much weight! Basically, I was "starving" myself, and my body had shut down. I wasn't able to produce any power and my body was conserving everything it had to stay functional.

So, the solution was simple...go eat! I've doubled my caloric intake and feel MUCH better on and off the bike. I'm also nailing the workouts better. We will check out the numbers in another week to see if they back up my intuition.

So, why am I bringing this up? Sometimes the limiters to your training can be so obvious and in-your-face, that you completely miss them! How could I possibly think that consuming 2500 calories per day would be effective while training at a high intensity? It's obvious now, but for some reason, I just didn't see it!

So, as you continue to pursue your goals, athletic or otherwise, make sure to take the time to examine the obvious limiters. What's holding you back could be right in front of your nose!

Ride safe!

More Carbent frame pictures

2010-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Last week, you all saw the roll wrapped tube on the main frame of a Carbent HPV Raven. This week, I've taken some detailed pictures of a filament wound frameset. Enjoy!

Training for RAAM in more detail

2010-03-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

I get quite a few queries on RAAM training, so I thought I would post a series on the training that I am doing, why I am doing it, and how we measure progress.

First, I use a Powertap hub. A Powertap hub has eight strain gauges inside to measure torque being applied to the hub from the cranks. The resulting output is displayed in watts. Similar to training with heart rate, I have a variety of wattage zones, and my training is geared to keep me in specific zones for various amounts of time. One key difference between heart rate and power, though, is that power is displayed immediately, in real time (1s delay), so you get immediate feedback regarding your performance. Heartrate tends to be a bit slow in responding to changes in your workout.

At the beginning of training, I did a power test to determine my "threshold" level of power. It came to about 230w. This is a level of power that I can hold for 30 minutes, up to even an hour, if necessary. All of my training levels are based on this number. When I am training at "threshold", I try to keep the wattage between 210 and 240. "Tempo" is between 175 and 210, and can be held for several hours at a time (with the correct fueling).

This week, I am doing two intense, shorter workouts during the week. These entail 40 minutes at threshold and 30 minutes at easy (just below tempo). The best way to do threshold workouts is on a hill - I use Sepulveda Blvd. Since it is almost 11 minutes to the top, I do the climb four times. I then scurry over to work, keeping the wattage between 130 and 170.

Between these workouts, I commute at easy level. This does not imply that I am taking it easy. I still need to maintain 130-170w.

On Saturday, I will do a longer, three hour tempo ride (two hours at tempo, one hour easy). Tempo gets really hard if you aren't managing your nutrition well. I've found that I don't get enough protein, so this week I am consuming more and observing the effects.

Stay tuned for more...

Cross Country and beyond for a great cause!

2010-03-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

A good friend of ours forwarded the link for this Crazy Guy on a Bike journal. Ken and Jen are doing a 7000 mile tour on their trikes to increase awareness of organ donation, among other things. Enjoy their journey!

More Carbent pics

2010-02-26T13:33:00.001-08:00

Detail Pictures of the Carbent HPV Raven

2010-02-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

We frequently get requests for detailed pictures of the Carbent HPV framesets. We finally had one in that I was able to attack with the camera prior to being built. This bike is being built for Tim Woudenberg, and will be ridden in solo RAAM this year!

New videos on our YouTube channel

2010-02-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

We were having trouble uploading some of our larger videos onto this site, so we created a YouTube channel for your enjoyment!

So, how do you train for RAAM?

2010-02-11T21:35:00.001-08:00

I get asked this question a lot...how do you train for 4-person Race Across America? Here is a brief glimpse into a week of training. Note, this schedule allows me to balance family and work with training while giving me some good, intense workouts:

Jim (JV), one of our racers, has me and Willie on training programs using Powertaps. My current threshold level is about 230w, and all of my training is based around this number. To give you an idea of what a typical week looks like, I will do threshold training on Monday...warm up and then spend 30-35 minutes at threshold, usually climbing Trash Truck Hill over by Griffith Park. This road climbs about 900 feet over 4ish miles, and is good for about a 25 minute run at threshold. Warm up and cool down make for a 1.5 hour workout with some good intensity. Tuesday is easy riding to and from work.

Wednesday is a tempo day - a bit lower intensity than threshold, but longer duration. I have a great 30 mile commute into work along Foothill that gives me up to an hour of tempo work on rolling terrain with minimal traffic and lights. Thursday and Friday are more light, recovery days.

Saturday is my 2-3 hour ride, generally doing an hour or more at tempo plus some threshold work. If I'm riding with a group, I don't spend a lot of time watching the exact numbers. If riding solo, I will try to do the workout in one stretch....this Saturday is two hours of tempo, so I will probably do 8-9 loops around Balboa Park. While not very interesting, there are few lights and the terrain doesn't vary much - perfect for tempo work!

Sunday I am off the bike.

Next week is a rest week, and then who know what JV has in store for me! Basically, I assume it will get more intense and no distance riding, per se. 3-4 hours tops.

Catrike video - How it all began!

2010-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

I remember the first Catrike I rode. I was still working out of the garage and a customer wanted to trade in his Speed for something else. I thought, "Great! This will give me an opportunity to test ride one!" I remember bombing down La Tuna Canyon at about 40 mph...the trike was stable and fast! Given my only other trike experience was with a Terratrike 3.3, this experience was a revelation. I immediately got in touch with Paulo (at that time, it was just Paulo) and started selling Catrikes. Now, as one of the largest Catrike dealers in the country, we are continually amazed at the innovation, spirit and enthusiasm we see every time we call the Catrike factory. Paulo, Lynn, Mark, Chaim, and the rest of the gang...thank you for some wonderful trikes!

And speaking of innovation, Catrike is now moving into the two-wheeled recumbent world. Check out this teaser video...we are expecting our first Musashi on February 22nd.

The Quest has arrived

2010-01-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

Our Quest showed up this afternoon, and we just had to get some video of this beautiful velomobile! More review information to come after a few longer test rides. Enjoy!

New Bacchetta Bikes for 2010

2010-01-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

New Bacchetta Bikes for 2010

Posted using ShareThis

The Best Nutritional Article I've Read In Awhile

2009-12-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

We get the Hammer Nutrition magazine every quarter or so. It's generally crammed with lots of good information about ultra-event nutrition, training, and even some good stories. The most recent issue had a great article on sugar consumption. At least I didn't drink 35.5 gallons of soda this year! Check it out!

A great quote

2009-11-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

This is one to live by:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

What a great way to live life! I found this while reading The Death Valley Tricycle Expedition Blog.

Terracycles Cargo Monster has arrived!

2009-11-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

We received our first Cargo Monster today and hooked it up to a Catrike Trail. This thing is a blast! Kate took it home for the weekend to try it out on trips to Costco and shopping for Thanksgiving. We will have her thoughts on it next week. In the meantime, here is a video of Kate and Andres playing around in the parking lot.

Volunteers Needed for a Metro Bike Study!

2009-11-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

I just received the following from Steve Crosley, Senior Transportation Planner at Fehr & Peers. If you are interested, please contact them directly.

Volunteers Needed for a Metro Bike Study!

Metro is looking for volunteers to help study the sustainability benefits of the Metro Orange Line and its integrated bikeway. We’re trying to determine how the bikeway and storage facilities have encouraged alternative travel modes, reduced car usage, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

We need your help to survey bike riders, walkers, and even park-and-riders who are boarding the Metro Orange Line and to count bike and pedestrian trips on the Orange Line bikeway. This is positioned to be a pioneering new study and would help make the case to include bicycle facilities in every new transit infrastructure project Metro builds.

The survey dates: Wednesday, December 9th & Saturday, December 12th.

Eight (8) stations on Wednesday, December 9th, from approximately 6:00AM - 2:00PM.

Two (2) stations on Saturday, December 12th, from approximately 10:00AM - 4:00PM.

We’d like to staff each station with several volunteers, at 2-hour intervals. Can you help us by volunteering?

Please visit the website below to read more and submit contact information or sign up for a volunteer slot.

http://orangelinestudy.wordpress.com/

Questions? Please contact Steve Crosley at 310-458-9916 or s.crosley@fehrandpeers.com

Thanks for your interest!

2009 Pizza Century

2009-11-24T16:19:00.001-08:00

Every year, Tim Woudenberg and Phil Plath gather the masses (okay, about 20 of us) together in Half Moon Bay for a 94 mile ride down to Santa Cruz and back, with a stop at Upper Crust Pizza on the north end of Santa Cruz.

It's a long drive to go ride 94 miles, but is great meeting up with friends that I get to see only a few times a year. Tim has ridden on a few of the Bent Up Cycles RAAM teams over the years, and I am looking forward to sponsoring his solo effort this year.

This year's ride was also the official "return to cycling" for David, who is just returning from 8 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Welcome back David!

As usual, I forgot my camera, but Bill Bushnell took some great pictures and posted them here.

I only did half the ride. It was cold and drizzly, and chatting with Lee Mitchell about our upcoming RAAM seemed like more fun than being cold and wet!

Thanks to Tim and Phil for hosting the ride...it was great seeing you all again!

Catrike Named Manufacturer of the Year

2009-11-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

On 11/05/09 Big Cat HPV, LLC manufacturer of Catrike, was awarded Manufacturer of the Year for under 125 Employees by the Manufacturers Association of Florida. Paulo Camasmie, company founder and Catrike designer, was there to receive the award and said, “This was a lengthy and strict process, and the competition was very high, so it is a great honor for us to receive this award. Only in this country a person without knowing anyone, but with a dream, the will and a fair amount of competence, can start a business, and 9 years later receive this incredible award. Thank to the MAF and their judges.” http://www.mafmfg.com/

The Terracycles Cargo Monster is here!

2009-11-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Terracycles is one of our favorite manufacturers. Pat, Robert and the gang are always working on something new and innovative! Their attention to detail is second-to-none and their customer service is well-known in the recumbent industry.

Pat and Robert have spent the past year designing an XtraCycle-style system for recumbent trikes and bikes. But to call this just an XtraCycle for recumbents would be doing it a great disservice! Each model is custom-build for the specific bike/trike that it is going to be installed on. You can also convert 20" bikes to a 26" rear wheel (works on most, but not all, models). Finally, all XtraCycle parts and accessories will work with the system.

We are expecting our first Cargo Monster next week and will post additional pictures and thoughts then. In the meantime, check out the pictures at the BikePortland.org Flickr site (many thanks to BikePortland.org for sharing these photos)

Safe Cycling in Los Angeles

2009-11-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

Perhaps with the conviction of doctor Christopher Thomas Thompson on six felony counts and one misdemeanor charge when he slammed on his brakes in front of two cyclists in Mandeville Canyon last year, drivers in Los Angeles (and around the country/world) will start taking notice of cyclists as legitimate road users. The Los Angeles Times certainly did! Check out their mulit-faceted article on safe cycling in Los Angeles.

A Year of Brevets in Review

2009-10-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

I spend this last year in an epic quest to complete an entire brevet series. For the uninitiated, a brevet is a long distance cycling event that it non-competitive and time-limited. The standard lengths are 200km, 300km, 400km, 600km and 1200km. Other distances are possible, but these are the most common. My goal was to complete the early season brevet series to qualify for the Gold Rush 1200km Randonee. I had mixed results - I had many fantastic rides, some absurd failures, and many lessons learned.

I rode all of my events with the PCH Randonneurs, a Ventura-based group of ultra-distance cyclists. The 200km event started in Ventura, rode south along PCH to Malibu, back north all the way to Montecito, and then back down the coast to Ventura. Although it was a flat ride, it was quite windy in the morning. I remember riding down East Hueneme Rd. leaned way over into the wind that was blowing ferociously against my full-disk rear wheel! By the time we made it back to Ventura for lunch, the wind had died down and I continued riding to Montecito with my good friend, Bruce. It was a great way to start the season, and we finished in 9 hours, 30 minutes.

The 300k started with pouring rain. I'm not talking drizzle here, I mean RAIN...something we are not all that accustomed to here in SoCal. Fortunately, I grabbed the shower cap out of the hotel room, and while it may not have been a great fashion statement, it kept my head dry throughout the event. This ride went from Ventura up to Lake Casitas, over the Casitas pass through the foothills to Montecito, more climbing in the foothills above Santa Barbara and up the coast to a beach turnaround, and back along the coast to Ventura. We then headed south and inland to Moorpark, over Grimes Canyon to Filmore and back out to Ventura.

While this ride was wet for the first 5 hours, it was a great ride. This was the first ride where I started meeting new people. Joseph Maurer and I shared a hotel room at the start, and I rode with several others throughout the ride. While some cursed the rain, I rather enjoyed it. I find riding in the rain akin to being a 7-year-old again, splashing through the mud puddles. I did learn, however, that clip on fenders are not deep enough to prevent spray from engulfing the rider behind me on a fast descent!

More to come...

Following the rules of the road - are we considered vehicles?

2009-10-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

My wife always manages to find great articles on cycling for me to read. This one was a particular gem!

http://www.slate.com/id/2232555/pagenum/all/#p2

SRAM XX

2009-10-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to try the SRAM bar end shifters for some time. Unfortunately, you need a SRAM drivetrain to run with it, and the RED drivetrain does not work with a triple crankset. So...welcome SRAM XX! SRAM XX offers two cassette sizes in 10 speed - 11-32 and 11-36. The long cage XX rear derailleur will handle the triple cranks as well as the wide range cassettes. Finally, SRAM confirmed that the road bar end shifters will work fine with the XX system - perfect!

I currently run Dura Ace bar end shifters with a SRAM 1070 11-28 cassette, Dura Ace medium cage derailleur, and an FSA SLK Light triple crankset. This system has always worked well for me, but I am limited to a 28t max cog in the rear. I have tried the IRD 11-32 and 11-34 cassettes, but they aren't exceptional. In fact, the 11-34 is downright impossible to get dialed in! The SRAM XX system gives me the best of both worlds

I've had the chance to ride a couple times with this new system, and my overall impressions are very favorable. The shifters feel quite different from the Shimano counterparts. They are smoother, with less of a "ka-chunk" feel. The size of the TT500 shifter is wider for better connection when shifting, but they also feel more blunt. Of course, the Dura Ace shifters have the rubber/plastic-like cover that are more comfortable, but the darn things always fall off!

The XX system, with an 11-32 cassette and compact 34/50 cranks, will give you the same low gear as a triple crankset with an 11-28 cassette. Need lower gearing? The 11-36 with a compact double will give you one lower gear, with a triple, you get two lower gears! However, I'm not sure the rear derailleur can handle the 15t spread in the back with a 22t spread up front associated with the triple cranks.

The downside? These cassettes are quite expensive at $328. My hope is that the technology will trickle down next year to the less expensive lines.

Pros - Get a wider gear range in 10 speed or simplify to a 20 speed system and get the same low end. Great alternative to the IRD cassettes, regardless of which rear derailleur you use. Smooth shifting.

Cons- Expensive. Not as comfortable as the Shimano shifters.

More Barcroft

2009-09-17T17:31:00.001-07:00

Lots of Barcroft

2009-09-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

We were having fun today taking pictures of the new Barcroft bikes in stock. Enjoy!