Cruisn the Conejo Century & 6,000 ft of Climbing

Call me crazy, but I survived the 6,000 ft of climbing of the Cuisin the Conejo Century on Saturday May 12th. It was difficult and a mind challenging. After the 45 mile I was pretty much on my own. I gave Larry with Team Ventura the go ahead to go on without me. I didn't want to hold him back. I actually did 104 because I rode to the start line from my grandmother's house and back. I saw some amazing parts of Ventura county. Lake Sherwood and Hidden Valley were so beautiful. The head winds came out in the afternoon and were a little tough in Camarillo & Simi. But what a great feeling when I finsihed. I started at about 7:30am and finished about 4:45pm. Mullholland was very hilly, but beautiful and 60% of the climbing was in the beginning of the day, so that was good. Some of the descents were so steep that my shoulders and hands began to hurt from pushing back on the handle bars. During the end of the ride my left knee and quads were hurting so bad that I had to pull over and stretch them every once in a while. I didn't want to do an damage with ALC6 only a couple weeks away. But all is good. It was actually fun and a huge accomplishment too. I only had a small derailleur issue at mile 75, and was able to make the adjustment on my own :) One of the guys at work showed me how. The boy scouts who supported the ride had some yummy treats (cheese sandwiches, PB&J, strawberries, oranges, a variety of breads, cookies, etc) and held our bikes for us as we got our munchies, filled out water bottles and ran to the rest room. I even saw Thomas Beer (the CEO from IMC--the company I used to work for) as I came out of one of the porta potties on rest stop 2. We chatted a bit. I guess he was doing the 62 miler. It was a pleasant suprise and a joy to see another person who has caught the passion to cycle.

I am off my bike for 2 days then tues-fri I will be riding to work form Jaclyn's house. We have competitions at work for riding to work and my team (Blazing Saddles) is in 3rd place. We were in 5th and last place when I started there. I hope to gain enough points to help bring us up in the standings, plus I get individual points too. I hope that my legs have enough in them for the rest of the week. I have to commute 16 miles each way with a nice climb early on.















Tune in again to see how my week went and as I finalize my things for ALC6. (Click on map of route above to enlarge)

ALC6 Day On The Ride81 miles...I Survived!

Well, I survived the 81 miles from ALC6’s Day On The Ride, but it wasn’t compeltely easly.

With my busy schedule & new job (including a business trip), I have gotten a bit worn down and woke up on Friday with a cold. Today, when I woke up at 5:30am, the thought of riding my bike was painful. But I went ahead and did it anyway. Full of cold medication I loaded the car and headed to Santa Monica. I felt so crappie, my head was in the clouds, my body and head ached, my throat was so soar and I was cold. I had a nice thick jacket on and a Thermal Care heating pad on my shoulders and full tights covered my legs. I was going to do this ride, even though my body and mind weren’t up for it, but my heart was. I met my friend Heather and stuck pretty close to her, not feeling very social with the rest of the group. I can’t tell you though seeing the ALC staff and interacting with them always gives me that extra boost of energy and boy was I needing it. They are awesome!

We rolled out at about 7:30am. I noticed that my computer was not working. I was concerned that if I got separated from Heather that I would have a difficult time finding my way without the mileage. I also depend so much on my computer to keep me motivated by my speed and knowing how many miles I needed to go/ have gone ect. So, I was a bit bummed when I didn’t feel well and my main motivational source was not working. I didn’t have a good feeling about this ride…plus it was cold & windy and many miles were ahead of me.

Funny thing when I compare today’s ride to the Day On The Ride last year I saw many improvements despite my health and technical difficulties. I was able to climb the hills with out stopping or cross training, plus I finished it much earlier than last year. Go figure. All in all today was a huge accomplishment, both in my training for The Ride itself, and mentally and physically as well. I do need to work on those darn headwinds. I am not a fan and struggled with them today as well. This ride has also motivated me to do more rides to work and at lunch time as well. Next weekend I am scheduled to help my friend Beth with her 55 miles training ride. Wish me luck!! Check back to see how it goes.

Earth Day/ Ride Life- Ride Your Bike To Work Day

I never thought that I would work for a company that rewards their employees for riding to work. Wednesday was my first Ride Life- Ride Your Bike To Work Day at Giant. Since it was Earth Day, my company decided to create one. We get points for commuting, riding at lunch and riding at night. At the end of the year they hand out awards. We are also all on teams compiles of employees from different departments. I am on the team called Blazing Saddles. I don’t know anyone on the team yet, but hopefully that will soon change. Check out our company's Ride Life Web Site at www.ridelife.net. You can read about our athletes.

How was my ride, you ask? Well instead of riding the 30 miles, leaving the house at 4 am to ride into work to be there at 7am (my normal starting time), I drove to Simi Valley. I parked at my friend’s house and road 16 miles into work. When I left the house it was pitch dark, and my body was asking me “What the Hell are you doing to me, it is early in the morning on a week day, it is cold, windy and the sun hasn’t even risen yet. I fought the urge to give up and continued into work. I hadn’t ridden the route before so, wasn’t quite sure what I was in for, a little more climbing than I had expected, but it was all good. My computer didn’t work on my way into work, so I hadn’t a clue how many miles or how fast I was riding. My trip back explained a lot.

I also road with a group of co-workers at lunch; we did a 9 mile loop with some hill climbing as well. My co-workers are a lot of fun and challenge me which I need. A few of us are doing Cruisin the Conejo, a ride that our company is helping to sponsor. So far I am the only one signed up for the Century (103 miles). I hope that I can do it, plus it will help me with my training for ALC6. It is suppose to be very challenging. I’ll let you know it is May 12th.

I am off to bed, I have to rest up. Saturday, I am doing ALCs A Day On The Ride the 80 miles option. Wish me luck! I am going to need it. I am exhausted!

Sea Otter Classic

I attended my first Sea Otter Classic with Giant. It was a lot of fun, but it was a busy schedule for us as well. It was fun to see what our competition was doing and my first taste at the cycling industry. Giant was nominated for 4 Editors Choice Awards from Bicycling Magazine—so it was cool to attend the award ceremony. It was cool to see my co-workers work with the media. They were definitely in there element and did us proud.

One of my favorite parts was cheering for our Mountain Bike Team during their competitions. I also got a pleasant surprise. My cousin Jon was there competition also and won too. I was so excited to see him. Unfortunately I was working and didn’t get to see his races, but it was cool knowing that he was there. We ended up missing each other and didn’t get to give a proper goodbye. I was proud to see that he was riding a Giant. Keeping it in the Fam!! Sweet!

Giant Leap

Guess what? I have a new job. After 14 years at IMC, I have ventured off to a new beginning at Giant Bicycle, Inc. Check it out at www.giantbicycle.com. Yup, you read correctly. My passion for cycling has lead me to a job in the cycling industry. I have already completed my second day there and am very excited on the projects and opportunities. I will also be joining the team at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA (www.seaotterclassic.com) this weekend. We will have a booth, both for men’s & women’s specific bicycles, bike demos and our Mountain Bike Team will be competing as well. If you are attending, come by and say hi!

60

I had the honor and privilege of riding 60 miles with my Cycle Buddy, Sarah, plus Josie, and Leslie who all 3 road from SF to LA. Heather, Alain (joined them for 2 days) and I joined them on the last day of their incredible journey. It was very humbling, yet exciting.

Cycle Buddy Sarah Rides from SF to LA

Want some inspiration? Check out my Cycle Buddy, Sarah's blog. She is currently riding down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles on her bicycle. She had always wanted to do the ALC ride, but never got the opportunity until now. Follow here amazing experience via her blog site as she peddles with just two other people and 2 support staff (this is the same ride I will be doing in June, but with 2500 other people and a full support staff). I plan on riding with her, during her last leg from Ventura to Brentwood on Easter Sunday with a couple other peeps.

Here is the link to her blog site: www.aidslifecycle.org/7

Enjoy!

My First Half Century of the Season

I had a wonderfully lovely day on Sunday 4/1. Heather, who will be my tent mate this year, and I rode all around. We trained together last year and rode a few days on the ride together as well. Again perfect weather was gleaming down on us!! We started at her place in West Hollywood and right off the bat climbed Nichols Canyon. Lovely! Then we coasted down hill into Griffith Park did a loop around and saw some fellow ALCers. We then road further into the Valley and did a little more hill climbing, stopped off at Whole Foods in Sherman Oaks and then it was up and over Sepulveda through the VA. Heather and I had already done a couple hills and figured why not do another, so we climbed Bundy to Mt St Mary’s up top. I was remembering that last year when I climbed Bundy, I ended up walking my bike (cross training) for a portion of it. It was a very pleasant surprise that I was able to climb it after climbing 2 other hills with out a problem. Yay!! We flew down San Vicente and turned around at Ocean, then headed back to West Hollywood via many stop signs and a few rolling hills. I had completed my first half century this season. YAY!! Heather and I spent the day peddling down memory lane, reflecting on last years ride & training. We celebrated by eating a late lunch… it was delish!

From The Valley to The Sea 3/31-Success

Wow!! I led my first "big" training ride on Saturday 3/31, a 43 miler from Lake Balboa in Van Nuys to the Santa Monica Pier and back. There were 14 of us total. I actually had 20 RSVPs. It was the biggest group I’ve had yet! It was exciting. The weather was perfect! The people were a pleasure and there were no mishaps! Amazing!!! It was so much fun to see familiar faces, Katie and Scott were there. I trained and road with them during the ride last year. We had a lot of fun. I can't wait to get out there and do another training ride. It was an awesome group!

What Have I Been Up To?

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. My free time has been very limited these days. If I am not riding, I am scouting out a route, creating a route slip, riding the route to double check the directions and mileage, and then writing and posting it to the ALC website.

I am also attending my first SFVBC (San Fernando Valley Bicycling Club) meeting tonight. I’ve seen them riding around town on the weekends and have visited their web site numerous time. I am very excited to finally meet with them.

Here is what I have been doing for training:
I have been spending a lot of time riding from Porter Ranch to Simi Valley via Santa Susana Pass (29 miles) and have led 2 groups on this route. I have also been scouting and riding a route from Lake Balboa to the Santa Monica Pier as well. I hope to lead a group through there next weekend and possible the weekend after. It is an absolutely amazingly beautiful ride. I’ll fill you all in on more info soon….

Get with the V Baby Team Valley!!

Well, we did it! Team Valley had there first ride today! There were 9 people total including Beth Parks (who came out all the way from Oxnard) who helped TRL (Training Ride Leader) with me. We had the best weather and a great group of people. We did a quick 10 mile beginner ride figure 8 around Lake Balboa. Beth did a quick little bike basics workshop afterwards for a few who stayed. We will be doing the same ride next week. Check out the new Team Valley blog site I created:
www.alc-team-valley.blogspot.com

Back to Back Bike Attack

OMG! Bike Attack did this awesome ride on Saturday, February 10th. It was from Santa Monica to the Valley (SFV) via Sepulveda. Sepulveda is approximately a 3.5 mile climb. It was awesome. Being a person from the Valley, it was so nice to actually have an ALC training ride make a quick visit here. This ride had been the first official ALC training ride I had been on since last November. It was a great feeling! I had been cross-training at the gym during the week on my lunch break and cycling around the neighborhood. Surprisingly it was a very easy ride for me.

Riding with Santa Monica Bike Attack is like coming home to me. I rode with them a few times last year and did one of my mentor TRL rides with David. My cycling buddy Heather is now one of the TRLs there too. It is fun to watch her helping out everyone. Amy a TRL was SF who has moved to LA is a very pleasant and valued addition to the Santa Monica Bike Attack group as well. I rode with them yesterday in unseasonably warm weather. The views are simply gorgeous and we had a great time.

It's Official I'm Riding in ALC 6

I just registered for ALC 6 and in order to be able to ride, I need to raise $2,500. Please visit my ALC6 Web Site to make a donation today. Thank you. http://www.aidslifecycle.org/3103

Italian Cross Training

As some of you know, I just got back from spending 2 weeks in Italy. I had a blast and was able to get in plenty of exercise as well. I started out in Rome and roamed up and down the narrow streets, seeing the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Coliseum, and much of Eternal City. I spent a lot of time at the Vatican. St. Peter’s Square is quite large and I had the opportunity to climb 320 steps up to the top of the Coupa to see The Sistine Chapel. I saw the tombs of the Popes and the Chapel as well. Rome by night is amazing. The weather was gorgeous throughout the whole trip.

Many of the cities main transportation was via bicycle. I wish that I had mine, but mine would definitely stick out as there bicycles were quite a bit older than mine and were many different shapes and sizes.














The leaning Tower of Pisa is truly leaning. Climbing up to the top was a bit of a challenge as well. You definitely feel the towe leanning. But what a feeling when you reach the top and see the city from above. The stairways get smaller and smaller as you get to the top of the 293rd step.

Milan was crazy busy and cold. Florence was beautiful and we often found ourselves crisscrossing a lot of the same streets to get from one place to another. It was so beautiful and we wanted to see as much as we can with all the cobble stones. I know I left plenty of foot leather in that city. Lake Maggiore was absolutely breath taking. We hiked around the lake and spent a lot of time staring at the heavenly view of the Swiss Alps (photo is of Claudia, my roomate, and I with the Swiss Alps behind us). A day trip into Lugano, Switzerland granted me the opportunity to see several cycling teams training. Many of the pods flew by us as they were on a very fast pace.

In Verona I saw the homes of Romeo & Juliet and yes the infamous balcony. We trekked up and down the streets on this ancient city. But my favorite city had to be in Venice. OMG!!! It was very magical. We had the opportunity to see it both at night and in the day. The many little islands, canals and shops, kept our curiosity peaked the whole time. Around every corner was something different. It was a gorgeous city, not very crowded this time of year and the weather was very kind to us. It is like being at Disneyland. Everything is big, amazing and elaborate. Very colorful and it didn’t seem real. We didn’t want to get off of the gondola ride.

Assisi, is a medieval castle on the side of a mountain top. We climbed the roads of this very small town that had a Abbey and cute little nuns roaming the streets. It had a very story book feel. Many of the cobblestone roads were very steep and I wondered how the elderly got around.

Pompeii had us in awe. Mt Vesuvius had erupted and wipped out this whole community. Archeologists had uncovered a lot of the city and as we walked the excavated streets it was very clear how advanced the Romans were for their time. It was also very devastating to see all the damage that the volcano had caused.


Sorrento and Capri had breath tasking views along their coasts. We took a chair lift up to the top of Ana Capri and were amazing by the beauty that laid before us. Lots of steps and climbing as well.

Napoli (Naples) held both beauty and poverty. Saw where the first pizza was made and saw castles a midst some very poor communities.

I ate a lot (won’t be having Italian for a while), got a good workout walking the streets of every city we came too. My 23 travel mates plus the driver and tour director were from all over the world. It was fun to hear everyone’s stories. But I am glad to be home and can’t wait to get back on my bike and ride through beautiful Southern California.

Fall Certification

This fall I hit the books again. I earned a Personal Training Certification (I can now legally train people and earn money, yay!), ALC Training Ride Leader Certification and First Aid/ Adult CPR/ AED Certification as well. So we shall see what the future holds for me with my education.

Up and Over 35+ Miles

On Saturday, I rode from my house up and over Santa Susanna Pass (A mountainous road that connects the San Fernando Valley to Simi Valley) to my friend’s house in Simi (a little over 35 miles). She kindly filled my water bottles, visited with me for a bit, gave me a piece of gum and wished me luck on my venture home. I was feeling very strong. First time in a while, I’ve been under the weather lately. It was a really good feeling. However, Sunday I wasn’t feeling very well, so instead of riding the Griffith Park Loop I helped out with Training Ride by cheering them on and sign in and out participants. I even caught a nice workshop on bike fitting before the ride. It was fun to meet new cyclists and see familiar faces.

Riding/ Volunteering in Santa Monica

I continued riding this weekend. I rode with Santa Monica Bike Attack to the VA Center and back for about a 23 mile ride with lots of turns and a couple small hills. I couldn't believe that it was 8 am on a November morning and I had not even a sweater on. The high for the day I think was 86 degrees. Beautiful day! (above left to right: me, Vince, Heather & James)

Sunday I volunteered at the Cannondale/ Helen's Cycle workshop and training ride in Santa Monica. I wasn't feeling well that day so I didn't ride, but it was a blast to watch the riders go out and come in and I hung out at the ALC booth. I learned some new stretches at the stretching clinic. It was another warm, but warm day. I enjoyed chatting with Vince, James & Heather.

I have to mention another interesing product that was introduced to us by a fellow cyclist Stephanie was definately a conversation piece. She was introducing a product calle "P-Mate". It is used to assist women with using the restroom outdoors without discomfort and overexposure. Check it out Steph's web site at www.dontsquat.com. It definately caught some attention. Below is Stephanie modeling the product.

Photo Op

Here is a photo from the ride (ALC5 June 2006), and no those are not my unmentionables hanging from the clothing line. I had just come back from the showers and am being rushing off to dinner by my friends.

Back to Where it All Began

Well, I completed my first back to back ride since The Big Ride in June. After completing 25 miles on Saturday in Griffith Park, I completed another 22 on Sunday riding with Team Ventura. Team Ventura is such a great group of people. It was a beautiful morning. It got surprisingly warm, dry and windy on the way back. It had been a while since I had been in headwinds, so it was good practice for me. At our mid point we stopped off at the Santa Paula Airport restaurant that overlooked the airfield. They were also having an open house and had a couple Military jeeps and such out on display. I rode with Casey Keller most of the day. I learned a lot from him. He serenaded on the way back from Santa Paula singing old TV show theme songs. After the ride we all went to lunch to celebrate Mom & Dad’s 46th Wedding Anniversary. Casey’s wife Vicky was very sweet and brought a cake and balloons for Mom & Dad and all of us to enjoy! Yummy!! This ride is very sentimental to me. It was my first full fledge training ride with the ALC this past February. It was great riding it again.

Back in Gear

I’m back in gear riding more consistently now. Check out some rides I have recently done:

On Saturday, October 21, 2006, I rode with Santa Monica Bike Attack for their first ride of the ALC 6 season. It was a gorgeous day with perfect weather. The 25 mile ride gave me the opportunity to try out a pair of aero bars, which Beth Parks was so kind to let me borrow. It was an exciting ride filled with new faces.

On Saturday, October 28, 2006, I participated in the ALC official Training Ride Kick-Off at Griffith Park. It was an amazing day. Over 300 riders showed up for this event with all different levels of riding. There were three routes to choose from: The 12 mile, 24 mile and the 35/40 mile. I opted for the 24 mile and spent time with Jeff Rabin a Training Ride Leader. He was giving me lots of tips throughout the route.















On Saturday, November 04, 2006, it was back to Griffith Park for me to ride with the Chain Gang as they threw in a hill to their 24 mile ride. There were lots of new faces for me to see. I got to meet lots of great people including some first time riders. I got to spend some time with Tony Zamudio. I learned a lot from him. I loved watching him and seeing how he related to people. He was a blast to ride with. The hill was only a mile, but it was a reminder for me that I had been off from riding for some time, so I have noted that I need to start adding hills back into my training program.

Tomorrow I am planning on riding with Team Ventura from Fillmore to Santa Paula through the gorgeous orange groves. Yay!!