Our Trek Travel trip to Yellowstone was just outstanding. Our guides were the best. Jeffrey had a great time hanging with them and they even watched him one morning while I biked from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons, 56 miles.
I highly recommend Trek Travel.
If one rides out of Pescadero on Stage Road you will come across a sculpture that guards a farm. No one will mess with this house if they see this terminator. He is standing on the back of an old tractor holding a machine gun with a bullet belt loaded. This is one place you want to keep pedaling. Otherwise Stage Road is a beautiful ride with a couple gradual climbs.
We went and saw the Earthquakes play yesterday. It is their first year back so they are trying to build a team. They have had a lack of offense so far. The ended up with a draw with the Colorado Rapids, 1-1. The good thing about soccer is that you know when it is going to finish.
Saturday was a rest day. On Sunday I did 60 miles.
Today I made another ride out to Big Basin, but this time I rode back via Zayante. I'm always seeing animals on my rides; deer, turkeys, coyotes, snakes, lizards, birds, etc... Today coming around a curve were a mother deer and her fawn. Usually I'm not fast enough to get the camera out but today we looked at each other for a long time.
Today completed a three day stint of long rides; 80, 70 and 95 miles. Each day I did over 7000 ft of climbing and by the last 30 miles of my ride my legs were feeling it.
It has been close to 100 degrees here so on the Wednesday ride we rode out to San Gregorio where it was only 74. Very nice.
Good thing about living near the ocean is that it offers one nice rides. The ride on Highway 84 there is very nice. We climbed back on Tunitas Creek. Tunitas is covered in redwood trees so we were cool but the road could do with a repaveing. It was 95 when we reached Skyline.
My coach sent me the Top Five ways to get faster with aerodynamic improvements:
5. Place your water bottle on the down-tube of your bicycle, not on the seat tube.
4. Clean up your cables at the front of your bicycle. A messy cable routing job around the handlebars of your bike can contribute to 20% of the drag of your entire bike!
3. Don't wear gloves. As a general rule, gloves can make you a lot slower. Don't fall though...
2. Wear and train with an aero helmet. Learning to ride with an aero helmet and keeping your head in the same position is one of the most effective ways of becoming more aerodynamic.
1. Most importantly, train in the position that you want to be faster. If it's the time trial, ride your time trial bike in your racing position frequently for proper adaptation.
As one can see I have a long way to improve.
1. My water bottle is on the seat stem as well as a bike pump.
2. Camera bag messes with the cables.
3. I'm wearing gloves.
I guess I now know why it takes so long to get up the hills.
One of the many suggestions by my coach was for me to join a bicycle club so I would be able to ride with a group of people. This has really helped me by making the rides enjoyable. It is great to talk with the other members and learn of their biking experiences. It has also helped in learning the area so I now know so many different routes.
I joined the Almaden Cycle Touring Club (ACTC - www.actc.org) and they have rides every day that one can join. They also have a system of hills the have put together called goats that members try to ride. The rider who does the most goats gets a price.
Today on our ride we did Soda Springs (5.6 miles, 2400 feet of climbing) and Montevina (3.5 miles, 1700 ft). Both were very tough.
This has to be my favorite ride. Starting in the village of Saratoga, one rides up 7 miles on Highway 9 to Skyline (2,600 feet). From there one drops down and connects with 236 to ride into Big Basin. I always like to ride into Bolder Creek and stop for coffee. The other day we stopped for lunch. Riding between the Redwoods and looking up is just amazing.
David has to be one of the greatest soccer players. His passing during the game was spot on. It was great to watch him play against the San Jose Earthquakes.
In 3 weeks I will be taking my son to Yellowstone on a bike trip from Trek Travel. Here he is getting ready as we ride around the block. He likes to ride hands free.
I have been riding with a great club, ACTC (www.actc.org). Here is a group of us at lunch when we rode out to Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Next day after climbing Mt. Hamilton I did the Tour for Cure. I did 100 miles plus since I rode from home to the start in Palo Alto.
Preperation for the Cross country trip is in full swing. On June 7, I biked to the top of Mt. Hamilton, twice. I did both the front and back side. In total I did 10,000 feet of climbing. From the top of Mt. Hamilton (4,200 feet), San Jose can be seen in the distance.
