When I first met Lee S. I saw a new novice cyclist with reflectors still on her wheels.  She had the new cyclist enthusiasm and clothes to match.  Sporting a new Cat-Like helmet she looked the part, but the one thing stood out in my mind was that she was destined to have a very formidable power to weight ratio.  After years of riding most cyclists loose pounds of fat and look thinner than your average Joe.  But Lee was already there, and even thinner than most.  She was Tour de France thin.   Her body was that of a young Audry Hepburn or in contemporary terms Taylor Swift and had the long skinny legs to match.  Now before I get in to trouble here.  I have to add that Lee’s husband Craig is a super strong rider in our club and has great legs too.  He’s not a Audry or a Taylor but he is a guy after all.

Power to weight ratio is simple.  Take your power output and divide by your weight.  This simple formula is used extensively in the engineering fields to calculate automotive, airplane, vessel, etc. speeds and efficiency.  There are all kinds of fancy equipment that can measure this with scientific calculations abound.  But for me the bottom line is who will dominate in the hills.  For serious cyclists this is the King of the Mountains (KOM).  The polka-dot jersey.  The figure of the lone rider, riding way ahead of his comrades.  And the famous quote  “catch me if you can”.

There doesn’t need to be a huge difference in weight for someone to gain a 30 second lead on a 20 minute hill climb. Given two riders with similar power outputs, and one 5 lbs lighter, the lighter rider will slowly pull away.  A gallon of water or milk weighs about 8 lbs, think about it next time your next to someone on the hills.  How much extra milk are you carrying? “Milk does a body good”, but a few extra milk gallons will slow you down.  Lee and I are about the same height, but she probably weighs 25 lbs less than me.  I have more muscle, but she has way less weight.  And the steeper the hills get, the greater advantage she gets.  I guess that we are about even on a 3-4% grade, but above that I am toast.  But if I lost an additional 5lbs, I could probably keep up with her on a 5% grade.  Lee has never divulged her exact weight to me.  And for a matter of fact neither has her husband Craig. These figures are well guarded as they would give their competitive edge away. So for now I can only guess and it only looks bad for me.

So in the interim, I have decided to pick on someone my own size, and that’s Tall Joe.  Tall Joe is 6′6″, and skys over me but his power-to-weight ratio is very close to mine when I am around 150 lbs.  In messing around with Joe for KOM points, Joe’s height doesn’t matter only his power-to-weight ratio does.  Joe and I don’t like losing KOMs, and we sure have a fun time beating each other up.  Joe and I are also heavily involved in Time Trials, here there is another measurement, its called power to aerodynamic ratio, but that is another story.

Just the other day on our club’s Tuesday ride, climbing up Cummings Skyway Lee had a chance to show her power-to-weight ratio.   We had several good riders show up including Tall Joe.  As we rode out of town toward the Zampa Bridge, I could see that there was going to be some, lets say “fun”.  A ride pace and dynamics are always determined by the people who show up.  Mix a dozen ultra light bicycles, with ample spandex, add a pinch of testosterone, stir vigorously and bake on a hot road for 120 minutes or until the group crumbles apart.

As we left the last regroup before the climb, Tall Joe bolted to gain an early lead.  Catching someone on the climb is no fun and there’s a psychological advantage to being up ahead.   Ed W. responded quickly with a quick “he’s not going anywhere” came around Greg D. and I.  So as Greg and I watched Ed cross over the 80 Fwy to catch Tall Joe, we slowly picked up the pace.  Greg was out to regain his fitness as he has been out months and is recovering from back surgery.  I was also out recovering.  Recovering from all the food I ate the previous week and Greg was riding strong.  As he pick up the pace, so did I.  I wasn’t about to let him open up any distance.  Then to my surprise, along came Lee and passed us both.  As we watched her climb away, Greg looked at me and commented, there goes Andy Schleck (2nd place Tour de France 2010).  All ready suffering this didn’t comfort me any.  Greg and I took turns leading and clawing our way back up to Lee.  It was only when she slowed down to talk with my wife Lisa who started 3 minutes ahead of the group, did we catch her.  We both thought that she cracked and I could see Greg was not going to slow down.  We both came around Lee and Lisa quickly.

Now I was wondering what they could have been talking about?  You know how women team up against you.  I think Lee was thanking my wife Lisa for fattening me up, and how that extra 5 lbs is really making a difference slowing me down.  My wife is an excellent cook and I would put her up against many of the chefs in the Bay Area.  Having a great cook at home doesn’t help, I think its a women conspiracy.

Greg opened up a small lead as we rode the final 5 minutes of the climb.  As I closed the gap, I notice Lee right on my wheel.  I only had one burst of speed left and I wanted to save it for the top.  When I caught Greg, Lee again quickly came around both of us and there was nothing we could do.  She was in the drops, pushing hard and quickly opened up a nice gap. Lee’s power to weight ratio was impressive to watch.  I know what I need to do to better mine. I am sure when Lee went home that day she talked to Craig about how she smoked his buddies on the hill.   There’s quote that goes “he who runs away today lives to fight another day”.      In cycling its “he who doesn’t get a heart attack today lives to ride another day”.   It was that day for Greg and I.

Our trip began and ended in Rapid City, SD.  Since I arrived the evening before the start, I had an opportunity to explore a bit of the area via a paved linear park which takes you from one end of the city to the other, following the Rapid Creek.  Downtown, the older business district is geared to the tourist industry.  Every corner has a life size bronze statue of a US president, a Native Amer ic an, or a notable South Dakotan.  (The statue of JFK showed him holding the hand of a young John-John.)  The elegant, 80 year old Alex Johnson Hotel was an excellent example of Rapid City history. 

The ride downtown gave me the opportunity to check my Bike Friday before leaving town.   All was in order.  I got back to our campsite in time for our orientation followed by a catered dinner.  The caterer came from Missoula, MT.  She was excellent.  All the meals were tasty and nutritional.  Oh yes, we had washable dishes.  Rinse, wash, rinse, bleach.  We learned the routine very quickly.  There were 4 staff members and 29 riders, as well as a masseuse, the chef, and two cooks.   We were well taken care of.

Day 1:  The next morning we headed for Deadwood, 44.2 hilly miles to the north.  Short climbs, long climbs but none too terribly steep.   We were definitely in the mountains – elevation between 5 and 6,000 feet.  We followed   Nemo Road, and yes, I found Nemo.  (Picture)  The hills were covered with dark evergreen trees (hence the name Black Hills) and the valleys were covered with picturesque ranches.  It was a beautiful ride with a long climb and long downhill into Deadwood.  We spent the night at the KOA campground. 

Days 2 & 3: Mickelson Trail:  The next two days were spent on a rail-trail.  It was not paved and had many “soft” gravely spots.  Luckily, I changed tires to accommodate the conditions.  (wider, with tread)  No steep climbs – just several long gentle ones.  Trees, beautiful rock formations, and ranches dominated the scene.  (picture)  52.1 miles later we arrived at our campsite in Hill City.   The next day was similar.  About 25 miles into the ride, I took the “road option”.  Enough trail, I wanted to be back on pavement.  The pavement portion was exceptional!   I saw Prairie Dog villages, antelope, buffalo, and deer.  The hills had given way to the prairies.  We camped at the Kemo Sabay campground, just outside the village of Hot Springs.  Some rode to the springs, I settled for a massage.  The sun was hot and the prairie winds were howling.  It was a challenge for all of us to put up our tents and stake them down.  Getting to sleep was another challenge.  I was sure I would wake up somewhere in “Oz”. 

Day 4: The ride through Custer State Park was my favorite day.  It started with a repeat of the “road option” I took the day before.  The rest of the trip was on paved roads so I changed tires again.  This may have been a mistake as the “cattle guards” were rough.  I could feel my brain bounce against the inside of my skull every time I crossed one.  “Buffalo guards” would have been a more appropriate name.  But the scenery was beautiful, and the wildlife was spectacular.

The highlight:  As we were riding along, a park ranger stopped us and told us we would have to wait for a buffalo herd to pass through.  Would we please take our bikes and stand between the parked cars.  We were to have ring side seats for a buffalo roundup.  No thundering herd, just buffalo being driven by cowboys (and girls) on horseback cracking gigantic whips.  Talk about up close and personal…  (pictures)

Our campground was next to the Game Lodge where Calvin Coolidge set up his summer White House.  This old hotel had all the charm of an earlier era.  A group of us ventured over there for our afternoon refreshment.  

This was the best of the campgrounds.   That evening we saw a video about the annual Custer State Park buffalo roundup.  Every fall, they round up the various herds of buffalo within the park and corral them in one place.  They then thin the herd before winter arrives.  They also put on a spectacle for tourists.  Thousands come to see the “thundering herd” and some pay to ride on horseback as part of the event.  What we saw earlier was one of the herds being driven to the big roundup.

Day 5:  Another beautiful day in the Black Hills as we headed for Mt Rushmore and then back to Hill City for the night.  After the lunch stop in Keystone, we had some options.  One was to get a ride with our bikes to Mt. Rushmore (3 miles, 10% grad e) and then ride back to Keystone and continue to Hill City.  The other, was to ride back to Keystone and take the train to Hill City.  I, along with 12 others, took advantage of both options. 

Mt. Rushmore is spectacular.  It was even better than I had imagined.  (picture)  This is a story unto itself.  Go to www.nps.gov/moru for more information.

The train ride was fun.  The cars were definitely from another era with elegant light fixtures and leather seats.  (picture)  Our bikes were sagged to the train station in Hill City and were waiting for us to ride to the campground.  This was a happy/sad time.  Our adventure was about to be over. 

Day 6:  Back to Rapid City – a ride of 33 miles.  Although the profile showed a drop in elevation, the hills were the steepest of the trip.  I rode with Shelby and Jamie today.  Jamie was giving me a ride to Denver and Shelby had been my camping buddy throughout the trip.  We had reservations at the Alex Johnson hotel for that night.    The family suite was a good deal. 

The last leg of the day was on the lineal park trail.  And I, somehow, got lost! Nothing is marked and it all looks alike.  Alike with one exception – the creek flows from our campsite to town. (I remembered this from my pre-ride ride.)  I should have been going up-stream and I wasn’t.  Ooops!  No wonder nothing looked familiar but then, everything looked familiar.  I turned around and all was well.  I arrived in camp, packed up my bike, and re-connected with Shelby and Jamie.  We were lucky.  We had great weather all week.  Yes, it was in the 30’s in the mornings but it warmed up and it didn’t rain.   But clouds were forming.  We scrambled into Jamie’s vehicle and headed for downtown, just before the sky opened up.

Last year while checking out the Ride Calendar at bbc.net, I was looking for something fun to ride in October, I noticed the Konocti Challenge. Having spent many summer vacations at Clearlake as a kid, it seemed like it would be fun and interesting to ride around the lake as an adult.

This ride is a fundraiser for Lakeport Rotary, and has a variety of options for different riding levels, and also includes a short Family Fun Ride for kids.

My husband wanted to do the 100 mile course, which includes 6,200 feet of climbing, 2 miles of which is at 10% grade,  followed by 3 miles at 6%.  I elected to ride the 65 mile course, with 2,200 feet elevation change. Because of the way the routes are laid out, we were able to ride the first 37 miles together, meeting many nice people from all over the state along
the way.
There were six rest stops on the 100 mile course, four on the 65. The volunteers at the various “themed” stops compete to win a $500 donation to the charity of their choice, with the riders voting at the end of the ride, which made for some really nice rest stops! There was one with a ’50s diner theme (complete with album cover decorations and volunteers dressed in diner waitress outfits) that had a misting station and chair massage.  Another had a Hawaiian theme, with riders given plastic flower
leis as they rode in. The two extra stops serving the 100 mile course had a pirate theme and cowboy theme.

The Hawaiian theme rest stop was the last stop of the 65-mile course. I met a woman riding the 65 mile course who had arranged to meet her son and grandson (about 5 years old on tandem with dad) at that stop and ride the last leg together as three generations — very cool!

The food at the end was great — barbecued chicken and tri-tip with all the attendant side dishes a hungry rider would appreciate, and some great liquid refreshment. There was also a woman from the local book store with tables full of cycling related books for sale at very reasonable prices.

I’m not sure how many people rode this ride in 2009 — it has a lot of competition from other northern California cycling events, including one in which Levi Leipheimer was riding in Santa Rosa.
The organizers are hoping for a better turnout this year so that this event can continue. The ride is on Saturday, October 2nd, and registration is still open. More information, including a video and pictures from last year, is available at www.konoctichallenge.com.   It would be great to see some BBC
jerseys there.

The Napa Valley was cool the morning of the tour.  It was in the 50s when we started and I looked forward to the 70 mile experience.  After riding the century for years, I have opted for the shorter distance to get first dibs at the rest stops, porta potties and after ride BBQ.  Our club always takes a pre-ride picture and I saw who would be riding the 70 and the century.  And after years of trying to keep up with the skinny guys on the century, I was glad to be doing the 70.  I could see the really fast guys were going to have fun punishing themselves on the 100 mile ride.  As for me, I thought it would be nice to ride the shorter distance and discover an abundance of fresh newly cut fruit and foods at the rest stops.

Being one of the stronger riders in my group, and being cold in the morning I decided to lead our group to the first rest stop.  I set a nice 20mph pace and it seemed to be a good speed for everyone.  We arrived in no time with the group of 15 intact.  I felt pretty good.  The next leg up to Aetna Springs and the lunch stop would be different.

After leaving our first rest stop, we started on the first of a series of climbs that would total 2200 feet according to my Suunto computer.  Broken down that would be 1100 feet to the lunch stop and then another 1100 feet on the infamous Ink Grade.  All I wanted was to stay up front with whoever turned out to be the lead riders.  Its all about bragging rights.  Having to say you got dropped isn’t any fun.  As we started up the series of climbs I knew that some of the toughest hills are near the turn onto Chiles Pope Valley Road and if your not recovered or ready - its drop off city.  On many Napa Valley Tours I have seen many bite the dust on this section, including myself numerous times.

As we left the second rest stop I could see that it was going to be a quick pace.  It wasn’t that we were passing tons of slower riders or that we were going 15-18 up a 2-3% grade which was going to turn into some 7-8% later, its was the size of Marcie’s calf muscles that caught my attention.  I know that she had just finished the Death Ride and the training obviously had paid off.  I did a quick comparison between her calf muscles, Smoking Johnny’s and mine .  These where the people that I thought would be in the lead group.  Here’s some pictures so you can get an idea.

Marcie’s                  Johnny’s                Mine

As we climbed the grade my heart rate slowly increased and I knew I was in trouble.  But here on the Tour you can’t show weakness, because the lead rider will just pick up the pace.  We quickly dropped all other club riders as we bolted for the Pope Valley.  I was trying to stay in contact with Marcie and Smoking Johnny who opened up a 20 yard lead.  They would sprint up a little and then I would have to grind my way back up to them.  Then came the Amgen Jersey guys.  They were young and fast, and Smoking Johnny saw his chance as he quickly got on their wheel.  I thought I was toast as he accelerated away.  Even Marcie didn’t respond.  A few seconds later he was 50 yards up the road.  I clawed my way up to Marcie’s wheel and let her know that we had dropped everyone else.  This is my way of saying we can back off now, knowing that I am close to my limit.  She turned and said, “we’ll just wait for them at the top”.  The words I didn’t want to hear.  But being cool and trying to show no fear, I said “sure good idea”.  As we looked up the road we could see Smoking Johnny backing off.  Looks like the Amgen guys were too much for him.  The acceleration was going to cost him and then he cracked.  It always fascinating to see a guy crack and go from 15mph to 5mph.  It appears like their going backward as you move pass them.  And unfortunately this was the case for Smoking Johnny.  As we moved around him, I gazed over to see the face of pain accompanied with the sounds of a drowning swimmer.  Smoking Johnny had cracked big time and there was no mercy for the weak on this climb.  As I looked up I thought I saw Marcie lick her chops, only one left to go.  To have dropped everyone on this climb would be impressive and big bragging rights.

As we hit the last 7% grade, my legs burned but I was determined to ride it out.  I put all my experience Time Trialing into play and took my heart rate up into the 160s.  I hummed my favor tune, “I think I can, I think I can”, as we neared the cross road to the Pope Valley.  And then, like waking up from a bad dream, we where there.  The Pope Valley in all its glory.  The relief overwhelmed me.  I felt my eyes tear up but quickly got control of myself.  As we sat up we slowed down and waited for the rest of the group.  I tried not to show my relief as you never give away your weakness.

We regrouped with our teammates and hammered as a team to the lunch stop only a few miles away.  As a group on the flats we could turn out 25mph easy.  Lunch was non eventful.  You only have to be careful not to eat to much because you have the infamous Ink Grade still to do.  As we finished up lunch we started to get up.  But no one was ready (or wanted to be ready), except Marcie, Ellie and me, so we left.  We left quietly and road a casual pace.  Ellie was already tired,  she had worked out several days before in preparation for a 1/2 Marathon she is going to do.

As we approach Ink Grade, I wondered if I could keep up.  We started the climb strong.  Its like climbing a series of steps.  Climb rest, climb rest.  But for Marcie it was - climb, accelerate, climb accelerate.  Within the first 10 minutes, I couldn’t see Marcie anymore.  I officially got dropped.  Now weird stuff runs through your mind when your dropped.  You think “with a supreme effort, I can catch up”, yeah right.  So after you get a grip, you settle down into your own rhythm.  You start to look around and admire the scenery.  Your at peace.  But then the  pain comes back to remind you, that your hurting, your only half way and you got dropped.  You catch someone else s wheel in an attempt to pick up the tempo.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  In my case I got lucky and there was another rider going at a tempo that took me to the top.  At the top there were a bunch of riders, all stopped and resting.  As I was preparing to continue, I heard my name called out.  “Geooorge!”.  Marcie had waited for me.  I pulled over and we waited for the rest of our group which arrived in a few minutes.

The descent is always awesome.   Its easy to hit 40, but I held it at 30 and cruised down to the Silverado Trail.  There we regrouped again.  There were 6 of us and we joined another group and easily hammered to the next rest stop.  A quick tank up and we were back on the road. We all took turns pulling and were joined by some Pro1/Pro2 woman racer from Sacramento who so happened to be a TV advertising producer.  You will be surprised at the conversations you have going 25mph down the road.  We hammered at 22-26mph into the wind as we came to the conclusion of our ride.  Somewhere during the accelerations we dropped a few riders, but that’s how it goes.  Another fun Tour of the Napa Valley, another good BBQ, and another good traffic jamb on the way home . . .

From today’s (25 August 2010) Vallejo Times-Herald:

Austin McInerny has ridden many parts of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, but the avid cyclist wants to find the hidden parts he feels need to be brought into the light.

McInerny, of Berkeley, will launch into that mission on a five-day bike ride, which cuts through Napa, Vallejo and Benicia.

He said the ride is meant to drum up public awareness and support of the ridge trail, which includes nearly 400 acres of protected open space for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians.

I’ve messaged Austin at his Facebook account  expressing interest in riding along for some part of Friday’s route through our familiar Benicia/Vallejo/Fairfield routes as well the unpaved trails in Lynch Canyon and Hidden Brooke, and thought that other BBC members might be interested as well; I’ll update this blog entry with any information I get.  The complete article can be found at this link.Note that Austin is riding the unpaved and mostly non-technical single-track Bay Area Ridge Trail, but there are significant road sections of the route as well.

The temperature was perfect.  The wind blowing with gusts in the 20s.  A normal August time trial.  When the wind blows you usually can expect a low turn out.  Eight riders showed up to test their skills and fitness.  With gusts hitting 20mph+, riders were occasionally pushed sideways in the open non sheltered areas .  Riders with disk wheels were affected more.  But despite these conditions five riders broke the 30 minute barrier, our clubs dividing line between the fast and the faster.  30:36 is equivalent to averaging 20mph. And anyone averaging above 18mph on this course, in my book is a pretty strong rider.

As a seasoned TT rider on this course, I usually warm up by riding the entire course.  I can check out the wind conditions and determine my strategy for the race.  Most of our riders have their own unique strategy and techniques.  But for me it was either go out strong and break fourteen minutes at the turn around or hold a high tempo with the thought of getting some tailwind on the return trip.  Either strategy would require me to be above 95% of my VO2 Max. (168-170 BPM).

As I pre-rode the course, I found two sections where the gusts would be a problem. Here I would have to momentarily take one arm off the aero position to control the bike during the gust and when I actually raced the course this paid off.  Another technique I use is to place myself starting 5th or above in the staring order.  This way I have a string of rabbits along the course to catch.  Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t.  And lately I have been a rabbit to the stronger riders that follow me.  My last strategy is to lose another 5 lbs.  On our course power to weight ratio is paramount.  A 5 lbs lost can give you 30 seconds.  Lets see what happens in September.