The final Low Key Hill Climb, and concluding thoughts on the LKHC series

Somebody said that in time of peace men satisfy their impulse to go to war by racing bicycles. I agree. In this particular instance, my own personal battle was to get to the top of Mt Hamilton faster than the guy who was going to end up winning the General Classification, David Collet. Actually, I wanted to get up there much faster than Dave. (Incidentally, Dave is a really great guy, and I was really happy I got to meet and ride with him during this series; we follow each other on Strava and plan on going out on training rides together next season).

I got into the race quite depressed ("heartbroken", in the words of Eddie) by the amazing amount of points that a certainly very strong mountain bike ride had given Dave on Saturday, which had cost me my several-weeks-old GC lead. I had beaten Dave at Bohlman-On-Orbit, in a close sprint finish. I had beaten him at Patterson Pass. I had beaten him at Lomas Contadas. I thought I had him. But no, thanks to the black magic of Low Key points calculation, the mix of low attendance and huge time dispersion on the one mountain bike hill climb gave him enough points to put me out of contention for the GC. Especially with Hamilton only left, a race with just the opposite features: large attendance and small time dispersion.

Mark Edwards had warned me of the presence of three-time olympian and 7- or 8-time Canadian TT champion, ex-pro Eric Wohlberg in the race, so the overall win was almost surely out of reach. However, I had a very clear objective to shoot for, and I decided I was going to be as aggressive as possible from the gun.

Have I managed to clip in my pedals yet?!

After struggling again with clipping in my pedals (alas, one year of biking and I'm still there!) I sprinted up to Nils to the front of the race, and started attacking probably not even 5' from the gun. It was me and GC #3 Bill Laddish, and it was clear that we both wanted to put some time over our direct competitors. We immediately agreed to work together and started pushing it. Our breakaway didn't last long (perhaps half of the first climb), but I continued to stay at the front, either pushing against the wind or riding on the wheel of the guy in front.

I could hear Mark telling me to be smart and to save energy, but I just wanted the race to have a fast pace and to tire Dave out as quickly as possible. But Dave, smartly, was riding in 5th-6th position, well sheltered in the lead group. Through the end of the first climb, the descent and the first half way of the second climb it was Chris Evans taking most of the air out front. Kudos to him. I did my share, but had started to realize how foolish my initial strategy had been.

Half-way through the second climb it was a great "Rich Brown" attacking generously. I decided to let him take a few lengths. I really like and respect Rich, and I know he likes and respects me as well. We understand each other at many levels (for one, we both have two kids each, the exact same age!). Dave was getting antsy, and he actually decided to get to the lead of the chase group, which pleased me, and I happily rested on his wheel. He was 10" on and 15" off the saddle. I could hear Mark telling me that that's a sign that a biker is close to pop. But I knew that Dave is actually a mountain biker, used to long stretches off the saddle. Still, he was clearly struggling to keep Rich in sight.

I knew Rich was ultimately not a factor, but at the end of the second climb I saw the actual factor jump. And jump like a pro. It was Eric. I found myself boxed 3-4 positions from the lead of the group, but knew that that was the winning breakaway, and put a ton of power to catch up to the Canadian before we'd get to the downhill. Unlike Eddie, I suck at downhill (Eddie knows this and chastises me every time on our long rides). But what was I to do? I braced myself and stuck to Eric's wheel all the way down and then up the last incline. Pace was all right. At some point, actually pretty soon in the incline, Eric turns to me and is like "they're right there, let's go" and invites me to take the lead. Honored, I put in a very honest 1-1.5 miles pull, which I believe managed to put some ground between us and the chasers.

At that point I had the pleasure to enjoy the second pro-move of the day: instead of nicely taking the next pull, Eric sprinted past me and left me in the dust. In great style: body low to the handlebars (see the picture), effortless, one thing with his machine etc. And more importantly, not even leaving me a grain of hope to stay on his wheel easily.

Eric Wohlberg powering to the finish line

So he was gone, and there were a good 3-4 miles to go. The TT champion in front of me and the chasing group, including my friend Dave, chasing me. I could see them at every hairpin turn. And so, evidently, the could see me… Well, I decided that I was not going to be caught for that day, and pushed my pace the best I could, hitting myself in the head for all the energy spent early in the race. I was getting increasingly nervous when the wind picked up towards the top, but I was also feeling good, managing to stay in the saddle, and to summon good power. I could still see Eric up
at almost every turn as well.

The last turn before the finish. The chase group is not in sight.

At the end the chasing group didn't catch me; I was less than one minute back from Eric, and the chasers about half a minute back from me. Dave did eventually pop, and I ended up giving him 1:22. Enough.

I think there definitely are a few shortcomings in the LKHC points system. For example, no rewards for the final rankings: when I out-sprinted Dave at Bohlman-On-Orbit, we both put in a good effort, and I beat him, but we got the same time and the same points! Also, the disproportionate reward for the MB climb is quite frustrating. Take triathlons: the swim always has a huge dispersion, but that is accounted for by having swims be much shorter than the other two events. Or take grand tours: the TT are much shorter than the other stages, to avoid making TTers the only contenders.

The LKHC organizers argue that dirt climbs "mix things up [and] reward versatility". Well, then why not adding some running? Or rock climbing? Or speed chess? I'd be game for all! Also, there are other ways to mix things up. Random number generators work quite well…

I had a lot of fun during the series. It brought me a good amount of fitness and some racing strategy skills. I am so grateful to my wife, who understood how important this was to me, especially during an amazingly busy time at work, both from a fitness and from a mental standpoint…

I am grateful for the support of all the team, from my fellow low key-ers Nils, Eddie, Dan, Matt, Mike, Scott, and Matt S, to Mark and Jim for their advise. It meant a lot to me when today, at the Felton-Empire repeats, Scott told me that it made no sense that I had gotten second in the GC and that I clearly deserved first. I look forward to a solid 2014 season, hopefully quickly upgrading to cat 3 and being able to play some team work with trippers Morgan, Dan and perhaps also Mark!

LKHC #9: Mt. Hamilton

By Eddie Santos

For most, Thanksgiving is a holiday synonymous with a large meal centered around turkey. For the rest of us, it's a heavy dosage of pain centered around Mt. Hamilton. As tradition has it, the culmination of the Low-Key Hillclimb series brought a race up Mt. Hamilton on an absolutely picture perfect morning, despite forecasts of rain showers in the week leading up to the race. To thank the Gods for their providing blessed weather, Bike Trip put forth a solid Thanksgiving day team (likely annoying family members at home left to do all the cooking) of Dan, Nils, Scott, Stefano, and myself.

For those who have never experienced Hamilton, it's an 18.4 mile trip up to the observatory accumulating 4,399 ft feet of climbing along the way. In essence, the course consists of three climbs of starting with 5.9 miles (4.7%), a technical descent into the second climb of 3.2 miles (4.5%), and then a fast descent leading into the longest, steepest climb of 6.3 miles (5.9%).  This was the fourth time I'd done Hamilton (third time racing) and thus had started to get a sense of how to best slay the beast. The previous times I'd raced up the twisty mountain, I'd gone out too hard on the first two climbs, blew up, and bled time up the final, hardest climb. These experiences however, allowed me formulate a plan of attack: error on the side of slow on the first climb, find a group of riders to work with on the flatter top part of the first climb and on the descents, and save some energy to punch the third climb square in the face.

Staging on Alum Rock Ave / Mt. Hamilton Rd

The riders staged at Alum Rock Ave in different groups, according to ability. Group one was those who had scored above a 117 in the series, group two above 105, so on and so forth. This put Dan, Nils and Stefano in group one, with Scott and I waiting behind. The grouping did not appear strict however, as I spotted some rather heftier fellas hands on hoods staring at Stefano's back wheel, with dreams of glory sparkling in their eyes beneath their sunglasses. The lead car sounded the horn and the race was on. As usual, Nils was charging ahead of the field already halfway up the climb.

Nils sprinting while it's still flat

Group 1 already had a good lead up the road as I turned onto the course. I immediately reminded myself to be cool, and start the climb at a manageable pace. After a few minutes I realized I felt great, my body was responding well, and so I decided to catch up to the first group that was just slightly ahead. I knew I couldn't hold them to the top, so the goal was to hang out at the back, catch the over anxious, and form a second group of strong, but not quite top riders who I could work with. I was hanging on pretty well and feeling great. I was careful not to overexert myself, and eventually started slipping back slightly. I was still hitting a solid pace and found myself riding next to Rob Easley, who would prove to be a valuable ally for the rest of the climb. At one point, he shot up the road and caught a few other riders. I didn't panic and kept my rhythm. Knowing the flatter, faster portion portion of the first climb was just ahead, I accelerated to catch them so I could sit on the back and save energy, and executed this perfectly. We caught others, formed a group of about 8-10, one of which I noticed was Dan Connelly, and thus knew I was in good company.

Rob was pushing a really good pace heading towards the first descent, and I was still in the big ring churning the pedals hanging onto his wheel. Rob was all over the road, but he was proving to be a really strong and motivated rider. I knew descending was a relative strength of mine, and if I could hang on, I'd be in a good position. Once we crested and started the descent, Mark Johnson of Pen Velo attacked hard and shot down the road. I was still on Rob's wheel and noticed he didn't have the firepower to follow Mark. Immediately, I took the reins, came around Rob, and started pushing the pace, with Dan and Rob on my wheel. Once we reached the flatter part near Grant Park, I flicked my elbow and Rob came around to help me out and keep the pace up. We caught Mark at the base of the second climb, with Dan and Alex Komlik bridging up to join us. Rob and Alex were doing a great job at setting the speed, and realizing I was in the presence of better climbers, I mostly held wheel, though I made sure to occasionally take the front to let them know I was there to help out. This was a race against the clock after all, and solidly behind the leaders, there was no point to not working together. We must've shed Dan somewhere along the second climb before a fast descent towards the last climb. 

The last climb was now upon us, and though I was tiring, I still felt great, and was very motivated by the low time I was seeing on my Garmin. I knew the final climb would be just over 30 minutes, and thus knew I was well ahead of my very optimistic goal of 1:20:00 (honestly, I was just hoping to beat 1:22:00 to improve on my 1:28:XX time from the Mt. Hamilton Classic in May). Rob was dishing pain and I was matching him quite well. Alex and I helped out when we could, and occasionally Mark, though he seemed more apt to sit on. Near the top, the wind picked up and we slowed down ever so slightly. I decided to up the tempo to see if the guys had it in them to hold on, and grinded away at the pedals. The guys were digging deep and were matching me, proving that they were in it until the end. With about a mile or so to go, they came around on a big left hander before the straight away to the gate.

Stefano solos near the top with David Collet on the brain

The last mile was pretty fast and I was at the back of our group of four hanging on for dear life. We powered past the gate before taking a right hand turn leading up to the final ascent to the observatory. Rob and Mark shot up the road in a strong effort, and though I punched it, I decided not to contest the finish, partly because I was tired and we were racing the clock (not each other), but mostly because I was grateful for having had them to help me push myself to a fantastic time of 1:18:54 (113.28), over one minute faster than my most optimistic goal! This was by far my best score of the series, having scored consistently in the 107-108 range.

Overall Bike Trip had a fantastic day, led by Stefano who took 2nd with a time of 1:12:42 (125.55), 58 seconds behind winner Erik Wohlberg, Dan in 10th at 1:14:26 (120.50), Nils in 13th at 1:16:14 (117.49), myself, and Scott in 59th at 1:30:53 (97.52). This was good for 2nd place in the team division, behind The Brown Zone who had recruited a ringer in 3-time Canadian olympic athlete and current men's performance manager for Optum Pro Cycling, Erik Wohlberg.

With that, the 2013 Low-Key Hillclimb series concludes with great performances from various members of the Bike Trip team. Nils, Stefano, and I were the only amongst us to register the five necessary races to place highly in the overall classification. Stefano barely missed out on first behind David Collet, who stole first in heartbreaking fashion on last weekend's dirt climb up Montara. Nevertheless, second place is an all-time Bike Trip record and I'm sure an even more improved Stefano will be back next year for blood. Nils and I placed in 9th and 18th, respectively, as I managed a last minute shot up the rankings with my final performance. As a team, we finished third behind winners Sisters and Misters of No Mercy, and The Brown Zone, both of which scored highly based on the strength of their women and weekly recruits. We'd like to think we'd of won if it came down to just the men!

(l to r): Eddie (most fashionable), Dan, Stefano, Nils, Scott.

I managed to secure the Most Improved Rider category in a landslide, having improved my median score in this years series by 23.17 points (84.41 to 107.55), well ahead of the next rider, Joe Sullivan, at 12.12. This is in no small part thanks to you guys, and particularly our coach Mark Edwards, for providing fantastic training opportunities, solid race advice, and excellent camaraderie. With no more races until 2014, it's time to get back to training in an effort to secure Most Improved Rider next year as well. Let's get to it Gents, looking forward to seeing you all there.

2012: Eddie "Beefcake" Santos

2013: Eddie "Lesscake" Santos

For results and pictures, click below:
Week 9, Mt. Hamilton
Overall, 2013 Low-Key Hillclimbs

LKHC #3: Bohlman - On Orbit

By Eddie Santos

Pain. Agony. Peace. Perhaps the only words I can use to describe the latest Low-Key Hillclimb, this week held on the brutal slopes of Bohlman-On Orbit based in Saratoga. The 4.44 mile 2,036 ft ascent only tells part of the story, as the main stretch of Norton / On Orbit is a vomit inducing 1.6 mile stretch at 14%, in which  pain and agony only begin to describe the feelings of one's legs as they weave back and forth across the road. Peace, you may ask? Well, I found myself realizing that this climb very well may be the end of me, and I was at peace with that, as long as I had an excuse not to keep going up.

Alas, that did not happen, and mayhem ensued. This week Team Bicycle Trip welcomed climbing extraordinaire Dan Perry to the fold, joining this seasons LKHC regulars, Matt, Nils, Stefano, and myself. Adrien Costa, our local junior climbing phenom, riding for the Garmin-Sharp development team, had re-emerged from a broken collarbone, and was likely looking to test his form post-injury. Kenneth Spencer, a traditional powerhouse who very recently broke the 15 minute barrier up Old La Honda, was also on the bill. The sight of these two certainly lit the fire under our Italian comrade, Stefano,who was so in the zone that we had to convince him to leave the seat post & saddle on his bike, despite his desire to shave off as much weight from his rig as possible. Okay, so perhaps I'm exaggerating slightly, but he did brave the climb without water bottle cages, so stick with me.

As expected, the pack shot out of the gate quickly, as both fast and slow riders jockeyed for position. After an initial mellow climb up Norton, in which Nils and I thoroughly annoyed the slew of riders around us with a playful banter, the fun began, the aforementioned 1.6 mile, 14% stretch, a segment appropriately titled "Son of a bi***" on Strava. My heart rate shot through the roof immediately, holding 190-192 bpm (~97%) for the duration of the segment. Despite this, I was feeling salty, and found that I had enough adrenaline coursing through my veins to keep hammering. I was mostly out of the saddle, occasionally sitting back down to give myself enough of a rest. The out of the saddle was mostly necessary, since unless I sat way up on the saddle, my front wheel would buck upwards due to the steepness.

Stefano and Dan were up the road. They were gone, off seeking glory as only they can on such a climb, as Nils and I were oscillating back and forth, making comments to each other every so often in an effort to have our competition believe this was just a casual climb for the two of us. Once On Orbit hit, bringing beauty that only an 18% stretch of road can, Nils got about 15-20 seconds on me, and hilarity ensued. Personally, the pain in my legs was as nasty as I'd ever felt. I was out of the saddle, with my hips swinging back and forth, and I was having trouble finding anything to muster into those peddles. I may have popped at this moment, but I had the advantage of watching our resident Honey Badger up ahead, in the saddle, swerving back and forth across the length of the road, as if he had been bit by a venomous Cobra and had the venom seeping through his veins. At one point, I almost witnessed him go straight off the road into the hillside (to which he later remarked, "you saw that?!"). To witness Nils exhibit pain is a rare sight, and so I knew, if he was hurting too, I should embrace the pain, and continue the journey upwards.

Once we got back to On Orbit, the terrain returned to a more steady climb, as Nils was able to recover and power up on slopes more favorable to a rider of his style. There were three guys just ahead of me and two more anxious to chase me down and ruin my spirits. With this in mind, and knowing that the end (of the climb) was near, I attacked on every rise that I could. The top was basically a set of rollers, and despite the appearance we were all dangling in front of each other like bait, no one caught each other and we all flew into the finish.

The performance by Team Bike Trip was so collectively solid, that we took the team competition ahead of LKHC powerhouse, Team Brown Zone, 358.21 to 356.79. Individually, Stefano placed 3rd with a time of 26:51 (125.67), 1:54 behind the winner Adrien (134.99), and 37 seconds behind Ken (128.55). Dan twerked in 7th at 28:20 (119.25), Nil in 15th at 29:52 (113.28), myself 21st at 31:21 (108.06), and Matt 30th at 32:24 (104.64).

On the season, Stefano moves into to the yellow jersey / top spot, a first ever for Team Bicycle Trip, with a firm 4 point lead over challenger David Collet of Pen Velo/Pomodoro, with Nils, myself, and Matt chasing in 7th, 20th, and 22nd, respectively. In the team competition, we advanced to 2nd overall, behind the Brown Zone, who have remained ahead of us on the strength of their women (we're looking at you, Katrin. No pressure.). I managed to claim the brown jersey, as the most improved rider from 2012 to 2013, having increased my median points by 23.47, from 84.59 last year to 108.06 for this year. This week's effort allowed Dan to claim the best Mass Adjusted Climbing Rate for the Fall thus far, illustrating the fact that he is, indeed, an animal.

Next week brings the Portola Valley Hills, a self-ride through the foothills of the Peninsula. We kindly request your presence.

Results & pictures here

Stefano obviously thirsty from not having any water bottles.

Dan making On Orbit hurt.

Nils pondering life's deepest questions.

I was in the saddle at some point?

Couldn't find a picture of Matt, perhaps he drove to the top? ;)

LKHC #1: Montebello

You know Stefano's full bore when he's out of the saddle.

By Eddie Santos

This past Saturday marked the return of the Low-Key Hill Climb series, once again kicking off with a climb up Montebello Road on a picture perfect morning. I've anticipated the return of LKHC greatly since last Fall, in which the series provided my first introduction to competitive cycling. Though I enjoyed pouring everything I had into the pedals, gritting my teeth climbing up the likes of Soda Springs Rd with a torn meniscus, the results were not pretty, and I vowed to return to the series with great vengeance.

Bike Trip had fine representation for this week's climb with Matt, Nils, Stefano, and myself present. Montebello is a very nice climb, totaling 2,000 ft of climbing over 5.2 miles. The first 2 miles are roughly 9%, the next mile is 3%, and the final two are 8% before giving way to some rollers leading up to the finish. The field had some pretty strong talent on the start list, including Chris Phipps, the recent masters national champion.

Nils shows (knows?) no pain.

The group staged in the upper parking lot, and after a rolling start to the bottom of the climb, the race was on. Stefano and Nils immediately did a great job navigating through the hordes of overly ambitious riders to get towards the front, clear of some riders who were making noises that made the rest of the pack concerned about their well-being. I followed Matt for the first mile, while he also weaved around riders who were dropping back fast. Initially, my legs (particularly my quads) felt somewhat sore after a week full of softball games, but it was only pain, and knew that they would be ready to go when I needed them. 

After clearing a large number of people, we finally got some space, and so I decided to punch it to see if I could keep Stefano and Nils in my sights, at least until the flatter, middle part. I eventually lost sight of the two of them, but managed to ride up to a pack of eight or so riders to draft as the gradient eased. I drank, calmed my breathing, and hit it hard once again once the serious climbing resumed. I dropped four or so riders, and went uphill with another four at a decent pace. The next two miles were a hammerfest, in which somehow I managed to keep pumping my legs despite my heart rate holding steady at 187 bpm (95%). I found a groove smoothly moving in and out of the saddle to let the different muscles in my legs recover.

As we approached the top, it became obvious we were getting to the rollers when the group of riders I was with attacked. In hindsight, I should've followed, but I was on the brink and unsure how much longer the climb would last, and figured I wouldn't lose too much time simply maintaining my pace. Soon enough though, I saw the sign indicating 200 paces, and gave what I had left in the tank to get to the line, scanning the scene for the refreshments as I yelled my number out to the coordinators.

Glad photos can't capture internal stress!

The overall winner was a junior, Jason Saltzman, of Team Specialized Racing Juniors, with a time of 26:08. Stefano had a sizzling time of 28:09 (score: 122.43), good for 7th overall. Nils also had a blistering time, coming in at 29:01 (118.74), for 11th place. I was the next 'Tripper, arriving in 29th place at 31:15 (110.29), and Matt was just behind me in 32nd, at 31:55 (107.95). As a team, we finished sixth with a score of 351.46, yet just 4.34 points behind the winners, The Brown Zone!

Perhaps the picture of the year.

Last year, I averaged 86.45 over the four climbs I did in the Low-Key series, so to begin this year's climb with a score of 110.29, an improvement of nearly 25 points, was very fulfilling! It definitely reflects upon the high quality of training with great teammates week in and week out over the past year, along with the great support provided by the guys at Bicycle Trip. This next week's climb brings Montevina (+ dirt), which I'm very much looking forward to, and hopefully will be joined by more than a few of you fine folks!

Official results and photos here.

Low-Key Hillclimb No. 6 - Jamison Creek Rd

Here's a few action pics from photog Phil Dubach.

We had 14 Bike Trippers in the race, which just about overwhelmed the folks doing registration when we arrived in one big group.

Geoff is climbing like an animal and finished third.

Nils looks like he is having way too much fun in this picture.


Matt being a shameless wheel sucker behind Dennis, after doing the same to the other Matt for the first mile or so. Matt eye-balling that finish line. This last one from Josh Hadley.

Low-Key Hillclimb No. 4 - Bear Gulch

Much like the last post from Geoff, this one was inspired partly by chastisement from Dennis, who nevertheless was kind to decline setting a deadline for when I should have it posted.

This report also revolves around time-mismanagement. Dennis and I set out from San Gregorio to ride up Hwy 84. Half way into our easy warm-up, I realized I had miscalculated by 1 hour, and there was no way we could make it to the race on time. Registration was happening up on Skyline, and then the group was supposed to descend together down Bear Gulch to the start.

So, instead of continuing on to the registration area, we turned off on Bear Gulch, and were encouraged by some runners who said the pack of cyclists had just gone by moments before. The road snaked through redwoods, gently falling and curving for 2 miles, then burst out of the shade onto steep grassland where it plummeted the last mile, ending at a gate back in a grove of redwoods.

And there was the race, 80 or so folks staring up at us as we descended the last turn. I told the race organizer we had passed a guy fixing a flat, which gave us an extra minute to turn our bikes around, strip off extra clothes, and take an extra deep breath before we were off.

The start was tricky since it was steep right away. The guy leading us off had to start, clip in, go past a telephone pole, push start on his timer, and yell go. Took him about 4 tries to get clipped in, and I was right behind him, holding back because it looked like he was about to take everyone out. But finally he got it together, yelled go, and immediately I hear Clark Foy over my shoulder calmly say, "On your left." I keep the door open for him best as I can with people clipping and wobbling all around me, and right into the first curve Clark slips through like a silvery-blue fish on my left. A dozen other fish stream by, and one of the last is Jeff Farnsworth. Jeff and I have ridden together in other races and seem to have similar abilities on the bike. I'm thinking, "Damn, Jeff is going good. I don't think I could do that. Guess I'm not going to keep up with Jeff today."

The first mile is tough. The race description of 3 miles at 6% is misleading because most of the climb happens in the first mile. I'm wrestling with my 34/23, wishing I had a 25 cog to drop down to, and later I hear from Dennis that he was quite glad to be spinning in his 34/27.

I follow a few Pen-Velos, but then they're gone, 1 ahead, 1 behind. A tire on my left explodes. He's not going to catch me. The views here are amazing but I've got tunnel vision, black fuzz around the edges. Eventually I settle in just behind a Morgan-Stanley woman, a trim climber. Then finally, mercifully, the first mile is past us and I can start to recover. I pass the climber gal and say, "That's a rough way to start a race." She says nothing, and when I glance back a few moments later, she is no where in sight. Later I learned that she is Jennie Phillips, racing with the Sisters of No Mercy team, and top finisher on the women side of things.

But who is in sight is Jeff Farnsworth, and I realize he got a gap on me but now isn't moving away. The road becomes much more enjoyable...I'm in shade, pavement is good, and its more like rollers than climbing. I'm back and forth between big ring, small ring. Every time the road rolls up I stand to power through, and when I sit, Farnsworth is that much closer. My race becomes 3 things: me, Farnsworth, and the finish line. I catch him maybe a couple hundred yards before the line, stand and power past. As I go by he offers up a "way to go", sounding like he doesn't have much fight left.

I finished 14th. Foy took first by a minute. The other Matt was right behind Farnsworth, and Dennis was 20th. Overall Bike Trip took 4th. No one stood a chance against the all female Sisters of No Mercy team. Where are the Bike Trip women?

After the race we did interval work on both sides of Old La Honda before heading back to San Gregorio. A beautiful day on the bike.

(pics by Sonja Wieck)

Montevina Road report

In my determination to pre-ride some of the 2008 Low-Key climbs, I took a new route to work:


View Larger Map

Montevina Road is a beautiful climb that offers views of the reservoir. It conncts to the top of Bohlman Rd. via a fire road. The climb itself is very consistent. Think Soda Springs, but a little steeper and shorter. The hard part is the end. It's short, but really steep. Easily above 15%. After climbing 3 miles of 9%, it really hurts. However, it's only a few hundred meters and might not even be in the actual LKHC.

In summary, it's not too bad. Easier than Mt. Madonna, except that Mt. Madonna eases off instead of getting much harder.

But Where's Joe???

Jim Langley and I rode together in my truck to the Mt Hamilton hill climb event Thanksgiving morning. Jim had gotten a last minute reprieve from his wife, allowing him to go, which meant we wouldn't all fit into Mark's truck, and so my truck was pressed into service. We met Mark and the others at Scott's place bright and early on a crisp morning. Jim and I piled out to greet everyone, but Mark was all business.

 

"We'd better keep moving...we still have to pick up Joe."

 

Someone asked if I knew where Surf City was, I didn't, so they said, "just follow us." So we piled into the 2 trucks, Jim and I following Mark until he pulled into the lot of a Starbucks in Scotts Valley, whereupon Melanie jumped out of the truck and dashed into the store. "Kind of soon for a bathroom break," mused Jim. Several minutes later Melanie dashed back out and hopped into the truck, and we zoomed off and were soon on our way over Hwy 17.

 

Every once in awhile a confused Jim and I would ask each other, "But what about Joe? I thought we were picking him up? And where the hell is Surf City?"

 

Jim thought of calling someone in Mark's truck on his cell phone, then realized he didn't have anyone's number. We thought of pulling alongside Mark's truck and yelling our questions out the window, then thought better of it. We became even more confused when Mark passed the exit that would have taken us to the base of Mt Hamilton. But we forged on...faith in the captain and all that, and Mark did get us to the staging area for the climb, the last in the Low-Key Hill Climb series.

 

Once there we forgot all our questions and confusions and got on with the business of preparing for the race. (Maybe someone else can report on the race itself.)

 

After it was all over and we were preparing to leave, I asked Mark, "So whatever happened to Joe? I thought we were going to pick up Joe?"

 

To which Mark replied, "We stopped for coffee...Melanie wanted a cup of jo."

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

 

posted by Matt (not always dazed and confused...)

 

 

Low-Key Hillclimbs, week 7

Going to this race came at a big personal cost to me, so my meager points haul for Team Bicycle Trip in the team competition may not have been worth it. But it was still an adventure of sorts and a great workout, so it wasn't all for naught!

This uphill-only race series is usually held on paved roads. But this time the course was to be held on a dirt fire road in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in the hills above Portola Valley. Their website originally said the course was just 1.6 miles long, and ended at the summit on Skyline Blvd. That's so short it is almost a sprint; yay!

Teammates Jim Langley and Melanie Dominguez expressed interest in going, but Melanie didn't show, and Jim couldn't get to the race because his van broke down while he was returning from a table tennis tournament in Sacramento. (My car only holds one bike at the moment.)

There was some online debate about whether to use a mountain bike, a road bike or a cyclocross bike. The best balance between low weight, low gearing, and the bike's handling on rough terrain would determine which was best. I was unwilling to use either of my road bikes because of the steep 8.3% grade and loose dirt trails, which would make traction difficult and the gearing too high. So I spent some time getting my mountain bike ready, including removing unnecessary weight like the water bottle cages because I would not need water for such a short race. I even cleaned off months of accumulated gunk. This brought it down to 23.1 pounds, which isn't too bad. Unfortunately I gained 2 pounds of body weight through water retention the 2 days before the race by eating out too much. Duh!

I enjoy doing things with my wife, and she wanted to visit her dad in Cupertino anyway. So I suggested she go with me and then we'd visit him on the way home. We could even have breakfast on the way.

The organizers had changed the course just before race day, so I was a bit unsure where I would emerge at the summit. And the length was now posted as 3.6 miles on a 7.3% grade. (After the race I noticed they'd changed it again, to 2.5 miles at 7.2%.) Yeah, there was some uncertainty, but I figured it would all work out OK. I'm so stoopid.

On race day we went to El Palomar Cafe for breakfast. I had the healthy ostrich sausage scramble with fruit and coffee. After a nice drive up, we got to Portola Valley and I got signed up and suited up. I didn't even wear socks, gloves or eyewear, or bring tools, food, tubes or my cellphone in order to save weight. While Margaret could have just waited at the bottom for me to return, I worried that she'd get bored and that it would take too long. I thought she could instead meet me at the top of the climb on Skyline, with my water and recovery food in my car, thus getting a head start on our return trip instead of her waiting for me to ride all the way back down. I had printed out maps and such to make it easy, so I gave Margaret the maps and showed her roughly where I thought I'd emerge onto Skyline, and we agreed she would drive up La Honda to Skyline and cruise back and forth on Skyline until we spotted each other. Brilliant! Yeah, right. If I could turn back time...

Anyway, the organizers gathered us all together at 10:10am for a neutral ride up to the start line, which turned out to be 4 miles up Alpine Road, on a fire road named, I think, Ruolf Trail that follows what may have been the original stagecoach route that Apline Road started out as. This was a mass start, not an individually-timed time trial, and they asked us to place ourselves in the pack relative to where we thought we'd finish. We waited around for stragglers, Steven Woo, Frances Cebedo and I cracking jokes, until they finally decided that we were ready to go. I suspect we started around 10:40 or so.

Very soon after the start we hit a bunch of very loose gravel patches where trail crews had prepared the trail for the upcoming winter rains. This put a lot of the road-bike riders in bad shape, their narrow, slick tires slewing them around. I was OK even with my relatively narrow 1.8" mountain-bike tires, and happy I hadn't ridden my road bike as I passed many of them. Soon the pack spread out with the fast guys climbing ahead out of sight, and riders of like ability clumping together. I left Steven and Frances behind, but had another guy drafting me for a long time.

After the gravel patches ended, the smoother trail allowed a couple of guys, one on a road bike and the other on a cyclocross bike, to pass us. I was almost blown out, so I was unwilling and unable to follow them without risking a complete meltdown. Instead I concentrated on setting a consistent, but very hard, pace I knew I could sustain to the top. About 3/4 of the way up my caboose parted company with me and he pedalled ahead. Again, I was not about to push myself harder, and let him go too.

After 18 minutes and 3 seconds I passed the finish line at the top of the fire road, in 11th place overall out of 28 men, and emerged onto... Page Mill Road, much to my surprise! I didn't even stop but kept time-trialing up to Skyline, knowing that Margaret was up there looking for me.
Once I got to Skyline I turned north, towards La Honda, since Margaret was more likely to be looking for me around the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve parking lot on Skyline. Well, after several miles of hard riding I came to the parking lots, with no Margaret in sight. I thought I might have spotted her by then, but figured she was further north per our plan so I continued north.

As the miles faded behind me, I started to worry that perhaps she was lost somewhere, and when I got to Old La Honda I stopped to ask a group of roadies if they had seen my disctinctive car. Yes, they had, and they thought it looked like the driver was searching for somebody and was last seen driving north. "That was my wife," I told them with relief, and sped off in hot pursuit. I was getting a good workout, and thought she was probably in the La Honda area and I would soon be reunited with her.

OK, by the time I got to La Honda and still hadn't seen her, I started to worry all over again. I didn't think she would have gone further north, or west down La Honda towards the ocean, and I wouldn't follow her even if she did, so I decided my only option was to ride down La Honda to my starting point in the hope that she'd gone back there to wait for me. At least it was all downhill from there, in more ways than one it turned out.

After speeding down La Honda, with sprinkles warning me of the impending rainstorm moving in, I spotted Margaret just before I reached Portola Road. Whew, was I happy and relieved! But my joy sooned turned to pain when I saw the look on her face; she was not happy at all, and had been driving around for what seemed to her an eternity, looking for me. She thought I would have finished long before then, and couldn't understand why I hadn't appeared. After talking to a few people on Skyline, getting bad advice, she'd returned to Portola Road to see if I'd returned, before trying to go up La Honda again.

Well, during the long drive back, I could only express my regrets and hope she'd forgive me for the whole ordeal; I think she has, and hope that I will learn from this; I think I have.

Team Bicycle Trip kicks patootey!

Yes, you heard me right; patootey!

At week 5 of the Low-Key Hill Climb Series competition, our new, revitalized team shook up the established clubs and racers, and set the bar high. Team Bicycle Trip is still leading the series's team competition, ahead of such huge clubs as Alto Velo/Webcor. They have twenty times as many members as we do, but not twenty times the quality!

Notice that I said "team," but since I'm still officially racing for Team Santa Cruz through the end of the season, not Team Bicycle Trip, I am exempted from having to measure up to those lofty standards! Good thing too, because I was mostly using this "race" for my own devious purpose: pump the team's coach, Mark Edwards, for some much-needed tips on how to structure my training for the 2008 racing season... I succeded in gaining his confidence, then extracted highly sensitive training theories from him, and memorized them with my highly-trained steel-trap memory!

Dennis's 2008 Training Schedule

• Mondays: Very easy bike-commute, or day off.
• Tuesdays: "L5" workout with 4-minute hill repeats or intervals. (In Santa Cruz somewhere.)
• Wednesdays: "L4" workout with 2x20 or 1x40 FTP ride. (Likely on Page Mill. Plus bike-commute some of the time, but really slow.)
• Thursdays: Very easy bike-commute, or day off.
• Fridays: Very easy bike-commute, or day off. (Will add a second "L5" workout during the regular race season, unless there's a race the day after.)
• Saturdays: "L4" workout with 2-3x20 or 1x40 FTP ride with Team BT. (Might occasionally join Low-Key or Crow's Nest ride for kicks, but make sure to ride Hazel Dell.)
• Sundays: Day off. (Most of the time, unless it's going to rain on Monday or something. Might do that second "L5" workout during race season, on race weeks.)

This is pretty simple, compared with the detailed periodized training calendar I created for the 2007 racing season. And it includes quite a bit of higher effort year-round, instead of prescribing long, easy rides ("junk miles") during the winter. But it is flexible, and I will follow this as a general guide throughout the entire season, mostly just adding that second "L5" workout as I enter the regular season. I can also tailor the amount of non-workout "junk miles" to suit the occasion; dropping the miles as a priority race approaches or if I get fatigued.

I had a secondary objective: secure Margie Biddick's secret "Party Apple Cake" recipe. I managed to trick her into e-mailing me the recipe, by first partaking of her yummy breakfast muffins and complimenting her on her undeniable baking skills... flattery was my secret weapon! This recipe's very existence was only a rumor, but now it has been loosed upon the world:

Margie's Party Apple Cake

Combine and mix well:

4 cups apple, diced (I use 3-4 different types-organic)
2 cups sugar (turbinado)

Add and Blend:

1/2 cup oil
1 cup chopped nuts
3 eggs, well beaten
2 t vanilla

Sift together; add and blend:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 t soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt

The batter is pretty lumpy - just keep mixing all ingredients with a large
spoon. Pour into creased, floured baking dish or muffin pans. Bake cake for 1
hour; muffins for approx. 30 minutes (325 for pan; 325 for pyrex).

Promise you won't divulge this recipe to our competition!

We carpooled from Santa Cruz in Mark's monster truck and Jim Langley's venerable Vanagon; We also had Geoff Drake, Scott Martin, Joe Platin and Matt Werner so things were pretty crammed! Kem Akol showed up a little later by himself. After parking in Pescadero we warmed up by riding Stage Road to San Gregorio, part of the Pescadero Road Race's route. The race course was simply HWY84 starting at the San Gregorio Market, a very old and cool general store from a bygone era. I don't recall ever entering it until that day; I had to use the restroom. And, after removing my cleats to spare the ancient wood floors, marvelled at the old building, the fun merchandise, sandwich cooler... and the savory coffee operation they had in place. Very nice!

After we paid our ten dollars we were given a yellow ID sticker and a start time, because this was an individual time-trial, not a mass start race. We would be sent off individually with 20-second gaps and I was nearly last with 10:29am. I chatted with my teammates, who all had earlier start times except Kem, and Steve Woo of LGBRC. Several guys had intimidating time-trial bikes, and one of them had this scary looking helmet with an insect's-eye visor, while most of us just rode what we brung. The weather was a tad chilly, but fairly nice otherwise and conditions would be great for a hill climb.

At 10:29 the nice starter-guy sent me off on my way and I concentrated on setting a nice, comfortable pace that caused just a very slight burning sensation in my legs; Mark had spilled this tip to me, and confided that it's the best way to increase our "FTP" (Functional Threshhold Power). This FTP thing will stand us in good stead during races where the average pace is high, and especially for hilly road races. But even my favorite races, criteriums, can be decided by racers dedicated enough to undertake this arduous training.

Highway 84 is very pretty, and had very little traffic. As I burned my way along the gentle slopes of the first half of the race course, I had time to enjoy the scenery and even spotted a huge red-tail hawk... how awesome! I nodded at the local residents as they tended their yards, and they nodded back.

A couple of guys timed us at the junction with Pescadero Road, and my "split time" was 22:53, which placed me in 26th out of 51 men. Pretty fun! It's amazing how well you can place with a less-than-blazing pace!

I also got to watch a VW club taking photos of that cool red barn. I've got some photos of my own of that barn.

Soon after, a nice woman pointed us toward the West Old La Honda Road turnoff... all except Kem who (we found out much later) rode on up 84, happily unaware of the error. I have a non-compact 20-speed bike now, and the gearing is a little tall for this steeper road, so I was forced to either up my pace or grind out a really low, lactic-acid-inducing cadence. I felt fine, so I rode a little harder. And I started to pass more people. I had only passed a few riders on 84, including Margie and the guy with the insectile TT bike helmet, but soon I had spun around maybe 10 riders, and one of the Alto Velo/Webcor guys. Fun, and the view was spectacular!

The last part of West Old La Honda is more gentle, and sheltered by redwood trees. I passed another guy or two, and soon heard the cheers of the welcoming committee standing along Skyline Boulvard a short distance ahead. Being a sprinter and all, I jumped forward and quickly made mincemeat of the last few hundred meters with a nice sprint finish... wheee! I ended up improving my placement on the second part of the course, for an overall 18th place. Mark was 2nd overall, Geoff 5th, Jim 12th, Scott 15th, Matt 17th, and Margie 2nd. (Joe didn't compete because he thought the $10 fee was too high... kidding! Come to think of it, he suffered just as much as us, but it cost him nothing... hmmm, maybe he gets the last laugh!)

The rest of the team was mostly there waiting for the last of us to finish, and munching on the bananas and other snacks the race organizers had lugged up the hill for us. After Margie arrived we waited in vain for Kem, then decided to go ahead and drop down Old La Honda Road, toward Portola Valley Road. That's pretty nuts, because then we decided to ride back up it right afterwards! Ugh, that's a tough climb, but Jim, Matt and I chatted our way up to ease the pain.

Afterwards we formed a rather ragged pace-line and set a quick pace back down 84, up Pescadero Road's nasty Haskins Hill for some more race-course scouting, and back to Pescadero town for some recovery food. Kem arrived just as we were leaving him to his unknown fate. Whew!

Margie celebrated her anniversary in style at a Santa Cruz Bar & Grill, and Margaret and I were treated to a tasty dinner at Michael's on Main with our friends Rob and Diana Jensen... I am not worthy!