As the crow flies, Mt. Rose is "just over there". Mike quickly discovered the bike routes over to the two big climbs in Reno--Geiger and Mount Rose. It's the same route, either way---but you head West to climb Rose and East to climb Geiger. The desert winds were forecasted for the afternoon, and even though I got on the road a little after 8am---I knew that riding home into the wind might just put me over the edge. Right now I've worked myself up to 4 hour rides...but I'm still acclimating to the altitude and I begin to lose it after 4 hours. Throw in some wind and I begin to wonder why I even like riding my bike.
It took me over an hour to get to the Mt. Rose highway---but what a wonderful ride it was! There are llamas, donkeys, ostriches, work horses, wild mustangs and various cattle ranches that entertain you along the route. It's a steady grade up (steady grade up is what I call a grinder), but the million dollar homes with the million dollar views takes your mind off the work.
In the distance you can see the snowy peaks behind the big old brown mountain ranges. It looks like a godzilla movie---where you see all the big buildings and then towering over the big buildings is an even bigger monster. Given the wind direction (and my out-of-shapeness), I decided to go up Mount Rose. There's still snow up there...and traffic, but I wasn't up for an over 4 hour ride after yesterday (Geiger Pass is easier, but the ride home would be pure headwind).
Sigh. I wonder if I will ever acclimate? It's hard to explain. I used to be able to climb out of the saddle for hours. Not the most efficient way to climb (my husband re-emphasized this to me again and again). But I love it. It's like lifting weights without it feeling like exercise. I can't do it here. My legs are fine; I gasp for oxygen. Each and every time I make an effort, I am fine---but then I sit down and it hits me like someone punched me in the stomach. I even make "grunting" sounds -- not very attractive. Granted---my lack of riding in Boston didn't help. Patience, another sigh.
At about 7000' the air gets even thinner and the shoulder disappeared completely. Snow on the sides of the road makes for an even smaller piece of real estate to ride a bike on. I could see for miles and miles in every direction. And given the picking up of the wind speed and the traffic---I'd decided that I'd seen enough! Ha!
On my way home I ventured off on a side road that meandered passed more mansions. I think a bunch of golfers must live up here---there are "Greens" everywhere---and mansions galore! Who knew?
Just as I arrived back at our home on the hill, I spied an Army Black Hawk flying overhead! Local Boy Scout Troop 7322 was presenting "American Hero's" at the nearby Middle School. K-9 & SWAT Team members, along with some of the dedicated men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces were answering questions. Smokejumpers, Navy Rescue Helicopter pilots, US Forest Rangers, Firemen, Search & rescue and more. What a way to top a Sunday afternoon, huh?
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Markleeville, California
For many, Markleeville, CA is unknown. "Where?" If you enjoy fishing and camping, Markleeville might mean some quiet time along the Carson River Valley, underneath the big trees which surround the Sierra Nevada Ranges that separate the Golden State from the Silver State. Clean mountain air, nice camping and artsy little towns with corner general stores along the way.
Markleeville is a historic mountain city named after the first permanent inhabitant of the area, Jacob J. Marklee. Nestled in a small
valley on the east Fork of the Carson River, it is at an elevation of 5,500 feet. It has a backdrop of the majestic 9,000 and 10,000 foot
peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Formed during the silver mining boom of the 1860's Markleeville became the Alpine County seat in 1875. Alpine remains California's least populated county.
It is also home of the infamous Deathride...A one day cycling sufferfest in the California Alps. We woke up early and hit the road, as our plans were to go and ride some of the passes. Both Mike and I have participated in the Deathride in the early 90's---but I haven't been there in ages---and now it's about an hour and a half a way from where we live. According to the signs, Monitor Pass was open and Ebbetts was still closed.
It was indeed an epic day. I stayed on Monitor. My least favorite as it is an open grinder up to 8315'. I went up and over and then back again, remembering the steepness of the "otherside" (from 395) on the way back over. Still it was awesome. There were patches of snow as I got passed the tree-line...but nothing like what Mike found on Ebbett's.
He did Monitor and as much of Ebbett's as he could before running out of food and water. Once he rode beyond the fence that doesn't allow cars to pass he had the road all to himself...4 foot snow drifts. Reminded him of the Giro stages where you see guys in shorts riding by snowy Dolomite's!
For those wondering...SONORA pass is open! We'll have to go do that one soon!
We arrived home hungry, and worked....but in a good way! Happy Saturday!
And Taylor Joseph had his communion today!! Congratulations to Taylor and all the Rooney's!
Markleeville is a historic mountain city named after the first permanent inhabitant of the area, Jacob J. Marklee. Nestled in a small
valley on the east Fork of the Carson River, it is at an elevation of 5,500 feet. It has a backdrop of the majestic 9,000 and 10,000 foot
peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Formed during the silver mining boom of the 1860's Markleeville became the Alpine County seat in 1875. Alpine remains California's least populated county.
It is also home of the infamous Deathride...A one day cycling sufferfest in the California Alps. We woke up early and hit the road, as our plans were to go and ride some of the passes. Both Mike and I have participated in the Deathride in the early 90's---but I haven't been there in ages---and now it's about an hour and a half a way from where we live. According to the signs, Monitor Pass was open and Ebbetts was still closed.
It was indeed an epic day. I stayed on Monitor. My least favorite as it is an open grinder up to 8315'. I went up and over and then back again, remembering the steepness of the "otherside" (from 395) on the way back over. Still it was awesome. There were patches of snow as I got passed the tree-line...but nothing like what Mike found on Ebbett's.
He did Monitor and as much of Ebbett's as he could before running out of food and water. Once he rode beyond the fence that doesn't allow cars to pass he had the road all to himself...4 foot snow drifts. Reminded him of the Giro stages where you see guys in shorts riding by snowy Dolomite's!
For those wondering...SONORA pass is open! We'll have to go do that one soon!
We arrived home hungry, and worked....but in a good way! Happy Saturday!
And Taylor Joseph had his communion today!! Congratulations to Taylor and all the Rooney's!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Mountain Weather
Our front yard faces the Sierra's (West), and as you can see we had some weather blow in last night, and most of the day today. The grounds around our house are snow free, clean and dry though. I like it because I get to have my cake and eat it to. I love watching storms...I just hate not being able to ride my bike.
We've had a gathering of quail in our yard since we arrived, but over the last couple of days, there are two couples (I call them Lucy & Ricky and Ethel & Fred) who've been hanging out and carrying on a regular basis. Lucy will find a snack and go tearing down the yard with Ricky hot on her heels. Ethel & Fred just squak at each other and then follow Lucy & Ricky. It's hilarious. We also have Jack Rabbits who tower over our beloved Jack Russell. Desert wildlife. The animal I saw yesterday (and again today) was a big cute ground hog!
Today I headed out into the SouthWEST breeze...Dodging black clouds, but the rain evaporated before touching down. The clouds come so close you can reach out and touch them. When I rode up to the California-border-Henness pass, a bunch of snow blew off the mountain. I could hear it on my helmet, but it just evaporated by the time it touched down. It was wild! I have to say that, as usual, the wind is ferocious. It is nice to have the valley's surrounded by mountains to ride around in though.
When I headed back home I had a "Marshall-style" tailwind. I was in my big ring flying along the road. Then when I reached the foot of the 1000' foot climb home, a big hail-cloud that was following me exploded and I rode up into the monster gusts and ice pellets. The twisty part at the bottom is kinda cool...but then there's this wide open straight up stretch that was less fun. Closer to our house, the wind took a turn and rolled around behind me to help me up the hill. How cool is that?
Life on a bike in the desert is pretty cool!
We've had a gathering of quail in our yard since we arrived, but over the last couple of days, there are two couples (I call them Lucy & Ricky and Ethel & Fred) who've been hanging out and carrying on a regular basis. Lucy will find a snack and go tearing down the yard with Ricky hot on her heels. Ethel & Fred just squak at each other and then follow Lucy & Ricky. It's hilarious. We also have Jack Rabbits who tower over our beloved Jack Russell. Desert wildlife. The animal I saw yesterday (and again today) was a big cute ground hog!
Today I headed out into the SouthWEST breeze...Dodging black clouds, but the rain evaporated before touching down. The clouds come so close you can reach out and touch them. When I rode up to the California-border-Henness pass, a bunch of snow blew off the mountain. I could hear it on my helmet, but it just evaporated by the time it touched down. It was wild! I have to say that, as usual, the wind is ferocious. It is nice to have the valley's surrounded by mountains to ride around in though.
When I headed back home I had a "Marshall-style" tailwind. I was in my big ring flying along the road. Then when I reached the foot of the 1000' foot climb home, a big hail-cloud that was following me exploded and I rode up into the monster gusts and ice pellets. The twisty part at the bottom is kinda cool...but then there's this wide open straight up stretch that was less fun. Closer to our house, the wind took a turn and rolled around behind me to help me up the hill. How cool is that?
Life on a bike in the desert is pretty cool!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Morning ride in Verdi
Woke up to a brisk but clear-as-a-bell mountain air morning! We've had this strange weather pattern this week. Snow blows over the Sierra's but doesn't ever stick. So you experience the beauty of the snow falling, but the roads are dry and clear and clean. In fact, one of the squalls that blew in did stick, but only to our grass. It was like some invisible man was out there shoveling the sidewalks/roads.
Anyway---the wind was already blowing this morning, but Mike was suiting up for a training ride. I was chickening out (I don't know what's come over me---I am suddenly a fair weather rider), but I really love my new bike and wanted to ride. So I geared up in all my new Campagnolo clothing (for a girl who's been selling the best for years I can't believe I never knew about this Campy line---it easily surpasses anything Assos/Castelli that I've ever used---both performance AND the way it looks---very Italian!)
Mike was heading to Verdi to do intervals. Verdi is so nestled into the mountains that I figured the wind might be less felt---so while I was certainly NOT planning on doing intervals, I'd head there as well. The other nice thing is that the wind was blowing from the West--so I could ride as much as I wanted into the wind and would have a nice tailwind on the way back home (Mt. Rose and Geiger Pass would have meant a head wind home).
There's just no traffic here. It makes such a difference to not have cars everywhere and to always have my own lane even if there were cars. I dropped a thousand feet into the Verdi-valley and just as I passed Sinclair I followed the Truckee River and warmed up in the small housing developments along the way. I ran into Mike hammering away like a skinny beast. How a skinny little body like his can go so fast is amazing. He thinks he weighs 170lbs...but I bet he's 165lbs. Anyway, there are these private roads that lead no-where...but you can climb for a mile or so and it begins to feel very "alpine". The air is crisp...and I think this time I am slowly integrating into the altitiude so my recovery is better and I am not as bothered. There's one climb that ends at Hennessy pass(?)---a dirt road that crosses into California. (You can ride the dirt on your road bike---).
I saw this little "beaver-like creature along one of the passes. I have no idea what it was, but it was cute. It looked like fat fur running across the road. It's all uphill back to our house...but this Ridley machine makes the climb up fun! I arrived home to a true Sydney Greeting (you'd think I was gone for 2 days instead of 2 hours!) and settled in to write to you. I hope your Saturday is lovely!
Anyway---the wind was already blowing this morning, but Mike was suiting up for a training ride. I was chickening out (I don't know what's come over me---I am suddenly a fair weather rider), but I really love my new bike and wanted to ride. So I geared up in all my new Campagnolo clothing (for a girl who's been selling the best for years I can't believe I never knew about this Campy line---it easily surpasses anything Assos/Castelli that I've ever used---both performance AND the way it looks---very Italian!)
Mike was heading to Verdi to do intervals. Verdi is so nestled into the mountains that I figured the wind might be less felt---so while I was certainly NOT planning on doing intervals, I'd head there as well. The other nice thing is that the wind was blowing from the West--so I could ride as much as I wanted into the wind and would have a nice tailwind on the way back home (Mt. Rose and Geiger Pass would have meant a head wind home).
There's just no traffic here. It makes such a difference to not have cars everywhere and to always have my own lane even if there were cars. I dropped a thousand feet into the Verdi-valley and just as I passed Sinclair I followed the Truckee River and warmed up in the small housing developments along the way. I ran into Mike hammering away like a skinny beast. How a skinny little body like his can go so fast is amazing. He thinks he weighs 170lbs...but I bet he's 165lbs. Anyway, there are these private roads that lead no-where...but you can climb for a mile or so and it begins to feel very "alpine". The air is crisp...and I think this time I am slowly integrating into the altitiude so my recovery is better and I am not as bothered. There's one climb that ends at Hennessy pass(?)---a dirt road that crosses into California. (You can ride the dirt on your road bike---).
I saw this little "beaver-like creature along one of the passes. I have no idea what it was, but it was cute. It looked like fat fur running across the road. It's all uphill back to our house...but this Ridley machine makes the climb up fun! I arrived home to a true Sydney Greeting (you'd think I was gone for 2 days instead of 2 hours!) and settled in to write to you. I hope your Saturday is lovely!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Mt. Hamilton Ride
One of my favorite rides is to head up to the Mt. Hamilton Observatory in San Jose. By car it is a twisty ride...The Scrapper once got car sick when she was helping me in the feedzone for the 2004 Mt. Hamilton Road Race. By bike it is still twisty--challenging but fun...20 miles up to 4500' or so---and at the top you can see the entire Silicon Valley. On Monday morning, before heading back to Reno, Mike and I headed up. We rode from my folks house and had to stop at the post office to mail our taxes.
We rode our bikes to the post-office and when we got there of course there was a line out the door (even though we were early). I could see the frustration on Mike's face and so I told him to ride on and I would stand in line and I would follow. (Knowing of course my ride would be cut short...) Once I got the "post mark" on my forms I headed South and East. The first mile at the bottom has a little bit of traffic (but nothing really compared to out East) and after that you're pretty much car free for the next 19 miles up to the observatory.
Living at altitude for the last few weeks has made my riding iffy-at-best. My legs are fine...but it's like breathing through a straw and so my lung power is weaker. And the recovery time is tough---because you're always in the lack of oxygen zone. So I figured I was really out of shape and going slow. I didn't feel like I was as smooth or something. I don't know. It wasn't hard at all---just not snappy.
But it was lovely and warm and quiet and beautiful. So I just enjoyed the ride and the views and figured any minute now my racer husband would come screaming down the hill and I would have to turn around. I passed Grant park (which is further than I thought I'd get), and just kept plugging away on the Ridley machine. Up and up and soon I was passing the 6 miles to go bridge. Hmmm? Where was Taylor? It starts to get steeper here. And windy. And even cool (dare I say cold? Nope!). Finally---maybe a mile and a half later I see my Giant Strawberry heading down.
"Wow sweetie...you're climbing good!" Were the first words out of his mouth. I started way behind him and almost made it to the top shortly after him. So I think there is something to this altitude stuff. I didn't feel like I was snappy or climbing well...but I was faster than I thought. Maybe it was my new Ridley Helium ultra cool bike? I don't know. I will say that I had a buzz and lots of energy the whole time I was in California. Like a permanent feel-good-buzz. BUT...I rode every day and I love it there and I was energized seeing all my peeps! And this altitude stuff is I think more of a recovery thing--according to Jeff Angerman (Discovery Masters Rider and Sports Medicine Doc here in Reno). Anyway---it's interesting.
We rode our bikes to the post-office and when we got there of course there was a line out the door (even though we were early). I could see the frustration on Mike's face and so I told him to ride on and I would stand in line and I would follow. (Knowing of course my ride would be cut short...) Once I got the "post mark" on my forms I headed South and East. The first mile at the bottom has a little bit of traffic (but nothing really compared to out East) and after that you're pretty much car free for the next 19 miles up to the observatory.
Living at altitude for the last few weeks has made my riding iffy-at-best. My legs are fine...but it's like breathing through a straw and so my lung power is weaker. And the recovery time is tough---because you're always in the lack of oxygen zone. So I figured I was really out of shape and going slow. I didn't feel like I was as smooth or something. I don't know. It wasn't hard at all---just not snappy.
But it was lovely and warm and quiet and beautiful. So I just enjoyed the ride and the views and figured any minute now my racer husband would come screaming down the hill and I would have to turn around. I passed Grant park (which is further than I thought I'd get), and just kept plugging away on the Ridley machine. Up and up and soon I was passing the 6 miles to go bridge. Hmmm? Where was Taylor? It starts to get steeper here. And windy. And even cool (dare I say cold? Nope!). Finally---maybe a mile and a half later I see my Giant Strawberry heading down.
"Wow sweetie...you're climbing good!" Were the first words out of his mouth. I started way behind him and almost made it to the top shortly after him. So I think there is something to this altitude stuff. I didn't feel like I was snappy or climbing well...but I was faster than I thought. Maybe it was my new Ridley Helium ultra cool bike? I don't know. I will say that I had a buzz and lots of energy the whole time I was in California. Like a permanent feel-good-buzz. BUT...I rode every day and I love it there and I was energized seeing all my peeps! And this altitude stuff is I think more of a recovery thing--according to Jeff Angerman (Discovery Masters Rider and Sports Medicine Doc here in Reno). Anyway---it's interesting.
Sea Otter & Santa Cruz Crit
To some of you, this photo just looks like a couple of handsome guys hanging out in the Ridley booth at the 2007 Sea Otter. To this girl though, this photo means I am home! Two of my favorite people on earth! The Sea Otter was a mixed bag for the Sinclair folks---Mostly the weather (sun, wind and rain). When your in the dirt with an expensive lot of Campagnolo clothing, rain can be a big buzz-kill. But for me it was a winner because Alan joined us for a day. My first venture out of the booth and I head to the BIG air jumping dare-devils! Those guys are incredible. But even more incredible was spotting Alan with his iPod watching the brave guys on bikes. I immediately felt like I was HOME!
On Saturday, the rain came and we had a mudslide coming into our booth with thousands of dollars of Campy clothing about to get ruined. So we loaded up and salvaged most of it and headed out. Mike and I were staying in a lovely cottage (belonging to a dear friend of mine, JR, from my SGI days) on the 17 mile drive. We cleaned up, took a nap and awoke to sunshine and went for a ride! We enjoyed the million dollar views, the lone cypress and Big Sur and then decided to race on Sunday in Santa Cruz!
Santa Cruz was Mike's second race ever when he was a cat 4 or 5 in 1992---the old Pepsi-Cola challenge (or something like that).
He won the race as a cat 3...but hasn't done the race in a few years. He hasn't raced in field this large in about a year...and it's been a LONG time since he raced with a field of so many guys---110 guys lined up for the Pro 1/2 race on this breezy but warm Santa Cruz day. California Blue Skies. I saw friends I hadn't seen in 2 years. One of the best days I'd had in almost as long! Terry, Sarah, Tim Noakes, Dave Jueng---and the whole Strawberry Team (Worm, Mattis, Briggs, Eric Wohlberg...Andy Jaques-Maynes...the list goes on and on!). Anyway---this is too much to take in for a real race report. But Mike finished strong (15th) in the hugely talented and deep field. Not bad for his first big race of the season!
On Saturday, the rain came and we had a mudslide coming into our booth with thousands of dollars of Campy clothing about to get ruined. So we loaded up and salvaged most of it and headed out. Mike and I were staying in a lovely cottage (belonging to a dear friend of mine, JR, from my SGI days) on the 17 mile drive. We cleaned up, took a nap and awoke to sunshine and went for a ride! We enjoyed the million dollar views, the lone cypress and Big Sur and then decided to race on Sunday in Santa Cruz!
Santa Cruz was Mike's second race ever when he was a cat 4 or 5 in 1992---the old Pepsi-Cola challenge (or something like that).
He won the race as a cat 3...but hasn't done the race in a few years. He hasn't raced in field this large in about a year...and it's been a LONG time since he raced with a field of so many guys---110 guys lined up for the Pro 1/2 race on this breezy but warm Santa Cruz day. California Blue Skies. I saw friends I hadn't seen in 2 years. One of the best days I'd had in almost as long! Terry, Sarah, Tim Noakes, Dave Jueng---and the whole Strawberry Team (Worm, Mattis, Briggs, Eric Wohlberg...Andy Jaques-Maynes...the list goes on and on!). Anyway---this is too much to take in for a real race report. But Mike finished strong (15th) in the hugely talented and deep field. Not bad for his first big race of the season!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Ride around Reno
Literally. That's what I did today. There's basically one road that circles the entire town of Reno, called McCarren. Think Foothill Expressway with less than half the stoplights and two big climbs with the rest of the miles being rolling. There is a BIG bike lane the entire length with the exception of 1/4 of a mile where North McCarren becomes South McCarren near it's eastern most point.
I've spent the last year in the North Eastern "flatlands", and the last three months riding in my basement, so I had planned to take the easy route for my maiden voyage. On a map, it all looks flat. There was maybe 1 mile of flats for the whole 3 hours. Sigh.
Anyway, this kind of riding is the best way for me to get my bearings---and get familiar with my new surroundings. No matter where I was, I was surrounded by 7000' to 9000' climbs---with the bigger peaks of Mount Rose in the distance. The air is dry dry dry. The whole ride I had that dry throat feeling. I loved it!
Something Mike had mentioned yesterday, but which I really hadn't experienced before (I never "push it!), was the feeling where my legs felt great---but I felt like I was breathing through a straw. Usually my aerobic conditioning is good and my legs give out. Altitude training. Funny thing was I felt fine on the climbs, but the flats were where I was feeling "tired".
In any case, I had a lovely ride. Reno has that small town feel---very spread out. I suppose in the bay area we call this "sprawl"---and perhaps in a few years, they'll call it "sprawl" here too. But right now it's pretty nice.
As I turned onto Mae Ann and headed home, I had that headwind to deal with. But it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. The climb home is about 1000'---it reminded me of my ride home in San Francisco.
We start working tomorrow officially! Happy Sunday!
I've spent the last year in the North Eastern "flatlands", and the last three months riding in my basement, so I had planned to take the easy route for my maiden voyage. On a map, it all looks flat. There was maybe 1 mile of flats for the whole 3 hours. Sigh.
Anyway, this kind of riding is the best way for me to get my bearings---and get familiar with my new surroundings. No matter where I was, I was surrounded by 7000' to 9000' climbs---with the bigger peaks of Mount Rose in the distance. The air is dry dry dry. The whole ride I had that dry throat feeling. I loved it!
Something Mike had mentioned yesterday, but which I really hadn't experienced before (I never "push it!), was the feeling where my legs felt great---but I felt like I was breathing through a straw. Usually my aerobic conditioning is good and my legs give out. Altitude training. Funny thing was I felt fine on the climbs, but the flats were where I was feeling "tired".
In any case, I had a lovely ride. Reno has that small town feel---very spread out. I suppose in the bay area we call this "sprawl"---and perhaps in a few years, they'll call it "sprawl" here too. But right now it's pretty nice.
As I turned onto Mae Ann and headed home, I had that headwind to deal with. But it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. The climb home is about 1000'---it reminded me of my ride home in San Francisco.
We start working tomorrow officially! Happy Sunday!
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