Sonomas

I pulled the trigger on signing up for the Sonomas epic in Sonoma, CA. The course profile looks pretty challenging with 7,000 ft of climbing over 34 miles of Northern California trail. I won't make the same mistake I made at Sea Otter by staying better hydrated before and especially during the race.

The exciting part is that my wife is going to see me race for the first time, well at least for the start and finish. I also have a few riding buddies entered into the race in the same category as me. Both of these things will take the nervous edge off.

Top of the Morning Y'all

So I've been lagging quite a bit with my daily posts. I've been so busy with work the past week it's been hard finding the time to reflect. However, when I do have time I ride for the hills, even if it's 6:30am. The photo above is at the top of the Miwok trail in the Marin Headlands. It overlooks Sausalito to one side and the San Francisco Bay on the other. It's truly one of those moments in my day where I'm completely at peace and clear-headed.

First Group Ride

Did my first real group ride on Tuesday morning. Five of us set out for a long Headlands loop. There was a crash and a flat tire, but other than that it was good times all around. Nothing like riding with others to make you work a little harder on the climbs while carrying on conversation.

Nove Mesto World Cup

Spent my Sunday recovering from my monster ride on Saturday hanging out and watching the World Cup in Nove Mesto. It was a thrilling race between Nino Schurter, Jaroslav Kulhavy and Burry Stander all the way to the finish. The course looked like a lot of fun, and the live coverage from Red Bull TV was well done. Looking forward to watching this weekends battle in France.

Exploration

On Saturday I ventured out into the Headlands in search of the Coastal View descent. I ended up riding down Dias Ridge instead, which was some of the best single-track I've ridden out here so far, but it also dropped me at the bottom of the trail I wanted to go down. Doh!

The ride up the Coastal View trail was spectacular, fog rolling in and out of the hills and along the coastline. By this point I had run out of water and failed, yet again, to bring any food with me. Double doh!

At the very top of Coastal View I dropped into the Muir Woods national forest. It's quite incredible how diverse the landscape and terrain can change in such a short distance. It went from coastal shrubs, to lush valleys into dense woods.

At this point I'm really hurting for food. Luckily I ran into a group of riders at the top of Mill Valley, and thank god for George, who hooked me up with a Hammer Gel. Funny enough, not 200 yards from running into them I came across a dried fruit stand, and bought as much trail mix as $4 can afford.

I spent the remainder of the ride at a slow tempo, dreaming about sandwiches and water. 50 miles and four and a half hours later I make it home, legs covered in dust and sweat, deflated, but what a ride.

The Fog

Finally, my first ride from the new apartment. I hit the road at 6am, and was welcomed to a blanket of fog. I made my way through Golden Gate Park, taking a few wrong turns before finding my way back on route. The fog was so intense. I couldn't see the ocean.

I headed for the Marin Headlands, like I always do, but by the time I hit the trail my glasses were so fogged up I had to ride most of the descent virtually blind. Not safe. I turned back knowing I lost time in the park, but on my way back I caught the tail end of a massive early morning ride by MC AM Riders. 30 cyclist or so came flying out of the fog. I rode with them back over the bridge before heading home. I'm always amazed at how many serious cyclists there are in this city.

I'm Back

Fully recovered from my cold. I spent a glorious Sunday in the Marin Headlands. The weather has been perfect. Is it always like this in San Francisco?

Came across this wild turkey on the trail. The photo doesn't do its size justice. It was HUGE! I've never seen wild turkey in the wild before.

Finally

Riding is like a drug, and today I got my fix. We finished painting half of our apartment, and got our stuff delivered. More importantly this means I have my road bike and trainer back. No more excuses for me other than our place is in complete disarray.

We're still in temporary housing by the waterfront, and we still have to work out our respective morning commutes. I've officially become a morning person because of this.

Back to the afternoon ride. I fought a nasty headwind all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. What I love about the Marin Headlands is that once you're across the bridge and at the halfway point of Hawk Hill the wind dies down considerably. Once you're in the Headlands itself it's virtually wind free, not to mention sunny and perfect riding weather.

Another Morning

Another great morning ride today. I did my normal loop in reverse. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to be out on the trail at 6:00am, but apparently not. I ran into another rider doing the same loop but in the opposite direction. In fact I came across at least 20 other riders, but on road bikes. This city is serious. I keep remarking on how different my lifestyle has become.

Hump Day

20120426-094549.jpg Early morning jaunt through the mountains. Rode a short loop of the Headlands, bright and early at 6:30am. No one else on the trails. Felt very strong for most of the ride. Just feeling really happy and blessed to be living in this city.

Festival Recap

I wish I had more time to spend at the festival itself. It would have been great to catch the short-track races, as well as road and the dual slalom. The picture above is the Specialized Factory Racing tent. The racers on the left are Lea Davidson and Rebecca Rusch, respective World Cup and Leadville 100 racer/winners. It was really cool to see how they prepped before each race. All the mechanics were buzzing around getting everything ready.

I drove down to Monterey by myself in a reserved Audi A3 Zip Car. I forgot how much I loved driving to far off destinations for bike races, easily one of the best things about the whole experience. Northern California has some of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen, with its rolling lush hills coupled with rocky/sandy beaches. It was about a two-hour drive south from San Francisco.

Every major bicycle brand you could think of was at the Sea Otter Classic. It's the best place to see what's new in the world of bikes; products, innovations, vendors, and not to mention all the top North American Pro riders. I easily could have spent my afternoon visiting each booth and talking shop, but I wanted to stay focused at the task ahead. I had one goal, and that was to check out the Specialized Factory Racing team booth, and meet with some of my favorite racers. I was lucky enough to catch my long time hero, Ned Overend, kicking it with the rest of the team.

Even Rapha was present, slinging coffee all day long. They were so nice to hook me up with a free musette.

Race Day Recap

After a full day of recovery I've had some time to think about my first comeback race. It wasn't perfect, nor was it as bad as I was expecting it to go down. I've had a great off-season to prepare myself physically and mentally, with the help of my trainer, Clayton of Carmichael Training Systems, as well as the support of my friends and family. It was a lot of fun and a huge sigh of relief.

Racing the Sea Otter Classic was never on my calendar till recently when my wife and I decided to move to San Francisco. With the added stress of moving and the relatively short time till race day, it left me questioning and even doubting myself. Thankfully having the time to explore the Marin Headlands gave me a quick feel for the terrain and amount of climbing to expect, but more importantly the confidence to attack the race from the start.

I started fine, leading the pack up until the gravel fire road where I decided to back off a bit, knowing I wouldn't be able to sustain the pace. The course started out very loose with a fast descent before the first steep climb, also known as "the wall", an otherwise rideable section for the more experienced rider, but ultimately a hike-a-bike section. I cleared it on the first lap.

After another short section of climbing the course transitioned to a rather long, tight and sandy single track descent. I could have benefited from better tire selection here because it was so loose and sandy. I was in 7th position at this point when I came around a tight off-camber corner a little too fast, overcompensating the turn, crashed and flipped myself over a steep slope, flipping backwards into some bushes. My ankle somehow got lodged between two branches making it nearly impossible to get up. After 20 seconds or so knowing I was in a bind, cursing and on the verge of panicking, I did the biggest sit-up known to man, grabbed hold of the branches that were pinning my leg, and unwound myself from the mess. By then I had lost two places, my left calf was throbbing with pain, yet somehow I quickly remounted my bike and kept going.

I found myself struggling to find my own rhythm for the remainder of the race. For one, it was incredibly hot. I made the mistake of not having enough water on-hand, forcing me to stop at every aid station available. The heat was a notable factor for everyone, most of whom had a hard time just finishing the 40 miles race. Even the pros didn't have it as hard as we did, only having to do one of the two 20 mile laps. Incredible. I had a side cramp for most of the first lap, and I knew I had pushed way too hard to make up for my early crash. My heart rate was pegged to the ceiling for half the race, but towards the end of the first lap I found my strength and started to catch a few riders.

I took it easy on most of the descents on the second lap, but tried to push myself on the climbs. Early into my second lap I started to feel a twinge of leg cramps. I knew then I had to back off on the power and up my pedaling cadence. I was making up time on the climbs, passing people with the quick, concentrated spin, but eventually I hit the wall, on the threshold of bonking. Luckily it happened with only a couple of miles left in the race.

I came in 9th out of 20 in my age category. I finished 20 minutes off the race leader, which isn't that bad considering my early mishaps. I made quite a few rookie mistakes, like going too hard in the beginning and not pacing myself better, especially not having enough water, but I could have done way better if I hadn't crashed so hard. I definitely would have gained at least 5-10 minutes, putting me within the top 5. Live and learn, then relearn, I guess.

Top Ten

I got 9th place in my category at the Sea Otter Classic on Friday, finishing the 40 mile, brutally hot, sandy and fast course in 3 hours and 10 minutes. I also met a long time hero of min, Ned Overend, who was hanging out at the Specialized Factory Racing booth. Such a fun experience. A full race recap soon.

Hammer Time

I picked up my race day supplies. In addition to my usual Clif Bar I've decided to give Hammer Gel and Heed a try. Gels are great for that last push into a race, and energy drinks are good for keeping your sodium level topped off. Water alone can't cut it. It's probably not the best idea to try these out for the first time on race day, but I've been accustomed to gels and powders before.

Rolling with the Clouds

I'm back for more. Lots of headwind, but as soon as I dropped into the valley of the Headlands there was a calm stillness. I attacked early on and gained even more time on the Miwok trail climb. However, my early effort left me struggling for the rest of the ride, but I managed to pull together some nice times for the remainder of the ride.

I spent half of the ride battling coastal winds and rolling clouds, and finally got passed by a fellow rider on a rather steep downhill section. He happened to be going up the same way I was and we struck up a conversation while panting up a gradual gravel climb. Turns out he just started racing Cat 1 cross-country a little while ago. So nice to meet someone new on the trail, especially a potential training partner. He even showed me a really gnarly section of single-track before the ride back.

Tomorrow I have to take the day off, and spin easy the day after that in preparation for the Sea Otter Classic, which is on Friday.