Well!
That was some ride, wasn't it! I'll write my full report later, but let me congratulate everyone who took part in today's wet, windy, and cold adventure. No matter how many miles you rode, everyone was a champion. This was certainly one for the history books.
A clothing tip for tomorrow
Bring a jacket, and either bring leg warmers or wear long pants. Temperatures at the coast aren't expected to rise much above 52 degrees or so, and there will be a brisk wind when we're out there.
Looks like the rain will hold off until the evening, so barring any unexpected overnight developments, we're on our way to San Gregorio in the morning. Bring sunscreen; even under cloudy skies, many hours on the bike make you susceptible to sunburn. (That's also good practice for bringing your own sunscreen with you on every day of the ride in June. ALC-supplied sunscreen is only for emergencies and usually runs out anyway.)
Looks like the rain will hold off until the evening, so barring any unexpected overnight developments, we're on our way to San Gregorio in the morning. Bring sunscreen; even under cloudy skies, many hours on the bike make you susceptible to sunburn. (That's also good practice for bringing your own sunscreen with you on every day of the ride in June. ALC-supplied sunscreen is only for emergencies and usually runs out anyway.)
The latest word on Saturday
This "Special Weather Statement" just out from the National Weather Service.
If correct, this suggests that we'll be OK for our scheduled ride on Saturday, although we'll want to make an effort to get back to Mountain View as expeditiously as possible.
Update: AccuWeather says Saturday afternoon could be windy, with west winds gusting as high as 30 mph. For those of us struggling to climb back up Highway 84 from the coast, this could actually be a very good thing.
A cold storm system will move out of the Gulf of Alaska and into California this weekend... bringing rain... colder temperatures and snow in the mountains. Rain is expected to begin in the north San Francisco Bay region Saturday afternoon and then spread rapidly southward over most of the district Saturday night... along with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Rainfall is not expected to be excessive as this will be a quick moving storm with a limited moisture supply.
If correct, this suggests that we'll be OK for our scheduled ride on Saturday, although we'll want to make an effort to get back to Mountain View as expeditiously as possible.
Update: AccuWeather says Saturday afternoon could be windy, with west winds gusting as high as 30 mph. For those of us struggling to climb back up Highway 84 from the coast, this could actually be a very good thing.
Today's tip: Save your circumference
If your bike computer is like most (and you do have a bike computer by now, don't you?), you had to set all sorts of mysterious numbers before you used it for the first time. (You did set all those settings, didn't you?) One of those settings was probably the circumference (distance around the edge) of your tire; the computer calculates your speed by counting the number of rotations and using the size of your tire to figure out the actual distance covered. That number varies by the size of tire you currently have installed -- a 700x25c tire has a slightly different circumference than a 700x28c tire. The manual for your computer probably has a table of tire sizes and corresponding circumference numbers. It's usually a four-digit integer, so it's factored strange in order to be a whole number that you can easily enter into your computer with the buttons.
Here's the rub. If you're like me, you tend to forget your circumference setting. And when your computer's battery dies or you just accidentally reset your computer in the middle of a ride (it happened to me earlier this year!), your computer no longer can accurately measure your speed or your distance. And if you're all nerdy about numbers like I am, you suddenly feel naked during your ride.
So ... with all that backstory, here's the tip. Write your magic circumference number, and tape it inside your computer, on the inside of the removable cover for your battery. (Don't put it on the battery, because you'll eventually replace the battery.) That way, if you ever need that magic number in the middle of a ride or when you don't have your computer's manual handy, it's right there for you.
As you can see, my magic circumference number for 700x25c tires is 2146. So if I forget it, now I can just ask one of you instead.
Saturday weather first look
Hrmph. I thought we were done with this for the season.
We're back into one of those who-knows patterns where the three major forecasts (Weather Underground, AccuWeather, and The Weather Channel) all say different things for Saturday, ranging from a 10% to a 40% chance of rain. Some say the rain arrives Friday night; others say Saturday night. I've pretty much given up trying to work these things out in advance this season.
But there is one important thing this week -- the reason why I'm taking time here to post this. Because our ride this weekend goes on technically difficult mountain roads and coastal highways with heavy traffic, the threshold for not doing this ride will be lower than usual. We won't ride this route if the roads in the mountains and along the coast are wet, even if it might not be raining at the exact time we pass through. It's too close to Day 1 to put us needlessly at risk of serious injury.
If that happens, however, I'll have an alternate ride (same place, same time) ready to go if things aren't a total washout here on the bay side of the hills. Of course, it won't have 5,400 feet of climbing.
We're back into one of those who-knows patterns where the three major forecasts (Weather Underground, AccuWeather, and The Weather Channel) all say different things for Saturday, ranging from a 10% to a 40% chance of rain. Some say the rain arrives Friday night; others say Saturday night. I've pretty much given up trying to work these things out in advance this season.
But there is one important thing this week -- the reason why I'm taking time here to post this. Because our ride this weekend goes on technically difficult mountain roads and coastal highways with heavy traffic, the threshold for not doing this ride will be lower than usual. We won't ride this route if the roads in the mountains and along the coast are wet, even if it might not be raining at the exact time we pass through. It's too close to Day 1 to put us needlessly at risk of serious injury.
If that happens, however, I'll have an alternate ride (same place, same time) ready to go if things aren't a total washout here on the bay side of the hills. Of course, it won't have 5,400 feet of climbing.
Every little bit helps
Instead of having a big dinner out on the weekend as I sometimes do, I just treated myself to a take-out Italian entree instead ... and donated the difference to my ride.It might not seem like much, but in this extraordinarily challenging fundraising season, every little bit can help make a difference. I'm now just slightly over halfway to the $3,000 minimum that I am obligated to raise for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and we're down to the final two months of fundraising. (Donations that come in after mid-May might not be processed in time to count for the ride.) No matter the size, every donation matters -- and smaller donations can add up quickly to make a big impact.
In my four years with AIDS/LifeCycle, I've met many truly special people, some of whom depend on the foundation for essential services. The ride is for them ... and for everyone else, too, because we all have a stake in ending HIV and AIDS.
I know we're all freaked out over the economy right now; I certainly am. But I'm really not asking for much: If just
Find out more about the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. And then, please give what you can to help.
Cat-3 Distance Training #8: South Bay century loop
Meet time: 6:30 a.m.
Ride-out time: 7:00 a.m.
Meeting place: Three blocks west of the Mountain View Caltrain and VTA station, in the overflow parking lot at the corner of Evelyn Avenue and Franklin Street. (map)
City: Mountain View
Rain policy: Rain cancels
Category: 3 - moderate-fast pace (12-15 mph)
Terrain: 2 - rolling hills
Miles: 100
Description:
This is the traditional South Bay loop on super-duper steroids, plumped up and ready for action.
We start by taking in some Peninsula foothills on the way to Menlo Park, then cross the Dumbarton Bridge and head out to Mission Blvd., where we climb to Mission San Jose. From there, we head down the east side of San Jose toward Evergreen Valley. Then, get ready for a Quadbuster-esque climb and a thrilling descent on Silver Creek Valley Road, and we'll close by picking up some of our routes from the past to return through Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale.
If you don't want to ride the full 100 miles, you'll be able to take VTA light rail to cut the total distance to about 71 miles. Bring cash.
Total climbing on this ride is about 2,900 feet.
Route sheet for this ride is here.
Be sure to check the Training section of the ALC website for information on how to prepare for a training ride and what you must and should bring.
Leaders: Chris Thomas, Dan England, Bob Katz, Randy Files, Maggie Vande Voorde, Susan Fish
RSVPs are requested but not required.
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