Tour de Foothills, Upland, CA - November 12, 2010

Hello Friends!

Jett and I are back from our Veteran's Day long weekend in So California. While down for a visit to my dearest friends and family, we took the opportunity to participate in the Tour de Foothills in my old cycling stomping grounds of Upland-Claremont-Rancho Cucamonga. Another plus about this ride is seeing my old friends, many of whom were part of the ride support and organization. Good job to Mike & Mike & Brent!

Here is the start of the race. 7 AM in Upland. Upland is in the Inland Empire (area code 909!), just north of Ontario, 40 miles east of LA, 25 miles west of San Bernardino. Jett and I stayed at a hotel right across the street from the start. What a perfect set-up! We loved being so close and convenient.

They had a group of bag-pipers playing in the morning. In years past, my special cycling buddy, Big Mike, played the Star Spangled Banner a la Jimi Hendrix for the start of the race. I loved that a 10! This year, Mike was providing SAG support, so no axe wielding this morning.

The weather was gorgeous. Warm and sunny. November can be icky and iffy, weather-wise, but not today. Loved it.

And here we find our other cycling buddy and my 2007 RAGBRAI brother, Mike Miller (aka Painfreak). At first I was taken aback by the wild TdF kit, but more amazed by the sign on his back reading "Ride Marshall." Whoo-hoo! He got a promotion! Then Jett and I ribbed him a bit about his lack of directional skills. Good thing the ride was so well marked, I thought! Mike is universally known to get lost on organized rides, always adding "bonus miles" to his centuries.

Here's Jett & Mike riding through my old cycling terrain. It was perfect. 3625 feet of climbing over 63 miles. Easy-peasy compared to the Gran Fondo (9000 feet over 103 miles).

Here we are approaching the climbing section. Wish I took more photos of the day. It was wonderful. Hope to do it again next year!

Oh, and yes, Painfreak did veer from the route after all! He was able to get back on track pretty quickly...

Triumph at Levi Leipheimer's GranFondo

Hello Cycling Friends!


We had the BEST time yesterday at Levi Leipheimer's GranFondo. Jett signed us up for this ride back in January. We were both overweight and out of shape. Jett posted the words "Gran Fondo" on our bathroom mirror as a daily reminder to lose the weight and get ready. Here's a photo of us in our chubby state:

In May 2010, we finally got serious about our diet and exercise. Then we found our secret diet weapon: the BodyBugg (worn by the Biggest Loser TV show contestants). The weight started coming off and we attended to our exercising. To date Jett has lost 35 pounds and I have lost 17.

By GranFondo day, Jett, despite 3 weeks overcoming a knee injury, Jett was mentally prepared. (I had not trained as well as I would have liked due to too much work and a recent neck injury, but I was prepared to muddle along as best I could and suffer the consequences.) Let the excitement start! On Friday (Oct 9) night, we drove to Santa Rosa and went straight away to the event registration to pick up our numbers, t-shirts, jerseys, and cool musette-style swag bags. Saweet!

Below is our cool jersey. Cycling jerseys are the best souvenirs ever. You get to wear them again and again - they give you both bragging rights and sweet memories. Jett was #776 and I was #307. I think they went by alpha. We understand there were 6000 riders at the GranFondo. 3000 for the full Gran (103 miles) and another 3000 for the Medio and Piccolo (65 and 32 miles).

Here's Jett rocking her jersey. And her I am being all sassy... We started out with removeable arm and leg warmers. Riding in Sonoma County means cold in the morning and who knows what you'll get in the afternoon.

The GranFondo is scheduled to "start" at 8:00 AM. We were advised to arrive at 7:15-7:30. Which we did. Along with 6000 other people. I have never been in a starting group this large. It was a sea of people. Everyone was in a great mood. Here's Jett pointing out fashion/cycling gear violation. (You know you may be in the wrong section when you see people wearing khaki shorts with a belt...)

Finally at 8 AM the BIG START HAPPENED!!! There were so many people, and the route was so narrow, it took a full 20 minutes for us to actually get moving...

This was the first ride I ever had to "stage" myself based on my speed and experience. We chose "Intermediate Expert" which seemed reasonable to us. In the end, we really should have moved way up in the line.. Next time...

While we were in line, we saw some very cute young girls, rocking their pink cycling accessories. Future world class female cycling champions??

Our route took us through the Monte Rio, the base camp we used for our July cycling/camping vacation. It was fun to ride through all these familiar roads. And let me tell you - the weather in October was so much better than July. We had beautiful warm sun this weekend, rather than the coastal foggy murk from July.

Here's the sign that welcomed us to the much feared "King Ridge." Difficult? Understatement. I call it brutal and endless. A suffer-fest. Wicked hard and wicked long. But we steadily progressed around the bike hikers (who couldn't climb up the >10% grades) and the weavers (who couldn't climb straight up, they had to weave back and forth in a zig-zag up the grade) for the 30 miles of steep climbing and crazy descents..

And as we arrived at the rest stop after King Ridge, this kid was estatic! He was nearly weeping with relief. We celebrated with him. Very cute.

The next leg brought us out to the coast - and it was a perfectly gorgeous day. The ocean was beautiful. The CHP patrols kept us safe on Highway 1. (Have you ever had a CHP motor cop applaud you? We did! It was surreal!) Below is the last rest stop before the 2nd feared climb: Coleman Valley Road. It was great to have a stop right there on the coast. But we were tired and spent. Ready to be done. We were having a hard time eating at this point. And my poor neck was aching. The Motrin I pounded was having no impact. But I am smiling! I was loving every painful moment of this epic ride.

With 77 miles and thousands of feet of climbing on our legs, we begin the vertical grade up Coleman Valley Road. This road is extremely difficult when you are fresh. Words fail to describe how it felt when we were this tired. One word Jett said earlier in the day inspired me: Courage. Here's Jett moving up the steep steepness of that first wicked section of Coleman Valley Road. Look at the gorgeous Pacific behind us!

And here' Jett moving up past the super steep section into the lesser steep section - it's still steep as hell!!!

After Coleman Valley, we had another 20 miles to go. Mostly flat thank God... But no more photos. Both me and my camera pooped out. It was all I had to finish. The last 15 miles were the longest of my cycling career. Jett powered me and a paceline of 2 other he-men all the way home. I was never so happy to see a finish line! In total, we had 9000 feet of climbing and 107 miles of cycling for the day (103 GranFondo + 4 commute miles to/from hotel).

Epic ride. Epic day. Loved every minute of it. Will do this again next year...

Day 1 - Cycling Vacation in Russian River Valley

Dear Cycling Friends,


A bit belated, but here is my faithful re-creation of a daily blog chronicaling our camping/cycling immersion vacation. It began on Saturday, July 24th. We started our first day of vacation by shopping, packing, driving, becoming lost, arriving at our campground (an hour and half late), unpacking, and ultimately enduring screaming children and 5 rotations of the hay ride that came around our site...


Here's a great shot of our fully packed uber wonderful Honda Element (named the "Phump" - a disintegration of the Element -->Elephant --> Elephlump).

Here's our campsite upon arrival (minus the screaming children and families who used the path to the right as a shortcut to the restrooms). We ended up blocking that path with weapons of mass entanglement (okay, a couple of ropes strung across the trees).

Here's our fun and funky Phlump "cabana" tent. And how cute is Jett in this shot? Back to the tent - we thought we were buying a full tent that sits on the ground that has a sleeve that attaches to the back of the open Honda Element. When we popped this open for the first time at camp, we had a surprise. I felt a little short-changed initially, but it actually worked out quite well. We had near perfect sleeping conditions in the Phlump as the cabana can be open during the day (as shown) and zipped up at night for warmth and privacy.

And truly one of my favorite moments of the day - any day really - is that first sip of coffee. I was treated to extra-loving camp coffee made by Jett every morning. Happy!

After our leisurely morning of coffee drinking and breakfast courtesy of Jett, our Ridgepark neighbor and fellow cyclist, Joe (whom we dubbed Andy Schleck for the day) arrived to join us for our virgin cycling ride for this trip. We dug his "Tuxedo Top" truck bed cover that rolls back to reveal the treasures within (or hide the mess).

We started our from the Casini Family Campground (in Monte Rio) at about 10:30 a.m. Our planned route was a 53-mile trip to Jenner and back - going up the scenic hills, filled with redwoods and gorgeous and charming country roads. The planned route would take us through 4700 feet of climbing. Hmmm. Bit os a problem as I have not been cycling much this last month due to work work work and too much work.

In this shot, we are suited up and ready to roll. Joe (Schleck) took one for the team and wore high visibility yellow for those windy, narrow country roads.

Here we are taking a breather after that first, shockingly steep climb. I think Jett and I were thinking - "What the hell!" It turns out that Schleck is a wicked strong climber. I am a hill slug, alas.

Schleck and I are proudly wearing out (some would call dorky) rearview mirrors. These puppies cost $14 and are my must-have cycling accessory. I can see every speeding car behind me without turning turning my head. I feel lost and unsafe without them now. I say don't leave home without it! (If Lance were to start wearing these, then maybe the dork factor would go down. Must have a talk with him about this...)

There's Jett way up ahead and Joe in the foreground. We climbed endlessly on Fort Ross Road. Endless in this case means 18 miles. We had a couple of sections that were over 20% grade. And some nice breaks in flatter areas. But really it was mostly up and up and up. And at 81 degrees - hot! Back at camp when we first started out, we were freezing! Jett and I wore removable arm warmers and vests. I was wishing I wore shorts instead of capri-length tights at this point. It was murder. But very beautiful. Very few cars up there to deal with. And fun to ride with Schleck.

At the creast of a hill (how did I get there first???), I stopped and waited for Joe & Jett to fly past me on a short downhill. (Of course we had to climb back up to make up for that nice little descent.)

Finally the terrain begins to change and we just know the climbing is about to be over. We stope at a stunning rock outcropping for a photo op! Yeah! Climbing is about over!!

This photo doesn't really do justice to show how far up we've climbed. We're about done with the climbing!

But no. We had another good full mile of steady climbing on Fort Ross Road... Here's Jett making her way up to the final ascent.

But after this, our peaceful ride became very interesting (and challenging) for very different reasons. After ? miles on Meyers Grade Road with posted signs of 18% downhill grade (sorry folks - no photos on that - I was too busy trying not to get killed), we turned south onto Highway 1, where we had to ride 5 treacherous miles with little or no shoulders and many many many Sunday afternoon cars, campers, trailers, motorcycles, and other large vehicles that do not appreciate the plight of the cyclist (nor do they think we belong on their roads). All 3 of us were a bit nervous starting out. Luckily we were one a steep windy downhill and soon caught up with a train of slow moving vehicles all stuck behind a huge RV going about 20 MPH around those hairpin curves. We tucked ourselves right into this convoy and rode several miles in complete safety. I could spy the gorgeous Pacific Ocean in my peripheral vision to my right, but could not take my eyes off the road to truly enjoy the view. But alas, the downhill became an uphill - we lost speed and could not keep up with the cars and had to ride along the narrow road edge (shoulders were few and far between here...)

We did pull off the road a few times when we found a narrow shoulder - to let cars by and to enjoy the stunning view. We had a unique vantage point as these areas were too small for motorists to pull off the road. Another advantage of travelling by bike!

Here we are - alive and in one piece - on Highway 1.

Schleck and Jett! Big smiles!

My favorite view. One that the motorists could not stop and enjoy. hahahahahaha!

Here's Schleck on one of the rare shoulder areas. And here's how close the cars come. Most of Highway 1 gave us about 6 inches of asphalt on the other side of that white line...

Finally lunch at last in the coastal town of Jenner. Jett and I had teh best turkey burger ever! Following lunch, what with the exhaustion of climbing and the adrenalin rush of Highway 1, we decided to ditch the rest of the ride and take a shortcut back to camp. We bid adieu to our cycling buddy Joe, and showered, grocery-shopped, and settled down at camp for the remainder of the day. Overall, a great day and a great start to our cycling vacation!

Bella Blue - The Beautiful Litespeed

My beautiful new Litespeed, a 2005 "Bella" is here. The bike build went beautifully thanks to Steve Loebach, manager of Carmichael Cycles and fellow cycling buddy and all-around wonderful human being.

Here's a shot of her in her finished state:

We robbed all the good stuff from my poor Fuji. Dura Ace components from stem to stern with one wee exception: I still have Ultegra brakes...

At the bike shop, Steve, Jett, and I debated changing the crankset out to either a Dura Ace or Ultegra. We left the shop with the decision to use the Ultegra due to cost, availability and (for me) looks (I liked it being a matte type of metal rather than shiny). Later on, Jett and I had doubts. Why didn't we go for Dura Ace? Opportunity lost. Oh well. But Steve our psychic bike builder, who knows us better than we know ourselves, realized we would be happier with the Dura Ace. And he was right and it is gorgeous. I love the look against the raw titanium and blue paint.

The previous 2 shots we "finished product" shots. Here are a few shots of Jett adding some finishing touches. Here's Bella in our backyard. The Fuji has mis-matched carbon bottle cages. This was unacceptable. Bella deserves matching cages! (And sorry, Dave, no titanium cages for me. I like the carbon touches here and there: handle bars, seat post, bottle cages).

One thing that has been a major problem has been my pedals. I was using Look Keos and Jett was using Shimanos. That means that while we are the same height and do fit the same size bike, our shoes wouldn't let us easily swap rides. And those darn Keos were harder than heck for me to clip in and out of... Here are some cool Shimano Ultegra pedals. The color is uber cool against the titanium. (Look at Jett's hands - she has the tiniest mitts ever. I am somewhat proud of my man-hands!)

And here are the matching bottle cages. Looks fly, doesn't it?

And my very sad Keo cleats. Very grungy. How did Jett put it? There was a lot of landscape in there.

And here's my new Shimano cleat - and Jett's older Shimano cleat: matching! She later changed her cleats out too. Now we are both fresh and new in the cleat department...

That's it for now. Will post photos of some of our gorgeous Sacramento rides in the near future.

Beautiful Sunday Ride in Penryn

The Litespeed is still in the shop - but halfway completed!

We joined our Folsom cycling crew for a ride Sunday in gorgeous weather. We rode to our favorite coffee shop, Trailhead Coffee and Cycling Lounge in Penryn.

We met Kim's new friend, Chris Armstrong, a very yummy and welcome new addition to our group. Here's a shot of me, Jett, and Chris. Can't wait until my camera is out of the shop!

Litespeed Adventures

Hello All,

Well, the new Litespeed frame and fork have safely arrived at our favorite Sacramento area bike shop, Carmichael Cycles. Shop manager Steve Loebach is a very dear friend and a key member of our Sunday cycling posse.

Jett and I brought Fujigirl to the shop this morning and held a pow-wow/strategy meeting with Steve this morning.

We are going to rob from the Fuji:

1. bars
2. seat
3. wheels
4. rear derailer
5. all components

We are replacing:

1. pedals (will get Shimanos like Jett's so we can more easier share bikes)
2. crankset
3. front derailer
4. cables


I have a correction to post. The reason this Litespeed hung in a shop for 5 years... When the inexperienced bike mechanic assembled this bike, he screwed in the bottom bracket without first applying "ti prep." He got the bb in 90% of the way when it came to a full halt. Then they could not remove it. Stuck in both ways! The guy we bought the frame from rescued the bike and took it to a special shop where they literally cut the bottom bracket out.

We were a little worried about the threads, but Steve checked them out and thinks they'll be fine. And even if they aren't, Steve has an "English tap" and can retap the threads! Hooray!

Okay, one little glitch... We realized today that the front "badge" or medallion on the frame is missing. We have 2 little holes where it is supposed to be attached, so it is clearly missing. How to find one? Must hit the internet, I suppose.

My camera is on the fritz and in the shop. Once it is liberated, we'll post some snaps of the Bella...

A Litespeed Named Bella...

Hello Cycling Friends,

This poor blog is woefully out of date. But new inspiration has arrived: Her name is Bella and she is a never-been-kissed (or ridden) 2005 Litespeed. Here's a glamour shot from the Litespeed website:

My new (5-years old) Bella is somewhere between Seattle and Sacramento in a box held by UPS. Once I get my Bella and my camera together, I'll snap some shots and post them.

Jett (the cyclist formerly known as Mary Ann) and I were in Seattle last weekend to visit friends and attend the 22nd annual Seattle Bike Swap. The bike swap is a 2-airport hanger swap meet for bikes, parts, and accessories. You can get killer deals at the swap.

Jett, Mary (best friend of Jett and Whidbey Island inhabitant), and I spent a few hours at the swap. Mary (more of a casual cyclist) had her fill and was waiting in the car. I was pretty fried, but still game to hang onto Jett's backpack (so as to not lose her in the crowd) as she wandered over to look at one more table...

Then magically a beautiful blue titanium Litespeed frame levitated before us. Seriously, right in front of our eyes, the Litespeed rose up from the ground to eye level! To be honest, the seller was moving the bike frame from the ground onto a bike mechanic stand. We didn't even really see the guy - only the gorgeous blue Litespeed.

But a conversation ensued. He frequented a bike shop and saw this bike hanging in the shop for years. It turns out a rookie bike wrench assembled the titanium bike's bottom bracket improperly. The bottom bracket needed to be removed, but the bike shop did not have the tools/technology. This guy bought the bike and found a place that could cut the bottom bracket out without damaging the frame or its threads. He bought the bike frame for his sister, but she had an economic meltdown and told him she could not pay to have the bike rebuilt.

Lucky us! I have a crappy Fuji frame (it creaks and groans) and excellent Dura Ace components. Jett and our favorite bike mechanic, Steve, will rebuilt pretty Bella with my good components. Fujigirl will become my back-up bike.

Bella should be delivered tomorrow. Let the fun begin!