Category Archives: climbing

Palomar Mountain Century- 100/10K

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Today I went to Palomar Mountain.  I began and ended my ride in Encinitas.  This used to be my weekly long training ride when I lived there.  The stats are simple 100 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing.  It’s the perfect century in my opinion.  It has rolling terrain, some flats (not much), lots of climbing and descending.   Along the way you ride through the micro-climates that make San Diego weather so famous.  First you start in cool coastal weather, then you experience the heat of the inland area and of course the mountain climate as you crest Palomar Mountain at 5250 feet of elevation.  Lastly, you fight a headwind all the way home from Palomar.  You are heading in a general westerly direction the entire leg home. I’ve always loved this ride but living in Orange County I don’t get a chance to do it often. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I climbed Palomar Mountain.
I rode at a good pace for the majority of the ride.  And then I got to Palomar.  My gearing choice was too tall and I struggled through the orange groves where the steepest pitches of the Palomar climb lie.  I rode the 11-23 cassette that I have been riding throughout the year in races and training and it was a little tough.  Who knows if it had anything to do with cumulative fatigue from yesterday’s 3+ hour climb to Dawson Saddle. I should return to Palomar with an 11-25 cassette next time. I think the two extra teeth will make a big difference.  I’m a stronger rider now than I was a few years ago but the big difference is I’m lighter.  My weight loss has made a big difference in my riding in particular my climbing.  I try to maintain my weight under 150lbs.  By comparison, when I started Ultras I was 170lbs.  Sadly, I was actually 185lbs at my portliest.
Above is the data for the Lake Wholford climb.  It was featured on the Palomar Mountain stage of the Tour of California last year.  It is a two mile climb that has a steep first mile.  After that it is about 7% for the second mile.  If you are going out there to time yourself I start my timer as soon as I make the turn onto the road and stop my timer at the paintball park entrance.
And now for some techno-babble Shimano Dura-Ace makes an 11-27 cassette for their new 7900 series. I know I will need that ratio on Towne Pass when I do the Furnace Creek 508 in October.  What I would really like to use is an 11-28 cassette.  When I buy my SRM I will buy a standard 53/39 crankset and it would be nice to have the 28T since I won’t be able to afford a compact SRM AND a  standard SRM.  But alas, the rear derailleur for the electronic Dura-Ace aka, Di2, that came equipped on Felicia does not accommodate an 11-28 which would be really sweet on Towne Pass.  I guess I just have to get stronger eh?
I had a front flat on the lower slopes of Palomar. It took over five minutes to change the flat because I couldn’t find what caused it.  I took my time inspecting the tire and tube before installing the new one.
My legs started to fade on the upper slopes and I slowed down considerably.  My total time on the climb was 1:27:58.  I’m going to have to work on that.  I start my timer at “the store” and stop it at the intersection of East Grade Rd and South Grade Rd.   Part of the reason I faded was the 11-23 cassette on the lower slopes and some of the work I did earlier on the foothills leading up to Palomar. One interesting thing is I only saw one other cyclist on Palomar all day and guess what?  It was Mark Ely, a client and friend that I have sold things to throughout my years at Nytro — notably a bike, a Cervelo R3.
Two things threw me off on today’s climb.   The first one was the elevation signs for the 2,000 and 3,000 feet were missing.  I don’t know why they would remove them but they weren’t there.  I had a general idea where they should have been but I wanted to mark my lap times at each thousand feet.  The 4,000 and 5,000 feet signs were still in place.  I thought  it was odd that not all the elevation signs were  in place.  The second thing that threw me off was I had forgotten the mile marker for the top.  I was counting down the miles but I wasn’t sure where the top was anymore.  My miscalculation on the last 1.5 miles messed with my mind a bit.
I was hungry when I crested so I ordered a fried egg sandwich from Mother’s.  I thought it was a simple enough sandwich to make and it shouldn’t be long.  What I didn’t know is that even though the restaurant was empty there was an order for five club sandwiches ahead of me.  It took 15 minutes to get my sandwich .  My stop at the top of Palomar was 20 minutes which WAY TOO LONG.    I usually crest and IMMEDIATELY descend.  But today I had to have lunch.  Back to back hard climbing days are hard to stay fueled for on the bike.
The ride back from  Palomar was uneventful.  I felt strong fighting the headwind all the way to the coast.  The rollers in Rancho Santa Fe were fun too.  I ended my ride at Nytro.  My recovery meal was a grilled chicken pesto sandwich pannini– yummy.  I ate my sandwich while I visited with my former coworkers.

LA Daily News Captures the Red Eyed Vireo on Film

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On Thursday when I previewed the Tour of California Stage 6 route, I had a car come up alongside me.  There were two gentlemen in the car.  One was driving, of course, and the other was holding a DSLR camera.  He identified himself as working for the paper and asked if he could take a few pictures and ask a few questions.  I didn’t mind but I also wasn’t going to slow down to have a good ol’ fashioned chin wag.  I was less than two miles from the Dawson Saddle summit, 7901 elevation, on the Angeles Crest Hwy, and I had been climbing for over 3 hours on the 35 mile climb from a starting elevation of  600 foot in Duarte.

He snapped a few pictures asked a few questions asked my name and then was off.  I didn’t think much of it at the time.  Actually, I didn’t think they would use pictures of me in their story but a few days later I saw the article online.  Here is the article on The LA Daily News site There is a video available on their site and from there I performed a few screen shots for you below.

2010 Tour of California Stage 6 Recon

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On today’s ride I previewed a portion of the Tour of California Stage 6. I began my ride from Encanto Park in Duarte.  The TOC will start in Palmdale but I didn’t want to drive all the way out there 😉  So my ride started in Duarte which is 617 feet above sea level.  I then climbed Hwy 39 to Hwy 2, Angeles Crest Hwy.  I then continued on Hwy 2 up to Dawson Saddle 7901 Elevation.   From Dawson Saddle I descended towards Wrightwood.  Along the way I climbed up to Blue Ridge at 7381 Elevation.  I rode through Wrightwood and descended until I made the junction with Hwy 138.  From there it was basically 20 mile climb back to Dawson Saddle. From Dawson Saddle it is essentially a 35 mile downhill back to Encanto Park in Duarte.

From Training Peaks the entire activity with Elevation, Power, Cadence, and Heart Rate

Lap times

You’ll note the third lap says “3000 to water stream” which stands for from the 3,000 feet elevation sign until the water stream.   So let’s talk about nutrition and planning your fluid stops.  The key thing you need to know about this ride is that services are VERY LIMITED.  Once you leave Encanto Park in Duarte there aren’t any stores until you get to Wrightwood (about 50 miles and 8,400 feet of climbing away).  However, about an hour into the ride or 14 miles you reach a gate.  From this point forward the road is closed to vehicular traffic except work vehicles and I guess there are a few residents that have access.

Gate closure about 14 miles into the ride from here ride at your own risk there are no services, rarely do you see another car or another cyclist for the next 21 miles and 6,000 feet of gain until Dawson Saddle at 7901 Elevation

I’m not a big fan of camelback hydration systems so I generally won’t use them.  On today’s ride I took an extra bottle for a total of three.  The weather was fairly cool considering I began my ride at 11am.  Later in the year I like to start this ride at first light.  It can be really hot at the lower elevations in the summer months.

At about 4,000 elevation there is a stream coming through the wall.  I drank one bottle from the start in Duarte to the water stream and refilled ONE bottle.  In hindsight, I probably should have taken in more calories by drinking two bottles and then refilling two bottles at the water stream.  I left the water stream with three bottles that lasted me until AFTER I had climbed back up from Hwy 138 ( approx 3:47, 6870 feet of climbing, 42.69 miles and 1925 kjs).

Once again the weather was cool but on a hot day you would have to probably take another bottle — total of four OR take a hydration system.  Just a personal note– I don’t like to stop at stores when doing epic rides like this.  The last water stop was a visitor center with clean restrooms.

In case I’ve thoroughly confused you here are my stops:

1.  Water stream about 20 miles into the ride and 4,000 feet of gain (ONE bottle refill)

2.  Vistor Center outskirts of Wrightwood 3:47, 6870 feet and 42.69 miles later (THREE bottle refill)

My nutrition consisted of Infinit Nutrition powder mix and a few bars for chewing sake.

No other stops for fluids or food.

The turnout across from the water stream.

The water stream-- icy cold water even in the summer months.

The climb from Duarte to the water stream

data for the climb from Duarte to the water stream

Duarte to Dawson Saddle

The climb from Duarte to Dawson Saddle is almost 8,000 feet of vertical gain in one straight shot.  There are a few rollers here and there but essentially you climb for 35 miles and gain 7700 feet.

Living at sea level doesn’t stop me from getting my climb on!  You have to love California.  I drive 40 minutes from my home and I can climb all the way to 7900 feet from 600 feet.

On my return from Wrightwood I climbed up to Blue Ridge at 7381 Elevation for the second time.  Only this time it was late in the afternoon and the typical weather pattern for mountain regions made itself known.  There were storm clouds and I knew I needed to get off the mountain as soon as possible.  I was fortunate not to get rained on.  However, once the clouds covered the sun the temps dropped quickly above 7,000 feet.  I knew of course that once I got to Dawson Saddle at 7901 Elevation it was “all downhill from there” and the weather would get warmer as I dropped in elevation.

Probably hard to read but this is Blue Ridge at 7381 Elevation.

Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic

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The Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic, a new ride offered by AdventureCorps, is coming to the tranquil little town of Pine Valley.  On April 17, 2010 AdventureCorps will provide a new cycling challenge for 300 riders.   The stats for the ride are 103 miles and 10,000 feet of elevation gain.  Registration opened earlier this week but you need to hurry 300 spots will go fast. 

I will be doing a pre-ride of the course next Saturday November 14th.  I will have a full report upon completion of the ride.  I’m really looking forward to climbing Pine Creek Road. I’ve climbed Mount Laguna and many of the roads in the surrounding area many times but somehow I haven’t climbed Pine Creek Rd. 

If you are up to the challenge sign up for the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic registration has been open since Novemeber 2nd.

Newport Coast Dr Hill Repeats

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Sunday morning was an easy and mellow morning. Brandy and I spent some quiet time together while the kids were out playing. We walked the dog and then made and ate brunch together. A very nice morning indeed.

I didn’t get on the road until 2pm but still put in a good days work. Hill repeats on a local hill that starts with a 1.5 mile 6% then a flat spot with a slight downhill as you transition to Vista Ridge which pitches up 10-12% before it flattens out for a short stretch and then two more steep pitches.

As you can see above 6000 feet of gain in 43 miles.

Below you will find a detail blowout of one repeat which incidentally was best for the day. It helps to have a rabbit to chase. All part of the plan the month of August and September is about increasing the intensity and reducing the volume.

SCREEN SHOT FROM TRAININGPEAKS

NORMALIZED POWER 280 WATTS FOR A 4.14 W/KG for 21 minutes not bad considering all the flat spots on the climb. And that 983 watt power spike was a weak attempt to sprint the last steep pitch but I didn’t make it.

Weekend of climbing

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On Saturday I did 13,400 feet of gain in 114 miles. The hardest part of the ride had over 12,500 feet of gain in 80 miles. The heat and time in the saddle made the Baldy Road climb very difficult. I was struggling to maintain my speed above 5 mph on the last 2 miles of Baldy Rd.

On the bright side I PR’d the little GMR climb. It is a 5 mile climb in the 6% range. My time was 28:13 Normalized Power of 263 (3.87 w/kg). I’m really proud of that even though pros climb at over 6 w/kg. BUT, I’m not a pro and that’s good enough for me.

Here is a screen shot from Training Peaks software on my PR.

On Sunday I did a shorter route than I had planned. I didn’t recover well enough from Saturday’s efforts. I wanted to stay close to the car so I only did 57 miles with 7,300 feet of climbing.

A weekend of climbing in the San Gabriel Mountains

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I spent Saturday and Sunday climbing in the San Gabriel Mountains. It was great to be out in the mountains again. The climbing was intense. I feel fatigued and sore but “it’s good pain”.

Sunday concluded a five day training block which included commuting with various intervals and back to back climbing “centuries” (Sunday’s was a little shy).

Wed pm 65 miles
Thurs am 30 miles pm 65 miles
Friday am 30 miles recovery
Saturday 100 miles with 11,280 feet of gain
Sunday 85 miles with 10,600 feet of gain

for a total of 375 miles and 26,380 feet of gain.

CLICK HERE FOR A WRITE UP ON THE TWO “CENTURIES”

WHEW! I AM READY FOR A REST DAY.

^^ SATURDAY 100 MILES 11,280 FEET OF GAIN

^^ SATURDAY DETAIL OF FIRST 67 MILES WITH 10,000 FEET OF GAIN

^^ SUNDAY 85 MILES WITH 10,600 FEET OF GAIN

72 Miles with 7200 feet

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Tick mark #6 is the top of Nyes Place.

I love it! They give you a warning LOL!

It’s not until the top that you see you have 3/4 of a mile to climb at 20% grade after that 3/4 mile you are still climbing at over 15% with a couple of “flatter spots” to finish the 1.25 mile climb.

I had a good day on the bike. It was the end of my five (5)day training block. Now I rest for two (2) days and get back at it on Wednesday for my commute.

Here are my May month-end numbers.

Totals/ Rides/ Distance/ Altitude Gain (ft)
May/ 10/ 754/ 34,473
2009/ 50/ 3,582/ 191,976

Yes the mileage is down and the elevation gain is way down for the year. I need to bump it up if I’m going to be ready for my September and October main events.

Here are the rest of the months so you can catch up.