1st Class Bike Path

Saturday's long ride was along the San Gabriel River Trail to the Whittier Narrows Recreation area which is near the Pomona Fwy (60) and the San Gabriel Fwy (605). Part of the bike path is newly paved and runs smooooth.

Bike routes are classified as follows:
Class I - off roadway bike paths or trails
Class II - on roadway striped bike lanes
Class III - on roadway, signed but not striped bike lanes
Class X - on roadway, not signed

Amazing But Not Surprising

When I started this challenge, I knew training would be demanding, but I was also worried about having to raise $3,000. I have come to realize that many people are very willing to donate to a good cause - amazing, but not surprising.

I received this letter along with a nice donation in the mail the other day. It was sent by Cecilia Sanchez who read one of my fliers. She and her daughter have raised $10,000 for the Arthritis Foundation in the past.

Thank you to the Sanchez Family!

Long Beach Peloton

Was riding to Newport Beach this morning and got caught up in a peloton (group of cyclists riding together). They were yelling and pointing to uninteresting things (parked cars, road debris, metal grates) - kind of like fans at a soccer game.
They were sober, however - unlike soccer fans!

Countdown week 12 included 5 ride days, 8 hrs saddle time, 119 miles. My longest ride was 49 miles which took 3 hours.

Sharpshooter John Anderson

John is such an accurate golfer that, from about 150 yards away, using a Fairway Wood, his ball squarely hit the aiming post and shattered it. I also saw him make an Eagle from about 200 yards away with his Fairway Wood.

Now that is harder than reading a CT scan from the internet, at home, watching your big sceen TV.

Thanks for your generous donation to the Arthritis Foundation!

Twelve More Weeks To Go!

Twelve more weeks to go. This is when the endurance training begins. Each week I add 5 miles to my previous week's longest ride till I get to 75 miles in one day. This Saturday I'll ride 55 miles.

Thank you to two more generous donors:

Nikki Meyers
and
Verna Myung

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all . . . Fire up the Bar-B.

My Final Fall And Flat

Got new tires before my ride today, but riding on a bike path in this poor condition resulted in a flat. I was going downhill, hit this bad patch, popped my front tire, and crashed - on my same left hip.
Now I know why they call it OLD Highway 80.

NO MORE FALLS.

I will change my sidebar to total miles instead of total falls.

Old Highway 80 Half Century

Rode today in the Old Hwy 80 Half Century. Ride began and ended in Pine Valley which is about 40 miles East of San Diego off of Interstate 8.

The ride is all hills. The main climb is a 16 mile 1400 vertical. Temperature was up to 107 degrees.

Did the 56.4 miles in 4 hours:40 minutes and was glad to survive especially since I fell 30 miles into the ride.

Two Flats On One Ride And Another Newbie Mistake

Rode from Long Beach to Fashion Island and Corona Del Mar. Had two flats along the way. After repairing the first flat I noticed that it was difficult to pedal. It felt like I was pedaling in mud. I figured that I did not pump enough air into the tire. I struggled to push 12 MPH working hard for five miles. When I finally stopped at a bike rental shop along the way, I noticed that my brakes were not centered and I was pedaling against my brake pad!!! Won't make that mistake again.

There is only a few millimeters clearance between the brake pad and the tire rim.

Wonder why I'm having so many flats? Any ideas Jim? Maybe it's time for new kevlar tires, and some slime self-sealing tubes.

My First Flat . . . And Then My Second Flat

Since I bought my bike in March, I have logged just over 1,000 miles. Yesterday 1 Hour and 45 Minutes into my ride I had my first flat.

My flat kit includes a replacement tube, glueless patches, tire levers (used to remove the tire casing from the rim), and two pumps-one uses a CO2 cylinder to inflate the tire, the other is a manual pump in case I misfire the CO2 pump. You only get one chance to inflate the tire with the CO2 pump but it inflates the tire in a matter of seconds.

This morning when I inflated my tires to 11o psi, the replacement tube popped. I think I had what's called a pinch flat where part of the tube is trapped between the tire casing and the rim-a newbie mistake. Well, I got to try fixing a flat again.

Coundown week 14 was a "rest week" and included 4 rides, 6:42 saddle time, and 98.8 miles.

Ron Trying For An Ace

Gold Canyon Dinosaur Mountain Hole 5 is a 226 yard Par 3. A huge downhill, a huge bunker on the left, and requires a huge tee shot. I think Ron said he used a 7 iron?

A huge "Thank You" to Ron McKibben for your huge donation to the Arthritis Foundation.

Ride Preparation - Part III

Part I in prepairing for the California Coastal Challenge is raising money for the Arthritis Foundation. You have helped tremendously in this effort. Thank you!

Part II is improving my fitness and endurance on the bicycle. I have adapted a program based on Joe Friel's book Cycling Past 50. (Even though I'm not 50.) I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about cycling.

Part III may be the hardest part. According to Friel, getting over long and steep hills is largely a function of your strength-to-body weight ratio. (There will be many long hill climbs in my 500 mile ride-I am sure.) As strength goes up and excess body weight goes down, climbing improves. Friel states that the best professional hill climbers weigh less than two pounds per inch of height. There are no pros at 2.5 pounds per inch or greater. So . . . Guess what Part III is? My goal is to get between 2.2 to 2.3 pounds per inch of height. Stay tuned to hear how.

Thank You Donna

Thank you Donna for your very generous donation to the Arthritis Foundation.

You have always been my number one supporter!

Large Chainring

Rode on my large chainring the last two days. A two hour ride yesterday to Newport Beach and a two hour ride today along the San Gabriel River. The chainring is part of the drive train of the bicycle. It is the large gear in front that is connected to the crank and pedal. A bike usually has 1-3 chainrings. The larger chainring is used while biking down hill/wind or on the flats. It requires more power from your leg muscles, but allows you to go faster at a given cadence (pedal revolutions per minute). The smaller chainring (called the granny gear) alows you to pedal faster (greater candence) with less power, but you go slower. It is used for climbling hills more efficiently. For a given speed, pedaling more quickly makes your heart work harder, pedaling more slowly makes your legs work harder and can wear on your knees.

Week 15 summary: 9:37 ride time, 135.3 miles

Worse Fall Yet

I'm Learning (the hard way) that these tires won't go up drivewys at an acute angle. They just skid sideways and . . . I bounce downward. Maybe I should have a mountain bike.

Fell yesterday, just as I was healing up from my previous fall 3 weeks ago. Now I have a hematoma the size of a baseball on my hip.