Random Rain Ride

Lately I've been riding slow, on purpose. The idea is to build up "base" for next year, and add intensity when it's closer to the beginning of the 2010 season. (Also to shed a few pounds between now and then)

It's nice since all spring/summer I was trying to focus on sprinting and intervals, basically the stuff that makes you gasp for air and hope your heart isn't going to explode.

So instead of suffering on the bike, right now I'm just tooling around and taking in the scenery. Dusted off the Surly Pacer (with full fenders), it's the perfect tool for wet & windy PNW fall days.

And they say "train heavy, race light" anyway right?

I like when the roads are wet and the skies are dry - with the full fenders my feet stayed nice and toasty. Ahh, fall!

I haven't done any distance-type riding since the 600k back in September, been taking a break from that too. I figure next year will be busy enough will a full race calendar, in addition to attempting to qualify for PBP 2011. Ride on.

The Pista Rides Again

The other day I decided to dust off my 2005 Bianchi Pista track bike, and slapped on a new chain/cog/chainring, bar tape, brake pads, pedals. Not that I'm sick of my wonderful Ciocc (road) bike, but I figure over the fall/winter months it won't hurt to switch it up a bit. I rode fixed on the road and the track a few years ago, but it's been a while since I've hit the road with only one gear and no coasting.

I used to run a 40x14 and skid a ton, but that's probably what killed my knees back then (77 gear inches, ouch on the uphills!), so now with a 49x19 (68") I can hit the hills with a little more speed. It's not a huge drop but definitely gives me more room on the hills, and forces me to spin even faster on the downhills.

A few photos. The fall colors are apparent, and with the rain and colder temps it's hard to mistake this time of year for anything else.


In the I-90 Tunnel:

As a side note, after years of suffering through winters with knickers, I finally bought some full-length tights. I was really missing out, the extra warmth is nice!

Track handlebars are more curvy than road bars, and without hoods to rest on you're usually either up top or in the drops. And as you can see I have a front brake for the oh-shit moments. But 99% of the time I'm either speeding up or slowing down using the legs. Downhills become a workout, it's definitely different.

Another great thing about fixed gear riding is that once you settle into a nice cadence, it's so smooth and you really do feel "one with the bike," as they say. Though honestly half the time the drivetrain is pedaling for you, e.g. on the upstroke. In fact many road riders/racers train on fixed gears to improve their pedaling 'form', but in fact I think it can make your stroke a little lazy, e.g. you might not be pulling up as much anymore. So I keep that in mind and try to apply force all the way around, to make sure I'm getting a good workout.

And the fixed definitely helps makes me spin! According to this nifty cadence calculator, at a peak speed of 47 km/h on my 49x19 gearing (68") I hit 154 rpm. Of course, that was for all of 30 seconds so there is still work to do, I'd like to be able to hold that for longer by the time next season rolls around. Last year in crit racing I had the gas to stay in the race until the end, but didn't have much to show for a sprint. Hopefully that will change in the coming months, and this bike is part of that plan.

>By the way, I'm not sure how anyone can ride a fixed for long distance rides! I recall Robert slaying a hilly (aren't they all?) 200k last year on his fixed gear.. and SiR extraordinaire Bob B. has been known to do some big rides on fixed gear as well. Hats off to you guys! When I did a two-day STP on this bike back in 2005 my knees were killing me on the second day. But maybe I'll break this out for a 100k populaire next year or something.

Another reason I brought out this bike was to get ready for some track racing out at Marymoor next year! I gave that a shot years ago, but back then I didn't have the endurance even for a 5-lap race. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do better next time around.

Gears or no gears, here's to a wet fall...

Seattle-North Bend 200k Permanent - On A Rainy Fall Day

This morning Robert, Chris, and I took off from the Lechi Starbucks at 8 AM, setting off for a 200k permanent that would take us on a circuitous route through Redmond, Carnation, Fall City, North Bend, Newcastle, Maple Valley, Renton, and then back to Seattle. It was another great ride, and it was awesome to ride with a small group, almost Audax-style.

Passing through so many close-together places meant that I really didn't need two water bottles, but I brought two out of habit. Or maybe I bought water at every controle out of habit, even if I had one full bottle. Having been tested with stretches of 80 km of no services, this cyclist is wary of running out of water altogether.

Terrain

The Leschi-North Bend-Lechi permanent was relatively hilly, sort of like doing the Lake Washington Loop 2.5 times. But maybe a little hillier.. an interesting variation of this route could include Cougar & Tiger Mountains, although the thought of that right now sounds very tiring.

The amount of climbing we did was 5k feet or so. The climbs included Novelty Hill Road (the descent on the other side was scary, since it was wet!), Snoqualmie Falls climb, Tokul Road (near Snoqualmie Falls), Issquah-Fall City Road, Newport Way - after that I don't remember any big climbs. Surely I'm forgetting some though, especially the short ones with no names.

The max elevation of the route was in the 600-foot range, so it's not like we were doing passes or anything - but round here it's hard to go very far without going up or down. And for some reason I was in the big ring most of the time today, even on some of the climbs. 

Rain & Gear

At first the rain was light, but it eventually turned more medium than light or misty. My feet started to feel a bit wet - I should have used the plastic-bag trick on the feet.. but my new Ibex light wool jersey held out nicely to the 47-52F temps we saw today. And eventually the feet dried out.

Luckily I brought two pairs of gloves, since one of them was soaked by the first 50 miles or so. But my wool knickers were perfect, and never felt wet - even with no rain pants on!

The Sealskinz gloves worked well, even in the cold, and my wool cap kept my ears from getting too cold. It's not super-cold yet, but 10+ hours of exposure can sometimes leave you colder than usual.

Ride Pictures

Starting the ride on Lake Wa Blvd, heading north towards the U-district:


Even though it was raining, the scenery was still great:


100th Ave near Carnation - totally covered in water! We had to ride down to Ames Lake Road(?) to get around it:


Chris shining in the sun:


Really cool road near North Bend:


Awesome view heading into North Bend:


The North Bend QFC, and what I can only assume is Mt Si in the background:


The view on Railroad Ave:


Trying out a new setup - jacket strapped to bars, above handlebar bag. Less weight in the rear makes climbing easier, it seems:

Sunset over Lake Sammamish - at 4:30 PM! Damn fall..


I love the motion conveyed in this shot - this was on Coal Creek Parkway, I think:


the finish at a restaurant in Leschi:

More photos on flickr.

Much thanks to Robert & Chris for inviting me on one of many installments in their R-12 quest. While the brevet season is over, the riding season isn't! As the saying goes, "there's no such thing as bad weather - just bad gear."

And thanks to Narayan & Geoff for handling the paperwork for these crazy rides! Now that I know the drill for riding permanents, I can see quite a few in my future.

A Few Fall Photos

Here are a few photos from a ride to Lynnwood recently:

The Pacer at an old gas station on Aurora: (note the BMW paint on the fork..)

Aurora/99 - not as scary as you might think. The right lane is turn-only (except for bikes & bus), so it's pretty much clear. Makes for a quick, but loud, way up north:

The Burke-Gilman Trail: (I was only on it for a half mile or so, as I actually hate paved trails like that)

The Pacer in Lynnwood, with some nice red leaves:

Perkins/180th Ave in Lake Forest Park - a great little road, even if it's slightly uphill:

While I haven't done a long ride in a while, I'm still trying to keep the riding up. Got a payload of wool from Ibex recently, that should help getting me through the winter! That and the full fenders, those are extra-valuable during the nasty months.

In Other News

On the commute home today, a guy walking with his friends lurched at me as I passed (to make me flinch) on the I-90 trail near 23rd Ave. Luckily I saw it coming, so I wasn't actually scared and didn't wreck.. I yelled "BOO!" and laughed after he did it - that was the only response I could muster.

That definitely spiced up an otherwise normal commute from Redmond today..

Recovery Ride Around Mercer Island And Part of Lake Washington

Today I did a combination of Mercer Island and the Lake Washington Loop, for a total of about 47 miles or so. My legs were a little sore from the fixed gear commute on Friday, but I chugged along pretty well, holding a 31.9 km/h pace around Mercer Island, although towards the end I was definitely tired.. Overall my pace was more like the usual 24-25 km/hr.

Elevation graph, with Juanita Way as the highpoint at 460 ft:


Going down Juanita Way I hit a good 60 km/h, and the automatic speed sign towards the bottom flashed at a nice 38 mph - in a 35 mph zone no less! It's fun to see my speed-o-meter read a whopping 64 km/h, but I can't wait to hit that 100 km/h at some point!

Hilly Lake Washington Loop - 80 km of great Seattle riding

Today I hammered out one of my favorite rides today, my version of the Hilly Lake Washington Loop - most local riders take the Burke-Gilman back to Seattle, but I like to break off at 180th/Perkins and follow that out to the rolling hills of 5th Ave E., just parallel to I-5. Here's an elevation profile of the route:




There was a tough head-wind out of the south, but I was holding 32+ km/h, which is how I like to roll. I can get a lot lower/more aero on the Ciocc as opposed to my Bianchi - that helps a lot on days like today. I can also go a hell of a lot faster on this new bike, partially because the 53,39 x 11-23 gearing I'm running is made to go fast and nothing but!

It was kind of chilly out, but it never rained so that was a pleasant surprise. Bring on the cold weather cycling!!

Total Distance: 81 km (50 mi)
Total Rolling Time: 3 hrs, 2 minutes
Average Speed: 26.1 km/h