Last week, I was really busy at work and didn’t get a chance to make an appointment to get my bike fit re-checked. I went to spin class on Wednesday anyway, thinking I’d just keep it mellow because I didn’t want my knee to flair up on the 57-mile Calaveras ride on Saturday. I kept it mellow because I still haven’t learned how to eat before that class and was nauseous for most of it, but the good thing was I didn’t feel any pain afterward. So I called The Spokesman and told them that there was some progress. I still made an appointment to see Wade again though.
Saturday’s ride couldn’t have been better! The weather was clear and although it started out chilly at about 50°F, it warmed up and at the end of the ride, I saw one of those bank signs with the time and temperature on it. It said 76°!
In between those two temperature extremes, we saw a lot of beautiful terrain: ranches, creeks, green hills and the Calaveras Reservoir. Speaking of hills, this ride had two grinders.
The first one started out very steep—a category 3 (out of 5) climb according to one of the mapping websites I use. On this scale, the lower the number, the steeper the climb. Anyway, it got easier toward the top, but it was still a good 4.6 miles of constant climbing before the first rest area. Everyone was surprised to see me at the top so soon. Our head coach was riding down to see where our group was and was surprised to see that I was in the lead. As he passed me going the other way, he said, “Warren? All right!”
One of the mentors on my team has a broken collarbone, so he was one of the SAG car drivers. When I got to the rest stop, he also told me I was doing great and that I beat a lot of good climbers to the top of that hill.
Then came the descent. It was steeper and had a few long straight sections, so I got going really fast. My bike computer said “46.9” was my top speed! I was going so fast, I was getting that floaty, squirmy feeling from my tires. It’s almost like the speed wobbles you feel when you’re going to fast on a skateboard; Those oscillations that tell you “hey, unless you want to crash at this speed, you might want to mellow out a bit.” So I slowed down and everything was fine.
There was a smaller climb and descent on the way to the next rest stop where I got a little vicarious reminder on why you need to control your downhill speed. Scott got a pretty major blowout and we were going at a pretty good clip—maybe 30 MPH. Fortunately, he kept it upright. We stopped and regrouped while he figured out what to do. His tire had actually split, so he tried to “boot” it with something (I don’t know what because I’m not experienced enough to help out, so I was off by myself stretching). Again, fortunately, his second mechanical problem of the season came just minutes before the SAG car caught up to us. So he didn’t have to wait long. He and Jerry, the driver, left to find a bike shop so he could get a new tire and a rejoin us. When they left, we kept going.
One really nice thing about having a female coach is Kristy always plans potty breaks that have civilized restrooms. We ended up taking a long rest at a Marriott hotel because one member had “stage fright” (it wasn’t me, I swear!). That ended up being a good thing though because when we were at the second rest stop, Scott and Jerry rolled up! So he only missed about 6 miles of the ride due to the blowout. It also meant he got both killer climbs.
Coach Patrick described this second climb as one that will “grind you to a pulp.” Way to motivate us, coach! But it was accurate. You climb about 700 feet in about five miles with a rest stop about 2/3 of the way up. It’s not as steep as the first climb (the map service rates it a category 4 before the break and a category 5 afterward), and you don’t gain as much elevation, but it’s longer and utterly relentless.
After that climb, Coach Kristy told us that there were two, short, steep, fast descents into Milpitas and the start/finish line. Altogether, we would lose 1000 feet in less than 4 miles! We would have to watch it on the first descent because it’s super-steep and ends at a T intersection with a busy street. So, in addition to wanting to control my speed due to safety reasons, there was also the added pressure of knowing that I’d have to stop at the bottom or risk a serious accident. Everything worked out okay, but I might upgrade my brakes before too long. When Wade was adjusting my bike, he noted that my brakes were the lone weak spot on the bike and that I could upgrade for not very much—about $125 for a pair of Shimano 105s. Anyway, we regrouped at that stop sign and cruised into the parking lot together, tired but happy. Because then the real training could begin!
Coach Patrick always says “we don’t train for the ride, we train for the party afterward!” So we waited for the other groups behind us and all went to El Torito for a late lunch and an early happy hour. It felt really good to finish my longest ride—and one with so much climbing—without ANY knee pain. I was so stoked, I called the Spokesman and said that I felt the lower body problem was solved. I still wanted to keep my next appointment because there are some upper body fit issues I’d like to fix, but they don’t cause me any pain, so I was very satisfied with my investment in their service.