Today we did our longest ride yet. I’m pretty sure each ride is going to be “our longest ride yet,” but whatever. Before the ride, we got some news about the program. I’m in third place for fundraising! Thanks to all who supported me. Hallelujah, as I type this, another donation has come in!!! I kid you not! It’s from my friend Mark Duncan. Thanks, Mark!
We also had a little “nutrition clinic,” where our coach Patrick basically told us what we need to get through this ride. Basically, besides a lot of water, we’re going to need about 400-600 calories per hour plus a bunch of salt.
Then we hit the road. We met in Los Gatos and I thought we’d head toward Kennedy Road, but we went north toward Cupertino instead. I was fine with the pace: 15-20 MPH on flat ground. There were some small, rolling hills on the first and last part of the ride, which were no big deal. When we got to Cupertino, we turned left and we found ourselves on the same road we do hill repeats. My coach Kristy noticed I was in the wrong gear on the downhill/uphill transition, so we had a little break to talk about gear selection on hills. From my mountain bike background, I’m used to sitting and spinning my way up hills, but on a road bike, I’m supposed to push a taller gear and get out of the saddle on climbs. Oh well, something else to work on as the rides progress.
We regrouped at the staging area parking lot and the SAG (support and gear) team had a nice spread waiting for us: fruits, trail mix, water and PB&J sandwiches! I had eaten a pretty decent breakfast before the ride, but decided to eat a little while we were there. No sense in letting it go to waste, plus, I’m going to have to get used to eating while riding and in the middle of rides.
When we got to the top of Mt. Eden Road, we regrouped again. I tried to do the top half standing and made it most of the way before I had to sit and spin. A nice standing burst at the top made me look good to Kristy and Mark, who beat me to the top.
After a breather, we kept going, which meant descending the back side of Mt. Eden Rd. Mark warned me that there was a shorter, steeper hill after we bottomed out, so I kept my speed in check and also maintained a comfortable cadence when I needed to pedal. The second hill had some really steep sections. I had to get out of the saddle in my lowest gear and was kind of out of sync. Should I try a higher gear to counter the added power of standing or just give my spinning muscles a rest and pick up where I left off when my standing muscles wore out? I wish I could remember what I did, but I eventually got to the top without stopping. The top was actually the Mountain Winery, which hosts a lot of top musical and comedy acts every summer. Kristy said, “it sounds much better to say ‘meet you at the winery’ than ‘meet you at the top.'” You don’t get to say things like that when you mountain bike!
The descent from the winery was short and fast. That put us on Hwy 9, which I know very well from motorcycling. We turned left on Hwy 9 and headed back toward Saratoga. I hit my fastest speed on this stretch: 39 MPH!
After passing through downtown Saratoga, we turned left and retraced our path for a few miles. Then we hit some roads where we could work a little more on pacelining. Around this time, Michelle needed to slow the pace. She said after the ride that she couldn’t maintain our 20-MPH pace through some of the gentle uphill grades. Kristy hung back with her and Scott, Mark and I kept going. We missed a turn as we got back to Los Gatos, which added a little extra mileage and a short climb. But all went well. When we rolled in, the fast group was kicking it in the parking lot. A little while later, Nicole G arrived in Rachel’s car. She “SAGged out” due to a broken spoke. Rachel brought some snacks from the rest stop, so I had a slice of orange to start the refueling process. But I was beat, so I packed up and headed out. As I was leaving, the next group rolled in. Michelle said she will probably switch to that group for future rides due to her not being quite in the shape she’d like to be. She’s done this nine times before, so I figure she knows what’s best for her.
So, that ride went as well as could be expected. I felt pretty good at the end, like I could’ve kept going, but as soon as I got home, fatigue set in and I feel really tired now. Some coffee helped, but I think I’ll sleep well tonight. We’ll see if I feel up to doing hill repeats tomorrow. I probably will, but you never know.