Monthly Archives: July 2011

Woodside/Santa Cruz loop with Swanton Road addition

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It’s really tough to top the big ride we did in France- the Glandon/Croix de Fer/Telegraphe/Galibier loop. Probably impossible. Not even sure I’d want to! But it would seem terribly insignificant to just do a loop out to the coast, so today Kevin (my son, not the pilot) and I did the Woodside/Old LaHonda/Pescadero/Santa Cruz/Highway 9/Skyline loop, something we’ve done a number of times, and added in the Swanton Road detour for a scenic diversion from a few miles of Highway 1 (which is so busy at this time of year that the noise from cars does a lot to break you away from the pleasant experience cycling should be).


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113 miles, about 9200ft of climbing, moderate pace (15.1mph average) broken up by a flat tire Kevin got on Highway 9 on the return. Along the way Kevin got his best-time yet up Old LaHonda (21:38), which he thinks his new Madone is largely responsible for, as well as shaving a minute off his usual time up Haskins.

Unfortunately, the usual tailwind on the coast wasn’t there, so that part of the ride was a bit of a grind. I was also try out a route that would bypass maybe a mile of the most-congested part of Highway One through Santa Cruz via King Street; it literally was so jammed that it was unsafe to try and make the left-hand turn required to get there. Since this was one of those things that looked good on a map but I didn’t really know how it was going to turn out, we didn’t go to any heroic efforts to try.

Ride details: 108 miles as shown on the map (starting from the Park & Ride on Woodside Road just west of 280).
Climbs- Old LaHonda 3.34 miles 1287ft, Haskins (Pescadero Road) 1.65 miles 601ft, Highway 9 east of Boulder Creek (when the “real” climb finally starts) 7.6 miles 1800ft. In addition there’s a couple thousand feet of small & rolling climbs.

It was interesting to feel, at the 100 mile mark, like I could just keep on going, maybe tackle one more big climb without feeling like I’d pushed the limit. Sad to think that, in a couple months, such capabilities will be just a memory. –Mike–

The Back Side of Water (A fantastic climb up D219 opposite Alpe d’Huez)

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“Ladies & gentlemen, I give you the back side of water!” Does that bring back any memories? It should. I can’t imagine that many people haven’t ridden the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, and been on the back side of the waterfall where you get that ridiculously-corny endlessly-repeated line. Having been to Disneyland too many times (mainly care of two too-spoiled kids who think it’s some sort of right to visit Disneyland on an almost-yearly basis), that line came immediately to mind riding up the D219 road opposite Alpe d’Huez a week ago last Friday (July 22, 2011).

Wow. It seems longer ago than that. But what a great day. It had its issues; getting a flat tire on the descent, and having the tube installed then go bad as well, but for me, getting to ride a road that I’d seen from across the valley (on top of Alpe d’Huez) for so many years, well, it was one of the highest things on my “bucket list.” That probably explains why it wasn’t quite the same for my son, for whom it was just another road, perhaps interesting, but somewhat a distraction from the day’s main event (climbing Alpe d’Huez itself).

Also making this interesting is Kevin’s epilepsy; at any point on a hard climb he could possibly have a seizure that might cause him to lose control and fall over. Because of that it was important for me to be riding to the outside, keeping Kevin riding up next to the mountain and as far away from the sheer cliff (protected only by those low bricks) as possible. If Kevin did have a seizure, he knew that I was going to end up literally pushing him down into the ground; this was not the place to risk him wobbling across the road. Fortunately, I didn’t have to put that plan into effect.

Alpe d’Huez, on its own, is a fine ride, but not really enough for a full day. Spend the extra 1.5-2hrs and climb up to Villard Notre Dame, have a coke (or two) and enjoy the view before heading back into the valley and up the main attraction on the other side (Alpe d’Huez). Park somewhere near the huge Supermarket (same place the ride starts on the Googlemap at the bottom of this page), where you can load up on inexpensive food & drink & various other supplies. This puts you just a kilometer out of the center of town, and, literally, right at the very base of Alpe d’Huez.

For a detailed description of what it’s like, see the photos below. Words really can’t describe D219. Just make sure you’ve got sturdy tires, spare tubes and a working pump, because the rocks that fall onto the road are incredibly sharp. Out of maybe 10 other cyclists we saw on D219, two got flats. Er, three. I got one myself.

Specifics: Elevation at base- 2400ft.
Elevation at Villard Notre Dame- 5050ft (Alpe d’Huez is just under 6000ft)
Climbing time- 1hr 9min (with a couple stops to enjoy the view)
Climbing distance- 5.0 miles
Grade- 6-10% with a few short steeper pitches but worth the effort
Road surface- Generally good but watch for small rocks as they’re very sharp
Food & water- Available in town at the start and at the top at the cafe

If you do both D219 and Alpe d’Huez on the same day, total mileage will be a very unimpressive 32, but climbing comes in at 6200ft. We’re talking quality miles here with incredible views.

  • Just found another ride report for D219 from some guys we saw on the climb that day! Even a reference to us as “yanks.” And a mention of my flat even.
  • Steephill.tv has an excellent ride & video report of D219
  • Another link to a ride up D219 here.
  • Info from the Bike Bourg d’Oisons site here.
  • More references to it as part of a ride here.
  • The last paragraph of this review on lights refers to one of the D219 tunnels as being “hors categorie.”
  • A search page of photos taken in the vicinity


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Another day in Paradise

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It was a special day for Kevin- his first ride on his new super-duper Madone 6-Series custom-painted hot-rod. It would have been fitting for him to put in another really fast ride up the hill, but he hadn’t ridden since last Friday (in France) and it showed. Good thing, that, since we started in a fairly cool fog, which doesn’t do much for my breathing.

Another large group, another day I won’t be able to remember everybody, but good people, all of them. And we saw the return of Kevin the Pilot, who’d been on vacation for a month (and I felt guilty about 11 days?), as well as, on our return, Karl (who was just cruising around a bit on the flats, nursing his collarbone injury back to health).

Too fast to photograph! (Back home & on-schedule)

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My son and I got home from France around 9:30 last night, and the first thing my wife says is something about she figures I’m not riding in the morning. Something further about jet lag and not really sleeping for a day and a half, that sort of thing. Something she thought to be reasonable. Something my son agreed with.

Me? You’ve got to be kidding. Best way to get back on schedule, meaning Life, The Universe & Everything, is, of course, to ride! I’m not going to pretend I got the best night’s sleep, but I didn’t feel that bad, and there was something comforting about the simple routine of mixing Cytomax for my water bottle.

I hadn’t ridden since last Friday (the day Kevin and I did the twin climbs of D219, a cliff road opposite Alpe d’Huez, and then Alpe d’Huez itself), but felt a bit better than “ok” during those first few pedal strokes up the hill & away from the house, and in fact passed the three timing points on the way to the start with very good numbers. Not that I’d notice.

Big group this morning so I won’t even bother with trying to name everybody. OK, a few. George, Eric, Karen, Mike (a friend of Andrew, one of our employees in Redwood City), Zack, Todd, oh darn I’m losing it quickly, at least three others including a customer who recently purchased a time trial bike from us, Marcus… main point is that these are all pretty fast guys and it didn’t take long to be put in a world of hurt heading up Kings. And, frustratingly, my Garmin computer was in a mode where it wasn’t showing lap splits so I had no idea how fast I was going up the hill (and wouldn’t know until I got home and downloaded the ride, seeing a respectable 26:42).

There were few points to catch your breath, which explains the earlier-than-normal return to the start (9:17; normal is 9:18-9:22). But what a beautiful morning! Nicer than any of the weather we saw in France, and a reminder that, sometimes, what you get from traveling is the message that, cycling-wise, we have it pretty darned good right here at home. Great, even. Maybe phenomenal. –Mike–

The ‘Tour did two climbs today, so did we

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Most people would think that just climbing Alpe d’Huez itself is a good day. But we’re not most people. I’ve visited Alpe d’Huez a number of times and always been fascinated by a cliff road on the opposite side of the valley (d219). So today we drove to a spot a few miles outside of Bourg d’Oison and, as a prelude to the main event (Alpe d’Huez) rode up the side of a cliff on a narrow little road that actually has a waterfall cascading over you at one point.

This road isn’t for the timid; it’s steep, scary, has two long unlit tunnels, and a liberal scattering of some type of rock that is designed to destroy tires (good thing I carry a spare!).

The rewards are saying you did it, viewing a spectacular waterfall that can be seen no other way, and a cool little bar at the top where cokes are only two euros but you’d pay 5. Nice little terrace with an incredible view. Too bad we couldn’t stay very long; the plan was to head back at noon, whether we had made it to the top or not.

The only thing not so enjoyable was getting the flat (actually two because the first tube I used had a valve problem, and if anybody’s keeping track, they know I have zero spare tubes or tires left), and having to keep Kevin to the inside with me alongside, ready to quite literally push him into the wall if he were to have a seizure at an inopportune time. Thankfully, no seizures. Part two next.

Pictures from today’s TdF stage atop the Galibier

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Maybe not an epic ride for us, but certainly for Andy Schleck!

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Today was one of those days where things just got better and better as it went on. We didn’t have to travel too far to see the TdF stage; our hotel in Villar d’Arene is less than 10 miles from the base of the Galibier (an all-uphill 10 miles, to be sure!), and then

(OK, something bad happened here; I had 10 paragraphs typed in that all just got eaten during the posting process. May be related to the continuing internet issues I’ve been having here. I’ll get things updated later, since it’s time to get ready for tomorrow’s Alpe d’Huez stage) –Mike–

 

In position on the Galibier

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Not the easiest getting up the Galibier this morning; first, Kevin had a seizure and subsequent face plant climbing up the Lauteret (he’s ok; this wasn’t a “Chris Horner” event), and when we get to the base of the Galibier there are literally many thousands of cyclist going nowhere because they’ve closed the road. And this is 6 hours before the race comes through!!!

But that doesn’t stop us. We’re stupid, y’know? There’s a literal goat path that connects with the Galibier maybe a mile up the road, and we didn’t come all this way to see the big stage on a TV in a bar! That plus we KNOW we can get there, while all these others are turning around and making plans to do something else.

Well here we are. 700k from the finish, and having no idea why they were turning all those people away ‘cuz the middle of this climb is EMPTY!!!

Oh, it’s cold up here so good thing I loaded up the rack bag with everything possible to wear. The light rain and hail seem to be gone though. Film at 11!