Tag Archives: strava

Strava says 19 “accomplishments” but this guy did better!

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over_the_top
I’m struggling a bit on my return, heading over Sand Hill, and catch a glimpse of this guy, probably in his 70s. He didn’t have a great bike, he’d just come up over the opposite side, and his broad smile showed satisfaction, relief, and more sense of accomplishment than anything Strava has given me. Sometimes we get so caught up in our goals, measured in minutes & seconds & kilometers & timing points, that we forget about the things that brought us to cycling in the first place. The first time we made it to Skyline. Making it to the coast. Discovering new bakeries along the way.

When I was 11 years old, I remember having a AAA Bay & River map laid out on the kitchen table, looking at new towns to explore, like Portola Valley, which was out there past Woodside. A year later I’d go to the US Geological Survey center in Menlo Park with my friend Bob Kriesle, to buy maps preparing us for the New World (the mountains between us and the coast), and noticing they had markings for oil wells (oil wells on 84? Who knew?). Every ride was an adventure, not a competition. We’d seek out the tough climbs not for speed, but just to say we’d been there. I had a rack on the back of my bike that we’d carry a couple of quart bottles of Coke for fuel (no water bottles on a Schwinn Varsity). I’m not sure if I’ve found a different path, a type of cycling that’s compatible with who and what I am these days, or if I’ve lost my way. But I do know it’s been a very long time since I’ve crested a hill and had a smile like I saw on the old guy coming over the top of Sand Hill today!

Maybe the day is coming where my time up hills won’t be so important to me, but that day’s not here yet. But I am very aware, and thankful, that there are a great many ways to enjoy cycling.

Until they get Junipero Serra fixed up, you might want to choose a different route. It's worse than it looks, and it looks pretty bad!

Until they get Junipero Serra fixed up, you might want to choose a different route. It’s worse than it looks, and it looks pretty bad!

What about my ride? It wasn’t what was planned, that’s for sure. Kevin (my son) and I were going to head out to the coast, but he’s developed another kidney stone, and after waiting it out for too many hours, it was clear he wasn’t going to be riding and I wouldn’t be heading out to the coast. 2:15pm and there’s just not that much daylight left! So I headed out into the foothills, pushing myself pretty hard since I wouldn’t be getting in many miles, and tossed in the “walking” Joaquin loop off Portola Road to make things even tougher. Eventually I ended up at our Los Altos store, and then headed back on a more direct, less adventurous route, partly because I was feeling a bit spent, and partly because I thought it would be shorter. Uh, no, I must have hit every red light on Foothill! That plus the slow riding on the section of Foothill (maybe Junipero Serra when north of Page Mill?) where they’ve torn up the road and have uneven steel plates that you don’t want to ride over. What a mess they’re making of our roads these days.

As spent as I was, I had been inspired seeing that old guy on Sand Hill so instead of the “easy” ride over Jefferson, I took the Godetia “shortcut” to add one more insanely-steep piece of road. In the end, a very nice ride. Wish I could have been out there longer, but I made the best of the time I had.

One hot ride today! 65 very tough miles. 95 degrees.

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90, 95 degrees, who's counting?

What better way to prepare for the heat we’re likely to encounter in France than riding up Page Mill Road when it’s 90-95 degrees? Making it especially tough is having Page Mill as the first hill of the day. That’s one mean way to start a ride. Page Mill is one of those hills it’s really tough to get a rhythm on; that bottom section starting just past the golf course/country club turnoff is just plain ugly, and it’s not until you get past Foothill Park that you can really get a handle on it. And that handle is pretty darned slippery, especially between park gates 3 & 4, where it’s gut-wrenchingly steep and you’re thinking why didn’t you go up Old LaHonda instead, an easier grade with lots of shade?

Adding insult to injury is Strava claiming I got a personal best on the climb, at 47 minutes. Umm… no. It wasn’t that long ago I did it in 44, and my son probably could have closed in on that time today too, except that he was being relatively-civil and stayed with me all the way up. OK, it seemed like it wasn’t that long ago, but since I loaded the last three years worth of data from my Garmin into Strava, maybe it was longer ago than I thought!

A beautiful day on West Alpine

We wasted no time heading down West Alpine for another date with Haskins Grade, a climb that Kevin claims to hate but is getting much better at, getting his own personal best today at 9:52 despite not climbing it for time. At least not until the last half mile or so when he noticed his time was pretty good and rode the rest hard. Funny how that works.

I’d like to say it was a fun run out to Pescadero, but not really; the stiff headwind and heat made it pretty tough. The upside? It’s rare that a cold Coke tastes as good as it did today!

Heading north on Stage we once again faced a headwind, yet did pretty good times up the two hills, primarily because motivation was provided by rabbits (cyclists ahead of us). Speaking of rabbits, I should have mentioned we had earlier seen a rabbit the size of a small deer as we rode Arastradero between Alpine and Page Mill. It was seriously huge!

The lower and middle sections of Page Mill proved to be Kevin’s undoing; we’d normally climb Tunitas in 45 minutes or so, but he was barely able to turn the pedals for a while. He can out-climb me dramatically on the first couple big hills of the day, but eventually he wears out and I keep on going. He did a miraculous recovery when the steep stuff ended though, charging the rest of the way at a pretty respectable pace.

In the end a tough ride with the unexpectedly-high temps causing a pretty significant weight loss (6.5 pounds for me) due to not drinking enough, even though I tried. Maybe I did drink enough and I burned 6.5 pounds of fat? Don’t I wish!

We live in “Vacationland”

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Vacationland, USA. Or maybe the world.

Vacationland. I saw that in the comments someone made on a ride on Strava. Wherever you live on the Peninsula, just outside your door are some of the most-amazing places to ride a bike in the world. I know a little bit about this sort of thing, having spent quite a bit of time riding in France, often regarded as a cycling paradise. If I were in France, and cycling was a big part of my life, right here, San Mateo & Santa Clara & Santa Cruz counties, would be the sort of place you’d take a vacation and tell everyone back home about the amazing roads, the views, the great places to eat along the way… things that, after living her for awhile, we might be taking for granted.

Today’s ride in Vacationland was the traditional Old LaHonda, Pescadero, Tunitas loop. 58 miles, about 6000 feet of climbing, spectacular weather (no need for leg warmers or jackets). OK, maybe a few stiff headwinds here & there (remember that we don’t admit to tail winds), and checking out the work being done on the west side of Old LaHonda might not have been the best idea (pretty soft & sticky new pavement) Strava details below-

Check out the Peacock staring at itself on the second floor window.

What Strava doesn’t show are the people you see along the way, like Patrick, our Redwood City Service Manager, riding up Old LaHonda on a bike probably 5 pounds heavier than mine, at a pretty good clip. Or the views of the Pacific Ocean and the hills in-between while descending west-side Old LaHonda. Or the fact that I started the ride feeling not-so-great but the warmer weather opened up my lungs and let me explore the limits of my muscles for a change. Or the Peacock staring into the second-floor window of the former “Machine Gun Man” house on Stage Road, wondering when the identical Peacock on the other side of the window would end the stare-down.

Strava says that I had a pretty fast (for me) time up Haskins on my way to Pescadero, but what it doesn’t say is that, for the first time in a very long while, I felt really good on Tunitas and had to hold back for Kevin. This too shall pass; on Tuesday morning’s ride I’m sure I’ll once again be watching Kevin ride away from me up the hill, just as he did earlier on today’s ride on Old LaHonda.

Meantime, when you complain about how much it costs to live here, consider the “Vacationland” argument. Think of what it would cost to have an endless vacation in one of the best places on the planet to ride. Because that’s what we’ve got, and it’s one of the best excuses ever for why you should be finding more time to ride.

Ohmygosh, 6 pages of KOMs? This guy’s really slumming riding with us!

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Not as many friendly faces today as you’d normally see on a Tuesday morning ride; just myself, Karl, Eric, Keith… George was off at the National Cyclocross Championships in Madison WI, Kevin (the pilot) was doing the pilot thing, Kevin (the son) was complaining he was too sore to ride after Sunday’s paintball gig and Karen was probably focusing on her ‘cross skills for the upcoming World Championships in Louisville Kentucky in a few days.

What, confused about me letting Kevin have the day off because he was “sore?” Let’s say that I strongly encouraged him to ride, pointing out that his muscles would feel better sooner if he rode. He wasn’t buying any of it, now claiming that he didn’t sleep much either. After a few minutes I gave up and headed off on my own, believing then, as I believe now, that he would have been a lot better off had he ridden. Yes, he’s got a tough dad.

Partway up Kings we met up with Marcus, and rode a reasonable pace to the top. Reasonable meaning that things split up into two groups, with Keith, Marcus & Karl up front, while Eric and I worked hard to find any remaining oxygen in their wake. It was a bit of an odd morning for the two of us in that Eric’s breathing sounded worse than mine (although my heart rate was running considerably higher than his, an indication that I’m not in the shape I should be).

But that Keith person. Nice guy. But deceptively fast. Deceptive in that he’s going to ride at whatever level his training calls for, so you can get the idea that he’s “normal” because he’s riding not that much faster than you are. But when push comes to shove, the guy has a motor, and when he switches it out of idle, watch out. I finally looked him up today on Strava. He “owns” 6 pages of KOMs. KOMs, for those not familar with Strava, are sections of roads where you have the fastest time. Of anybody. If you’re lucky, you can find something obscure and make it your own (or create a new one and “own” it until somebody else comes along). But Keith? He has 6 pages of them!

So it’s safe to say that he’s riding way below his level when I’m in the vicinity. Karl & Marcus & George & Chris & sometimes pilot Kevin might keep things interesting on a ride with him, but Me? I’m working my tail off to kepe his rear wheel in sight.

The sky is always blue when you’re cycling!

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You could watch the weather on TV and start to believe that the best days for riding are behind us; that rain is coming, that the days are getting both shorter and colder. And you’re expecting me to tell you not to believe such nonsense?

Good times are where you find them, and your bike is that place. It’s always that place. You go to bed the night before your morning ride, noticing that there’s a bit of a chill in the area, listen to a noise that’s familiar and strangely comforting but then realize it’s the furnace kicking on (is it OK to be comforted by the sound of a furnace?), and you think back to just two weeks ago when you were able to go out without leg warmers. For the last time.

But the sky was blue this morning, and with daylight saving time behind us, it was also light out. Nothing wrong with being comforted by that! And yet, we had only a handful of riders this morning; myself, Kevin (son, not the pilot), Eric, Todd & Jim, joined up on Skyline by Steve L, whom we haven’t seen for a while (he usually rides with the older, er, I mean, more “mature” guys who ride a bit later and stay out of the hills). Looking at the video reminds me just how nice & clear it was as we set a deliberately non-challenging pace up Kings, hoping to avoid Kevin having one of his all-too-frequent seizures. Since he didn’t, I guess it worked! Unfortunately, when you look at our time climbing Kings, you come to realize that he can climb very fast, have a seizure, and finish in 29:30. Or he can climb at a pace where he won’t likely have a seizure, and finish in 29:30.

We did run into a bit of fog at the top, or maybe low clouds. Not bad, but the slight dampness made the 43 degrees up there seem a bit colder. Soon, 43 degrees will feel nearly toasty for us!

Watching the ride play on the video in front of me reminds me that I actually did ride this morning. What would it be like, riding without cameras or downloadable GPS data recording the ride? Without two computers on the handlebars, set to simultaneously display two different sets of data that I think are important (heart rate & speed in numbers large enough for 55-year-old eyes to read)? I don’t know. I understand there are people out there who have no computer on their bike at all, and somehow that works for them. Guess they haven’t discovered Strava yet.

We want YOU! Join the (free) Strava Chain Reaction Team!

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If you’ve got a Garmin bike computer, or a GPS-enabled phone (many Androids and iPhone 3GS, 4 & 4S models), you can easily keep track of your rides on-line, for free! And who knows when we might offer special discounts and events just for members of our Chain Reaction Team Strava. We just started, and we’re needing some help because I was gone for 10 days this month (and my son got lazy while I was gone and didn’t log any rides either).

If you haven’t joined Strava, try it out. Like I said, it’s free (you can pay $59/year for advanced stuff if you want, but the free version does pretty amazing stuff), and you can sign up here. Once you’re a member, follow this link and join our team! No obligation, nothing to buy. :-)      –Mike–

If you didn’t record the ride, did it really happen?

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No leg warmers, no base layers, no jacket required. Gotta like it! Too many to mention this morning but most of the usual suspects showed up. Relatively-tame on the climb, although I dropped off a bit with Kevin, hoping that a slightly-more-moderate pace might help keep his seizures at bay (he had none this ride, only some double-vision which is caused by his meds from time to time).

OK, getting to the issue of whether something actually happened if you didn’t record it. I’m hooked on technology; I carry an iPhone4s, Garmin 800 GPS computer, Trek Node 1 computer, Contour Roam video camera and often a separate Fuji EX200r camera as well. But what do you do with all that information? Why Strava it, of course. Uploading your rides to Strava you can compete against yourself and anybody else who has ever done any particular segment of your ride. That’s right, Strava automatically times you, starting & stopping at the relevant points as determined by your GPS unit (whether iPhone or Adroid or Garmin).

Check out the page I’ve put up for “Club” Chain Reaction. Quite a few of my Sunday 60-110 milers, along with a couple of the Tuesday/Thursday-morning rides. You might find something in there that looks a bit different than you’ve done before and give it a try. Or you might want to compare your own times to those of others… many, many, many others. It really is addictive.

And there’s another site you can upload your rides to, and have good deeds come from it. Plus3Network (that link will show you my Mt. Hamilton ride) gives credit to various charitable organization for each mile you ride, with the money coming from Sponsors like us, and going to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition or Team in Training.

I’m hooked. Chances are you will be too. Both +3 and Strava offer free iPhone apps (probably Android too) that make it easy. Keep in mind elevation data won’t be as accurate; the iPhone overestimated the climbing on Sunday’s Mt. Hamilton loop by about 500ft, which is pretty typical of units that don’t have a barometer built in (like the Garmin 500 & 800).