Tour de Blast

My work and travel schedule took over my life last week, so this is the first opportunity I've had to post a report on Tour de Blast, the 83-mile, 7500+ climb up Mt. St. Helen's on June 21. The temperature was in the 70s, the scenery was beautiful although it was overcast at the top, and the wind was gusting. 

The ride was as hard for me as in previous years, if not harder. As usual, there were several times during the day when I wasn’t sure that I would finish the whole route. I don't know what time it was when I finally arrived at the finish where Adam, John, Lo, Jessica (and friends) were waiting patiently to cheer me on. I do know that it took me five hours to get to the top, and I had caught glimpses of many of my buddies whizzing by on their way back as I was still grinding away to the top (averaging 3-5 mph on that last miserable climb). 

All in all, most of our group did really well in spite of strong gusts at the top and on a couple of bridges coming back -- quite scary at 30-40 mph! Scott hit a rock on the way back at about 38 mph and bent his rim. He was bummed that he had to sag, but glad he didn’t fall! John made it to the top, where he ran into a friend who sagged him to Elk Rock, and then he rode the rest of the way to the finish. Lo, Jessica and Adam made good time the whole way, in spite of being dressed for colder weather. Mike actually made it all the way up and back by 1: 45, a few minutes before I pulled in to the top.

By the time I got back to Elk Rock on the return trip, the support crew had already removed the port-a-potties and was emptying the water. And I was not the last person on the course. There were at least ten riders at the top and twenty or so still on their way up when I started down at around 2:30 PM. I think it's unacceptable for a supported ride to leave slower riders on the course without support, and I've never seen this happen on rides supported by other cyclists. This may be reason enough for me not to do this ride again. Of course, I've said this before, and I keep coming back for more. We’ll see how I feel next year. 

In the end, it was great to be on the bike all day, and it felt good to complete the whole course. I know I'm ready for Alaska, in my head at least. Good thing, too, with only 5 days to go before the start!

Fundraising update #4

Recent donations from neighbors Kathleen Sullivan and Brian Helms, Big Rider Jessica Aronson, colleague Franziska Poppe, and friends Susanne and Richard Langford have brought my fundraising up to $5633.48. Thanks to so many generous donations, it looks like I may come in first for fundraising for the first Big Ride Alaska!

As a group, the eleven Alaska Big Riders have raised over $33,000!

Only 17 days to go!

Flying Wheels

Saturday was perfect weather for the hills of Flying Wheels. Lynn and I stayed together for the whole ride, catching up with Jennifer off and on and running into other buddies at the rest stops. It was a great ride and fun to see so many friends.

Photo 1: Big Riders Bruce, Scott and Sean. Photo 2: Big Riders Jennifer and Scott. Photo 3: yours truly.

Lynn, Jennifer and I seem to be about the same pace, although I suspect Lynn might be faster riding on her own. Jennifer still climbs faster than I do, but I can always catch up with her on the down hill.

I had planned to do the century, but decided at the last minute to do the 65-mile loop instead. As Scott said, that extra 35 miles wasn't going to make us any stronger for Tour de Blast on Saturday anyway, so why bother? In retrospect, it was the right decision, and I feel as ready as I can be for Alaska in less than three weeks. Now Tour de Blast next Saturday, that's a different story entirely...

Hill climbing final exam

Road Climbing Boot Camp is over, and I did pretty well on our quarter-mile final exam last Thursday. My Garmin Edge 305 computer indicates that the grade on this hill is up to 16% in some parts, and it's a tough one! On 5/13 my time was 3:28. On Thursday I finished in 3:11. That's actually significant improvement for such a short climb. 

Cycle U is offering Road Climbing School again beginning on Tuesday, June 17. This time they're adding a training program for participants to follow on their own between classes. I would be tempted to sign up again if I were going to be here for the whole time. 

Next week I'll be riding the Flying Wheels Century and the following week is the Mt. St. Helen's Tour de Blast, (that's the REAL final exam every year before my Big Ride), so I have two great rides coming up to test my skills and fitness before taking off for Fairbanks on July 5. I'll also need to get a few back-to-back daily rides in to get used to being in the saddle day after day. 

Stay tuned...

Inflatable lungs

You meet the nicest people when you say you are riding for the American Lung Association.

One of my favorite training buddies at Cycle U is Lynn Keenan, a physician specializing in pulmonary medicine. And look what she brought me tonight. More lung capacity!

I hereby solicit suggestions from creative readers for something clever to do with these inflatable lungs on Big Ride Alaska.

Hills are our friends!

This picture was taken in the pouring rain Tuesday evening. Everyone is happy because we love to ride up big hills. Right? Or the class is almost over? I forget.

Anyway...

Several readers have inquired privately about the Cycle U Road Climbing Boot Camp that I mentioned a while back.

The course meets twice a week and covers pedaling technique, posture and hand placement, visualization and focusing, descending, standing up while climbing, gear selection and cadence. This "semester" there are usually 2-3 coaches and 5-6 students. This ratio -- and the overall structure of the class -- allows everyone to get personal attention from the coaches. Students come with a wide range of experience and include relative beginners, racers and experienced endurance cyclists. Everyone has a different story and different goals.

We meet at Magnuson Park at 6 PM, usually spend some time in the park discussing and practicing specific techniques, and then take off to a short loop with hills (different each session) where we get coached as we do multiple laps. By 8 PM, we have a great workout behind us and are ready to go home.

My main goal in taking these classes was to become a stronger climber so that I wouldn't always be dropped on the hills. I've learned a lot: My uphill cadence has improved, and I now know when (and how) to stand up on a climb. Always fearless on the downhills anyway, I now know much more about the correct way to handle my bike at high speeds. The classes run as scheduled no matter what the weather, so I have also picked up lots of tips on how to handle my bike in different conditions.

At $350 for eight sessions (ask about Cascade member discounts), this course is no small investment. For me it has been worth it to get a really good workout and great coaching all at once. As it turned out, I’ve had very little time this spring to get rides in on my own, and this has motivated me to get at least two excellent workouts a week in preparation for Big Ride Alaska.

Next week is our “final exam.” I expect to have improved my time on the hill we climbed the first week of class. Stay tuned... Big Ride Alaska starts in 32 days!

25th anniversary of quitting smoking

This photo was taken in 1952 when I was six years old. Just six years later, at age 12, I started smoking.

For 25 years I smoked between two and three packs of non-filtered cigarettes almost every day. I tried over and over again to stop smoking and was unsuccessful. I risked getting kicked out of the school that I loved; I lied to myself and others about how much I smoked; I spent thousands of dollars on cigarettes and cures; I learned a lot about addiction.

When I finally quit on June 2, 1983, I was ready, and the timing was right. Twenty-five years later, I still think that quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And that includes riding my bike 3300 miles from Seattle to Washington DC in 2004!

So I continue to ride in celebration of my good health in spite of my history with smoking and to raise money to support the good work of the American Lung Association of Washington. The money that you contribute to these rides goes to help stem the tide of big tobacco money that is pushing young people to start a lifelong habit that kills 8200 Washingtonians every year and to fund research to find cures for lung diseases.

Thanks to Susana Stettri Sawrey (friend, colleague, and lung-cancer survivor) for another generous contribution bringing my current fundraising for Big Ride Alaska to $5408.48!