EDIT: Ride report a few posts down!
Doing this route on the tandem this Sunday (sorry Bikely won't save my route :mad: ):
80 miles
7400 feet of climbing
If anyone wants to meet up along the route, especially other tandems, let me know.
Map:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/2474048651_c848c36a0b.jpg
Profile:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2474048669_0b935d7aed.jpg?v=0
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What time? We might see you out there.
While you guys are riding, plan the Tandem Rally, will ya?
What time? We might see you out there.
On your tandem???? Is it back in action?
Trying to start by 9am at the latest to make sure we don't get back super late.
Going to have lunch at the same spot as on Alan's ride.
What are your plans?
What kind of pace do y'all keep? I'll be free Sunday, but I haven't been on the bike much and I don't wanna be dropped 50 miles into it.
tandem = fast on the flats and descents and slower on the climbs.
Fist tandem ride we did 32min on OLH. Should be slightly better now. So that should give you an idea.
We'll be on singles. :( But hope to see you out there.
Ah, so I am assuming just you (not Lisa).
I read your other thread in the Tandem section. Glad that it is on its way to being resolved.
It'll be the two of us. ;) Anyway, yes, there's finally a light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel.
Cool where will you be riding?
We might just go down Canada and back. We don't know yet.
Cool I will look for you guys.
Too bad you're not riding around Pescadero.
We would have made an effort to have lunch with you guys there. :)
While you guys are riding, plan the Tandem Rally, will ya?
As soon as David/Lisa's bike is back in action. We will have one. Hopefully something like the route from your coast/back roads ride.
SB HWY 1 + tailwind + tandem + descent = :D:D
Seems like we're staying local Sunday. :( But at least the tandem is on its way to recovery. :D
Holy crap :eek: I am toast. ;)
Ride report later.
We hammered though... rest assured :)
Ride Report
So Bikey finally worked :http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Tandem-Sunday-5-10135231
Anyway, what a great ride!
I was just not feeling myself on Pete's Gladiator ride. So I had to redeem myself by means of Tandem Hammerfest.
So, I had wanted to start the ride around 8:30 or 9 AM. But in my regular fashion we hit the road at 11:15 :rolleyes:
So we were off, with our new wheels, RD, shifters, etc... 3rd big ride on the tandem, 1st with the new gear. What a great way to test it out... on a 81 mile ride with 7400 feet of climbing :wtf: However, I needed to gauge our performance level for the upcoming Sequoia Century 112 mile ride.
Some climbs on Alameda de las Pulgas and Crystal Springs, and a quick descent down Skyline over to 92 and then Canada. We stopped at Canada so Ruth could remove her jacket, and holy crap, the wind was crazy. Luckily it was a tailwind. ;)
We flew down Canada hitting 35 mph a couple of times, but the little uphills brought the tank/limo/boat down to more reasonable speeds on several occasions. Down Mountain Home/Portola over to OLH. We stopped at the base for a quick stretch, and to check our start time for the climb. We made it from my house in San Mateo to the base of OLH in 1:03 (not bad!!).
So time for OLH. Most of the grind up the hill was done in the 32/28. Occasionally I hit the 32/24, 32/21 (a couple times) and during hard times the 32/32 (which I managed to stay out of for most of the climb).
Around 3/4 the way up, I spot two riders up ahead. So, we kick it up a notch (of course). There's nothing better than passing single bikes on the climbs on a tandem :thumb: To their somewhat bewilderment, we pass by them, one was riding a really nice Calfee. From that point on, we kept the pace a bit higher, and brought it in hard to the top.
We checked our time... Guess what... 29:34 up OLH on the tandem! I was pretty happy about that. At that point I checked the time, and thought about cutting the ride short, since we started so late. But being the "Gladiator" that I am I decided to press on with the rest of the ride.
We hit 46 mph on Skyline heading over to W84. I managed to get over 40 mph a couple of times on 84, but not that much due to the intense headwind. An older couple was behind us in a truck. They didn't pass us since we were going pretty fast. We got the the one-laner traffic signal further down, and they were next to us. They said "You guys were averaging 35 mph back there." They were really cool actually. we told them, all we wanted were some sandwiches in Pescadero. They said the knew the store well :D
I actually really like that traffic light since if you let the cars all pass in the beginning, you find yourself completely devoid of all traffic, since you're going basically the same speed as the cars, the next wave of traffic will never catch you. We made the left on to Pescadero Creek, and stopped for a second to eat a little bit (gel/bar). We checked the time and it was about 1:30. I calculated that we would still be ok to do the the whole ride, if we kept up the pace. We continued on, then made the right to proceed up Haskins Hill (Pescadero).
We trudged up the hill, and then made the somewhat tricky descent followed by the flats (rolling) to Pascadero. We made it to town before 2:30, again not bad! We ate 1/2 a sandwich each, saving the other halves in our rack trunk. Got some drinks too. I was just freezing cold at that point. So went inside and shared a coffee, and let our food settle. We felt much better, and time was pressing. It was just after 3 PM, and we decided to push on. Before leaving, we saw a guy about to leave also, with a Specialized carbon with full SRAM Red, crazy wheels, Garmin, etc. He was going the same way (north on Stage). I said "We'll probably see you passing us on the climbs."
Beginning of Stage was CRAZY windy. Got over the first of the 3 climbs on Stage. Then down the 1st technical descent. A jeep that passed us on the climb had pull over and let us by. ;)
On to the 2nd climb. Half way up, I could spot the Specialized guy on our tail. I kept up our steady pace. He finally caught up to us right before the top, he said "you guys have a good pace." I said thanks, we're trying!
I latched on, and was able to keep his wheel up the last part of the climb. Then for the 2nd (very tight) descent. We stayed right on the back of the Specialized guy. The descent favored the small size, and light weight of the single bike, but we stayed right behind. We got to the San Gregorio General Store, and I had to stop for nature.
Ruth commented that she felt good, and was surprised how effective the Endurolytes and Heed were. Last climb up Stage, and to HWY 1. The descent on HWY 1 was VERY VERY windy, yet we still got up to 47.1 MPH.
Right turn onto Tunitas came in the blink of an eye. Onto Tunitas. First part, easy. Middle part... HARD. Man, those switchbacks are really steep for the tandem. We took turns standing, and stood together as well. It was hard, but we felt good. Got to the easier final part... What a relief. We made it up the full length of Tunitas (7 miles or so) in about an hour.
Now time for KINGS. Ruth is a real good sport because I was going really fast down kings. (Thanks sweetie :love: ) In the begining where it is a little bumpy. I told Ruth, "This part is a little bumpy." She said, "Well you could go slower!" I said "Nah, then I have to use my brakes too much!" :D I caught a car who pulled over to let us by, and then the car in front of him did the same thing. The car behind us never caught up enough to want to pass. Once again, I am thoroughly impressed with the stopping ability of the standard Shimano cantilever with Kool Stop pads. It hauled over 330 lb of human and steel down from 35 mph in the closing feet before every hairpin without a hitch. I touched the rims at the bottom and they were not even warm.
Both of us still felt good, we joked about going up and down Kings again really quick before heading home :lol:
Great thing was once we hit Woodside, it was really warm, which was nice since the coatal/ridge areas were damn cold. The temps at the top vs. the bottom of kings must have been at least 10 degrees different. Anyway, onto Canada. BRUTAL CRAZY HORRIBLE headwind. But we powered through it. I felt some food deprivation 3/4 through, so at the end I stopped just before 92 to eat some energy bar.
Climb up to Bunker Hill seemed so easy after doing Tunitas. Hit 45 mph again on Skyline, and 46 mph on Crystal Springs. After climbing up the steep little climb on Alameda, I hit 46 again just before turning into my neighborhood.
We ate some good food, had a bath/shower, and went to bed.
My legs are still sore from my 180 miles of hammering this weekend.
Ride stats:
Distance: 81.2 miles
Ride time: 5:51 mins (got home just after 6 PM, not bad for an 11:15 start!)
Average Speed: 14 mph
OLH time: 29:34 :thumb: This will improve.
Max speed: 47.1 mph (hit 45 and 46 several times)
I think we will be ready for Sequoia.
Can't wait to ride w/ you guys. Probably won't keep up, but what the hey. :D
You're gonna need to put seatbealt on the stoker seat. VROOOM!!!