Northern California - Old La Honda

I just graduated from college this fall where I ran cross country and track. I got a pretty nice bike as a graduation present but have barely used it since then. I've been on two rides in the last four months.
This weekend I went out to do a hill some of my friends had been talking about, Old La Honda and hit 18:27 from the bridge they told me to start at up to the stop sign. I'm about 6'3", 175 lbs. Is this a reasonable time? Do I have any potential in cycling?

18:27 is a very good time. Any sub-20 time is pretty good. That is what everyone shoots for. However, its still slower the the best times:

http://www.strava.com/climbs-by-country/united-states/california/woodside/old-la-honda-bridge-front-to-stop-sign-142219

You may have some potential for cycling, get out and ride more. Also consider going on some group rides with some local clubs.

18:27 is a very good time. Any sub-20 time is pretty good. That is what everyone shoots for. However, its still slower the the best times:

http://www.strava.com/climbs-by-country/united-states/california/woodside/old-la-honda-bridge-front-to-stop-sign-142219

You may have some potential for cycling, get out and ride more. Also consider going on some group rides with some local clubs.

That's an understatement. There are people that never get below 20 minutes. You definitely have the fitness for cycling. Whether you're suited to cycling depends on what kind of cycling you want to do, e.g. recreational, endurance (centurys or longer), racing, etc.

The guys at the top of the KOM list, Chris Phipps, came from a running background.

Yeah, no kidding. 18:27 as a beginner is very very good. In a year or three you could do a minute or three better, which would put you in a very small group.

I'm pretty sure I hate you.
18:27 up Old La Honda for a beginning rider?
Yeah, I hate you.
;-)

Skinny runners often end up to be good uphill time trialists if they do solid work on the bike. The muscles are much more complementary than when you are riding the flats. Many runners often train for durations near 20 minutes but I would imagine, lack endurance for 4+ hour rides or have any kind of sprint. A beginner to the bike, yes, but running competitively especially if for Stanford would have the potential to make a good bike rider.

I'm pretty sure I hate you.
18:27 up Old La Honda for a beginning rider?
Yeah, I hate you.
;-)

:lol: At least he left out, "but I could stand to lose 10 pounds or so"

Strava or it didn't happen! ;)

18:27 is a CAT 3 kind of time...

Skinny runners often end up to be good uphill time trialists if they do solid work on the bike. The muscles are much more complementary than when you are riding the flats. Many runners often train for durations near 20 minutes but I would imagine, lack endurance for 4+ hour rides or have any kind of sprint. A beginner to the bike, yes, but running competitively especially if for Stanford would have the potential to make a good bike rider.

A competitive runner doing 100mi/wk will typically be at a higher aerobic fitness than your average Cat4 racer. Even mile specialists do a long run of 20 or so miles, so runners tend to have plenty of endurance. I am an average runner and an average cyclist, but a half marathon leaves me a lot more tired than a double century.

18:27 is a CAT 3 kind of time...

negative. my best is 18:11 and they've yet to make me a cat 3. speed/ability /= racing success

negative. my best is 18:11 and they've yet to make me a cat 3. speed/ability /= racing success

"cat 3 kind of time".....doesn't have to be taken so literally.
I am sure there are plenty of cat 3's out there who can't make 18:27 because they are sprinters, have a lower ftp/kg ratio, or just have enough racing acumen to make it. As you might suspect, the racing scene in California is pretty competitive. A friend of mine was a top-level cat 2, winning races all over then moved here and now is pack meat. I would think a cat 3 here means more than one from say, Wisconsin.

[MetinUz writes: Even mile specialists do a long run of 20 or so miles, so runners tend to have plenty of endurance. .[/QUOTE]

Why would a mile runner do a 20 mile training run? I remember reading "The Perfect Mile" about the quest to achieve the first sub four minute mile. Roger Bannister was a medical student with very limited time. He would typically train at a track in St. James park (paying an admission fee!) and be done with his workouts in one hour. This involved intense interval work, but no LSD runs.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't understand why doing training that doesn't mimic your event.

My mom used to ride up and over Old La Honda all the time to go to the ocean.

I've yet to do it, but I like climbing a lot...

Why would a mile runner do a 20 mile training run? I remember reading "The Perfect Mile" about the quest to achieve the first sub four minute mile. Roger Bannister was a medical student with very limited time. He would typically train at a track in St. James park (paying an admission fee!) and be done with his workouts in one hour. This involved intense interval work, but no LSD runs.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't understand why doing training that doesn't mimic your event.

The short answer is that even a mile is an endurance event, so you need to build up your endurance. The long run is not so slow for elite runners, maybe 7:00 or 7:30 pace, so done in 2.5 hours. It's also only 20% of the weekly mileage. It's hard to do 100 or 150 miles a week doing track intervals.

Why would a mile runner do a 20 mile training run? I remember reading "The Perfect Mile" about the quest to achieve the first sub four minute mile. Roger Bannister was a medical student with very limited time. He would typically train at a track in St. James park (paying an admission fee!) and be done with his workouts in one hour. This involved intense interval work, but no LSD runs.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't understand why doing training that doesn't mimic your event.


I would say 20 mi is a bit long for most milers. I am a 5000 meter runner and only have a long run of about 16 mi which I would say if fairly typical. Most collegiate milers are going to be in the 13-16 mi range. There are physiological changes that only begin to occur after a certain period of time such as increasing the number of mitochondria and capillaries in the muscle. This improves their oxygen transport efficiency and is highly beneficial even in events as short as 800m. More aerobic work would be better but running for two hours is a lot tougher on the body than cycling for two hours.

I would say 20 mi is a bit long for most milers. I am a 5000 meter runner and only have a long run of about 16 mi which I would say if fairly typical. Most collegiate milers are going to be in the 13-16 mi range. There are physiological changes that only begin to occur after a certain period of time such as increasing the number of mitochondria and capillaries in the muscle. This improves their oxygen transport efficiency and is highly beneficial even in events as short as 800m. More aerobic work would be better but running for two hours is a lot tougher on the body than cycling for two hours.

This is "raise the left". You want to force your body to adapt an increase mitochondira density/function. IE sprint for 3 minutes in a hard > threshold vO2 effort, this forces your body to adapt to the hard effort, which in turn makes the 60-70% effort of long rides easier to maintain.

It's the basis for interval training.

New PR today of 17:42.

Been training hard for running since I last wrote and have been riding my bike about once every week for the last two months. Still going to stick with running for the time being though as I'm not the most confident on the descents and it didn't help having to wait going down 84 today while an ambulance and fire truck took care of a cyclist who'd had a bad crash.

Is there such a thing as only an uphill race?

Is there such a thing as only an uphill race?
Mark January 1st on your calendar for the San Bruno Hill Climb.

- Steve

...and mark Sep 10 for the Mt Tam Hill climb

....and mark Oct 9 for the Mt Diablo challenge

...and mark....

You get the idea. LOTS of hill climbs around here.

I live in CO but I love, love, love riding the hills in the Bay Area. Perfect weather and great climbs so close to the "urban." I just wish it was still free to bring my bike to Palo Alto on the plane as one of my "free bags." Boo to the hoo...

I live in CO but I love, love, love riding the hills in the Bay Area. Perfect weather and great climbs so close to the "urban." I just wish it was still free to bring my bike to Palo Alto on the plane as one of my "free bags." Boo to the hoo...

Frontier Airlines - if it works for your travel.

I noticed that my wireless computer stops recording time at certain points up OLH. Not sure if its power line interference or something. Either way, it makes my recorded time less than my actual time.

I noticed that my wireless computer stops recording time at certain points up OLH. Not sure if its power line interference or something. Either way, it makes my recorded time less than my actual time.

So I can use my wired computer as an excuse for my slower time? ;)

So I can use my wired computer as an excuse for my slower time? ;)

Hey, a name from the past ... how are you?

Hey, a name from the past ... how are you?

Good thanks! :) Just not enough free time generally. Hope to get M on the bike soon but the challenge is persuading him to wear a helmet!