jschen

jschen's Apple Pie ride report: Part 1
Pre-ride

I picked up cycling on a whim (bought a bike with a chunk of unexpected money, 5 mile ride on July 22, 2005), and before I knew it, I was no longer a couch potato, but instead, I had some athletic aspirations. By the end of July, I had decided I would someday climb Mt. Baldy (description), the mountain right behind my parents' house (having no clue how it compared against any other climbs), and someday ride a century. As my riding progressed, I found that I particularly enjoyed climbing, so in September, I decided climbing Baldy would be my goal for 2006. When that happened over Thanksgiving weekend (ride report), I decided my revised goal for 2006 would be a century and a 2-hour Baldy time. With Extort suggesting I should join the next BikeForums group ride in the area and bitingduck suggesting that I could finish a century, even a hilly one, I decide to give a shot at the Apple Pie ride.

Knowing the Apple Pie ride wasn't far away, I decided to focus all my non-commuting rides on preparing myself for this ride. Over winter break, I climbed Baldy four times, improving my personal record from 2:50 (Thanksgiving Saturday) to 2:15 (New Year's Eve). In January, I usually was too lazy to go for a ride before my commute, but I put in my weekend rides, including two group rides--one led by dog hair, which he didn't cancel even though I was the only one going; the other led by Extort, who was kind enough to schedule the ride specifically because of my concerns. A big thank you to dog hair and Extort for those rides, which helped a lot in making me feel up for Pie. And I had a great time meeting Nosra451 and 1955. As a final training ride, and to celebrate half a year of cycling, I rode up and down Palomar (description) three times on Jan 22. It also was a perfect chance to test my cold weather gear (low 30s at the start). With that training ride completed and me feeling good about it, I declared myself ready for Pie.

On the side, I had agreed that if I should finish the Pie century, I would be buying new jeans and shorts since caligurl found it appalling that someone in San Diego wouldn't have such articles of clothing (and everyone else agreed). I also decided to sign up for Breathless Agony (description) since I decided hilly centuries sounded like a lot of fun.

jschen

jschen's Apple Pie ride report: Part 2
Apple Pie

I had rested up for the ride, and I went to sleep at 10 PM on Friday night. Unfortunately, I ended up waking up at 2 AM because of excitement about the ride, and when I hadn't fallen back asleep at 3 AM, I decided to go ahead and get up. Since I had never met OC Roadie, Pico, The Fixer, worker4youth, my58vw, or Mrs. Nosra451, there were plenty of introductions to be made. And a few hellos to semi-familiar faces. I was especially glad to see that 1955 decided to take a shot at this ride despite a bit of trouble in our training ride. Based on my theory that one is torque-limited--not power limited--when climbing really steep stuff and out of gears, I promised him that for the same perceived effort, he would be 35% faster with his revised gearing. I hope he found this to be the case.

After an all too brief flat-ish start, we started climbing Palomar. It was early in the day, but my first few lessons of the day came when climbing Palomar. (1) Though I had intended to climb Palomar at a relaxed tempo, I just couldn't bring myself to actually do so. I certainly didn't ride at an all-out effort, but I just couldn't help climbing much faster than I had intended. Throw a big hill in my way, and my pacing schemes go right out the window. (2) Many people in the group were very disheartened by the 5000 foot elevation sign, whereas I was ecstatic when I reached that point. The difference was that I knew the top was at about 5300 feet, whereas for some reason, most of the group thought the top was at 6300 feet. This, among other things about the climb, taught me that knowing the route can play a huge role in doing well.

On the climb up to the observatory, the second point was nailed home some more. I had researched the ride a lot in my spare time, including trying to get a sense of where the major climbs are, but Google Maps was incomplete near the top of Palomar, so I estimated 300 feet of climbing from the general store to the observatory. There is indeed about 300 feet of elevation gain, but with a significant downhill along the way, there was far more than 300 feet of climbing. (Sorry, guys. My bad for misleading you all.) So much for resting up after climbing Palomar. An uneventful but pleaseant descent to Lake Henshaw, and then Mesa Grande loomed ahead.

Short, but steep. So OC Roadie had described Mesa Grande. Sure didn't feel that short. Definitely felt steep. I was feeling a minor cramp in my legs, but again, seeing big climbs brought out a side of me that insisted on putting the hammer down. In a sense, though, this was tolerable in my mind since my training rides had taught me that holding back too much was detrimental. Hold back too much, and I do most of my climbing in one seated position, and I slowly end up with a sore spot on my lower back. Mix in different seated positions and mix in more standing, and I can go faster and ward off that sore spot. Nonetheless, with the steep stuff and the ensuing tough rollers on Mesa Grande, something happened in my brain where suddenly, the goal was simply attacking the climbs quickly as possible without quite breaking out into an all-out effort. I really don't remember much about Mesa Grande other than that it was one big hammerfest. See a climb. Push myself to go over it. Relax and spin out legs on the downhill and flat sections. See another climb. Repeat. Once past the climbing, it was a short downhill roll into Santa Ysabel, the site of pie.

I hear there's people anxious to hear something, so I'm posting these two parts now.
Parts 3 (Soldiering on) and 4 (Post-ride) coming up...

jschen

jschen's Apple Pie ride report: Part 3
Soldiering on

The Julian pie a la mode was delicious, and well worth the trip. Okay, maybe not worth the trip, but hanging out with a great bunch of people at the rest points made it well worth it. Thanks to all the climbing that spread us out, rest stops really were about the only time to socialize. After pie, it was back on the bike for the homeward journey.

With daylight hours becoming a significant issue, to save time, we rode in single file, drafting our way into Ramona. I had always known that I am relatively fast (key word: relatively) on climbs and okay on descents, but absurdly slow on the flat sections, but the trip into Ramona really taught me that that was the case. It's partly because I'm about 140 pounds, but it's also a simple matter of training specificity. I climb a lot. As a result, I descend a lot. I ride very little in the way of flat roads. I'm pretty sure I was the slowest flat road rider in the group, and it was a challenge to keep up with the group through minor inclines (which I also don't really do well on) and flat sections on the way into Ramona. My legs were aching, but I figured it was better to keep in the draft than to have to push the air out of the way myself.

Once a bit past Ramona, at about mile 80-85, I found I simply could no longer keep up. It caught me by surprise since it was a very sudden transition, and it was something I had never felt before. I had felt my abdominals give up on me before, and I had felt my back slowly weaken on longer hilly rides, but I had never felt my legs give out first. Admittedly, I had been pushing them really hard since I couldn't pace myself well on Palomar or Mesa Grande and since I'm a poor flat ground rider, but I nonetheless expected to continue to be able to ride through the cramping that had started at the beginning of Mesa Grande since my core wasn't giving out yet. Well, I guess that wasn't the case.

1955 had pointed out that I appeared dehydrated when we were stopped for pie, but I barely had a chance to reach for water (even with a CamelBak) on the way into Ramona. After that, I tried to keep a higher rate of food and water intake, but it was really too little too late. Though pushing hard probably was a contributing factor, I believe my nutrition and hydration (or lack thereof) was the major reason for the letdown at this point. I always knew this was a weak spot in my training, and I tried to eat and drink more, but I guess it wasn't nearly enough.

Dropping off from the main group and riding at a more relaxed pace, I had a chance to somewhat recover. After the final regroup, I felt a bit better. My flat ground riding never really came back to me, but my climbing ability seemed to come back a bit. In fact, I felt better on the climb near the Wild Animal Park than I did on flatter sections before and after it. After that climb, I was left as the final, slowest rider still not on the final climb up Lake Wohlford. I knew there was no way I would be willing to stop before the century mark, not when already at the 95.8 mile mark, and I am really thankful to the sag support (especially Mrs. Nosra451, who ended up accompanying me) for bearing with me for the final few miles. With the final 1000 foot climb looming and my computer showing 100.6 miles covered, I decided to call it quits. It would have been interesting to see how I fared on the home stretch, obviously tired out but with my climbing legs seemingly finding their second wind. However, I didn't want to make everyone else wait for me for what would have been at least an hour, and I also didn't like the prospect of doing the first two miles of the climb in the dark (even with lights) due to the steep, windy nature of the heavily-used road and the total lack of shoulders for those two miles. I had completed a century and had a great time every step (pedal stroke?) of the way (even when my legs were on fire), and it was time to call it a day.

I felt great emotionally, and aside from being a bit tired and low on energy, I felt pretty good physically. With the exersion over, my legs stopped cramping. They did stiffen up a bit later in the night once they had a chance to cool down, but all in all, I felt surprisingly good physically.

jschen

jschen's Apple Pie ride report: Part 4
Post-ride

I certainly had a blast throughout this experience, and I would happily do such a ride again. The riding was fun and the pie was good, but it really was the people who made the ride so great. A big thank you again to OC Roadie for organizing, to all the riders for sharing in a great experience, and very importantly, to my58vw and Mrs. Nosra451 for supporting us all the way. I certainly wouldn't have gone on this ride without you all. dog hair, I'm sorry you couldn't join us. We'll have to ride together again some other time.

I really need to get a better handle on nutrition and hydration for longer rides. I can tolerate a significant deficit on shorter rides, but it sneaks up on me. And I suspect that as I start pushing harder, even on shorter rides, it will start becoming an issue. I had great fun, and I plan on doing other centuries. I doubt I'll be riding regular centuries (no more ambitions for a century a month here), but I certainly want to ride an occasional century. I know it will be a bit hard to train for eating and drinking enough when it doesn't really show on shorter rides, but I'll have to work on that. Especially since I get no warning signs that I can notice by myself before suddenly finding myself running on fumes. Maybe the cramps, but they basically felt the same for the 40 miles before running on fumes. (Then they got worse for a while before I hit that second wind.) It would be nice to have a few other signs along the way. I guess I'll learn more about figuring out what my body's telling me with more practice.

I need to learn to pace myself better. There's nothing like a big climb to bring out the desire in me to go faster. I don't think it alone caused the slight meltdown I had, but it certainly doesn't help things. And I need to work on flat ground speed a bit to hang with group rides. It's not going to become a high priority of mine, but I really should try to get my flat ground speed up a little bit. And practice it enough so that spinning along on flat roads doesn't tire me out so readily.

People sometimes tell me I have a really nice bike, but I appreciate it more than ever now. And it seems to be set up pretty well for me. Not once in training or on the ride did I feel any discomfort on the bike. The only discomfort was due to occasional lower back fatigue in training and the legs giving out on the Pie ride. I guess my clothing and bike are dialed in pretty well.

I also learned that my body is capable of a lot more than I thought. Based on my experience on the Pie ride, I believe I can push much harder than I normally do on my other rides. After all, if pushing hard makes me blow up at mile 80, then I'm clearly not pushing all that hard. During winter break, I had revised my Baldy goal for 2006 to 1:45 (primary goal) or 1:30 (seemingly out of reach secondary goal). I'm feeling good about my chances of reaching at least my primary goal. Mt. Baldy continues to be my personal yardstick for cycling performance, and now that I've completed a century, most of my riding will be with improving my Baldy time in mind.

I usually work Saturdays, so I had never gone on group rides before this month. Riding in such fine company was a treat beyond compare, and I certainly hope I will have a chance to do so again.

worker4youth

Thanks Jason for that report! It was great to meet you yesterday.

To the rest of the group (and others that may be interested): I will have to wait until tomorrow to upload the data I collected on my GPS device because I left the USB cable at work. But I'll have it all up here tomorrow for you, and a raw GPX file if you'd like.

Chucklehead

awesome. de luz canyon in two or three weeks sound good?

awesome ride report, by the way!

Pico

Thanks again OC for organizing a great ride. Also, a big thanks to my58vw and Mrs. Norsa451 for incredible SAG support. I think everyone had a great time while pushing themselves to their very limits.

Nosra451

Are you having them too? Little memory flashes of high points of the ride?

Here's one...

1955 falling over at 1mph in the parking lot of Palomar Market - Not funny
The "exhaust" sound from 1955 as he remounted his bike - Funny
Four other adjacent riders emit the same "exhaust" sound in quick sucession - really funny
The look on the eldery man's face on the porch of the market as it turned from bike admiration to disgust - PRICELESS

jschen

my58vw

Pico

There were a lot of emissions coming from the group.

jschen

By the way, for the record, this event actually occurred at the Julian Pie Shop. Happily, 1955 appears to be fine aside from a slightly scraped knee. As for the old man who witnessed it all, who knows what kind of mental trauma this may have caused?

Nosra451

How about one more:

Riding with new friends for the first time - Worried
Riding 100 miles in new terrain - Scarry
Heavy traffic-twisty road-no shoulder at 25 mph - Terrified
Blowing front tire while downhill at 45mph setting up for a 90* left hand turn posted at 20 in a group - Mortifing
Mandy on the scene stopped on the small shoulder with pump and tools ready, total time off of the bike, 7 minutes - PRICELESS

Nosra451

My bad-you are right it was the pie shop. Still funny though!

my58vw

[IMG]Mandy on the scene stopped on the small shoulder with pump and tools ready, total time off of the bike, 7 minutes - PRICELESS [/IMG]

Two 2.5 gallon water containers - 5.00 dollars
Apple pie almode - 5 dollars
One smothered steak after the ride - 10 dollars

Seeing Bills face after meeting fate on Bundy Cannon! Priceless!


What a fun day... expecially seeing myself running into the orange trees, nearly busting after eating the gas filled dog./.. smelly for sure!

jschen

Pretty late in the Palomar climb (at perhaps 4800 feet above sea level), some guy approaching me announces his presence with "on your left". Several seconds later, "eventually". A few more seconds later, shows up next to me. We have a good laugh, exchange hellos, and he continues on his way.

Anyone else noticed that the UCI team's females were friendlier than the males? The males say "on your left" or "hello" as they approach and keep on going. At best, they grunt when you reply "hello". The females say "on your left" and return a "hello". One of them also added "great job, keep it up" (yeah right... I was out of the saddle while she glided by seated) at about the 3500 foot level, at which point I retorted "yeah, for another 100 miles or so".

Warblade

Please excuse me for my rudeness, but WHY ON EARTH DID YOU GUYS START SO DAMN EARLY?!?!?!

jschen

10,000 feet of climbing. Regrouping regularly. It can take quite a while under those conditions! We used up every last bit of available daylight. With that much time, it was stressful enough.

1955

There were a couple of "hills" in the 110 mile ride to slow us down and only 10 hours of daylight for a "no drop" fun ride.

1955

Man, I hope no one I REALLY know reads this forum.

Pico

I don't know about you guys, but personally I like waking up at 3:45 in the morning.

ovoleg

I'm more of a late rider...I feel like I am going to work if I have to get up at 7:00

1955

The first one to pass me yelled "look out" just as I was getting up out of the saddle, one completely ignored me when I said "howdy" and the rest were nice enough.

iancurtis

Thrilling reports, guys, you remind me of Hemmingway in his prime. I have a question, jschen, why are none of your subheadings "quitting"?

jschen

Quitting? Well, I did do that. But it really wasn't a major part of my experience. Just a decision made in light of circumstances with my primary objectives on the bike (make it to pie, make it to 100 miles) already achieved. Thus no subheading.

Training for weeks, subheading. Riding through mountainous terrain all for a piece of pie, subheading. Bearing with pushing my performance limits well past anything I've ever done before, subheading. Thinking about nothing other than my experience for an entire day afterward, subheading.

Compared with those, calling it quits while still able to move was just a small part of the experience. But big enough to mention, unlike, say, the few intersections where I was cramping badly enough that I wondered whether I would clip in successfully. (Clearly, I did. Otherwise, those would have been mentioned.)

All that said, I do wish there was more daylight to spare. If I could have gotten through the nasty (road condition-wise) part of the climb in daylight, I would have loved to take a shot at finishing. Maybe some other time.