Tales of a Novice Cyclist

I did it! Up to the top of Rock Store in under 20 minutes! 19 minutes 47 seconds or so.  Yeah! My heart rate was almost 180 during the last 5 minutes of the climb.  Huffing and puffing so hard that I thought my heart was going to come out of my throat.  Not a good feeling.. but I did it!  I think the key was that I was really conscious about pulling up on my pedal strokes instead of mashing down all the time. This helped me spin faster and climb up the hill more efficiently, I think.  I also took it really easy on my warm up to the climb.  Ahhh….  Not sure if I can do it again in under 20 minutes. Well.. maybe.  Next goal will be to try to do it again. Hopefully, it’ll be easier the next time around. =)

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Another scorcher today, but I’m determined to climb up Rock Store in under 20 minutes, DAMN IT!  And today wasn’t the day…  I tried… but didn’t make it.  I started my ride at 6:30 in the morning - perfect temperature. Wore my new Specialized shorts - which btw, are pretty comfy. But I think they are just as comfy as my Giordanas and Zoots. Eh!  Doing the same route 3 days in a row at the same time, you meet some of the same people. I met Brian, David, and Frank.  No women.  Many of the female cyclists that I’ve met on this route has been super-serious.  =\  Where’s the fun and the jokes, ladies?  But I guess that’s how they roll, and they can keep rolling. ha!

I started my climb today at a pretty good pace, and was thinking that maybe I’ll be able to get up to the top in under 20 minutes.  Few guys passed me, of course, as they always do. But I managed to keep one of them in my site for…1/3 of the hill at which point I started to bonk. UGH! Out came the gu and several water guzzles while I tried not to swerve around the road.   I actually was able to see the top with about 6 minutes left til the 20 min mark, and thought that I could make my under-20min goal.  I pushed it up the last few hundred meters, heart rate went up from 160 to 175, huffing and puffing, stood up and pedaled as fast as I could, but no cigar. D’OH!@#$!$$#!#@!!  Sigh…. David was at the top and told me that if I did the hill 2x/week, it would become easier and I’d become quicker going up.  I’ll do it 3x/week and see if I can climb up it under 20 minutes in 2-3 weeks.  We headed out to Hidden Valley and back instead of the beach since it would have been too hot by the time we headed back over the hill.  Not to mention, I would have noodle legs by the end of this ride since I haven’t done the long distance since I got sick.

I got home just before 10am to avoid being cooked out in the sun today.  I had semi-noodle legs by the time I got home.  I probably would need to work back up to 50-60 miles per ride again… =(

3000 ft of climbing today, 38 miles, 2 hours 45 min of riding, top speed at 34mph down Decker (waaa-hoooo!!).

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My planned 6am Rock Store ride became a 7am Rock Store ride.  And the heat was starting already!  The ride that normally takes me 1 hour and 45 min took 2 hours and 30 minutes this morning.  I drank all my water, ate my apple, a packet of gu in the 90 degree heat.  Good thing that I got back before 10am.  I was steaming by the time I got back.  The ride was good though, so maybe I’ll ride the same route again tomorrow but really at 6am tomorrow morning…

I bought a pair of Specialized shorts today from Cynergy Cycles.  Those shorts are normally $155! Dang… I paid $100 for them on sale, still cringing… but they seemed nice.  They’ve gotta be nice right? Afterall, with cycling shorts, you get what you pay for.  I’ll try them out tomorrow… I think these are the most expensive pair of shorts that I own. Ha!

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Hot as HELL again today! It was a sauna.  Seriously!  It’s supposed to reach 100 degrees by 10am tomorrow. It looks like another 6am ride to Rock Store and back tomorrow morning to try to beat the heat. I’m checking out Cynergy Cycle’s Anniversary Sale tomorrow after the ride.  Found these nice Specialized arm/leg warmers that I’m tempted to get.  Yes, it’s too hot for it, but I’ll need it in the fall/winter, alright?!?

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RL called me at 5:15am.  “Wake up,” she said. “See you at Bad Ass Coffee at 6. Click”.  At 5:30am, I finally rolled out of bed.  Literally, rolled out and slipped into my shorts and jersey. No washing the face, brushing the teeth, brushing my hair, nuthin’,  Ha! Who would know, right?  It’s not like I walk around with makeup on my face anyway.

4 of us, RL, her hubby, Brendan, and I, climbed up Rock Store at 6am. Yes, 6am. That Brendan is too fast.  I just said “bub-bye” as he whizzed by me.  I took my time, kept my own pace.  Finished the route with a great descent down Decker, and finished in an hour and 45.  We finished just as the the heat started rising.

That 6am ride is pretty darn nice. Nice temp, not too hot and not too cold.  I think I just may have to do it about tomorrow… and Saturday… and maybe Sunday too before the heat. =)  No riding in 100 degree heat for me…

Gorgeous views again today. And of course, no pictures…. =\

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I zipped home from work so that I could get a bike ride in. I decided to start from my place and ride to Rock Store, descend down Decker and back home. It was warm, but not unbearable. Filled 2 full bottles of water and a couple of Gu packets and I was off!

Gorgeous day today. I rode really hard… Probably because I couldn’t stand that I threw up on Rock Store on Saturday… I think that was the fastest that I’d climbed Rock Store. I was huffing and puffing by the time I got to the top because I was trying to push as fast as I could for the last 500 meters… Still didn’t make it under 20 minutes though. DOH! Dang it, I’m slow! Sigh… I’ll just keep training on that hill and hopefully, I’ll be able to make it up to the top under 20 minutes. Soon, I hope?

I also noticed that on my way down Decker, my GPS read -15%.. but only for a really short distance…. tempted to try the climb… maybe in a couple more weeks when I’m feeling more up to it…

On my way back, I saw the biggest spider I’d ever seen in my life. I almost ran over it as it was crossing the road. Big, Black, FURRY. Taratula, I think. Gross! The size of my hand. Serious. I screamed out a yelp, swerved around it (thank goodness there were no cars on the other side), and continued on toward Westlake. Yes, NO PICTURES. I was going too fast to stop and take a picture of the creepy crawler. Plus, the road was too narrow for me to stop anyways. But next time. For reals…

Got back just before dark at 8pm. Good thing it stayed light later… Gorgeous views of the mountain range, sky, and sunset. YES, NO PICTURES… Next time, for REALS! OKAY?

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Met up with RL today for a run out to Hidden Valley and back. I passed up her car and didn’t see her, so I figured I’d just go out on my own and come back. It was a beautiful day, and warm. Lots of horses out on the pastures. I’ve never heard so many of them heeah-ing. Is that how that sound? I looked at the hill at Potrero and decided to go back for RL and possibly do it on my 2nd time back. But RL had been doing hills all morning so was pooped. On our way back, RL and I sprinted on a straight-away, biggest gear, sprint all the way. YEAH! She was keeping up and definitely stronger. =)

I’ll do the hills on my next run. Hopefully, I won’t bonk out and throw up like yesterday… No Cytomax this time… maybe just a Nuun tablet.

I also took my bike to the shop to get adjusted. I keep sliding forward on my seat. Don’t know why… So B-man angled the saddle up half a notch.. hopefully that will solve the problem. I will see on my next ride… Oh! and I also bought these great Giordana Silverline shorts - ultracomfy around the waist. Cute… oh,.. and a black Pearl Kodiak jacket for paragliding/biking, a Castelli shirt that I think I’ll return,…… Every time I go into the bike shop, I spend too much money… Shorts, shirt, bike polish, socks, jacket, etc… sigh… But! I like my purchases… =) Must stop accumulating so much gear and gear accessories… BTW, disclaimer: this isn’t my actual butt… I wish…! This picture is just a stock photo. =\  Maybe in a few months? hah!

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2 weeks off from biking and I can really feel the difference in the weight gain! I think it all congregated around my belly and the jello butt that I think I’ve developed from sitting on my butt all day at the office 5 days/week.  Sigh… More motivation to keep biking and as often as I can.

I think I’m riding another century in August - the Cool Breeze Century that will be local. So I can’t slack….!

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So, today was my first day back on my bike since I’ve been sick. Instead of riding with the BBKings this morning which I expected would had killed me from the 1 hour Mulholland climb back up from the beach, I decided to ride with Agoura this morning and take it easy?! I decided to ride the long route since I wanted to get 100 miles in today and tomorrow. (Ha! I laugh at this thought now…) Rock Store to Decker to Hidden Valley over Portrero then back to start. Uhhh……right…!

I started with the group and kept up just fine. I was actually surprised that I was able to keep up. Not the last one this time surprisingly! I was even feeling good about myself - having taken 2 weeks off from biking, then first day back, I was able to keep up with the group. We even hit the Rock Store climb and I felt good at the bottom of the hill. I continued to drink my water and my Cytomax mix (a new one for me… I was out of my Nuun tablets, so decided to try this powder). Then just after the first 8% grade turn about 1/3 of the way up, I started to bonk! What the…. my calves started to feel like there were needles poking them and I started feeling lightheaded, so I got off my bike, then… UGH! I tossed my cookies over the side railing. Actually, my oatmeal and blackberries that I had for breakfast. First thought = WTF… I’ve done this hill gazillion times, I shouldn’t be bonking, much less throwing up from climbing this hill!

So, I sat on the side of the road for a few minutes trying to get myself back together. Another cyclist stopped to ask if I needed anything. I told him to tell the group ahead at the top that I was turning back because I just threw up. I texted RL to tell her that I was turning back, then descended back down. About 15 minutes later, the law prof that started the ride with me came back down to check on me. And he told me that the guy who cllimbed up to tell the group that I was turning back told them that I was “on the side of the road, throwing up with ‘morning sickness’”. Ha! Very funny, considering that is impossible!

Now I’m home and trying figure out what exactly made me throw up. Could it be that I haven’t ridden in 2 weeks and Rock Store was just too hard of a climb? I didn’t think so… Could it be the Cytomax mix that I was sipping (that stuff is really sweet, btw)? Could it be that I didn’t eat enough for dinner last night? Combination of everything? I want to say that it was the combination of Cytomax and not eating enough last night… but who knows. Before I got sick, I was actually considering climbing up Decker from the Westlake side, because I had done an 18% grade at Cold Canyon while on my ride down Piuma a few weeks ago. With all the riding that I was doing, I was feeling confident enough to push it up Decker. Well… Not anymore… My Cytomax packets are now in the trash can, and I’m eating a bowl full of pasta and tofu immediately… Maybe I can do an easy ride tomorrow morning with RL.. maybe go up Portrero.

Sigh… I guess I’ll have to start building my endurance back up… again. Very frustrated that the Rock Store hill kicked my butt this morning. I will be back very soon…

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So, I’ve now been off my bike for 2 weeks? UGH.. I feel like a whale.  After coming home from work, I’ve been just staring at my bike.  Then a couple of scratchy coughs… Then right back into bed with my laptop.  Today, I actually felt better - only coughed about 10 times? X-P

Contemplated going to 24hr fitness for a jog on the treadmill, but never made it this evening… Maybe tomorrow morning… If not, I’ll try to get back on my bike after work.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  Hopefully Maybe?

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