La Honda road and Skyline

The mountains to the west of Foster City provide plenty of climbing opportunities. This route involves climbing Ralston Ave which is nothing more than a short warm up for the hills ahead.

After reaching Canada road, which is closed off to traffic to give cyclists free access on Sundays, the route heads south until Woodside road. Heading West on Woodside you can opt to tackle Kings Mountain or head straight up La Honda road. I decided to leave Kings for another day and worked my way up La Honda. The view is hidden by trees so there is nothing for it but to put your head down and grind it out for 5 or 6 kilometeres until you reach the junction to Skyline Boulevard where there is a trading station that makes a convenient resting point.

After refilling the water bottle and chatting to a group of riders it was back to climbing again up Skyline. A few more hundred metres of ascending and then then long run down to route 92. The wind was blowing a bit up there which made ascending tricky and the road surface was horrendous. It is not a route that I would choose again.

At the bottom of 92 I turned left and over Bunker a hill for a pleasant descent down Polhemus and Crystal Springs road and home.

After five straight days in the saddle my legs were feeling the strain but it has been an excellent start to training in the New Year and I hope to build on that back in England.

The stats:

• 75.9 km

  DISTANCE

 
• 1,214 m

  ELEVATION (?)

 
• 03:31:37

  MOVING TIME

  
  

Mount Hamilton

After three consecutive mornings of pottering around on minor hills it was time at the weekend to tackle a big ride. I decided to pick a HC category climb near San Jose.
Mount Hamilton is a 30 kilometer climb gaining 1200 metres of elevation.

I took a train down to San Jose and set off through downtown out East towards the foothills. After 10 kilometeres I reached the turn off to the mountain road and the climb started immediately. The first 10 kilometeres of climbing were quite pleasant with some excellent views of San Jose which was now getting smaller. The route then turns inwards and you get the first view of the James Lick Observatory twenty kilometeres in the distance and high up in the hills.

It is a popular route and there were several groups of riders hurtling down the return. There were several flat and downhill sections to give relief to the constant uphill grind. At about 11 kilometeres from the finish the final climb starts and the grade gets a little steeper. I pulled off to the side of the road to take some food in and then set off again on the final push.

The observatory is in constant view around the many twists and turns giving you a reminder of just how much elevation is still to be gained. There is a final sting in the tail as you reach the parking lot and realize there is a steep 200 feet more to the very top.

After a quick tour of the observatory and a few snaps it was back on the bike for the fantastic 30 kilometer descent. There were some rough patches of road to negotiate at speed but also a lot of fabulous new tarmac which made for a smooth and exciting descent. In no time all I was back at the mountain road junction and heading back into San Jose for a flat finish.

It was a fairly tough ride, especially this early in my training schedule when my legs don't yet have the power I would like. But as a taster for what to expect in the Etape it was great. It is sobering though to compare it to the Tormalet and realize that the Tormalet involves a couple of hundred metres more elevation gain in only 20 kilometeres.

I will probably try this ride again in 3 months or so and hope to knock 20 minutes off my time.

The key stats:

• 80.1 km

  DISTANCE

 
• 1,583 m

  ELEVATION (?)

 
• 04:22:30

  MOVING TIME

  
  

Winter training camp

The New Year has started and the training now starts in earnest.

Luckily my regular business trips to California means I can get some serious training in despite it being the middle of winter. The current daytime temperature in the Bay area is between 18 and 22 degrees centigrade.

I arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon and immediately headed over to CyclePath bike rentals in San Mateo (http://www.cyclepathsm.com/rental.php).

I picked up a Leonard carbon racer and booked it out for 9 days and perused the awesome climbs of the surrounding hills.

Wednesday morning I was up before the crack of dawn, due to jet lag, and headed out. This is a golden opportunity to put in some mileage every day for a week and a half. On top of that there are some fantastic hill climbs all around the area.

On Thursday I tackled Ralston Avenue (Cat 4 climb) and an exhilarating descent down Crystal Springs Road - all before breakfast.

Key Stats:

• 35.3 km

  DISTANCE

 
• 380 m

  ELEVATION (?)

 
• 01:38:11

  MOVING TIME

  
  

Three impediments to training

Laziness, injury and weather.

Winter training is always going to be patchy and subject to the whims of the weather. From painful experience I always avoid going out on the road when there is a likelihood of ice patches.

The wind is a tricky one to gauge. I set off on a ride earlier in the week amid wind gusts of 25mph and above. On the A roads with large trucks adding to the wind shear the fear factor far outweighs any other considerations. After a mile or so of being buffeted I turned around and headed down a more minor road where I could have the entire width to myself. I managed to put in thirty five km around the country lanes in relative safety before the heavens opened up and I straggled home.

Wotten Under Edge Hill

I set out in fairly blustery conditions with head winds over 20mph and sudden gusts beyond that. The first 20K were very heavy going and I had to grip the bars quite tightly to keep the bike straight.

The route travels through Sherston, along to Leighterton, over the A46 onto a small road up into Tresham. This is at the top of the Severn escarpment and the wind was blowing hard so it was a struggle to keep the bike upright. There follows a steep descent during which I had to brake frequently all the way down as the road was wet and muddy and the wind gusts were quite dangerous. The route goes through Alderley up a medium hill and then down sharply into Wotton Under Edge.

The hill is just over 2K and the average gradient is advertised as 10%. Apart from the bottom section though it was not that bad and I actually enjoyed the ascent. It was certainly not as bruising as Selsley Hill and the wind was not a factor.

Over the top it joins the main A road into Tetbury which is usually a fast ride for 10K or so. Today though there were a few exposed sections where the cross wind was quite fierce and I had to grip the bars tight and try and keep steady. It was especially disconcerting when lorries drove past and I was caught by their wind shear.

Overall a very satisfying ride and one that I could easily knock 15 or 20 minutes off in a few months. - http://app.strava.com/rides/2617850

Key Stats

• 48.9 km

  DISTANCE

 
• 524 m

  ELEVATION

 
• 02:03:53

  MOVING TIME

Weak Excuses

Being of a lazy disposition means that when one part of my brain comes up with a reason to get out and train another part will come up with five reasons why not to.

This Sunday was no exception. The night before was my sister's fortieth birthday party. A more disciplined me would have cut myself off after two drinks and left before midnight. The lazy me however continued on until 3am.

The next morning I blearily informed a training partner that I was begging off due to a sore head. This was valid but if I absolutely had to be out there I could have done it.

That kind of behaviour and excuse making won't wash in three months time but my indolent reasoning was that I still had seven months to make up the difference.

Monday was an unremarkable training ride except for it being the first time I have used Strava - http://app.strava.com/rides/2580969.  It looks like a great tool especially with the segments that pit you against yourself and others.

Key stats:

• 37.3 km

  DISTANCE

   
• 278 m

  ELEVATION

   
• 01:28:01

  MOVING TIME

Selsley Hill

Living on the edge of the Cotswolds means that there is great access to some serious hills on the Severn Escarpment. Three of my favourites are Frocester Hill, Wotton Under Edge Hill and my personal nemesis Selsley Hill.

Selsley Hill is the shorter but by far the most brutal. I was surprised to discover that it was only one mile long. I could have sworn it was at least five.

This ride is a 35 mile loop starting in Malmesbury and winding through the Tetbury and Avening before descending into Stroud. There is little warning before you are suddenly climbing a 10%+ grade up Selsley Hill. About one third of the way up and every part of your body is in pain when off to the left is a welcoming flat entrance to the Bell pub. That is usually a good place to collapse and think about ditching the bike, having a pint and calling the wife to come pick you up.

The climb continues up steeply to a cattle grid after which it levels out at about 6% for another half mile.

On this occasion I was in extreme agony by the time the pub came into view. As it was only 10am stopping here was not an option so I continued on while begging my heart to pump more blood through those sclerotic arteries furred up by years of chip butties and cheese burgers wrapped in bacon. It would not oblige and I was forced to pull over to the side of the road just short of the cattle grid.

Bent over wheezing and gasping I tried to pretend to passing drivers that I could have made it up but there was something very pressing I had to attend to concerning my wheels.

Trying to ride up Selsley Hill is a great way to get you to question your abilities. Obviously if I could not make it up a one mile hill, steep as it is, I was not going to make it up the Tormalet in the middle of a 200K ride in 35 degree weather. I have been here before though and after 4 months of riding I was able to sail up this hill. Ok, not exactly sail, more pitch and list.

My target is to do hill repeats on Selsley Hill by March.

Ride Stats: 32.43 miles in 2:06:12 - http://runkeeper.com/user/351292518/activity/61694130