Off the Back Again.....: 2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Cycling and Health - Helpful If You Can Stay Up!

Here we are at the cusp of a new year and it's not quite how I had envisioned ending my 2018 cycling calendar! I was pretty much on track to get my second year of cycling 10,000 miles, when I had the bike crash of my life. Spoiler alert.....I'll be back! But this is a bittersweet way to end the year. Most of us Northern California cyclists were cut short of riding opportunities for a couple of weeks due to bad smoke from the November fires up in Paradise. Granted, this inconvenience was small when compared to the plight of those poor folks. But after the air (literally) cleared, I was excited to get back on the bike and shoot for that distance goal. And then it happened November 28th.

Here's a short version. I broke my pelvis when I fell on a wet corner descending Wildcat Canyon Road in Berkeley. I had ridden this road for 30+ years with no incidents. 1000 times? Maybe! But this time, my front wheel disappeared out from under me and I hit the deck hard with my left hip before I had a chance to react. The doctor said it was as if my (uninjured) femur acted like a pile driver into my pelvis. Crack! A buddy, Dave B was with me and said it didn't appear that I had been going that fast. Residual water? Maybe oil? Loose gravel? I never hit my head, but don't remember anything that tossed me on the ground. Except for gravity. And I wasn't getting up on my own. So, off I went to the hospital in an ambulance for 9 days to repair my pelvis with a stainless steel strap and 7 screws. With this hardware and time, I'll hopefully be able to return to full strength over the coming months.

As the new year comes, it's been almost 4 weeks since the surgery and about halfway to when I can walk without crutches. They say only low weight bearing (20%) for 8 weeks to allow for the healing to occur. It's not a matter of my pre-accident fitness, but the time that it takes for bones to heal. So, patience is what I need!

Good news is that I seem to be healing at a quick pace. I've had some in-house PT and they've recently allowed me to start spinning on a bike trainer and rowing some on the erg machine. And that was only 3 weeks post-surgery and before I can walk. So, that's got to help speed up my healing. If there is a silver lining to this challenge, it's that I've been very fortunate in many ways. Friends have come out of the woodwork to visit, call, offer help and words of encouragement. My wife has been there every step of the way, helping me do things I couldn't do myself and she's doing everything (I mean EVERYTHING) around the house, since I'm useless with my immobility. And the surgeon (a cyclist!) is well respected and all of the other health care folks have been very knowledgeable and helpful. I'm home and hobbling around with some dexterity, if those two words can be used in the same sentence! So I'm thankful for that. We've got two big cycling events in the late spring and early summer of 2019 (Santa Barbara and Spain) and I don't intend to miss them! I've got these goals and will find the motivation to get back to where I was before. And maybe next year, I'll have another 10,000 mile year!

Ok, so that's where we are right now. No more tears. I had originally intended to write about how health issues seem so bright for cyclists. At our age, they are a constant topic of conversation, no matter the demographic. We often puff our chests about how we cyclists are the healthiest subpopulation. Are we realistic? Or just as subject to afflictions like others?

I tend to think we're better off, but certainly not immune. The truth is somewhere in the middle. There are plenty of cases for cyclists of parts "wearing out" and heart issues arising that might result from overuse or just plain pushing too hard, like A-fib. But I also often recall a story about John, the head of my old cycling club back in CT who was still riding at the age of 72. That used to seem so old, but it's getting close for me! And it seems so common for older guys to be riding nowadays. Maybe cycling can add 10-15 years of healthy days compared to sedentary folks? I recall a comment from a guy in FL (Carl) about "old people" He said "when riding down here, watch out for those old people". I asked how old is old? He said he was 78 and still riding 180 miles/wk. So much older than him! It's all relative, right?

I'm certainly slowing down with age, but cycling is my addiction, my drug, my fun. Even with the occasional back, foot or pelvis issue, I'm not filling the pill box like so many 60+ year old folks. I'd rather be taking the time to ride my bike than fill that weekly dispenser.

Bottom line - Keep riding, have fun, stay healthy. Keep everything in moderation. And of course, keep the rubber side down! I had some great rides this past year, mixing it up with the Moots on both the dirt and the pavement, riding lots of miles and feeling a bit invincible, as least as far as distance (not speed!). I had great fun riding to Morro Bay in February with Mark and Bill, riding 184 miles of dirt on the C&O TowPath in April, on the Memorial Day Ride to Santa Barbara in May, riding with Frank and John down to San Simeon, and numerous 50-100 mile rides. I'm grateful to have been that healthy. I did end the year prematurely and on crutches, but still had 8815 miles, so that ain't bad! Right now while healing, it's mentally tough to look outside on a sunny day and not be able to go enjoy it on the Moots. But I know it's a temporary condition.....I'll be back soon and hopefully as healthy as ever.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Dirt, Distance and Downright Gorgeous Views! (Recent Adventures)

I had this crazy idea of trying to experience a unique bike trip or ride each month and while not completely successful, the past couple of months on the bike have been fun! Here's a quick rundown of three of them....the C&O Towpath, this year's Memorial Day Ride (MDR) and the Lake Tahoe Flume Trail. With pictures as proof!

1. C&O TowPath Trip (April 30 - May 1, 2018)

While on a family trip to DC, I planned and took a two day trip along the entire length of the C&O Towpath that follows the Potomac River for 184.5 miles from Washington, DC to Cumberland, MD. After starting in Virginia, the trail hugged the Maryland side of the river (opposite West Virginia) most of the route. And it's all dirt, which the Moots just loved. (Me too!)

The Towpath, which is a national park, has a lot of history. Being from the 19th century, it served as a transit alternative to the sometimes rough Potomac River, which ended in DC. It offered the ability to transport cargo on a canal parallel to the river with a set of locks (~75 of them) without the risk of damage from rough river conditions. There was quite a bit of civil war era history along the towpath, including mills, homes where the lock operators lived, and a couple of factories. And at least one was still in the same family as back when they were operating. Unfortunately, most in terrible shape and deteriorating. While not currently operable and sometimes completely dry, the canal and its towpath offer a pretty, car-free hiking and cycling area. So, that's where I rode! I split the distance into two days. It was fairly cool weather and windy, but that kept the sometimes muddy sections dry. I rode 118 miles on day one (including about 15 miles from Alexandria to the start in Georgetown. Then I finished it up on day 2 with 94 miles. The aspects of beauty included the quiet and solitude without cars. Given the time of year and chilly days, there were very also few cyclists or hikers. I basically had the whole route to myself!

Although camping is freely available along the towpath and many do so, I found a cheap hotel right off the trail in Williamsport, MD. It allowed me to travel light and not worry about weather. I did the trip one way, so I rented a car for the return to DC on day 2. I rode a total of over 18 hours and drove back in 2.5 hours. The Moots really held up with no mechanicals and only a slow tire leak at the very end, which I didn't even discover until rolling in to get the rental car! No rain, no flats, no crowds, no cars.......but lots of fun! Sublime.

Here are a few details of the trip.

- There were a few cyclists close to DC as I started, but my guess is only about a dozen total over the whole 184 miles. Most had double panniers and seemed to be camping.

- I met up with my friend, Bill from Berkeley (and Annapolis) who met me at about mile 35. He planned to join me for a bit and ride maybe 20 miles out and back to his car. But it was chilly (high 40s) and so he didn't really last as long as I thought he might. A quick roll, a rest and then I was off on my own for the rest of the trip.

- Temps started out at a chilly 43 degrees on the first morning in DC and never really hit 50. On day 2, it ranged from 50-75 degrees. But it was clear and sunny. While the wind was present both days, it calmed down and warmed up and was much more pleasant on the second day. It seemed to me that the wind was whipping down the river valley into my face the whole time. Perhaps I should ride the other way if I do this again!

- The elevation gain was only 2500' over the 200+ miles. And it wasn't rolling; it was just a slight uphill for most of it. So if I rode the opposite direction, it could have been downhill with a tailwind? Mmm....

- I made out ok with food by stashing bananas, a few bars and a couple of bags of gorp in my pack. Water was readily available at the many handpumps at the campgrounds, which were every 5-10 miles. While a little funky tasting, the signs on the pumps said the water was treated with iodine, so safe to drink. I did stop for real food in small towns once each day. But I was fine with my on board stash of calories!

- The river waters were ALWAYS moving, but the canal rarely ever. In fact, the canal was often dry. There were at least two real dams, some rapids and even a waterfall (which I never saw). And as mentioned above, many locks (~75). Close to DC, there were some rock outcrops with rapids, a favorite place for kayaks. That area was very pretty and there were plenty of hikers out there, as it was a Sunday morning.

- There were areas with tons of small and medium sized turtles sunning themselves in the canal on half-submerged logs. Very cool! I tried to photograph them, but as soon as I stopped...plop plop plop into the water they would go. Turtles aren't as slow as it would seem. These critters seemed to be most prevalent in the last 50 miles.

- The trail surfaces were all unpaved, but differed slightly.....some more packed than others, different sized gravel, a little soft sand, some grass and the occasional (I was lucky!) mud puddle. They apparently can get pretty gnarly after big rains. I think I must have pinch flatted my rear tire on some larger gravel the second day. Thank goodness for Mr. Tuffy tire liners for saving me the rest of the time!

- Back to some bike details. I replaced the rear wheel just before leaving, since I discovered the old wheel was about to pull apart from the spokes! I used my Mavic Open Pro from another bike and it was great. I used a 32c tire on the rear (the biggest allowed on the Mavic) and a 38c tire on the front to handle any sand and that seemed to work. I had a frayed front derailleur cable, which I should have replaced. But given the flat ride, I only had to shift and use the small chainring once the whole trip! That was on the Paw Paw tunnel detour, which was really too steep to ride anyway. Typically, I was in just two gears (50x25, 50x28) for the whole ride.

- The Paw Paw tunnel was supposed to be a highlight, but was closed for repairs. It is totally dark and about a mile long. Its purpose was to help the canal users avoid a small mountain. But due to repairs, I had to climb OVER it. The detour was amazing with about 2-3 miles of single track dirt. Up was about 1/2 mile at 15-20%. Down was more gradual and well over a mile. And it had a beautiful view of the Potomac at the top!

- Once over the Paw Paw climb, I was getting hungry, so ventured over the border to West Virginia for the first time....to the nearby town of Paw Paw. The town was very "Appalachian", with lots of pickups, along with camo and overalls on the men. It seemed that the little store/gas station I visited was the only thing going on in town. But I was able to get a little sustenance, scarfing down some Gatorade and yummy "fake" meat sticks....3 for $1!

- It wasn't a fast trip, as I got there in 10 hours on day one (118 miles) and 9 hrs on day two (94 miles). But there was a lot of picture taking and stopping for food did slow me down, so who cares?? What a great experience!

2. The Memorial Day Ride or MDR (May 24-27, 2018)

This is the annual ride from Campbell to Santa Barbara, the 4 day ride that's been happening for 29 years now. (This was my 19th year.) While it was as fun as ever, I had one regret that I'll have to correct in the future. Last year, a few of us rode a fun dirt section that I did again this year (Cypress Mountain Rd.). The Moots is the perfect bike for this and the quietude and remoteness is something I really like. There was another dirt section that some folks did that I opted out of for a couple of (lame) reasons. I didn't want to miss some other good riding (Harris Grade) and one of the standard rest stops, which included the final rest stop of the whole trip at Gaviota Pass. And I felt like I wanted to be around the majority of the riders for the finish. Well...it seemed like the alternative over Refugio Rd. was a hell of a lot of fun and now I'm sorry I missed out! It goes across Foxen Canyon Road and through Los Olivos. And then after going through Solvang, you ride the tough 3 mile dirt climb, followed by a 6 mile paved descent back to Highway 101 at Refugio Beach. My "adventure gene" apparently was sleeping that day, so I missed out. Next year for sure!!

Again, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend with about 339 miles of riding in 4 days. Although it was supposed to be the last year, there are rumors that there will be another MDR. If so, I'm going up Refugio Road!

3. The Flume Trail (June 9, 2018)

While not very long, any ride on Lake Tahoe is bound to be a winner for scenery. And the Flume Trail didn't disappoint! I had cross country skied on parts of this course, but the flume section was new and had amazing views of the lake! Going up there to Tahoe with Caryn for a crew event gave me a chance to take my bike and explore. And why not give it a go on the Flume Trail!?

It was a very windy and cool day, never getting above 60 degrees at lake level. But dressing properly made it a comfy ride. As my strava ride title said: "If you don't like single track on the edge of a cliff, wind, hills and sand, you are missing out. Flume Trail Ride!!". How true! I latched onto a small cycling group and rode with them out of Incline Village. But about 10 miles down the road at Spooner Lake, I got onto the dirt and basically had the trail to myself until the end of the 15 mile trail. Climbing out from the parking lot, where we had cross country skied many times, it was a wide fore trail, but had some steep sections. Leading up to the end of the real climb (to 8200' of elevation), it was about 20% gradient! I did ride the whole thing, but in sections with many short rest stops, catching my breath and regaining some strength. Once up there, I saw a bit of remaining snow in the shade and then descended down to Martlette Lake and off into parts unknown to me. This was the Flume Trail.

The road around the lake was wide, smooth and fairly flat. In fact, I saw a worker's truck driving along, albeit slowly. Other than that, I had the place to myself. Once reaching a dam, I was at an open gap in the hills where the wind was whipping through at what seemed to me to be 50+ mph! It was one of those days where if you held out your bike into the wind, it lifted up parallel to the ground. I carried the bike for most of that short section. Soon after that, I was on the actual Flume Trail, hugging the side of the mountain and riding on a single track trail with a gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe below! The wind wasn't nearly as bad up there, but when it blew, it did so into the uphill side of the mountain. That's good, because if it blew the other way, I would have been a goner over a huge drop-off! I only saw one other cyclist up there, going fairly slow and taking pics like me. The general slope was downward along the actual Flume Trail and was narrow, but easy. Then it dropped precipitously for the last 4 miles, probably averaging 10% or more down. Here was the toughest part for me, not only due to the slope but also the trail, which had turned much more sandy. It was a real challenge for my 32c tires! Then it was back to civilization on Tunnel Creek Road not far from Ponderosa Ranch and the Diamond Peak ski area. After a few miles on Lakeshore Blvd, the solitude of the trail was shattered by having to return to Hwy 28 for the ride back to Kings Beach. Those damn trucks don't always share the road! But I did it....beautiful views, empty trails and sunny skies. Yeah!

4. A First...City Share Bikes (June 14, 2018)

I'm not certain this qualifies as an adventure, but bear with me. I'd seen city share bikes in many places, but never tried one. Leave it to an opportunity in Kona to change that! The city has only three stations with a total of about 50 bikes, spread out over only 3 miles. But we had to try one! We tried to sign up for a 5 hour membership, thinking I'd use it a few times, but the system was down. A phone call to the number posted on the kiosk brought out a nice woman, Tina. She couldn't troubleshoot the system successfully, so just comped us two bikes for the day! Wow! Nice way to get some willing customers. As it turns out, we only rode about 7 miles out and back to a beach along the waterfront. The bike was heavy (42 pounds), the gearing too low (3 of them) and the riding options limited. But it was fun anyway! And now I can say I've rented a city share bike.

What's my next adventure?? I've been adding to my bucket list, which lists the Canal du Midi and RAID Pyrennean in France and now the Altravesur trail in the south of Spain. Not to mention the Camino Santiago or maybe a U.S. cross country trip someday. But for now with a vacation looming in CT, I'm going to try and ride some dirt there with the loop called the "Meshomasic 121k Dirt Populaire" with friends Eric and Chuck. Hope we can make it work and then keep one of the more exotic ones on the not-too-distant horizon!

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Group Riding - C'est Compliqué!

So, how do your group rides pan out? Are they competitive, social, diplomatic? Can it be possible to have all three of these dynamics? Well.....Maybe it depends on how many people are on your ride.

- If it's only you and one other person, it's usually easy. If I'm faster, I stay behind and chat. If I'm slower, I hope the other person takes the diminutive role and just rides socially. But that's not always the case! Two of my occasional riding buddies are faster and once out front (normally in the first few minutes of the ride), they get ahead and never look back. Is that proper?? Why not be social?

- What if it's three people? If I'm the fastest, the same rules apply: let them lead and at least keeps a couple of us together. If I'm mid-speed (not fastest, not slowest), I hope to keep up with the fast person, but feel like I can't leave the slower person behind. So, I end up in no man's land and don't get the talk to anyone! The best solution is to ride with the slower person and let the fast guy just hang out there alone. Hopefully, they'll figure it out and back off. Or perhaps they don't want to talk. (Which leads me to ask - Why bother riding together anyway?)

- Finally, what happens when there are more than three or a small peloton? It's unusual, but fun when you can all stick together, draft and make it a fast(er) ride. But more often than that, it gets individually competitive and many are on our own. But hopefully, we regroup a few times. If you're the slowest (I've been there!), sometimes what happens is that you eventually roll up to the regroup and BOOM!.....the group takes off as soon as you get there! Ugh! The guy who needs a break the most gets none at all.

Bottom line: All rides are good. But group rides? C'est compliqué!

Monday, February 19, 2018

Bigly Miles.....& More

Hey Cycling Fans! There's been lots going through my head lately, as retirement has given me time to ponder. As well as ride, of course! Let's start with the riding highlights, since it's been awhile. Big news is that in 2017, I reached my all time annual high and cool milestone of 10,000 miles ridden! I always thought that number was for the truly obsessed, but I guess I'm now part of that club. I always thought it would be cool to say I'd attained that goal, but didn't really start out the year thinking I'd get there. But lo and behold, a couple of hours per day and maybe one big ride on the weekend gets you 200 miles/week. Add to that an ability to choose ride times and avoid any bad weather (and the apparent return of our California drought in the fall), and there you have it. 10,105 miles for 2017!

10,000 miles for the year!

You know, as I get older, I seem to be happily losing any need for competition. Speed can be fun once in awhile. But I think I mentioned earlier that those Tuesday night killer rides are no longer much fun, since I'm usually living up to my blog name (off the back again). And shit, what do I have to prove?? This is supposed to be about enjoying oneself on he bike, not feeling nauseous. So, I go out there and get to ride 15-20 hours/week and also have fun! Why make every ride a race?? Another reality check is the recent stories from friends and the press about fit people still being prone to heart issues (specifically, A-Fib. This makes me think twice about pushing it too hard. I don't need to go there. Sure, I'll push on occasion. But racing, watching the clock every ride, pushing for strava segment PRs, trying to catch guys 30 years younger....Who needs it? One would think this new goal of 10,000 miles was part of that obsession. But it really wasn't....it just sort of fell into place with my schedule of riding. Kinda cool.

So now, a few words about recent and future fun rides, as well as some random thoughts!

- I'm thinking of some overnight "bike-packing" rides (I bought a tube pack and rack). I need to mix it up a bit, and this just might be the answer.
- I'm still enjoying the retirement bike, the "Moots" CX bike (bought used in Oct 2016) and even took it on its first plane trip to CT/NH last summer, exploring some dirt with friends.
- We visited friends in Boulder this past July and got to see what everyone says is some great riding. They were right. And the hiking was great too! But we are pretty lucky where we live in the Bay Area too. With less elevation and no real winter. That's ok with me!
- Washed out roads from the Winter 2017 storms forced me to explore more local dirt. That included local parks (Briones, Redwood, Chabot, Tilden), and also the Marin Headlands and the American River Trail out of Sacramento. They aren't all easy, but they are quiet and a nice change from the road. Maybe the desire to hit the trails is another old guy thing?? That's ok....mixing it up with cars can suck. As for the debate about whether the app "Waze" is sending more cars to cycling favorite roads is something for another entry: is it happening? Or am I just getting more fed up and intolerant of cars?
- My "bigly" recent ride was a 5-day car assisted ride from Half Moon Bay to Morro Bay with 2 friends. We shared driving to make it work. The weather was impeccable for February (unfortunately, we're in for another drought). We had scenic and very quiet back roads with low key riding of about 50-60 mile days. Santa Cruz. Carmel. King City. Paso Robles. Morrow Bay. I could do this again!
- I mentioned at the top of this post that retirement has given me plenty of time to ponder and think about things. I can't believe it's been almost two years for me (WoW!). And there's no going back, as I do love it. But since settling into this new mode of living, I'm starting to realize how much time I actually do piss away. I can honestly say I "have all the time in the world" to do things, to procrastinate, or to just surf the web. But maybe my old ways haven't changed that much, in that I think I've got to spend it more judiciously. I do have fun riding my bike 15-20 hours a week. I've succeeded in getting myself back into radio station KALX's mainstream. And I do my small part to volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week. But I do piss away a lot of time. Many projects I wrote down haven't been touched since retirement. I need to read more books. I could go to some museums or join a speaker series. I need to clean out old "stuff", like what I brought home from the office, but haven't looked at in those 2 years. And perhaps I could help more around the house!?! Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. But there are things I want to accomplish. In any case, there is one thing we can agree on. There is no time for work anymore!
- "Bigly"? Yep, a word associated with our 45th president. He is one "bigly" a-hole, terrible in almost all ways that I can think. An unmitigated disaster with no moral compass. If all that matters to you is slightly less taxes, you're part of the problem. One year since inauguration and everything I find socially or politically important seems to be on his list to overturn. Disgusting is all I'll say. Now back to cycling.
- SO....I'd like to try and fulfill a new year's resolution to take at least one "special ride" each month of 2017. We've got a short trip to Solvang planned in March and I've got my eye on a two day ride out of Washington, DC on the C&O Canal Towpath trail for the end of April. If that happens, I'll definitely report back! It's about 185 miles of dirt from downtown DC out to Cumberland, MD, with a return trip to DC via train or rental car. I've just got to detach from a family visit for two days. We'll see!
- I've been checking out longer, supported trips, but can't really settle on anything. Maybe the Route 66 trip? Or someday, cross-country?? But they are all so damn expensive! If we could only get a driver for one of those trips like down to Morro Bay. Also, my friend Jeff is always tempting me with his fabulous cycling trips to "must-go" places....Tuscany and Mallorca from this past year. Then there is a dream to cross France from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through the Pyrenees (the "RAID"). Hmmm....so many trips, so little time.
- Repeating what I did last year, there will be a trip to visit family in FL in April that will include some local Central Florida riding with the local club and the 4-day Memorial Day ride to Santa Barbara. I also want to take the Moots back to CT and NH in July. So, the year is shaping up pretty good!

Check back for more reports on those future rides. But for now, here are some favorite pics from the past 6 months of riding. If you got this far, thanks for reading. Please, feel free to send any comments. And get out there and ride!