Last year we were able to bike to see two of the stages of the Tour of California but this year there was only stage 4 that offered that chance.  It was going to be a hill top finish at the top of Sierra Road.  There is always a bike club party near the bottom of the climb, at a member’s house, but this year we decided to watch things near the top.  We drove to San Jose and parked a few miles away from the start of the climb, then made our way up the hill.   Still recovering from an illness didn’t help with this tough climb.  It seemed to go on forever but we finally made it to the top.

It was getting very crowded at the finish line so we decided to head a bit down the hill, where it was a steeper grade.  We parked our bikes and settled in for a couple hour wait.

It was rather cool and we had a long wait so we began to get a bit cold.  We kept warm by taking turns waking further down the hill and then back up. But it was well worth it when the riders came by.  We were wondering who would be out front and were a bit surprised to see it was Chris Horner, with Team Radio Shack.

We didn’t see any riders right behind him and it was well over a minute before the second group came up the hill, with Tom Danielson, Andy Schleck and Levi Leipheimer.

We had a great place to view as the rest of the riders came by, but there were really spread out.  It was great fun seeing these pro cyclists up close and personal.

After the last riders came by we headed back down the hill, only to be passed by many of the pro cyclists who were biking back down the hill.  We made a brief stop at the ACTC party but it was mostly over by now.  Overall not a long ride, but one very steep climb and a great spot to see the tour made for a very fun day.

Categories: Cycling
1 Comment »

The weather has been so difficult to predict and the forecasts showed thundershowers for later today, so this morning we headed out under clear skies for a tandem ride up Hobble Creek.  It was a little cool, in the 50′s for much of the ride, but with the sun it felt much warmer.  The ride takes us through Provo, then Springville to get to the base of the Hobble Creek Canyon.  From there it is about 9 miles up the canyon on the left fork, but never with a very steep incline.

At the end of the road we stopped and parked our bike, to take some photos. There are some beautiful homes up this canyon.  We can only dream about living in any of them but glad that we don’t have to pay the property tax on them.

Then it was a fast descent back down the canyon. We stopped in Provo for a sandwich, then headed back home since we could see the storm was approaching. We were riding the tandem today because we did not bring our single bikes. But it is a good thing with this weather since we were carrying rain jackets and extra gear in the back bag, but we were lucky to not need them.

I was surprised when I uploaded my Garmin 500 to Strava that we got the KOM for the 9 mile segment up Hobble Creek. Guess there are not many Strava users in Utah.

Categories: Cycling
No Comments »

It has been rather unusual weather for April.  When we drove up from Las Vegas last Friday we had snow showers along the way, and heavy rain when we reached the Salt Lake Area.  On Saturday it was snowing so we had to run in the snow.  Monday was finally a clear sunny day so we decided to bike.  We did no bring our single bikes with us, but on the last visit we did bring the tandem up to leave in our Utah home.

Early in the morning it was too cold to bike so we waited until close to noon, and finally headed up the Provo River trail.  The trail was closed past Nunns Park so we went out on the highway, which is not much fun.  We finally made the junction and turned left up the Alpine Loop.  It is a rather steep section up to Sundance but nothing that difficult. However it seemed to be very hard this time.  I guess I am not use to climbing with the tandem.  We biked right past Sundance and then reached Apsen Grove.  Soon after that the road was no longer cleared.

The temperature was only in the 50′s but with the sun shining brightly we were plenty warm, especially while climbing.  We did bring some jackets to wear on the descent, which was rather cold.

After reaching the highway, we rode down to South Fork and made that climb, which is much easier.  Then it was back home.  It was a good ride and one we really needed since we had not been on the bike for several days.

Categories: Cycling
No Comments »

This is our second trip to Utah this year.  Usually we like to wait until May, but for the second time in as many months we found ourselves driving up here to give one of our cars to one of our children.  We were hoping to bike today, but when we arrived yesterday it was already storming.  We tried to go to the gym this morning for a workout, but the parking lot was so full we knew the line for the treadmill would be long, so we decided to take a chance an run up the Provo River trail.  I put the camera on a fence to get us running down the trail but those things are always a bit tricky to time.  You can click on the image above to see enlarged.

The trail was wet, but with the temperature close to 32, there was no ice.  We had a few snow flurries on the way back down but we were plenty warm enough, even for California kids.

Categories: Running
No Comments »

For the third time this year we joined a club ride, led by Lane Parker, that started in Santa Cruz and headed down to Monterey.  Our last adventure was in July when we had a tire on our tandem fail.   Unlike the prior two times we did this route, Anne wanted to ride her single bike.  Since we bought her a new bike in February, we have not been using the tandem nearly as much.  While we were in Utah, we didn’t even bring the tandem along.  After returning to California, we did take the tandem out for one ride, but it seemed heavy and we were not use to the saddles.  So we decided it would be best to ride what we are use to.  This would therefore be Anne’s longest ride on a single bike.

Although it was now October, the weather was just as warm as in July.  There was a large turnout, as in the prior two times, maybe about 20 riders.  The route started out along Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, right next to the ocean.

There were a few modifications to the route but it basically was the same.  We took the roads that kept us close to the ocean where we had a great view.

After leaving Santa Cruz and making out way through Capitola, we started to head a bit inland, taking us through farm land near Salinas.  This is our least favorite part of the ride because of the winds and all the farm vehicles on the road which is a bit covered with smashed down blobs of dirt.  From there we went through the Elkhorn Slough Preserve.  At Castroville, the “Artichoke Capital”, we had a brief ride on the freeway until we were able to get on a bike trail.  From there it was mostly on bike trails for the remaining 15 miles to Monterey.  Most of the bike trail was right along the ocean.

As we were riding along the bike trail it was still overcast and you could even see the fog rolling along.  We had a headwind and that section seemed to go on forever.  We had removed our arm warmers early in the ride but the temperature was now cool, but we decided to keep riding and not bother to stop to add more clothes.  Just before we reached Fisher’s Wharf the sky was clearing and it was now sunny.  At Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, we both enjoyed clam chowder in a bread bowl.

The route back was the same as we had just taken, until we got near Capitola, where we headed a bit more inland.  In Santa Cruz we were suppose to take some bike trail, but we could not find it so we made our way back to Cliff Drive and then back to the car.  We ended up with 108 miles and over 4,000 feet of climbing.

Categories: Cycling
No Comments »

Once again we did the round trip from Santa Cruz to Monterey, California, on our tandem. The round trip was nearly 109 miles this time with the extra 2 bonus miles from missing a turn. It was an ACTC club ride with about 35 riders showing up.  The ride leader, and one of the photographers, was Lane Parker. We started at 8 am from Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz and were surprised by the large turn out considering this was going to be well over 100 miles with climbing.

We all started as a group.  Being the only tandem this time, we went out to the lead.

It was a bit cool at the start and the temperatures stayed in the 60s most all day, while back in San Jose the temperatures climbed into the 90′s.

We did not go on highway 1, but took several back roads. There were no long sustained climbs on this route but a lot of up and down, that ended up with 4,300 feet of climbing by the end of the ride.

We rode with much of the group, making one stop along the way for a regroup.  Once we reached Fisherman’s Warf in Monterey, we locked up the tandem and walked out on the pier to enjoy a bread bowl of clam chowder.  After biking that far, it really tasted great.

After lunch we gathered together to start the ride back, taking the bike path from Monterey.

When we took this picture, which included Steven (on the right in front in the yellow vest) we did not realize how much he would help us on the return due to some unusual occurrences.  Just a few miles on the bike path, which crosses several side streets, Franz came up too far to the right and hit too much of the curb, rather than the inclined section where you are suppose to ride to get back on the bike path from one of the side streets.  It was kind of a hard hit and our camera, which was in a bento box on our tandem, flew out and landed on the ground.  We stopped and retrieved that and realized our rear tire had flatted.

No problem, since we had two spare tubes.  Most of the riders in our group went on since we told them we had everything we needed and were fine.  Steven decided to stay with us.

The rear tire on a tandem is a hassle to remove since it has a drag brake on it.  But in short order Franz had replaced the tube and was pumping up the tire.  Once we got to over 90 psi and removed the pump, a loud sound of air was heard as the tire went flat.  The valve on the stem had broken and was stuck in the pump.  Okay, one tube down so Franz removed that tube and put in our second spare tube.  Our pump had the valve still stuck in it, so Steven was kind of enough to give us a CO2 cartridge which we used to inflate the tire.

Finally we were on our way and told Steven to draft behind us as we caught up with the other riders.  We wanted to make sure he was always behind us since he had stopped to help and would not want him off the back by himself.  We learned that this was his first ride over 100 miles (a century) but he was plenty fast enough.  We finally caught up with some of the other riders then stopped at the regroup spot, but only about one third of the riders had regrouped and the rest had gone on head.

We didn’t think we needed to eat anything so we decided to go ahead, and Steven decided to join us again.  It was getting a lot warmer, but still only in the 70′s.  As we finally arrived within 10 miles of the finish we were getting a bit tired, so pulled into a gas station/market for a short stop.  Franz bought a diet coke in a cup with ice, which Anne also really enjoyed.  Soon we were off again and within a couple of miles, BOOM!  A loud noise meant only one thing, a blow out.  We quickly stopped the tandem to find out the rear tire was yet again flat.  After Franz removed the tire from the wheel (while Anne was holding the tandem), we could see the tire had a huge cut across it, something we had never seen before.

This is the type of tire failure you can not boot.  Fortunately, we were carrying a spare tire strapped to the frame of our tandem.  It was a lesson we had learned from some other tandem riders but had never needed before.  When we removed the tube from the tire, it was completely shreaded.  We thought about patching the tube that had the pinch flat before but it had two “snake bite” punctures which are hard to patch since they are separated.  Steven offered one of his spare tubes, and although it was not rated for 700×28, we decided it would get us back to the start.  After putting in that tube, pumping up the tire again, and putting the wheel back on the tandem, we were off once again.

The route sheet was a bit puzzling after we made the first left turn on Front Street.  We found ourselves in some busy Santa Cruz traffic.  We eventually made our way to Cliff Drive, the road along the ocean we had taken at the start of the ride, so we took that back to the van.

We had a great ride but were very happy to get back to the van before any tire went flat again.  It was maybe the longest ride Anne had ever done (due to the bonus extra 2 miles). But having  help from Steven made an otherwise problem plagued ride a lot easier to get through.

Categories: Cycling
2 Comments »

Saturday was here and we finally had nice weather.  Although the forecast was for a high of around 68 degrees, it was below 40 when we got up and it was suppose to be cloudy in the morning. So we were not sure what to wear on the Utah Velo club ride.  On days when we ride just the two of us we can leave later after it has already warmed up but with the 8:30 am start, it was a question of how cold did we want to be until the air warmed up vs. how many clothes to carry once it did warm up.  Anne decided to wear tights and a jacket, and I wore knee warmers, vest and a skull cap.

We rode over to the Provo River trail head where the rider who started in American Fork would meet those who only wanted to do 50 miles. We figured it would be better to ride the loop over to American Fork at the end of the ride, when it was warmer, and avoid driving our car there.

About 30 riders showed up for the ride and we all headed down University Avenue at a fast pace.  With a tailwind, the speed of the paceline reached 26 mph.  Anne stayed right in the pack all the way through Provo.  She has a lot of experience drafting behind me but not as much experience in a big pace line, but she did fine.  After going past Provo, we went through some back roads over to Springville.  We became disconnected from the main group but they did not get very far ahead.  It was now more difficult to keep them in sight since it was just me that Anne could draft behind.  Just after crossing Main Street in Springville there was a regroup so we caught the group there.

It was sunny and much warmer than we expected so everyone was shedding clothes and now wishing we had dressed lighter. Many of the other riders also commented how they over dressed, like we did.  I was wearing my vest with pockets in the back so I had more places to stuff clothes.  After a short regroup, we started up to Canyon Road, then up Hobble Creek.   As soon as we started the gradual climbing, we went ahead of about one third of the riders, the same guys we had to push so hard to hang on to on the flats.  At the fork on Hobble Creek, we took the right fork, for another 7 miles.   I mentioned to Anne that we would catch some of the riders ahead of us because they would get tired.  That turned out to be the case and we went by four of them before reaching the end.

The regroup there was not too long, just long enough to wait for most of the rest of the riders, but some were still not there when we all headed back down the Canyon.  Anne’s descending has greatly improved and she seems to have a lot more confidence with her new bike.  We were taking the speeds up to 35 mph on this gradual descent with rather straight sections.  The group was all spread apart, as is typical for either a climb or descent, but all regrouped when we reached Main Street in Springville.

We had brought a PB&J sandwich, we we inhaled down, thinking they were going to take off, but the group was waiting a bit longer for some riders who were still climbing up Hobble Creek when we all went down.  After about 10 minutes, the ride leader figured they had not turned around to join the descending group, so we we headed out.  The pace line started to move fast again now that we were on flat roads.  Once again we became a bit disconnected but we kept them insight. The paceline then split into two groups, those going back to Provo and those headed back to American Fork.  We cased after the American Fork group and caught them at a light.  I guess Anne decided she wanted to stay in the pack this time, so for the 16 miles to American Fork, she hung right on the wheel of the rider in front of her.  I was riding behind her, or to the side, so she would have a larger guy to draft behind.  I was starting to get weary and figured Anne might start to slow down, but she kept with the pace line all the way back.  She is amazing.

Once we reached the Bike Peddler shop in American Fork, the end of the ride for everyone else, we caught our breath and then stopped nearby to get some lunch. It was then about 12 more miles back to our home.

I guess Anne still had plenty of energy left because she suggested we go to the movie, Iron Man 2. We went over to see if we could get in the 4:30 pm showing, but that showing and next one were sold out, so we bought tickets for the 6:10 pm showing. It was a fun movie and end of a fun day.

Categories: Cycling
No Comments »

As the month of April was coming to an end, ironically it started to turn cold in Utah.  On Tuesday we had a nice 55 mile ride up Hobble Creek, but after that it has been cold going.  On Wednesday it was so cool and wet Anne decided to skip biking or even running.  I was thinking to do the same, until the late afternoon when I check the computer and it said the temperature in Orem was 45.  Anne said she was going to do some errands.  Since there was a stiff headwind coming down the canyon, I asked her to take me to the trail head in the car first.  I ran up the trail for 3 miles, then back home for a total of an 8 mile run.  As I was running up the trail it started to snow and the snow flurries increased as I was coming back down.  With the strong cold headwind coming back down the trail, I was feeling rather cold until on my iPod it started to play “Merry Christmas”.  It kind of got me in the mood, until the next song “Summer in the City” spoiled that.

On Thursday Anne went to Woman’s Conference at BYU.  I had intended to bike that day but it was just too cold.  Anne finished at 3 pm and the rain and snow flurries had stopped so we headed out for a nice 6 mile run.  We wore our rain jackets but running up the trail was a bit warm with those jackets, but I kept mine on anyway since I was feeling cool, while Anne took her jacket off since she had a long sleeved running shirt underneath.

On Friday we woke up to snow.  I don’t ever recall it snowing one month before May.

It seemed odd to see snow covering tulips in full bloom.

Anne headed off for the 2nd day of Woman’s conference.  It was only around 40 degrees outside by early afternoon, but I was anxious to get back on the bike.  I had brought some new booties, which I had bought last fall but never wore all winter.  I put them on and all the other clothes I could and went for a ride up the canyon.  I decided to push hard up the Alpine Road, to Sundance, and set a new PR for that section.

I was warm enough making the climb but coming back down was a chilling deal.

On Saturday morning our hopes of getting out for a bike ride didn’t materialize when we some some more snow.  An unusual way to welcome the month of May.  Anne’s computer battery was swelling (so I had removed it).  It seemed like a good day to take it to the Apple store in Salt Lake.  Even though the computer was out of warranty, they replaced the battery free of charge.  Nice to own a Mac.

On the drive back  home it was now clearing.   I suggested we might be able to get in a bike ride, but it was still cold and windy.  Anne opted for using the bike training so I set her bike up downstairs where she could watch a movie.  I don’t really like the bike trainer so I decided to brave the cold and headed up the canyon.  I again made the climb up the Alpine Loop, but decided to go all the way to Aspen Grove.  Again the climb was warm enough.  Just past Aspen Grove the road was closed and I saw some snowmobilers.  First time I had ever biked up to where that was happening.

Initially the descent was not too bad but after I went past Sundance, the road was wet and in the shade.  The temperature was dropping and I was starting to get snow flurries blowing in my face.  It was way too cold to enjoy.  I finally made it down to Vivian Park and was so cold I decided to climb up South Fork to warm up.  I finally was warming up again by the time I reached the end.  But then I had to head back down.  I was glad to get this ride, but it was much colder than I would prefer.  I was glad to finally get home.  Anne had just finished using the bike trainer, for over 2 hours, amazing.

Categories: Cycling, Running, Utah Home
No Comments »

We have biked Hobble Creek several times in the past but we always took the “Left Fork” at the junction up past the Hobble Creek Golf Course.  We noticed that the Utah Velo has a ride schedule in a couple weeks that goes up the “Right Fork”.  So we decided to check that out.  Biking over to Hobble Creek from our home in Orem would be about 55 miles.

It was one of the warmest days yet during our visit in Utah, in the mid 70′s, but on the windy side.  We wanted to get in a good ride today because the forecast for the next several days shows cold and rain.   We made our way down to University Avenue and took that through Provo.  We were moving over 20 mph due to a tail wind we figured it would be a headwind on the way back.  We then followed the route the Utah Velo club uses to get over to Springville.  We had taken that route before but seemed have a hard time remembering where to turn.  So this time I downloaded the course on my Garmin Edge 500 and followed the track, which made it easy where to turn.

After making our way up Canyon Road, we reach the junction where we usually turn left, and instead headed up the right leg.  There was a sign that showed 8 miles to some place so we thought this might be the length, which would be twice as long as the left fork.  Initially the road surface was a bit rough so I was thinking this might not be so great, but soon we reached new pavement, which was smooth, the type you like to bike on.  It was a nice windy road, with virtually now traffic.

When we started from our house it was mostly sunny, but by now it had turned mostly cloudy, but the temperature was very nice.

We heard some gun shots and started to wonder if there was some hunters ahead.  We then came upon a couple of guys who were doing target practice against a hill, off the side of the road.  Just short of 7 miles from the fork, we finally reached a point where the road was closed.

It is typical here for roads to be closed for the winter and sometimes they don’t open those as soon as the snow is gone.  Last week I found that going up Squaw Peak and went ahead through the closed road and found other bikers up the hill.  But we felt that might not be wise here because it was too remote and besides, those guys were shooting guns back down the road.  We had now biked nearly 28 miles, so that would be over 55 miles by the time we finished, so we turned around and headed back.  When we made it near Provo, we stopped for lunch.  Then it was 10 miles back home.  By now the wind had shifted and once again we had a tail wind on University Ave, and were moving along at 22 mph.  When we arrived at home, Anne biked past the driveway for a short distance and then circled around.  When I asked what she was doing, she said she wanted to reach 55.55 miles.  It was a fun ride.

That evening I went to join the Utah Vello Club Tuesday evening ride.  It was still warm but the forecast was for 25 mph our winds.  With such a strong tail wind, I figured out it was a good chance to set a new PR going up Dry Creek.  Even though I had already biked 55 miles earlier I still felt good and was able to climb the Dry Creek Hill climb, coming in 2nd place and a new PR for me.  I ended up with 80 miles on the bike for the day.

Categories: Cycling
No Comments »

It was one of those two sport days.   If we were more into swimming maybe it could be a three sports day, but for us it means running and cycling.

It is still cold in the mornings here in Utah so we decided to run first.  Even waiting until nearly 9 am, the temperatures were still in the mid 40′s.  But running at that temperature is much easier than cycling when it is cold.  We did a 6 mile run up and back down the Provo River Trail.  On the way back I decided to do a little speed work.  Although I have done intervals this year on the bike, and even the tandem, I have not done any running.  I decided to do something very limited for this first time so I figured just 2 x half mile repeats would be a good start.  At the four mile mark I took off.  I was surprised how my legs felt, like I could hardly turn them over when I attempted to push the pace.  Each half mile interval was done at only a 7:40 pace, which is slower than my half marathon race pace only 3 years ago.  It is clear that I need to get in more speed work running.

After running, we helped Greg finish moving out of his apartment.  He is headed out tomorrow back east to work for the summer.  In the early afternoon, Anne and I took off for a 25 mile bike ride.  It was much warmer now than when we ran, warm enough to ride with short sleeves.   We found ourselves on the same Provo River trail we had run on earlier in the day when a couple of younger guys on road bikes passed us.  I noticed them in particular because they were not wearing any helmets.  We kept up our pace, going about 17 mph on this slight uphill.  I could see the two young guys had just kicked it in to pass us but then had slowed down, so we eventually caught them and passed them.

Once we reached Vivian Park, we headed up South Fork.  This is a 4.2 mile stretch with about 750 feet of climbing.  Since the average grade is less than 4%, I don’t have this as a hill climb for time, but I did set it up as a time trail course on my Ultra Cycling website.    Both Anne and I had timed ourselves up this stretch last week.  With the run earlier in the day we were not too inclined to try to race up and set a new time.  But soon after we started, here was one of the young guys coming by us fast.  I guess he did not wear a helmet because he had flowing blond hair he wanted to show everyone.  Maybe if I had hair like that, I might also be tempted to not wear a helmet (not really).

From the earlier encounter, I knew he could not hold his fast pace, so I decided to chase him.  It didn’t take long to catch him.  Seeing he was not able to go a lot faster, I decided to pass him.   He then accelerated and trying to catch me., but I was surprised how fast I was moving up the hill.  I guess a combination of a little competition and a little tailwind does wonders.  It was not long before he was far enough behind that I felt I could back off.  But backing off is not my normal approach and since I had set this up as a time trial course, I figured this was a good time to do faster than last week.  I finished in 16:51, about 1:40 faster than last week.  That time meant nearly a 15 mph average up hill but I had to take my heart rate to an average of 166 bpm (176 maximum).

At the end I had to stop for a few moments at the top to catch my breath.  When I turned around there was no sight of the young guy so  I headed back down to see where Anne was.  I didn’t go down very far before we met, as she was also going up the hill very fast herself.

Anne finished with a new PR for herself, 20:42, nearly 4 minutes faster than her time last week.  This table is from the Ultra Cycling website for this course and shows the times posted in the last few days.

It was fun that we both set new PRs on the same ride and not on the tandem.  After making a descent back down to Vivian Park we stopped for a another picture.

Another fun day in Utah, running and cycling.

Categories: Cycling, Running
No Comments »