Koppenberg

After two more sessions on the stationary bike, one in the evening for 40 minutes, and one the next day for 50, I finally rode outside again. And it was pretty cold. High for the day, the warmest day of the year so far, 9 centigrade. Less than 50 fahrenheit. Still there was some sun and lots of riders were out.

I rode from my sister´s house, along the Tour of Flanders route to Oudenaarde. First some teeth-rattling cobbles and then a small road blocked by a big truck delivering heating oil. No way around that so I choose an alternative route. I took the main highway to Oudenaarde. Then on to Ronse and then right to Kluisbergen. Along the way I made a little detour on the Koppenberg in Melden, a Tour of Flanders staple.

Narrow, steep, relatively long and cobble-stone paved, the climb took my breath away, quite literally that is. I got to the top but I was out of breath. I also used whatever width the road had to offer, not something you can do in a race I am sure. I rode the Hotond (the Hoogberg) and then back to Gavere and Waregem. By then I had been on the road for 2 hours. I had 12 km to go.

Overall it was a great ride. I was wearing three-plus several layers and was cold only at the start. I also rode some time with a four man team, that was followed by a car. Good thing too, because one guy broke his handlebars while climbing. Never seen that before either, one half broke off at the stem and he had half a handlebar left.

Tomorrow if weather permits, I will do another short ride.

Ice

The weather is pretty miserable today. Overnight the biggest winter storm of the season rolled in with gusty winds, driving rain, and chilly temperatures. Not fun. I am sure the Tour of California riders are wishing they'd gone somewhere else to ride.

I took Annelise and Andrew out to the ice rink to fulfill a long standing promise. We skated -or pretended to- for about 1:30. I fell quite a few times and have some minor bruises on my right elbow, and left hip. Although I was never a very good skater, it seems I am not getting any better. More like a serious regression really. Be it what may, it was quite fun and we had a great time.

Tomorrow I am off to Belgium for 10 days. Not good for training:)

A glorious day, but very cold

Today is one of those days that make your heart sing. It is sunny and clear and the views are just spectacular. Unfortunately, it was also pretty cold.  Upper 30s this morning. By 10 AM, mid to upper 40s on the hills, brilliant sunshine, but very cold shady spots. By noon it was 48 at our house, and 54 on the flats. Definitely below normal for this time of year.

I went for a (relatively short) mountain bike ride. There is only so much gym stuff I can take before I go bunkers, and the pool is still closed. I layered up today and I really needed it. Wool socks, tights, two layers, long-sleeved, plus a thermal vest, my old helmet (the one with just a few ventilation slots) and two pairs of gloves.

I am really not suited for cold exploits. My sympathetic nervous system is over-reactive leading not only to profuse sweating in almost all weather conditions, but also a Raynaud-like response in my extremities. My hands and feet just freeze even when my core is warm. So much for those movies showing people with warm cores working barehanded in freezer rooms. Not me!

So here I was, all toasty but with frozen fingers and toes, passing a guy wearing no gloves, but booties -so I am not totally crazy. Fortunately it was cold enough and I kept my intensity low enough so that I did not sweat too much.

The trails were mixed. At times the mud was deep and very sticky and I had to stop twice because my front tire picked up so much mud it could not pass under my fork anymore. Even when the bike did not ground to a halt, there was so much mud I got pelted constantly. The mud also turns my tires into slicks and it makes staying upright a challenge.

In any case, due to the cold I was not tempted to go flying down the hills. I noticed other people too were taking it easy. 

Not everything was muddy and many areas were Ok. There were some wet spots but most puddles I saw were covered with thin sheets of ice and some shallow ones were frozen solid. The hills and canyons have areas that stay in the shade for most of the day, and it can get really cold there, especially when there is no wind to even it all out.

I rode about 20 miles and had a great time.

Cold and colder

The weather has taken a turn for the worse. Now it is getting cold. As in freezing or near freezing. The cold weather has made it so the pool stays closed for a few more days. Apparently it will take longer than expected to bring it up to temperature. The club people also blame a "chemical imbalance" whatever that may be. Emptying and refilling such a huge pool is no trivial matter. Not to mention the enormous waste of water. Those valves better be worth it.

It is also too cold to ride outside. With temperatures near 35-6 and constant rain or drizzle, this is not the time to go for a nice ride. If I did, I would probably return blue and hypothermic. I am keeping Alistair at home too. 

So I am stuck with my 45/30 routine at the club -my treadmill broke so no running in the garage either. 45 minutes on the stationary bike, which reads 1,000 calories by the end-I don't believe it, I have to work a whole lot harder to burn 1,000 on my Griffen and there I am measuring my actual power, hence energy use; 30 minutes on the treadmill, because my right calf is still hurting and tense. I run anywhere from 3 to 3.5 miles in that half hour, nothing to write home about, but usually enough to make me aware of the problem in my leg. Actually I spend the first 3-5 minutes walking just to make sure my muscle is warmed up properly.

Another great ride

Today was a day for thermal vests. It was nice and sunny but the temperature was quite low and there was a very harsh cold wind. It was also a great day for mountain biking. The trails were nearly empty and the surface conditions were super. Not too dusty and not muddy at all, just perfect.

I rode out to Redwood Park and then over the East trail to Pinehurst. Then down and up to Bort Meadow and on to the Stone Bridge. There I almost crashed while hitting a nearly invisible ridge along the trail. I had almost crashed there a few days ago too, when the shock caused me to lose contact with the handlebars. Today was a bit different. I was holding on well this time but still "forgot" about the obstacle and went so fast I was airborne instead.

I turned around at the bridge and went back to inspect the obstacle. It is a sharp narrow steep ridge about 4-5 inches tall running across the trail. I have no idea why it suddenly appeared there and I am sure it wasn't there before. Maybe the erosion exposed a rock layer that was previously covered up?

The location adds to the problem. It is at the end of an open and sunny downhill stretch in an area that is narrow and wooded. You go from bright sun to a dark spot so you really can't see very well there -at least for a while- and when you hit it at high speed like I did, you go flying up in the air.

I came back over McDonald to Skyline and then through the park (West Trail) to Skyline again. The climb was in the sun and there was no breeze there so I quickly got quite hot. Near Grizzly however, I was met with a vicious cold wind and in some spots it was hard to move, so strong were the gusts. By then I had been sweating a bit and when the cold wind hit me it was quite chilly. I was very grateful for my thermal vest.

I would guess about 25-27 miles.

Mountain bike

Weather was excellent today, albeit a bit cold in the morning, with a sharp crisp wind. We did not make it out the door until noon, but then Alistair and I went on a  30 mile mountain bike ride with a fair amount of climbing in it.

Because of my injuries (toenails that hurt and a sore calf muscle) we stayed mostly on the road. But we rode several long climbs. First Tunnel Rd., then down to Oakland where Alistair's school is (almost at sea level) and then back up Joaquin Miller, down Redwood and up S. Pinehurst. We finished with a 4.5 mile stretch on the East Bay trail in Redwood Park. At the end, we added a climb up Grizzly.

Dressing was difficult and we wore long sleeves and leg warmers. In the sun, it was too hot, but on shady descents it was icy cold. The ambient temperature was 62 or almost 17C. Not so in the deep shady Redwood canyon though.